The naming of "Cloudbreak Realm," coupled with IGO's full-throttle promotion, made Shun's name resound overnight across the international gourmet world, the hunters' circles, and the major factions.
Many were stunned when they heard the news, that this gourmet hunter not yet twenty possessed such terrifying strength.
At the same time, news of Shun's "Shokurin Temple" background had also spread among the public.
Not yet twenty, he had already mastered Shokurin Temple's most profound "Shokumetsu," and even captured the temple's treasured specialty, the "Soap Bubble Fruit."
After learning all this, people no longer found it strange.
"So he's the heir to Shokurin Temple!"
"No wonder… rumor has it he's already mastered Shokurin Temple's deepest technique, 'Shokumetsu,' at such a young age!"
"That's right, and I also heard that not long after he entered Shokurin Temple, he successfully captured one of the temple's treasures, the 'Soap Bubble Fruit!'"
"Since he's a true heir of Shokurin Temple and still this young… another remarkable figure is about to rise among gourmet hunters. But to pass all those trials in a place like Shokurin Temple—'genius' doesn't even begin to cover it."
Shokurin Temple has a cooperative relationship with IGO but does not actually belong to any nation or large organization; even so, its profound heritage, its unique training in "Food Honor," and the top-tier chefs and hunters it cultivates have earned it an exalted reputation. Anyone recognized by Shokurin Temple and taught its core arts is one in a million.
As for Chin Chinchin serving as the abbot of Shokurin Temple, that needs no elaboration; the over-a-thousand-years-old Representative Fu is the No. 14 chef on the World Chefs Ranking, Ganliu.
Ganliu is the head chef of the ten-star restaurant "Cloud Restaurant," and it's worth noting that this restaurant is hidden within the Tree Sea; the materials used to build it are the same as those used for Shokurin Temple's buildings—"Invisible Trees" that can disappear from sight.
Similar discussions echoed constantly in the bustling cities of the Human World and in hunters' taverns.
From modest fame to a blazing new star in the gourmet world, Shun had become a name everyone wanted a piece of. Many powers began trying to approach him—invitation letters and cooperation requests poured in from all sides, including certain gourmet mafias and ambitious schemers who sought to recruit or exploit him.
Amid the sudden surge of fame and attention, Shun remained unusually calm within Shokurin Temple.
He declined most unnecessary social calls and poured his focus into digesting the gains from the latest adventure.
For now, he was studying the special ingredient he had obtained—the [Heart of Origin Mist]—adapting to the subtle changes brought by the slumbering "Arvatos" in his body, and planning his next moves.
There were still two tasks left on the system's list, and he knew he couldn't slow down.
The remaining two ingredients—"Ozone Herb" and the "Puffer Whale"—also had to be captured in the near term.
Among them, the Puffer Whale is particularly special; the ingredient itself is unique, and its timing is unique as well, as it appears only once every ten years—miss it once and you wait another ten.
Even so, this newfound renown is not only an aura for Shun but also a drive, and more than that, a responsibility.
Despite the clamor outside, Shun paid it little mind.
He let his mind sink into the rich harvest of this expedition.
Shun knew well that fame is like passing clouds; only when it is converted into nourishment for one's own strength does it become the true path.
A hard fist—that is the truth.
The first thing he set out to study was that [Heart of Origin Mist], a thing imbued with profound inner meaning.
On this day, Shun sat in a courtyard within Shokurin Temple.
He took the Heart of Origin Mist out of his system inventory and set it before his eyes to examine.
"…"
This fruit was exquisitely magnificent, showing a neither-gold-nor-jade, prismatic glassy luster, as if a seven-colored nebula were sealed within.
More astonishing still, its structure was impossibly intricate; natural veins interwove to form patterns that looked like deliberate carvings.
Held in the palm, one could feel both a vast vitality and the brush of a faint, elusive energy ripple.
It didn't feel like a fruit at all, more like an innate "strange treasure" nurtured by heaven and earth, a "natural implement" of unfathomable power.
Gazing at this thing that could hardly be called an ingredient anymore, Shun pondered for a moment, then carefully infused the [Heart of Origin Mist] with his own refined Gourmet Cell energy.
Hum!
A low, sonorous hum resounded.
The Heart of Origin Mist abruptly awakened, seven-colored radiance bursting forth as the nebula within began to spin at an unprecedented speed!
In the next instant, a dense, seven-hued mist surged out of the fruit like a breached flood!
The spread of this mist was preternaturally fast, diffusing outward in a heartbeat; it not only covered the entire courtyard but also draped over the main complex of Shokurin Temple.
Halls, sanctums, towering ancient trees, winding stone paths…
Everything in Shokurin Temple was swallowed by this seven-colored thick fog.
Visibility plummeted to under one meter, and even sound seemed absorbed by the mist; all was hushed, as if the entire Shokurin Temple had been temporarily "peeled" away from the real world.
Apprentices who had been practicing daily disciplines on the plaza—training in "Food Honor" or sharpening their culinary skills—were stunned by the sudden change.
"What's going on? Why did the sky suddenly go dark?"
"It's not dark! It's mist—such a dense seven-colored mist!"
"My senses… my senses are being suppressed! I can't even make out the person beside me!"
"Sound doesn't carry far either! This mist is strange!"
"Is it an attack? Or did some powerful beast break in?"
…
Panic and confusion spread among the apprentices.
They tried relying on the "Food Honor" perception they trained in daily to feel out their surroundings, only to discover that their prized sensitivity was being greatly impeded by this seven-colored fog.
Sight, hearing, and even their sense of direction grew blurry and untrustworthy, and an isolated feeling of being cut off from the world welled up unbidden.
The whole of Shokurin Temple sank into a peculiar stillness.
Meanwhile, deep within Shokurin Temple, in a quiet tearoom.
Shuu was kneeling on a cushion, calmly brewing a pot of clear tea.
When the seven-colored mist flowed into the tearoom as if alive and completely shrouded the view beyond the window, his hand holding the kettle only trembled ever so slightly.
"This mist?"
Shuu closed his eyes, then opened them again an instant later.
A knowing smile rose at the corner of his lips, and his gaze seemed to pierce the dense fog, turning toward the courtyard where Shun was.
"Shun… you've certainly made no small commotion."
Shuu murmured, not in the least reproachful; rather, there was a touch of appreciation and curiosity in his tone as he said, "Such exquisite control of mist, containing the bud of a rule… it seems the wonders of that 'Heart of Origin Mist' exceed what Master Chin and I anticipated."
Knowing this was Shun's doing, Shuu felt no alarm at all; instead he continued his work unhurriedly, pouring boiling water into the teapot.
He understood well that while this mist was uncanny, it carried no malice nor killing intent—and felt more like a testing and demonstration of power.
(End of Chapter)
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