The world dissolved.
Ren Kai found himself standing in a void of golden light. No floor beneath his feet, no ceiling above. Just an endless expanse of warm radiance that seemed to pulse like a heartbeat.
A screen materialized before him.
[Heavenly Gourmet System Activated]
Welcome, Host. You have been chosen because you carry the blood of the Ancient Chefs—a lineage thought extinct for ten thousand years. Your ancestors did not cultivate Qi. They cultivated flavor. They did not form golden cores. They formed recipes that could reshape reality.
The system will guide you. Cook. Grow. Remember what was lost.
Do you accept the path of the Chef?
[YES] / [NO]
Ren Kai's throat was dry.
"What happens if I say no?"
The screen flickered.
You will return to your previous existence. The tablet will crumble. The bloodline within you will sleep until your death, and the legacy of the Ancient Chefs will die with you.
He thought of the morning's humiliation. The laughter. The stone that wouldn't recognize him. The life of a useless disciple, scrubbing woks until he was old enough to be turned out onto the road.
And he thought of his mother's words: "Hands that remembered."
He reached out.
[YES]
The screen exploded into a cascade of information.
[System Initialization Complete]
Host: Ren Kai
Realm: Mortal Body (Uninitiated)
Chef Rank: Apprentice Chef
Cooking Level: Lv. 0
EXP: 0/100
Physique: Mortal Body
Affinity: None (Awakening Pending)
Skills:
· Basic Knife Control (Lv. 1)
· Flame Handling (Lv. 1)
· Ingredient Preparation (Lv. 1)
Special Ability:
· Ingredient Insight (Lv. 1) – Reveals hidden properties of ingredients
Recipes Known: None
Ingredients Known: None
[TUTORIAL MISSION GENERATED]
Mission: Cook Your First Spiritual Dish
Objective: Prepare any dish that contains spiritual energy
Reward: First recipe unlock + Cultivation Awakening
Failure: None (repeat until success)
[Hint: Use Ingredient Insight on any ingredient. You will be surprised what you find.]
The void dissolved.
Ren Kai was back in the kitchen, gasping for breath. The tablet was gone—or rather, it had merged with him. He could feel it now, a warm presence in his chest, like a second heart beating in time with his own.
In the corner of his vision, a faint screen hovered:
[INGREDIENT INSIGHT – ACTIVE]
He looked around the kitchen. It was the same as before—pots, pans, sacks of rice, dried herbs hanging from the rafters. But now, when he focused on them, something changed. A faint golden shimmer highlighted the edges of every ingredient, as if they were alive with hidden potential.
A sack of rice in the corner began to glow.
He walked toward it, his heart pounding. The rice was the same coarse grain the Outer Court disciples ate every day—cheap, filling, utterly mundane. He'd cooked it a hundred times.
He focused.
[Ingredient Insight]
Spiritual Rice (Common Grade)
Origin: Azure Mist Sect rice paddies, third field
Properties:
· Contains trace spiritual energy (0.1% concentration)
· Minor Qi restoration properties when consumed
· Base ingredient for low-grade recovery pills
Hidden Property (Revealed):
· When prepared correctly, dormant spiritual energy can be activated
· Activation requirement: Cooking method that preserves Qi structure
· Current preparation method (boiling): 80% energy loss
Ren Kai stared at the screen.
He'd been cooking this rice for three years. Three years of boiling it, draining it, serving it to disciples who complained it was bland. And all that time, it had contained spiritual energy that he'd been cooking out.
"Mother was right," he whispered. "My hands didn't remember anything."
But maybe they could learn.
He grabbed a handful of rice and examined it. The insight told him boiling destroyed the energy. So what method would preserve it?
Steaming? No—too much heat, too long. Frying? That would add oil, change the properties.
He thought about the rice's structure. The spiritual energy was trapped inside each grain, dormant. To wake it up without losing it, he needed to apply heat quickly and precisely, sealing the energy inside.
Like when you sear meat to lock in juices.
His hands moved before his mind finished the thought.
He grabbed a small clay pot—the kind used for individual servings. Rinsed the rice once, not three times like usual. The insight said the energy was in the grain, not the dust. Washing too much would strip it.
He added water. Not too much. The ratio mattered.
Then came the fire.
He lit the stove and placed the pot over the flame. Instead of leaving it, he stayed close, watching. Heat shimmered over the surface, waves of golden light reflected faintly in the steam.
The screen in his vision flickered.
[Cooking in Progress…]
[Spiritual Energy Preservation: 0%]
The water heated. Steam began to rise. The rice grains swelled.
[Spiritual Energy Preservation: 15%]
Too slow. The energy was leaking out with the steam—he needed to trap it before it escaped entirely.
He grabbed a lid—not the wooden one that would absorb moisture, but a ceramic plate that would seal tightly. He placed it over the pot, then lowered the flame.
[Spiritual Energy Preservation: 45%]
Better. But not enough.
He listened. The rice was cooking, but he could hear something else—a faint sizzling as the grains at the bottom began to stick. If he left it, they'd burn.
He needed to control the heat distribution.
On instinct, he placed his hands on either side of the pot. Not touching it, but close. He imagined the heat inside, imagined it spreading evenly through the clay, through the water, through each individual grain.
Something happened.
A warmth spread from his chest—the warmth of the tablet—down his arms, into his hands, and through the pot. The sizzling stopped. Steam inside the pot began to circulate, condensing on the lid and falling back onto the rice like gentle golden raindrops.
[Spiritual Energy Preservation: 78%]
[Cooking Skill Activated: Flame Handling Lv.1 → Lv.2]
The screen updated. The numbers climbed. 82%. 87%. 91%.
Ren Kai held his breath.
The scent that rose from the pot was unlike any rice he'd ever cooked. It wasn't just the smell of grain and water. There was something else—a sweetness, a richness, a warmth that seemed to seep into his bones, a quiet vibration that tickled his senses.
[Cooking Complete!]
[Spiritual Rice Bowl Created]
· Grade: Common
· Spiritual Energy Preservation: 94%
· Effects: +Minor Qi Restoration, +Minor Body Tempering
· Chef EXP Gained: 25
[TUTORIAL MISSION COMPLETE!]
[Rewards:]
· Recipe Unlocked: Spiritual Rice Bowl
· Cultivation Awakening Initiated
· +50 Chef EXP
Ren Kai lifted the lid.
Steam billowed out, carrying that impossible scent. The rice inside was perfect—each grain separate, glistening with a faint golden light that hadn't been there before. It practically hummed with energy.
His stomach growled.
He picked up the clay pot, ignoring the heat that should have burned his fingers. The warmth from his chest protected him—or maybe it was something else. He lifted the pot to his lips and took a bite.
The moment the rice touched his tongue, the world exploded.