Chapter 1845: Flames Across the Sky

Having lost two matches, Zhao Qinglin felt extreme crisis; if he lost again, he dared not imagine the consequences.

Thus, he must win this third fire-control match.

This is also his strongest method, giving him the greatest chance to win.

Among the formal disciples, Zhao Qinglin's fire-control skill ranks at least in the top three.

Others present obviously realized this as well; a formal disciple whispered.

"This fire-control match is probably Zhao Qinglin's last chance; if he loses again..."

"Indeed."

Everyone knows that if Zhao Qinglin loses this fire-control match, the outcome is decided and there's no need to continue.

If even his strongest method isn't a match, comparing anything else would likely be the same.

Thus, everyone looked forward to this third round even more.

In the crowd, Huang Chong's gaze toward Ye Zhangqing was full of complex feelings.

He never imagined Ye Zhangqing could push Zhao Qinglin to this extent.

In the first two rounds, aside from the initial stunned moment that left people puzzled, the rest could be described as swift and clean victories.

It left Zhao Qinglin no room to resist; it was a complete crushing.

Watching Ye Zhangqing, Huang Chong felt a mix of emotions.

He felt both joy and envy; Ye Zhangqing and he seemed to belong to different worlds.

The rules for this fire-control match differ from before: one may use innate spiritual fire; if lacking that, only one's own spiritual fire may be used.

Moreover, the victory condition is whose spiritual fire is shattered by the opponent; that side loses, otherwise wins.

The rule is simple and brutal; after the formal disciple finished explaining it, Zhao Qinglin fixed a determined stare on Ye Zhangqing and gritted his teeth.

"Ye Zhangqing, I will surely win this round."

As he spoke, a mass of dark-green flame rose in Zhao Qinglin's hand—indeed, a clump of innate spiritual fire.

This is also the best treasure Zhao Qinglin obtained after arriving at Cooking King Immortal City.

For this innate spiritual fire, Zhao Qinglin paid a great price.

Naturally, his decent fire-control talent is also related.

Seeing Zhao Qinglin's determined look, Ye Zhangqing ignored him, flipped his palm, and a golden flame appeared in his hand.

Seeing the golden flame in Ye Zhangqing's palm, Zhao Qinglin was startled; he hadn't expected Ye Zhangqing also to possess innate spiritual fire.

His mood grew even graver.

He had thought this kid was an outsider ignorant of culinary arts, but now it's clearly not the case.

Having innate spiritual fire, this kid must have previously engaged with the culinary Dao; at that moment, Zhao Qinglin felt he was being toyed with.

His inner anger kept rising.

Everyone possesses innate spiritual fire, and judging from the aura of Ye Zhangqing's innate spiritual fire, it is in no way inferior to his.

Its grade is not low.

He felt like he'd been made to play the pig to eat the tiger; that was Zhao Qinglin's thought at the moment.

But now that it's come to this, he has no retreat; to survive, he must give his all to win this round.

If he loses three rounds in a row, his master would probably...

Thinking this, Zhao Qinglin gritted his teeth and immediately controlled his spiritual fire, sending out tens of thousands of flame wisps around his body.

The flame wisps encircled Zhao Qinglin like loyal soldiers guarding him.

"Tens of thousands of flame wisps—this kid Zhao Qinglin's fire-control skill has improved again."

In Cooking King Immortal City, the most basic measure of fire-control skill is how many flame wisps one can control.

Generally, five thousand wisps counts as qualified; Zhao Qinglin, for instance, can differentiate and control ten thousand wisps.

Although not top-tier in Cooking King Immortal City, it is still excellent.

Moreover, Zhao Qinglin previously could not control ten thousand wisps.

That's why a formal disciple whispered, "This guy's progress in fire-control technique is indeed astonishingly swift."

Even Ma Qiankun's eyes flashed with an unusual hue, as if he hadn't expected Zhao Qinglin to improve so quickly.

After his two previous losses, Zhao Qinglin no longer dares to be overconfident; when he acts, he naturally gives his all, holding nothing back.

The ten thousand wisps encircle his body, each wisp bearing intense heat.

The space itself faintly twists from this extreme heat.

His eyes locked on Ye Zhangqing; he is determined to win this time, giving Ye Zhangqing no chance at all.

Ye Zhangqing watched Zhao Qinglin reveal his method first; then, with a seemingly casual flick of his finger, his spiritual fire quickly, under his control, turned into countless wisps around his body, just like Zhao Qinglin's.

One thousand, three thousand, five thousand, eight thousand, ten thousand...

Soon, the number of flame wisps around Ye Zhangqing reached ten thousand, not lacking compared to Zhao Qinglin.

Seeing the wisps continually increase, the crowd grew uneasy.

In this fire-control round, Zhao Qinglin's chance to win is not small; even Ma Qiankun secretly decided that if Ye Zhangqing loses this round, he would still give him another chance.

As long as Ye Zhangqing surpasses Zhao Qinglin in other aspects, he will still protect him.

But no one expected that Ye Zhangqing's fire-control technique, upon his move, would be in no way inferior to Zhao Qinglin's.

Furthermore, after reaching ten thousand wisps, the flame wisps around Ye Zhangqing showed no sign of stopping.

"Not yet stopped."

"This................."

Twelve thousand, fifteen thousand...

In the end, the number of flame wisps in Ye Zhangqing's direction exceeded twenty thousand, half the courtyard engulfed in firelight.

Compared to that, Zhao Qinglin's bowl of flames appeared inferior.

Just talking about the number of flames, Ye Zhangqing has more than double Zhao Qinglin's.

In response, all the formal disciples were unsettled.

Nearly thirty thousand flames, this this this............... Even if one looks across the whole Immortal City, among the younger generation, only a few can achieve this.

Zhao Qinglin has none.

This kid hides his depth well!

Such a huge gap in numbers is enough to see that even in a fire control technique contest, Ye Zhangqing steadily overwhelms Zhao Qinglin.

With this number of flames, not to mention Zhao Qinglin, even the entire Cooking King Immortal City, more than ten fire halls, and even counting the monster disciples under the City Lord and Deputy City Lord.

Those who can reach this step will not exceed a handful.

And Zhao Qinglin, although his talent in fire control is not bad, he absolutely cannot reach the top level of Cooking King Immortal City.

And still there is a distance from the top.

Some pity Zhao Qinglin, some are surprised by Ye Zhangqing's displayed means.

And Zhao Qinglin himself, looking at the sky-full of flames, his expression turned as ugly as possible, gritting his teeth, from beginning to end he couldn't utter a word.

In his heart, a frantic roar.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible, how could this be.............."

Zhao Qinglin never expected that in fire control technique, he would still be the one being overwhelmed, and moreover more desperate and powerless.