Jun Changxiao never expected that the young man he had saved would truly be Song Bao, disciple of the God of Cooking!

So then.

What was the deal with Qian Buduo?

Jun Changxiao thought about it briefly and knew this guy must have been impersonating someone, though only he himself knew the reason why.

A disciple of the God of Cooking who could faint from hunger on the road—definitely a super weirdo!

Or maybe.

This guy did it deliberately, deliberately approaching Liu Wanshi?

“No, no.”

Jun Changxiao rubbed his temples and said, “My head’s a bit confused. I need to sort this out carefully.”

If this guy deliberately approached her, why would he generously give money and spirit stones?

Moreover.

Why impersonate Qian Buduo?

Jun Changxiao, whose imagination ran wild, suddenly realized that the more he thought about it, the more unreasonable things seemed. He couldn’t guess what that guy’s intentions were at all!

System gloated, “Rarely do I get to see the host suffer a setback. Why am I so happy about this?”

“Scram!”

…

Back to the arena.

When the contestants heard Song Bao’s words, they all widened their eyes.

This session’s God of Cooking Competition’s publicly acknowledged heavily favored championship candidate actually believed he would have difficulty defeating this girl in culinary skills!

Polite talk?

Humble words?

But from his eyes, he clearly looked very serious.

Liu Wanshi asked with a face full of confusion, “You… aren’t you Qian Buduo? How did you become Song Bao?”

“I won’t hide it from Miss Liu.”

Song Bao scratched his head and said, “My surname is Qian, my name is Song Bao. Qian Buduo is my father.”

“He had me apprentice under the God of Cooking, and unless I achieve success in learning, I can only use my own surname. Otherwise, I have to obediently go home and inherit the family business.”

“I see.” Liu Wanshi understood.

Jun Changxiao, who had been releasing his spiritual sense the whole time, heard this and also had a realization. He inwardly collapsed, thinking, “Having your son become a chef, and if he can’t do it well, having him come home to inherit ten thousand strings of family wealth—Qian Buduo is also a top-grade weirdo.”

“Shh!”

Qian Song Bao said, “This is my secret. Don’t tell anyone.”

Contestants: “…”

People across the entire continent: “…”

At this moment, should we cooperate with him and pretend we didn’t hear?

…

“So Song Bao is Qian Song Bao!”

“Although Family Head Qian has a harem of wives and concubines, he only has one son under his knee!”

“I thought the disciple of the God of Cooking had an ordinary identity. I didn’t expect he’d have such a wealthy father!”

“I heard that Family Head Qian really loves to eat. As long as the food suits his taste, he’s willing to pay large amounts of money, and even giving spirit stones is no problem.”

Jun Changxiao’s mouth twitched, “He’s quite similar to his old man in this respect.”

“Family Head Qian’s son has been especially lazy since childhood. It’s said that even at seven years old, he hadn’t picked up chopsticks and had servants feed him spoonful by spoonful.”

“A landlord’s son is just awesome!”

“Someone this lazy actually became the God of Cooking’s disciple—that’s really too bizarre!”

“Maybe Family Head Qian spent money to have his son apprentice under the God of Cooking.”

“Money really can make ghosts turn millstones!”

Everyone sighed with emotion.

However, they also began to doubt Qian Song Bao’s culinary skills.

Money could buy the identity of God of Cooking’s disciple, but technical skills in cooking were hard to buy with money.

The contestants thought the same.

Therefore, the vigilance they originally felt toward Qian Song Bao gradually weakened, and they thought, “A guy who rose up relying on his father—why should I be wary?”

As for what he just said to Liu Wanshi, everyone didn’t take it to heart.

Some even thought that this guy probably knew he had no real ability and was finding himself a way out in advance to avoid embarrassment later.

Jun Changxiao said, “An unfathomable little guy.”

“Why are you impersonating your father’s identity?” Liu Wanshi asked.

Qian Song Bao smiled, “It’s fun.”

“…”

Jun Changxiao’s mouth twitched violently.

A son impersonating his old man just because it’s fun—definitely not taking the normal path!

“Alright.”

Liu Wanshi stopped talking.

Although she was very surprised by Qian Song Bao’s identity, since she was participating in the God of Cooking Competition, she naturally had to focus on the competition.

“Miss Liu.”

Qian Song Bao said, “Nice clothes.”

Liu Wanshi said proudly, “This was worn by an ancestor of our Myriad Manifestations Sect’s culinary path!”

“I see.”

Qian Song Bao’s eyes filled with respect as he said, “May I ask the honored surname and great name of the Myriad Manifestations Sect’s culinary ancestor?”

“This…”

Jun Changxiao transmitted to Liu Wanshi, “Our Myriad Manifestations Sect’s culinary ancestor was named Yi Yin.”

“Yi Yin.”

“Yi Yin?”

Qian Song Bao thought, “I haven’t heard my master mention this person.”

Of course he hadn’t heard of him, because Yi Yin was from Earth’s ancient China, a famous politician and thinker in the early Shang Dynasty, one of the earliest known Daoist figures, and also revered as the Ancestor of Chinese Cuisine.

Huang Jinduan announced loudly, “The Fiftieth God of Cooking Competition officially begins. All contestants, please enter the venue and choose your stove!”

“Finally starting!”

Just when the audience finally felt some excitement, the light screen image turned into advertisements again. Those with short tempers nearly spat out blood.

Damn it!

Are we going to be able to watch or not!

…

“Whoosh!”

After the advertisements ended, the light screen displayed the scene.

All 120 contestants were in position, and ten people had already taken their seats in the judges’ section.

These judges were much more professional than those at the Culinary Competition. Each one was a top-tier food connoisseur.

Liu Wanshi chose a corner, one of those places that would be hard to find without looking carefully. Qian Song Bao happened to be right next to her.

More precisely, this guy deliberately followed.

“Miss Liu.”

He said in a low voice, “The first round is freestyle. If you make sweet and sour carp, advancing will definitely be without suspense.”

Liu Wanshi didn’t speak, seriously cleaning the utensils used for cooking.

She came to participate in the God of Cooking Competition representing the Myriad Manifestations Sect, so naturally she didn’t dare be careless.

Qian Song Bao very tactfully began to prepare.

“Swish!”

One hand landed on the wok handle, and his originally somewhat lazy and casual eyes immediately became sharp.

“Expert!”

Jun Changxiao said, “Definitely an expert!”

“The first round of the God of Cooking Competition is freestyle!”

Huang Jinduan announced loudly, “All contestants please make your signature dish within one hour. Those who achieve a score of 80 points from the judges’ evaluation can advance to the next round.”

“Ten judges, each giving a maximum of 10 points, and you need 80 points to advance to the next round. That means you need an average of 8 points. This God of Cooking Competition is indeed harder than the Culinary Competition!”

Everyone exclaimed.

“Begin!” Huang Jinduan shouted.

“Whoosh whoosh whoosh!”

As soon as his words fell, the contestants all condensed flames and poured them into the stoves. The entire arena was immediately filled with scorching heat.

“Everyone who came to participate in the God of Cooking Competition has mastered a type of fire element!”

“These flames aren’t used for combat—they all belong to the culinary category.”

“Huh? The Myriad Manifestations Sect disciple and the God of Cooking’s disciple haven’t moved? Did they not hear that the competition has started?”

One was the only female participant, and the other was the God of Cooking’s disciple, so Liu Wanshi and Qian Song Bao naturally attracted many people’s attention.

“Miss Liu.”

Qian Song Bao smiled, “I’m starting now.”

“Swish!”

As he spoke, his wrist turned, and purple flames erupted from his fingers, then merged into the stove.

“Purple Hidden Fire!”

“This is one of the strongest flames for cooking!”

“This God of Cooking’s disciple has real skill. He definitely wasn’t stacked up with money!”

“Whoosh whoosh—”

Purple Hidden Fire burned madly. The temperature it displayed instantly suppressed other flames, like standing out from the flock!

“Whoosh!”

Liu Wanshi exhaled, then raised her head to look at Jun Changxiao. He gave her an encouraging smile and transmitted, “Girl, believe in yourself!”

“Yes!”

Liu Wanshi raised her hand, her bright eyes flashing with light.

“Buzz!”

The character for ‘stove’ originally hidden on her skin immediately appeared.

“Whoosh whoosh whoosh—”

Stove Lord Fire roared out, then merged into the stove. When the flames rose up in an instant, the temperature inside the entire venue immediately climbed!

“Swish swish swish!”

The flames on other stoves couldn’t withstand the pressure and instantly transformed from vigorous to weak, as if they might extinguish at any moment!

The contestants’ faces changed dramatically.

They all followed the momentum to look, witnessing the Stove Lord Fire in the stove roaring like tigers and dragons. Their hearts shook with震撼 as they thought, “What… is this flame!”

Qian Song Bao, who was closest, his face changed again and again.

Even though he tried hard to control Purple Hidden Fire, he couldn’t change the result of being in a weak position. He exclaimed in admiration, “A flame that can make my fire bow down in submission—this flame is definitely the strongest among culinary fire types!”

When Liu Wanshi released Stove Lord Fire, all the flames on the competition grounds were suppressed and couldn’t raise their heads. It could be said—when the strongest flame appeared, who could compete with it!

Jun Changxiao leaned back in his chair, shrugged helplessly, and said, “Absolute domination. No suspense.”