"Wait!"
Zhang Dali took a step forward, interrupting the host.
"Hmm? Do you have something to say?"
A judge frowned, thinking Zhang Dali was unconvinced.
"I think my score is too low."
Zhang Dali looked at the judges and, before anyone could mock him, continued,
"I believe the judges can try again. Perhaps you'll get a different result."
"Hmm?"
Everyone was slightly taken aback, a little confused.
The judges pondered for a moment and didn't retort. Instead, they tasted the dishes again.
The first judge's body suddenly trembled, disbelief flashing in his eyes.
"That's not right, how did two more attributes appear?"
His tone was shocked. He then tasted it twice more, finally in a state of horrified silence.
"Ice, lightning, and strength—all three attributes are present? How did he achieve this?!"
"Incredible, truly incredible. The three attributes are perfectly balanced. Is this something a human can do?!"
The judges' exclamations grew louder, and the noisy crowd also quieted down.
Could there really be a twist in the God of Cookery competition?
"Judges, my dish needs some time to show its effects."
Zhang Dali smiled slightly, a hint of pride in his eyes.
Depending on the main ingredient, the dish would gain different attributes, but only one primary attribute.
For example, Allen Brown's Deep Sea Dragon Turtle Soup had defense as its primary attribute, with other possible attributes like water or vitality, but they were negligible.
Master Mu Tu's dish, on the other hand, had fire as its primary attribute.
But Zhang Dali's was different. His dish actually had three attributes, with no primary or secondary distinction between them.
In history, no one had ever managed to research this. To think it was achieved by a junior.
"Judges, what do you say?"
Zhang Dali asked. The reason the judges hadn't noticed the three attributes during their initial tasting was simply because the dish's attributes hadn't fused yet.
A judge, his eyes filled with shock, asked, "How did you do it?"
"By creating a golden dish with ice, lightning, and strength attributes, and then using a special method to fuse them perfectly..."
Zhang Dali replied honestly.
"..."
The judges twitched their lips. We're asking about the special method, you idiot...
But they didn't press further. This was equivalent to asking for someone's recipe, and it was unlikely to be easily revealed.
"My apologies, I was too presumptuous..."
The judge who had asked earlier said, his eyes showing regret.
The host beside him then said, "Please proceed with the scoring, judges..."
As long as the scores hadn't been announced, they weren't final, and the judges could change them.
"If a contract spirit with a single attribute were to consume it, it would be equivalent to a perfect golden dish..."
Master Mu Tu's heart rejoiced. As long as it remained a golden dish, he was guaranteed victory.
However, the judge's next words caused his heart to sink.
"But if it were a contract spirit with ice and lightning attributes, it would be a pseudo-perfect King grade..."
A judge slowly stated, "And if it were a contract spirit with ice, lightning, and strength attributes, this dish would be equivalent to a perfect King grade..."
The other judges nodded in agreement, clearly sharing the same opinion.
For a moment, their eyes were filled with conflict. None of them cast their votes.
Logically, Zhang Dali had won, as Master Mu Tu's dish also required a fire-attributed contract spirit to exhibit pseudo-perfect effects.
But the problem was that Zhang Dali's method was somewhat of a trick.
This kind of situation, where perfection was achieved through attribute balance, was unheard of.
After a long pause, one judge slowly said,
"Regardless, this is only a golden dish, and because it's made from King-grade flesh and blood, it's not replicable! I can only give it ninety-seven points!"
"This dish has broken our perceptions. What a culinary artist needs is creativity. I'll give it ninety-nine points!"
"At the very least, its effect is King grade, so I'll also give it ninety-nine points!"
For a time, the judges were divided into two factions, each stating their opinions and scores.
Master Mu Tu's heart sank. Was the duck that was practically in his grasp about to fly away?
Soon, the scoring by the ten judges concluded.
As expected, Zhang Dali's final score was set at 98.5.
In an instant, the entire world erupted in an uproar. No one expected Zhang Dali to actually turn the tables!
"This is unbelievable, it must be fake!"
"A three-attribute dish, how can I believe something so ridiculous?"
Meanwhile, Zhang Dali ignored the outside world, his mind filled with a single thought:
"I succeeded! I truly succeeded!"
His eyes were filled with excitement. After months of intense practice, he had indeed surpassed everyone and won the championship.
"I declare that contestant Zhang Dali has the highest score and has successfully won!"
Fu Ning's tone was filled with shock. He never expected a student who had just graduated from university to win the championship.
He announced, "Tomorrow will be the award ceremony for the God of Cookery Cup! Everyone is welcome to witness the birth of a new God of Cookery!"
"God of Cookery Dali! God of Cookery Dali!"
"Damn, he's only twenty-two. How can the gap between people be so huge!"
"Didn't I say it? Everyone around the Ferocious Bandit is a freak!"
"Ferocious Bandit brother, I want to follow you. I want to be a freak too..."
At that moment, whether at the scene or online, cheers could be heard everywhere.
The last time it was this lively was during the Beast Taming finals...
"Congratulations."
Master Mu Tu smiled faintly, maintaining his calm and composed demeanor.
"It was just luck..."
Zhang Dali felt a sense of caution, but his expression remained unchanged.
He was indeed beginning to suspect. If this person could remain so calm in such a situation,
Either this person had incredible self-control, or he was truly a sage. But Zhang Dali preferred to believe the former...
"Dali, you're amazing!"
Chen Shu looked excited and gave Zhang Dali a hug, saying, "You've got a bit of my old style!"
"Don't push it!"
Zhang Dali pouted and asked, "Were you also a God of Cookery back in the day?"
"But I was the champion of the Beast Tamer World Championship."
Chen Shu smiled faintly and said, "Why don't we two world champions have a match, so I can show you the gap between champions!"
"..."
Zhang Dali quickly took a step back. "I'm just a cook, have you no shame?"
"Let's go! We have to celebrate tonight!"
Chen Shu announced, "You're paying for everything tonight!"
"..."
Zhang Dali's mouth twitched, but he wasn't surprised.
"You rascal, you had a trump card and didn't tell me!"
Chen Shu said, "I genuinely thought you could only make perfect golden dishes."
"If I told you, would it still be a trump card?"
Zhang Dali grinned and said, "Actually, I wasn't entirely confident myself. It was really luck."
"Luck is also part of strength!"
The two of them, arm in arm, headed straight for the food street in Nanqing City.
Meanwhile, many people in China were also excitedly celebrating, and even the government began promoting the news.
Although he was only a culinary artist, it was still a world-class competition, filled with honor.
Especially Zhang Dali's mentor and senior sister, who were practically in tears. They even rushed to the official departments to volunteer to join the publicity team.
...
"To the God of Cookery!"
Chen Shu and Zhang Dali arrived at a private room in a restaurant and ordered a large table of delicacies.
It wasn't that they didn't want to eat at outdoor stalls, but there were simply too many people. Everyone was surrounding Zhang Dali, asking for autographs.
He signed autographs for two hours before finally managing to break free...
"To the Champion Beast Tamer!"
Zhang Dali, also beaming, clinked glasses with excitement.
He said, "We've both created miracles!"
"It truly is a miracle..."
Chen Shu didn't deny it. Then, as if remembering something, he said with a peculiar expression,
"Dali, you don't happen to have some sort of cheat code too, do you?"
ps: There will be another chapter later...