The Heavenly Mist City"s plaza was situated in the center of the city. The surroundings were filled with countless high and tall bronze buildings.

Those buildings were owned by several big families. The Lin, Zhang, and the Nangong Families owned some of them. Even the Drifting Cloud House had its own building.

The building owned by the Drifting Cloud House was even taller than the buildings owned by the three big families. The insides of the building were adorned with splendid gold and jade.

The Pill Tower was quite a distance away from the central plaza. Due to the fact that it was constantly emitting pill energy, if it was placed in the center of the city, the city would be affected. No matter if it was the Heavenly Pill City"s Pill Tower, the Heaven s.h.i.+ne City"s Pill Tower, or the Heavenly Mist City"s Pill Tower, they were all built in a more remote and desolate place.

Bu Fang walked through a small road as he rushed toward a tall building which seemed as though it was made of metal. He gradually saw more people in his surroundings when he neared the building.

All kinds of spirit beast carriages, which gave rise to strong winds, were pa.s.sing him noisily.

Many people noticed Bu Fang and they turned their stares to him. His current appearance was quite conspicuous as he was carrying a giant board on his hand.

Three words, "Cloud Mist Restaurant", were inscribed on that board.

What was this guy up to? Many people couldn"t help starting to laugh when they saw him. Most of them noticed the words inscribed on the board.

Cloud Mist Restaurant?

A restaurant?

Was there still a restaurant in Heavenly Mist City?

Although the Cloud Mist Restaurant was quite prosperous, most of the citizens were still oblivious about the existence of the restaurant. A majority of the people were still consuming fasting pills. They didn"t even know that there was still a restaurant in Heavenly Mist City.

Of course, there were also some people who knew Owner Bu. They were surprised when they saw him.

"Owner Bu? Why are you carrying your restaurant"s board for?"

"To partic.i.p.ate in the Magical Hand Conference," Bu Fang replied all of them calmly as he proceeded forward with his board.

"Are you going to partic.i.p.ate in the Magical Hand Conference? You are a chef... Owner Bu, don"t cause a scene there." Those who were acquainted with Bu Fang became dumbfounded. The Magical Hand Conference was a compet.i.tion for alchemists. What was a chef like him trying to do?

All of them quickly a.s.sumed that Bu Fang was joking when he said that he was going to partic.i.p.ate in the compet.i.tion.

However, Bu Fang wasn"t kidding when he said that he would partic.i.p.ate.

Bu Fang could see that there were many familiar people in the way. They were all going to watch the conference.

The Magical Hand Conference was, after all, a large-scale compet.i.tion held by the Pill Palace. It was normal for many people to be attracted to watch the compet.i.tion. If they attended the conference, they would be able to see many famous alchemists. They might even get to see high-level members of the Pill Palace. Those people were all excellent alchemists. All of them were idol-like existences to the people in the Pill Palace"s territory.

Those people who were familiar with Bu Fang were confused by what he said. However, those unfamiliar with him laughed when they heard that Bu Fang, who proclaimed himself to be a chef, was going to partic.i.p.ate in the conference.

After pa.s.sing through countless tall buildings, Bu Fang"s eyes lit up, and there was a resplendent light in his pupils. There was an extremely s.p.a.cious and empty giant plaza in the middle of those tall buildings.

"Old Bu, we are over here! Look over here!"

Bu Fang seemed as though he heard some shouts and subconsciously turned his head around. He looked toward the source of the noise and instantly saw the siblings, Nangong Wuque and Nangong Wan, waving at him. They were seated quite some distance away from where he stood.

Bu Fang was taken aback for a moment before he started to walk toward them.

Nangong Wuque wore an odd look on his face when he discovered that Bu Fang was carrying his restaurant"s board with him. That was certainly unexpected.

"Old Bu, what are you carrying this board for? Are you not going to partic.i.p.ate in the conference?"

"I want to spread the name of my restaurant. If I didn"t bring this board with me, how could they know that I am actually representing the Cloud Mist Restaurant?" Bu Fang declared confidently.

"Fine… Your words actually contain some truth. I can"t refute them."

It was only at this moment that Nangong Wuque remembered Bu Fang"s reason to partic.i.p.ate in it. He was partic.i.p.ating to spread his restaurant"s name. However, wasn"t this way too exaggerated?

Nangong Wan squinted her eyes as she looked at him. She was actually hoping to see the scene when Bu Fang heroically descended from the stage with his board when he won.

If such a thing happened, many people would be so startled and shocked that their eyes would pop out of their sockets.

When the three of them were chatting, more people started streaming into the plaza. A giant metallic s.h.i.+p descended from the sky and strong gales were raised. Many experts who were wearing alchemists" white robes came out from the s.h.i.+p.

....

Duan Yun, whose gray hair fluttered in the wind, couldn"t help but take a deep breath when he descended from the Heavenly Pill City"s wars.h.i.+p.

He had to secure a spot in the top ten of this Magical Hand Conference.

Duan Yun had been practicing and tempering his alchemy skills in seclusion after he returned from the Southern Border. He had been stimulated by what he saw and the people he met during his trip. The dishes in a restaurant had better effects than elixirs. How could an alchemist like him accept such a cruel fact?

If an alchemist wasn"t able to defeat a chef, how was he supposed to proclaim that he had the n.o.blest of the Hidden Dragon Continent"s professions?

"Duan Yun, you have to do your best in this conference. With your current skills, it won"t be difficult for you to reach the top fifty."

An old man descended from the s.h.i.+p and patted Duan Yun"s shoulder as he spoke to him with a smile on his face.

Duan Yun turned his head around and looked at that old man with a respectful gaze. This old man was his teacher, one of the Heavenly Pill City"s respected master alchemist. He was the Four Cloud Alchemist, Gu He.

Master Gu He was one of the appraisers and judges in the Magical Hand Conference.

Duan Yun excitedly nodded at him and a firm look appeared in his eyes.

"All right. Go prepare for it along with your senior brothers and senior sisters. I hope that none of you will let me down this time. We are competing against outsiders… Don"t disgrace our Heavenly Pill City." Master Gu He laughed as he stroked his long beard before leaving with a dignified expression on his face.

Duan Yun followed behind his senior brothers and sisters as they went to the center of the plaza.

"The Heavenly Mist City"s alchemists are at a much lower level compared to our Heavenly Pill City. We have to let the Heavenly Mist City"s citizens witness a true alchemist"s ability."

"Among the Pill Place"s factions, our Heavenly Pill City is the strongest."

"Hey, all of you, have a look at that place. There is someone who brought a board with him to partic.i.p.ate in the conference."

Duan Yun and his senior brothers and sisters, who all had their own pride, curiously observed their surroundings.

All of a sudden, Duan Yun heard one of his senior sisters exclaim in surprise. Turning his head, he looked toward the direction where she pointed. He instantly saw a slim figure of a man who was carrying a giant board as he walked toward the place to register.

He found the silhouette of that man somewhat familiar...

Duan Yun"s pupils contracted. He became puzzled all of a sudden. He felt as though he had seen that silhouette before at some place.

However, after thinking about it for a long while, he couldn"t remember where. When he was still racking his brains, his senior brothers and sisters pulled him over to the place of registration.

There were eight arenas in the middle of the s.p.a.cious plaza. The preliminary compet.i.tion would be held in eight arenas as there were many people partic.i.p.ating in the conference.

When Bu Fang, who was carrying a board, reached the registration place, the alchemist who was in charge of registration looked at him as though he was some sort of r.e.t.a.r.d. It was his first time witnessing a chef partic.i.p.ating in the conference. It was also his first time seeing someone register for the conference while carrying a board.

Was this person a clown invited by someone? Was he invited to liven up the atmosphere for this event?

"Old Bu, although you already pa.s.sed through the registration place for people with special talent, the preliminary compet.i.tion doesn"t have a fair allocation. Your opponent might be a poison master or he might also be an alchemist. You must try your best not to get yourself eliminated too early." After Nangong Wuque took his number plate, he warned Bu Fang before leaving.

Bu Fang nodded at him.

The arena number which was inscribed on Bu Fang"s plate was eight. The eighth arena was in one of the corners of the plaza and had a remote location. However, Bu Fang didn"t care about it at all.

Nangong Wuque was a.s.signed to the third arena which was in the center of the stage. Nangong Wan was a.s.signed to the sixth arena.

The three of them were separated and a.s.signed to different arenas.

"Nangong Wuque... Was that fool carrying a board your friend? Even such trash dares to partic.i.p.ate in the conference…"

Before Nangong Wuque reached the third arena, a mocking voice transmitted to his ears. He turned his head around and looked over.

That person who just mocked him was a man with fair skin who was wearing an alchemist robe. He emitted a powerful aura. This man"s face was filled with mockery.

"Lin Family"s third young master, you know nothing about my brother-in-law"s skill… You should just shut up," Nangong Wuque curled up the corners of his mouth and calmly said.

The Lin Family"s third young master, who was the Lin Family"s genius alchemist, shook his head as he looked at Nangong Wuque. This Nangong Wuque was indeed a weirdo, and even his friend was a weirdo.

"Your brother-in-law"s skill? A chef"s skill? Nangong Wuque, even if you are a moron, don"t a.s.sume that other people are as r.e.t.a.r.ded as you… A chef like him won"t even pa.s.s through the preliminary compet.i.tion. However… This is the first time I"ve seen a chef partic.i.p.ating in the conference," the Lin Family"s Third Young Master said in a mocking voice.

Nangong Wuque looked at him and waved his hands in dismissal. He seemed to have something against the Lin Family"s Third Young Master and he snapped, "My brother-in-law is someone who will create a miracle. What do you know about him? You should open your eyes and watch how he does it."

After he spoke, Nangong Wuque stopped caring about Lin Sanpao and stepped onto the arena. He started preparing for the preliminary compet.i.tion.

A chef would create miracles?

Lin Sanpao rolled his eyes at Nangong Wuque before stepping onto the arena as well. He took Nangong Wuque"s words to be a joke.

On the other side, in the eighth arena, Bu Fang still carried his board as he stepped onto the arena. He walked toward the bronze platform before the judge"s dumbfounded gaze.

Dozens of other partic.i.p.ants in the arena looked at Bu Fang as though he was some sort of r.e.t.a.r.d.

Who the h.e.l.l would come to partic.i.p.ate in the compet.i.tion while carrying a board? What were the words inscribed on that board? Cloud Mist Restaurant? Was he there to partic.i.p.ate in the compet.i.tion or was he there to open a restaurant? Even if he was there to amuse the crowd, wasn"t he going a bit too far?

Just as they thought that, they saw something which made them even more confused.

Thump. A loud noise echoed as the Black Turtle Constellation Wok slammed against his bronze platform. It caused the platform to sink down slightly.

He waved his Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife and placed it on his bronze platform. He also took out a cutting board, porcelain trays, and stuff like that. Everything which he took out caused people to become even more bewildered.

A kitchen knife, a black pot, cutting board, porcelain tray… Not to mention his restaurant board...

Was he really thinking about opening a restaurant in the arena?

Where did such a clown come from?

After he took out everything, Bu Fang raised his head and tied up his hair with a velvet tie before looking at the judge with a sincere gaze.

"I"m already ready," Bu Fang said as he exhaled a breath of air.