When he returned to the lounge, he saw blood smeared all over a wall. The place was a complete mess. In the spacious lounge, three disfigured bodies lay, their horrific state making Huai Shi's scalp tingle.

Holy hell...

He could almost reconstruct the scene before these inhuman things had died. They had risen from their seats and stood in the middle of the lounge. Then, a knife pierced the heart of the one in the center, followed by the one on the right, and finally, the one on the left. It was as smooth as flowing water; the blood hadn't even had a chance to spurt before their limbs were severed. Like slicing melons and dicing vegetables.

Eyes, liver, arteries, genitals, kidneys...

The instantaneous ravage felt like it lasted an eternity. In the end, the knife slashed their throats and necks from left to right. The long-suppressed blood, born of grief and anger, finally burst forth, splattering on the ceiling and staining everything red. They finally died.

"What on earth happened here?"

Huai Shi looked around the empty lounge in astonishment. No one paid him any attention, and those who occasionally glanced at him did so with cold, fierce eyes. Only in the corner, the older sister who had comforted him earlier waved him over, gesturing for him to sit beside her.

"You need to be careful," the older sister whispered. "Deathmatches aren't prohibited in the lounges. Just look at those guys..."

"Yikes, what a terrible death."

Huai Shi shook his head and sighed, looking at what were now the top sixteen contestants—well, only thirteen remained. He didn't see his seniors or juniors, nor were the master chefs like Cat Ignores and Xia Xilu anywhere to be seen.

Their absence was probably for the best. After all, it wasn't worth risking their lives just because their food was terrible.

"They were only here for an exhibition match, to spice things up for everyone," the older sister explained. "After all, to the judges, their dishes were simply too ordinary. They were invited to help boost the event's profile, but of course, they needed to be encouraged appropriately."

Well, that solved the mystery of why so many people's cooking was awful.

Huai Shi's expression twitched; he was unsure what to say.

"I thought you'd be eliminated in the first round, but to my surprise, you're quite strong!" The older sister patted his shoulder in astonishment. "Just make sure to go easy on me in the upcoming matches."

Huai Shi didn't know how to respond. Seeing his embarrassed look, the older sister laughed joyfully again.

"Just kidding, just kidding. Just do your best," she said with a smile and a wink. "After all, if we're talking about terrible-tasting food, I won't be defeated."

...As long as you're happy, I guess.

Huai Shi was at a loss for words.

Anyway, the next match was the only one left. Since this was just the regional preliminaries, it wasn't meant to be an arduous gauntlet to determine the absolute strongest. Therefore, the next format was sixteen advancing to eight. This meant making it to the top eight would secure a ticket to the global competition and the rewards provided by the organizing committee. Fortunately, it was now thirteen advancing to eight, not sixteen, so the difficulty was somewhat lessened.

Huai Shi was curious about what kind of challenge the judges would devise next.

The door was pushed open. The Attendant who had conveyed the judges' will entered the lounge. He glanced down at the bodies at his feet, his expression one of puzzlement. But it wasn't the puzzlement of someone discovering a murder. It was as if he was lamenting...

What, only this many died this time?

"Looks like everyone is following the rules," he said calmly, turning his gaze to the contestants. "The next match will start in one hour. Cuisine, style, and method are unrestricted. The theme is 'seafood.' Please get ready!"

With that announcement, he turned and left.

The atmosphere in the lounge tensed once again.

Seafood.

In the time that followed, nobody attempted any reckless moves. Perhaps some were eager, but it seemed the remaining contenders were all tough nuts to crack, and no one tried to start a fight.

The older sister, as if anticipating this, squeezed next to Huai Shi, smiling harmlessly as if declaring she was on his side.

She's found herself a bodyguard.

Resigned, Huai Shi shook his head and asked, "May I know your name?"

"Luo Xian. The 'Xian' means skilled," the older sister said, reaching out to gently shake his hand. Her palm was soft as water, her smile sweet.

Huai Shi, uncomfortable with her forwardness, coughed awkwardly and shifted slightly away. "Huai Shi. The 'Shi' as in poetry."

"Oh? 'A maiden's heart is always full of poetry,' is it? Nice name."

Luo Xian chuckled, not teasing him further. Instead, she closed her eyes to meditate, as if focusing intently on the theme. Before long, the sound of snoring could be heard.

"Hey..." Huai Shi nudged her shoulder gently. "Aren't you going to prepare at all?"

"No matter what I cook, it'll taste terrible anyway, so why prepare?" Luo Xian said nonchalantly, her eyes half-closed as she leaned against the wall. "Let me sleep a bit longer. Make sure to wake me when it's time."

Okay then, she certainly makes herself at home quickly.

Huai Shi shook his head helplessly and began pondering how to cook the seafood—or rather, he hurriedly pulled out his phone to search for recipes.

Inspiration like the 'Blessing Frost Sand' doesn't come often. Desserts might be improvised, but if it were a main course, relying solely on knife skills wouldn't be enough. Fortunately, Raven had prepared quite a few items in the bottom of his case.

As Huai Shi rummaged through the contents, his eyes lit up.

It seemed... perhaps... maybe... this could work?

He stroked his chin, falling deep into thought amidst Luo Xian's soft snores.

「An hour swiftly passed.」

When the doors opened once more, all the contestants instinctively stood up, readying themselves. Only Huai Shi was still helplessly nudging Luo Xian's shoulder.

"Wake up, wake up, the competition has started..."

"Hmm? Ah… oh." Luo Xian opened her eyes from her deep sleep, rubbed her face, tidied her somewhat disheveled hair, smacked her lips, and picked up the case beside her. "Then let's go."

...

Huai Shi sighed, suddenly feeling a bit drained.

How can dealing with someone even more carefree than I am be so exhausting?

Advancing along the corridor, they drew closer to the arena. The solemn air became more palpable, along with the darkness and pain surging among the scattered Source Substance. It was as if they were stepping closer to Hell with every move.

Having passed the preliminary round, the Chef Demon competition seemed to finally lift a corner of its veil, revealing a hint of the ferocity hidden beneath its farcical exterior. The moment Huai Shi stepped onto the stage, it felt as though the air carried a sound of shattering.

Involuntarily, grey-black flames rose from his body, revealing the visage of the Yin Soul behind his steel Peppa mask. The bone-chilling cold of an Evil Spirit spread in all directions, drawing wary glances from all the contestants. It wasn't just Huai Shi; the true identities of all participants were now revealed. Layers of dark aura emanated from the bodies of the Sublimators, colliding and disturbing one another, emitting a piercing noise. The Fire of the Yin Soul, swelling with Apocalypse Fog Nightmare, was quickly reined in and suppressed.

Only now did Huai Shi realize that among the contestants, there was one hidden Fourth Stage Sublimator! Clad in pitch-black Armor, the stooped figure moved slowly forward, and from within the Source Substance, the faint visage of a Ghost Warhorse emerged.

It was a Raving Hunt! A death march that roams the European Continent in the dead of night, like an Evil Spirit Knight from the Underworld.

The Raving Hunt, unfazed by the exposure of its true form, simply gave the surroundings a cursory glance before stepping into the arena.

Huai Shi instinctively looked at Luo Xian, the older sister who was always smiling sweetly beside him. Yet, he found no change in her. Not a trace of a Stigma's aura existed within her physical form. She was just a Sublimator who had never undergone any advancement. Despite this, a chilling foreboding crept into Huai Shi's heart—a warning from his Death Perception. This ever-sweetly smiling woman possessed the Ability to kill him at any moment!

"Oh, what a majestic Stigma! Is it an advancement from some Genealogy I haven't seen before?" Luo Xian remarked, noticing his gaze. She looked his way and teased him with a smile but didn't press further, only patting his shoulder. "Good luck in the competition."

She walked ahead.

Only after she had gone some distance did an inexplicable cold sweat slowly break out on Huai Shi's back, as if from a delayed fear. It was utterly baffling.

However, his confusion was short-lived. With the ringing of a bell and amidst the roaring excitement of the audience, the competition officially began!

The theme: Seafood.

Time limit: One hour.

No restrictions on cuisine, cooking method, or style.

There was only one requirement: contestants must exert all their abilities to present the judges with their most cruel works and most malicious creativity!

Under the scrutiny of a massive, faceless shadow at the far end of the judges' seats, the true preliminaries of the Chef Demon competition finally commenced.

Every contestant uniformly opened their toolboxes and began cooking.

And in that moment, everyone's movements paused. They froze, turning their heads in astonishment towards the corner. A terrifying killing intent erupted from there, one that had snuffed out countless traces of Source Substance in an instant, like a tide reversing its course to surge into the sky.

Luo Xian.

The moment her hand gripped the chef's knife, the gentle older sister seemed to vanish. In her place, something incomprehensible emerged.

If one were to struggle for a description, it was as if her flesh had been torn away, revealing the hideous true nature lurking in darkness. The Predator had removed her mask of tenderness, unleashing a chilling killing intent.

Monster.

Although merely an unadvanced Sublimator with no Stigma, the killing intent erupting from Luo Xian at that moment was so intense that even the Fourth Stage Raving Hunt felt thorns pricking their back. Just by witnessing her silhouette intently scraping fish scales, one could almost feel the cold trace of a blade on their own body, conjuring gruesome images of being torn asunder by that knife.

Huai Shi's eyes stung.

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