It's also bad luck.

However, no matter what the task is, you have to work hard to complete it.

After all, among the people who now enter the secret realm to break through, if not 100%, more than 90% are for the upcoming beast taming competition.

If he missed this breakthrough opportunity, he would fall far behind other beastmasters of the same period.

At this time, the beastmaster in casual clothes had a changing expression and said, "I feel that the competition for this breakthrough mission is not very strong. Why don't we all work together? Maybe everyone can complete the mission by then."

"Let me introduce myself first. My name is 'Pointing at a Stag and Calling it a Horse'. I am a reserve member of the official strategy team. If I remember correctly, so far, very few beastmasters have matched up to the early days of the Beast Taming Empire, which is the 265th year of the Beast Taming Calendar. Although it is not particularly early, it is still worth exploring."

"If we can team up together, even if we can't complete the breakthrough mission, we will definitely be able to gain a lot of other benefits from breaking through the secret realm. In this era, there are many 'rare resources' that have become extinct in later generations. If we can bring some back to Blue Star, it will also be a good harvest."

Everyone looked at the man who was calling a horse a zebra. What he said did make sense, but why did your ID seem a little untrustworthy?

"What Brother Xiao Ma said makes sense. Let me introduce myself. My name is 'Snake Skin', and I'm a member of the Medicine Pavilion Guild." The identity of the man in the white coat attracted several people's attention.

He turned out to be a member of the Medicine Pavilion Guild.

"Then do you know how to cook medicinal food?" Bai Ling looked at him.

"I know a little bit, but it's just at home level." Shepi said, "And the taste is generally not that good."

"By the way, are you really Boss Bai Ling?" He was particularly curious about the identity of the armored woman.

Several people looked at Bai Ling, who was number one on the Divine Pet List and a super influential figure.

But that is fighting ability. This time the test is about cooking... No wonder she cursed.

"Yeah." Bai Ling had already prepared herself to be recognized. After all, she was too famous in Infinite City No. 5. She sighed and said, "Four Saints Gang, Bai Ling, I'm not very good at cooking. I have to accept my fate this time. I'll just go with the flow. If it doesn't work out, I can only go explore the world."

"Me too... I usually go to restaurants and order takeout..." The socialite girl said helplessly: "My ID is Ibeth, and I'm currently working for the official..."

"What does Iber's Pet Shop have to do with you?" Zhiluweima felt that the name sounded familiar.

"That chain of pet stores is owned by me." The socialite girl is indeed a fair, wealthy and beautiful woman.

He runs a well-known chain of pet stores and actively clings to the official support in the era of beast taming, so he can be said to have reaped the full benefits of the times.

Lu Ran listened silently on the side. As expected, no one who could break through the secret realm at this stage was a simple person.

"My name is 'Mountain Explorer', and I'm from the Mountain and River Guild." said the young man in exploration clothes. He usually just eats instant noodles and quick-heated foods and rarely cooks. This time he fell into a trap.

After everyone introduced themselves, only Lu Ran was left. Lu Ran looked the youngest among them, with the childish appearance of a high school student.

"My name is 'King of Sudden Death', a student..." Lu Ran started, not intending to reveal his real identity. Although the competition in this secret realm did not seem to be very strong, Dr. Gu had repeatedly reminded him that his identity was sensitive and he should develop the habit of using a pseudonym wherever he went in the future.

This was also thanks to Lu Ran's usual low profile, and few people knew him, the number three in the Infinite City Divine Pet List.

At this time, just as several people were about to communicate further, suddenly, a sound of footsteps came from the room in the yard.

As the door was pushed open, a young woman with a graceful figure and lingering charm came out, wearing a white floral skirt and a burgundy coat.

"Is everyone here?" She spoke in a unique local accent, her voice graceful, "I'm the shopkeeper of Shuangyue Tower. My last name is Long. You can call me Shopkeeper Long."

"Since you have spent a lot of money to come to Frost Moon Tower for further studies, I will also teach you well."

"But let me be frank. It's not easy to pass the Gourmet Hunter Association's top chef assessment. Even in our Frost Moon Building, there are only a few top chefs. I can't guarantee that you will succeed in the end."

Frost Moon Tower?!

Their expressions were calm, but they were actually very happy in their hearts.

OK!

Lu Ran and the others figured out that Infinite City wasn't being too cruel.

It is not without a little guidance that they become top chefs.

Look, I was given the initial identity of a chef apprentice.

According to the normal process, as long as I follow the lessons in this restaurant-like Frost Moon Building, I might be able to pass the assessment in the end, right? "Boss Long, I wonder what the assessment for a top-grade chef is about." The mountain explorer asked, getting into the role very quickly.

This is not a proper NPC to guide newbies.

Shopkeeper Long was stunned, looking at him like a fool, and said, "You come here to learn skills when you don't even know what the exam for a top chef is? Are you here to tease me?"

The other people didn't dare to say anything. To be honest, although these people had done their homework and knew a lot about the history of the Beast Taming Empire, they really knew nothing about the Gourmet Hunter Association.

If Lu Ran is correct, this organization only existed for a short period of time and then disappeared. It was a unique product of this period.

"Forget it, for the sake of money... First of all, you have to clarify a concept. There are many chefs with top-grade cooking skills, but not every chef can become a top-grade chef certified by the Gourmet Hunter Association. Why is it called the Gourmet Hunter Association instead of the Chef Association?"

"We, the Beast Taming Empire, started out by hunting. We hunted wild animals, hunted for resources, and then cooked the food we hunted into meals to fill our stomachs. This is the way our ancestors lived."

"In the beginning, our processing of ingredients was very rough. It was not until Emperor Yan Sizhen opened up the art of cooking that people began to pay attention to cooking techniques and ingredient combinations."

"Therefore, the Gourmet Hunter Association's special chef assessment is a combination of hunting and cooking. It is divided into three stages. The first step is the preliminary round, which requires the examinee to demonstrate certain cooking skills, whether it is knife skills or fire skills. In short, any cooking skills are fine. As long as you win the examiner's approval, you can pass the preliminary round."

"The second step is what I just said, which is the word 'hunter'. Special chefs must be strong enough to hunt for ingredients in the wild. When the time comes, the Hunter Association will take you to the designated examination room."

"You need to observe for yourself which ingredients are suitable for making dishes and which are not, and have the ability to obtain them on your own."

"As long as the quality of the food meets the requirements and is recognized by the examiner, you will have passed the special chef assessment."

"By then, with the status of a top-grade chef certified by the Gourmet Hunters Association, I will be able to open a popular restaurant no matter which city in the empire I go to..."

Shopkeeper Long looked at the six people with a smile and said, "Speaking of which, I don't know much about you. Tell me what you are good at. Then, I can arrange you to suitable chefs and let them teach you how to cook."

"There is only half a month left until the assessment. You don't have much time...

After Shopkeeper Long finished speaking, Lu Ran and the others looked at each other.

I see.

The people present were all very smart and quickly figured out the key points to passing the level!

The key lies in the second link!

During the assessment, you have to hunt for ingredients and then cook them.

The key to becoming a top-notch chef is to create top-notch dishes.

To make premium dishes, you need at least one of the two: superb cooking skills and rare quality ingredients.

When it comes to cooking skills, most novice beastmasters probably have a hard time.

Unless someone is really lucky and has excellent cooking skills, and enters this secret realm, but the chances are slim.

But if you want to obtain rare quality ingredients, you can tell by your fighting power.

In other words, as long as you are strong enough, it is possible to obtain rare quality ingredients.

At that time, as the saying goes, if your cooking skills are not good enough, you can make up for it with the ingredients. Top-notch ingredients often only require the simplest cooking methods...

If you succeed by accident, you may have a chance to make a special dish!

The assessment of top chef is easy to pass.

After this analysis, everyone's eyes lit up and they felt that they had hope again. They said that it would not be too difficult for a novice to break through the secret realm.

These are clearly two routes, one relying on cooking skills and the other relying on strength.

Of course, one of the two should not be too bad, but as long as one of them is particularly outstanding, you should be able to pass the task.

"Let's start with what you say." Manager Taki looked at the mountain explorer suspiciously.

The mountain explorer looked embarrassed and said, "My cooking skills are not that good, but I have a lot of experience in outdoor exploration, so my strength is just barely enough..."

"As expected." Manager Taki sighed and sentenced the mountain explorer to death. He said, "Then I'll find you a chef who can teach you basic cooking skills."

"Okay..." The mountain explorer wanted to cry but had no tears. He felt that he was being despised. Never mind. Let it be. It's up to him whether he passes or not. At least this breakthrough mission doesn't seem dangerous. At worst, he can just consider it as spending a month learning how to cook.

In the future, he will also be a beastmaster who can cook! This month, it is not a loss anyway.

"What about you?" Manager Taki asked one by one and looked at the pet shop owner.

"...I have a little knowledge about the nutritional combination of pet food." Iberth said. After all, she is the owner of a chain of pet stores. She may not understand how to cook her own meals, but she still needs to understand the nutritional combination of pets' meals.

"Well, a little better than that guy." Shopkeeper Taki said, and continued to look at the next one.

"I have a little experience with medicinal food..." Snake Skin from the Medicine Pavilion Guild said. His family runs a farm that breeds medicinal snakes, so he knows how to cook a few dishes with snakes, but he feels that this is not a big advantage at all...

"I, am pretty good..." When it came to Zhizheweima and Bai Ling, both of them were embarrassed. They could only say that they were pretty good. Although they didn't know whether they could hunt good ingredients in the second level with their strength, they did not have any other advantages at the moment. They might as well start with learning basic cooking skills.

Otherwise, even if you hunt down rare ingredients, you might squander them and make shady dishes... wasting good ingredients.

Hearing this, Manager Taki sighed again and again, feeling that he had encountered the most difficult group of apprentices to train.

"If your pet is of the fire element and has excellent control over fire, it is also an advantage. Does your pet have a fire element?" she added.

However, what is speechless is that this group of beast masters does not have a single fire-type pet...

Shopkeeper Taki looked at Lu Ran, the youngest person, without hope.

While others were introducing themselves, Lu Ran was still thinking.

After some contemplation, Lu Ran decided to actively respond to this breakthrough in the secret realm, hoping to exceed the task and obtain better rewards.

In this case, just like playing a game, you must do every step to the extreme.

First of all, you have to show your talent and find the best and most awesome chef to teach you.

Let’s do it!

A beastmaster who can't cook is not a good forger. What's wrong with learning one more cooking skill? He raised his head and said, "I'm not bad either..."

Everyone: ...

"Also, I am very good at knife skills. I have mastered the special cooking technique 'Ice and Snow Knife Technique'. With one swing of the knife, I can avoid the influence of heat on the ingredients to a great extent, making them as if they were refrigerated, retaining the best quality..."

(End of this chapter)