Chapter 116 - This Dog is Defying Heaven!

“It seems only the two of us can proceed to the next round,” Bai Ling said as she looked at Lu Ran.

This outcome was something she had anticipated. Limitless City would never allow all six participants to advance smoothly. A breakthrough rate of one-sixth or one-third was already considered decent.

“Hmm.”

Lu Ran nodded and asked, “Do you still want to watch? I’m planning to leave.”

The upcoming fire skills test didn’t interest him much as he had seen enough grand chefs show off back at Frost Moon House.

“Forget it, let’s go.” Snakeskin and the others shook their heads.

Since there was still time, they decided to visit the antique street. With the Eye of Detection, perhaps they could score some Epic or Legendary equipment.

If that happened, they’d ascend from being lowly fourth-generation nobodies to giants rivaling the first-generation. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

The knife skills test was still ongoing. Since they had already finished their assessments, they didn’t feel like waiting. They packed up and prepared to leave.

Of those who had passed or failed, few remained. As Lu Ran and his group left, the chubby examiner and the female examiner glanced at Lu Ran’s retreating figure.

“Let’s see what kind of dish he can make tomorrow!”

***

The second round of the test was to be conducted in the wild. In this phase, participants without strength wouldn’t get far. Their only option to pass was to stay in relatively safe zones, find Common ingredients, and rely on great culinary skills to prepare a Unique-grade dish.

However, those with strength had an additional option which was to venture deep into the wilderness and search for Rare ingredients. Even if their cooking skills were somewhat lacking, the quality of the ingredients could help them produce Unique-grade dishes.

As for Deer Masking Horse and his group, their ascension mission had ended in total failure. Naturally, they didn’t bother with the next day’s test and instead began planning how to make their trip worthwhile.

“Snakeskin, Deer Masking Horse, I heard there’s a place in the city called Drunken Flower Pavilion. Their performances are said to be excellent. Now that we’re free, shall we go explore some ancient culture?”

Back at the inn, Mountain Adventurer came knocking with the invitation. As a natural explorer, he couldn’t bear to leave such a dangerous and fascinating place unexplored.

“What about them?” Snakeskin hesitated.

“White Tiger Sis and the shopkeeper are both women, so they won’t enjoy such places. As for Pedestrian A, he’s clearly underage, the future pillar of the nation. Let’s not call him and let him focus on preparing for tomorrow’s test. The three of us brothers can go ourselves.”

“Excellent idea,” Deer Masking Horse agreed that exploring ancient culture was necessary.

With that, the three of them left arm-in-arm, leaving Lu Ran alone in his room reviewing the test map.

The next day, the 72 participants who had passed the preliminary round gathered early at the designated location which was at the entrance to a forest outside Cang Lan City.

This area had been modified by the Beastmaster Association. With over a hundred open-air stoves, it was a special testing ground. This time, all participants’ familiars were by their sides. Entering the wild forest without their help was basically suicide.

“First of all, congratulations on making it this far,” the female examiner said with a grin.

“As always, I must remind you not to cheat in this round. Do not try to pass off ingredients brought from elsewhere as those you hunted yourself.

“If I catch you, not only will your restaurant or family suffer severe consequences, but you’ll also be locked in the fire prison and experience the joy of being roasted like a whole pig!” she warned without a hint of mercy.

In the early days of the assessments, there were indeed cases of cheating. However, once caught by the examiners, the perpetrators faced severe consequences.

For example, their affiliated restaurants were dismantled, their culinary skills were permanently destroyed, and their limbs were broken, leaving them crippled.

After countless unlucky individuals experienced these repercussions first-hand, no one dared to cheat again. Attempting to cheat under the watchful eyes of the Hunter Society was likely even harder than passing the gourmet assessment.

“All right, this test has a 12-hour time limit. During this period, you must hunt for the ingredients you need and prepare a dish that satisfies the taste buds of the three of us examiners.

“Now, the timer begins!”

With that, the 72 participants scattered from the stove area into the forest. Bai Ling, accompanied by her white tiger, glanced at Lu Ran before quickly entering the woods.

With such a fierce familiar as her partner, her chances of hunting Rare ingredients were fairly high. Lu Ran also intended to head in immediately. However, just before leaving, he heard a voice in his mind.

“Wait a moment.”

The voice, which seemed to belong to the chubby examiner, prompted Lu Ran to stop and turn back lazily toward the three Unique-grade examiners who were watching him with interest.

“What’s the matter?” Lu Ran asked.

The white-haired examiner chuckled.

“I noticed that your familiar’s level isn’t very high. This forest could be dangerous for you. For safety’s sake, I advise you not to venture too deep. With your culinary skills, you can easily pass by selecting any ordinary ingredient.”

Damn.

Lu Ran hadn’t expected these three examiners to be so kind as to specially remind him about his safety.

“Understood. Thank you.”

He nodded before entering the forest with Captain Doofus, who playfully stuck out its tongue at the examiners.

The three examiners exchanged looks.

“This Sudden Death King may have strong culinary skills, but his familiar’s level is only around 10. Even the outskirts of the forest often have creatures with hunting levels of 10 to 20.”

“No need to worry. Frost Moon House must have provided him with a test map,” the female examiner said.

“You can’t be too sure. Most geniuses are perfectionists and have their pride. If something happens to any other participant, it’s one thing. But if a rare talent with Culinary Intent were to meet with an accident, wouldn’t it be a pity?”

The white-haired old man laughed and then, to the surprise of the other two, summoned a giant clam. From the clam’s pristine pearl, an image of Lu Ran and Captain Doofus inside the forest was displayed.

“Master, isn’t this...?” the plump examiner exclaimed.

“Yes. It’s a Domain Clam. It can monitor everything within areas it has previously visited. Before coming to Cang Lan Province as an examiner, I took it for a stroll around this forest.”

“Isn’t that the legendary beast capable of peeping on widows bathing?” the chubby examiner exclaimed.

He was promptly sent flying several meters by a single kick from the female examiner.

“Still, having the Domain Clam will make supervising this test much easier. Where did you even get this thing?” the female examiner asked enviously.

“That’s a trade secret,” the old man replied with a smile, focusing his attention on the pearl, which now resembled a television screen.

***

“

Woof!

”

Captain Doofus barked as they entered the forest, and Lu Ran stopped to think briefly.

“This way.”

Following the map in his memory, Lu Ran aimed for a lake as Manager Long had advised him to simply catch a fish.

To perfectly display the combination of Ice Culinary Intent and ingredient quality, Lu Ran, who had no fire-based culinary skills and only mastery of knife techniques, figured sashimi would be the least risky choice.

However, fishing was a skill in itself. If possible, Lu Ran hoped to catch Rare-quality fish.

While the ascension mission only required him to make a Unique-grade dish and pass the Unique-grade Chef Assessment, the mission would also be scored. The better his performance, the higher his score.

Lu Ran’s perfectionist tendencies had been accurately guessed. He aimed for excellence. Although Treasure-Class ingredients were out of reach in this area, securing Rare-quality ingredients seemed like a reasonable goal. His target was Dragonfish Lake.

The lake was located relatively deep within Cang Lan Forest. It was rumored to be home to dragonfish on the verge of evolving into flood dragons.

Even the most basic dragonfish meat was Advanced-grade. Dragonfish with advanced evolution could provide Rare-quality meat. However, reaching the lake would not be easy.

“This guy isn’t listening to advice,” the white-haired examiner remarked as the three supervisors watched Lu Ran head straight into the depths of the forest, ignoring all common ingredients along the way.

Their brows furrowed.

If this continued, the young genius with Culinary Intent would undoubtedly face danger.

Their concern was quickly justified when Lu Ran wandered into the habitat of Tusked Boars.

Four tusked boars, gnawing on thorn bushes, turned their bloodthirsty red eyes toward the intruder.

“These four boars are each around level 15,” the old examiner observed grimly.

Outnumbered four to one. This isn’t good!

But the next moment, the examiners froze. Lu Ran didn’t react to the charging boars. Instead, he continued walking forward nonchalantly. A moment later, a frosty blue greatsword materialized in his hand.

Rather than using it himself, Lu Ran tossed the Frosty Sky Greatsword into the air. In an instant, Captain Doofus leaped up, caught the sword in its jaws, and landed softly.

The dog then became a blur, charging at the incoming boars with the speed of a gale.

Boom!

A tempest erupted and sword qi raged wildly, scattering countless leaves. The four boars were thrown into the air by the blast, and the examiners witnessed something that would be etched into their memories forever.

The boars’ skin exhibited the same knife marks as the Rock Ox from yesterday. Then, mid-air, the animals dismembered into precise cuts of pristine meat, which rained down like a culinary masterpiece.

“What!? What!?” the chubby examiner gawked, staring at Captain Doofus, who elegantly sheathed the sword.

Meanwhile, the falling pieces of boar meat never even hit the ground. Lu Ran calmly collected them into his storage as he walked by.

“This...”

The three examiners were utterly speechless. They had been too busy with the prior day’s assessments to review Lu Ran’s performance, and now they were stunned.

This dog’s butchering skills were even more violent and efficient than Lu Ran’s knife techniques yesterday.

What was this? What kind of monster was this? More importantly, how could a level 10 familiar instantly annihilate four level 15 Tusked Boars?

“Is this familiar a Champion Species?” the female examiner asked.

“No, it’s only a Transcendent Species,” the white-haired examiner replied.

“But that sword. It’s at least Rare-quality. The craftsmanship is unlike anything I’ve seen before. I wonder which master forged it.”

The three examiners fell silent and resumed watching. At least now they understood why Lu Ran dared to venture so deep into the forest.

“It doesn’t seem like he intends to use the boar meat for his dish...”

Lu Ran and Captain Doofus moved quickly. Any unfortunate beasts that crossed their path were instantly butchered by the dog and stored as potential ingredients. Before long, they reached Dragonfish Lake.

Finally, the examiners realized Lu Ran’s plan.

“Pork doesn’t align with Ice Culinary Intent. He’s aiming to make sashimi,” the chubby examiner said, already drooling at the thought.

Just imagining the potential flavor of fish enhanced by Ice-attribute Culinary Intent made him salivate.

“But isn’t that dog a Wind-attribute familiar? It probably isn’t the best at swimming. Dragonfish are as fierce as sharks and dwell at the bottom of the lake. Catching one won’t be easy,” the female examiner noted, puzzled.

How will he catch a fish? Will he try fishing? Perhaps this Sudden Death King was also skilled in fishing, a crucial skill for a gourmet hunter...

Her thoughts were interrupted as she once again fell silent.

Because it wasn’t fishing. It was spearfishing.

“Sword control!” Lu Ran commanded.

Captain Doofus, having trained for a month, finally demonstrated its newly mastered skill. The Frosty Sky Greatsword left the dog’s jaws, soaring into the sky like a comet before plunging into the lake with the force of a meteor.

A moment later, water erupted as a massive block of ice, encasing a half-meter-long dragonfish, rose from the depths.

The dragonfish’s eyes reflected confusion, as if asking,

What just happened?

“

Woof! Woof!

”

Captain Doofus barked in dissatisfaction. It found using such a refined skill to catch fish demeaning, utterly unworthy of its majestic image.

Weaponized culinary techniques and spearfishing. It was no wonder Old Jiang often gritted his teeth in frustration over Lu Ran.