Chapter 111 Heartbroken
Wei Jie once thought that the Imperial Kitchen represented the pinnacle and ultimate of the culinary world. The unprecedented skills, recipes he had never seen before, and the ingenuity and exquisite techniques in the Imperial Kitchen all opened his eyes.

Therefore, after leaving the imperial kitchen, he would feel superior to other chefs when he saw them.

After having seen the mountains, how could he be interested in hills and gullies?
Even though he lost to Luo Tian in the first battle in Guangzhou, this defeat only made him more motivated. He knew very well that he was defeated because of carelessness, not due to lack of ability.

It was not until this moment that he truly tasted the taste of failure.

He made sufficient preparations before the duel. He faced the duel with full energy and firm will. Even though his opponent was a child, he was not careless at all.

He played to his best without holding back, and even if he were to do it again, it would be hard to say he could do better than this time.

The topic of the duel was exactly what he wanted, perfectly matching what he had learned, as if it was tailor-made for him.

However, despite this extremely favorable situation, he still lost.

He lost the first time because of carelessness, but what about the second time?

He has no excuses.

The peak he thought he had climbed to turned out to be just another small mound.

The pride and arrogance in Wei Jie's heart collapsed in an instant.

It turns out that there are such people in the world outside the imperial kitchen.

But this time, Wei Jie no longer had the will to fight, he didn't even want to pick up the kitchen knife.

Once he stood by the stove, he would recall his own incompetence, recall this insurmountable peak, and recall the feeling of powerlessness that he could not shake no matter how hard he tried.

He suddenly felt that everything he had had lost its meaning.

At this moment, he just wanted to escape.

Wei Jie lowered his head deeply, avoiding everyone's gaze, and quickly left the duel scene.

When Luo Tian saw Wei Jie's expression, he sighed with regret.

Anyone who faces a monster like Xu Qing will suffer a mental breakdown.

When Luo Tian was young, he had fought against many chefs and witnessed their despair and powerlessness after failure. Especially those talented and confident chefs, after experiencing a serious setback, very few of them could stand up again.

I hope Wei Jie can get back on his feet as soon as possible, otherwise the longer he delays, the more he will get used to escaping and will not want to face up to his past incompetence. Until finally escaping becomes his only option, he will never be able to pick up a kitchen knife again.

Elder Wu's face was gloomy and uncertain. This duel had completely defeated Wei Jie. It was unclear whether he would be able to stand up again.

This was clearly the ending he had originally designed for Xu Qing, but in the end he was the one who had to suffer the consequences.

What an irony.

Elder Wu looked gloomy and said to Elder Li, "Announce the results."

He didn't want to stay here any longer.

Especially when he saw Luo Tian’s smug and proud face, he felt as disgusted as if he had eaten a bunch of flies raw.

Elder Li nodded and said loudly: "The result of this cooking duel is that Xu Qing from Yangquan Restaurant won!"

Luo Tian immediately applauded, and everyone cheered and applauded loudly.

I didn't expect that this young man could beat Wei Jie, who came from the imperial kitchen! This has never happened before!

When the local chefs saw the people from the Imperial Kitchen, they felt inferior to them. After all, they were the ones who cooked for the emperor, and they were naturally shining with golden light, which made people dare not look directly at them. But now, an unknown boy actually defeated the chef from the Imperial Kitchen, which showed that the Imperial Kitchen was nothing great!
Everyone unconsciously straightened their chests, with great enthusiasm surging in their hearts.

Xu Qing is a well-deserved legend for being able to dethrone the chef who came from the imperial kitchen.

Countless people flocked to Xu Qing, congratulating him, cheering for him, and trying hard to talk to him.

Even if you just say one sentence, you will have something to talk about later.

When I get old, I can still tell stories to my children and grandchildren and talk about this legendary past.

Xu Qing was surrounded by enthusiastic people, but luckily he was short, and he used his size to squeeze out of the crowd with difficulty and ran away.

Elder Wu left immediately after the results were announced.

Luo Tian asked behind him: "Elder Wu, when will the secret skills of the imperial kitchen be brought over? Don't make us wait too long."

Elder Wu snorted coldly, turned around, glared at him, and left in a huff.

Seeing Wu Cheng’s distorted expression, Luo Tian felt very comfortable.

Elder Li smiled and said, "This time Wu Cheng lost both his wife and his army. Can he still be so arrogant? After suffering such a big loss this time, according to Wu Cheng's character, he probably won't stay here any longer. He will have to roll back to the imperial city in disgrace."

Luo Tian said seriously: "That won't do. We must make him hand over the secret skills of the imperial kitchen before we let him go!"

"You..." Elder Li laughed heartily, "You have become obsessed with money as you get older."

Luo Tian said leisurely, "Don't you want to see what kind of dishes Xu Qing, who has learned the secret skills of the imperial kitchen, can make? How delicious it will be beyond imagination. Moreover, he is still so young, and his physical fitness and skills are far from the peak of his strength. When that time comes, what kind of miracles will he create in his hands? When I think of this, I wish I could live another ten or twenty years, at least to taste his cooking one last time before I can close my eyes in peace."

Elder Li looked into the distance and said with emotion: "Yes, I have a feeling that Xu Qing's existence will definitely bring about earth-shaking changes in the culinary world. In addition to protecting the young people, the most important thing for us old people to do is to try our best to live. Only by living longer can we see the future that we have never seen before."

Luo Tian smiled and said, "However, if you want to live long, you must have a strong body. How about going jogging with me every morning?"

Elder Li waved his hands after hearing this and said, "Forget it, forget it. I have my own way of keeping healthy."

Luo Tian said disdainfully: "Do you call that health preservation? You just sit there doing nothing every day."

Elder Li was immediately furious: "You dare me? How long have you not been in charge of the Guangchu Union's affairs? You just hang around every day. You should take on the responsibility of the Guangchu Union's elder!"

"Uh……"

Luo Tian was speechless for a moment, and quickly stood up and said, "I'll go see how Xu Qing is doing. We'll talk about this next time."

After saying that, he spread his legs and ran away quickly.

Elder Li sighed helplessly and was too lazy to care about him.

Elder Wu returned to his residence, and not long after, he saw Wei Jie also coming back. His expression seemed much calmer than after the duel.

But there is a sense of deadness in this calmness.

Wei Jie lowered his head and walked to Elder Wu, kowtowed to him, and said, "Master Wu, I am to blame for the defeat in this duel, and I should die to apologize for my sin."

After saying that, he drew the knife from his waist without hesitation and swung it to chop at the neck.

Seeing Wei Jie's self-destructive look, the anger that had been accumulating in Elder Wu's heart burst out in an instant. He rushed forward quickly, kicked Wei Jie to the ground, snatched the knife from his hand and threw it on the ground.

(End of this chapter)