Chef God of the Wuxia and Fantasy World

"Oh dear! Don't let that person spoil the fun." Shan Wanjing, who ultimately had no feelings for Zhu Yuyan, immediately picked up a braised lion's head and put it into Shan Meixian's bowl: "Mom, try it, it's delicious."

Shan Meixian smiled helplessly: "You..."

……

With the reappearance of Peach Blossom Island, representatives from countless factions have flocked there. They have two purposes: first, to savor the local cuisine, and second, to try and cultivate a good relationship with Peach Blossom Island. If they could receive assistance from Peach Blossom Island in the future, it would be of immense help to their factions. Even if they didn't receive assistance, simply having Peach Blossom Island refrain from interfering in their affairs would be considered a great blessing.

Many factions are well-informed, and they know that the reason why the righteous martial arts sect, represented by Cihang Jingzhai, was able to destroy the demonic sect so quickly was that Ling Chi was secretly helping Cihang Jingzhai.

Putting aside other things, just look at the fact that Shi Feixuan went to Peach Blossom Island for two years of guidance and successfully broke through to the Grandmaster realm. This shows Ling Chi's support for Cihang Jingzhai.

Although Shi Feixuan was unlucky and was killed by Wanwan not long after leaving the island, Ling Chi went to Cihang Jingzhai afterward. A month later, Fan Qinghui broke through to the Grandmaster realm, while Wanwan of the Yin Gui Sect disappeared without a trace.

Even a fool would know that this must be the result of Ling Chi's intervention.

Unfortunately, Zhu Yuyan also broke through to the Grandmaster realm, which gave the Yin Gui Sect a chance to catch its breath. However, a few months later, with Liao Kong of Jing Nian Temple also breaking through to the Grandmaster realm, Zhu Yuyan and the Yin Gui Sect could not hold on any longer.

Just two months later, the Yin Gui Sect and the Demonic Sect were destroyed, and Cihang Jingzhai achieved a complete victory.

This victory greatly excited Li Shimin and the soldiers of the Tian Ce Mansion, but the morale of Li Jiancheng's side plummeted.

Now that the Demonic Sect has been destroyed, Li Jiancheng has lost his supporters in the martial arts world, while Li Shimin has gained the full support of Cihang Jingzhai. This has a huge impact on the two sides. If Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng were evenly matched before, Li Shimin has now gained a complete lead.

It is said that Li Yuan was somewhat depressed during this period. For an emperor, the worst thing is not having a good successor, but he not only had one, he had two. Unfortunately, the younger brother was more talented than the older brother and received more support, which was a fatal problem.

Since ancient times, China has always followed the principle of primogeniture, with Li Jiancheng being the crown prince and the best choice to inherit the throne. However, the second son, Li Shimin, was simply too outstanding, and his military prowess was exceptional. Most of the Tang Dynasty's territory was conquered by Li Shimin, and in terms of merit, there was absolutely no problem with him inheriting the throne.

The dilemma Li Yuan is facing now is like a modern girlfriend asking her boyfriend, "If I and your mother fell into the water at the same time, who would you save first?" It's practically a life-or-death question.

Fortunately, the world is still divided among many warlords. It will take some time for the Tang Dynasty to unify the country. During this period, Li Yuan can continue to observe, and perhaps the answer will be revealed then.

But precisely because so many heroes stood side by side, even though they knew that Ling Chi supported Li Shimin, they still wanted to maintain good relations with him.

In the struggle for supremacy, the victor ultimately reigns supreme, but the losers cannot simply watch themselves perish. Therefore, they needed to leave themselves a way out, and that way out was to cultivate a relationship with Ling Chi, hoping that after their defeat, Li Shimin would spare their lives out of consideration for this relationship.

With this in mind, representatives from various factions kept ordering the most expensive dishes after arriving at Peach Blossom Island, which made Ling Chi beam with joy for several days. It seems like making money is easier than before?

It wasn't until a few days later, when these people subtly made their request, that Ling Chi realized they were there to buy his life; no wonder they were so generous.

Ling Chi readily agreed: "Don't worry, if your master really loses to my brother-in-law in the future, I will definitely plead for them."

"Thank you, Island Master Ling! Thank you, Island Master Ling!" The representatives were extremely excited. They had been eating at public expense for several days and finally got the job done. Otherwise, they really wouldn't have been able to go back and explain themselves.

Ling Chi sneered inwardly: I'm just pleading for you, but if Shimin wants to kill you, I can't stop him.

……

After these representatives of various forces completed their missions and left Peach Blossom Island one after another, business on Peach Blossom Island gradually stabilized, and even fewer people came to eat there than before.

It's not that the food on Peach Blossom Island has become unpalatable; rather, the world is in chaos, the economy is declining, and all those big clients from before have no money left.

Chapter Forty-Nine Martial Arts Talent

"This can't go on!" Seeing that her income had decreased by almost half, Ling Chi felt it was necessary to make a change.

"What does brother want to do?" Shuang'er asked.

"The world must be pacified as soon as possible, and the economy must be developed quickly so that everyone has money in their hands. Only then will business on Peach Blossom Island get better and better," Ling Chi said.

"It's easier said than done." Huang Rong peeled peanuts and said, "Even Emperor Taizong of Tang in history had to fight for several years! And there was the Xuanwu Gate Incident, these are all troublesome."

“Hehe, this world is not the world of history.” Ling Chi smiled and said, “Moreover, now that Cihang Jingzhai is backing up that kid Shimin, and Feima Ranch is providing warhorses, Dongming Sect is providing weapons, and I am providing food and fodder, if Shimin still can’t end the war in the short term, then he’s too useless.”

What is war really about? When combat strength is equal, it's all about logistics. Whoever has sufficient funds and supplies, and can wage a longer, protracted war, will ultimately prevail.

Currently, all the warlords in the land are living off the legacy of the Sui Dynasty, but they haven't done a good job in developing the lives of the people under their rule. They're getting poorer and poorer every year from fighting, and their fighting strength is declining year by year. But Li Shimin is different. He has enough soldiers, food, and warhorses, and he also has the strategists and fierce generals of the Tian Ce Mansion. His fighting strength is getting stronger with each battle. Coupled with his own abilities, he has been victorious in the past two years, and he has basically conquered all the territories in the west.

In comparison, although Li Jiancheng had also achieved some successes, they were nothing compared to Li Shimin. Ling Chi believed that Li Shimin would definitely unify the country much earlier than he had in history.

As for Xuanwu Gate...

"Brother Ling, are you trying to get involved?" Huang Rong asked.

“Why should I get involved?” Ling Chi shook his head: “With so many experts from Cihang Jingzhai and Jingnian Chanyuan, we can easily fool Li Yuan by sending just a few over there. As long as Li Yuan passes the crown prince position to Shimin, the Xuanwu Gate incident will not have happened.”

"Is Cihang Jingzhai any good?" Huang Rong asked doubtfully.

"Feixuan will be sad to hear this," Ling Chi said with a smile.

"Oh dear! I forgot about Sister Feixuan." Huang Rong stuck out her tongue and said with a charming smile, "Brother Ling, please don't tell her."

"Don't worry! I won't tell." Ling Chi smiled and said, "Business isn't as good as before, so you should practice your magic more often!"

When magic was mentioned, Huang Rong and Shuang'er sighed repeatedly.

Unlike Ling Chi, who consumed the fire elemental root and possessed excellent foundations in the other six elemental roots, their own elemental roots were extremely weak, almost guaranteeing that they would never be destined for magic. However, their martial arts talent was considerable, as evidenced by their comprehension of the War God's Manual.

One mastered the "Strangulation Space" technique, and the other mastered the "Ultra-Long-Range Sniping" technique. Among all the recruits, they possessed exceptional talent, second only to Qiao Feng, Linghu Chong, and Xiaolongnu.

Qiao Feng and Xiaolongnü were not unexpected; one was a war god, and the other was the purest-hearted person, both with astonishing martial arts talent. However, Linghu Chong was somewhat unexpected.

This senior disciple of the Huashan Sect had remained low-key for many years, his greatest pleasures being brewing and drinking wine, a unique pursuit for him. But it was he who, in the process of studying the War God's Manual, actually comprehended a martial art called "Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Origin".

After watching his demonstration, Ling Chi was completely stunned, because this "Ten Thousand Swords Return to One" looked exactly like the ultimate skill of the Shu Mountain Sect in "The Legend of Sword and Fairy" - the Ten Thousand Swords Technique.

This [Ten Thousand Swords Return to One] is purely a sword-transformation technique, condensing countless tiny sword energies around the user, allowing for attacks at close, medium, and long ranges. Its power is astonishing, comparable to Shuang'er's long-range sniping, and it's also an area-of-effect skill.

However, the consumption of spiritual energy by the "Ten Thousand Swords Return to One" technique is also astonishing. Basically, one use of it will consume thirty years' worth of spiritual energy. Given Linghu Chong's current level, he can only use it three times at a time.

Of course, this isn't a problem. As long as you carry some food to restore your true energy, you can launch multiple sweeping attacks on the enemy. The scene was too beautiful for Ling Chi to even imagine.

In short, after being a nobody for over a thousand years, Linghu Chong finally got his moment of glory, and even Ren Yingying started to look at him differently. It's said that the two have been seeing each other more frequently lately, and seem to have developed feelings for one another.

Ling Chi was very pleased. If the two of them could really get together, it would not have been in vain for his decision to recruit Ren Yingying on a whim.

Compared to Linghu Chong's Ten Thousand Swords Return to One, Xiaolongnu and Qiao Feng's are in no way inferior, and may even be slightly better.

The technique Xiaolongnu mastered from the War God's Manual is the [Ice and Snow Domain]. Centered on her, everything within a hundred meters will turn into a frozen wasteland. Within this domain, the temperature drops to around minus two hundred degrees Celsius, and the snowflakes falling from the sky possess an extremely terrifying cold that will instantly cause frostbite if they land on the skin.

Ling Chi tried it himself, and even with his physique reaching a strength of ten thousand, his skin turned purple from the cold. If it was like this for him, wouldn't anyone else instantly turn into an ice sculpture?

Moreover, this [Ice and Snow Domain] isn't just filled with falling snow; there are also icicles 'patrolling' back and forth. Snowflakes can be considered 'magical attacks,' but icicles are undeniably 'physical attacks.'

The icicles were not only extremely cold, but also extremely sharp. Ling Chi stood in the [Ice and Snow Domain] for a minute, and not only did his skin turn purple from the cold, but it was also cut open by the icicles, leaving him with many small wounds and covered in blood.

Fortunately, they were all superficial injuries. With his powerful regenerative abilities, he recovered almost instantly after leaving the [Ice and Snow Domain]. But this was enough to prove how terrifying the Little Dragon Girl's [Ice and Snow Domain] was.

Even someone with his strong physique got injured, so what would happen to someone else?

Although Xiaolongnu's "Ice and Snow Domain" was terrifying, Qiao Feng's understanding of it wasn't terrifying, but rather that it would make people call him "Dad".

Have you ever seen golden dragons soaring through the sky? Hundreds of giant golden dragons, flying all over the sky, exuding an aura of dominance.

When Qiao Feng first unleashed hundreds of golden dragons that filled the sky, all the livestock in the pasture knelt down, trembling in submission.

The Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms already possessed an imposing nature, but Qiao Feng, through his understanding of the War God Manual, actually transformed the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms into the 'Lushan Hundred Dragons Overlord'.

Dude, are you sure you haven't seen Saint Seiya?

That's incredibly powerful.

Huang Rong had originally mastered the [Strangulation Space] and was so proud of herself that she thought she was invincible. But after seeing Linghu Chong's [Ten Thousand Swords Return to One], Xiaolongnu's [Ice and Snow Domain], and Qiao Feng's [Golden Dragon Overlord], she immediately tucked her tail between her legs and said: "Big boss, please have some tea."

Chapter Fifty Green Light

Ling Chi said he wouldn't interfere in Li Shimin's affairs, but he still did.

Lingchi initially sent Li Shimin a 100,000-strong army with enough food to last a year, but now that Li Shimin has almost finished it off, Lingchi sent him another large batch of grain and fodder. This time, in addition to grain and fodder, there was also cured meat that could be preserved for a long time, as well as dehydrated vegetables, bottled vegetable oil, and enough sea salt.

These are all good things, enough to provide his soldiers with sufficient nutrition and sustenance. In this era where having enough to eat is the greatest happiness, this batch of supplies from Lingchi can be said to have given Li Shimin the greatest support.

When Ling Chi personally delivered the goods to Li Shimin, Li Shimin trembled with excitement.

What excited Li Shimin the most was sea salt.

"This...this crystal clear liquid, it's salt!?" Li Shimin looked at the large wooden barrel full of sea salt in front of him, tasted a little with his tongue, and found it salty; it was indeed salt.

Ling Chi chuckled: "Not bad, right? This is salt that I personally sifted through seawater."

"Seawater?" Li Shimin was shocked. "Brother Ling, this salt is made by drying seawater? You can get salt just by drying seawater?"

"Almost, it just takes a few steps." Ling Chi saw the gleam in his eyes, smiled slightly, and said, "Want it?"

Li Shimin nodded repeatedly, then, as if remembering something, said, "I know how much wealth is contained in this salt-making method, so I can buy the finished salt from Brother Ling."

"Don't try to put on a good show, kid." Ling Chi waved his hand and said, "This salt-making method is nothing to me. If you want it, I'll give it to you."

"Thank you so much, Brother Ling!" Li Shimin knelt down before Ling Chi.

Ling Chi was stunned for a moment, and the soldiers around Li Shimin were also stunned.

"What are you doing, kid?" Ling Chi helped him up. "What kind of status do you have that you're kneeling for? Get up now."

"Brother Ling, I just knelt down on behalf of the people. Thank you, Brother Ling, for solving the problem of having no salt to eat."

These words filled the soldiers with awe and respect. Their gazes toward Li Shimin were filled with admiration and fervor, and their loyalty to him increased significantly.

What a wise and enlightened ruler!

"..." Ling Chi looked at Li Shimin speechlessly. This kid actually used his brother to win people's hearts.

Seeing Ling Chi's reaction, Li Shimin probably knew that his little tricks wouldn't fool his discerning eyes. But that was normal. In his eyes, Ling Chi was no different from a celestial being. It would be strange if he could fool a celestial being.

"Alright, you're already this upset about just a salt-making method. What would you do if I gave you a method to increase grain production?" Ling Chi said.

"What!?" This time, not only Li Shimin, but all the soldiers were shocked.

"A method to increase grain production!?" Li Shimin excitedly grabbed Ling Chi's arms, his eyes burning with fervor: "Brother Ling, is there really such a divine technique!?"

"..." Feeling the fervent, even fanatical, gazes of Li Shimin and all the soldiers, Ling Chi nodded: "Indeed."

With a thud, Li Shimin knelt down again. This time, not only him, but everyone present knelt down.

"I beg Brother Ling to teach the people of the world the methods to increase grain production!" Li Shimin kowtowed to the ground.

"Please, Lord Ling, teach the people of the world the methods to increase grain production!" Everyone banged their foreheads together so hard they were bleeding profusely.

"..."

This was the first time Ling Chi had ever experienced such a scene. Hundreds of people were kneeling in front of him, and even soldiers in the distance, upon hearing what these people were saying and doing, followed suit and knelt down to kowtow.

When he heard their overwhelming pleas for him to teach him methods to increase grain production, he felt a surge of emotion, a sense of responsibility, and a touch of mission.

In this era where even having enough to eat is difficult, salt is merely an added bonus, while increased grain production is a lifeline. Everyone present wasn't kneeling before him, but before their own lives.