Nine Green Divine Dragons

Nian Bing smiled slightly. “It’s not any trouble at all, Auntie. I’ve always wanted to make a meal for you! Please, sit. It will just take a moment.” He managed to push away his concern for Feng Nu and walked over to the stove. Yu Ru Yan and everyone else’s hectic battle had nearly burnt the ground away. Fortunately, Salamandhys had appeared; with his imitation earth magic, the ground had recovered completely.

At the moment, Yu Ru Yan had managed to calm down. Her pale face had regained some of its color, and she easily walked over to Salamandhys and sat down next to him. As for Lan Yu, he deactivated his Thunder Dragon Body and draped an outer covering over his body, then sat down next to Salamandhys, with Ru Yi and her sister to his right.

As Nian Bing began to prepare, Yu Ru Yan suddenly asked, “Nian Bing how did you become familiar with that young lady of the Phoenix Clan?”

Nian Bing’s mind went blank for a moment. “You mean Feng Nu? We became familiar in the Ice Moon Empire; we’ve known each other for over half a year.”

Yu Ru Yan asked, “So you knew about her identity as a member of the Phoenix Clan?”

Nian BIng nodded. “She told me not too long ago.” He couldn’t help but give Salamandhys a look.

Salamandhys snorted. “What’re you looking at. Hurry up and make the food.”

Yu Ru Yan’s eyes seemed to be bottomless pits as she said, “I clearly saw how much she cares about you, and you seem to care about her. However, there’s something I must tell you: the Phoenix Clan isn’t permitted to marry outsiders. You saw what happened just now; that was all because I married Yu ge. Of course, I don’t have any regrets, but I have to warn you, if you really want to be with that girl, you need to become much stronger.

“If you don’t, you don’t have the slightest chance of ever getting the Phoenix Clan to agree to a marriage with a human. You should make your meal now, we can talk later.””

Nian Bing felt happy. If he could learn more about the Phoenix Clan from Auntie Yu, a strong expert from the Phoenix Clan, then there was no doubt that it would be advantageous for his and Feng Nu’s relationship in the future. He gave her a slight nod, then took out a meter long plate from his space ring.

When he saw this tray, Salamandhys’ eyes sparkled. “What a good item, so nice! Let me use it, hehe.”

Yu Ru Yan glanced towards Salamandhys and said with a smile, “From your excellency’s attire, I think you must be the Lord Fire Dragon of the Yangguang Continent.”

Salamandhys snorted. “I’m a fire dragon king, not a fire dragon. You should make that clear.”

Yu Ru Yan couldn’t help but giggle at his response. “Yes, yes, a fire dragon king. I’ve heard that not only are you the strongest species of the dragons, but also the proudest. It seems that the rumours weren’t wrong in the slightest. If we have the chance, I’d like to compare notes with Lord Fire Dragon King.”

Salamandhys shot her a glance. “Compare notes? There’s no need. You’re far too weak to do so. Only when you reach the ninth transformation will you have the strength to compare notes with me. However, reaching the ninth transformation is no easy task. At the ninth transformation, that little chicken was close to this Lord Dragon God in strength. You’re still way too far from that level of strength. You should know that the final transformation of the Phoenix Transformation is the most quintessential.

Yu Ru Yan nodded. “Of course I know this. What a pity though. Even though I’ve managed to stumble my way to the sixth transformation, the last three are simply too difficult for me. It’s almost impossible for me to complete them. If I was able to enter the seventh transformation, I would actually be able to utilize the Phoenix’s Body. Even though I couldn’t win against you, a dragon king, I could at least engage in battle with you. Although you are a dragon king, and even though you are high and mighty, you still have to admit that the phoenix is the strongest creature on the continent.”

“Bullshit! The strongest creatures are the dragons! When did it become that little chicken?” Salamandhys angrily retorted.

However, Yu Ru Yan was still smiling at him. “Is that really so? If my ancestors had numbered as many as the dragons, I wonder if you’d still be able to say that. Lord Dragon God was indeed powerful, such that my ancestor couldn’t compare, but he can’t really be described as a dragon at that realm. A dragon like you, however, couldn’t contend with my ancestor. Even if you’re a dragon king, you could at most face off against an eighth transformation phoenix, right? For me to only be able to compare notes with you at the ninth level is a bit of a boast.”

Salamandhys’ face was red, “You’re exaggerating. That silly chicken’s greatest advantage was not being afraid of taking its opponent down with it. With that sort of skill, naturally I couldn’t be its opponent. I’m not immortal like it.”

Yu Ru Yan didn’t continue to provoke Salamandhys. Instead to turned back to face Nian Bing and smiled at him.

Nian Bing had heard their whole conversation. He suddenly realized that, even though Yu Ru Yan had left the Phoenix Clan, at her core, she still always thought of herself as a member of the Phoenix Clan. If she didn’t why should she bicker with Salamandhys, who was obviously stronger than her, for the sake of the Phoenix Clan’s pride?

Nian Bing suddenly felt dejected when he realized this. He was much weaker than all of these strong people. When would he be able to avenge his parents? Ten years sounded like a long period of time.. but was it enough time for him to reach the Ice and Snow Goddess’ strength? That was only a dream. Even Salamandhys wasn’t certain of his victory against her, to speak nothing of him. Dispirited, the nine cucumbers he put on the tray were cut slightly uneven.

As Salamandhys’ senses were extremely keen, he immediately noticed that Nian Bing’s state was off, and said with dissatisfaction, “Nian Bing, you stinky brat, you better use all of your strength for me. You said that you’d wholeheartedly devote yourself to making me delicacies; are you thinking of reneging on your promise?”

Salamandhys’ words immediately roused Nian Bing from his dejected mood. An ice cold sensation spread from his head to the rest of his body.

Nian Bing, Nian Bing.. How could he be discouraged? The Ice and Snow Goddess’ worshipper was strong, but in the end she’s still just a human who’s cultivated to such heights. You have to become stronger, for father and mother’s sake. You can’t give up, even if there’s only a one in ten thousand chance. This is your eternal goal!

When he lifted his head again, the look in his eyes had changed: They were now incomparably firm and resolute. However, he didn’t say anything. He simply propped up the tray with right hand, and kept his other hand on the stove tap. Afterwards, a cold aura emerged from his palms; this was an ice spell. The countertop was immediately covered in a ring of ice. He quickly placed the tray in the center of the ice, then flicked his wrist. The Free Wind’s Gently Hymn—Proud Sky appeared in his hand when he did so.

The wind did indeed pick up under the influence of the Proud Sky Knife. Nian Bing moved; his left finger tip flicking up slightly, causing a cucumber to be sent flying into the air. As the cucumber rose higher and higher into the air, Nian Bing envisioned the camel chef Zi Xiu’s Dense Jade Screen. Right now, the only thing he could see was the cucumber twirling through the air. The moment it reached the apex of its trajectory, the Proud Sky Knife moved. Green light and phantom knife silhouettes flashed. This was the Proud Sky Knife’s ability. Pronounced marks were left on the cucumber, but Nian Bing had perfectly controlled his strength, so as to not completely cut through the cucumber. The moment that the cucumber began to fall, Nian Bing’s second knife arrived.

A strange scene appeared, as the cucumber seemed to be suspended in mid-air. The naked eye could only see that the cucumber was gradually growing longer as it gently floated down onto the tray.

In just a few moments, a portion of the cucumber had arranged itself around the center of the tray. The green light receded, and the cucumber left in the air drifted downwards. Nian Bing then stuck out his left index finger and squeezed the tail end of the cucumber. He flicked his wrist, and the cucumber accurately spun three times before settling on the plate. The head of the cucumber rose up in the middle of the plate, while the end of the cucumber stuck out to the side.

“Great knife work,” Yu Ru Yan and Lan Yu praised simultaneously. As they were martial arts experts, they were confident that they could attain Nian Bing’s level of skill, but definitely couldn’t claim that they’d be able to cut the cucumber as uniformly as Nian Bing had, without causing it to break. They had faintly been able to sense that his every strike had been accompanied with a pulse of ice air, which had frozen the cucumber as it fell. If he hadn’t done so, the cucumber might’ve broken from the force.

Nian Bing seemed to not hear them as a second cucumber flew up into the air. A total of nine cucumbers flew up into the air and were completed the same way. When they were all finished, the tray in front of him had been neatly lined with the jade cucumbers. Afterwards, the green light from Proud Sky disappeared and it was sent back into his space ring. As he observed his masterpiece, Nian Bing couldn’t help but feel excited. His body and magic had had a qualitative leap from those days of training. Although his knife work wasn’t any better than Zi Xiu’s Dense Jade Screen, his culinary arts had become that much better since their battle. What Master said was true: It’s better to walk a thousand miles than read a thousand books. Only by continually exchanging pointers with culinary experts could his own culinary arts reach a higher level.

He waved his right arm and the Demonic Engraving turned into a blue light in his palm. The scene from the Pure Wind House was then recreated in the Duke’s residence. Nian Bing stood at the edge of the stove, then bent forward ninety degrees and, with his left hand, sent the entire tray spinning into the air. The Demonic Engraving trembled in his hands, then turned into a blue ball of light.

At this point, he had seen both a greater wind and fire dragon. As such, the image of a dragon was firmly imprinted in Nian Bing’s mind. Without any hesitation, he pushed the ball of blue light directly into the middle of the tray. His hand moved so quickly that even the top experts Salamandhys and Yu Ru Yan couldn’t see what he was doing.

Nian Bing’s left hand wasn’t idle either; it began to continuously speed up the tray’s rotation. However, the moment its speed hit its peak, he actually shut his eyes. When he did so, the hand that was pressed to the center of the tray and didn’t seem like it would move, finally moved, beginning to dance in a slow circle around the tray. Each successive ring became larger. This time, Salamandhys could clearly see what was going, and his eyes showed his surprise, for he found that every time Nian Bing’s hand moved a fraction, at least ten cuts were made to the rapidly spinning tray. Fragments were flying everywhere, but they all followed a regular pattern. As he continued, a faint icy mist began to arise around the tray from the particles of cucumber. What divine, miraculous skill. When Nian Bing’s hand had made its final revolution, the icy fog had completely obscured everyone’s vision. After three successive revolutions, he finally corrected his posture.

Demon Engraving vanished, leaving a small porcelain bottle in its place. He then flicked his wrist, causing white flour to fuse into the tray covered in green fog. Afterwards, he waved his right arm, and a lychee appeared in his hand. He stripped off its out layer to reveal its snow white flesh. He smiled. Perfect. This was the only word he could use to describe this dish.

Because the ice on the tray had melted at this point, the stove had become wet. Nian Bing’s hand stopped at the edge of the tray, but the green mist remained, akin to miniature green clouds. If one breather near them, they’d be able to clearly sense a rural chill, which was quite soothing.

Nian Bing picked up the tray, then walked over to the able and carefully set down the large tray in the center of the table. Salamandhys impatiently said, “What did you make? What’s so good about nine little cucumbers? No matter how you make them, they’re still just cucumbers.”

Nian Bing smiled. “Salamandhys, let me teach you the first lesson of tasting food: A good dish not only tastes good, but excels in five distinguashable aspects. These aspects are color, fragrance, taste, thought, and shape. At the same time, there must be some level of innovation and creativity. All of these things together make a good dish. My Nine Mysterious Dragons Hidden Within Clouds of Ice is such a dish. Oh, that right. I wanted to teach you something else. Before you’ve tasted the dish, you shouldn’t determine if it’s good or bad so easily. After all, you can’t say whether it’s delicious until it’s in your mouth. What do you say?”

Salamandhys’ mind went blank, but he nodded subconsciously. Next to him, Yu Ru Yan couldn’t help but click her tongue in wonder. A proud, greater dragon like Salamandhys was actually not replying to Nian Bing’s teachings. That was truly an amazing skill. However, she was currently extremely excited to see what was hidden behind the green mist—what sort of delicacy it held.

Nian Bing carefully placed the lychee inside of the ice mist. His right hand then stirred the ice mist, which caused the fog to immediately disperse, and everyone around the table was able to smell the incredibly fresh fragrance. Everyone present subcounsciously took in a deep breath, and Yu Ru Yan even felt like her wounds had been alleviated.