Chapter 528: He's the Imperial Tutor?
Qi Han had absolutely no idea that, because of a single bite of Qing Dynasty Blessed Pork Meat, the kind and approachable Grandpa De had briefly entertained the thought of recruiting him.
After bustling around in the kitchen for a while, Qi Han soon carried out another serving bowl and placed it before Meng Yun.
"Meng Yun, you've worked hard these past days. Try this serving of Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth."
That's right, the special dish he had prepared for Meng Yun was precisely Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth.
After giving it some thought, Qi Han felt this was probably the most suitable of all the 3 Star dishes for her.
"Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth?"
Meng Yun's eyes filled with anticipation. The dish Qi Han had prepared for Grandpa De earlier, Qing Dynasty Blessed Pork Meat, had been so miraculous—just how amazing would this one be?
Honestly, while sitting beside Grandpa De and watching him eat earlier, she had almost drooled from envy. Now, she could finally taste her own special dish.
Just as she was thinking this, the familiar fluctuations of heaven-and-earth spiritual energy appeared once again.
Even De Hongchen beside her paused slightly in his movements and looked over in astonishment.
In his eyes, a dish capable of summoning a heavenly phenomenon was something unbelievably miraculous—something he had never seen before in his life. It should have been an exceedingly rare occurrence.
Yet now, not only had his own dish triggered such a phenomenon, but the dish in Meng Yun's hands had done the same…
What was this?
Were heavenly phenomena being mass-produced now?
"Little Qi…" De Hongchen could not help but ask, "Can you… consistently cook dishes capable of triggering these phenomena?"
"Yes." Qi Han quickly gave an affirmative answer.
Looking at the shocked expressions on their faces, he secretly laughed inwardly.
A mere 3 Star phenomenon was nothing. The 4 Star phenomena were the truly dazzling and spectacular ones.
Come to think of it, even though Qi Han had already seen the 3 Star phenomena many times before, every time he witnessed them he still felt a sense of pride.
But ever since he cooked Peony Fish Fillet and triggered a 4 Star phenomenon…
Looking back at 3 Star phenomena now…
They somehow didn't seem that impressive anymore.
The phenomenon "Golden Lotus Blooming in Jade Pool" soon faded away. Meng Yun stared blankly for quite a while before the elegant and layered fragrance of the Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth finally pulled her thoughts back to reality.
She lowered her head and looked at the dish before her, beautiful like a lotus blooming within crystal-clear water, her eyes full of amazement.
A dish like this… had actually summoned such a miraculous phenomenon just now?
Thinking of this, she swallowed unconsciously before finally lifting her spoon toward the soup, which looked no different from plain boiled water.
Though it appeared simple, Meng Yun firmly believed it was anything but ordinary.
The moment the soup entered her mouth, her eyes widened instantly.
The rich and layered flavors of countless ingredients unfolded one after another across her tongue, dazzling like a carousel of tastes. Then, all those flavors merged harmoniously together, forming an incomparably delicious sweetness and freshness.
What an incredible soup…
With just that single sip, Meng Yun was utterly conquered by the Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth.
None of the dishes in Han Shi before this had ever possessed such wondrous flavor. The only thing that came close was that Low-Grade Wensi Tofu…
Wait…
Could it be that the real Wensi Tofu—not the low-grade version—was also a miraculous dish capable of triggering heavenly phenomena like this?
At that thought, Meng Yun suddenly understood why her boss had only brought out the low-grade version during the culinary showdown.
If he had brought out the true Wensi Tofu, everyone there probably would have been completely stunned.
Hehe!
Thinking of this, Meng Yun could not help but laugh out loud.
Qi Han looked somewhat strangely at Meng Yun, who had suddenly started laughing, before turning toward De Hongchen.
"Grandpa De, Qing Dynasty Blessed Pork Meat can remove chronic ailments. How are the hidden injuries in your body feeling now?"
De Hongchen froze slightly, then seemed to realize something.
"Little Qi… you prepared this dish for me because I mentioned my hidden injuries yesterday?"
"Of course." Qi Han nodded. "How is it? How much have your injuries recovered? If it's not enough, I can make you another serving."
"That won't be necessary, it's enough." De Hongchen shook his head, his expression turning somewhat complicated.
So… he had actually removed the pill toxins in his body completely by accident?
He had thought this dish had specifically been meant for eliminating pill toxins, and that Qi Han had guessed his identity.
But in the end, it turned out to be something entirely different?
Thinking this, he shook his head with a light chuckle before turning toward Meng Yun, who was happily enjoying her food.
"In that case, this Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth must also have some special effect, right?"
Meng Yun paused mid-bite and looked up curiously at Qi Han upon hearing this.
So far, she hadn't felt anything unusual. Could this Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth also possess some extraordinary ability?
Thinking about how it had produced the same heavenly phenomenon as Qing Dynasty Blessed Pork Meat, Meng Yun's heartbeat suddenly sped up.
Since both dishes triggered phenomena, then such a possibility was very likely!
And since the boss had specially prepared this dish for her, that meant its special effect must be able to help her somehow…
But what could it be?
Qi Han smiled lightly. Facing the curiosity and anticipation of both the old man and the young girl, he finally gave his answer.
"Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth increases one's innate spirit power by one level after consumption."
Eh?
Meng Yun blinked, thinking she had misheard.
"Boss, did you say innate spirit power? Or spirit power level?"
"Innate spirit power."
After receiving Qi Han's confirmation, Meng Yun fell into complete ecstasy after a brief moment of stunned silence.
What did innate spirit power represent?
It represented a spirit master's talent and future upper limit.
Even for Spirit Engineers, this was extremely important.
Her innate spirit power had never been high—only level six. But now, after eating this serving of Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth, she could increase it to level seven?
It sounded utterly unbelievable, but since the boss had said it, Meng Yun naturally believed him completely.
Thinking this, she immediately sped up her eating.
In comparison, De Hongchen was far calmer upon hearing the answer.
Although the increase in innate spirit power was also miraculous, to him it still paled in comparison to the removal of pill toxins.
Still, he chatted with Qi Han with great interest.
"So according to what you're saying, if someone ate ten servings of this dish, they could turn from an ordinary person unable to cultivate into a genius with full innate spirit power?"
"Of course not." Qi Han shook his head. "This dish only works three times. Eating more than that has no effect."
"I see…"
…
After the two finished their dishes, Meng Yun reluctantly cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks before looking at Qi Han worriedly.
"Boss, are you leaving Mingdu City tomorrow?"
"Most likely." Qi Han nodded. He planned to spend the morning purchasing a batch of spirit tools, then return through the portal in the afternoon.
Between the money left over from selling spirit bones and the earnings from the restaurant during this period, he now had over a million gold coins—enough to buy quite a lot of spirit tools.
"Then… please be careful."
Meng Yun looked deeply at Qi Han before turning and walking out the door.
After this farewell, who knew whether they would ever meet again.
With Meng Yun's departure, Han Shi once again fell silent.
De Hongchen gave a light cough.
"This old man should also be leaving soon."
"Alright." Qi Han smiled. "Grandpa De, please be careful on your way home. It's already dark outside."
"Don't worry, this old body of mine isn't that fragile yet." De Hongchen chuckled. From within his robes, he took out a bracelet-shaped spirit tool and handed it to Qi Han.
"Yesterday, this old man said I'd give you some local specialties from Mingdu City. They're all stored inside this storage spirit tool."
"This is…"
Qi Han was just about to inspect it when De Hongchen subtly stopped him.
"Wait until after this old man leaves before looking. I believe you'll like this 'local specialty.'"
"Alright then." Qi Han smiled gratefully. "You've really spent too much."
"Hehe~ this hardly counts as spending much." De Hongchen shook his head before standing up. "This old man should be going as well."
With that, he stepped out of Han Shi and disappeared into the end of the street.
Qi Han closed the restaurant door before finally curiously inspecting the storage spirit tool in his hand.
The storage spirit tool wasn't particularly high-grade, so the internal space was fairly small.
There weren't many things inside either.
Only a single book.
A book? What kind of local specialty was that?
Qi Han curiously took it out and looked at the cover.
"Deconstruction of Level 1 to Level 7 Fundamental Core Formations and Analysis of Corresponding Spirit Tool Examples"
And beneath the title was a small line of text.
Author: De Hongchen.
Grandpa De… De Hongchen…
Qi Han's eyes widened abruptly.
He had stayed in Mingdu City for an entire month. No matter how ignorant he might have been, there was no way he wouldn't know of the Sun Moon Empire's world-famous Imperial Tutor, the legendary De Hongchen.
That old man who came punctually to Han Shi for meals every single day was actually the only Level 10 Spirit Engineer in the history of the Sun Moon Empire?
And his so-called "local specialty" was actually an entire set of spirit tool materials leading all the way up to Level 7 Spirit Engineer knowledge?!