Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 307

The spicy and rich broth, infused with grilled paprika and chili, kept him coming back for more.

Keinzel shrugged, watching Dokgocheon devour the stew.

“Of course. It contains a very rare elixir that you absolutely cannot find in the Central Plains.”

Dokgocheon nodded, finally understanding.

“Indeed.”

“Be sure to eat it with the fully cooked, tender onions. It’ll be even more delicious.”

Chorizo potato stew was one of the most beloved breakfast dishes in the Tuscan Confederation.

Its spicy and rich flavor perfectly matched the tastes of the Central Plains people, who were accustomed to spices like Sichuan pepper and mala [numbing and spicy flavor derived from Sichuan peppercorns and chili peppers].

Dokgocheon scooped up an onion soaked in the broth and brought it to his mouth.

The unique, sweet tang of the onion and the savory flavor of the stew melted together, leaving a fantastic aftertaste on his tongue before sliding down his throat.

It was a taste that never got old, filled with the savory flavors of countless meats and vegetables.

“Indeed. It’s a strangely heart-warming flavor.”

The hot, steaming potatoes crumbled softly without needing to be chewed.

Eventually, Dokgocheon could only let out a sigh of regret when his plate was empty.

* * *

“……Hoo. That was a truly delicious meal. Now, let’s test the effects of the elixir I just ate.”

“There’s no Dalgi here. How are you going to test it?”

Dokgocheon pointed to the sky with one hand and continued.

“Must one always have the person in question to test affection? We can do it very simply like this. Behold! Dalgi’s mother is flying in the sky!”

“……”

Keinzel stared at Dokgocheon with a dumbfounded expression.

To think he would confirm his release from the curse of love in this way.

Then, Dokgocheon twisted one side of his lips.

“Hehehe. I don’t feel any affection for the Princess anymore. Very fortunate.”

“……Well, a person possessed by a Gumiho [nine-tailed fox spirit] certainly couldn’t mock their target like that.”

“So, what I ate was indeed a very precious elixir. But aside from the effect, it was as if all the flavors of the ingredients had melted into the broth. How on earth did you make the soup like that?”

Dokgocheon was so picky that he even traveled with his own personal chef.

He mostly ate extravagant and greasy dishes.

Yet, he was so captivated by a simple dish made with just a few vegetables and a bit of meat.

Keinzel, who had no intention of hiding anything, told him the truth.

“It’s a technique from Chinese cuisine called steaming, which is said to be the most difficult to master. You have to adjust the cooking time according to the type of ingredient and the surrounding temperature.”

Of course, there were hardly any chefs in the vast Central Plains who could do it perfectly.

There was a saying that they ate everything with legs except chairs and tables, as there were so many different ingredients.

So, most chefs only knew the ideal cooking times for a few ingredients they were confident in.

“So, the potatoes were fluffy and the meat was chewy because you used that steaming technique? That’s quite amazing. I often eat food made by the imperial chef, but it wasn’t even this good.”

“Well, I did that for every ingredient in the stew.”

Dokgocheon had spent his entire life mastering martial arts. He had never even made the simple stir-fried bok choy.

Even so, he could tell how ridiculous what Keinzel said was.

“……So, you’re saying you heated and cooked all the numerous ingredients mixed together in the pot differently.”

“Something like that.”

“Good heavens……. Isn’t that impossible unless you know the state of every ingredient in the pot? To think you could achieve such a miracle through cooking……”

At that moment, something flashed through Dokgocheon’s mind like lightning.

“That’s it! The dantian [energy center in the body] is the pot! If I think of the various types of internal energy gathered there as ingredients, the answer is very simple! ……Haha, hahaha. To think I would gain such enlightenment from eating food.”

Dokgocheon had mastered the Dark Demon God Art, which was only passed down to the leaders of the Demonic Cult, up to the tenth level.

To use it, he had to be able to fully assimilate the internal energy contained in the numerous elixirs and inner cores he had consumed so far.

But that hadn’t happened.

He had only stored them in his dantian, and he could only control less than half of them.

What was the problem?

He pondered, pondered, and pondered, but he couldn’t find the answer.

Yet, he was about to obtain it in such an absurd way.

Dokgocheon suddenly clasped his hands together and bowed to Keinzel.

It was the most respectful greeting a martial artist could give.

“Thank you, Great Hero Keinzel. I have been simply putting all the natural energy I absorbed through breathing exercises, the internal energy I obtained through elixirs, and the internal energy I received through forced transfer of energy into the pot and boiling it with the flames of the Dark Demon God Art. I didn’t realize that different heating was needed for each ingredient to create the best dish.”

‘Great Hero…….’

The title Dokgocheon used suddenly changed to an honorific. His tone was still arrogant, but it sounded strangely friendly.

“The Dark Demon God Art, when mastered to the extreme, can achieve the legendary bone remodeling and rejuvenation. I discovered the path leading to that after hearing your story. It seems I will have to go into secluded training for a while after I finish what I have to do in the Anti-Heaven Alliance. This is a fortunate encounter worth more than a thousand-year-old snow ginseng and a thousand-year-old Polygonum multiflorum [He Shou Wu, a Chinese herbal medicine].”

“So, you liked the chorizo potato stew?”

“Keuk, Khahaha! To be so focused on cooking even after giving such great enlightenment!”

In the end, Dokgocheon had to roll around on the floor for a while, clutching his stomach.

“Keuheuh……. I really relate to the way you can’t see anything else when you’re focused. I like it. Do you have any thoughts of joining the Demonic Cult? If you want, I’d like to give you the position of Guardian Chief of our cult. You have great martial arts skills and excellent cooking skills, so I hope you’ll stay by my side.”

“Thank you for the offer, but I’m a nobleman from Britannia. I’ll have to return to my country soon.”

“Ah, that’s right. I was so used to your fluent Central Plains language that I forgot you were from the Western Regions.”

Dokgocheon looked at Keinzel with a regretful expression and smacked his lips.

He was a man with tremendous swordsmanship skills, except for a slight lack of internal energy.

If he ate an elixir and his internal energy became similar to his own, could he really guarantee victory?

“Of course, you’d have to drink Qingcheng petroleum like water to gain the same level of internal energy as me. Besides, I will become even stronger in the future. Hahahat!”

It was obvious, but gaining enlightenment didn’t mean he could break through the wall right now.

He had to digest all the internal energy stored in his dantian and reach the extreme of the Dark Demon God Art based on that.

It would take at least ten years to do it all.

But after that, he would truly be able to sit in the position of the leader who would lead the Demonic Cult.

Besides, he would no longer be a middle-aged man in his forties with balding hair and wrinkled face.

He would surely be reborn with the strong body of his prime.

Keinzel taught the delighted Dokgocheon how to escape from Daedalus’s labyrinth.

Dokgocheon laughed heartily and thumped his chest.

“Then, Great Hero Keinzel, I’ll leave the guys who were affected by Dalgi to you. If you need any help, let me know anytime. Then, I’ll go straight to the Demonic Cult and bring the promised elixir.”

Keinzel smiled and nodded.

He was able to obtain two thousand-year-old elixirs by saving the Dark Demonic Emperor. It was a tremendous harvest.

Currently trapped in Daedalus’s labyrinth were the leaders of the Orthodox and Unorthodox factions, who divided the Jianghu [martial arts world] world.

Most of them had at least one hidden elixir.

A pot full of chorizo potato stew. How much could he sell this for?

* * *

Daedalus fulfilled its mission and disappeared exactly 24 hours after it was created.

Baekho, the gatekeeper of the Kunlun Sect and better known by the alias Dokgunja [Poisonous Gentleman], shuddered.

“I didn’t think it was possible, but all the people who were possessed by the Gumiho and ran away really came back?!”

Standing in front of Baekho was Cheongun, the best swordsman of the Wudang Sect, sweating profusely.

A man who had trained only in swordsmanship his entire life had betrayed justice because of a woman. If he hadn’t known that the Princess was a Gumiho, he might have committed suicide.

That was why Cheongun could bow to Keinzel without hesitation.

“Thank you so much, Great Hero Keinzel. Thanks to you, I was able to end this without losing my integrity.”

Cheongun said those words and took out a bundle tied around his waist.

A good fragrance was flowing out even though it was tightly tied.

“As promised, this is the Wudang Sect’s treasure, the Taeheo Muryeongdan. It’s made with all sorts of precious spiritual herbs, so it’s very good for the body.”

“Thank you.”

It was an elixir comparable to the Shaolin’s Daehwandan and the Demonic Cult’s Maryeong Gihwadan.

An item that any martial artist would covet.

But there was no one here who was so shameless as to steal it.

If it weren’t for Keinzel, they would have fought against the Anti-Heaven Alliance under the Princess’s orders.

Then, all that would have been left was the destruction of the Central Plains.

He had done more than save their lives.

Considering that, it was rather cheap.

At that time, Nangongmin, the head of the Nangong Family, who was standing in line behind him, cleared his throat and gave him a look.

“Ahem. If you’re done, it’s my turn next. There are many people waiting, so let’s save the words of gratitude for later.”

“Oh dear……. This old man has taken up too much time. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s alright. Haa, if it weren’t for the Great Hero, I would have had to bow towards the place where my dead wife is buried for the rest of my life. Thank you so much for breaking the curse.”

Nangongmin handed Keinzel a pot with a small orchid planted in it.

“This is a Guyeopjajiseonran, a spiritual herb that is said to allow carrier pigeons to travel a thousand miles in one night. Besides that……”

Keinzel narrowed his eyes and looked at the orchid with purple flowers.

Very small fruits were growing, and their fragrance was unbelievably fragrant.

‘I could raise this well, pick only the fruits, and use them as seasoning.’

He would have to analyze the details with his Gourmet Skill, but it seemed like he could definitely use it in cooking.

At that time, Dokgocheon, who had left for the Demonic Cult a day ago, flew over the wall.

Then, several high-ranking members of the Demonic Cult knelt down.

Dokgocheon threw the bundle he was carrying towards Keinzel and muttered.

“Everyone’s so stingy, bringing such insignificant things. At least this much is needed to be called an elixir.”

“Ah, the promised item. May I take a look at it right away?”

“Isn’t that why I brought it?”

As Keinzel untied the bundle, cheers erupted from the surroundings.

“That, that is?!”

“Good heavens……! Isn’t that a thousand-year-old snow ginseng! To think he would bring such a precious thing……!”

“As expected of the Dark Demonic Emperor. He’s really generous.”

But there was one more thing in the bundle besides that.

Two large Polygonum multiflorum roots that were well-preserved as if they had just been dug up.

Dokgocheon smacked his lips and said.

“Sorry, but I heard that the thousand-year-old Polygonum multiflorum was used as an ingredient in the Maryeong Gihwadan that I ate. Instead, I picked out two that were roughly eight hundred years old. That should be enough to substitute for the thousand-year-old Polygonum multiflorum.”

Distinguishing how old a spiritual herb is requires long training and experience. But Keinzel had the Gourmet Skill.

When he cut off a small root of the Polygonum multiflorum and tasted it, a status window appeared in front of Keinzel’s eyes.

[Thousand-Year-Old Polygonum Multiflorum]

‘Huh? This is amazing? Both of them are fully thousand-year-old Polygonum multiflorum, not eight hundred years old? There’s no way he wouldn’t know this, so he must have been really grateful earlier.’

There was no reason to refuse, so he decided to accept it for now.

Keinzel had to forcibly suppress the cheers that were about to erupt as he looked at the mountain of spiritual herbs and elixirs.

But most of them were herbs, medicinal herbs, or fruits.

‘Well, this is normal. Still, it would be nice to have at least something similar to meat to cook with.’

As if reading his mind, a man wearing a bear skin brought a large snake that was nearly three chapters long.

He puffed out his chest and said in a confident voice.

“This is a hundred-year-old Dokgaksa [a type of venomous snake] that I happened to successfully subdue in the Green Forest. Except for the Dokgonja bastard occasionally taking out the poison and eating it, I raised it well without touching it. Still, the meat is plump, so you might find an inner core if you look for it. So, I’ve kept my promise with this.”

“Thank you, Green Forest King.”

The Green Forest King put his arm around Baekho, who was standing by the door, and whispered.

“Damn it, let’s go have some roast duck and Kaoliang liquor [a strong distilled spirit]. How could I have raised that guy……. Keuheuk…….”

He couldn’t go back on his word, so he gave it as promised. But he seemed to really regret it.

Keinzel slowly looked at the gathered cooking ingredients and reached out his hand.

‘A snake……. I’m sure the meat tasted similar to chicken, right? Then, the dish I’ll make with this is…….’

And when he activated the Brilliant Road, dozens of recipes appeared before his eyes.

‘……That’s right, this was it.’

It was finally time to cook with the spiritual herbs he had worked so hard to gather.