Chapter 351: 2 Star Recipe — Heartblossom Delight
Strictly speaking, this was the first time Qi Han had ever taken a life.
But the guy was just a wisp of a ghostly soul when he died. Under the blazing edge of Qi Han's flame-forged blade, he had been utterly incinerated, leaving not even the faintest trace behind. There was no blood, no gore—none of that visceral shock that usually came with killing. And with that ashen complexion, You Li had looked more like a zombie than a human anyway.
Honestly, it felt more like cutting down a zombie in Resident Evil than killing a person.
So the usual nausea or horror people described after killing? Qi Han felt none of that.
As for guilt? Not even a little. The man was an evil spirit master—the worst kind, according to Ru Yi. The type that cultivated by devouring souls.
After dispatching You Li, Qi Han quickly vacated the area. The group of Armored Wild Dragons that had been his original target had long since scattered, frightened off by the sudden appearance of multiple powerful spirit masters.
They might've been dumb beasts, but they weren't that dumb.
So, to keep hunting Armored Wild Dragons, he had to move elsewhere.
Qi Han spent an entire day tracking a lone Armored Wild Dragon through its footprints, eventually killing one hundred of them. Ru Yi carefully preserved every piece of usable meat before they set off toward their next destination.
Those hundred dragons represented about 10% of the local population—but Armored Wild Dragons bred quickly, and in a few decades, their numbers would bounce back.
More importantly, one hundred specimens gave Qi Han thousands of opportunities to practice, more than enough to develop a solid 2 Star recipe.
The next region they headed for was quite close by. According to Ru Yi's maps, it was home to a bird-like pseudo-dragon species known as the Wind God Bird.
. . . . . . . . . .
A brilliant blade light sliced through the air, slashing toward the thick trunk of a massive tree. The subtle hiss of the blade tearing through the wind broke the jungle's eerie silence.
At first, the trunk seemed perfectly normal, covered only in mottled brown bark. But as the light passed by, a strange distortion appeared—outlining the figure of a lizard-like creature hiding in plain sight.
"Screee!"
The creature had time to emit only a short screech before the blade cleaved it nearly in two from behind, killing it instantly.
As the corpse fell to the ground, its skin slowly changed color—from the bark-like dark brown it had used to blend in, to a pale green.
"That's number one hundred."
Qi Han stepped forward, wearing a pair of slightly peculiar-looking glasses. He grabbed the creature—about two meters long—and tossed it into his system space.
This lizard-like spirit beast was a species known as the Shadowless Drake—a pseudo-dragon capable of chameleon-like camouflage, blending seamlessly into its environment. It was notorious for its eerie hunting methods and was the stuff of nightmares for many other spirit beasts.
But against a piece of futuristic technology known as infrared thermal imaging goggles, its hiding technique was useless.
"Five dragon-type spirit beasts collected. That should be enough."
Qi Han glanced up at the sky and turned, entering his system space.
This marked the sixth day since his arrival in the Star Dou Forest, and the tenth day since taking his leave. He hadn't started creating any 2 Star recipes yet.
Instead, he'd spent those six days carefully testing different dragon-type spirit beast ingredients and ultimately selected five that he considered most promising. For each species, he had hunted and collected exactly one hundred specimens.
This time, unlike back when he was creating recipes in Kalei Forest, Qi Han was taking a far more methodical approach.
With the ingredients fully gathered, all that remained was to start cooking trial after trial within the system space.
He still had ten days before his leave ended. Factoring in the time needed to remodel the shop once he got back, he had roughly eight days to work with.
Eight real-world days translated into 960 days—nearly two and a half years—inside the system space.
With that much time on his hands, creating a top-notch 2 Star recipe? More than doable.
In truth, it obviously wouldn't take that long.
By now, Qi Han's culinary experience had improved vastly compared to before. Just by tasting an ingredient, he could roughly deduce which cooking methods would best bring out its natural flavors. As a result, he made far fewer detours during the experimentation process.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
…Twelfth Day in the system space…
From a pot of deep brown braising broth, Qi Han carefully lifted the heart of an Armored Wild Dragon. After hours of braising, its color had nearly blended into the broth. With swift, precise movements, he sliced it into translucent slivers just a millimeter thick and laid them out on a large platter in the shape of a delicate brown flower.
In the center of this "flower," he placed a special dipping sauce he had prepared in advance.
A seemingly simple yet clever cold dish was now complete.
Qi Han chuckled, picking up a slice with his chopsticks. He dipped it lightly into the sauce, then took a bite—half a piece—and began chewing slowly.
At first bite, the braised dragon heart unleashed an intense and complex five-spice aroma—star anise, cinnamon, clove, fennel, and Sichuan peppercorn, perfectly blended into the rich braising liquid. The scent was bold and full-bodied. Meanwhile, the dipping sauce added a punchy twist, with its spicy base tinged with just a hint of sourness. That first hit on the tongue sent the appetite soaring.
As a cold starter, whetting the appetite was its main purpose—and this dish did so with flying colors.
Then came the texture: the dragon heart's signature mouthfeel.
After such long braising, the flavor had penetrated deep into the tissue, yet the natural umami of the heart remained vibrant. Rather than being overpowered, it had fused with the five-spice blend to create an entirely new taste experience.
Qi Han had eaten his share of braised foods before, but the dragon heart was something else entirely.
Its texture was also quite unique. Braising hadn't made it mushy—instead, it retained a firm, elastic quality.
The heart, after all, is muscular in structure, but being the engine of blood circulation, it had a tighter, springier density than regular muscle—slightly crisp and satisfyingly chewy, offering all the pleasure of eating meat but with a touch more bite.
One bite down, and Qi Han nodded with satisfaction.
At this level, he honestly couldn't find any flaws in the dish.
So…
"Ru Yi, does this dish qualify as a 2 Star recipe?"
Qi Han turned to glance at the pink-blue-haired little girl swinging her legs on the cutting board.
"It does! This one meets the standard for a 2 Star recipe. Total score: 55 points."
Ru Yi blinked and answered promptly.
"How much?"
Qi Han almost thought he'd misheard.
Last time, even his lowest-rated 1 Star recipe had scored 60, hadn't it?
This Braised Dragon Heart was clearly more delicious than any of his previous dishes—so why was the score lower?
Seeing the dazed look on Qi Han's face, as if questioning his entire existence, Ru Yi chuckled softly. With a flick of her finger, a translucent screen appeared in front of him.
"Here, this is the scoring breakdown."
[Scoring ]
[Taste (out of 40 points): 38
Ingredient Originality (out of 20 points): 17
Method Originality (out of 20 points): 0
Cooking Difficulty (out of 20 points): 0
Total: 55 points]
Qi Han studied the breakdown carefully. A score of 38 in taste was actually quite impressive. Among 2 Star recipes, the Braised Dragon Heart could certainly be considered very tasty, so that score was fair.
As for ingredient originality, since the dish used only the heart of the Armored Wild Dragon and the braising spices weren't anything new, losing three points there made sense.
But... both cooking method originality and difficulty were zero? Wasn't that a bit harsh?
Noticing his confused expression, Ru Yi cleared her throat and explained:
"First of all, this dish follows the standard braising method to the letter. There's absolutely no innovation in the technique, right? You can't deny that."
She pointed at Qi Han's plating, blinking her big eyes.
"And creative plating doesn't count as cooking method innovation."
"Still, you could've given me some points," Qi Han muttered with a strange expression. He clearly remembered his previous dish, Honey-Glazed Grilled Ribs, which was inspired by Western-style steak. That one had earned 4 points in cooking method originality.
"Well, the scoring standard for 2 Star recipes is stricter than for 1 Star ones. What would earn a few points for referencing another style at the 1 Star level would basically be a zero here," Ru Yi shrugged.
"As for the difficulty... same principle. Since the standards are higher now, basic techniques like braising just don't cut it anymore. Hence—zero points."
"Fine, whatever."
Qi Han silently picked up another slice of Braised Dragon Heart and popped it into his mouth, grudgingly accepting the evaluation criteria.
So 2 Star dishes really were on a whole other level.
Good thing he'd prepared several recipe ideas this time.
"So, what do you want to name this dish?"
Qi Han looked at the dragon heart slices arranged like a blooming flower on the plate. Inspiration struck.
"Let's call it the 'Heartblossom Delight.'"
"2 Star recipe: Heartblossom Delight — successfully recorded!"
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