Genshin Impact, the spear remains.

And so, time flies, and ten years have passed in a flash.

Standing quietly to one side in the somewhat noisy restaurant, Mrs. Mao watched the two people inside.

Time hasn't left many marks on her face, but it has transformed the little girl next to her from a waddling baby into a graceful cook.

So why did it turn out this way?

The woman held her forehead and sighed inwardly, unable to understand how things had developed to this point.

"Twenty-two against five, Bai Qiyun wins!"

Tian Tiezui, the famous storyteller of Liyue Harbor, counted the votes in the ballot box, stood in the center of the hall, and loudly announced the result of the duel between the two young chefs.

Sparse applause rang out. The audience consisted of people who had come during the break to act as judges. Once the competition ended, they all left.

"So that's enough, there's no need to compete anymore."

Upon hearing the result, Bai Qiyun breathed a sigh of relief and put his mind at ease.

Ten years have transformed the young child into a young man, who, though not yet of age, already exudes the charm of a Liyue man.

Standing seven feet tall with a head of energetic short hair, Bai Qiyun's somewhat resolute face showed deep weariness due to the girl's relentless pursuit.

Upon hearing the results announced by Tian Tiezui, Xiangling immediately deflated.

Ten years have passed, and the two have faced off ten times.

Unfortunately, she didn't win even once in those ten matches. It could be said that Bai Qiyun alone accounted for all of Xiangling's defeats in cooking duels throughout her culinary career.

"Hmph~"

However, she is not someone who gets discouraged easily, otherwise she wouldn't have come to challenge this guy for ten consecutive years.

However, losing to someone less than a year younger than her in a row like this made her feel a little annoyed.

She was very confident this time, but she still lost so cleanly and decisively. It's a real pity.

No, no, I must work twice as hard and win next time!

Looking at the girl whose confidence had suddenly been rekindled, Bai Qiyun sighed heavily and walked towards the door.

"Uncle Wang, please take care!"

After greeting the regular customers who had come to join in the fun, Bai Qiyun walked to the competition stage, picked up a piece of Xiangling's dish, and put it in his mouth.

Bai Qiyun suspected that this guy must remember too clearly the time when he secretly ate spicy chili peppers and cried as a child, which made her now almost unable to cook without spicy food.

The intense spiciness made his tongue tremble even before the dish entered his mouth.

It's spicy, extremely spicy.

The moment it enters your mouth, an explosive burst of spiciness explodes within you.

After a short while, as the chili peppers subsided in my mouth, the freshness of the fish followed. As the spiciness diminished, the tender fish meat began to take center stage in my mouth.

After chewing, the fish meat goes down your throat, leaving a hint of natural sweetness on your tongue.

This spicy sea bass is Wanmintang's signature dish, and it can be said that Xiangling has grasped its essence, even exceeding expectations in some aspects.

The entire dish, from the moment it enters the mouth to the moment it is swallowed, flows smoothly with flavors like a clear spring, leaving no room for criticism. Its quality is exceptionally high.

In terms of seasoning, he has surpassed him in every aspect.

If he hadn't used some tricks, they probably would have lost today.

Thinking of this, Bai Qiyun's expression showed both solemnity and relaxation.

"Mr. Zhongli, I've lost again..."

Although Xiangling is not the type of person who can't get back up after falling down, she still felt a little unbalanced after losing so many times in a row.

And this was in front of the gentleman who had guided the two of them for many years.

Several years ago, the culinary duels between the two began to reach a higher level. Judges randomly selected from the street could only offer meaningless opinions and could not provide any advice to the two. Moreover, Grandpa Bai and Chef Mao were busy with the business of the restaurant and could not give them guidance. Therefore, they invited Mr. Zhongli, a guest of Wangshengtang, to serve as the judge for the culinary duels between the two.

I've heard that he's knowledgeable about everything from astronomy to geography, and he seems to know almost everything about Liyue Harbor. Inviting him here would be the most appropriate thing to do.

Indeed, this was the case. Upon their arrival, Mr. Zhongli pointed out the shortcomings of the two, which greatly benefited these two who were just starting out in the culinary arts.

Therefore, for the two of them, Mr. Zhongli was both a teacher and a friend.

Having been defeated by her classmates several times in a row, it's no wonder that Xiangling felt somewhat inferior in their presence.

It's like a bad student seeing their teacher.

Upon hearing this, the man sitting in the chair smiled, picked up the teacup beside him, and took a sip.

A brown overcoat draped over his body fluttered in the wind. A pair of golden, diamond-shaped pupils lingered on the boy for a moment, then looked away after seeing Bai Qiyun's expression. He knew that the boy had already understood the problem.

Next up is this one...

Zhong Li closed his eyes for a moment before slowly speaking.

"Brother Bai must have already understood, but Xiangling, you still don't seem to understand why you lost."

"Huh? Isn't it because my cooking isn't good enough?"

Judging from Mr. Zhongli's words, it seems that the reason is not this?

Xiangling tilted her head and began to rack her brains, but no matter what she did, she couldn't figure out the reason, which gave the girl a headache.

Seeing this, Zhongli, with a gentle expression, pointed out the key point.

"Actually, if we only consider the quality of the dishes, you are better than me."

"Huh?!!"

The girl was somewhat shocked and looked at Bai Qiyun, who was standing expressionlessly to the side.

"Wanmintang's spicy sea bass perfectly embodies the four flavors of numbing spiciness and freshness, and your dish just now brought it to its fullest potential. While Brother Bai's dish was also very well-made, it still had some flaws. From this point of view, your dish is actually superior."

At this point, Zhong Li paused.

"But the problem lies outside of cooking. Although the sea bass you chose tastes delicious, as a fish, it still has the unavoidable problem of fish bones. Even though Liyue Harbor is located by the sea, there are still some people there who are not interested in this kind of bony sea fish."

"Moreover, the dish you chose is spicy sea bass. While the intense spiciness can whet the appetite, many people cannot handle that kind of pungent flavor. You might want to take a look at the plates of your guests."

Following Zhongli's gaze, the plates of the customers who had previously acted as judges had not yet been cleared away. Most of them had only taken a few bites of the spicy sea bass on their plates before leaving it unattended.

After letting Xiangling examine him for a while, he slowly spoke again.