A Bite of Douluo Continent

As soon as the store door opened, Fuya couldn't help but widen her eyes.

so many people!

This was the first time that the queue in front of Hanshi Gate had almost filled the entire street, blocking the surrounding streets completely. From a distance, the end of the queue could not be seen at all.

Because Qi Han gave a specific opening date when he took leave this time, almost all the diners knew that Hanshi would officially reopen today, so they started queuing up early.

In the past, when the queue reached two or three hundred people, the diners at the back would automatically leave and wait until the next opening time, because they knew that with only two hours of business, they wouldn't get a turn.

But this time it's different.

Everyone knows that the Hanshi Festival has been expanded and renovated, and can now accommodate more diners.

Moreover, from the outside, it is clear that the current Cold Food Festival is several times more spacious than before, and there is an extra layer.

Clearly, the new Cold Food Festival can accommodate several times more diners at the same time, and can serve more diners.

So even when the queue had grown to two or three hundred people, people still couldn't resist joining the back of the line.

When the store opened, there were already thousands of people queuing in front of Hanshi Gate.

Among these people were some of Shrek City's regular customers, who hadn't had the delicious dishes of the Cold Food Festival for twenty days and were eager to rush in and taste the new dishes.

In addition, there were quite a few unfamiliar faces, all of whom were diners from other places.

The suspension of business did not affect the reputation of Hanshi. It continued to radiate and spread from Shrek City to the entire continent. More and more diners from all over the continent heard of Hanshi and couldn't help but come to Shrek City to find out more out of curiosity.

Because the Cold Food Festival was closed, they were unable to taste the legendary delicacies they had heard so much about. However, the out-of-town diners, who had heard so many amazing stories about the Cold Food Festival while inquiring about it, were unwilling to leave.

As a result, a large number of gourmets from other places stayed in Shrek City, waiting for the Cold Food Festival to open and taking the opportunity to sample the various delicacies of the famous Shrek City Food Street.

To some extent, the food street vendors once again benefited from Qi Han's kindness.

Now, with the opening of the Cold Food Festival, the diners who had been waiting here eagerly couldn't wait any longer and lined up to try out this magical restaurant that occupied eight of the top ten spots in the food festival. What magic does it hold?

Yunqing is such a food lover from out of town.

Every year after the Shrek Food Festival ends, he would come to Shrek City, both to have fun and make friends, and to taste the top ten dishes of the new festival.

Because his residence was quite far from Shrek City, it took Yun Qing more than ten days from hearing the news to arriving to taste the food. By the time he arrived in Shrek City, Qi Han had just taken leave and left a few days earlier.

Although his luck wasn't great, Yun Qing didn't mind. His intense curiosity about this restaurant, which he had never heard of before, was enough to make him patiently wait for twenty days.

Standing in the queue, looking at the crowded people in front and behind, Yun Qing scratched his head, feeling glad that he had set off early enough.

If we come any later, we'll probably have to wait a long time.

Hmm... I hope the food at this restaurant will be worth the 20-day wait.

After taking a deep look at the sign for Hanshi Restaurant, Yun Qing followed the flow of people toward the entrance.

Uh…

Was the person in front of me the last one in the first batch of the Cold Food Festival?

Hearing the young and beautiful waitress in her black and white dress apologize and ask her to wait a moment, and watching the person in front of her swaggering into the interior of Hanshi Restaurant, Yun Qing felt the full malice of fate.

...

Yun Qing's troubles were naturally not something Tang Qianqiu and Qi Poxiao, who were at the front of the line, would experience.

Long before Fuya opened the gates of the Cold Food Festival, the two elderly men, whose combined age was over three hundred, leisurely entered the Cold Food Festival.

They first looked around the newly renovated Hanshi Restaurant, noticing how the dining area was several times more spacious than before, and nodded in satisfaction. Then they chose a seat near the floor-to-ceiling window.

Both were regular customers, so the two didn't need Fuya to greet them. They reached for the menu on the table and began to flip through it skillfully.

With just a glance at the table of contents, the two discovered those "new faces" they had never seen before.

"This Dinghu Vegetarian Dish is a newly launched purple-brand dish." Tang Qianqiu's face showed a hint of interest. "The name is quite unique. Let's see what it is."

While muttering to himself, Tang Qianqiu had already followed the table of contents to the introduction page of Dinghu Shangsu.

Qi Po Xiao, sitting opposite Tang Qianqiu, was just as quick and turned to the same page.

For the two Limit Douluo, while the food was certainly appealing, what attracted them even more was the magical and unique special effects of each purple-grade dish.

A few minutes later, the two men's expressions changed simultaneously, and they exchanged a glance.

"What do you think?" Qi Po-xiao's lips moved, transmitting his voice secretly, "I don't know as much as you about rare and precious materials. Do you think the special effects described here... are real?"

“From a pharmacological perspective, I can’t make a judgment.” Tang Qianqiu pondered for a moment, then shook his head. “Although these rare and precious herbs aren’t very old, there are so many kinds that it’s a miracle that their medicinal properties don’t conflict, let alone what effects they might have.”

"Then try it." Qi Po-xiao waved his hand, beckoning Fu-ya over, "Fu-ya, bring me a plate of Dinghu vegetarian dishes!"

Chapter 364 It's a pity this skill isn't used for alchemy (Bonus chapter 4/10 for Alliance Leader Yue Zhuoshuo)

Dinghu Shangsu is priced at 2,000 gold soul coins per serving.

This price is ridiculously cheap compared to the actual value of the ingredients.

The more than twenty kinds of rare and precious materials used averaged out to less than one hundred gold soul coins per type.

Even if Ruyi possessed a small world with accelerated time, she couldn't possibly calculate the cost in this way.

The reason why the price of two thousand gold soul coins is justifiable is related to the weight of Dinghu Shangsu itself.

If we consider more than twenty kinds of rare and precious ingredients as one serving, this one serving of rare and precious ingredients can be used to cook about seven servings of Dinghu Shangsu. If we divide it equally, the price can be so cheap.

During the pre-opening lunch, Qi Han made one portion for Ping Xinyan, and one portion for himself and Ye Lingqing. The remaining amount of the rare and precious ingredients was enough to make four portions of Dinghu Shangsu.

Therefore, just a few minutes after the two Limit Douluos finished ordering, their Dinghu Shangsu was served by Fuya.

Just as the first group of diners were taking their seats and hadn't even had a chance to order, a series of exclamations were followed by the unforgettable spectacle: Yun'e dancing like a startled swan.

Tang Qianqiu and Qi Poxiao, who were closest to the strange phenomenon, were both shocked at the same time.

The mental power of the two strongest beings in the world had already reached a state of perfection, and the entire process of the strange phenomenon before them, from its beginning to its dissipation, was crystal clear in their mental perception.

Therefore, they could sense that this phenomenon was somewhat different from the phenomena associated with the other purple-label dishes.

"This strange phenomenon... it feels like it's really about to break free from the rules and become tangible?" Qi Po-xiao couldn't help but ask, finding it increasingly unbelievable the more he thought about it.

“Indeed.” Tang Qianqiu nodded. “That feeling was too real; it was no longer a simple representation of rules.”

“Interesting.” Qi Po-xiao pondered for a moment, then chuckled. “Alright, let’s see the special effects of this Dinghu Shangsu.”

"This special effect is useless to you and me. Why should we try it?" Tang Qianqiu asked softly.

“That is a problem…” Qi Po-xiao raised an eyebrow, then suddenly smiled, “It seems there’s no need to worry about this problem.”

The Limit Douluo's hearing was incredibly sharp; if he wanted to, any unusual activity in the entire dining area could be controlled by his mental power.

After the two of them ordered the Dinghu vegetarian dish, many diners began to look through the menu and whispered among themselves whether they should order one to try.

Although this special effect had no effect on the two of them, the reactions of other diners after they finished eating were enough to verify it.

“Not bad.” Tang Qianqiu smiled and thought of this as well. “Actually, I still believe in the special effects of Boss Qi’s dish. After all, he has no reason to make things up.”

"What I'm worried about is whether the method of breaking through the bottleneck of this dish will cause some problems such as a weak foundation. If there are no side effects, then the value of this dish will be too great."

Whether they are disciples of the Tang Sect or Shrek Academy, very few cannot break through to the seventh ring; it's just a matter of spending more time.

The real concern for both of them is whether this will lead to a weak foundation.

Improving one's soul power level has never been the key to strength.

A Soul Master needs to go through two stages from entering a Soul Power realm to breaking through to the next Soul Power realm. The first stage is the accumulation stage of Soul Power. During this process, Soul Power will continue to increase with cultivation. As long as there is cultivation potential, Soul Power can be increased, the only difference is the speed.

The second stage is the bottleneck stage. In this stage, the total amount of soul power will no longer increase, but the purity of soul power will gradually deepen with cultivation. It is like continuously filling a gas cylinder with gas. Initially, the gas will quickly fill the gas cylinder, and then when it is filled with gas again, the gas volume will no longer change, but the gas pressure will continue to increase.

Once the purity of the soul power is sufficient to break through the bottleneck, the bottleneck will shatter instantly, like an air cylinder with unbearable pressure, allowing the soul power level to be increased.

The difference in aptitude will also be reflected at this time. The worse the aptitude of a Soul Master, the more stubborn the bottleneck will be. If they are unable to break through it, their cultivation may not improve for decades.

In contrast, a Soul Master with good aptitude can break through naturally by cultivating step by step for a period of time during the bottleneck stage.

The so-called "weak foundation" is similar to puncturing a gas cylinder prematurely when the air pressure is not high enough.

In this situation, the bottleneck breaks, and one can still advance, but the soul power will not be pure enough, and the strength will be much weaker than other soul masters of the same level.

Moreover, cultivation is like building a tall building; an unstable foundation will affect subsequent cultivation and breakthroughs.

Therefore, it is not advisable to rush into advancement if one lacks sufficient foundation.

“That’s right, exactly.” Qi Po-xiao nodded. “If a Soul Master below the seventh ring were to consume this kind of dish, which can break through bottlenecks and has a repeated effect, their cultivation speed could probably be increased by more than 40% with each level. If there are no side effects, it would be of great significance.”

"Alright, let's try it first." Tang Qianqiu chuckled, picked up his chopsticks, and reached for the Dinghu vegetarian dish in front of him. "I'm getting a little hungry."

Tang Qianqiu quickly picked up the outermost slice of bamboo shoot, chewed it a couple of times, and then a look of surprise appeared on her face. "This is a jade bamboo shoot?"

No wonder he was so surprised. Although the jade bamboo shoot was a fine natural treasure, it tasted very raw and was not tasty.

But at this moment, the tender and delicious bamboo shoots with a slightly chewy texture have no raw or astringent taste at all.

If it weren't for that unique flavor that belongs only to the Qingyu bamboo shoots, Tang Qianqiu would hardly have been able to recognize it.

He remained silent and continued to savor the other rare and precious ingredients at Dinghu Shangsu.

Qi Han clearly listed the age and type of all the rare and precious ingredients in the dish description. By comparison, Tang Qianqiu quickly identified most of the rare and precious ingredients in Dinghu Shangsu.

Tang Qianqiu was even more shocked because he recognized them. Most of the rare and precious herbs he identified did not taste very good. Only a few tasted better, but they were not delicious.

But in this dish, each ingredient becomes incredibly delicious, with a unique and amazing taste.

Putting aside the special effects for the moment, Tang Qianqiu was quite impressed by this young boss, Qi, with his incredible cooking skills.

If we let him refine pills, wouldn't even the pills become more delicious?

At this moment, Tang Qianqiu couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Yu Hua also shared similar thoughts.

"It's a real shame that Boss Qi isn't learning alchemy." Yu Hua shook his head as he savored the Dinghu Shangsu in front of him, a look of pleasure on his face. "Even rare and precious herbs are medicinal herbs. Good medicine tastes bitter but is good for the disease. How can herbs be delicious?"

"But this young Boss Qi has the ability to cook every kind of rare and precious herb into such delicious dishes, while ensuring that their medicinal properties don't conflict at all. In this respect alone, I am far inferior to him." Yu Hua exclaimed in admiration, then his face suddenly darkened. "Old monkey, do you want to be itchy for another three days and three nights?"

"Ahem..." Tai Lei awkwardly withdrew his chopsticks from the bowl of vegetarian food on Dinghu, a hint of embarrassment on his face. "I just grabbed it on a whim, since my portion hadn't arrived yet."

"Hmph, serves him right!" Zhao Yunsheng chuckled gloatingly, then slowly savored the Dinghu vegetarian dish in front of him.

Thales remained silent for a moment, then made his move instantly.

"Ah! My Dinghu vegetarian dish!"