177: Chapter 177 The Strange Effects of Dishes

“The last dish is here!!”

Accompanied by a burst of fresh fragrance, Lin Zhizhi brought the last peculiar dish. After placing it down, she nimbly sat down.

Behind her, Imperial Chef Gu Yue followed and sat down.

As the four sat down, tempted by the delicious food, Lin Zhizhi was the first to pick up a tempting piece of braised pork in front of her.

An intense aroma burst in her mouth, and in an instant, she was completely engrossed in it.

“Mmm~, it’s so delicious. How long has it been, Sister Yueyue, and your cooking skills have improved again.”

After a long while, Lin Zhizhi, recovering from the endless aftertaste of the exquisite food, did not stint on her praise, repeatedly giving Imperial Chef Gu Yue a thumbs-up.

Following Lin Zhizhi, Li Xuefei and Fang Yuan also enjoyed the delicacies in front of them. Like the former, as soon as the food entered their mouths, both of them were captivated by its flavor and fell silent.

“Oh~, Sister Gu Yue, is there anything special about these dishes you made? After eating them, my mind feels clear, and it greatly helps in comprehending the power of Concept.”

After just a small bite, Fang Yuan was surprised to find that this monster delicacy had the effect of calming the mind and strengthening brain function.

In just a moment, he felt the profoundness of the Concept.

“Is there? It might be the monster ingredients’ doing.”

Gu Yue did not take credit. Before clarifying the reason, she directly attributed the credit to the monster ingredients.

Hearing this, Fang Yuan did not say anything more, only putting this question aside for later. The most urgent matter now was to fill his stomach.

Seeing Lin Zhizhi next to him, like a Reincarnation of a big eater, devouring meat piece by piece, he was afraid that if he was a little slower, all the delicious food in front of him would be eliminated by her.

After continuously eating other dishes, Fang Yuan found that only the dish in front of him had the effect of calming the mind.

The other monster dishes were all very delicious and captivating, no less so than the effective one.

“Sister Yueyue, why don’t you come and live with us from now on?”

Lin Zhizhi, who had been engrossed in eating, suddenly looked up, her eyes full of expectation as she looked at Gu Yue opposite her.

After trying the other dishes and comparing them to the ones Gu Yue made before, there was a clear difference this time.

If Gu Yue a month ago was equivalent to a five-star chef, then now, she was a nine-star chef, with a significant Breakthrough in her cooking skills.

Previously, she could still go to Imperial Garden Pavilion to satisfy her cravings, but now, after tasting the exquisite food cooked with Gu Yue’s drastically improved skills, Lin Zhizhi could no longer return to her former life.

“Sister Yueyue, come to my place…”

Li Xuefei on the side suddenly spoke up, inviting Gu Yue to Manor Number One, competing with Lin Zhizhi for Gu Yue’s allegiance. She was equally attracted by Gu Yue’s astonishing cooking skills.

Facing the eager invitations from the two young women, Gu Yue smiled without speaking, not agreeing to either of them.

Speaking of which, her cooking skills only showed a significant improvement after her Breakthrough to Legendary Rank.

An Imperial Chef is, after all, just a commoner profession. It’s estimated that besides her, few Legend Rank Professionals would personally cook.

With the aid of powerful control, Gu Yue could easily cook monster ingredients to their most perfect taste, while also preserving their most unique aroma.

“…Hey!”

Facing Li Xuefei’s sudden competition, Lin Zhizhi, knowing she couldn’t win, gently nudged the person beside her with her elbow.

“You two don’t need to argue. Can’t Sister Gu Yue just come here every once in a while?”

At her urging, Fang Yuan swallowed the food in his mouth, then proposed a compromise?

With Gu Yue’s agreement, whenever she had free time, she would come here every day to cook delicious dishes for everyone.

She didn’t see any problem with this; cooking delicious food was her hobby, and making delicious dishes that others enjoyed was a validation of her skills… To confirm whether the effect of the previous dish originated from a certain monster ingredient, as soon as he finished the food on the table, Fang Yuan asked Gu Yue to cook again.

At his suggestion, Gu Yue cooked more than a dozen dishes, emitting a rich meaty aroma, using various parts of the Scented Beast.

As soon as she finished each one, Fang Yuan, Lin Zhizhi, and Li Xuefei tried it while it was hot.

After eating several dishes consecutively, the effect of making it easier to comprehend Concept did not appear.

This seemed not to be the effect of the monster ingredients. With no results, Gu Yue could only continue cooking.

To rule out various possible factors, she first replicated an identical crispy scented meat using her previous cooking method.

Then, she cooked the same dish in a different order.

“How…?”

After Fang Yuan and the two women finished several plates of crispy scented meat, whose aroma was almost indistinguishable, Gu Yue immediately asked for their feedback.

“They’re all delicious, there doesn’t seem to be any difference.”

Lin Zhizhi spoke first. She didn’t detect any different feelings; in any case, every piece of crispy scented meat could engross her for a long time.

“…!”

Gu Yue was speechless. This girl was completely a foodie! With no results from her, she looked at the young woman on the other side, but similarly got no results.

Finally, she could only look at the only person who hadn’t spoken yet.

“Only this one crispy scented meat had an effect; although the taste of the others didn’t vary much, they had no effect whatsoever. It’s truly strange…”

After eating several identical pieces of crispy scented meat, Fang Yuan found that only one had the effect of calming the mind, while the others, though tasting the same, had no effect. This peculiar phenomenon made him feel very strange.

With a hint of doubt, Gu Yue again used the same method to cook an effective crispy scented meat. Without surprise, this one also possessed a magical effect.

During its cooking process, Fang Yuan used his perception to carefully observe the details and finally discovered that by following a specific sequence, the energy within several monster ingredients underwent specific changes, giving rise to special effects.

The energy reaction conditions were specific; only specific temperatures and cooking methods could produce the effect. This was also why, among identical dishes, only this one had an effect… After discovering the special effects in the monster dishes, Gu Yue spent two to three hours every day researching various monster ingredients, cooking them into one exquisite dish after another.

This allowed the other three to feast to their hearts’ content, with a continuous supply of various delicious dishes.

Fang Yuan had no plans to do anything else next. He ate the delicious monster dishes while comprehending the Concept of Fire.

Soon, with the aid of Gu Yue’s special dishes, he successfully mastered the Concept of Fire in just eight days.

This was two days earlier than his previously planned time.