Finally, Zhang Wei agreed to Qing Cheng's exchange request.
Compared to the other two, Qing Cheng would have to pay Zhang Wei several rare treasures in the future and serve him for free three times.
Service of the assassin kind!
This point was very important.
Hiring Black List assassins was very expensive!
Unfolding the Tong Xin Grass, Zhang Wei continued to communicate with Mo Du.
"How's it going? Qing Cheng, Hurricane, and I will be there soon."
"I've made a three-day pact with the army, and there's enough time. Brother~ Your reputation is really useful. The army is much calmer now."
Zhang Wei thought for a moment and continued to write: "You did very well. For a general, wisdom, trustworthiness, benevolence, courage, and strictness are key. You have achieved the ultimate in benevolence and trustworthiness."
Three days was enough.
"Without further ado, let's begin now."
"Now?"
"Didn't you say the front line battle was urgent?"
"Besides, there aren't enough ingredients."
Generally speaking, a full set of Western-style full meals was best used for breaking through barriers, leveraging the coordination between ingredients to enhance the breakthrough effect.
Each of the eight dishes was different, requiring not only effort but also a lot of time.
The three people were all above level 55, so the quality and quantity of ingredients could not be too low.
Three people meant twenty-four dishes!
Zhang Wei smiled and said, "Breaking through barriers is something I do every day, I'm very familiar with it!"
Since reaching level thirty, Zhang Wei's barrier breakthroughs had increased from one per level to three per two levels.
After level fifty, he had to break through two barriers every level.
Zhang Wei suspected that in the later stages, it might even be ten barriers per level.
"Everyone, please step back. I'm about to begin my performance."
His palm wind was like a knife, carving large, flat tables half a meter thick from the rocks in the mountains.
Summoning an endless supply of water from the Treasure Hall, he washed away the sand.
Next came flour and vegetable oil for a second cleaning.
"Next is the firewood..."
Inside the stove in the Treasure Hall, there was an unextinguishable flame.
But it couldn't be summoned like water.
Bending steel bars with his bare hands, he fashioned one suspended pot rack after another, placing charcoal beneath them.
As Zhang Wei started the fire, he complained, "Perhaps I should learn some flame-related abilities. Using flint and tinder every time is too slow."
More than a dozen large pots were set up, and the faint flames heated the iron pots to remove any residual flavors.
With a wave of his hand, immense amounts of ingredients appeared out of thin air, hundreds of varieties in total.
Moreover, the quality of each ingredient was top-tier!
Normally, if an ingredient was replicated three times, its aggregated advantages would be considered upper-middle class.
Replicated ten times, it would be a rare treasure in nature!
To compress the replication time to one day required tens to hundreds of replications.
The quality was so high that it could be said to be unparalleled throughout history!
Taking the level three ice field yak as an example, not only did its weight increase from three tons to ten tons, but its flavor was enhanced to level 10-15.
Meat yield...
Fat distribution ratio...
Toughness...
Tenderness...
Freshness...
Almost all attributes were optimized to the best level.
When made into sashimi, it was juicy and tender, melting in the mouth.
When made into dried meat, it was chewy and springy...
All attributes served the purpose of deliciousness!
As the mountains of ingredients appeared, the three of them were stunned. With their knowledge, they couldn't even distinguish what these enhanced ingredients were.
"Done."
"Done?"
The three said foolishly, "Chef, it's only been five minutes since you started carving the table."
"Also, you've only made one dish?"
"Can this one dish allow all three of us to upgrade?"
Zhang Wei rolled his eyes and said, "What are you thinking? This dish isn't for breaking through barriers!"
"If one dish was enough, why would I summon so much stuff?"
That seemed to make sense.
The three exchanged glances and took the dishes.
"Chef, since it can't break through this barrier, why did you make this dish?"
The dish was simple.
Cabbage, tofu, and rice, with pickled cucumbers and three kinds of bean paste on the side.
There was also a stir-fried platter of beef and fish, with salad dressing as the main condiment on one side and salt and pepper on the other.
"This dish must be eaten slowly and chewed thoroughly..."
"Right, before eating, you must first drink this bowl of bitter soup."
Zhang Wei poured three bowls of medicinal soup from a hot earthenware pot.
The aroma emanating from it was the unique bitterness of Chinese medicine.
Hurricane, who clearly knew Zhang Wei's legends, looked at the medicinal soup and asked excitedly, "Could this be the precursor medicine for the 'Soul Flavor'?"
The human-skin doll asked doubtfully, "Soul Flavor? What's that?"
Hurricane scoffed, "You don't even know Soul Flavor? Is the only thing in your head human skin?"
Zhang Wei rolled his eyes and said, "The 'Wake Soul' medicinal soup requires over two thousand types of herbs and 20 hours of simmering to produce. Stop guessing wildly."
As Zhang Wei won the championship, the dishes he made also became part of the legends.
"Chrysanthemums After Failing the Imperial Examination..."
"Rainbow Mousse Cake..."
"Soul Flavor..."
Each dish was talked about with great interest.
Hurricane chuckled awkwardly and asked, not understanding, "Then what's the miraculous use of this soup?"
"To remove complexity and focus on specialization."
"I don't understand..."
"Drink it and you'll understand."
"Alright!"
Hurricane picked up the medicinal soup and gulped it down.
*Pfft~~~*
"Cough cough!! Cough~~~~ Oh cough~~ cough cough~~"
Hurricane coughed repeatedly, frowning, and apologized profusely, "I'm truly sorry, this medicine is a bit bitter."
Zhang Wei, helpless, gave him another bowl.
After drinking the medicinal soup.
Zhang Wei said, "Speaking of which, I need to add some rules."
"Please say!"
"For this rice bowl, you can only eat half of the total amount!"
"This..."
"Also! A friendly reminder!"
Zhang Wei smiled mysteriously and said, "Chew slowly, because the secret to your barrier breakthrough is hidden in this dish!"
The already tense mood of the three became even more cautious!
Even their chopsticks, suspended in mid-air, hesitated.
After all, this was related to their path to advancement!
"Hurry up and eat, it will lose its effect if it gets cold."
The three exchanged glances, and in each other's eyes, they could see their nervousness.
It was as if they were being led to the execution ground, and the three of them made their decisions...
Zhang Wei observed them from his spot, noting every raised hand, every glance, every breath, every chew...
All of it was meticulously recorded by Zhang Wei!
Ten minutes.
For a full ten minutes, Zhang Wei didn't even blink!
"Ladies and gentlemen, mealtime has ended."
Zhang Wei rubbed his dry eyes, silently recalling the information he had just gathered.
He retrieved the three plates from the three of them.
He carefully observed the leftovers.
"Hmm... the data is very clear."
"Time is tight, one test paper is enough. Let's start the main meal now."
The three were energized!
The most crucial step was finally about to begin!