"Double the reward! The one in last place will have part of her Soul Power stripped away!"
The system's cold, mechanical voice boomed through the minds of all three women at once, like thunder from the depths of the underworld.
In the span of a single breath.
Three god-level Soul Power auras shot skyward from Spirit City, like three ancient Ferocious Beasts driven completely berserk with rage!
Underground chamber beneath the Pope Palace.
The floor was littered with scraps of top-grade ingredients, crushed by purple-black death energy. Bibi Dong, dressed in a purple gown, had eyes bloodshot from cooking.
She glared at the Great Luo Spirit Cuisine Record in her hands. A wisp of Rakshasa-purple flame spilled from her fingertips, precisely licking the bottom of a bronze earthenware pot.
"Lower the heat by another three parts. Keep it at a simmer."
Bibi Dong gritted her teeth, sweat beading on her forehead.
To trample those two bitches underfoot, the dignified pope of Spirit Hall had braved the turmoil of the Rakshasa God Trial and cooked until three in the morning, all to master this damnable heat control.
She would win—and, more than that, achieve absolute supremacy in the matter of "thoughtfulness"!
Heaven Dou Empire, secret chamber in the Young Master Palace.
The redwood table before Qian Renxue was covered with Snow Crystal Frosting and secret spices of the highest imperial quality.
Half an hour earlier, she had issued a top-priority kill order through "Heavenly Net," the Dark Web.
Three Agility-type Soul Douluos had set out in the dead of night for the Far North, all to retrieve a box of premium Snow Lotus Fruit still carrying the scent of snow and wind.
Qian Renxue sat upright in her chair, fingers interlaced.
Her stunning face no longer held the slightest trace of holiness. It showed only two words: winning big!
Manor outside the city.
Liu Erlong was even more direct. She couldn't be bothered to look at some high-level cookbook. She kicked over the desk and shot off as a streak of crimson light, plunging straight into the primeval forest behind Spirit City.
A moment later, a heaven-shaking dragon's roar rang out from the forest. Trees toppled in swaths, and birds took flight in terror.
At dawn, Liu Erlong emerged from the woods, dragging a two-thousand-year-old Flame Mottled Beast with her bare hands. The Soul Beast was famous for its tender meat and explosive strength.
She slung it over one shoulder and carried it back to the manor. Her Crimson Fire Dragon Martial Soul burst forth, and its raging dragon flames became the most primitive, most domineering oven imaginable.
Noon the following day.
Outside the three-hundred-step cordon around the Library Pavilion.
Cardinal Angela's legs nearly gave out.
What was she looking at? A tribunal of three?!
On the left, Pope Bibi Dong wore a dark-purple outfit and carried a black-and-gold dragon-patterned food box. Her face was as dark as thunder, and the air warped wherever she passed.
On the right, Young Master Qian Renxue, dressed in white as bright as snow, held a glazed jade platter radiating cold. Her expression was haughty, her gaze disdainful of all.
In the middle, Elder Liu Erlong wore a black martial outfit and had a huge foil-wrapped parcel, still sizzling and dripping with oil, slung over her shoulder!
Drops of hot oil fell, scorching black pits into the floor tiles.
Azure Dragon on the left, White Tiger on the right, and a Mother Tyrant Dragon in the middle!
The three women ignored one another, yet their steps were uncannily in sync. Where their gazes met, the air crackled and popped, as if it might explode at any moment.
The door swung open.
The cramped Library Pavilion was instantly packed with three overwhelming auras capable of blowing the roof off.
Yet the bloody battle that should have blown the Library Pavilion sky-high never came. Faced with the deadly threat of losing Soul Power for last place, the three women had reached a strange understanding.
They spread out in a triangle, surrounding Su Chen, who sat on the bamboo chair.
"Thud!"
"Clang!"
"Bang!"
Three lunches, each with a distinct style, slammed onto the battered tea table at once.
Su Chen's whole body stiffened. He felt like prey in the sights of three prehistoric dragons, doomed to be reduced to bones if he so much as moved.
He immediately brought up the Eye of Omniscience. On the Light Screen, the red lines representing the three women's emotions were all at the brink of explosion.
The slightest favoritism would set off a nuclear bomb!
"Eat."
The three women spoke in unison, their voices icy.
Bibi Dong let out the first cold snort and lifted the lid of her food box with slender fingers. A bowl of Emerald White Jade Soup gave off a rich aroma. Several spirit leaves on top had visibly charred edges, but the life force contained within was astonishingly strong.
Qian Renxue refused to be outdone. With a gentle push of her jade-white finger, the glazed jade platter slid forward. Several pieces of Far North Snow-Reflecting Cake, crystalline and exquisite enough to be called works of art, rested upon it. Their elegant sweetness instantly drove the other smells from the room.
Liu Erlong gave a mocking laugh and tore open the foil parcel roughly.
"Boom!"
A violent heat and spicy aroma, mingled with the ferocious vitality of Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Essence, erupted across the room!
The pungent spice made even Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue, two mighty experts, frown and take half a step back without meaning to.
It was a gigantic beast leg, roasted crisp on the outside and tender within, dripping hot oil.
Two refined dishes, one wild feast.
Su Chen drew a deep breath. Without the slightest hesitation, he lifted Bibi Dong's unappetizing-looking bowl of Emerald White Jade Soup with both hands.
Meeting her tense gaze, he tipped back his head and drained it in one go.
The faintly bitter, burnt taste slid down his throat, yet he wore an utterly entranced expression as he gazed at Bibi Dong, his eyes tender and reverent.
"Your Holiness, this bowl of soup... warmed my very soul."
Bibi Dong's tense shoulders relaxed at once, and a trace of crazed satisfaction flickered in her violet eyes.
Su Chen set down the empty bowl and picked up Qian Renxue's Snow-Reflecting Cake, handling it as tenderly as a priceless treasure.
He carefully took a bite. Cool sweetness burst across his tongue. He closed his eyes, his face full of admiration.
"Young Master, this delicacy belongs in heaven. How often could one hope to taste it in the mortal world?"
Qian Renxue's lips, frozen for ten thousand years, could barely keep from curling into a smile. Her twisted need to win was thoroughly satisfied.
At last.
Su Chen sprang to his feet. Under Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue's bewildered gazes, he rolled up his sleeves.
He grabbed the scorching beast leg in both hands and tore and bit into it, ripping off a huge chunk of sinew and meat. Eyes closed, he chewed ferociously as red oil ran down the corners of his mouth.
"That hits the spot! Now this is what you call a meal!"
Su Chen's face was flushed red from the spice, but he roared with delight.
Liu Erlong's eyes blazed. She burst into laughter and gave Su Chen a heavy slap on the shoulder.
"Good lad, you've got guts! I knew I was right about you!"
The Eye of Omniscience's background data refreshed at a frantic pace.
While chewing the spicy meat, Su Chen skimmed the panel at lightning speed. Bibi Dong's "sense of dependence" steadily rose as her vanity was satisfied; Qian Renxue's "desire to win" fell as she felt acknowledged; and Liu Erlong's "kinship" surged from his rough-and-ready way of eating.
The three women's emotions were perfectly balanced!
Su Chen swallowed his last bite of meat and immediately used his backend access to pull up the original scores from the first day.
[Bibi Dong: 82 points]
[Qian Renxue: 81 points]
[Liu Erlong: 84 points]
Su Chen rapidly calculated in his mind: Bibi Dong had poured her heart into it, but her technique was a mess; Qian Renxue's was flawless in presentation, but lacked feeling; Liu Erlong had just been a blind cat stumbling upon a dead rat, and had come first by sheer luck.
If these scores were announced, Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue would flip the table on the spot!
For the next six days, he had to maintain this terrifying balance!
Su Chen shifted his thoughts and swiped a finger hard across the virtual Light Screen, forcibly altering the base scores.
The three women, locked in a cold standoff, heard the system prompt sound in their minds at the same time.
[Day One cooking competition results finalized!]
[Current total scores: Bibi Dong: 85.01 points; Qian Renxue: 85.00 points; Liu Erlong: 85.02 points!]
[System rating: evenly matched! The rankings could change at any moment. Please give it your all again tomorrow!]
Dead silence.
The air inside the Library Pavilion froze completely.
The gap was less than 0.1 points!
The humiliation of being just one moment away from having someone trample them underfoot and grind their faces into the dirt shattered all three women's reason.
Bibi Dong said nothing. She picked up her food box and turned to leave, murder in every step, madness nearly spilling from her eyes.
The heat was still wrong today. She had to bring out the treasured hundred-thousand-year spirit mushroom and make soup!
Qian Renxue's white robes fluttered as she strode away, fists clenched.
Tonight, she had to sneak into the Worship Hall's frigid spring and put her ultimate trump card into tomorrow's dessert!
Liu Erlong spat heavily, her eyes gleaming with ferocity. She turned to look toward Star Dou Forest. Two thousand years hadn't been enough. Tomorrow, she had to take down a fifty-thousand-year-old beast!
"Thud."
Liu Erlong, the last to leave, casually pulled the wooden door shut behind her.
The Library Pavilion returned to peace.
Every bone in Su Chen's body went limp, and he collapsed into the creaking bamboo chair.
He rubbed his round belly and looked at the three data curves on the Light Screen, now thoroughly blood-red as the women prepared to throw resources at the contest and fight to the bitter end. He let out a long breath of spicy, fiery air.
A weary yet satisfied smile curled across his lips.
His feat of keeping all three sides happy hadn't been for nothing.
Everything was under control!
Before you continue