"Don't ask so many questions. Get someone to help the guest process the ingredients."
Master Yuxian said this while looking at the Egg Kid, who was still frozen in shock. He understood the reaction—after all, when he himself first saw the three-headed python Kael had slain, he'd been just as stunned.
But a guest had already arrived and was visiting him. Courtesy came first.
"Huh? O-Okay! I'll go get people right away!"
The Egg Kid snapped out of it at once. After answering, he hurried straight toward the kitchen.
There were more people here than just the Egg Kid and Arman, the guide.
Quite a few chefs from the outside were also staying on the mountain. All of them had come hoping to become Master Yuxian's disciples, and those who earned Arman's approval were allowed in.
Master Yuxian would keep the ones he deemed worthy and let them study under him. As for those he didn't approve of, Arman would deal with them.
Naturally, there were always a few thick-skinned types who refused to leave no matter how they were chased away. In those cases, Master Yuxian simply had them thrown deep into the mountains.
Standing at the peak of the Light Culinary World, Master Yuxian had lived for over a hundred and fifty years. He had seen every kind of person imaginable, and he never went easy on shameless ones.
Over time, no one dared to cause trouble here anymore.
Anyone who managed to stay knew exactly how precious this place was. Unless they truly felt they could no longer improve, they would never willingly leave.
Even if Master Yuxian only gave pointers occasionally, those hints alone were enough to make their skills soar.
Of course, staying here wasn't free. In return, they served as cooks for Master Yuxian and the others.
Before long, the Egg Kid returned with several people. The moment they saw the three-headed python Kael had brought back, all four of them were stunned.
Then reality hit—they couldn't move it.
The massive serpent was simply too heavy.
"Where's your kitchen? I'll drag it over myself," Kael said casually. "Oh, and one more thing—the body is extremely tough, so be prepared mentally. Processing it won't be easy."
Since Master Yuxian had already told them to help, Kael had no reason to refuse.
Led by the Egg Kid and the others, Kael dragged the giant python straight to the kitchen. Seeing him haul such an enormous beast alone—with just one hand—left everyone speechless.
It didn't feel human anymore.
"Who exactly is that guy? To be treated like this by Master Yuxian…"
As they watched Master Yuxian leave together with Kael, the people in the kitchen couldn't help whispering among themselves.
In the past, anyone who came here to learn was treated politely, but that was all. Master Yuxian never personally entertained them.
Kael was different.
From Master Yuxian's attitude, it was obvious—he was treating Kael as someone on his own level.
"No idea," one chef said. "But his strength is terrifying. Dragging something like that by himself… and look at this snake. It was cut clean in half. And the head—look at all those holes."
After inspecting the corpse, the chef spoke with a shaken voice.
"It's hard to imagine what kind of technique could leave wounds like this."
They couldn't wrap their heads around it. What sort of blade could cleave such a monster in two so cleanly? And those holes in the head—dozens of them, punched straight through.
That kind of damage couldn't be caused by arrows. It looked more like it had been hit by repeated shots from heavy ballistae.
But on Mt. Qingzhao, how could anyone possibly deploy that many siege weapons?
No matter how they looked at it, it made no sense.
"He's the current successor of the Garuda Knife," Arman said with a sigh. "He didn't enter Mt. Qingzhao through me—he came in alone. I thought he was dead for sure, so I immediately reported it to Master Yuxian."
"Now it seems I worried for nothing. He's far stronger than I imagined. Killing a monster like this on his own… even among the mutant beasts of Mt. Qingzhao, this one was rare."
Arman sounded genuinely emotional. He'd assumed Kael was just another reckless heir who didn't know his limits.
Now he realized the truth.
Kael hadn't come alone out of arrogance—he simply didn't need help.
"The Garuda Knife's successor… doesn't that mean he won't live very long?"
The moment those words were spoken, everyone shuddered.
Ever since the Legendary Kitchenware resurfaced, every person who wielded one had met a violent end.
Here at Master Yuxian's place, they'd learned even more of the truth: the Legendary Kitchenware drained the wielder's lifespan. Use it only a few times, and death would follow.
After learning that, any lingering greed they had for those tools vanished completely. To them, the Legendary Kitchenware was no longer a treasure—it was a curse.
Whoever wanted it could have it. They wanted no part of it.
And yet, despite knowing the danger, countless people outside still chased after those tools.
After all, there were rumors of "immortal cuisine."
And once you possessed a Legendary Kitchenware, you were almost invincible. Their defensive properties alone were terrifying.
Even in the original legends, Lan Feihong—already a Dragon Chef—was frightened the moment he obtained the Garuda Knife, and only dared to reclaim it after becoming a Supreme Dragon Chef.
So even with the risk of death, people still pursued them.
Just like pufferfish. Everyone knows it's poisonous, yet people still risk their lives to eat it.
Mushrooms, too—poisonous ones send people to the hospital every year, yet no one stops gathering them.
If people would take those risks for food, how much more tempting would Legendary Kitchenware be?
"We don't need to worry about his fate," Arman said. "Let's focus on processing this snake. He already warned us—it's extremely tough. I'm curious how hard it really is."
No one argued.
They picked up their knives and got to work.
The moment the blades touched the flesh, their expressions changed.
They had underestimated it.
"Huh… my knife is razor-sharp. Even frozen meat cuts like tofu with this thing," one chef muttered. "And yet I put in all that strength, and it only went in a few millimeters!"
Looking at the blade lodged shallowly in the flesh, everyone fell silent.
Anyone allowed to stay here was at least at Dragon Chef level. Their knives, while not comparable to the Seven-Star Knives, were still top-tier.
And yet, even with weapons like these, they could barely break the surface.
Just how terrifying a weapon would it take to slice this monster cleanly in half?
If they knew the truth—that Kael had done it with nothing more than a hand-blade strike—their expressions would have been priceless.
The kitchen quickly turned into a research site, everyone brainstorming how to deal with such a mutant beast.
Creatures like this had never appeared here before.
Even Master Yuxian and Arman couldn't easily hunt mutant beasts on Mt. Qingzhao.
The mutants here were nothing like those elsewhere.
To rule this mountain, they had to survive constant battles against countless other fierce beasts. Their combat strength was on a completely different level.
They were leagues beyond the giant eel Liu Maoxing and the others once captured.
That eel was huge, yes—but it had little offensive ability.
Living in a safe environment for so long, it had grown careless around humans, and in the end, was captured through sheer bad luck.
If it had been even slightly more alert, with its massive body in the water, even Kael would've had to put in some effort to catch it—let alone let Rein and the others succeed so easily.
In terms of raw danger, the two weren't comparable at all.
"Sounds like they're running into trouble. Want me to step in and help them a lil?"
Kael was sipping tea with Master Yuxian. Thanks to his Divine Hearing, he could clearly hear every word being said in the kitchen.
"So your hearing is that sharp, huh?" Master Yuxian chuckled. "Let them work it out. The difficulty is high, but with the Egg Kid there, they'll figure it out soon enough."
Master Yuxian could barely make out sounds from the kitchen, let alone the details. Kael, on the other hand, heard everything clearly.
The mutant python was difficult to process, but it wasn't impossible. Once the right cutting points were found, it could be done—slowly, but surely.
It was a good test for them.
"My hearing really is pretty good," Kael said with a faint smile, dropping the topic.
"By the way," Master Yuxian continued, "how much do you know about the Legendary Kitchenware? Do you understand how dangerous they are?"
In his eyes, Kael was extraordinarily talented—powerful, and not weak in culinary skill either. It would be a shame if such a person ruined himself over a tool.
"I know," Kael replied calmly. "They drain the wielder's lifespan. As long as I don't use it, it's fine."
He already understood what Master Yuxian was worried about.
"You're right," Master Yuxian nodded. "But keeping one is still dangerous. The threat doesn't just come from the tool itself—it comes from outside forces."
He believed it would be better to get rid of it altogether. Holding onto it meant being watched by countless factions.
And temptation was the real danger.
Once someone had a Legendary Kitchenware, resisting the urge to use it was extremely difficult. One moment of weakness—one dish—and the price would be paid with death.
Those tools were insidious. They didn't need long-term use. Just a few times was enough to start shaving years off one's life.
"You mean the Taiji Cuisine Realm?" Kael asked with a grin. "I'm not worried. When it comes to force, even if they all came at me together, they couldn't do anything."
If the Taiji Cuisine Realm wanted to deal with him, there were only two options: challenge him in cooking, or play dirty.
As for cooking battles, Kael would only accept them if he felt ready. If not, he wouldn't waste his time.
The choice was his.
As for ambushes and underhanded tactics—he wasn't afraid in the slightest.
Poison? Explosives?
He couldn't completely ignore large-scale bombings, but with Divine Senses, no matter how well-hidden the explosives were, he would detect them.
On top of that, his Gourmet Cells provided constant danger warnings.
There was no way the Taiji Cuisine Realm could forcibly take the tool from him.
If they tried, they'd only end up losing everything.
"Since you understand all that, I suppose I worried too much," Master Yuxian said. "Still, be careful. They may not have acted yet, but it's always wise to watch for dirty tricks. An open spear is easy to dodge—hidden arrows are not."
He didn't say any more after that.
In his heart, Master Yuxian was already certain—the Taiji Cuisine Realm, and the Dark Cooking Society along with it, were about to have a very bad time.
He'd only seen a fraction of Kael's strength, yet even that was enough.
Even if the Dark Cooking Society joined forces, they'd still be helpless against him.
As long as Kael stayed vigilant, the Legendary Kitchenware would be safest in his hands.
Master Yuxian knew the truth: the Taiji Cuisine Realm had deliberately released the Legendary Kitchenware to harvest lifespans.
He couldn't stop it.
That was why he and others like him had chosen not to interfere.
But now, with someone like Kael entering the picture—even if fate eventually allowed the Taiji Cuisine Realm to reclaim the tool, the price they'd have to pay would be far greater than before.
And Master Yuxian was more than happy to see that happen.
He despised the Taiji Cuisine Realm's methods.
Every time they emerged, countless chefs vanished from the continent—captured and taken back.
Those deemed useful were brainwashed and raised as fuel for the Legendary Kitchenware.
Those deemed useless were simply killed.
In that sense, they were no different from the Dark Cooking Society.
The only difference was their targets: the Taiji Cuisine Realm hunted elite chefs, while the Dark Cooking Society slaughtered indiscriminately.
At their core, there was no real difference at all.