Chapter 726: Section 513: Eating Contest
So, this giant was none other than the Magic Chef famed on the same level as Ci Haishen—Da Dou.
Da Dou burst into laughter upon seeing Ci Haishen, "Ci Haishen, last time you played those sneaky tricks, and I almost lost my arms."
"But, I turned misfortune into a blessing, and my strength became even greater."
With one hand on the flame pattern on his arm, Da Dou declared, "I’m here this time to make trouble for you!"
Ci Haishen’s expression grew even darker.
Indeed, it had been his deliberate scheme to cripple Da Dou’s arms. Unexpectedly, after Da Dou returned to his hometown, his mentor healed his injuries at the cost of his own arms, and he also received the Totem tattoo of the Beast Race’s Fire God.
Once Da Dou mastered the Totem tattoo, he rallied himself, achieving an incredibly powerful control over heat.
He made a show of force in the Magic Chef world, defeating several Golden Level Magic Chefs in multiple cooking competitions.
He had always claimed that he would take revenge on Ci Haishen.
This time, he was likely here because he heard that Ci Haishen had come to Snowbird Port.
"Ci Haishen, I didn’t expect to run into him so soon." Ci Haishen was caught a bit off guard; truth be told, he had anticipated their showdown would be in the capital of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom during the National Ceremony.
Da Dou, with his hands akimbo, stared at his enemy in the distance, "Ci Haishen, if you want to choose an assistant, just say it directly, why all this beating around the bush!"
"Putting up a pretense of tasting, hmph, playing those sneaky tricks, I have no respect for such behavior."
Da Dou pushed through the crowd and strode towards the long table.
His towering figure easily lifted the canopy over the surrounding tables.
He casually picked up a dish, "Spring Bud," made of slices of raw fish. He simply sniffed it and then crushed it with his fingers.
Da Dou snorted with disdain, "Same old, same old!"
"Ci Haishen, you still rely on the power of the Preservation Knife, you haven’t improved in the slightest!"
Ci Haishen was hit where it hurt.
Could he be blamed for that?
His Bloodline Concentration was just so, and he had long reached his personal peak. Only by relying on external equipment could he see a notable increase in strength.
But Da Dou was different.
This young giant of the giant race, with high Bloodline Concentration, was still in his power growth phase.
His culinary talent was also outstanding.
Originally, Ci Haishen plotted against Da Dou because he was envious of Da Dou’s talent and the bright future that lay before him, prompting him to act.
"Hmph, my equipment is certainly part of my strength," retorted Ci Haishen, "When you cook, don’t you use kitchen tools? What is it that you carry on your back then?"
"My pot is just of Silver Level."
"That’s funny, you’re telling me you’re too poor to afford Gold Level equipment and so you envy someone else’s use? Poverty has warped your mind."
"You’re full of it!"
...
The two Golden Level chefs, as they spoke, began to argue vehemently.
In the square, countless Transcendents watched agape, then with relish.
They had come to this tasting event not only to try Extraordinary Dishes, but unexpectedly, they were also treated to a juicy spectacle.
This "juicy spectacle" was rather big, involving grudges and past disputes between two Golden Level figures.
It was not often seen, these two Golden Levels berating each other in public.
The verbal fight continued briefly, with Da Dou gradually losing ground; the giant’s ability to argue couldn’t match that of the Sea Elf’s, and he barked, "Ci Haishen, enough talk, let’s have a cooking duel. If you don’t dare accept, you’re a coward!"
Ci Haishen snorted coldly, initially not responding, while continuously taunting him.
Da Dou seized on Ci Haishen’s apparent desire to avoid battle, loudly calling him a coward, a scaredy-cat, too frightened to fight, saying he was inferior and so on.
With that, Da Dou’s momentum soared, overpowering Ci Haishen.
Ci Haishen’s face was as still as water, but deep down, he took his contest with Da Dou very seriously. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have made a special trip to Snowbird Port to recruit Magic Chef Mei Landu from the City Lord’s side.
The Sea Elf’s pride was wounded, and he gradually became infuriated by Da Dou’s criticisms.
"This damn giant must be cast back into the Abyss to learn how to respect his elders!"
Now cornered, Ci Haishen found his plan to recruit assistants severely disrupted by Da Dou’s bluntness and pressure.
Moreover, the Sea Elf valued his mindset highly. If he avoided this fight, when facing Da Dou at the Ice Sculpture National Ceremony, he might well suffer a psychological disadvantage.
Having calculated this, Ci Haishen decided to accept the challenge.
Still, he was adept at strategizing, so he sneered immediately, "Da Dou, you rely on your giant voice and act so grandiosely. Heh, it’s as if I don’t know the sneaky tricks you’re pulling now?"
"Not only do you have your hands, but also those of your teacher. That’s why you don’t need a sous-chef or assistant."
"You’re challenging me while I’m at my weakest, recruiting assistants. Clearly, you’re taking advantage of the situation. Quite the tactician, aren’t you?"
"But when it comes to it, you’re really lucky!"
"Inheriting your teacher’s arms, you not only returned to your Peak, but you’ve also gone one step further."
"What’s this? Did your teacher also teach you to play sneaky tricks? You’ve grown a lot, junior."
At the mention of his mentor, Da Dou was enraged, his face darkening, "I won’t allow you to insult my mentor!"
"Ci Haishen, even if you are my senior, you’re envious of the capable, not at all like a true senior, so don’t put on that act."
"You’re afraid of what my mentor left me, so fine, I won’t use the Flame Totem."
"Do you dare?"
"You’re alone, and I’m alone. Are you scared?"
Ci Haishen laughed heartily. With his taunting, he succeeded in his goal of enraging Da Dou, making him seal his own technique.
What Ci Haishen dreaded the most was Da Dou’s Flame Totem.
After all, Da Dou’s mentor was a Magic Chef master from the Beast Race! The Flame Totem was his mentor’s strongest technique.
For Ci Haishen to compete against Da Dou while he was using the Flame Totem was essentially fighting against two opponents.
"Since you, Da Dou, are still eager to be taught a lesson, then I shall accept your challenge," Ci Haishen finally relented and accepted the bout on the spot.
His words instantly caused a roar to erupt across the square.
Many people shouted their approval.
The crowd, always eager for a spectacle, was highly interested in the duel between the two Golden Level Magic Chefs.
At the time, the owner of Snowbird Duel Arena was present and promptly offered to open his venue to provide a platform for the two Magic Chef masters to compete.
Other arena owners also caught on but lacked the capability to compete with Snowbird Duel Arena and could only regretfully accept their loss.
When Da Dou heard that Ci Haishen had finally accepted the challenge, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "A duel? That’s fantastic!"
"Let’s have a courageous duel in our capacity as chefs."
"But even though a duel doesn’t concern life and death, there ought to be some stakes, right?"
"Ci Haishen, if you lose, you’ll have to compensate me with your preservative knife!"
Ci Haishen was furious.
The preservative knife was Golden Level equipment, his strongest cooking tool, rare in the market, and even with blueprints, it was hard to forge a second one.
It’s not that it couldn’t be made, but it would require an alchemy master to personally take action and gather thirteen types of rare ingredients, known as the "Thirteen Fresh." Only with the "Thirteen Fresh" as the primary materials could the preservative knife possibly be forged.
The Thirteen Fresh were all Golden Level ingredients; most could be bought in the high-end market. However, there were a few rare ones, such as the Purple Cloud Fresh Mushroom, which could only be found in the sky. But that wasn’t the biggest problem; the most difficult one was an ingredient called fresh car cockscomb, which was hard to find in all the world today, while it was quite common over three hundred years ago.
"Da Dou has gotten smart!"
"If I lose this duel and no longer have the preservative knife, I will certainly not be his match at the National Ceremony."
Naturally, Ci Haishen didn’t want to agree to such a wager, but having already accepted the challenge, it would be improper to refuse, so he could only say, "So you’re coveting my preservative knife."
"I can agree to it, but you have to offer an equivalent stake."
Ci Haishen originally thought that Da Dou didn’t possess any powerful cooking tools, but the latter once again proved him wrong.
Da Dou took out a steak from an inner pocket of his clothes.
This was clearly not a magic dish but an alchemy tool.
A Golden Level alchemy tool!
Ci Haishen was slightly surprised and blurted out, "The Eye of Meat?"
The Eye of Meat and his preservative knife were of the same caliber, rare cooking tools of equivalent value.
Ci Haishen was immediately tempted.
"Then it’s decided, I accept this wager!"
Ci Haishen’s tasting event got interrupted, as the two Golden Level Magic Chefs decided to engage in a culinary duel at the Snowbird Duel Arena.
Such an event would need to be reported to the City Lord of Snowbird Port, and making proper advance communication was best.
Ci Haishen also suggested selecting judges, proposing that the City Lord of Snowbird Port act as the main judge.
After all, a culinary competition was a special type of battle, difficult to judge just by looking at the scene.
But Da Dou refused.
"How would I know if the judges don’t have a closer relationship with you?"
"You arrived in Snowbird Port earlier than I, and this place is the domain of Elves."
"I am a giant, an outsider."
"So this duel must be fair, let everyone act as judges. If you can bribe everyone, then even if I lose, I will be sincerely convinced."
A glint flashed in Ci Haishen’s eyes, "Are you suggesting a quantity duel?"
"Of course! That’s the most basic form of culinary showdown, isn’t it?" said Da Dou.
Ci Haishen pondered for a moment and then slightly nodded, "I agree."
Seeing that the two Magic Chef masters had come to an agreement, the people at Snowbird Square got all stirred up.
"What is a quantity duel?" someone asked.
Someone knowledgeable replied, "There are many ways to have a culinary contest, and a quantity duel is one of them, and it’s the most basic form."
"The chefs in the duel prepare various levels of Extraordinary Dishes on site to attract others to taste."
"The more people eat, and the more Extraordinary Dishes get consumed, the more popular the chef is deemed, thereby becoming the victor."
Another person questioned, "Isn’t that similar to a tasting event?"
"Of course not."
"A tasting event is about the chef creating new dishes, imposing various challenges, and quite troubling for the guests. Hence, the chef pays out of pocket, using prize money to attract Transcendents for the tasting."
"But in a quantity duel, the chefs will do their utmost to make dishes that are easier to consume and more pleasing to the guests’ tastes."
"It’s a completely different matter!"
"I’m so excited, I never imagined two Golden Level Magic Chefs would face off in a quantity duel."
"Yes, this time, we are in for a treat."
The crowd was noisy, everyone discussing energetically, all very excited.