"Oh, right—Master Yuxian, I have a question. It's about qi. Does qi have different attributes?"
Kael finally voiced what had been bothering him. The inheritance he'd received from Kaiyu barely mentioned qi at all, which left him frustrated.
As far as he could tell, his qi could modify ingredients and strengthen his body—but beyond that, it didn't seem to have any special traits.
Master Yuxian and the others, on the other hand, displayed abilities that were on a completely different level.
"Attributes of qi?" Master Yuxian looked genuinely surprised. "Didn't your teacher explain that to you?"
He could tell Kael was still very young. For someone his age to have already grasped qi was unbelievable in itself. In Master Yuxian's mind, that kind of achievement required not only monstrous talent, but also guidance from an exceptional master.
Yet Kael's tone suggested otherwise.
"A teacher?" Kael shook his head. "I don't have one. I just happened to obtain an inheritance by chance. I learned qi through it and reached the Dragon Chef level on my own."
That answer shocked Master Yuxian even more. He stood up abruptly, eyes wide.
"Dragon Chef? You're only a Dragon Chef? You mastered qi at the Dragon Chef stage—without any guidance?"
He stared at Kael in disbelief. "That's absurd… but at the same time, it's incredible news."
"Is there something wrong with that?" Kael asked, confused. "Isn't qi something you can only grasp after reaching the Dragon Chef level?"
Now it was Kael's turn to sense that there was more to this than he'd realized.
"You're not wrong," Master Yuxian said, forcing himself to calm down. "In the culinary world, only Dragon Chefs even have a chance to grasp qi. But throughout history, there have been only two people who actually succeeded at that stage."
"Damo and Xu Ling."
"You know the Taiji Cuisine Realm, so you should've heard of them."
"I know a little," Kael replied honestly. "But not much."
What he knew came mostly from the manga. One of them never truly appeared, yet a single stone tablet he left behind gave birth to the Eight Spirit Pagoda.
The other appeared only as a manifestation of will, possessing Weng Shengyu the moment he emerged—and immediately triggering a cooking duel that nearly killed Rēn and Mira.
They'd only been saved later thanks to Jelan, the Mother Queen Bug.
Their screen time was short, but there was no doubt about it—those two stood on an entirely different plane from everyone else.
"That's enough," Master Yuxian said. "The idea that qi can be grasped at the Dragon Chef level originated with those two."
"But that 'rule' applies only to them."
"For everyone else in the culinary world, you must reach the Supreme Dragon Chef level before qi becomes attainable."
Kael froze.
"So… in all of history, only those two mastered qi at the Dragon Chef stage?" he asked.
"Exactly." Master Yuxian nodded gravely. "Aside from them, everyone—including me, the other Great Masters, and even the Phoenix Eight Immortals—only grasped qi after reaching Supreme Dragon Chef."
"Then what's the difference?" Kael pressed.
Master Yuxian's expression made it clear the distinction mattered—a lot.
"That brings us back to your question about qi attributes," he said slowly. "Simply put, a qi attribute is determined by the type of cuisine you're best at."
"Take me, for example. I specialize in egg-based cuisine. Once I mastered qi, its nature gradually aligned with eggs. Every dish I make, every ability I use—it all revolves around eggs."
"For most people who master qi, aside from a few basic applications, they can only develop one attribute."
"There's only one exception."
"Those who grasp qi at the Dragon Chef stage."
"The earlier qi is awakened, the purer it is. Xu Ling was able to forge the Legendary Kitchenware precisely because of this. Those tools possess abilities even we Great Masters don't have."
"All of that stems from the fact that he mastered qi while still a Dragon Chef."
"At that stage, qi isn't locked into a single attribute. It can branch into many, with terrifying growth potential—far beyond ours."
Master Yuxian looked Kael straight in the eyes.
"You are now the third person in history to grasp qi at the Dragon Chef level."
"So remember this well. While you're still a Dragon Chef, you must expand and enrich your qi attributes as much as possible. The more attributes you cultivate now, the greater your qi's future potential will be."
"So that's how it works…" Kael muttered.
He couldn't help but feel a chill. If he hadn't changed his mind and come to see Master Yuxian first, he might have advanced to Supreme Dragon Chef without properly developing his qi attributes—and that would have been a massive loss.
"Your potential is terrifying," Master Yuxian continued, his voice filled with awe. "You have no master, yet your path mirrors that of Damo and Xu Ling."
"As long as you grow smoothly, your future will not fall short of theirs."
"To think… at my age—over a hundred years old—I would still live to witness the birth of a legend."
In this world's history, Xu Ling had lived seven thousand years ago. In all that time, only three people had mastered qi at the Dragon Chef stage.
Master Yuxian himself had known these secrets when he received his inheritance. He'd tried countless times to touch qi while still a Dragon Chef—but all he ever achieved was a weakened, incomplete version.
In the end, he'd had no choice but to advance. Once he became a Supreme Dragon Chef, mastering qi suddenly became hundreds of times easier.
That realization had haunted him ever since.
"I won't call myself a legend just yet," Kael said calmly. "But for the next while, I'd like to stay here and learn how to use qi properly under your guidance."
"Of course, I'll offer appropriate compensation."
"There's no need," Master Yuxian replied without hesitation. "I'll teach you freely—on one condition."
"Please, say it."
"You're destined to reach the same heights as Xu Ling and Damo," Master Yuxian said quietly. "I once adopted a child. His talent was the greatest I had ever seen—until you appeared."
"I taught him everything I knew."
"His name is Malyu. You may know him as the Jade Qilin."
"When he completed his studies, I let him leave and walk his own path. But for reasons unknown to me, he joined the Taiji Cuisine Realm and earned the title of Jade Qilin. He could even wield all of the Legendary Kitchenware by himself."
"Then, after an accident… he vanished."
"Everyone believes he's dead. But I can still faintly sense his qi. I know he's alive—I just don't know where he is."
"My only regret is that I wasn't strong enough."
"So I ask you this—when you grow strong enough, help me find Malyu."
Just as Kael had expected.
Master Yuxian's greatest obsession was Malyu. Since the day Malyu disappeared, he had never stopped searching.
"I accept," Kael said after a moment's thought.
He was curious about Malyu himself. Even without this request, he would have searched once he had the strength.
In the original story, Malyu had appeared—if only briefly. That massive blade unique to the Jade Qilin could be wielded by no one else.
Whatever state Malyu was in, it was clearly something unusual—perhaps a manifestation of will, much like Xu Ling.
"Good. Very good." Master Yuxian laughed aloud. "Then I'll pass on everything I know to you. No need for formal discipleship—just learn from me."
And so, Kael took up residence on Mt. Qingzhao.
The outside world, however, knew nothing of this.
Because Kael had entered the mountain without Arman's guidance, everyone assumed he was dead.
After all, there were precedents. Those who entered Mt. Qingzhao recklessly never came back alive.
A few days later, the news reached the Dark Cooking Society's headquarters.
When Kaiyu read the report, his face darkened like coal.
"That idiot—did he have a death wish?" Kaiyu growled. "If he wanted to die, he could've done it anywhere. Why drag the Garuda Knife into Mt. Qingzhao with him?"
His head throbbed. Mt. Qingzhao was a place of certain death.
"Should we send death squads in to search?" Arkan finally spoke.
"I've thought about it," Kaiyu said grimly. "But our expendable men are limited, and the mountain is vast. We've sent people in before—not a single one returned."
"And even if Kael was eaten by beasts, the Legendary Kitchenware wouldn't be digested. But what if it's buried underground? Or lost in a pool of water?"
"In that case, finding it would be impossible."
Sending people in would be like searching for a needle in the ocean—except they'd probably die before even getting close.
"Then we have no choice," Arkan said. "Unless Master Yuxian himself brings the knife out."
That single sentence made Kaiyu's expression turn ugly.
If the Garuda Knife fell into Master Yuxian's hands, it would inevitably end up with the Light Culinary World.
And once that happened, reclaiming it would be even harder than retrieving the Ever-Soul Knife sealed at Daisen Temple.
Kaiyu could already feel his end approaching. He needed the Legendary Kitchenware—to extend his life, to reign supreme over the culinary world.
He had even prepared dishes like the Pomo Bajin for that purpose.
"You're right," Kaiyu said through clenched teeth. "We don't have another option."
"Mobilize personnel from every branch. Send them into Mt. Qingzhao."
"No matter what—start searching."
The order went out.
What Kaiyu didn't know was that Kael was very much alive—studying under Master Yuxian at that very moment.
Arman could have carried word back, but he was currently busy helping Kael prepare ingredients instead of acting as a guide.
As a result, all contact with Mt. Qingzhao was completely cut off.
And so, the world continued to believe—
Kael was dead.
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