Chapter 344 – Promotion Trial, Start!

Lu Liu was not Chef Pao’s confidant.

He normally wouldn’t eat monster ingredients. With Tianyuan Territory having no shortage of regular food, why would any sensible person delve into bizarre ingredients?

But after witnessing Chef Pao’s meticulous and aesthetically pleasing ingredient preparation process, Lu Liu had to admit that this man was exceptionally skilled.

Even if he couldn’t understand or comprehend it.

“Most monsters are born from Filth, and the majority of their body parts are inedible. Only a few portions can be transformed into genuine ingredients through correct, appropriate, and specialized processing.”

“And if ingredients are mishandled? At best, they become contaminated and mutate; at worst, it’s instant death.”

Though Chef Pao championed the Dao of monster cuisine, he never overlooked its risks.

Yet it was precisely these risks that made the essence within such ingredients exceptionally delicious.

Chef Pao drew a chef’s Saber as tall as a person, its blade dancing like shadows as he began dissecting the giant scorpion before him, large as an armored vehicle.

“This Venomous Ironclad Scorpion may look terrifying—and it truly is—with toxins potent enough to easily incapacitate a Fourth Order commander. Thus, handling such ingredients requires extra care and precision…”

“Typically, from three tons of scorpion pincers, less than three jin of true essence ingredients can be extracted.”

As Chef Pao finished speaking, he glanced aside and noticed a blue-haired girl who had appeared at some point.

The blue-haired girl had slightly chubby cheeks, appearing harmless, yet she held a severed scorpion leg in her hand. Bringing it to her mouth, she opened her seemingly small lips and crunched down, biting a crescent-shaped gap into the scorpion leg larger than a horse-cutting Saber.

Her teeth were sharper than rare weapons…

Wait!

“This… this is a Venomous Ironclad Scorpion’s leg!”

In decades of his career, Chef Pao had never encountered such a severe accident.

Swallowing a Venomous Ironclad Scorpion raw would lead to instant death! Even legendary beings would likely suffer vomiting, diarrhea, and lethargy.

Dolai’s complexion was rosy.

In the blink of an eye, Dolai devoured the entire massive scorpion leg with crisp crunches.

Wiping its mouth, Dolai said, “No matter how many times I eat this snack, I never get tired of it.”

Chef Pao looked at the giant scorpion before him and began to ponder.

Thud—

A nearby assistant, a small giant who had taken a bite of the raw scorpion leg, turned bluish-purple, stiffened, trembled twice, and collapsed to the ground.

“This is our territory’s gourmet, Dolai,” Lu Liu introduced.

Chef Pao’s understanding and experience in monster cooking far surpassed Dolai’s capabilities.

What Dolai excelled at was merely controlling the heat; its ingredient preparation was very simple. Of course, high-end ingredients often require only minimal processing. For Dolai, removing toxins or purifying Filth was irrelevant—it could absorb anything in one gulp.

To Chef Pao, Dolai’s knowledge of various monster ingredients—their forms, flavors, nutritional value, and evaluations—was nothing short of astounding.

Chef Pao was passionate about developing all kinds of new monster ingredients.

However, this was not an easy process.Monsters often mutate, and determining which parts of their bodies hold potential for development, as well as the necessary processes to purify the Filth… all these require Pao Tu to spend extensive time researching and trial-and-error.

The scales on his face, the Filth marks on his hands, and the faint crimson dots in his pupils are all accumulated pollution injuries from his exploration of new ingredients.

This is unavoidable.

Even so, Pao Tu has only developed over three hundred monster recipes to date. Through Dolai’s descriptions, he further realized that some monster parts he previously deemed worthless still hold potential to be processed into high-end ingredients.

“My perspective is still too narrow!”

He looked at Dolai, “Great Master Dolai, if your Lord does not find us unworthy, we are willing to pledge our service.”

…

「Prompt: You have recruited special territory residents ‘Monster Chef·Pao Tu’, ‘Big Stomach’, ‘Little Strong’, …」

——

Pao Tu is a powerful individual with a Rank as high as Fourth Order Level 3 and a grade of Outstanding Two Stars.

Even within Tianyuan Territory, Pao Tu’s combat prowess ranks within the… top hundred.

Pao Tu possesses several special skill traits.

「Great Master Culinary Arts (Light Blue), Monster Chef (Dark Blue), Advanced Hunting (Green), Wilderness Survival (Green), …」

Pao Tu clearly possesses normal culinary skills, and they are quite exceptional.

However, culinary arts from the mortal world can only produce delicious dishes; they lack the ability to sublimate or transform the mundane into the miraculous, hence their rating isn’t particularly high.

The Monster Chef profession is likely similar to roles like alchemists, blacksmiths, enchanters, and transmuters—a secondary profession involving supernatural elements.

Pao Tu is essentially a spiritual chef in the culinary world, though he specializes in monster cuisine, excelling and possessing unique insights in this area.

Mu Yuan can understand this.

He isn’t averse to monster ingredients either.

After all, he is from Xuan Nation. People from White Cloud Province in Xuan Nation even claim that everything is edible.

He has previously tasted some monster delicacies, though mostly from creatures like Earth Rock Dragons, Blazing Soaring Dragons, and Raging Thunder Twin-Headed Oxen—dishes that look incredibly appetizing.

These ‘ingredient-type monsters’ have long been listed on Taixuan’s edible monster registry.

Their meat is juicy and flavorful, with most parts being edible and not difficult to process. In his earlier years, when Mu Yuan prepared Earth Rock Dragon feasts, he followed the recipes from Taixuan’s registry. Otherwise, he wouldn’t dare to eat them so casually… well, actually, he probably would.

Pao Tu’s over three hundred developed recipes, however, are different.

These recipes all target ‘non-ingredient-type monsters.’ He classifies ‘ingredient-type monsters’ as conventional ingredients.

「Hundred Poisons Assortment (Green): Using poison to counteract poison, neutralizing toxicity. Consuming this dish permanently increases an individual’s poison resistance.」

「Gazing into the Abyss (Green): The abyss gazes back at you as you gaze into it. Consuming this dish permanently enhances Mental Energy.」

「Mercury Insect Egg Soup」、「Magma Blaze Soup」、「Eyeball Platter」、…

Each dish can be considered a work of art.

And they come with equally artistic names.

Mu Yuan: “…”

“But to be fair, while these dishes sound unsettling and look a bit disturbing, they taste surprisingly delicious.”

Even disregarding the taste, the permanent boosts to Mental Energy, poison resistance, and other effects alone are enough to make people eagerly seek them out.Potions that can permanently enhance a certain attribute are already quite rare. When wealthy lords drink such potions, they have no right to be picky about the taste—being able to drink one at all is a privilege.

Chef Pao’s dishes not only have effects no less potent than potions but also possess a unique and delightful flavor.

Mu Yuan could say that Chef Pao’s dishes taste different from mainstream cuisine, but he couldn’t deny their deliciousness.

“Like potions, the enhancement effects of Chef Pao’s dishes diminish sharply with repeated consumption.”

For a potion with permanent enhancement effects, the effects are still relatively significant within the first three uses. Beyond three uses, the efficacy drops drastically. If used more than ten times, no matter how much one drinks, it will have no effect—unless the user possesses a talent similar to Dolai’s Devouring Talent.

Monster dishes follow a similar pattern: the culinary effects are optimal when the same dish is consumed no more than three times.

“However, compared to potions, Chef Pao’s cooking has another advantage…”

Chef Pao has a vast repertoire of recipes!

Just for recipes that permanently enhance Mental Energy, Chef Pao has twenty-one varieties.

Does the effect of culinary dishes diminish with overconsumption? Simply switch to a different monster ingredient!

The Eternal World is never short of monster varieties.

“Now that the territory is openly supplying Chef Pao with ingredients and experimental materials, and with Dolai as an extraordinary food connoisseur… Chef Pao’s pace in developing new ingredients is bound to far exceed the past.”

“New recipes are something to look forward to.”

…

By the time night fell, the effects of the third Refugee Recruitment Scroll had finally dissipated.

Outside the city, no more white mist or refugees emerged, but inside the city, it remained bustling and busy.

The influx of over ten thousand refugees into Tianyuan Territory had brought many management challenges.

Lu Liu and other generals and officials were somewhat overwhelmed.

Isloria also had no experience dealing with such a situation. However, with her superhuman CPU and multiple Incarnations capable of handling tasks independently, she managed to barely keep the situation under control.

Lord Mu oversaw the big picture, reviewing the information of each talented individual.

In what seemed like the blink of an eye, dawn broke.

They had gone three days and three nights without sleep.

But it didn’t matter—he was still full of energy and felt he could stay up for several more days without any issue.

「Territory Population: 31233 / 30000 (√)」

「Ding!」

「Prompt: Tianyuan Territory has met all promotion conditions. Spend 500 units of Soul Crystals to initiate the promotion trial?」

Mu Yuan did not choose to initiate it immediately.

Within the territory, all the generals, including himself, needed a brief rest.

Though he felt energetic and confident, maintaining peak condition to tackle challenges was a basic requirement of a steady mindset.

“Let’s… rest for four hours.”

“But not complete rest—let’s use a cultivation chamber for meditation instead of sleep.”

Across the territory, various departments continued to operate at full capacity.

The newcomers who had just obtained Tianyuan Territory citizenship had been assigned housing, received clothing, and were organized into work teams. Under the guidance of veteran residents, they began their new lives and embraced their new jobs.

Some entered farms, pastures, or mills, while others went to forging factories, alchemy workshops, or canteens and taverns. The latter group mostly consisted of skilled individuals who had performed well in previous interviews.

These workers assigned to various units made up only a small portion of the new residents.The remaining new settlers transformed into laborers, huffing and puffing as they began construction. Most worked with great diligence, for one simple reason: they knew these newly built houses would be their own homes.

They weren’t building for the Lord, but for themselves—how could they not put in their utmost effort?

Thanks to the busy work and exhausted energy, conflicts among the newcomers were few. Any occasional disputes were quickly resolved by the security team—through both verbal mediation and physical persuasion.

Four hours later, Mu Yuan awoke from his meditation.

He opened his panel for a quick look.

「Territory Morale Index: 72.5%.」(√)

「Territory Security Index: 92.8%.」(√)

These were two additional basic requirements for territory advancement, both needing to exceed 60% to qualify.

The Morale Index had inevitably dropped significantly with the influx of a large number of new settlers. This could only slowly recover over time.

As for the Security Index…

Mu Yuan didn’t consider Tianyuan Territory particularly safe.

Hundreds of kilometers to the north, clashes continued, and even Tianyuan’s elite forces occasionally suffered losses.

To the south, they had discovered increasingly frequent traces of Snakemen.

He felt that danger was right at their doorstep.

However,

Perhaps, according to the judgment of the world’s rules, the Security Index for a Level 4 territory only assessed the area within a hundred kilometers, or even less? After all, what Level 4 territory would directly confront a Monster Overlord thousands of kilometers away?

Four hours had passed, and Deadbone, Rakshasa, Uta, Red Robe, and other commanders who had been out on missions gradually returned.

The advancement trial required their presence.

“Without delay, while the battles aren’t too intense yet, let’s quickly complete the advancement trial.”

Mu Yuan had already informed Deadbone, Dolai, and the others about the preparations.

At Wolfhead Mountain, the Soul Sand Mine, and the territory headquarters, the commanders waited quietly.

A prompt from the world echoed in the Heroes’ ears.

「Ding!」

「Prompt: The Tianyuan Territory advancement trial has begun. Awaiting the Lord’s selection of troops.」

Buzz—

Mu Yuan’s consciousness soared, and everything before him spun in a kaleidoscope of colors.

Aided by the powerful Willpower Light, Mu Yuan did not lose his focus. He could clearly sense himself entering an arcane and mysterious space-time.

「Ding!」

Another prompt rang in his ears, resonant as a great bell.

「Prompt: You are initiating the advancement trial.」

「Prompt: You have triggered a special event. The scale and difficulty of this advancement trial have increased, and the rewards for passing the trial have also been enhanced.」

“A special event?”

“Can territory advancement trials even have their scale upgraded?”

In his astonishment, Mu Yuan snapped back to awareness.

Before him was a spacious underground hall, with a slightly ajar door emitting light, leading to the outside.

Characters appeared one after another on the hall’s floor, forming structured prompts.

「The trial has begun.」

「Trial Mode: Multiplayer.」

「Background: In the year 9366 of the Holy Radiance Era, the Foul Crimson Mist in the far north began to spread. In the year 6371 of the Holy Radiance Era, the Holy Radiance Empire’s vassal state, the ‘Pure White Kingdom,’ fell victim to the Red Moon Disaster. The Pure White Knights suffered repeated defeats, and the entire kingdom teetered on the brink of collapse. In their desperation, the people of Pure White prayed to the gods. The gods were disconnected, and the only response came from ancient heroic spirits.」”Trial Mission: Assist the Pure White Kingdom in resisting the Red Moon Disaster. Duration: 10 days.”

“Hint ①: Trial participants hold the identity of ancient heroic spirits. This identity is empowered by rule-based forces and will not arouse suspicion from local humans within the historical projection.”

“Hint ②: The Lord may deploy up to nine troop types or Heroes to assist in completing the trial.”

“Hint ③: The heavenly rewards obtainable by trial participants vary according to their performance. Only one supreme heavenly reward exists.”

“Hint ④: Quickly select your dispatched troops. The promotion trial is about to commence officially. Failure to deploy within the time limit will prevent additional troop deployment.”

“Countdown: 60, 59, 58…”

A panel materialized before him.

He only had nine commander slots.

Mu Yuan pondered.

Deadbone and Dolai were mandatory choices. Sophia, Sickle Moon, Seventeen and others who weren’t within the territory appeared as grayed-out icons, unavailable for selection. Otherwise, Mu Yuan would have liked to summon them to discuss the situation.

His gaze lingered briefly on Isloria before shifting away. “Isloria is busy with work, especially during this period of massive new refugee influx. Without her, the territory might descend into chaos.”

Thus, he decided not to summon the young woman.

His current combat strength was sufficient – he didn’t lack Isloria’s individual contribution.

After careful consideration, Mu Yuan quickly summoned nine Generals.

Deadbone, Dolai, Uta, Red Robe and others appeared successively.

Soon, the countdown reached zero.

The space before them blurred slightly, as if time only began flowing from this moment onward.

In the spacious hall, six massive mystic diagram arrays materialized one after another.

No – the arrays had always existed. It was merely at this moment that he officially set foot in this world.

Mu Yuan and his group stood upon one of these arrays.

And surrounding them…

Several trial Lords from various regions and nations appeared simultaneously.

To the left, dazzling light erupted.

A golden-haired youth clad in ornate armor stood with arms crossed, a pair of glittering gold-white wings spread behind him.

This was an angel.

An epic lifeform – a two-winged angel.

Nearby, several trial Lords abruptly widened their eyes.

(End of Chapter)