King of Beasts

The six of them sighed softly.

What rotten luck.

Still, no matter what the task is, it must be completed with effort.

After all, currently, those entering the breakthrough secret realm—if not 100%, then at least over 90%—are doing so for the upcoming beast taming tournament.

Missing this breakthrough opportunity would put them far behind other beastmasters of the same generation.

At this moment, a beastmaster dressed in casual clothes, whose expression kept changing, finally spoke: “I feel that the competition for this breakthrough task isn’t very intense. Why don’t we all cooperate? Maybe everyone can complete the task together.”

“Let me introduce myself first. My name is ‘Deer As Horse,’ a reserve member of the official strategy team. If I’m not mistaken, very few beastmasters have matched to the early period of the Beast Taming Empire, Beast Taming Era 265. Although it’s not particularly early, it still has great exploration value.”

“If we can team up, even if we don’t complete the breakthrough task, we can still gain a lot of other benefits in the breakthrough secret realm. This era contains many rare resources that have already disappeared in later times. If we can bring some back to the blue star, it would be a decent harvest.”

Everyone looked at Deer As Horse. He made a lot of sense, but his ID didn’t inspire much confidence.

“Deer As Horse is right. Let me introduce myself as well. My name is ‘She Pi,’ a member of the medicine pavilion guild.” The man in the white coat caught everyone’s attention.

A member of the medicine pavilion guild, no less.

“Does that mean you can make medicinal cuisine?” Bai Ling asked, looking at him.

“I know a bit, but it’s just at a home-cooking level,” She Pi replied. “And the taste is generally not great.”

“By the way, are you really Bai Ling, the big shot?” He was particularly curious about the identity of the Armored Lady.

Everyone looked at Bai Ling. Being at the top of the Divine Beast Leaderboard made her a significant figure.

But that was for combat. This time, the test was about cooking… No wonder she cursed.

“Hmm.” Bai Ling had already prepared herself to be recognized. After all, she was too famous in Infinite City No. 5. She sighed and said, “Four Saints Guild, Bai Ling. I’m not very good at cooking. I’ll just accept my fate this time and see how it goes. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll just explore the world.”

“Same here… I usually go to restaurants or order takeout,” the socialite said helplessly. “My ID is Ibers, and I currently work for the official team as well.”

“Is Ibers Pet Shop related to you?” Deer As Horse thought the name sounded familiar.

“That chain of pet shops is mine,” Ibers confirmed, proving herself to be a wealthy and privileged woman.

Owning a well-known chain of pet shops and actively aligning herself with the official team during the Beast Taming Era, she was certainly reaping the benefits of the times.

Lu Ran listened quietly on the side. Indeed, those who could enter the breakthrough secret realm at this stage were no ordinary people.

“My name is ‘Wilderness Explorer,’ from the Mountains and Rivers Guild,” said the young man in adventure gear. He usually just ate instant noodles and ready-to-eat meals, rarely cooking. This time, he had really stepped into a trap.

Everyone had finished introducing themselves, except for Lu Ran, who seemed the youngest among them, looking like a high school student.

“My ID is ‘Sudden Death King,’ a student…” Lu Ran said, not intending to reveal his true identity. Although the secret realm’s competition didn’t seem intense, Dr. Gu had repeatedly reminded him that his identity was sensitive. He needed to get into the habit of using a fake name wherever he went.

Thanks to Lu Ran’s usually low profile, none of them recognized him as the top of the Divine Beast Leaderboard in Infinite City No. 3.

Just as they were about to continue their conversation, footsteps suddenly echoed from a room within the courtyard.

As the door opened, a graceful woman wearing an inner white floral dress and a maroon outer coat walked out. Her figure was alluring, and she carried an air of elegance.

“Is everyone here?” she asked in a distinctive local accent, her voice gentle and melodious. “I am the shopkeeper of Frost Moon Pavilion. My surname is Long, so you can call me Shopkeeper Long.”

“Since you’ve all spent a lot of money to come to Frost Moon Pavilion for training, I will teach you well.”

“But let me be clear, passing the superior chef assessment of the Gourmet Hunter Association is not easy. Even in Frost Moon Pavilion, we have very few superior chefs. Whether you can succeed in the end, I make no guarantees.”

Frost Moon Pavilion?!

Although their expressions remained calm, the group was inwardly overjoyed.

Great!

Lu Ran and the others realized that Infinite City wasn’t being entirely heartless.

Becoming a superior chef wasn’t without some guidance.

They were given the starting identity of a chef apprentice.

Following the usual process, all they needed to do was learn at this restaurant-like Frost Moon Pavilion, and they might just pass the assessment.

“Shopkeeper Long, what exactly is tested in the superior chef assessment?” Wilderness Explorer asked, quickly getting into character.

Wasn’t this clearly a newbie guide NPC?

Shopkeeper Long was taken aback, looking at him as if he were an idiot. “You came to learn the craft without even knowing what’s tested in the superior chef assessment? Are you here to mess with me?”

The others didn’t dare speak. Truth be told, although they had done their homework and learned a lot about the history of the Beast Taming Empire, they knew very little about the Gourmet Hunter Association.

If Lu Ran wasn’t mistaken, this organization existed for a brief period and then disappeared. It was a unique product of this era.

“Fine, considering the money… First, you need to understand one concept: many chefs possess superior culinary skills, but not every chef can become a superior chef certified by the Gourmet Hunter Association. Why isn’t it called the Chef Association but the Gourmet Hunter Association?”

“Our Beast Taming Empire was built on hunting—hunting beasts, hunting for resources, then preparing the hunted ingredients into meals to fill our bellies. This was our ancestors’ way of life.”

“At the beginning, our handling of ingredients was very crude. It wasn’t until Emperor Yan Sizhen pioneered the culinary path that people started paying attention to cooking techniques and ingredient pairing.”

“Therefore, the superior chef assessment by the Gourmet Hunter Association combines hunting and culinary skills. It is divided into three stages. The first step is the preliminary round, where the assessor must demonstrate certain culinary techniques, such as knife skills or fire skills. Any culinary technique will do, as long as it earns the approval of the examiner, you can pass the preliminary round.”

“The second step, as I mentioned earlier, involves the ‘hunter’ aspect. A superior chef must have the strength to hunt for ingredients in the wild. The Hunter Association will take you to a designated test site.”

“You need to observe which ingredients are suitable for making dishes and which are not. Moreover, you must have the ability to obtain them on your own.”

“The third stage, which is the most critical, requires you to use the ingredients you hunted to prepare a dish within a specified time. This dish can be for people or for pet beasts.”

“As long as the cuisine meets the quality requirements and gains the examiner’s approval, you will pass the superior chef assessment.”

“With the certification from the Gourmet Hunter Association, you can open a thriving restaurant in any city of the empire…”

Shopkeeper Long smiled at the six of them and said, “That being said, I don’t know much about you yet. Tell me about your special skills so I can assign you to a suitable master to train your culinary skills.”

“There are only half a month left until the assessment, so your time… is quite limited.”

As Shopkeeper Long finished speaking, Lu Ran and the others exchanged glances.

So that’s how it is.

Everyone present was smart and quickly understood the key to passing!

The critical point lies in the second stage!

In the assessment, you hunt for ingredients yourself and then cook them.

The key to becoming a superior chef is to produce special-grade cuisine.

And to make special-grade cuisine, you need either exceptional culinary skills or rare quality ingredients, at the very least.

As for culinary skills, most novice beastmasters probably won’t have much luck.

Unless someone is fortunate enough to have outstanding culinary skills and happens to enter this secret realm, but the chances are slim.

However, acquiring rare quality ingredients clearly depends on combat strength.

In other words, as long as you have enough strength, it is possible to obtain rare quality ingredients.

At that time, as the saying goes, if your culinary skills are lacking, let the ingredients make up for it. Top-notch ingredients often require only the simplest cooking methods…

If you happen to strike it lucky, you might just create a special-grade cuisine!

Passing the superior chef assessment would then be a piece of cake.

Upon this analysis, everyone’s eyes lit up, feeling hopeful again. They were right—this novice breakthrough secret realm wasn’t meant to be too daunting.

Clearly, there are two paths: one relies on culinary skills, the other on strength.

Of course, one of these aspects shouldn’t be too weak, but as long as one is particularly outstanding, you should be able to pass the task.

“Let’s hear from you,” Shopkeeper Long said, looking suspiciously at the Wilderness Explorer.

The Wilderness Explorer looked embarrassed and said, “My culinary skills aren’t great, but I have rich wilderness exploration experience, and my strength is passable…”

“Just as I thought,” Shopkeeper Long sighed, immediately sentencing the Wilderness Explorer to death. “I’ll find you a master who teaches basic culinary skills.”

“Alright…” The Wilderness Explorer was on the verge of tears, feeling despised. Fine, whatever, whether I pass or not, at least this breakthrough task doesn’t seem dangerous. At worst, I’ll just spend a month learning to cook.

In the future, I’ll be a beastmaster who can cook!

This month won’t be a waste.

“And you?” Shopkeeper Long asked each person, turning to the pet shop owner.

“…I have some experience in nutritional matching for pet beast food,” Ibers said. As the owner of a chain of pet shops, she didn’t know much about cooking for herself, but she did understand how to balance nutrition for pets.

“Hmm, better than that guy,” Shopkeeper Long said, then turned to the next person.

“I have some exposure to medicinal cuisine…” She Pi from the Medicine Pavilion Guild said. His family ran a medicine pavilion and had a snake farm, so they occasionally cooked dishes using snake meat. However, he felt this wasn’t a significant advantage…

“I have decent strength…” When it got to Deer As Horse and Bai Ling, both felt awkward and could only mention their strength, unsure if it would be enough to hunt good ingredients in the second round. For now, they decided to start with basic culinary skills.

Otherwise, even if they managed to hunt rare quality ingredients, they could end up wasting them by making dark cuisine… ruining the good ingredients.

Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Long sighed deeply, feeling like she had encountered the most challenging group of apprentices ever.

“If your pet beast is of the fire species, excellent control over heat would also be an advantage. Do any of your pet beasts have the fire attribute?” she added.

However, to her dismay, none of these beastmasters had a fire pet beast…

With little hope, Shopkeeper Long looked at the youngest, Lu Ran.

While others were introducing themselves, Lu Ran had been pondering.

After some deep thought, Lu Ran decided to actively embrace this breakthrough secret realm, hoping to exceed expectations and earn better rewards.

Since that was the case, it was like playing a game where every step had to be perfect.

First, he needed to showcase his talents and find the best, most skilled chef to teach him.

He was all in!

A beastmaster who can’t cook isn’t a good forgemaster. What’s wrong with learning an additional culinary skill!

He raised his head and confidently said, “I have decent strength too…”

Everyone: …

“And, I have exceptional knife skills. I have mastered a special culinary skill called the ‘Ice and Snow Knife Technique.’ With one swing of the knife, I can significantly minimize the impact of heat on ingredients, preserving their quality as if they were refrigerated…”