Chapter 1237 - Owner, Give Me Ten More Skewers!
In everyone’s view, this new stall in the square was like a joke.
Teppanyaki was such a strange name that nobody had heard of it before. How could someone want to earn some quick money with a dish that jumped out from nowhere? If he wanted to make money and satisfy people’s appetites, he should at least choose famous dishes, such as Roasted Tyrannous Dragon Leg of the Vajra Realm, Redemption Vegetarian Rice of the West Little Buddhism Realm, the wine of Abyss, or Blood River Fish of Earth Prison…
Only this kind of delicious food could attract people. As for Teppanyaki… nobody had heard of it before, and because of that, the stall had become a laughingstock for everyone.
The mocking remarks grew louder after people read the words on the banner. Who would be stupid enough to buy a skewer that costs ten Immortal Crystals? On top of that… who would have the mood to taste this thing when the competition was about to start?
In the distance, Mo Yan and Fang Yu couldn’t help but slap their foreheads as they watched. They felt a sense of helplessness.
“The Great Demon King has indeed fallen to a new low…”
“The legendary Great Demon King is nothing more than this”
“Why did the Realm Lord send someone like this to take part in such an important competition? Isn’t this a joke? He’ll make the Immortal Cooking Realm into a laughingstock for all the surrounding worlds!”
Bu Fang paid no mind to all the glances thrown at him, but instead began his cooking with concentration.
Teppanyaki was a cuisine of stalls. Of course, there were fancy restaurants that hired chefs to specially cook it for diners, but in essence, it still had the flavor of stalls in it. A group of people surrounded an iron plate, watching the chef handle food on it, from which all sorts of rich smells and steam rose as the food quivered and sizzled. It was an unforgettable experience. Teppanyaki was actually a kind of worldly cuisine.
In fact, the cuisines in some fancy restaurants were good, but when compared with food sold by stalls, they lacked a touch of worldliness. The loftiness attached to them made food lose some of their flavors. On the contrary, people always enjoyed food sold in street stalls.
This was the beauty of different cuisines.
Sizzle…
Under Bu Fang’s control, the Black Turtle Constellation Wok had transformed into the Black Turtle Iron Plate. As the fire heated it from below, the plate’s temperature was constantly rising, causing steam to rise from it and hot air spread out into the surroundings.
Bu Fang glanced at the people around him. When he saw all the disdainful eyes, he twitched the corner of his mouth.
He rolled up his sleeves and exposed his fair arms, then picked up a small plate from the stall and gently upended it, sprinkling the oil in it onto the iron plate. After that, he grabbed a flat spatula and rubbed it against the plate to evenly distribute the oil. Soon, the oil was heated and filled the air with its aroma.
Next, he picked up three skewers of octopus tentacles and placed them on the plate. As soon as they touched the hot iron, they began to sizzle noisily as the liquid in them boiled and bubbled fiercely. The tentacles gave off a rich fragrance as the oil cooked them. At first, the smell was not obvious, and the fragrance was not as strong as one would have imagined.
Many people were slightly surprised when they saw Bu Fang could really cook under all the contemptuous glances. They fixed their eyes at him, feeling curious.
Xuanyuan Xiahui was nearest to the stall, and his eyes lit up instantly. He took a deep breath.
‘It smells delicious. Very delicious. The ingredient has just been put onto the plate, and it already gives off such a rich aroma… Owner Bu is really cooking something new.’
Bu Fang straightened his back and didn’t stop his movements. He kept pressing the tentacles with the flat spatula, squeezing out their juice. The more juice came out, the stronger the aroma. He grabbed the three skewers with one hand. When the fragrance wafted out of them and their color changed, he flipped them upside down. The tentacles sizzled again when they touched the plate, while milky white juice seeped out, boiling noisily.
He looked at the side that was flipped over. The color had changed to pink, which made the tentacles look delicious. However, this was only the beginning. Although teppanyaki didn’t seem like a dish that needed skills to prepare, it actually required the chef to have very precise control of the fire. A minor mistake would completely ruin the taste.
Xuanyuan Xiahui watched as Bu Fang cooked. He suddenly had a feeling that the cuisine Bu Fang was making would be very unusual as well. It might not be as subversive as hotpot, but at least… it should have no difficulty to make this tournament boil.
Sizzle!
Both sides of the tentacles had turned pink, and because of the rising steam, they seemed to be wriggling. At this moment, the aroma was already very strong. It was the original flavor of the ingredient. The fragrance gradually spread, causing the expressions of those who kept watching at the stall to change.
“It smells wonderful… The aroma is somewhat enticing.”
“Wow… Why does this smell make me unable to restrain my emotion?”
“What a strange aroma… It smells surprisingly delicious!”
The nearby people all stared at Bu Fang’s stall, and the disdainful looks in their eyes gradually disappeared. Perhaps they were so enticed by the aroma that they couldn’t help but put away their contempt for him. Many of them kept sniffing at the fragrance and looked intoxicated.
Sizzle!
Bu Fang sped up his movements. He flipped the three skewers and slapped them onto the iron plate, then kept pressing them with the flat spatula. The sizzling sound grew fainter with each press, but as soon as he lifted the spatula, the aroma boiled and filled the air. Suddenly, he grabbed a small long-necked bottle placed on the edge of the stall, covered its mouth with a thumb, took a step back, and upended the bottle over the iron plate, spilling the liquid in the bottle and sprinkling it on the octopus tentacles.
Sizzle!
A fog of steam instantly rose.
The people who had been watching him burst into an uproar. Obviously, they were shocked by the sudden steam. Of course, they were also attracted by the aroma of wine and meat that permeated the air. The wine was mellow, and the tentacles smelled delicious, mingling together into a unique fragrance.
Bu Fang narrowed his eyes and suddenly felt a surge of emotion. With a thought, he produced a spicy strip and held it between his lips. Half squinting, he flicked his fingers. A drop of golden oil immediately soared into the air and floated over the iron plate.
All eyes were attracted by the drop of golden oil.
The next moment, Bu Fang pointed out a finger. At the gesture, the oil fell through the rising steam and splattered across the iron plate.
Boom!
A plume of flame instantly rose like a dragon, drawing gasps and cries from the crowd.
“Cool!”
“So beautiful! It looks great!”
“I can’t believe the aroma of wine and meat can be so perfectly combined! My appetite has been aroused!”
The onlookers were shocked and talked to each other in amazement. As Bu Fang kept cooking, the aroma spread and attracted more and more people. The smell was too enticing, so many people had turned around and looked in his direction.
…
Zhu Yan walked down the raised platform with a somewhat absentminded look. His face was pale. The result of the draw had sent him into despair.
As the leader, he was responsible to draw the lots for team matches. There were about thirty small worlds in the team matches, some were strong and some were weak. Of course, he had hoped that he could draw themselves a weak opponent. If their opponent was a fearsome world such as the Vajra Realm, Winged Man Valley, or the West Little Buddhism Realm, it would be a nightmare.
Fortunately, he didn’t draw the Vajra Realm as their opponent, but the world that he had drawn was not a weak opponent either.
Their opponent would be the Blackwind Continent. It was a continent near the Abyss. Of its five contestants, three were half-step Saints and two were Nine-star True Immortals.
To the Immortal Cooking Realm team, this was an absolute nightmare since the whole team consisted only of Six-star True Immortals. Or so he thought.
‘Why are all the other contestants so strong?’
Zhu Yan felt a little depressed. He was full of hope, thinking that he could show off his strength in this Netherworld’s Tournament of the Great Path. However, he had drawn themselves such a fearsome opponent for their first team match. He thought he had let Realm Lord Di Tai and City Lord Meng Qi down.
He walked blankly like a puppet, holding the number tags and the jade talisman for the team matches. Suddenly, an aroma drifted into his nostrils. It woke him up, causing him to look up immediately into the distance, where people were gathering around something. He walked over, pushed through the crowd, and saw Bu Fang, who was cooking on a wooden stall.
He was rendered speechless.
‘A stall… I can’t believe he actually opened a stall during the tournament! What hope do we have left now when even the Great Demon King is not dependable… All hope is gone now…’
On the other hand, Mo Yan and Fang Yu stared at Bu Fang with gleaming eyes.
More and more people had returned from the draw, and they all gathered around Bu Fang’s stall. Everyone was attracted by the delicious aroma coming out of it.
Bu Fang had a sharp look in his eyes. With a spicy strip dangling from his lips, he waved a hand. Immediately, a small jar appeared and began to spin in his hand, sprinkling spices onto the tentacles and making them look extremely enticing.
“The teppanyaki octopus tentacles are ready…” Bu Fang said, putting down the flat spatula and holding three skewers of octopus tentacles.
His voice was not loud, but it echoed through the air, waking the onlookers who were still immersed in his cooking.
“Here, try it,” he said, handing Nethery one of the skewers.
Nethery took it impatiently, parted her tender lips, and bit into the steaming tentacle. Her mouth seemed too small for it, and part of the tentacle dangled from her lips. The next moment, she felt a delicious aroma explode in her mouth, slamming at her oral walls like missiles.
Her eyes grew wide, her cheeks bulged, and her lips stained with sauce. As she began to chew, her face turned rosy instantly!
‘It’s yummy!’ Nethery was amazed.
“There are still two skewers left. The first ten customers will enjoy a ninety-percent discount, which means one skewer cost only one Immortal Crystal,” Bu Fang said. He glanced at the crowd gathered in front of the stall and wondered if anyone would buy from him.
Many people swallowed as they watched Nethery eat, but they were still waiting. If no one was buying, they would not buy either.
However, they soon realized that they had made a mistake.
“Give me one! It smells so f*cking delicious! This humble monk can’t wait to taste it!”
No sooner had Bu Fang finished speaking than an impatient voice rang out from among the crowd. Then, a young monk in yellow robes pushed through the crowd, staring at the skewers of octopus tentacles in Bu Fang’s hands as saliva dripped from the corner of his mouth.
“Wow! He’s a monk from the West Little Buddhism Realm!”
“Can monks eat meat?”
“Do octopus tentacles count as meat? I think so…”
The little monk’s appearance caused an uproar.
After paying the Immortal Crystal, he took the teppanyaki octopus tentacles from Bu Fang and shoved them into his mouth right away. The oil stained his lips while juice dripped from the corner of his mouth.
Suddenly, several monks, who were also clad in yellow robes, pushed through the crowd. When they saw the little monk eating the octopus tentacles, they were rendered speechless.
“You should stop eating now, Junior Brother Fa Shang… It’s our turn to fight in team matches now!”
“Senior Brother Fa Wu… You should try this… It’s f*cking delicious!” The little monk’s eyes gleamed as he handed the remaining tentacles to the other monks.
“Fine, fine, fine… We’ll go and fight our opponent after eating this. After all, this is the West Little Buddhism Realm’s first match, and we can’t afford to be a disgrace…” Senior Brother Fa Wu said helplessly. He really doted on this little junior brother.
He sniffed the steaming teppanyaki octopus tentacles, then opened his mouth and took a bite.
“Dammit! This is f*cking tasty! Owner, give me one more skewer! Oh, no, give me ten more!”