Huo Yuhao followed a believer to the backyard kitchen in a daze. In his arms, he held the heavy half-year salary advance Neuvillette had just stuffed into his hands, along with several packages of herbs said to be able to condition his mother's body. He felt like his steps were floating; everything was going so smoothly it didn't feel real.
The kitchen of the Axis Cult was larger than he had imagined, but it was also very simple.
Several middle-aged women working as kitchen assistants were busy preparing lunch for the believers, mostly simple noodles and vegetable soup. Seeing Huo Yuhao's fresh face, they all looked over curiously.
The believer who brought him gave a few brief instructions, saying that this was a new cook personally recruited by the Pope and asking everyone to look after him, before leaving. This left Huo Yuhao and the women staring at each other.
One woman, who was quite blunt, scanned him up and down and muttered, "Such a young child? The Pope couldn't have made a mistake, could he? With these thin arms and legs, can he even swing a large ladle?"
Huo Yuhao didn't say a word. He just silently placed the things in his arms carefully in a corner, rolled up his sleeves, walked to the water vat, and scooped out water to wash his hands thoroughly. His movements were neither fast nor slow, yet they carried a steady composure that didn't match his age.
After washing his hands, he looked at the available Materials on the stove—a few of the most common black carp just caught from the nearby river and some common seasonings. There weren't even many decent spices.
"Auntie," his voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly, "could I borrow the fire and use a fish? I... I'll show you all a little something as a greeting gift."
The women looked at each other and dubiously made room at a stove. They wanted to see what skills this boy, who was so highly regarded by the Pope, actually had.
Huo Yuhao didn't say anything more. He picked up a fish, and with a flash of the knife, he scaled, gutted, and cleaned it. His movements were as fluid as if they had been practiced thousands of times, carrying a strange sense of rhythm. The processed fish seemed to become a work of art in his hands, its body marked with exquisite cross-cuts.
Then, he lit the fire but didn't use much oil, simply rubbing the bottom of the pot with ginger slices. The fish went into the pot to be slowly pan-fried over a low heat, while he occasionally shook the iron pot gently. He didn't use any flashy seasonings, only sprinkling a few grains of salt, a little bit of his own dried spice powder (which he had specifically brought when he left home), and finally splashing in a bit of cheap fruit vinegar to enhance the freshness.
Soon, an indescribable charred aroma mixed with a fresh scent permeated the kitchen, greatly stimulating everyone's appetite. The fragrance was clearly layered; it didn't mask the natural sweetness of the fish, yet it perfectly brought out the inviting charred and spiced aromas. It was worlds apart from the stewed fish the women usually made, which was either fishy or overly salty.
When the fish—grilled until the skin was golden and slightly charred while the inside remained snow-white and tender—was plated, the women's eyes went wide.
"This... is this the black carp from our river?" one auntie sniffed the air in disbelief. "How can it smell so good?"
Huo Yuhao pushed the plate forward, still not saying much: "Please, have a taste."
The women hesitated for a moment but couldn't help picking up their chopsticks. The moment the fish entered their mouths, their expressions changed. The skin was crispy, the inside was tender and juicy, and the seasoning was simple yet highlighted the fish's original flavor to the extreme. The heat control was perfect down to the last detail; there wasn't a hint of fishiness, only a mouthful of savory freshness.
"Good heavens... this is too delicious!" "I've been cooking for half my life, and it was all for nothing!" "Little brother, your skill... it's divine!"
The woman who had muttered before was even more red-faced. She gave Huo Yuhao a thumbs-up in embarrassment: "I'm convinced! This auntie is convinced! The Pope truly has a Wisdom Eye! You're a hidden Immortal Master!"
The news spread quickly. The new little cook used the most ordinary river fish to create a delicacy that could make one's tongue fall off from freshness! Now, no one had any doubts about Huo Yuhao's cooking skills. Instead, they were utterly impressed by Pope Furina's "Wisdom Eye for talent"—look! Even a cook she recruited at random was a hidden expert! Lord Water God (they automatically credited the merit to the Water God) was truly omnipotent!
And this rich aroma of grilled fish seemed to drift vaguely into the front yard.
Furina, who was pondering how to get closer to Huo Yuhao to get her task rewards as soon as possible, suddenly felt her whole body shake. A majestic surge of energy erupted from deep within her without any warning!
[Ding! Task 'Mandate of Heaven' completed!] [Rewards issued: Soul Power +5, Ten-Thousand-Year spirit ring x1!]
Four spirit rings instantly emerged beneath her feet—purple, purple, black—and then the fourth, an unfathomably deep black spirit ring, suddenly lit up. The powerful energy fluctuations caused the air around her to distort slightly!
Level 40! Soul Ancestor!
Furina suppressed the cheer that almost escaped her lips and hurried back to her room, eager to feel her newly acquired power and Spirit Ability.
The fourth Spirit Ability was a cake with three doughnuts that gave off a vanilla scent, the golden doughnut vanilla cake?
This appearance... why does it look so strange? It looks a bit like the hairstyle of the protagonist from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 5: Golden Wind?
She concentrated and tried to release it.
A cake emitting a warm golden glow, uniquely shaped like a doughnut yet giving off a rich vanilla aroma, appeared in her hand. Information about the Spirit Ability naturally flowed into her mind: golden doughnut vanilla cake, effect—regrowing bone and flesh, repairing severe physical damage, including limb regeneration and nerve and meridian repair.
Furina held the cake and stared blankly for a long time.
Limb regeneration? Nerve repair?
The effect of this thing really was similar to Giorno's Gold Experience, just not quite as strong. To be honest, when she saw this, she almost wanted to change its name to Gold Experience.
But on this Douluo Continent, a missing limb basically meant being crippled. Except for a very few top-tier healing Spirit Masters who might have a way, ordinary injured people had no hope at all. Her Spirit Ability... here, it was a Heaven-Defying divine healing skill!
Although it didn't seem very useful in a fight... she couldn't exactly expect an enemy to surrender after taking a bite of cake, right? But if she took it out... this was definitely something that could cause a sensation!
"I'm rich, I'm rich..." Furina held the golden, enticingly fragrant cake, her eyes shining brilliantly. "This isn't a cake; this is clearly a walking mountain of gold!"
She could already see countless nobles and tycoons waving gold coin, begging her to treat their old injuries or a broken limb of some unlucky fellow in their Family.
Of course, the most important thing now was... how to better "tether" that child of destiny to the Axis Cult? Perhaps... she could help heal his mother's old ailments? But everything that could be treated had been treated; the rest could only be slowly replenished by eating some supplements.
Perhaps she could give him some Medicinal Pills, such as the profound water pill and soul ascension pill, as well as the Qi Gathering Powder from Battle Through the Heavens to help him level up sooner and get help from Daydream and Electrolux.
After all, as long as you were a little bit good to Huo Yuhao, he would basically be good to you, and especially so.
Furina rubbed her chin, looking at the shimmering golden cake in her hand and then thinking of the child of destiny with amazing culinary skills in the kitchen. She felt that the future of her Axis Cult was truly becoming brighter and brighter.
Meanwhile, Thunder Leopard, far away in the City Lord's Mansion, would probably be unable to sleep again.