Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 124 I wonder how much of their food ended up in the judges' mouths~ (4K Bonus Chapter)

Judges' Room

Wei Yan, who was sitting upright, was completely distraught.

He can understand how to boil sugarcane juice, how to use high heat to speed up the process, and how to use a ladle (lifting the ladle).

But when he put all three together, he couldn't quite understand it!

Is it theoretically feasible to evaporate water in this way?

feasible
The problem is, judging from the current bubbling of the sugarcane juice, the temperature must definitely be over 100℃.

In normal operations, novices would never dare to directly throw liquids of this strength; it's too dangerous.

Even experienced masters can only stretch it to 25cm, and if they push it harder, it's only 30cm to 40cm.

Wei Yan estimated that if he were to operate it, it would be at most 40cm.

But in the video at this moment, Xia Ming, with the spoon, stretched it to nearly 70cm.

Otherwise, He He wouldn't have said that what she saw was the Milky Way.
"Is this some kind of showing off? Besides, it doesn't make any sense!"

Wei Yan felt that such an operation, apart from looking dangerous and beautiful, was completely meaningless!
The so-called increase in evaporation is negligible; it might only save you about two minutes in the end.

Just as he was pondering this, he suddenly realized that Xia Ming was no longer satisfied with simply pulling the ladle; he had started showing off his acrobatic skills on the spot!
The spatula danced merrily in his hand, swirling with sugarcane juice, the juice looking like giant dragons soaring freely in the air!
This action naturally attracted the attention of the AI ​​camera.

He managed to squeeze out about ten seconds from the intense competition among the crowd to showcase Xia Ming's talent.

The viewers in the live stream were stunned when they saw this.

They had seen people make soup and sugar before, but they had never seen anyone play with "sugarcane juice" so directly.

The key is that you see sugarcane juice as water, Xia Ming's movements as a pen, and you can even see that he is writing calligraphy in mid-air.

【No way, this guy's gone way off the charts! He's doing some kind of juggling act!】

[Fly, Straight, and Three saw these words!]

[The waterfall plunges three thousand feet, damn it! While others are cooking, he's practicing calligraphy?]

[I don't understand, so I'm asking. Is there any expert who can tell me the purpose of doing this?]

[I'm not a big shot, just a chef who's been cooking for 30 years. Looking at it from all angles, I think this move is most likely just for showing off!]

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The comment section was flooded with silence, and several veteran chefs believed that this did not help in making sugarcane juice.

But it's quite helpful for getting attention.
What they didn't know was that this answer was only half right.
As Xia Ming lifted the spatula in his hand again, the sugarcane juice underneath had reached the temperature he had set.

Indeed, from an urban perspective, this operation is no different from directly boiling sugarcane juice. Xia Ming did this front-facing camera mainly to get more screen time.

However, as a cook in the Blood Blade Sect, his abilities cannot be measured by ordinary standards.

Although they couldn't master the Blood Blade Sect's secret techniques, they could only use some basic abilities.

But the reason why the Demonic Sect is the Demonic Sect is because, in some aspects, they arrive much faster than the righteous path.

"Calculated according to the cultivation system of the Nine Provinces Continent!"

"Initial acquaintance, Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Saint Rank, Tribulation Transcending, Ascension"

"Ordinary cultivators on the righteous path are basically unable to control their spiritual power before they first encounter this stage; this is called 'entry-level'."

"The time required to enter the beginner level can vary. Those with good comprehension can accumulate enough spiritual energy in three months to enter the initial stage, while those with poor comprehension can still achieve some results in three years."

"However, in most sects, the initial stage of 'Initial Understanding' doesn't even allow for the cultivation of spells; at most, one can be several times stronger than an ordinary person in terms of physique or energy."

"Because at this moment, their Qi Sea is not yet fully formed, and spiritual energy can only be absorbed and circulate around their bodies."

"Being able to use ordinary sword techniques and extend skills through weapons is a privilege reserved for large sects. Basically, at this stage, the only thing the righteous path can do is accelerate cultivation and truly enter the 'Initial Understanding' stage."

Thinking of this, Xia Ming smiled slightly.

"However, the Blood Blade Sect's abilities do not entirely originate from their Qi Sea. To be more precise, Blood Blade Sect cultivators possess two Qi Seas."

"One is used to store blood soul, and the other is used to store spiritual energy. When cultivating, you can choose between the two. Using blood soul is equivalent to relying on the bloodline power of external spirit beasts, while cultivating spiritual energy comes from your own circulation."

"This choice allows Blood Blade Sect disciples to activate some basic abilities from the very beginning, unlike the 'Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion,' where disciples train for three years and still can only wield weapons."

"But everything has its advantages and disadvantages. The Blood Fusion Demon Cultivation Method gives you two paths. Before reaching the Golden Core stage, you can even directly use Blood Soul to forcefully increase your level."

"However, the path to breaking through to the Golden Core stage is extremely difficult, because the requirement for breaking through to the Golden Core stage is to merge the two Qi Seas into one."

"If your spiritual energy sea is depleted, you will be completely devoured by the Blood Soul. In that case, you will only be able to take the Blood Blade Sect's other path, 'Blood Frenzy.'"

Xia Ming took a deep breath as he thought of this.

The Blood Frenzy cultivation style, an internal training method, is quite controversial even within the Blood Blade Sect. Not only is its upper limit limited to the early Nascent Soul stage, but it also suffers from the gradual disintegration of the body due to the increasing backlash from the Blood Soul.
Furthermore, simply having a berserk bloodline cannot increase lifespan. It's like spending decades in arduous cultivation to gain a few years of glory, and then quickly withering away.

"Even Blood Blade Demon Ancestor himself couldn't solve this problem. In history, there has never been anyone who walked this path and didn't die. The longest-lived one was less than 115 years old."

For a Golden Core cultivator, 115 years old is practically an unrealistic description of someone who dies young.
However, it must be said that before reaching the Golden Core stage, especially before the Qi Refining stage, the Blood Blade Sect disciples were incredibly powerful in combat.

Even if that strength was acquired through external plunder, in the precarious world of the Nine Provinces, such things were a completely acceptable price for those who had nowhere else to turn.

Otherwise, the Blood Blade Sect wouldn't have flourished so much.
As for why it ultimately perished, Xia Ming himself didn't know, as he was at a level where he couldn't understand it.
Turning our attention back to the present, Xia Ming's constant actions were primarily aimed at concealing the situation inside the pot.

In the city, there are actually ways to quickly concentrate sugarcane juice using science. At least Xia Ming knows that it can be done using vacuum or centrifugal force.

But those things all require equipment to assist them.

For Xia Ming, there was no need for such trouble.

All you need to do is burn your blood essence and quietly remove some of the water from the pot.

This heating method differs from the temperature rise brought by a flame; it's more like removing the water directly from the pot.

However, since it's a live stream, the actions are too direct and fast, which might arouse suspicion.

Therefore, Xia Ming decided to package it as a "unique skill" or a technique.

At that moment, as the juice on the spoon slid back into the pot, he quietly removed most of the water.

The water that was removed would first rise with the steam, and then, unnoticed by everyone, Xia Ming would quietly toss it onto the glass. From an outsider's perspective, this was a perfectly normal condensation phenomenon.

As for why it solidifies so quickly, most people wouldn't even think about it.

It can't be that the contestants were practicing demonic arts and then used their spiritual power to force the water out, right?
Using this method, Xia Ming obtained the desired concentrated sugarcane juice in half the time required for normal extraction.

He could have been even faster if he hadn't considered the logic a little.

"This is where the advantage of having inventory comes in."

"During the seven-day waiting period, I also found a relatively stable source of supply. Although pig blood is a bit more expensive in Guangzhou and Shenzhen than in Sichuan and Chongqing, it's good to have it at all."

Although pig's blood is not very helpful for his breakthrough now, it is still quite good for these kinds of tricks.

In a sense, he spends money to buy pig's blood, the pig's blood becomes blood spirit, and he uses blood spirit to make money, which can be considered a perfect cycle.

However, he is still too weak now. Even with the advantage of demonic arts, he still has a long way to go.
As for what to do about the Golden Elixir...
According to Xia Ming's investigation, in this city, let alone a Golden Core cultivator, even a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator could probably roam freely.

After he concentrated the sugarcane juice, the next step was to further refine the pork belly.

Although he didn't have much pork belly, he still lavishly trimmed off all the edges and corners.

"If we're going to keep something, we should keep the most core part. The issue of quantity wasn't the key consideration in this round of evaluation."

Xia Ming smiled and removed the parts that looked good, leaving only the best parts.

This arrogant attitude even made Wei Yan's eyes twitch backstage.

He figured it out.

Tan Zhifeng, who was standing to the side, laughed when he heard Wei Yan's words.

He actually thought highly of Xia Ming, otherwise he wouldn't have extended an olive branch before.

He didn't perform much on the show back then because someone was trying to keep him in check. Now that it's completely fair here, he naturally doesn't have to hold himself back.

"I told you from the beginning, don't underestimate him. How could someone who can cheat in front of the judges be fooled by a little trap?"

Thinking of this, Tan Zhifeng felt that earthy taste inexplicably rise in his mouth again.

"This kid is absolutely a genius, a well-rounded player, with almost no weaknesses!"

"I really don't know who could have cultivated such a person. It couldn't have just popped out of a rock or come from another time!"

Of course, Tan Zhifeng was just joking.

Yin Shengjiang, who was standing to the side, also nodded.

"He is indeed a promising talent, and this year's competition is much better than the last one."

"Keep a close eye on him. I think he really wants screen time. If he can advance with a high score this round, then we'll release another list of 'star players.'"

"We'll add his name then."

Upon hearing Yin Shengjiang's words, Wei Yan gasped.

“No, Brother Jiang, I know this kid is really strong, but the ‘New Chef Competition’ has never announced a ‘star contestant’ before there are only 64 contestants left.”

"What's being said outside is just that—rumored. But if we acknowledge it, things change!"

He knew that the list of 50 contestants sent out by "Shi Ping Dao" had caused a huge stir online, but from the perspective of the competition organizers, under fair competition conditions, it was not up to them to decide who would make it to the end.

Even star players can falter, and dark horses will gradually emerge.

Announcing the list in advance basically means that the competition organizers are giving the people on the list a boost in exposure.

Even if they were already in the industry, this is still quite a bit of exposure, since it's like a direct endorsement from above.

If these athletes don't achieve suitable rankings in subsequent competitions, it's hard to say whether this will ultimately cause public outcry.

Yin Shengjiang laughed.

"What's wrong with it? It's just a list of celebrities. We'll make it clear that it's based on the overall scores of the current contestants. Don't just look at the bad; sometimes, look at the good aspects too."

"After the form is sent out, other contestants who did not submit their forms will find that the competition organizers will reward ambitious and strong contestants. In this case, they may unleash even greater strength."

"Humans are amazing creatures. Many people are destroyed under pressure, while many others can unleash even greater strength when faced with pressure."

“We never said that the New Chef Competition is the domain of culinary families. Who says ordinary people don’t have the right to become stars? Wei Yan, don’t forget how you climbed up here.”

Upon hearing Yin Shengjiang's words, Wei Yan paused for a moment, then nodded.

He knew that it was normal for Yin Shengjiang to think this way, because he himself had climbed up from the bottom.

Before becoming Wang Yijun's apprentice, he worked odd jobs in the kitchen for five years. He went from a graduate who failed to get into a vocational school to a "Level 8" chef, thanks to his talent and years of hard work.

He was arguably the least prejudiced among chefs of his generation, which is why he was chosen to serve as the chief judge.

It is extremely objective, without any discrimination or suppression based on social status, giving everyone a chance while requiring them to give their utmost effort.

This is Yin Shengjiang.
As the judges quickly decided on Xia Ming in the judging room, Xia Ming's braised pork entered the final stage of reducing the sauce in the competition arena.

Looking at the fragrant braised pork in the pot, Xia Ming glanced at the time on the big screen.

"An hour and a half has passed in total, it should be about time~"

As he spoke, he placed exactly 16 pieces of braised pork into a plate that had been prepared earlier, then carefully cleaned up the sauce around the pork before pressing the "finish" button.

After confirming that he was done, the program crew took him to the tasting room.

From here, dishes can be placed into the conveyor belt through eight openings, numbered 1 to 8.

The staff explained that the eight openings are essentially the same; the position of the opening only indicates the initial position of the food entering. After all the food enters, it will go around clockwise for a full circle.

After glancing at the approximate seating arrangement on the screen and finding that it didn't really have much of an impact, Xia Ming put the braised pork directly into the car through gate number 1.

As the conveyor belt brought the braised pork to the judges' table, the judges, who had been yawning, instantly perked up.

They smelled an extremely strong pork aroma, which also carried a hint of refreshing plum flavor.

The aroma was irresistibly tempting to the judges who had spent the entire morning evaluating fried rice.
Seeing the judges' actions, Xia Ming smiled slightly.

"The organizers only said the judges didn't have lunch, but they didn't say they didn't eat breakfast this morning!"

"I feel sorry for the contestants before me. I wonder how much of their dishes actually made it into the judges' mouths?"

(End of this chapter)