On Fang Lan’s side, the group of twenty engaged in ruthless combat, turning the ascension realm into a survival game. On Lu Ran’s side, a group of six learned to cook, each staring blankly at a pile of ingredients every day.
Neither could guess the other’s situation, so they could only focus on completing their own tasks. This was the exclusive ascension realm for the six individuals in Pedestrian A’s group.
The next day, the area outside Cang Lan City’s Gourmet Hunter Society was bustling with activity. People of all ages carrying cooking equipment entered the venue.
Passersby pointed and whispered to each other. It was the semi-annual gourmet assessment. Unfortunately, spectators couldn’t watch the entire event.
After half a day of travel, Lu Ran and his companions felt somewhat fatigued, but after resting for a night, the six trial participants from the Blue Planet were energized again.
Unlike the other examinees who carried various large bags, the six arrived fairly light-handed. In the Stellar Moon Continent, spatial equipment was extremely rare, generally reserved for powerful beastmasters or heirs of prominent beastmaster families.
However, for the beastmasters from the Blue Planet, spatial equipment was almost standard issue. The storage space of their ID cards could hold plenty of items.
“The attention here is incredible,” Deer Masking Horse remarked, observing the crowd gathered around them.
“There are also many family members,” Snakeskin noted, spotting people cheering on the examinees.
The scene reminded him of the college entrance exams.
Various voices reached their ears.
“Grandpa, you’re almost 60! If you can’t pass this year, just let it go. Our family’s little restaurant isn’t doing poorly.”
“Yue Er, once I pass the gourmet assessment and become a qualified gourmet hunter, I'll propose to your family!”
“Oh no, I forgot my family’s heirloom chef’s knife!”
Not lingering outside for long, Lu Ran and his group soon entered the venue.
Though the outside was lively, there were actually not many examinees inside. With the exam time approaching, there were barely over a hundred people present.
“Seems a lot of people are realistic about their chances,” said Mountain Adventurer.
After all, the process for the gourmet assessment was well-established, and the event had been held many times. Generally, those who came to participate had some confidence. Coming unprepared would only lead to embarrassment.
The assessment hall was enormous, containing over two hundred stoves. The distance between each stove was not too close. After entering, Lu Ran and his companions noticed that most chefs had chosen spots toward the back.
“What’s with that? It’s not a university lecture,” Bai Ling muttered, choosing a nearby spot.
“Being in the back gives them more time to prepare, but it doesn’t really matter. It’s just for peace of mind,” Pet Shop Owner commented.
The group casually picked spots in the front rows, aiming to “die early and reincarnate sooner.” At this point, the early-arriving examinees had already chosen their places, setting their cooking tools on the stoves as they waited.
Surrounding these examinees were their familiars, which were mainly Fire-attribute beasts. Throughout the examination, familiars were allowed to assist chefs, and examinees could use their own cooking tools. Only the ingredients would be uniformly provided by the Association.
The atmosphere on-site was somewhat tense, but the Gourmet Hunter Society did not keep the examinees waiting long. Soon, three examiners walked out. An elderly man with white hair, a large, chubby man, and a sharp-looking woman.
They wore identical black chef’s uniforms, with insignias of the Gourmet Hunter Society embroidered on their shoulders to signify their status as examiners.
The white-haired elder led the way, ascending a high platform in the middle of the exam hall and surveying the crowd. Seeing these three, the examinees murmured, speculating about their identities.
The Gourmet Hunters’ Association didn’t use local chefs to examine locals. Instead, examiners were brought in from other provinces to ensure fairness.
Although the examinees recognized that the three examiners were likely powerful gourmet hunters who had mastered Culinary Intent, the Beastmaster Empire was vast, making it hard to discern their exact identities.
The white-haired elder addressed the crowd.
“The three of us are your examiners for this gourmet assessment. You don’t need to know our identities, so just address us as Examiner. The rules and procedures for the exam, I believe you’re all very familiar with them.
“Let’s move directly to the main event. Now, we’ll start with the preliminary round. Those prepared to demonstrate their knife skills, raise your hands.”
Knife skills, fire control, ladle technique. These were all basic cooking skills. In the preliminary round, over 90% of examinees would choose either knife skills or fire control. As the elder finished speaking, there was a swish of hands rising.
All six in Lu Ran’s group raised their hands. They had no Fire-attribute familiars, making them inherently disadvantaged in the fire control portion, so they could only rely on their knife skills.
This round tested financial resources as well since cooking tools were not restricted, and a high-quality chef’s knife offered a considerable advantage in handling ingredients.
Bai Ling and the others had already sold some of their resources to purchase high-quality chef’s knives, hoping this would help them pass the preliminary round.
The elder counted them, then said, “The sixty-two of you will approach in order, from front to back, left to right, to butcher an ox! The Association will provide sixty-two Rock Oxen for you to demonstrate your knife skills on.
“All right, take a moment to prepare. The assessment will start in three minutes!”
With that, he and the other two examiners began observing the examinees below. Upon learning about the provided ingredients, lively discussions broke out below.
Butchering a whole ingredient was a fundamental skill for gourmet hunters, but it was still considered a rather challenging test.
Hearing the test prompt, Mountain Adventurer let out a cry.
“We only practiced once. This is bad.”
Bai Ling replied, “At least we practiced once. Be grateful...”
“Why couldn’t it be slicing potatoes,” the socialite lamented, dabbing at her eyes.
I was hoping it would just be slicing fruit.
Lu Ran had no particular opinion about the test prompt since Manager Long had already prepared him for it. Over the past few days, he had practiced more than the other five, so he remained relatively calm.
The Rock Ox was a transcendent species of Rock-attribute bovine, with skin as tough as stone but delicious meat highly prized by all social classes.
Dissecting one required considerable strength, and failing to do so properly would disqualify any hope of becoming a top-grade chef. Soon, a robust man hoisted an entire Rock Ox onto the high platform before the three examiners.
The female examiner in the chef’s uniform spoke crisply, “All right, let’s begin. The process is to announce your name, butcher the whole ox, and finish within five minutes.”
Upon hearing this, many felt a jolt of anxiety as the allotted time was incredibly short. But the first examinee, under the female examiner’s watchful gaze, took a deep breath and approached with his cooking tools.
The gray-haired young man introduced himself, and the chubby examiner squinted and said, “You may begin.”
The gray-haired chef quickly drew his Advanced-grade chef’s knife from his waist and began dissecting the ox.
“Whirlwind Knife Technique!” he announced.
His chef’s knife was similar to Lu Ran’s Wind Slashing Sword. When infused with stamina, it turned the blade into something like a wind blade. With such a tool, he dissected the Rock Ox efficiently, severing the head, legs, skin, and belly.
In the nearly impossible five-minute timeframe, he finished dissecting the entire ox. Wiping his brow, he squeezed out a smile and looked at the three examiners.
“The knife work is certainly messy,” the white-haired elder remarked, glancing at the bloody mess on the floor and the sweat-drenched examinee.
“Many of the muscle fibers are destroyed. The cuts aren’t fast, precise, or sharp enough,” the chubby examiner noted.
“Not elegant enough. Next.” The female examiner glanced indifferently at a small bloodstain on him and quickly dismissed him, leaving the examinee’s face frozen in shock.
He stepped down looking devastated, as if he’d lost a parent. The three examiners this year... were incredibly strict and not easy to deal with! With the first examinee finished, many others below felt a tightening in their hearts.
“Crap,” Snakeskin muttered nervously among the trial participants from Limitless City.
“He did well enough, but I’m not even as good as him.”
Lu Ran gave him a sympathetic look. He noticed the others had similarly troubled expressions.
Hmm... this ascension realm is quite a challenge for them.
“Feels like we should just accept our fate.” Deer Masking Horse sighed, feeling that his group might not even make it through the first round, let alone the second.
One by one, the oxen were replaced, and more examinees took the stage. This time, a candidate brought his familiar, a black-and-green-furred monkey, and approached without any cooking tools.
The monkey, imbued with Grass-attribute energy, shaped its hand into blade-like leaves, swiftly assisting its beastmaster in preparing the ingredients.
The candidate with the Grass-attribute familiar was notably faster than the previous one, completing the dissection two minutes sooner, although the results were only slightly better.
“Your speed is decent, but you’re too focused on speed. You’ve damaged the bones, and the Rock Ox bones contain nutritional value that would be lost this way,” the white-haired elder frowned.
“Additionally, Grass-attribute energy has an absorption characteristic. During the cutting process, a significant amount of the meat’s nutrition would have been lost,” added the chubby examiner, advising that it was better not to use grass-type familiars for handling meat ingredients.
“Not elegant enough, but considering your familiar’s capabilities, you may pass,” said the female examiner.
The candidate, who had already braced himself for failure, bowed repeatedly in gratitude.
“Thank you for the guidance. Thank you, Examiners.”
The examinee even urged his monkey familiar to bow along with him.
Subsequent examinees took the stage one by one, with most wielding Advanced-grade chef’s knives to personally dissect the entire ox.
Unlike the fire control segment, few opted to rely on their familiars’ abilities for the knife skills section. Generally, those choosing knife skills lacked Fire-attribute familiars and had familiars primarily for hunting or resource-gathering support.
“Looks like it’s my turn?”
After a dozen people, Lu Ran saw that his turn was approaching. Stroking his chin, he calmly stepped forward. Bai Ling and the others didn’t show any reaction when they saw Lu Ran walk out.
They were confident Lu Ran would pass. Rather than worry about him, they focused on their own performances. As the previous candidate descended, Lu Ran walked forward. Meanwhile, two large men swiftly alternated between clearing the dissection area and bringing in a fresh ox.