"..."
Fu Ning and Ka Ke looked at Chen Shu, sighing inwardly, "You really are something."
"Alright, let's go."
Fu Ning didn't want to listen to Chen Shu's nonsense anymore and led the two towards the territory of the Southern Qing Kingdom.
As soon as they arrived at the coastline, the people below looked up at Chen Shu in the sky, their eyes filled with surprise and adoration, along with a hint of fear.
"Hello everyone! Hello everyone!"
Chen Shu waved at the crowd below, surprised that his fans were spread across the globe.
Was he perhaps too aloof?
He intended to go down and interact with them, but as soon as he got close, the crowd below collectively distanced themselves…
"..."
For a moment, whenever he got closer, people would retreat, making the scene rather peculiar…
"Weren't they supposed to be my fans…"
Chen Shu's mouth twitched, what was going on?
Although people admired Chen Shu's combat power, they didn't want to get close.
The nuclear explosion phenomenon in the distance had yet to completely dissipate…
In such a scene, it felt a bit like Ye Gong's love for dragons.
"Sigh…"
Chen Shu sighed and left the coastline.
Soon, the four arrived at a city near the coastline.
The architectural style of the Southern Qing Kingdom leaned towards the East, yet it possessed a certain ruggedness and grandeur, even a touch of primitiveness.
Fu Ning hesitated for a moment and said,
"Um, we can't use contract spirits in the city, sorry…"
Chen Shu nodded, not causing any trouble, and recalled all three of his contract spirits into his beast-taming space.
Fu Ning spoke, "I'll take you to Nanqing City."
As the strongest individuals in the Seven Northern Qing Kingdoms, they naturally had the right to use contract spirits at all times; otherwise, how could they protect the residents?
"Okay."
Chen Shu nodded and, along with Zhang Dali, mounted Fu Ning's golden peacock.
A portion of his attention was focused on the half-full bottle of invisibility potion in his system space.
If the other party harbored any malicious intent, he could ensure his own survival immediately.
The golden peacock was a King-tier flying contract spirit, its speed naturally unmatched nationwide.
In less than ten minutes, the four had arrived at the capital, Nanqing City!
"Finally arrived!"
Zhang Dali's expression turned a little excited. Everywhere in the city below, slogans related to the Food God Festival could be seen.
The emblem for every Food God Cup was a Pangolin wearing a chef's hat, appearing endearingly simple.
This was also the emblem established by the first generation Food God and had been in use ever since.
"You two rest well. If you need any assistance, please inform the staff."
Fu Ning led them to the most high-end hotel in Nanqing City, where the contestants for the current competition would be residing.
"Mm, okay."
Zhang Dali nodded and said, "Senior Fu Ning, you're busy, you don't need to accompany us."
As Fu Ning and the other were about to leave, they seemed to recall something.
He said, "I'll leave you my private number. If there's an emergency, you can contact me directly."
Clearly, to prevent Chen Shu from causing trouble or being assassinated, he still needed to make some preparations.
"Thank you, Senior."
Chen Shu accepted the number, naturally understanding the other party's intentions.
...
"This is so comfortable."
Chen Shu lay on a large bed and muttered, "Finally, I can rest properly."
Zhang Dali, on the other hand, was sitting on the sofa, holding a small booklet with a thoughtful expression.
"Dali, what are you looking at?"
Chen Shu stretched lazily and leaned over as well.
The small booklet displayed various photos, with detailed introductions below.
"Aren't these just business cards? They're handing out booklets now? Southern Qing Country is truly high-class!"
Chen Shu raised an eyebrow, then complained,
"No, why are these all men? Such heavy tastes?"
"..."
Zhang Dali looked at him expressionlessly and slowly said,
"Big Brother, these are contestant information!"
"..."
Chen Shu's expression froze, and he said, "Uh… I thought you picked them up from behind the hotel door…"
"How's the strength this year? Any confidence?"
He changed the subject and looked at the information in the booklet.
[Miyamoto Rō, King-tier Spirit Chef of the Sakura Kingdom, Age: Thirty-five, Specialties: Spirit Fire Eel Rice, Deep Sea Dragon Turtle Soup]
[Allen Brown, King-tier Spirit Chef of the Free Alliance, Vice President of the National Spirit Chef Association, Age: Thirty-nine, Specialties: Thunder Beef Steak, Steamed Magic Lobster]
...
"Very strong!"
Zhang Dali took a deep breath and said, "Most of them are King-tier Spirit Chefs, only a few are Gold-tier Spirit Chefs!"
"In that case, you're at the bottom? It'll be a bit difficult to win…"
Chen Shu's expression grew a bit solemn.
Zhang Dali was still too young, and his experience couldn't compare to that of the other veteran Spirit Chefs.
"Not necessarily."
Zhang Dali, however, had not lost confidence and said,
"Spirit Chefs are different from Beast Tamers; the level difference doesn't mean everything."
Chen Shu nodded. He had participated in the Star Nova Cup in Blue Sea City with Dali and had a slight understanding of the scoring mechanism for Spirit Chefs.
The rank of a dish was divided into three grades: Low, Medium, and High, and the most difficult to achieve was Perfect Grade.
A Perfect Grade Gold dish could even be comparable to a High-grade King-tier dish.
Of course, the final score would be given by the judges, taking into account aspects like color, aroma, flavor, and the dish's effects.
"Furthermore, the ingredients I'm using are Golden Monarchs, which will definitely add points."
Zhang Dali's eyes held confidence. This was an advantage that others lacked, and it could be a way to achieve a surprise victory.
Even major countries couldn't afford to provide their contestants with the flesh of Golden Monarchs.
During the competition, the officials might provide a small amount, as the quantity wouldn't be large.
But the most crucial point was that making a Monarch-level dish required countless practice sessions.
The amount of Monarch flesh consumed in this process was not small, and once used for cooking, it could only be consumed and could not be used to prepare special potions.
The importance of special potions was self-evident, and they would not be used to cultivate a Spirit Chef.
This was why Chen Shu was so extravagant, as his Monarch flesh was meant for eating…
"Compete well!"
Chen Shu smiled slightly and said, "I have faith in you…"
Zhang Dali nodded and then began to study his opponents again.
"Should I do something else?"
Chen Shu slumped on the sofa, contemplating something.
He wanted to trigger the Beast Taming Power option again and break through to Gold rank.
Silver rank was still a bit lacking; not to mention fighting King-tier opponents, he would struggle even against Gold two-star.
Moreover, he had basically cultivated his contract spirits to their peak, and breaking through was the best way to advance further.
"And the fourth contract spirit…"
His eyes were filled with anticipation, and he thought silently:
It should… probably… perhaps be a normal creature…