He said one hour, but in fact they waited two or three.

It was obvious someone wasn't happy to see the Chef Demon Trial get fast‑tracked like this and was tripping things up in the dark. But in the end, no matter who it was, they couldn't openly violate the rules of a Chef Demon showdown.

Once Inu River nodded, the paperwork for a named challenge shot through at top speed.

To protect the Li Jian family's property and dignity, this Samurai who'd been mocked as an old dog had really racked his brains these past days. Running into a near‑arrogant challenge like Guo ShouQue's was practically like a dozing man getting handed a pillow.

Among everyone here, he was probably the one who most hoped the Chef Demon showdown would reach a conclusion as soon as possible.

Even if, once this was over, neither the Duke's side nor the Wu Family side would leave him any good end… probably before long, they'd find some random excuse and send him a reprimand, four feet of white cloth, and a short dagger together.

Urging him to hurry up and hit the road.

Inu River didn't care in the slightest.

Call it stupid loyalty, call it stubbornness, that old man had already staked his life on the duty the Li Jian family had entrusted to him.

The cruelest thing in this world is death. Once a man isn't even afraid of dying, then no matter how formidable the opponent, what difference does it make to him?

Two hours later, approval finally came down from the Li Jian family's eight commissioners.

Huai Shi had more or less had his fill of watching the spectacle by then, and finally came in with Zhenxi to watch the match.

He had barely stepped in when he saw the Russian Federation's big hairy bear Flamikir, covered in tattoos, waving enthusiastically at them. "You two, over here, over here!"

"Heh, simp."

Huai Shi gave him a glance, then pretended not to see him, continuing to maintain Miss Huaizhi's noble, aloof goddess persona.

Flamikir still had that wild punk look. After grinning at Zhenxi, he pulled his gaze back.

Once Huai Shi sat down, he realized… there really were quite a lot of people here today.

Not just the agents of all the current candidates— even the Chef Demons who'd already been eliminated had all shown up. Like San Tu's head chef Shenjin Qing from before, the Industrial Kitchen Demon Kujikane, and so on… even the losers who'd long since been knocked out weren't willing to miss this feast.

Because this was Guo ShouQue. Because this was an undying old monster…

But he hadn't appeared in any public match for over twenty years. The Chef Demons who only knew him from their teachers' mouths and from rumors couldn't be sure of anything.

One against seven—could something that over‑the‑top really be done?

No matter how diluted a Chef Demon is, they're still a Chef Demon!

One in ten thousand, elite among elites and true strongmen.

In one‑on‑one duels spread over seven days, maybe that old man could sweep through and crush every opponent like rotten wood. But to take on seven full‑fledged Chef Demons in a continuous relay battle… that level of absurdity was hard to even imagine.

Even if you call him Gluttony, there's no way his appetite is that exaggerated, right?

"Oho, everybody's actually here? Sorry to keep you, sorry to keep you."

As everyone waited, that kindly, gentle voice, like some grandpa walking his bird in the park, came from the entrance.

He carried a bamboo basket in one hand and in the other dragged a heavy cloth bundle—no one knew what was wrapped inside. He strolled along casually, greeting each colleague warmly as he passed.

And that bloody bundle in his hand looked like a…

"Pig's head?"

Huai Shi raised an eyebrow.

For some reason, he felt inexplicably familiar with the shapes of various creatures' heads… had he chopped off that many heads that he'd developed this kind of passive Skill?

"Ah, you could tell?"

Guo ShouQue chuckled. "Miss Huaizhi's got a sharp eye. For a one‑body‑seven‑flavors dish, only this will do."

He strolled over to his own cooking station, set the things down, and unwrapped the bundle.

Inside was a freshly bled pig's head, the bristles unsinged and untouched by any other prep.

"This thing really wasn't easy to find. This Old man walked all over Nara, rode the bus for two hours, and finally found a live pig farm… You Yingzhou People are a pain, you know that? You don't even raise pigs properly."

He casually flipped the pig's ear and mouth around, then propped his elbow on the pig skull and looked up at the seven grim‑faced enemies before him.

"Everyone, all ready?"

"With such grace from our Predecessor, how could we dare be absent?" a Chef Demon from Yingzhou spoke up, voice cold. "Though we're being looked down on, I haven't sunk to the point of throwing in the towel… Even if I have to use every underhanded trick, I'll make sure you get a full taste of my cooking essence, Predecessor."

"Good, good."

Guo ShouQue was honestly delighted. "Then how about you go first? Let's get started."

The other seven Chef Demons exchanged glances, then slowly nodded.

Since the opponent dared to fight one against seven, they weren't arrogant enough to think they could just dogpile him and win. The opponent's depths were unfathomable, but if they faced him as a team, it wasn't like they had no chance to defeat him.

The first one they sent out was, without a doubt, the one universally acknowledged as the strongest among them, but the remaining six weren't just there to make up the numbers either. And the truly strongest, the Chef Demon they were most confident in, had been put at the very end.

The rest would then spare no means to wear down his capacity to endure.

A war of attrition!

Seven against one—if they won, it might not mean much, but if they lost, it would be a massive joke. If things went really badly, their own restaurant might even get demoted. What they wanted was absolute security.

"Let me say this in advance, what I excel at is kaiseki cuisine. The 'Snow, Moon, Flowers' I've prepared today does have ten dishes, but it can't be split up in any way; it can only be served all at once. That's what a set meal is. Chef Guo, you have no objections, right?"

Standing in front of the cooking station was the veteran Chef Demon, Chaichuang from the famous kaiseki restaurant, Great Chant.

"A set menu, yeah, I get it—it's like we used to say, one swig of beer, one bite of fried chicken, that's what being in love feels like. I can understand that."

Cheerfully dropping a meme so old young people wouldn't even get it, Guo ShouQue patted the pig's head next to him. "But this old man is getting up there in years; my stamina's not what it used to be…"

Shameless!

Everyone present suddenly wore very complicated expressions.

How could this Old Turtle be bullshitting with such a straight face?

Sure, compared to his prime, Guo ShouQue's stamina would have dropped somewhat. But a Sublimator's Power simply couldn't be judged by common sense. What's more, even though Guo ShouQue hadn't used anything besides his Chef Demon Skills so far, he could stroll alone into Paradise of Bliss and stroll back out again… would someone like that be a pushover?

If he was a weakling, then what did that make everyone else here?

Single-cell noob?

The moment the words left his mouth, the seven Chef Demons' expressions turned ugly.

After mulling it over for a long time, Chaichuang finally spoke. "You mean rest time, right? We can discuss that, but it can't be too much."

"No no no, you've got it all wrong!" Guo ShouQue burst out laughing and waved his hand. "Rest? No need, don't you worry about me."

"..."

After a brief silence, Chaichuang looked confused. "Then what do you mean?"

"Isn't it a bit much to bully the youngsters? Doesn't sit right with me. So I'll take a step back on my own."

Guo ShouQue smiled, patting the pig's head under his elbow, and said kindly, "What I mean is, no matter what you lot make, I can accept it, and I can eat it. But I'm old now, don't feel like wasting brain cells. So today, I'll just make this one dish…"

He spread his hands, face calm, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "As long as any one of you can finish this one dish of mine, I'll count that as my loss!"

Crack!

The sound of something shattering broke the dead silence.

Under Chaichuang's hands, a crack split the cutting board.

The middle-aged man who had maintained a peaceful demeanor all this time suddenly opened his eyes wide. Bloodshot veins filled his gaze, his expression twisting into something indescribably hideous.

Rage.

Not just him—the six Chef Demons behind him as well.

In that instant, under such a condition of blatant contempt and disdain, they were thrown into a fury they could no longer suppress. If this weren't a Chef Demon duel, then even knowing how enormous the gap in strength was, Chaichuang would probably still throw caution to the wind, swing his fist, and pound that grinning old face into the floor!

"Well? The condition's very fair, isn't it?" Guo ShouQue still felt it wasn't enough; he kept grinning smugly. "I love fair duels the most. Both sides have to stand on the same starting line… this way, no matter how weak you all are, as long as you risk your lives to choke down this dish, you can still win, right? Well? Well? Hahahaha…"

"Don't joke with me!"

Chaichuang roared, bellowing as he slammed both hands down on the table. "I refuse! I absolutely refuse to accept such a humiliating condition! Guo ShouQue, you bastard, just how far do you intend to take this humiliation before you're satisfied!"

"You're mad?"

Guo ShouQue looked at him in surprise, as if he couldn't understand. "This counts as humiliation? That's a bit weird, isn't it? I'm just handicapping myself for you… Besides, do you really have the right to refuse?"

He bared his teeth, his elderly face slowly twisting, no longer bothering to hide the malice and savagery in his chest. "Even bargaining has its limits, you know? Don't think you can open a whole damn dye shop just because I gave you a little face, okay?"

The old man laughed loudly, pressing down on the pig's head under his hand as he told them, "Listen up. I'm going to do this whether you accept it or not. If you can't stand this kind of humiliation, then turn around and walk off the stage.

Even if walking off is the same as admitting defeat, that's fine. You can always spin it later as saving your dignity, right?

It's not that we got into a seven-on-one brawl and still couldn't beat an old man over one hundred and seventy—it's just that we couldn't accept the humiliation, that's all. Haha, hahaha, hahahaha…"

In the dead silence, only the old Chef Demon's laughter echoed.

Everyone's face grew even uglier.

"That old bastard's way past shameless." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Huai Shi muttered under his breath.

"Eh? Isn't this like how masters tie their own hands in duels? Super stylish, right?" Zhenxi stared in disbelief. "Like those sword movies where the old swordmaster fights blindfolded—it totally looks cool to me."

She still hadn't figured out what was going on.