"I'll be taking the Ever-Soul Knife, then."
Kael said it with a smile.
He clearly caught the flicker of reluctance that crossed Elder Guan's face. But even if Elder Guan was unwilling, he didn't dare say anything in front of Kael now.
After all, Kael was no longer just a Dragon Chef—he was a Supreme Dragon Chef.
The gap between those two ranks might look like a single step on paper, but in reality, it was the same difference as a Nine-Star Chef and someone beyond Nine Stars in the World of Food Wars.
Nine-Star Chefs were rare and well respected wherever they went. But chefs above that level? They were treated as the most honored guests no matter where they set foot.
The Chuuka Ichiban world was no different.
Supreme Dragon Chefs, could be counted on one hand. Even the Imperial Kitchen had only two.
The Dark Cooking Society had only two as well.
Existences like that were simply not someone Elder Guan could afford to provoke.
With so many eyes watching, and with the Ever-Soul Knife having already acknowledged Kael, Elder Guan had no choice but to hand it over—no matter how unwilling he was.
The truth was simple: as long as a Legendary Kitchenware remained here, the Chefs' Union of Guangzhou would continue to benefit from it.
But Elder Guan's heart had long since been corroded by power and profit. What he cared about was gain, not duty.
Once the Ever-Soul Knife left, the attention of the Light Culinary World would shift away from Guangzhou, and his standing would inevitably fall back to what it used to be.
That reality made him restless—and dangerous.
Kael had no background. No faction. No one standing behind him.
A lone wolf.
The moment Elder Guan realized that, a dangerous thought crept in.
If that's the case… this might still be salvageable.
A faint killing intent leaked from him before he could rein it in.
"Hm? Has this old man lost his mind? He actually wants to kill me?"
Others might not have noticed it at all, but Kael sensed it clearly—and knew exactly where it came from.
Kael felt nothing but mild disbelief.
Even knowing my status as a Supreme Dragon Chef… he still dares to harbor killing intent?
How shortsighted.
Still, Kael didn't bother to say anything.
After tonight, Elder Guan would lose everything. Reduced to nothing more than a tool, he would be completely at the mercy of his own granddaughter.
The duel was over.
As Kael claimed the Ever-Soul Knife, the crowd gradually dispersed. But it was obvious that today's events would be talked about for a long time to come.
If information traveled faster, the entire culinary world would have already been blown into chaos. As it was, the news would still spread—just a little slower.
"Mr. Kael," an old voice called out. "There's something I'd like to ask of you. Would you be willing to make a trip to Yangquan Restaurant?"
It was Master Ruoh.
Kael had been preparing to leave, but upon hearing the invitation, he immediately agreed. He already knew what Master Ruoh was thinking.
Kael now possessed two Legendary Kitchenware—and both had acknowledged him.
So the question naturally followed: would the other kitchenware acknowledge him as well?
Like it or not, Kael was destined to be the central figure of this era. Even if that destiny might one day be cut short, Master Ruoh understood that what he guarded could no longer remain in his hands.
Truthfully, living with those maps had always kept him on edge. It wasn't that he feared the Dark Cooking Society coming for his life.
What he feared was the Legendary Kitchenware falling into the hands of villains.
At his age, life and death no longer mattered much. Between his own life and his responsibility, he chose responsibility.
Before long, the group returned to Yangquan Restaurant.
Along the way, Meili Zhou and Liu Maoxing couldn't help drifting closer to Kael.
Despite Kael's exalted status as a Supreme Dragon Chef, he was only a few years older than them—and he carried no arrogance at all.
Kael didn't deliberately seek Maoxing out, but he didn't distance himself either.
Maoxing might be a bit idealistic, but he was undeniably a good person.
As for Meili Zhou—during the first part of the original story, she seemed little more than a decorative heroine. But later, her background was expanded.
Her ancestor had been the orphaned child of the Taiji Cuisine Realm's leader centuries ago.
That leader had been obsessed with Legendary Kitchenware and Immortal Cuisine. He entrusted one of the Phoenix Eight Immortals, Song Wan—the Cloud-Piercing Giant—and his own wife to research Immortal Cuisine and decipher ancient texts.
They succeeded.
Meili's ancestor learned to read those texts, and Song Wan developed an incomplete Immortal Cuisine.
But as they worked together day after day, love formed between them.
After completing their task, the two fled together.
Meili's ancestor was frail to begin with. Pregnancy, combined with the toll of deciphering the texts, pushed her body beyond its limits. She died shortly after giving birth.
Song Wan was devastated. In his grief, he consumed the incomplete Immortal Cuisine himself.
He raised his child, but as time passed, that child died. Then the next generation. And the next.
Eventually, numbness set in. Song Wan stopped caring, allowing his descendants to live or die as they pleased.
That bloodline continued all the way to Meili Zhou.
The ability to decipher those ancient texts had been passed down through her lineage, and in her generation, Meili became the only person capable of interpreting the Eight-Spirit Codex.
Because the kitchenware carried the Mandate of Heaven, destroying them was normally impossible.
However, anyone with Taiji Cuisine blood could destroy a Legendary Kitchenware by sacrificing their own life.
Meili understood all too well that the person meant for that role might very well be herself.
Others with that bloodline pursued immortality instead. None of them would ever choose destruction.
As for the latter half of the Eight-Spirit Codex, Kael had no interest. Immortal Cuisine itself was a failure in his eyes.
If Immortal Cuisine truly worked, then why did Xu Ling still die?
So Kael didn't care about the Codex.
For now, collecting the kitchenware came first.
Meili's ability, Kael suspected, was simply another manifestation of Qi. In this world, anything supernatural almost always traced back to Qi.
He also noticed Tang Sanjie nearby.
Truthfully, Sanjie was pitiful. His fear of knives wasn't due to incompetence—it was his father.
His upbringing had been brutal. Standards were absolute. Failure meant punishment, regardless of ability or limits.
Eventually, Sanjie exceeded his breaking point, sliced his own hand during forced training, and developed a deep psychological scar.
Later, the Turning Dragon Pot would even drain part of his lifespan.
It was tragic.
Maoxing and the others bombarded Kael with questions, and Kael answered whatever he could. Their shock was constant.
Soon, they arrived at Yangquan Restaurant.
Kael was led into a separate room by Master Ruoh. Only three people were present: Master Ruoh, Zhou Yu, and Kael.
Several maps were placed on the table and pushed toward Kael.
"These mark the locations of the Legendary Kitchenware," Master Ruoh said. "My duty was to guard them, and to pass them on when the right person appeared."
"You've earned the recognition of the Ever-Soul Knife and the Garuda Knife. There's no doubt you're the one."
"That said, these maps are decades old. The kitchenware may have moved. You should be prepared."
Kael nodded. He already knew.
The Garuda Knife's location had differed completely from the map.
Others, like the White Tiger Pot, had nearly been destroyed before being saved.
"Don't worry," Kael said with a smile. "I'll obtain them. And honestly—even if I didn't, someone else would."
Master Ruoh and Zhou Yu froze, then quickly understood.
The Dark Cooking Society.
Rēn's attempt to seize the Ever-Soul Knife proved it.
With enough manpower, even without maps, they could still find the kitchenware eventually.
Kael was certain the Voracious Wolf Pot had already fallen into their hands.
He memorized the maps instantly, then considered something amusing—handing the maps to the Dark Cooking Society himself and letting them do the legwork.
After all, once he held several kitchenware, they'd come for him anyway.
He could just take the results.
"Be careful," Master Ruoh warned seriously. "They don't just fight through cooking. They'll use any means necessary."
Kael smiled inwardly.
Careful?
The Dark Cooking Society had already lost many people to him—and that was without him even targeting them seriously.
If he truly decided to move against them, every stronghold they had would be erased.
He was only keeping them around as tools.
Otherwise, an organization that dared target him would have already been wiped out.
After some more conversation, they went to eat.
Meanwhile, In Dark Cooking Society, something else was happening.
Rēn had made his decision.
He was defecting—now.