In the kitchen.
Xia Zhi took a taste test—and blanked out for a second.
He snapped out of it and offered a spoonful to Xiangling.
She imdiately entered a trance-like state.
Okay… this dish might be a little too delicious.
He thought for a bit, then stowed the pot in his inventory and took a look.
[Gods' Temptation]
Quality: Gold
Type: Consumable
Trait: For Deities
Effect: A complex dish made from rare ingredients using Grandmaster-level cooking skill. The higher the eater's divinity, the better it tastes.
Hidden Effect: Crafted using a full cookware set, it grants longevity.
Non-recyclable.
Xia Zhi was a bit surprised.
Gold quality was expected—he'd used absurdly high-end ingredients—but the [For Deities] trait? No wonder even he almost lost control.
The na Gods' Temptation really lived up to the hype.
Xia Zhi retrieved the dish from his inventory.
Then, after a mont's thought, he pulled out the long-forgotten [lk Stardust].
Not because he wanted to ss with the gods outside—he just believed in culinary excellence.
If it could be even better, he wasn't settling.
"This is a big pot anyway… might as well add a generous amount."
A cascade of glittering golden dust, as dazzling as star fragnts, spilled from the mouth of the bottle and blended into the thick, clear stew, rging seamlessly.
The already enticing aroma in the air instantly beca even more irresistible.
Effect of [lk Stardust]: Enhances the flavor of a dish by 5%–20% when added during cooking.
The more you add of this extraordinary seasoning, the more delicious the dish becos.
Since the effect scales by percentage, the better the original dish tastes, the more significant the boost.
And this [Gods' Temptation] was the finest dish Xia Zhi had ever made—he had also added the most [lk Stardust] this ti. Its flavor was likely maxed out.
Xia Zhi put away the spice bottle, sealed the jar with its lid again, cutting off the seductive aroma.
It took quite a while before Xiangling snapped out of her daze.
"Master!"
"How's the flavor?"
"It's delicious! Way, way better than any Adeptus' Temptation I've had before!"
"Strictly speaking, this isn't Adeptus' Temptation anymore. I revised the original recipe, used entirely new ingredients, though I kept the cooking process the sa."
"Mm-hmm! Master, you're amazing!"
"Right?"
Xia Zhi gave a small smile.
Having a disciple who admired him like this—it actually felt pretty nice.
Xiangling, being a master chef herself, had so resistance to the aroma. She'd only zoned out because she was being hand-fed by him.
But the other two girls helping in the kitchen—Ying'er and Diona—weren't so lucky. The aroma was even more concentrated in the kitchen than in the main hall. The mont Xia Zhi opened the lid, they were completely swept away, helpless against its allure.
They had only just started to regain their senses now.
"Boss! That sll just now—amazing!"
"That's the legendary Adeptus' Temptation, right?"
"Mm-hmm, and it's today's main course."
"Aweso!"
"Is it ready? Do you need us to taste-test it?"
"No need—it's already been tasted."
"Aww…"
Xia Zhi "looked" at the disappointed expressions on their faces and shook his head.
"It's not that I don't want to let you try it. I'm just worried that if you taste it now, you won't be able to eat anything else when the al starts."
"!"
"You can ask Xiangling. She already had so."
Xiangling nodded, her face full of nostalgia. "Yeah… I can't forget that taste now…"
"I see."
"Which is why I'll serve this dish last, once everyone's almost full."
"Got it!"
"All right, let's stop chatting and get back to work."
——
In the hall, the strange aroma lingering in the air slowly faded.
Everyone resud their previous conversations, but there was a distracted quality to them, as their eyes kept wandering toward the kitchen.
When are we eating already?
Moon Carver was this close to secretly casting a divination, but decided against it at the last second.
Zhongli poured himself another cup of tea and sipped it slowly.
Guoba tried to sneak off toward the kitchen but had barely taken a step before Mada Ping planted a hand on his head and dragged him back.
Xia Ci finished her Sunflower Seeds and checked her pocket watch.
"Almost noon…"
Just as the words left her lips, Diona darted out of the kitchen.
"al ti! Could everyone help set the table, please?"
"On it!"
One dish after another—vibrant, aromatic, and beautifully plated—was brought out and arranged on the table. Diona even brought out her specially prepared Rainbow Wine and poured it for everyone.
"Thank you for all your hard work, Mr. Xia! You made so many dishes!"
"Nah, it's fine. It's the last day of the year, after all. Just a little gathering with friends—good food, good talk, and laughter. Let's bid farewell to the old and welco the new. Everyone, eat and drink to your heart's content!"
"Mm-hmm!"
But despite the abundance of dishes on the table, no one picked up their chopsticks.
Xia Zhi looked puzzled. "What's everyone waiting for?"
Xia Ci looked at him and asked, "Cousin, didn't you forget to serve one more dish?"
"There is one more—today's main dish. But it's special. It's ant to be the grand finale."
"Oh!"
Everyone collectively had a lightbulb mont.
Chopsticks were finally lifted, and the al began in earnest.
The atmosphere around the table instantly beca lively.
The star of the show, unsurprisingly, was Guoba.
Wearing a pair of Gloves Ganyu had found in a treasure chest, his paws moved with astonishing dexterity, handling chopsticks like human fingers. He snatched dishes with lightning speed.
Moon Carver and Mountain Shaper could only stare in disbelief, mostly because they kept losing out on chicken legs.
Who uses gear to cheat during als!?
The two Adepti exchanged a look, then silently pulled out small dicine bottles from their sleeves and popped a pill each.
This didn't escape Xiao's notice.
"…You guys…"
Mountain Shaper handed him two pills. "Good stuff. Take them."
"What are they?"
"Digestive pills."
"…I don't need them."
"Sure you don't? Even the Emp—Zhongli took so. Just take them. Use them if you need to."
Mountain Shaper pressed the pills into his hand.
Xiao hesitated, then glanced at Zhongli.
Sure enough, the Archon was also popping one of those tiny pills.
After a mont of thought, he put them away—not because he needed them, but because Mountain Shaper ant well. No reason to refuse.
As a Yaksha, he had always possessed a strong will. No matter how tasty the food, he wouldn't resort to pills just to eat more.
The al continued with laughter and chatter.
The liveliness only grew.
When Xia Zhi noticed that most of the dishes were nearly finished, he stood up and gave everyone a heads-up before heading back to the kitchen with Xiangling.
Everyone perked up noticeably.
"Master, are we serving it plated?"
"Let's just bring out the whole jar."
"Oh, I'll do it!"
"It's heavy, you know. You sure you got this?"
"Don't worry!"
---
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