Free Web NovelChapter 1089: This Position of Leader Rightfully Belongs to Me!
Lu Yang, observing the two spirit chefs. He felt they looked like they were meeting up for a shady street deal. Could it be that some unintentional gesture of mine had coincidentally matched their recognition signal?
Then let’s go and take a look.
With that in mind, Lu Yang plastered on a warm smile. “I was delayed on the way, but fortunately, I still made it. Sister Mengmeng, I have something to attend to, so I won’t continue strolling with you. Let’s meet back at the inn tonight.”
“Alright then.” Yun Mengmeng found this sudden change baffling, but since the Second-in-Command had said so, she didn’t ask further.
“This way, fellow Daoist.” One of the spirit chefs gestured for Lu Yang to follow him, while the other one remained at the stall.
Lu Yang swept his spiritual consciousness over them and found that both were at the Divine Transfiguration Stage, with two goat horns atop their heads.
Are they from the Goat Tribe?
“They’re from the Taotie Tribe,” the Everlasting Immortal Fairy said. Lu Yang wasn’t familiar with the Taotie Tribe and couldn’t discern their origins, but she knew them well.
“Taotie Tribe? Did they mistake me for one of theirs when I used Swallowing Heaven Devouring Earth earlier?” Lu Yang quickly pieced things together.
If eating dirt is the recognition signal, then only by using Swallowing Heaven Devouring Earth can one consume it. Someone like Yun Mengmeng, who just ate it directly, would be deemed an outsider.
Lu Yang followed one of the spirit chefs out of the market, through a hidden door, and into a basement packed with people. freeweɓnovel.cøm
After Lu Yang entered the basement, the spirit chef returned to his stall and continued stir-frying dirt clods.
In the basement were people with goat horns, others with various demon characteristics, and some with no demon traits at all.
Noticing the basement door open, those in the back rows turned to look at Lu Yang. Not recognizing him, they turned back.
“There aren’t just taotie here?” Lu Yang was puzzled. If not only taotie are here, how did these other demons and humans pass the dirt-eating test?
“They probably consumed Taotie blood. Drinking Taotie blood also allows one to learn Swallowing Heaven Devouring Earth, though the effect is certainly inferior to the Taotie Tribe’s version.
“Moreover, after consuming Taotie blood, the Taotie Tribe gains a certain suppression over them, a common method the Taotie Tribe used to form factions.”
“I see.”
“It is time. Everyone should have gathered.” The middle-aged cultivator with the goat horns addressed the crowd.
“Is that Jin Tan, the chieftain of the Taotie Tribe?” Lu Yang vaguely remembered seeing him once at the Demon Kingdom’s founding ceremony. He was a Transcendent Tribulation demon emperor, ranked among the top ten in strength in the Demon Region, and an important minister of the Demon Region.
The moment Jin Tan spoke, everyone fell silent.
Jin Tan looked at the crowd and spoke slowly. “All of you should have some idea of why I’ve gathered you here.”
The crowd gazed up at Jin Tan standing on the high platform, their eyes burning with fervor and their fists clenched tightly, as if they were ready to charge through raging fire and scalding water, braving any danger for their ideals.
Lu Yang had no choice but to follow along, his acting convincing.
Jin Tan was pleased with their reactions. To achieve great things, I can’t do without these people’s help.
“Our current leader is incompetent, acting arbitrarily without regard for others’ counsel. To allow this Spirit Chef Competition to be held in Demon City is utterly preposterous!
“Look at the organization now. Its internal management is a mess, and the leader practices inaction[1] and refuses to govern, allowing internal strife to run rampant and sap our strength!
“It was no small feat for the organization to reach its current scale. But if the leader continues this management approach, it will surely head toward decline and perish!”
Jin Tan scanned the crowd. He was highly skilled at this sort of thing. His gaze moved slowly, as if making eye contact with everyone, making each person feel respected.
“All of you come from the Demon Region, Great Xia, the East Sea, the Extreme North, from every corner of the world, each with your own abilities. Our Taotie Tribe has exhausted all its resources over centuries to nurture you, and it is precisely for this moment!”
Lu Yang narrowed his eyes. Are they plotting a rebellion? Could they have the backing of a half-immortal? This is getting interesting.
Jin Tan’s expression shifted to righteous indignation as he shouted, “Everyone, what should we do?!”
His words were like a spark, igniting the atmosphere. The crowd raised their arms and roared, “Overthrow him! Overthrow him!”
“Exactly! That Old Daoist Mingyuan should have stepped down long ago. This position of leader rightfully belongs to me!”
Lu Yang was taken aback. Old Daoist Mingyuan? Isn’t that the alliance leader of the Spirit Chef Alliance?
Only then did Lu Yang remember Jin Tan’s other identity—Vice Alliance Leader of the Spirit Chef Alliance.
Wait, you’ve gone to such great lengths and made such a fuss just to become the alliance leader?
“To beat Old Daoist Mingyuan, the only way is to defeat him in culinary arts so thoroughly that he has to accept his loss!
“I have already developed a rare delicacy that will surely surpass Old Daoist Mingyuan’s. However, gathering the ingredients is extremely challenging. Four of them are stored in the Spirit Chef Alliance’s ingredient repository, but they are so precious that obtaining them requires the unanimous approval of the three vice alliance leaders and the alliance leader.
“But there is one exception, and that is winning the Spirit Chef Competition!”
“The Spirit Chef Competition is divided into five categories: Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Divine Transfiguration, and Fusion. The champion of each group may choose one ingredient from the repository!
“Your task is to win the competition by any means necessary! Remember, by any means necessary!”
“Yes!” the crowd shouted in unison, causing the basement to shake.
After rallying their spirits, Jin Tan’s tone became less worked up.
“One more thing. Some of you have been diligently practicing your culinary skills, but have yet to obtain the spirit chef certification. If you take the qualifying exam, your abilities might be revealed. Therefore, I can use my authority to make you spirit chefs even without you passing the exam, allowing you to enter the competition directly.
“Now, those of you without certification, stay.”
“Spirit Chef Competition? I’ve never tried it. Why don’t I seize this opportunity to experience it?” Lu Yang felt that since he was here to cover the event, he might as well experience the whole process himself.
More than half the people left, while the remaining group, including Lu Yang, lined up to register their names.
“What’s your name?” Jin Tan asked when it was Lu Yang’s turn.
“Lu Yunyang.”
“Alright. Next.”
The mask Lu Yang wore was of extremely high quality; even a Transcendent Tribulation cultivator couldn’t see through it.
~~~
After parting from Lu Yang, Yun Mengmeng hummed a tune and continued strolling through the streets, eating to her heart’s content. freewebnøvel.coɱ
But without Lu Yang by her side, many cultivators came up to strike up conversations after seeing how beautiful and adorable she was, leaving her irritated to no end.
“So annoying. I can’t even eat in peace. I’ll go somewhere else,” Yun Mengmeng mumbled to herself.
She left the market and wandered through the alleyways.
“This little shop looks decent.” Deep in an alley, Yun Mengmeng found a small eatery with a newly painted signboard, though it seemed to have little business.
She lifted the door curtain and entered. The shop was clean and tidy, a sign that the owner valued hygiene.
“Is anyone here?”
A woman in a sky-blue dress emerged from the back kitchen, drying her hands as she apologetically explained, “I’m sorry, patron, but we’re out of ingredients. The boss has gone out to buy more.”
1. As mentioned in an earlier chapter, Wuwei is a concept of not doing or acting in Chinese philosophy. ☜
