Chef God of the Wuxia and Fantasy World

Li Shimin nodded.

After spending an afternoon learning about the crops, Li Shimin was deeply impressed, especially when he heard that potatoes and sweet potatoes could yield seven or eight thousand catties per mu. His heart pounded.

So exciting.

That evening, Ling Chi personally prepared various dishes for him using the grains and vegetables. Although the methods were simple, the taste was still excellent. Li Shimin was deeply moved by the meal: "With these grains and vegetables, the people of the world can not only eat their fill, but also eat very well. What Brother Ling has done is a great contribution to the present and a benefit to future generations!"

Ling Chi smiled slightly and patted him on the shoulder: "Do a good job, the future of the people is in your hands."

Li Shimin nodded solemnly, feeling a tremendous responsibility on his shoulders at that moment.

After dinner, Ling Chi did not linger. Under the reluctant gazes of Li Shimin, Empress Zhangsun, and his hundred underlings, he soared into the sky and disappeared into the night.

Chapter Fifty-Four: The Mysterious Middle-Aged Man

July, Peach Blossom Island.

Ling Chi has been back for a month, and business on Peach Blossom Island remains as slow as ever. With the Tang Dynasty unifying most of the north and northwest, the separatist forces in the south are terrified. Many have begun to tighten their belts and prepare for war in preparation for the Tang's southern campaign. As a result, business on Peach Blossom Island is declining day by day.

Ling Chi didn't care. After all, once the Tang Dynasty unified the world and began to develop the people's livelihood and economy, there would be more and more wealthy people, and Peach Blossom Island's business would only be better than before.

Ling Chi is currently most concerned about practicing magic. He has already mastered the recipes to 100% proficiency, and his proficiency in martial arts moves is almost full. However, his magic skills are mostly hovering between level 1 and 2, with only fire magic reaching level 5, which is a small consolation.

Like martial arts, magic becomes increasingly difficult to improve as you progress. Moreover, after cultivating for a long time, he discovered that magic before level 5 was not more powerful than martial arts, but its wonders only became apparent after fire magic reached level 5.

The level 5 fire spells have already developed a hint of sentience. For example, he can now conjure a firebird to attack enemies, and this firebird has the ability to automatically identify and attack enemies.

Ling Chi was shocked at the time, because if fire magic could automatically identify and attack enemies, then he would only need to consume spiritual power and would not need to do it himself.

This is like turning a manual car into a self-driving car, it's so awesome.

With the accelerated help of the Chef God Space, it's understandable that Ling Chi improved quickly. However, Shi Qingxuan and Shang Xiufang had only cultivated for two years, yet they had each cultivated their two elemental spells to level 3, which greatly surprised Ling Chi.

This cultivation speed is too fast!

He cultivated for decades before reaching level 5 in fire-based magic with a fire elemental root, while the two of them cultivated for only two years before reaching level 3 in their respective elemental root spells. There must be something wrong here.

"Shi Qingxuan and Shang Xiufang have higher levels of innate spiritual roots, and their cultivation speed is twice that of ordinary spiritual roots."

After listening to the system's explanation, he understood.

His fire elemental root was inherited from his stepmother, while Shi Qingxuan and Shang Xiufang's were born from their biological mothers, making them fundamentally different. In addition, he had too many spells to learn, as well as cookbooks and various skills. Even with the tenfold boost from the God of Cookery Space, he wouldn't have much more time to cultivate than the two women.

If he could concentrate on practicing fire magic in the God of Cookery Space for a hundred years, he might be able to reach the maximum level of fire magic.

But of course that's impossible. Reaching level 5 would be already quite good. Besides, ever since Little Dragon Girl, he's been used to the fact that his talent is inferior to others and he can't beat his wife.

The higher Shi Qingxuan and Shang Xiufang's talents, the better, because in the end they will all be his wings.

Ling Chi felt no urgency when it came to cultivation. Moreover, the Sui Dynasty's vast collection of books, which he had emptied a few years ago, contained many fascinating contents. He preferred to brew a pot of tea and read books while reclining in a chair when he had free time, which was truly one of life's greatest pleasures.

The weather was lovely today, the bright sun making people drowsy. There weren't many guests eating on Peach Blossom Island. Ling Chi moved a deck chair to the pavilion to cool off. The tea was already brewed. He lay down on the deck chair, casually took out a book from his spatial storage, and comfortably began to read.

The book he was reading was called "Lu Ban's Secret Manual," which recorded some techniques for mechanisms and construction. In his opinion, even by modern standards, these were very advanced techniques, requiring not only a high level of thinking ability but also an even higher level of hands-on ability. Fortunately, it wasn't too difficult for him; he could roughly simulate it in his mind and make the corresponding tools.

"Huh?" Ling Chi suddenly saw something interesting.

【Wooden Kite】: A kite made of wood that can fly for three days and three nights without landing.

Ling Chi sat up and carefully examined the parts and structural diagrams for making the wooden kite recorded on the bamboo slips. The more he looked, the brighter his eyes became. The method of making this wooden kite was complicated and had very high requirements for materials. Many parts were specifically marked in terms of material selection, such as what kind of hemlock tree or copper oil wood should be used. Ling Chi had heard of some of them, but not others. This showed that there were tree species in this world that did not exist in other worlds.

However, making this thing takes too much time. It would take an average person about half a year to complete, and even for Ling Chi himself, it would probably take a month.

It's not that he's slow, but many parts need to be processed in batches over a long period after they're made. Just the drying process alone takes five rounds, which takes a whole month.

Unless Ling Chi makes a lot at once, it will take a month to make just one.

The text details the manufacturing process, but doesn't describe the flying speed of the wooden kite. Furthermore, many types of wood are only named without their origin or description, which undoubtedly increases the difficulty of making the kite.

Ling Chi seemed to be deep in thought, and decided to try making an 'iron kite'.

Without hesitation, Ling Chi immediately went to the farm to discuss the making of iron kites with Pu Heng and Ou Yu.

"I never imagined that wooden kites actually existed in this world. I always thought it was just a legend." Pu Heng had also heard the story of Lu Ban making wooden kites in the world of Yitian, but stories are just stories and no one would take them seriously. He never expected that such a thing actually existed in this world. It's just that the materials are hard to find and the production process is complicated. No wonder this thing was lost.

“Replacing wood with steel…” Ou Yu pondered, “The materials are different. Even if it is made, its effectiveness cannot be guaranteed to be the same as the wooden kite. Does Young Master really want to do it?”

“Give it a try!” Ling Chi said, “You guys make the parts I need first, and I’ll assemble them myself.”

Ou Yu nodded. Since Ling Chi had made the decision, he only needed to obey orders.

……

While Pu Heng and Ou Yu were making parts on the farm, a long-awaited guest arrived on Peach Blossom Island.

"Huh?" When the maid in charge of greeting guests saw the man's appearance, she exclaimed in surprise, "Is this Mr. Wang?"

He was a middle-aged man dressed in brocade robes, with jet-black hair but graying temples. His appearance and demeanor were of the highest caliber, and even the maids felt their hearts race when they saw him.

"Indeed." The middle-aged man smiled slightly and asked, "Is Brother Ling on the island?"

"Yes, sir," the maidservant quickly replied. "Mr. Wang, please come with me."

"Thank you for your trouble." The middle-aged man clasped his hands in thanks, which made the maid wave her hands in a flustered manner.

Master!

……

Upon receiving the news, Ling Chi hurried over to the pavilion in the middle of the lake. When he saw the middle-aged man sitting there, he immediately burst into laughter: "Brother Wang, it's been a long time!"

The middle-aged man in brocade robes looked at Ling Chi and smiled slightly: "Brother Ling, how have you been?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Ling Chi strode up to the middle-aged man in brocade robes and put his hands on the man's arms. "Brother Wang, where have you been all these years? I've been looking for you everywhere!"

"Hehe, I love to travel the world and have no fixed abode. How could Brother Ling possibly find me?" The middle-aged man in brocade smiled slightly. "But Brother Ling, you haven't changed at all over the years."

"Brother Wang, you haven't changed at all!" Ling Chi laughed. "Brother Wang's visit this time has truly brought honor to Peach Blossom Island. Please wait a moment, the dishes are cooking and will be served shortly."

The middle-aged man in brocade robes laughed and said, "What, can't I even order food?"

“Of course.” Ling Chi immediately handed him the menu: “Brother Wang, please order whatever you like. I’ll give you a 5% discount.”

The middle-aged man in brocade chuckled lightly: "It's really not easy to get Brother Ling to give a discount, but isn't 95% a bit too little?"

"Not enough! Then let's not eat it, let's discuss some traditional Chinese performing arts instead."

"..." The middle-aged man in brocade robes was both amused and exasperated: "Brother Ling is still as childlike as he was back then."

That's a nice way of putting it, but it's really an insult that he's immature and acts like a child.

“Brother Wang is as stingy as ever,” Ling Chi retorted without backing down.

The two looked into each other's eyes, burst into laughter, and then hugged tightly, patting each other's backs.

"Brother Wang, it's been so many years since you last visited. I've missed you terribly!" Ling Chi said with a beaming smile.

"I also fondly remember the time I spent exchanging musical arts with Brother Ling." The middle-aged man in brocade smiled slightly. "I heard that Brother Ling invited Shi Qingxuan, a master of the xiao (vertical flute), and Shang Xiufang, the most talented woman in the world, to Peach Blossom Island. Is that true?"

"I didn't expect Brother Wang to hear this news." Ling Chi was a little surprised, but didn't think much of it and said, "That's right, they are all on the island, and we have already become sworn siblings. We often exchange folk arts and dances, and we are much happier than Brother Wang."

"I never expected that Brother Ling would become sworn siblings with the two esteemed gentlemen. It is truly a cause for celebration." The middle-aged man in brocade robes exclaimed in amazement, "I am quite envious."

"Haha, Brother Wang, there's no need for that. If you wish to talk to my two sworn sisters, I'll call them over right now," Ling Chi said with a smile.

"No need," the middle-aged man in brocade shook his head and said, "I am just an unknown nobody, and I would never dare to offend the eyes of you two great masters. Brother Ling, please hurry up and serve the dishes so that I can fill my stomach. That is the most important thing."

"Brother Wang, you're too modest. The food and wine are being prepared and will be ready soon." He turned his head and smiled, "Look, here I am."

……

This middle-aged man in brocade robes was the one who exchanged musical and flute skills with Ling Chi at the lakeside pavilion years ago, and was also regarded as a kindred spirit by Ling Chi. However, this man's martial arts skills were extremely high. Back then, Ling Chi even brought out a top-tier blue recipe, but it couldn't win over his stomach, which is why he still doesn't know the middle-aged man's name and can only address him as "Brother Wang".

Today was no different. Although a large table of blue dishes was prepared, the middle-aged man in brocade robes still didn't fall ill. However, because of the long-awaited reunion, he drank a few more cups and soon became unable to hold his liquor, deciding to stay overnight on Peach Blossom Island.

Ling Chi arranged a guest room for the middle-aged man and then left.

Nothing else happened after that. After nightfall, Ling Chi went to the farm to continue working with Pu Heng and Ou Yu on the creation and assembly of the 'Iron Kite'.

As night deepened and everyone fell asleep, the middle-aged man suddenly opened his eyes and darted out of the window like a ghost, without making a sound.

Chapter Fifty-Five Grandmaster

At the southeast corner of Peach Blossom Island, when the middle-aged man arrived, he couldn't help but pause in surprise: "This place..."

"Who goes there!?" A sharp shout rang out as Fu Junzhuo, who was on night patrol, approached with her sword drawn. Upon seeing the middle-aged man whose aura was emanating from him, her eyes filled with seriousness and vigilance.

Although only a trace of her aura was leaked out, it was filled with madness and immense power, giving her the feeling of facing a grandmaster.

This person is actually a Grandmaster!?

"Damn it!" The middle-aged man's expression changed, and he rushed towards Fu Junzhuo, intending to knock her unconscious and leave. However, to his surprise, Fu Junzhuo was not easy to deal with.

Facing the middle-aged man's attack, Fu Junzhuo let out a sharp cry and thrust out her long sword, its trajectory precisely towards the middle-aged man's outstretched right hand.

The middle-aged man's expression changed slightly, and he immediately withdrew his hand and dodged, preparing to attack her from the side.

Fu Junzhuo thrust out her sword again, still in the same spot where the middle-aged man had launched his second attack.

Twice in a row, Fu Junzhuo predicted the direction of his attacks, and the middle-aged man finally confirmed one thing: "The Art of Swordplay! You are Fu Cailin's disciple!?"

Fu Junzhuo didn't answer at all. To ask questions during a battle was suicidal: "Give me your life!"

Seeing Fu Junzhuo thrust out her sword, the middle-aged man snorted coldly, and his body suddenly transformed into three afterimages, surrounding her.

Fu Junzhuo's expression changed drastically: "What kind of movement technique is that!?"

With a soft "poof," Fu Junzhuo was struck on the Jianjing acupoint and immediately collapsed to the ground, unable to get up: "You..."

puff--

The acupoint for speechlessness was also hit.

The middle-aged man said calmly, "Your martial arts are quite good. It's rare to reach the Grandmaster level at such a young age. It's just a pity that you're not smart enough. You can't unleash even six-tenths of the power of your swordplay. I advise you to change your technique as soon as possible to avoid stagnation."

After saying this, the middle-aged man left, leaving behind Fu Junzhuo, who was gritting her teeth in anger.

Soon, the middle-aged man arrived in front of the small stone houses, stopped, and looked at them with a somewhat dazed expression.

In this moment of confusion, his aura leaked out once again.

"Who!?" Shang Xiufang and Shi Qingxuan rushed out of the two different small stone houses almost at the same time.

The two women, their clothes disheveled, paled upon seeing a strange man: "Who are you?! What are you up to, sneaking around like this?!"