532 Giving Up On The Competition? (1/2)

That night, Yang Meiji did not leave the Nangong Residence…

The following day, Bu Fang lazily opened his eyes, and a yawn escaped his lips. After that, he crawled off his bed with sleepy eyes. He walked to the window and took a deep breath, filling his lungs with fresh air; afterward, he felt more energetic.

It was another beautiful day.

He went down the stairs and into the kitchen, and as per usual, he began to practice his cutting and carving skills. He was able to practice the Overlord Thirteen Blades, but he was unable to grasp the Overlord's Energy.

Knife skills were one of the basics of being a chef. This was the reason why Bu Fang took some time to practice his knife skills every day. Good knife skills were extremely important for a chef.

Bu Fang quickly began to prepare one serving of Sweet 'n' Sour Ribs and one serving of Dragon Blood Rice, and soon, a dense fragrance began to waft out of the kitchen.

After Blacky and Nethery had eaten their breakfast, the lazy dog returned to his spot underneath the Path-Understanding Tree and curled up, then it went back to sleep. Soon, it was snoring loudly.

Nethery, on the other hand, pulled out a chair underneath the Path-Understand Tree and sat on it. Her straight black hair cascaded down her shoulders and onto her snow-white legs. As the sunlight illuminated her pale face, she looked to be emitting an obscure beauty.

Bu Fang packed his things and clasped his hand behind his back; he was ready to leave the restaurant.

Nethery pondered for a moment and stood up. She had decided to follow Bu Fang today.

She knew what Bu Fang was going out to do. She had once tasted a dish Bu Fang made during the competition, after all. She knew that Bu Fang was going to make another delicious dish.

”This time, I won't be making anything new… I'm going there to be a bystander,” Bu Fang said to Nethery with a serious expression.

Despite that, Nethery decided to follow him anyway. Bu Fang, who was helpless to change that, did not say anything more, so he allowed her to follow him.

However, this time, he did not carry his enormous signboard to the venue. Since the temporary mission was already completed, Bu Fang no longer needed to carry the signboard for the competition.

Today, he was going to be lowkey.

Nethery, who wore a long black dress, followed behind him. Her slender legs were snow-white and flawless. As usual, the Netherworld woman did not wear shoes; instead, she floated in the air. Every time the tip of her glistening feet touched the ground, her entire body would move.

They both gradually made their way over to the central plaza, and soon, they arrived.

Although Bu Fang had explicitly said that he might give up on the competition, a huge number of spectators had still turned up to watch the match.

Bu Fang's was very famous now. He was no longer that nameless chef who arrived at Heavenly Mist City in the past. Now, he no longer had to rely on his Stinky Tofu to attract customers for his store.

Today, he was the biggest dark horse in the Magical Hands Conference. He was a dark horse who had caused the eyes of a countless number of people to bulge in shock.

His appearance was a miracle in and of itself. A chef like him had actually managed to defeat countless alchemists as he charged up the rankings; not even Sorceress An Sheng or Crazy Xiong could slow him down. Initially, almost no one had been optimistic about Bu Fang's chances in the competition.

However, the miraculous chef used his sharp kitchen knife to carve his way forward, into the top ten!

He did not only astound those watching in Heavenly Mist City; he also astounded those watching the competition via the projection array from their locations in other cities.

They were completely floored by this chef.

Some people had hoped that a genius alchemist would appear and thoroughly defeat this chef, avenging the other alchemists who the chef had defeated. Some others nursed positive thoughts for this dark house. Although there were those who supported him and those who hated him—which was normal—what really surprised people was Bu Fang's profession.

When he walked into the arena with Nethery, deafening cheers erupted, leaving him feeling a little flustered.

When Bu Fang saw how excited the audience members were, he was puzzled.

This time, only one stage was to be used for all the matches. This stage was already surrounded by the huge crowd, and there was no empty seat left behind. Every seat had a spectator on it.

When the audience spotted Bu Fang, who had calmly entered the arena, they cheered fervently.

The roars and cheers seemed to emerge collectively, and the combined uproar was deafening!

”Bu Fang, do your best! Don't give up!”

”Little Chef, you are the biggest dark horse in this competition! Please keep going till the end!”

”What do you mean you'll give up… Real men never give up! Don't even give up!”

...

The audience already knew that Bu Fang had made up his mind to drop out of the competition, but they still held on to hope and came, hoping that Bu Fang would participate in the competition of the top 10. They never believed for one second that Bu fang would give up, and there he was; he actually showed up for the competition! Expressions of excitement colored their faces, and many could not stop themselves from cheering loudly.

Nethery looked around curiously. She seemed unaccustomed to the bustling atmosphere, especially the countless gazes directed her way.

Since she was walking beside Bu Fang, she had also garnered a lot of attention.

In fact, she was actually the center of attention. As a beautiful woman, the moment she appeared, almost all the attention had immediately shifted over to her.

”You should head over to the audience stand and wait for me,” Bu Fang said to Nethery.

Nethery nodded expressionlessly and turned around. The tip of her sparkling touched the ground once, and she floated over to a seat.

Bu Fang looked around and realized that a lot of people supported him, what left him slightly dazed for a moment. Could he have made the wrong decision? Faced with so many people who supported him, Bu Fang felt he should aim for first place.

If he did not, he would disappoint all his supporters! And if he let so many people down, he would feel guilty.

Nangong Wuque had not yet arrived, making Bu Fang feel as though something suspicious was going on.

Normally, this clown, Nangong Wuque, should have arrived a long time ago. Then, he would repeatedly urge Bu Fang to go through the motions without actually doing anything.

Bu Fang clasped his hand behind his back and walked up the stage.

The competition of the top 10 was being held in a specially made stage, and each match was held individually. The material used to build this stage was different. The bronze platform atop this specially-made stage had many mysterious arrays carved onto it. The arrays emitted subtle fluctuations that calmed the participants of the competition.

This bronze platform was of a much higher grade than the bronze platforms used in the previous rounds. If one was to conduct refinement on this new bronze platforms, they would be able to concentrate fully.

It was interesting.

Bu Fang surveyed the bronze platform for the first time, tracing his hand on its markings. The markings did not make the bronze platform feel rough; instead, Bu Fang felt comfortable when he touched it. It was as though he had laid his hand on a soothing breeze.

It was perfect for alchemists. Any alchemist that refined atop these bronze platforms would have their conditions improve by leaps and bounds.

Bu Fang examined the bronze platforms for some time, and the excitement of the audience gradually calmed down. However, even though some time had passed, there was still no sign of Nangong Wuque.

This caused many people to become suspicious.

”Where is Nangong Wuque? It's already so late. Why isn't he here yet?”