Thirty-two teams entered sequentially, each with a large number of camel beasts and equipment.
The finals had no restrictions, and the cooking utensils were all their most familiar ones. The chefs wished they could move their entire homes here.
Just setting up the venue required dozens of people.
It looked quite similar to the first round's preliminaries.
The eliminated contestants were now cheering in the audience, creating a vast momentum.
The host appeared amidst fireworks and pyrotechnics, enthusiastically introducing the contestants on the field.
"Fellow audience members, let us turn our attention to the first position, Mr. Wolfgang from the Wote Hotel!"
"Look at their massive transport crates, can you give the audience a hint about what rare ingredients are inside!"
Wolfgang smiled confidently, waved his hand, and the chains on the container fell off.
The heavy steel plate smashed into the ground, revealing a cage forged from cold iron!
Inside the cage was a colossal land tortoise!
About seven meters tall, with legs like stone pillars, weighing at least several thousand tons!
Behind it stood an ice and snow fortress, with siege engines and cannons vaguely visible, though they were now completely destroyed.
"My goodness, it's a Level 32 Ice Fortress Rock Turtle! Mr. Wolfgang, how are you going to handle such a behemoth!"
Besides Wote Hotel, rare delicacies were everywhere on the field!
"Shuiyuntian's ingredient is... a Level 35 Eight-Branched Sandworm!"
"This sand worm lives in the underground world hundreds of meters deep, and no one has ever captured one alive!"
...
"Chef Junqing from Wangyue Zhai is also displaying an object in his hand, it seems to be a ham... Looking at its size, it's at least 200 jin!"
"Could it be the Overlord Tree Ham, the number one ham in the North, lost for fifty years?"
...
"Eiffel Vineyard has covered up a huge curtain. Chef Koizumi, who has always been high-profile, is actually maintaining an air of mystery!"
...
"At the end are the popular contestants with championship potential, the Wine and Beauty team!"
"Wow, the head chef seems quite leisurely. Is he already confident of victory?"
...
In a corner of the preparation area, Lou Ming, clad in a black robe, hid in the shadows.
After multiple confirmations, Zhang Wei of Wine and Beauty was indeed the one who had been kidnapped that day. Qian Xue had died in the old warehouse, but Zhang Wei had returned unharmed.
He was full of energy and participating in this competition!
"San'er... you will not have died in vain. I will send this person to accompany you in death."
"Don't rush. After this grand competition ends, it will be his death day!"
"Chuxiang."
Chuxiang, standing beside him, immediately said, "Master, what are your orders!"
"Prepare yourself. We need to replace one of the chefs."
"Are you sure you want to take action yourself?"
Lou Ming said solemnly, "With Elder Brother and Second Brother, they might not be able to defeat Wine and Beauty! Only by acting personally do I have a chance."
"But, your body..."
"I will take some medicine. It shouldn't be a problem to last through the competition. Moreover, this competition is related to the Black List's hundred-year plan. Let this old man contribute this frail body!"
The Black List controlled fifteen northern companies. Besides the three direct disciples, twelve Black List chefs were participating.
Two of them had lost the draw and encountered opponents that were too strong. Coupled with Qian Xue, who was defeated by Zhang Wei, a total of three were disqualified.
If these twelve individuals could achieve relatively high rankings, the Black List's plan could still be completed!
A short while later, Chuxiang brought a box containing a soft food item resembling nian gao.
Youth Konjac!
A toxic ingredient that greatly harmed the body, with a capture level of Level 35 or above. It could greatly enhance energy, making one tireless for a long period.
For the elderly, it even had the miraculous effect of rejuvenating youth.
However, these were all illusions. Rejuvenation and energy were achieved by overdrafting one's body, forcefully inducing cell division, placing even more strain on an already aged body.
Many elderly individuals on the brink of death could not withstand the pain and ended up dying in bed.
They would choose to consume this item to temporarily gain a few days of youth and a healthy body to fulfill some lifelong wishes.
"Master..."
"No need for further words!"
Lou Ming did not hesitate and swallowed the Youth Konjac whole!
The Vice Chairman stood by, a hint of reluctance on his face.
"Master, how does it taste."
"Taste? Heh heh... so this is what time tastes like."
Lou Ming chuckled, "I have lived for over a hundred years. I have eaten everything, seen everything. Family affection, friendship, love... Power, glory, regrets... I have savored it all!"
"I have no regrets!"
With that said, a pained expression appeared on Lou Ming's face.
His muscles and bones crackled like popping beans, and an unbearable itch spread throughout his body!
Lou Ming could not help but clutch his head, pulling off handfuls of dead skin.
Opening his hands, they were filled with white, dry hair.
"Hot... so hot!"
"Quick, bring water!"
Everyone promptly unscrewed their water bottles and poured water onto Lou Ming, producing a hissing sound like scorching iron!
"Ah!!!"
With a roar, Lou Ming's clothes tore, and his entire body stiffened in place!
Crack~
Cracks spread all over his body!
A naked young man emerged from his shell like a chick!
Handsome and refined, with star-like brows and sharp eyes, red lips and white teeth... flowing long hair swayed in the wind, and a perfect physique was chiseled like a knife!
"Congratulations, Master, on regaining your youth!"
The voices of the onlookers were tinged with a hint of melancholy.
In front of the mirror, Lou Ming admired his young body, his eyes filled with intoxication.
"This long passage of time... almost made me forget."
"Once upon a time... I was also such a handsome young man!"
...
At an extremely high altitude, white clouds drifted by.
A giant bird with a wingspan of dozens of meters carried over a dozen people on its back.
These people had peculiar appearances: some had four arms on two legs, some had double wings on their backs, some had multiple eyes and long tongues, and some were covered in fur...
"The Northern Culinary Feast, what a grand spectacle!"
A four-armed oddity gazed at the ground, smacking his lips. "The entire North spans millions of square kilometers, with hundreds of millions of people. It can be said that half of the chefs have gathered here!"
Another four-eyed oddity said, "It is said that this feast is of unprecedented scale, with over fifty thousand chefs attending as observers, and thousands of them are Three-Star chefs!"
"Three-Star chefs... even in our Cloud Kingdom, they are rare talents!"
Chefs were the absolute treasures of the Great Food Era.
The number of chefs in a faction directly determined its strength.
This was because chefs not only held the key to advancement but were also responsible for maintenance.
Without sufficient food supply, high-level combat power would be like a rootless duckweed.
"How much longer until the rear dispatch?"
"Don't worry, time is always sufficient."
The various oddities looked at the ground, understanding.
The rise or fall of the Cloud Kingdom depended on this event!