The Natural Empire of the Oceanic Dragon

According to the naming conventions favored by the citizens of the Atlantis Empire loyal to Attilan, this child, compatible with the Gourmet Star, was named Liu Qinglong by his parents!

Attilan entrusted the task of establishing the Gourmet Association to Xiong Nan.

Because this wasn't a difficult task; anyone could establish an association with the official recognition of the Empire.

The challenge lay in gaining the approval of the Empire's citizens for this association.

It wasn't enough for just any Tom, Dick, or Harry to establish an association and expect everyone to feel a sense of awe upon hearing its name.

The Gourmet Association's status needed at least one legendary Icefire Chef to establish its foundation.

And Liu Qinglong was precisely the cornerstone Attilan needed.

Of course, Attilan had prepared eight legendary cooking utensils.

Attilan also intended to cultivate eight seeds like Liu Qinglong.

Competition brings progress.

Moreover, the competition between them for the legendary cooking utensils would perfectly stir up the heat surrounding divine cuisine on the continent.

Legend has it that divine cuisine made with the eight legendary cooking utensils could extend one's lifespan by five hundred years and grant the power to break through to the legendary realm.

Who wouldn't be tempted?

Of course, only sufficiently skilled chefs could create divine cuisine.

The legendary cooking utensils and the Gourmet Star naturally exerted their respective powers, but it was mostly the power possessed by the chefs themselves.

If a chef's strength was insufficient, they couldn't simultaneously use all eight legendary cooking utensils.

And those who could use all eight legendary cooking utensils to create divine cuisine could still create divine cuisine even without the legendary cooking utensils, although the effects of extending lifespan and assisting breakthroughs to the legendary realm wouldn't be as good.

After all, the eight legendary cooking utensils weren't true divine artifacts; they could only be considered projections of the eight divine artifacts that the God of Gourmet was still nurturing; the reputation of divine cuisine exceeded its actual power.

However, prolonged possession of the eight legendary cooking utensils could indeed help chefs comprehend the power of the Gourmet Star and increase the possibility of condensing Gourmet Divinity.

The probability increased from approximately 0.00001 to 0.0001.

Because when Attilan created this profession, his strength was already very high, and trying to make him think from the perspective of an ordinary person with no profession level—how should an ordinary person become an Icefire Chef?—was difficult.

The solutions Attilan came up with would have flaws.

Now, if you asked Attilan to describe the secret techniques needed for a level 20 Icefire Chef to break through to the legendary realm, or the secret techniques needed to condense Gourmet Divinity, he could explain them in great detail.

But to perfect the Icefire Chef profession, he needed the Gourmet Association to gather enough chefs to brainstorm together.

After Xiong Nan forged the eight legendary cooking utensils, he followed the plan and sailed west to Greenscale City.

As the node where the western water veins converge, Greenscale City gathered merchants and professionals from most parts of the continent.

Through the water veins and ships, these people would quickly spread the news of the eight legendary cooking utensils and the establishment of the Gourmet Association throughout the entire continent.

As expected, when Xiong Nan brought the eight lustrous magical cooking utensils and blatantly set up a stall on the street to make dishes, he quickly attracted the attention of a large number of merchants and professionals.

Among the attracted crowd, there happened to be two outstanding Icefire Chefs who had excellent eyesight and realized how much the legendary cooking utensils could help Icefire Chefs.

One of them, a strong man carrying a pointed knife over five feet long and twenty inches wide on his back, walked up to Xiong Nan.

"Are you selling this knife in your hand?"

Xiong Nan smiled and waved his hand, saying:

"I'm not selling it, but if you want to taste the dishes made with this knife, I can make you a free serving."

The strong man frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and finally nodded, saying:

"Alright, if this knife is wasted in your hands, I..."

Xiong Nan interrupted him directly, saying:

"I'll hand the knife over to a chef who can better unleash its power!"

The strong man was a blacksmith from the former Northern Kingdom who loved to eat.

But in his thirty years of life, he had never met a chef who could satisfy his appetite.

It wasn't until Attilan announced the cultivation methods of Icefire Chefs that the strong man had a flash of inspiration: why couldn't he become a chef himself?

After all, he often lamented that he could cook better than those chefs.

Now that he could become a magic chef and master the power of ice and fire, he could not only cook but also fight.

Becoming an Icefire Chef seemed to have more prospects than staying in a small town as a blacksmith?

Then, the strong man used all the good iron left in the blacksmith shop to forge a door-panel-like pointed knife for himself as equipment before setting off.

The door-panel-like pointed knife could attack, defend, chop meat, and chop people.

In less than five years after setting out, the strong man became a rising Icefire Chef in the western part of the continent.

Known as the Northern Mad Bull Cleaver!

He wielded this door-panel-like pointed knife and directly divided a rampaging mad bull into appropriately sized pieces of meat—a mad bull that was over four meters tall at the shoulders and could knock down city walls by lowering its head.

He used the knife to cut it open, made it into barbecue, and shared it with everyone.

Plus, he came from the North, so he was called the Northern Mad Bull Cleaver!

When Xiong Nan got serious, he had some cooking talent.

With the eight legendary cooking utensils and the power of the Gourmet Star, his cooking level was also at the upper level of a Special Grade Chef.

When the Northern Mad Bull Cleaver tasted the beef dish made by Xiong Nan, his eyes widened instantly.

"So tender! So fresh! As I chew, I feel like a calf is running in my mouth."

The strong man nodded heavily.

"Indeed amazing! I acknowledge you."

The other chef was a female pirate from the Southern Islands.

Born with an eye disease, she regained her sight and even awakened her talent through the dishes made by the Icefire Chef.

Her golden pupils could perfectly memorize other people's movements and harmonize even more perfect movements, suppressing the enemy to the point of prostration.

Known as Golden Ratio Harmonization.

By observing Xiong Nan's movements, she actually found several problematic areas, but after thinking carefully for a long time, she realized that she couldn't optimize Xiong Nan's movements.

Looking at the cooking utensils shining in Xiong Nan's hands, she immediately understood.

"Your cooking level is only achieved by relying on these cooking utensils; without the cooking utensils, your level can't compare to ours at all."

Xiong Nan didn't argue, but simply turned the kitchen knife in his hand and handed it to the female pirate.

"You can try."

The female pirate directly reached out and took the kitchen knife. The kitchen knife, which was originally emitting a blue light, instantly became ordinary in her hands.

No matter how she injected magic power, she couldn't make the kitchen knife glow.

There was no spiritual imprint of Xiong Nan in the kitchen knife. In theory, this magical cooking utensil didn't have an owner yet, and anyone could activate its power as long as they met the conditions.

She didn't activate the magical aura, which meant she couldn't do it?!

She, a perfect blend of golden ratios, the most outstanding magical chef in the Southern Continent, how could she not be recognized by a piece of cookware?

She glared coldly, asking in an icy tone:

"Is this kitchen knife broken?"

"Broken? Let me see."

As soon as the bear-man took the kitchen knife, it emitted a blue light.

He smiled and shook the knife.

"It's not broken."

The strong man curiously reached out and asked:

"Can I take a look too?"

The bear-man directly handed over the knife. The strong man grasped the knife and injected magic power. The knife emitted a blue light, then quickly extinguished.

"It seems it's not broken, but we haven't reached the requirements to use this magical cookware yet."

As a magical chef skilled in using knives, the strong man was indeed close to gaining the Azure Dragon Blade's recognition.

But now is not the time to control the legendary cookware, so he could only be rejected.

Regardless of whether the bear-man's cooking skills were lower than theirs, the bear-man had gained the recognition of eight legendary cookware, while they hadn't. Therefore, the bear-man was more skilled than them.

He used the eight legendary cookware to create dishes, sharing them with the audience who came to watch, and telling them that he would establish a Culinary Association in Azure Scale City in a month.

He invited outstanding magical chefs from the entire continent to participate in the gathering.

At that time, a cooking duel would be held to select the most skilled magical chef to become the president of the Culinary Association.

Everyone didn't care about selecting the president of the Culinary Association through a competition.

What they cared about was the most skilled magical chef in the entire continent!

Everyone wanted to know who would receive this title.

The strong man and the female pirate were also invigorated, choosing to use a competition to become the president of the Culinary Association, which showed that the bear-man was quite confident in his cooking skills.

The two exchanged a look and decided to follow the bear-man for the time being to figure out the mystery between him and the eight legendary cookware.

One of them was currently the number one chef in the West, and the other was the number one in the South.

They gathered in Azure Scale City, naturally with only one purpose.

To determine who among them had higher cooking skills!

Before the duel even started, they encountered such an interesting thing in the city.

They decided to temporarily put aside their duel and postpone it to the All-Continent Culinary Competition in a month.

Holding the All-Continent Culinary Competition in Azure Scale City in a month, what did that mean?

Neither of them were fools; on the contrary, they were very clever.

They specifically chose to duel in Azure Scale City to make a name for themselves.

Atlantis did not explicitly state the location of the capital, but the Emperor's palace was built in Great Horn City and Azure Scale City, which destined these two cities to be more important than other cities!

Holding the All-Continent Culinary Competition, even if the government didn't interfere and allowed you to hold it, where would you find a large enough venue for everyone to duel?

So many chefs competing on the same stage, who would provide the necessary referees and materials?

Even registering the Culinary Association, don't think that they could just walk into the Prime Minister's Office with their regional number one titles. They wouldn't even be able to get through the door.

The submitted application might not even reach the demi-goat's hands.

But the bear-man could swagger into the Prime Minister's Office and walk into the demi-goat's office.

Opening his mouth, he would say:

"The Culinary Association I want to set up, please approve the application for me, and also, I need a venue to hold the culinary competition, please arrange one for me."

The demi-goat would definitely glare at him first, and then say impatiently:

"You didn't call me when you had banquets, but you think of me when you need to do things?"

The bear-man would definitely shamelessly approach him.

The demi-goat could only agree and arrange for his secretary to assist the bear-man.

When the strong man and the female pirate were recruited by the bear-man to become the first members of the Culinary Association and followed him straight into the Prime Minister's Office, the guards at the door didn't even look at them.

This alone had already shocked them.

Then, the scenes mentioned above unfolded, leaving them even more speechless.

"President, are you friends with the Prime Minister?"

The bear-man naturally nodded triumphantly.

"Although we weren't the kind who grew up together, we've been friends for forty years."

Forty years of friendship, but the bear-man looked less than thirty years old.

Much younger than the strong man.

The female pirate excitedly asked:

"President, have you drunk from the Fountain of Youth? Or have you created the Longevity Dish mentioned in the Ice and Fire Magical Chef Secret Scroll?"

As a woman, it was difficult to overcome the temptation of eternal youth.

The bear-man thought for a moment and said:

"It can be considered a Longevity Dish. I should be able to create some dishes that can extend lifespan now. After the Culinary Association is established, eight strong individuals will enjoy the Longevity Dish."

"You two have to work hard."

A flash of light disappeared in the female pirate's eyes.

"President, we were the first to join you; you can't not provide us with a little help."

The female pirate looked at the bear-man with a charming gaze, but the bear-man said coldly:

"Focus on improving your cooking skills. Don't use cheap tricks like charm spells."

What hasn't the bear-man seen?

He had even fought succubi. How could a sun-baked female pirate with a bit of beauty move him?

"Since you were the first to join me, I will naturally provide you with some help. In a few days, a batch of high-quality ingredients will be delivered to you. Use these materials to practice well."

"Not only can it improve your cooking skills, but eating it can also enhance your strength. The chances of being in the top eight are high."

Not only his two subordinates, but the bear-man also needed to quickly improve his cooking skills.

With his druid level and eight legendary cookware, a small dragon chef wasn't a problem.

Just as the bear-man and his two subordinates were honing their cooking skills, Attilan also saw the Culinary Association application submitted by the bear-man.

"Culinary Person?"

The name Ice and Fire Magical Chef was abandoned by the bear-man.

The reason was that it was too long and didn't sound good.

Strictly speaking, Ice and Fire Magical Chef was actually an abbreviation for Ice and Frost and Fire Magic Chef.

The bear-man directly changed it to Culinary Person.

Simple and direct, like warrior, mage.

And it sounded good.

Chef wasn't a low-level title, but it was too common.

Culinary Person sounded like it had an inexplicable sense of awe.

In his application, the bear-man directly teased Attilan, asking if Attilan thought he had more talent in naming.

Attilan just smiled slightly, planning to deal with the bear-man after he stepped down.

A month passed quickly. A crystal-like platform rose directly from the waters east of Azure Scale City. That was the venue for the All-Continent Culinary Person Competition.

The Prime Minister's Office helped with publicity, and chefs from all over the continent were invited by local staff within a month.

They were ambitiously preparing to prove their strength in the competition.

This was an opportunity to become famous all over the world.

Everyone didn't expect that the first continent-wide competition held after the establishment of the empire wouldn't be swordsmanship or magic.

It was actually a culinary duel.

Thinking of the empire's Emperor, the title of God of Food and Dragon, it seemed very normal.