Chapter 67 - 28: Tasting a Hundred Flavors, Gourmet Job Requirements

Chapter 67: Chapter 28: Tasting a Hundred Flavors, Gourmet Job Requirements

Before picking up the knife, Jiang Xuan performed his usual ritual of cleansing his hands and purifying his heart, allowing his Heart Spirit to return to a state of pristine clarity.

When he picked up the kitchen knife, he did not immediately begin to cut. Instead, he traced the cold edge of the blade with his fingertips, inch by inch.

HUMMM...

A faint hum emanated from the blade. As Jiang Xuan’s Heart aligned with his will, and his will with the blade, he became completely aware of the kitchen knife’s construction, its center of gravity, and the sharpness of its edge.

This was the very application of a Clear Heart Swordsman’s core Trait: Heart・Sincerity (Sword).

As for why a common kitchen knife could trigger a Sword Cultivator’s Trait, the reason could not be simpler: in Jiang Xuan’s understanding of the Sword Dao, all things between Heaven and Earth could be a sword.

Anything with an edge was a sharp sword. A club, unsharpened and bladeless, was a heavy, edgeless sword. Even flowers and grass, flowing water, a gentle breeze, sunlight, and the complexities of the human heart could all become the sword in his hand.

’Since it’s a sword, it can naturally connect with my Sincerity!’

HUMMM...

Once Jiang Xuan and the kitchen knife fully achieved a state of oneness between man and "sword," the rest came naturally.

Without any need for Adaptation, he casually slapped a cucumber onto the cutting board. His hand rose, the knife fell, and he began to slay the vegetable.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

The glint of the blade rose and fell like the wind, moving so fast it left afterimages. In an instant, the green cucumber was transformed into uniformly thin slices. Three breaths later, Jiang Xuan stopped, his knife at rest. The cucumber slices on the cutting board were as thin as a cicada’s wing. When held up to the Celestial Light, one could clearly see through them to the objects beyond.

Almost simultaneously, two system notifications sounded in the depths of his Sea of Consciousness.

[You have prepared one portion of vegetables. Product quality has reached the "Cicada-Wing Thin" standard. Kitchen Apprentice Knife Skills proficiency +1. Current progress: 1/100]

This notification was secondary. What truly gave Jiang Xuan pause, even in his state of Purifying Heart, was the second notification that followed right after:

[You have completed one Swordsmanship training session. Clear Heart Swordsman class experience +1]

’This counts too?’

A flicker of surprise had just surfaced in Jiang Xuan’s Heart when the answer immediately came to him.

’Of course it counts.’

’If all things between Heaven and Earth can be a sword, then how can Swordsmanship training be confined to the act of swinging a physical blade?’

’Fighting an enemy with a sword is training. Meditating on the blade is training. Even chopping firewood and dicing vegetables, as long as my Heart is one with the blade and my will is one with the Dao, is also training.’

’As long as my Heart is sincere, I can be training at every moment.’

With this Heart Thought, Jiang Xuan, whose mind was as calm as still water, swept away all distracting notions. He pushed the sliced cucumber aside and set his knife to a second one.

SWISH SWISH SWISH...

The blade flashed without pause, and time slipped away to the rhythmic sound of its descent. In the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Jiang Xuan had finished slicing a hundred cucumbers, thus completing the first requirement for the Kitchen Apprentice profession.

The second condition, mastering Fire Control, was even easier.

Mortal chefs might need years of practice to precisely master the transition between Mild Fire and Martial Fire. But this was the Cultivation Realm, home to countless wondrous artifacts and Spiritual Materials. Jiang Xuan spent only a few Spirit Stones to rent a Fire-Control Ungraded Spiritual Artifact with a built-in dial. Mild Fire, Medium Fire, and Martial Fire could all be adjusted at will. In just three to five minutes, he completed the Fire Control test to Perfection.

Next was the third condition: seasoning.

This was typically the most difficult part of becoming a Kitchen Apprentice. The system required him to prepare three food items rated as "Delicious." In the mortal world, this would take months, if not years, of honing one’s Culinary Skill to even have a chance of achieving.

But again, this was the Cultivation Realm. He could simply use Spiritual Materials to take a shortcut.

He didn’t even need any high-end Spiritual Objects. He simply sprinkled a handful of Spirit Rice into boiling water, and the resulting broth’s naturally sweet and mellow aroma immediately earned a "Delicious" rating.

With that, Jiang Xuan had completed three of the four requirements to become a Kitchen Apprentice.

As for the final requirement—to cook thirty complete meals—Jiang Xuan’s choice was simple: boiled eggs.

’Eggs should count as a proper meal. If not, I’ll just put a few more on each plate.’

It turned out that boiled eggs did count as a proper meal in this world. However, as he went about it, Jiang Xuan discovered there was one extra step required: peeling them.

Only peeled eggs, with at least four arranged on a single plate, would be considered a proper meal.

’...Fine. If that’s what the system wants, so be it.’

When the last plate of peeled eggs was set on the wooden table, Jiang Xuan had finally completed all four prerequisites for the Kitchen Apprentice profession.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Jiang Xuan chose to accept the profession.

HUMMM...

Just as when he had accepted new professions before, a special Energy surged from the depths of his True Spirit. It instantly flowed through his limbs and bones, giving his Flesh Body a completely new refinement.

This refinement barely improved Jiang Xuan’s physical constitution, but it brought about an extraordinary change in his perception. The tips of his nose and tongue suddenly tingled with a phantom sour and spicy sensation, as if a faint electric current were passing through them. It felt as if his five senses were undergoing a completely new evolution, and the strange feeling made Jiang Xuan tremble slightly.

The nose and tongue are packed with the body’s most sensitive nerves, so this sudden, drastic change in perception sent a strange, tingling numbness spreading through his entire frame.

Before Jiang Xuan could recover from the strange sensation, a series of system notifications chimed in his Sea of Consciousness.

[You have successfully become a Kitchen Apprentice. Your physical attributes have been slightly enhanced.]

[You have unlocked the Professional Passive: Taste Hundred Flavors, Smell a Thousand Scents.]

[You have unlocked the professional ability: Cooking Skill・Introduction.]

With that, Jiang Xuan’s class advancement was complete. He began to inspect the abilities he had gained from his new profession.

Cooking Skill・Introduction was self-explanatory. It simply granted Jiang Xuan a grasp of the basic cooking methods for common dishes.