Chapter 1912

Ma Qiankun has been an Elder in Cooking King Immortal City for so many years, and is also a guest elder of a major power in the Immortal Realm, so naturally he is a slick old hand.

When facing such matters between big figures, he handles them with ease—his experience is already rich.

So, having just left the small courtyard, Ma Qiankun directly sent a Chuānyīn fú informing Bai Yuan of the contest between Ye Zhangqing and Wu Zhong.

Actually, even without Ma Qiankun saying so, Bai Yuan already knows what's happening here.

Wu Zhong came to provoke—how could Bai Yuan not know? It was also Huang Lao who stepped forward, so Bai Yuan refrained from intervening.

Otherwise, Bai Yuan would have shown up long ago; given how much he values Ye Zhangqing, how could he let anything happen to him?

But upon receiving Ma Qiankun's Chuānyīn fú just now, Bai Yuan couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth and cursed.

「A bunch of slick operators—when there's trouble, they just know to push it off. 」

The two other Deputy City Lords standing nearby, seeing this, could guess without asking who sent that Chuānyīn fú.

After the cursing died down, the thing that still needed to be done still had to be done.

Bai Yuan helplessly said to the other two.

「Huang Lao has already spoken, so we should still arrange it as soon as possible. 」

「This................. little Ye is fine, right? He just took the Young City Lord position; if he loses, then.................. 」

One of the Deputy City Lords was somewhat worried; Ye Zhangqing's foundation in Cooking King Immortal City is still shallow, and if he were to lose in front of all the city's disciples, that would absolutely be a huge blow to his prestige.

By then, even if they were forced by their intimidation, the disciples might not say anything on the surface, but what they truly think inside cannot be controlled by just a few people.

Moreover, once his prestige is damaged, recovering afterward would be very difficult, requiring an extremely long time.

Regarding this, Bai Yuan said with a calm expression.

「With Huang Lao here, do you think Ye Zhangqing will lose? Besides, I think it's Wu Zhong who will lose. 」

Bai Yuan had never eaten Ye Zhangqing's cooking, but he had heard of it, and his intuition told him that Ye Zhangqing's Chúyì surpassed Wu Zhong's.

Seeing that the matter had been discussed to this extent, the other two Deputy City Lords stopped wasting words, nodded immediately, and passed along the orders.

Huang Lao spoke up, the three Deputy City Lords personally issued the orders, and moreover, it was a contest between the Young City Lords.

Preparations naturally went quickly; in less than half a Shíchén, two stoves had already been set up on the main square.

The stoves were luxurious, with all conceivable functions available.

Moreover, in the city, both the older generation of experts and the younger generation of disciples received the notice.

Ye Zhangqing and Wu Zhong, the two Young City Lords, will compete in Chúyì on the main square, and everyone can go to serve as judges.

As soon as this news came out, nobody could stay seated.

A contest between Young City Lords is already a rare sight in ordinary times, let alone Ye Zhangqing, this newly appointed Young City Lord.

He was already mysterious, and adding the earlier incident where the Cooking King Hall defeated four opponents single‑handedly and slew Zhang Wuyue and his four companions only heightened many people's curiosity about Ye Zhangqing.

Now at last there is a chance to get a glimpse of this new Young City Lord's true appearance, and naturally nobody wants to miss it.

As for the disciples of the Money-Earth Fire Hall, there is no doubt they are all loyal supporters of Ye Zhangqing.

Even with Wu Zhong present, the many disciples of the Heaven-Earth Fire Hall openly expressed their support for Ye Zhangqing.

As Ma Qiankun hurried back to report, saying everything was ready, only then did Ye Zhangqing, Wu Zhong, and the four of them walk out of the small courtyard.

As soon as Ye Zhangqing appeared, the Heaven-Earth Fire Hall disciples who had long gathered around began to crane their necks and shout.

「Ye Shī xiōng must win. 」

「Ye Shī xiōng will definitely win. 」

「Ye Shī xiōng must win. 」

Hearing the cheers for Ye Zhangqing all around, Wu Zhong's face grew ever uglier—damn it, he'd charged right into someone else's lair.

Not a single person around was supporting him.

Amid the cheers of the Heaven-Earth Fire Hall disciples, Wu Zhong left with a dark face.

He looked as lonely as Hei Lao, giving off a feeling of fleeing in disgrace, all disheveled.

In contrast, Ye Zhangqing and Huang Lao behind were being escorted by a crowd of disciples toward the main square.

Such treatment— the contrast is obvious.

But upon reaching the main square, Wu Zhong also had his own supporters, after all, as a Young City Lord, aside from Ye Zhangqing, the other three Young City Lords already had their own entourages.

This is also tacitly allowed by Cooking King Immortal City, after all, the city will eventually have to rely on these younger generations.

Letting them build their own entourages in advance also brings future benefits.

The bustling main square was already packed to capacity; many disciples gathered around, each curiously watching Ye Zhangqing and Wu Zhong, who were already standing before the stoves.

Of course, more people's gazes inevitably focused on Ye Zhangqing.

After all, compared to Wu Zhong, Ye Zhangqing is more intriguing.

Ordinary disciples are forbidden from entering the square; they can only watch from afar outside its perimeter.

On the square, at the spots closer to Ye Zhangqing and Wu Zhong, Bai Yuan, Huang Lao, Hei Lao, and other senior experts of Cooking King Immortal City gathered in small groups.

One side whispered something while their eyes kept going back and forth, sizing up the two.

The rules aren't complicated; they were already decided earlier.

The judges are everyone in Cooking King Immortal City; whoever receives the most approval is the winner.

Next come the restrictions on ingredients, utensils, and seasonings; Wu Zhong's proposal was to use them freely.

Ye Zhangqing had no objection either, so it was settled that way.

With a shout from Bai Yuan, the two began to cook.

Wu Zhong really went all out, directly taking out an entire head of Immortal Beast as ingredient.

A tremor ran through the ground; seeing the huge treasure Wu Zhong pulled from his Space Ring, everyone on site fell silent.

Hei Lao couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth—this idiot really has gone crazy.

All that could be seen before Wu Zhong was a massive creature with a turtle's body and a dragon's head, lying still.

Even though it has been dead for many years, its body still exudes a terrifying aura.

"dragon turtle..............."

A disciple recognized this huge immortal beast; it was, in fact, the renowned dragon turtle of the Immortal Realm.

Its value is no less than that of the previous pure-blood immortal phoenix.

Moreover, this dragon turtle is intact, and its value is beyond measure.

No one expected that Wu Zhong would actually produce this thing.

A disciple who followed Wu Zhong whispered with a strange expression.

"How could the Young City Lord bring out the dragon turtle's ingredients? Isn't this something he has always treasured?"

"Even before, at the city lord's birthday, the three Young City Lords each prepared a birthday feast for the city lord, but the Young City Lord was reluctant to bring it out; now...................."

As followers of Wu Zhong, these disciples are well aware of how much he values this dragon turtle.

Moreover, they know full well the price he paid to obtain this dragon turtle back then.

To speak plainly, in order to obtain the dragon turtle's ingredients, Wu Zhong spared no expense, sinking most of his wealth into it, which is how he finally succeeded.