A Bite of Douluo Continent

"He's dead, don't worry," Ruyi said with a grin.

After Yu Lianxin left, Qi Han was about to come out, but Ruyi stopped him and told him that the evil soul master was not completely dead and that a trace of his soul was still lurking nearby.

So Qi Han waited patiently until the evil soul master appeared, then came out to catch the other party off guard.

Even if it were just a wisp of the opponent's soul, Qi Han would have been a little scared, after all, this was a sixth-ring evil soul master, and who knew how much of his fighting power he had kept.

To everyone's surprise, instead of fleeing immediately, the evil spirit master's soul stood there muttering to itself for a long time, revealing the truth that its strength was only a fraction of what it once was.

Now Qi Han had no more reservations and gave the evil soul master a pleasant surprise.

Under the influence of fire, Youli's fragile soul instantly turned to ashes.

What is this called?

This is called the villain dying from talking too much.

Chapter 350 Two-Star Recipe: Heart Blossoming (Double monthly votes at the end of the month, please vote!)

Strictly speaking, killing You Li was Qi Han's first murder.

But this guy was reduced to a wisp of ghost, which was completely annihilated by Qi Han's fiery blade, leaving no trace. The bloody visual impact did not appear, and his skin color always gave Qi Han a zombie feeling.

Isn't this just like hacking and slashing a zombie monster in Resident Evil?

Therefore, I didn't actually feel any nausea or vomiting after killing someone.

As for the guilt of killing, that's even more impossible. This guy is an evil soul master, and according to Ruyi, he's the most vicious kind of evil soul master, someone who cultivates by absorbing souls.

After killing You Li, Qi Han quickly left the area because the Mangjia Dragon horde was frightened away by the appearance of several powerful humans.

They may be simple-minded, but they're not completely brainless.

So if you want to hunt the Armored Dragon, you'll have to find a different place.

Following the footprints, Qi Han tracked down a lone Mangjialong and spent a whole day killing a hundred of them. Ruyi stored the food away before they headed to another area.

One hundred Mangekorps represent about 10% of the Mangekorps population in this area. However, Mangekorps reproduce very quickly, and it will probably take several decades to recover to its original state.

One hundred armored dragons are enough for Qi Han to practice thousands of times, so creating a two-star recipe shouldn't be too much of a problem.

The next area he was going to was very close to the area where the Mangjialong was located. According to the map information provided by Ruyi, there was a bird-like sub-dragon called the Wind God Bird in that area.

...

A dazzling blade of light swiftly slashed towards the trunk of a giant tree, the soft sound of wind breaking through the silence of the jungle.

The tree trunk, which originally only had mottled dark brown bark, suddenly showed an unusual twist, and the outline of a lizard-like creature was slowly drawn out.

"Hiss!"

The strange creature only had time to let out a roar before it was almost cleaved in two from behind by the blade's edge, dying on the spot.

The body fell to the ground, and only then did the color of its skin slowly change from a mottled dark brown, like tree bark, to a light green.

"The hundredth one!" Qi Han, wearing a pair of rather strange glasses, walked forward, dragged the strange lizard-like soul beast, which was about two meters long, and threw it into the system space.

This sub-dragon soul beast, known as the Shadowless Lizard Dragon, possesses a peculiar ability similar to that of chameleons on Earth. It can quickly conceal itself, blending perfectly with its surroundings. Furthermore, it has bizarre hunting methods, making it a nightmare for many soul beasts.

However, thanks to a cutting-edge technology called infrared thermal imaging glasses, their ability to hide is completely exposed.

"Five dragon-type soul beasts, that should be enough." Qi Han glanced at the sky, then turned and entered the training space.

This is his sixth day in the Star Dou Great Forest, and the tenth day since he took leave. In these few days, he has not yet started the creation of any two-star dishes.

Over six days, he carefully selected and tried various dragon-type soul beast ingredients, and finally chose five dragon-type soul beasts that were worthy of being used as ingredients for two-star recipes. He then hunted and collected one hundred of each of them as options for cooking dishes.

Unlike the last time when he created a recipe in the Forest of Kalai, this time Qi Han was clearly more particular about methods and approaches.

With all the ingredients collected, the only remaining task was to keep experimenting in the training space.

With ten days left before his leave ended, and including the time needed for shop renovations after he returned, Qi Han only had about eight days left.

Eight days, which is exactly nine hundred and sixty days in the training space, nearly two years.

With so much time, there's more than enough to develop a two-star recipe.

In fact, it obviously won't take that long.

Now, Qi Han has much more cooking experience than before. After tasting many ingredients, he can roughly guess what cooking method can bring out the best flavor of the ingredients. Therefore, he will take very few detours in the process of trying different methods.

...Day 12 of the training space...

Qi Han scooped out the Mangjialong heart from a pot of dark brown braising liquid, which had been braised to a color that was not much different from the braising liquid itself. He quickly sliced ​​it into thin slices about one millimeter thick and arranged them in the shape of a brown flower on a large plate. Then, he placed a specially prepared dipping sauce in the center of the flower.

A simple yet ingenious cold dish is now ready.

Qi Han chuckled, carefully picked up a slice with his chopsticks, dipped it lightly in the saucer, then took a bite and chewed it gently.

The first bite of the braised dragon heart is a rich and complex five-spice flavor. The braising liquid is made by simmering five spices, namely star anise, cinnamon, cloves, fennel, and Sichuan peppercorns, in a certain ratio. The pure five-spice flavor is exceptionally strong. In addition, the wonderful sensation of spiciness with a hint of sourness in the dipping sauce, along with the touch on the tip of the tongue, also makes people feel like they are stimulating their appetite.

Cold dishes are typically served as appetizers before a meal, and Qi Han's braised dragon heart dish clearly does this very well.

After whetting the appetite, the unique and wonderful taste of dragon heart comes with chewing.

After a long braising process, the rich five-spice flavor has permeated the very core of the dragon heart, but the umami flavor of the dragon heart itself is not completely masked. Instead, it slowly blends with the five-spice flavor, bringing an unprecedented taste experience.

Qi Han had eaten a lot of braised food, but the experience that Dragon Heart brought him was completely different.

The texture of the dragon heart is also unique; it does not become soft and mushy after being braised, and the meat remains firm and elastic.

Although the heart is also a muscular structure, as the source of blood flow in the body, the flesh of the heart area is particularly firm, with a slightly crisp texture. It is slightly chewy and gives people a similar sense of satisfaction as eating meat.

After taking a bite, Qi Han nodded in satisfaction. This dish was so good that he couldn't find any flaws.

and so…

"Ruyi, can this dish be rated as a two-star dish?" Qi Han turned his head and glanced at the little girl with pink and blue hair who was sitting on the cutting board, swinging her legs.

"That's good. This dish has reached the standard of a two-star recipe, with an overall score of fifty-five points." Ruyi blinked and quickly spoke.

"How much?" Qi Han almost thought he had misheard.

In the last one-star recipe rating, the lowest score was at least 60, right?

This braised dragon heart is much tastier than the previous dishes, so why is it so cheap?

Seeing Qi Han's bewildered expression, Ruyi chuckled and flicked her finger, a light screen appearing in front of Qi Han's eyes. "Here, these are the scoring rules."

Taste (out of 40): 38 points

Originality of ingredients (out of 20): 17 points

Originality of approach (out of 20): 0 points

Cooking difficulty (out of 20): 0

Total: 55 points

Qi Han took a closer look and gave it a score of 38 for taste. This score was already quite good. Among the two-star recipes, this braised dragon heart was considered a very delicious dish, so the score was fair.

As for the ingredients, the dish "Braised Dragon Heart" uses the heart of a Mangjialong (a type of dragon), but the spices used for braising lack innovation, which is probably where the three points are deducted.

However... the originality of the recipe and the difficulty of cooking are both zero, isn't that a bit too much?

Seemingly noticing Qi Han's confusion, Ruyi cleared her throat and spoke.

“First of all, the way this dish is made is exactly the same as how you make braised dishes. There’s no innovation at all, you don’t deny that, do you?” She pointed to Qi Han’s plating and blinked her big eyes. “Platering doesn’t count as innovation in the cooking method.”

"Well, I'll still give you a few points!" Qi Han's expression was strange. He remembered that the previous pan-fried honey ribs were also based on the cooking of Western steak, but he still gave it 4 points for originality.

“The scoring criteria for two-star ingredients are much higher than those for one-star ingredients. Such a reference behavior can get some points when it is one-star, but when it is two-star, it will basically only get zero points.” Ruyi shrugged. “As for the cooking difficulty… it’s the same principle. Because the standard is higher, cooking techniques like braising, which are not difficult, will only get zero points.”

"Alright then." Qi Han silently picked up another piece of braised dragon heart with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth, which was considered as acknowledging the rating standard.

As expected, two stars are much harder to achieve than one star.

Fortunately, I prepared quite a lot of dishes this time.

"So, what do you plan to call this dish?"

Qi Han looked at the braised dragon heart arranged in the shape of flowers on the plate, and an idea struck him. "Let's call it 'Heart Blossoms'."

"Two-star recipe: Joyful Bloom, successfully added!"

Chapter 351 Unable to break through 80 points?

Overjoyed, this was the pinnacle of Qi Han's naming skills.

Because this dish uses dragon's heart as an ingredient and is arranged in the shape of a flower, Qi Han had a flash of inspiration and came up with this name.

Although the name "Heart's Delight" sounds nice, the score it received was not high at all, only 55. If it were submitted for a promotion mission, the reward would definitely be poor. Therefore, Qi Han needs to try to create other two-star recipes and get higher scores.

…Training Space, Day Twenty-Seven…

Qi Han peeled the strip-shaped meat from the spine of the Mangjialong, washed it, and then cut it into narrow, oval slices. After marinating it for a while, he wrapped it in a three-piece deep-frying kit and carefully put it into the hot oil.

As the pork ribs coated in flour, egg wash, and breadcrumbs were placed into the pot, the oil immediately bubbled and sizzled, releasing a rich aroma that filled Qi Han's nostrils. At the same time, the surface of the pork ribs in the pot began to turn a dense, golden-yellow color, looking exceptionally tempting.

Once the meat was cooked to perfection, Qi Han carefully removed the pork spine slices, drained off the surface oil, placed them on a plate, drew a beautiful pattern with his own homemade lemon-scented kyara jam, and then began to enjoy it.

This lemon-scented Qinan fruit jam was created by Qi Han on a whim. The pure and refreshing sweetness of Qinan fruit is combined with the sour aroma of lemon. After the two are blended and cooked, they become a sweet and sour jam. The taste is even more wonderful than ketchup, and it is also exceptionally refreshing, making it a perfect match for fried foods.

He picked up a piece of pork spine and put it in his mouth. The sweet and sour taste perfectly relieved the greasiness of the fried food, and was also very appetizing, complementing the salty and savory pork spine slices perfectly.

The pork spine meat is already exceptionally tender and juicy. Under the wonderful cooking method of deep-frying, all the juices are completely locked in the outer crispy crust. With Qi Han's perfect control of the heat, it creates an extremely crispy exterior and a tender and juicy interior, providing a wonderful experience of bursting with juice with every bite.

"Ruyi, how many points?" Qi Han was confident that this dish must have met the standard of a two-star dish.

Taste (out of 40): 40 points

Originality of ingredients (out of 20): 19 points

Originality of approach (out of 20): 10 points

Cooking difficulty (out of 20): 1

Total: 70 points

With a flick of his finger, Ruyi displayed the scoring criteria to Qi Han.