Chapter 191 - 191: Assessment

Translator: 549690339

[Additional Chapter for Guild Master Enchanting Night Traces]

“Qin Lang, what do you think the challenge Mr. Zong Nian gave you will be?”

After Mr. Zong Nian left with Qin Lang’s Spirit Chef Badge, Zhao Wenchang couldn’t help but sit next to Qin Lang and quietly start a conversation.

“I’m not sure about the answer to this question either,” Qin Lang responded with a shake of his head.

A trial that varies from person to person…

This feeling aligns with the toughest second-level food recommender test in Tianhua State.

The question now is…

After Mr. Zong Nian has reviewed his past situations, would the test become more complex, or would it be simplified?

Qin Lang was well aware of himself, his past achievements registered with the Spirit Chef Association were astonishing, compared to most spirit chefs.

It was due to speed.

From getting registered as a Spirit Chef, to obtaining three First-Level Food Recommender Badges for participating in the city-level cooking competition, to winning the city-level cooking contest and getting his first Second-Level Food Recommender Badge, and eventually obtaining the second Second-Level Food Recommender Badge.

This entire process took him only just over a month.

Would Mr. Zong Nian, upon seeing such an impressive track record, be stimulated to make the test more challenging, or deemphasize the difficulty of the test to make it easier for him to pass?

Qin Lang was leaning towards the former.

Soon, footsteps approached from afar.

Mr. Zong Nian, who had finished examining Qin Lang’s circumstances, had returned.

“A truly astonishing past,” Mr. Zong Nian remarked as he handed Qin Lang’s Spirit Chef Badge back to him, his expression as calm as ever.

However, when he first saw Qin Lang’s past, it wasn’t as easy for him to hide his initial reaction.

“Thank you for your recognition,” Qin Lang took the Spirit Chef Badge and nervously questioned, “Mr. Zong Nian, what will my test be?”

“In Qingyang City, there are eleven First-Level Food Recommenders,” Zong Nian dodged the question and instead mentioned the situation of the Food Recommenders in Qingyang City.

Qin Lang listened attentively.

Generally, the number of Food Recommenders in a city is fixed.

There is only one second-level food recommender, and eleven first-level food recommenders.

This is the case in both Dongxia City and Qingyang City.

“And your test is…” Zong Nian calmly spoke, “to meet the requirements of three of the First-Level Food Recommenders with just one dish and to satisfy me.”

“Hiss…”

Zhao Wenchang couldn’t help but draw a breath of cold air.

He was taken aback just by hearing the requirements of this test.

Would Qin Lang be able to pass such a test?

He couldn’t help but turn and glance at Qin Lang, who was frowning.

Qin Lang was also surprised by such a test.

To meet the challenge of three first-level food recommenders shouldn’t be a difficult feat.

However, if “with just one dish” is added as a prerequisite, then the problem becomes quite significant.

This means that the dish needs to meet the challenging requirements of three First-Level Food Recommenders simultaneously.

Yet the strengths and testing directions of the same-level food recommenders from the same city are completely different.

For instance, when in Dongxia City, Zhou Qing challenged fish cuisine, Fu Hang challenged beef dishes, and Song Hui challenged the rather niche field of desserts.

There are also food recommenders who challenge poultry, sauces and other types of dishes.

In short, there is never an overlap between the testing directions of any two food recommenders.

While Qin Lang hasn’t had time to understand the situation here in Qingyang City, it’s likely to be the same.

So, using a single dish to simultaneously meet three different testing directions presents a huge challenge for selecting the dish and may even require some compromise.

This is where another difficulty lies.

Compromising often means one can’t exhibit one’s best culinary skills.

Yet this dish not only needs to meet the test requirements of three First-Level Food Recommenders, but also has to satisfy Mr. Zong Nian, who is a Second-Level Food Recommender.

Qin Lang took a deep breath, feeling the true difficulty of the toughest Second-Level Food Recommender test.

The only chance of breaking this test lies with the three First-Level Food Recommenders not making specifications.

If he can choose any three of the eleven First-Level Food Recommenders, then he could flexibly choose them based on the dish he prepares, which would increase the possibility of passing the test.

However, just as Qin Lang thought of this, Mr. Zong Nian’s next comment doused Qin Lang in a bucket of cold reality.

“Besides, there’s one more requirement: Jiang Zhan must be one of the three Food Recommenders.”

Jiang Zhan? Who is that?

Qin Lang hadn’t researched the First-Level Food Recommenders of Qingyang City, so this name was unfamiliar to him.

Undoubtedly, fixing one of the Food Recommenders means one direction has been fixed.

Again, the flexibility of the test decreases.

And the difficulty increases.

Qin Lang took a deep breath, “Mr. Zong Nian, may 1 return home first to prepare for the test?”

The content of Mr. Zong Nian’s test was truly unexpected. He hadn’t prepared for this. He wasn’t even aware who the First-Level Food Recommenders in Qingyang City were. He had no choice but to take leave first and get prepared before his next visit.

“Yes, you can,” Mr. Zong Nian calmly nodded, “But you only have one week. Any longer and it will be considered as a test failure.”

“If you fail the test for a Second-Level Food Recommender, you won’t be able to try again for three months.”

One week…

This preparation time was not particularly generous.

“Thank you, Mr. Zong Nian. I’ll take my leave now.” With a polite bow in his direction, Qin Lang headed towards the exit of the mansion.

Only after he left the mansion did Zhao Wenchang, who had been trailing him, speak up in a muffled voice.

“Isn’t the difficulty level too high? Qin Lang, why don’t we just give up?”

“There are twelve cities in Tianhua State, and you already have collected two Second-Level Food Recommender Badges. It definitely won’t be hard for you to find a way to get three more!”

“No, I want to try.” Qin Lang’s eyes flickered with determination, “Mr. Zong Nian’s challenge is indeed difficult, even more so than 1 imagined. But if 1 don’t even have the courage to attempt it, how can 1 ever improve my culinary skills in the future?”

“Gulp!”

We will do our best together!

“Click!”

It’s just a Second-Level Food Recommender Test, we will definitely get through it!

Both Food Spirits were equally confident in Qin Lang.

Qin Lang smiled as he clung to the two small spirits.

There was something he didn’t mention.

Though challenging, the difficulty of Mr. Zong Nian’s test was still lower than that of the Third-Level Food Recommender’s test.

If he backed down now, how would he face the Third-Level Food Recommender’s test in the future?

If he didn’t undertake the Third-Level Food Recommender’s test, how would he enter a higher regional level competition than the provincial one and explore the fascinating Star System?

“By the way.” Qin Lang turned to Zhao Wenchang, “What exactly does that Food Recommender named Jiang Zhan test?”

Since Mr. Zong Nian specifically mentioned him, it couldn’t be that simple.

“Mr. Jiang Zhan specializes in testing mutton dishes,” Zhao Wenchang scratched his head, “I don’t know why Mr. Zong Nian specifically appointed him. Could it be because Mr. Zong Nian knows that you’re good at cooking mutton, so he is trying to decrease the difficulty a little?”

“No…” Qin Lang looked a bit strange, “It may be just the opposite.”

In his past record, not a single dish he cooked involved mutton.

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