Chapter 279: Greedy Duck
Outside the arena.
Time passed quickly on the central booth on the second floor.
Professor Yun sat at the judges’ table and waited quietly.
“Soul plants like the Green Enamel Flower are very remote. I wonder how many can discover the hidden elements in it.”
An old professor from the North River Academy stroked his beard and smiled.
“Haha, I think there are definitely many people cursing in the production room.”
Another old professor smiled.
“Old Man Gu, you were the one who set the question. Think about it. How many top students in your Forest Academy can discover it?”
Principal Nan looked at Gu Shanhe beside Professor Yun.
“It’s actually not difficult to discover. The difficulty is how to do it.”
Gu Shanhe was a little confident, “However, that Cloud Bean Mud was suggested by you. It has nothing to do with me. Moreover, even if they discover a few elements, they might not be able to fuse them into suitable food.”
“It still depends on the individual.”
“Three hours is not long. It should be soon.”
Three hours was indeed a long time.
Basically, two hours later, contestants walked out of the production room one after another and brought their food to the central evaluation area.
However, those who came out first were usually very unlucky…
Some of the ten judges took a look and did not want to taste it, but they still gave detailed suggestions.
They did not even fight. It was too bad. It was a little hurtful when they fought.
“Let’s not talk about anything else. It doesn’t even have color or fragrance… It seems that the Green Enamel Flower is even harder to make than the previous batch of Heavenly Essence soul plants.”
The old professor sighed, “Old Gu, this question of yours is going to be interesting!”
Gu Shanhe was very calm.
Before long, some contestants from the Forest Academy gradually walked out.
The ten judges could finally try it.
Unfortunately, most of the contestants still did not get any points.
A small number of them gave some points one after another.
The average was about 60 points.
In the eyes of these judges, there were very few who could reach the passing line.
Gu Shanhe was not angry.
Before long, the students of the North River Academy quickly walked out.
“Oh, Chen Tian is out too. He’s Old Chen’s favorite disciple.”
Principal Nan looked at the time. It had been about three hours. He nodded in satisfaction.
Old Chen was the old professor beside him.
Chen Tian was an ordinary-looking youth with dark skin.
However, it looked very confident and its eyes were bright.
Beside him, a Fire Chestnut Rat about 40 centimeters tall walked over with two plates.
There was a lid on the plate, but he did not know what was inside.
“Teacher.”
Chen Tian glanced at the old professor and said respectfully.
“Alright, cut the crap. There are so many people watching.”
The old professor smiled and said, “What did you make? Open it and take a look.”
Chen Tian nodded and glanced at the Fire Chestnut Rat.
The Fire Chestnut Rat jumped onto the platform and put down the plate.
However, he did not open it directly.
Instead, it opened its mouth slightly and spat out a flame that circled the plate, as if it was undergoing the last production procedure.
“How fancy!” The old professor glared.
The flames surrounded the plate and heated it slightly.
This made the surrounding audience very curious.
After about 30 seconds, the Fire Chestnut Rat stopped spitting flames and gently lifted the lid with its scarlet tail.
In an instant, a scorching light emitted.
The few of them focused and discovered that there were two different meals on two plates.
“This is made of Cloud Bean Mud and Green Enamel Flower Root. It’s called Bean Flower Ball.”
“This is a Green Flower Soup made with the Green Enamel Flower Root as the main ingredient.”
“It’s mainly eaten by Contract Soul Masters. After combining the two, it’s quite helpful to Contract Soul Masters.”
Chen Tian pointed at the two plates.
The fragrance assaulted the nose. Be it the bean ball or the flower soup, they were all bright and smelled extraordinary.
“You really know how to use tricks.”
The old professor did not try it, but he smiled and said, “He knew that he could not perfectly fuse the few materials, so he directly used one as the main material and made two different meals.”
“After consuming it, the effect will increase.”
“This thing can only barely pass.”
He did not try it, as if he already knew at a glance.
Chen Tian smiled and did not speak.
The other judges smiled and shook their heads when they saw how harsh the old professor was.
“Old Chen, you’re being too serious.”
Gu Shanhe scooped a spoonful of soup and ate a bean ball. He nodded slightly and said,
“I think it’s not bad. To be able to see through the Cloud Bean Mud proves that this child has good eyesight. To be able to make food in this way, it also knows how to make use of its strengths and avoid its weaknesses. Moreover, it looks, smells, and is delicious. Although the efficiency of using the two materials is not very high and the energy loss is greater, in the end, the flames of the Fire Chestnut Rat locked up quite a bit. It looks fancy, but it’s actually a highlight.”
“If I give a score, there will definitely be 70 points.”
It was different from the judges.
Many of the audience drooled when they heard the score.
It was only 70 points, but it felt ridiculous.
“I can only give 60 points.”
The old professor said angrily, “Old Gu, why are you so polite? You don’t have to give me face.”
“Old Chen, you’re indeed too harsh.”
Professor Yun also smiled and said, “It is definitely worth at least 70 points. I’ll give 72.”
Gradually, the other judges also gave their scores.
In the end, Chen Tian obtained 67 points.
This was actually already very high.
The highest score last year was only 68 points.
There were not many contestants who had already left the stage.
Moreover, the questions of the Green Enamel Flower were even harder than last year.
Chen Tian heaved a sigh of relief and walked off the stage to watch the other contestants display their works.
Soon, more students walked out.
“Little Shen is here.”
Principal Nan’s eyes lit up, “We can eat something good now!”
“Little Shen is still young. It’s rather difficult to make the Green Enamel Flower this time. She shouldn’t be able to make any good food.”
Professor Yun coughed and said, “Don’t expect too much.”
“That’s your favorite student, Old Yun. I don’t believe you.”
The old professor was abnormal. He smiled and said, “I think there’s definitely something good.”
Professor Yun was speechless.
The other judges also smiled. These old professors all liked to belittle their disciples.
They did not want to be praised too highly.
“Teacher!”
Shen Mingluan smiled and walked over.
She was very capable and did not say anything else. She directly brought the plate over and gently opened it. A blinding light emitted.
Of course, it was very short, only a second or two.
This was because the food made from soul plant crops was a manifestation of high concentration of energy.
It was normal for there to be energy light.
Especially since it had just been made.
The lid was removed, but there were several pastry-like pieces on the plate.
However, the workmanship was very exquisite. There was a pattern on the piece of cake. It was pale white and was dotted with brownish-yellow and light green patterns, like green birds.
“Cloud Flower Hundred Spirit Cake.” Shen Mingluan introduced, “It’s mainly made of Cloud Bean Mud and Green Enamel Flower Root. I extracted the juice of the Green Enamel Flower Root and mixed it in. Both Contract Soul Masters and soul pets can eat it. It has different effects for both.”
The fragrance of this pastry was very faint and not strong, but people could smell it from afar.
Even the furthest audience could smell it.
Clearly, the chef was very skillful.
At the same time, it emitted a faint soul power fluctuation.
Countless spectators swallowed their saliva.
When the old professor heard this, the soul ring on his body appeared. A duck-like soul pet with a round hat appeared.
Greedy Duck.
This was an extremely cute and powerful soul pet that ordinary people could not afford.
It could eat very well and was an omnivorous soul pet.
It could eat many soul pet types of food and was not picky.
That was obvious from the name humans had given it.
Of course, it had other powerful abilities.
Because it could eat, it was also very picky. Although its species potential was not high, its intelligence was very high.
It had a very unique taste buds that could accurately evaluate the quality of food that many scientific instruments could not quickly identify.
Since the food could be eaten by soul pets, he naturally had to let the soul pet try before it first.
The Greedy Duck was not unfamiliar to many of the audience.
There were even Greedy Ducks on many food programs on television.
It was a soul pet that everyone recognized.
The Greedy Duck cultivated by the professor was naturally even more powerful.
“Try it first.” The old professor said, “This is the first food that can be eaten by a soul pet.”
The Greedy Duck stood on its hind legs and used its white wings to caress the hat on its head. Then, it took out a napkin and tied it around its neck. Coupled with its posture, it made everyone feel that it was a little noble and elegant… They were stunned.
Then, with a light shake of its other wing, it took out a fork and forked a piece of Cloud Flower Hundred Spirit Cake. It slowly fed it into its mouth and chewed slowly.
The professor’s Greedy Duck was very well-trained. One could tell at a glance that his standard was extremely high.
In less than 30 seconds, the Greedy Duck opened its eyes and took out a piece of paper. Its other wing held a pen.
In a rather ancient way, it was writing something.
It was very fast.
Shen Mingluan watched with interest.
After a while, the greedy duck picked up the paper and handed it to Shen Mingluan.
“Caw!”
Shen Mingluan hurriedly took it.
It was filled with comments about the Cloud Flower Hundred Spirit Cake.
From the texture to the fragrance, the level of soul power, the level of energy, the difficulty of digestion, and most importantly, the use of materials and the loss of components, the compatibility with soul pets, and so on, there were detailed explanations and evaluations.
Of course, it was only evaluated from a soul pet’s point of view.
There was a huge commotion, causing Shen Mingluan to exclaim… Professor Yun also had a similar soul pet, but it wasn’t the Greedy Duck.
This Greedy Duck was very skilled.
After all, it was nurtured by the professor all year round.
The final score was 78.
“It seems that it’s more satisfied.”
The old professor smiled and said, “Otherwise, it wouldn’t have written the evaluation personally. At most, it would cry out.”
The old professor also tasted it.
The other judges also released their soul pets to try, although they weren’t as detailed as the Greedy Duck.
However, they also gave their opinions.
According to the soul pets’ opinions and their own judgment, the judges gave their scores.
The highest score was 82 points.
The average score was 75 points.
It was an extremely high score.
“Chen Tian still has a long way to go!”
Principal Nan sighed, “Little Shen is still amazing. Even a group of us can give such a high score. It can be said that so far, she’s the best at combining the Cloud Bean Mud and the Green Enamel Flower. It’s probably very difficult for the subsequent contestants to surpass her.”
“That might not be the case.”
Principal Gu smiled, “I don’t believe no one can find and complete the second hidden element of the Green Enamel Flower.”
“The Green Enamel Flower is a very remote soul plant. The hidden elements you mentioned are very ancient records. Even if it can discover it, it might not be able to do it.”
Principal Nan shook his head, “However, as the annual King of Foods Competition, the hidden elements have to be hard to find. I think Little Shen should have discovered that the Hundred Spirit Cake contains some of the fragrance of the flower petals, but she might not be sure. She probably doesn’t know how to accelerate the ripening of the flower.”
“The Green Enamel Flower that is matured using a soul skill is different from natural ripening. The Green Enamel Flower Petals formed are different from the Green Enamel Flower Fruit. Moreover, many soul masters have methods to accelerate the ripening, but it’s very difficult to accelerate the ripening of the Green Enamel Flower. Ordinary soul skills can’t accelerate the ripening of the Green Enamel Flower.”
The other judges nodded.
As Shen Mingluan walked off the stage, the contestants behind paled in comparison.
A small number of them had scores below 65. Occasionally, one or two would appear and approach 70.
Be it soul pets or food for Contract Soul Masters, there were all sorts of strange things.
Kong Wei, who had obtained the title of ‘Glutton King’, obtained 73 points from his food, only two points behind Shen Mingluan.
After the Greedy Duck ate the Hundred Spirit Cake, it let out a cry and did not give a detailed evaluation of the subsequent foods.
It was very picky.
“Although the questions are getting harder and harder, their level is still increasing year by year.”
Professor Yun sighed.
Shen Mingluan, who walked off the stage, did not leave.
She continued to watch.
“I often hear Senior Shen’s name in the North River Academy.”
Chen Tian smiled and said, “You should be the King of Foods this year.”
He was only in his first year.
“Indeed. Junior Shen, your standard of food is probably comparable to the teachers of the academy.”
Kong Wei sighed as he walked down.
“I don’t dare to say that.” Shen Mingluan smiled and said, “He hasn’t even come out yet… There are naturally stronger people among the strong. There will definitely be someone with a higher level.”
Shen Mingluan looked at the platform. After a while, she saw Wang Che walk out with the little caterpillar. Her eyes lit up…