The view returned to Xiangling.
Xiangling continued recounting what had happened:
After Xiangling made the Century Soup, Tang Hao was profoundly shaken. Never in his life had he seen or smelled a soup with such a rich aroma. He had a feeling that it was in no way inferior to the Emotion-Forsaking Beef Noodles!
Tang Hao could not believe that a teenage girl had caught up to the results of decades of painstaking work. He picked up a bowl of Century Soup and drank it.
In an instant, Tang Hao felt as though he were traveling through the universe. The sun, moon, and stars passed through his body, and boundless starlight surged through his meridians.
Fresh, sweet, mellow, rich-layer upon layer, like the first taste at the birth of the universe, striking straight at his soul.
Tang Hao's entire body shuddered. Even the strongest will crumbled before this ultimate delicacy-he felt every cell in his body cheering and every drop of blood boiling, as if he had swallowed not food, but an entire vast sea of stars.
For a long time, he could not recover.
Such a dish existed in this world!
If the Emotion-Forsaking Beef Noodles represented the pinnacle of the mortal world, the ultimate display of mortal culinary skill, then the Century Soup was something extraordinary that transcended the mortal world: a god's touch!
"How did you do it? No!"
"How did you come up with this dish?"
Tang Hao stared intently at Xiangling, shaken to his core.
He had never heard of Century Soup before. If it had existed for a long time, there was no way it could have remained unknown, yet this was the first time he had heard of it, the first time he had tasted it...
That left only the one fact he was most unwilling to admit: the Century Soup was Xiangling's own creation!
How was that possible?!
For a chef to create a new top-tier dish, not only did they need superb culinary skills, they also needed a stroke of divine inspiration!
Take the Emotion-Forsaking Beef Noodles, for example. Originally called Tang Family Beef Noodles, it was a masterpiece born from inspiration accumulated as Tang Hao's ancestors honed it day after day, year after year!
Even a genius like Tang Hao could not create a top-tier dish that rivaled Tang Family Beef Noodles. He could only keep improving upon it until it finally evolved into Emotion-Forsaking Beef Noodles!
He had thought that no matter how monstrous Xiangling was, the best dish she could make would never go beyond the realm of top-tier cuisine.
But the Century Soup...
How could she have conceived such a terrifying dish at her tender age?
Tang Hao was deeply unwilling to accept it. He considered himself no less talented, yet after decades of devoted study, he had never reached the level of a god's touch. No matter how talented Xiangling was, surely she could not have reached that realm in such a short time?
"Someone told me a story."
"A story?" Tang Hao was taken aback.
"Yes. He told me about a world full of delicious food, where legend spoke of a god-tier dish called Century Soup. It brought together the essence of the world's ingredients and was born from the essence of heaven and earth. It was the most perfect dish."
"Although I've never tasted it, and although it was only a story, his descriptions of the dish's many wonders gave me a great deal of inspiration, so I started trying to make it."
Xiangling told Tang Hao everything about how she had made the Century Soup, holding nothing back.
Tang Hao was speechless for a long time after listening.
"Just a story? That really is..."
Absurd!
Tang Hao could not help but smile bitterly.
With just a few words from someone else, she had recreated a top-tier-no, a god-tier dish!
Monstrous was no longer enough to describe her. She was a god, a god of cooking!
At that moment, Lumine spoke.
"Both sides have finished tasting the dishes. Please give your scores."
She handed paper and pens to Xiangling and Tang Hao.
Tsarevich wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and forced himself not to look at or think about the Century Soup. He sidled up to Tang Hao.
"Hey, don't make a mistake now."
"Make sure you give it the 'right' score!"
"The consequences of losing this match are serious!"
Although Tsarevich resented Tang Hao for insulting and beating him in public, winning the match was more important. For that, he temporarily put aside their differences and humbled himself to persuade Tang Hao.
Without looking at him, Tang Hao made a couple of strokes on the paper, then folded it and handed it to Lumine.
The whole process was so quick that Tsarevich did not even have time to see what was written.
"What did you write?"
"An answer that makes sense."
Tsarevich looked utterly baffled.
What did he mean, an answer that made sense?
But when he saw Xiangling hand in her paper as well, he swallowed the rest of his questions.
After receiving both papers, Lumine began announcing the results:
"Xiangling's score: Emotion-Forsaking Beef Noodles, 100 points."
Tsarevich looked at Xiangling in surprise.
She had actually given it a perfect score of 100.
This...
Tang Hao's expression remained calm, as if he had expected it.
After his initial surprise, Tsarevich was overjoyed.
Hahaha, a perfect score!
She actually dared give him a score like that.
A little girl was still a little girl. She was too young.
Hehehe.
It was in the bag. This round was in the bag.
Tang Hao was guaranteed a tie at worst. There was no way he could lose!
Tsarevich could almost see Xiangling losing the match, Tang Hao winning the Cuisine Machine Test, and his Sea Overlord becoming famous throughout Liwan. A smug expression returned to his face.
Lumine looked somewhat worried, but Xiangling nodded confidently, signaling for her to read Tang Hao's answer. Lumine had no choice but to open his paper.
"Tang Hao's score: Century Soup... Hm?"
"What do you mean, 'hm'? Read it out! Come on, read it out! Hahaha." Tsarevich stroked his mustache with a haughty expression.
"Even if you've already lost the match, you still have to respect the rules. Show everyone the score so they can have a look. At least we can all have a laugh, hahaha."
Lumine glanced at the clown, then looked at Tang Hao and asked:
"Tang Hao, why didn't you give a score?"
"What?"
Tsarevich nearly pulled out his mustache.
"No score? What's going on?"
Lumine unfolded Tang Hao's paper in front of everyone, revealing that it was completely blank.
"Tang Hao, what are you playing at?" Tsarevich asked.
"I clearly saw you write on the paper."
Faced with everyone's questions, Tang Hao sighed.
"Because I couldn't give it a score."
"Her dish is already beyond my imagination. I can't determine what score it deserves."
"So I lost this match."
He lost.
He lost?!
"Impossible!" Tsarevich said angrily.
"How could your Emotion-Forsaking Beef Noodles lose? How could they lose? You added Soul-Forsaking Grass to them. Anyone who eats Soul-Forsaking Grass will-cough, cough."
Realizing he had let something slip, he hurriedly stopped himself.
Unfortunately, Lumine and Xiangling had both heard him.
Lumine's gaze turned cold, and she held her sword across Tsarevich's neck.
"What Soul-Forsaking Grass? Say that again. What happens if someone eats it?"
"There's no Soul-Forsaking Grass. No, you heard me wrong." Tsarevich forced a stiff smile.
"Move the sword away first. Move it away. It's very sharp; you could hurt someone."
Lumine remained unmoved and repeated:
"Say it again. What is Soul-Forsaking Grass? What happens if someone eats it?!"
As she spoke, her sword edged closer to his neck. Its dangerous, cold gleam frightened Tsarevich so badly that his legs went weak.
"Hey, hey, hey, this is a public place! Are you going to kill someone here? Don't forget the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Millelith! I'm a thoroughly law-abiding citizen!"
"I wouldn't attack an ordinary person, but you're a major suspect who deliberately planned a crime-no, who's already in the process of committing one. There's no need to show mercy!"
"You-"
Both shocked and furious, Tsarevich suddenly looked at Tang Hao and cried for help:
"Tang Hao, save me, quickly! Save me! If anything happens to me, don't even think about getting news of her!"
A trace of disgust flashed in Tang Hao's eyes, but for the sake of... he lowered his head and pleaded:
"Traveler, I made the Emotion-Forsaking Beef Noodles. He had nothing to do with it. The blame is mine alone. I'll turn myself in to the Millelith, so please let him go."
Had it been anyone else, Tang Hao might have taken action to snatch Tsarevich away, but not with the Traveler. She was far too strong, and he was no match for her. Rather than have them both captured, it was better if he alone were taken.
Lumine did not respond. She turned to Xiangling:
"Xiangling, I suspect those Emotion-Forsaking Beef Noodles are just what I thought. A large amount of addictive drugs was added to them, causing so many people to lose their senses. We have to capture them and interrogate them to get to the truth."
Xiangling nodded.
"Mm, Traveler, I understand. Let's do as you say, but before that, I'd like to ask Senior Tang Hao a few questions."
Tang Hao's heart sank. Was she still unwilling to make an exception?
"Senior Tang Hao, were you the mastermind behind the Gu Cuisine Calamity twenty years ago?"
Xiangling stared at him intently.
The Gu Cuisine Calamity?
Hearing those unfamiliar yet familiar words, Tang Hao fell into a rare moment of distraction.
Had it really been twenty years since then...?
That was an unforgettable, painful memory buried deep within him, one he was unwilling to revisit!
"..."
Faced with Xiangling's question, Tang Hao chose silence.