"The Soul of Cookery" Flavor PV: Chefs of the New Era

Upon seeing this post, Nanxu's expression turned serious.

He remembered this PV; it was about the young generation of geniuses NPCs in the Great Xuan Dynasty, and it was essentially a character promotion PV.

Naturally, this also includes those who repeatedly tormented him to the point of near death in his previous life.

Based on my experience from my previous life, Luo Qinzhu will also appear in it. It's just unknown whether her role will change after the plot is altered.

While pondering, Nan Xu clicked on the post.

Click the video to start playing!

The screen went completely black, and the logo of the company that made "Chef Soul" slowly appeared.

A dense barrage of comments scrolled across the screen—

"First!"

"A billion more times!"

"Witness history!"

"Dinner's ready! Dinner's ready!"

"Startled awake from a deathbed.JPG"

"Grandpa, the game you've been following has finally made some progress!"

As the grand and solemn background music began, a magnificent palace emerged in the morning light beneath the azure sky.

The camera zooms in rapidly, passing through layers of palace gates, until it reaches the Golden Palace. Golden sunlight shines through the carved dragon and phoenix windows, illuminating the solemn and dignified court.

A majestic figure sat on the dragon throne, his face obscured.

Beside him appeared several powerful, vigorous characters in traditional Chinese ink painting:

[Emperor of the Great Xuan Dynasty, Dongfang Jun]

The emperor's chief edict unfurled a golden imperial edict and read it aloud in a long, drawn-out voice:

"The imperial edict reads: 'The nation is founded on its people, and the people depend on food for survival. Now that peace reigns throughout the land, I wish to feast the world with the art of gastronomy. I hereby order all officials to recommend outstanding young talents from across the land to showcase their culinary skills!'"

The scene shifts as the imperial edict is stamped with the jade seal with a heavy, muffled sound.

In a quaint and elegant scholar's home, a young man dressed in a simple long robe, his hair neatly tied up, stood before a table. With a serious expression, he swiftly chopped the ingredients into small, precise pieces.

"One should not be too particular about the fineness of the food, nor about the delicacy of the preparation of the meat; this is the etiquette of dining."

As the guqin's strings are plucked with a single note, three large ink-wash characters gradually emerge:

Kong Shuli

The comments section also started to discuss:

"What a stylish guy."

"Surname Kong? Could it be the Kong from Confucius?"

"It seems to be related to Confucius cuisine..."

Nan Xu nodded slightly. The viewers in the live chat guessed correctly; this Kong Shuli was indeed a descendant of the Kong family, skilled in both Confucian cuisine and Shandong cuisine.

Although this person is quite capable and has a solid foundation, his cooking is too conventional and lacks creativity. Among the young generation of outstanding NPCs, his potential is probably only at the bottom of T2.

According to the analysis of previous players, the young chefs appearing in this PV have greater potential as time goes on.

It seems that the PVs of this generation will also follow this order.

The scene shifts, and the music suddenly becomes lively.

In the bustling town market, a young girl with her hair in a bun wields a large spoon, her wok flipping and turning, as a pile of bright red chilies and Sichuan peppercorns sizzles in hot oil, releasing a pungent, spicy aroma.

"Sir, your dishes are all served! If you're satisfied, remember to come again next time!"

The girl brought the freshly cooked Mapo Tofu to the table and winked playfully at the guests.

The large ink-wash characters reappear once again:

Chen Leran

"Wife, wife, wife!"

"Haha, this girl is definitely from Sichuan or Chongqing!"

"No way, just looking at the amount of chili peppers makes my butt hurt..."

Looking at the comments, Nan Xu shook his head helplessly.

Players are as chaotic as ever, going crazy whenever they see a female character.

Although the players were unaware of it, Nan Xu knew about Chen Leran's background.

She is the great-granddaughter of Chen Mapo, the founder of Mapo Tofu, and is skilled in Sichuan cuisine, especially spicy and down-to-earth dishes.

Unfortunately, his success and failure both stem from the numbing and spicy flavors of Sichuan cuisine. Chen Leran specializes in spicy and spicy dishes but lacks in-depth knowledge of other flavors in Sichuan cuisine. Therefore, among the younger generation of outstanding talents, he can only be ranked in the middle of the T2 level.

The scene shifts again, accompanied by the melodious and gentle sound of a flute, transitioning to the misty, rain-swept West Lake. Ripples spread across the water, and a small boat rests in the center of the lake.

A slender figure wearing a gray-blue cloak stood on the small boat, and fish soup was simmering on a small stove at the bow.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew the cloak down, revealing a handsome, delicate-looking young man. A woman on a nearby pleasure boat pointed and whispered, "What a pretty young lady..."

The young man blushed, lowered his head, and timidly stirred the soup in the pot. However, when he looked at his fish soup, his eyes became incredibly focused.

Then, the character "墨" appeared:

Song Qinghe

The comments section went wild again:

"Hey bro, you smell amazing!"

"Brother, brother..."

"The Southern Liang Dynasty ended up being the Northern Dynasties.JPG"

Ignoring the strange comments, Nanxu started analyzing again.

Song Qinghe is a descendant of Song Wusao, the founder of Song Sao Fish Soup, and is skilled in Zhejiang cuisine.

His fundamentals are very strong, and his potential is enough to rank him at the top of T2. It's just a pity that he's a bit soft-hearted, and sometimes his lack of confidence leads to poor performance. Otherwise, ranking him in T1 wouldn't be a problem.

The scene shifts again, and under the white walls and black tiles of Hui-style architecture, a light drizzle falls.

Upon seeing this, Nan Xu's eyes narrowed.

Is it coming? A fragment of Luo Qinzhu's story—

Inside the small house, a gentle young woman lifted the lid of an old-fashioned earthenware pot, and a wisp of steam carrying the aroma of medicine rose up.

She carefully ladled out a bowl of crystal-clear soup, with a few blooming mushrooms and nourishing herbs lying at the bottom. She gently blew on the steam, her eyes tender.

"Come on, drink this... After you drink it, you'll get better."

She then fed the soup to the unconscious boy lying on the bed.

The elegant ink-wash characters slowly emerged:

【Luoqin Bamboo】

This scene, brimming with maternal love, caused a frenzy of comments to flood the screen.

"Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!"

"Luo Qinzhu is a woman who could be my mother!"

"Hey, junior Wa, calm down."

"GO's move was too ruthless."

"Char, you shameless bastard.JPG"

"Am I the only one who thinks that guy in the hospital bed is pretty handsome...?"

Nan Xu's expression also became subtle. If he wasn't mistaken... that unconscious boy, wasn't that him?

In this PV, Luo Qinzhu's personal segment turned out like this, which was something he hadn't expected.

What's this? He got a spot in the PV just because of Luo Qinzhu?

Well, it's a good thing overall. Showing himself to the players beforehand will also benefit his later plans.

As for Luo Qinzhu's potential, in her previous life she was a standard mid-to-lower tier 1, but in this life, due to the butterfly effect, it will likely change.

As the music became melodious and gentle, the camera switched again, bringing us to the brightly lit banks of the Qinhuai River under the night sky.

A painted boat adorned with exquisite lanterns slowly sailed in. By the window, a young woman dressed in simple clothes was setting up a table of fine Huaiyang snacks. Her expression was serene, with a faint smile playing on her lips.

Food need not be extravagant, but flavorful is elegant. A sincere heart is entrusted to this taste.

In the lower right corner of the image, delicate ink washes create the following characters:

【Dong Zhilan】

Within seconds, the live chat was practically flooded with comments:

"Wife, wife, wife!"

"I admit it, I lust after her body, I'm despicable!"

"But I find it sacred!"

"Trust me, bro, I'm just pretending to be infatuated with her. I have my own rhythm."

Seeing the players' frenzied comments, Nan Xu wasn't too surprised.

In her previous life, Dong Zhilan was always very popular among players. After all, she was the successor of the second-rank culinary fairy "Dong Xiaowan," who was skilled in both cooking and art.

She excels in the delicate and elegant Huaiyang cuisine and has no obvious weaknesses. Her potential is probably in the upper-tier of the younger generation, but there is still a significant gap between her and the top.

The scene cuts again.

The wine cellar was quiet and dimly lit.

A petite girl with hazy eyes and slightly flushed cheeks was carrying a wine jar bigger than her head and staggering toward the door.

She yawned groggily, her voice slurred, "Hmm... this jar... is it this year's new wine... or the wine from the year before last...?"

Before she could finish speaking, she accidentally kicked the threshold, tripped, and the wine jar flew high into the air—

The next moment, she nimbly reached out and caught the wine jar steadily, without spilling a drop of wine.

"Whatever..." she said with a satisfied yet slightly dazed smile, "As long as it tastes good!"

A few drops of ink spread out, outlining her name:

【Du Youyou】

"What amazing skills, heroine!"

"Guys, I really love this.JPG"

"Boss, what do you mean?"

"You're a philanderer, huh? Take him away and get electrocuted!"

"The official statement says that all the characters in the PV are around the same age group, and Du Youyou is just a little short, so I'm not a lolicon!"

"Still trying to argue? Increase the power!"

The chat was filled with jubilation, but Nan Xu's expression became even more serious.

Du Youyou comes from the Du family, a family of winemakers—the Du of Du Kang—and is skilled in wine-based dishes.

This girl has a somewhat unpredictable personality; her normal strength is about the same as Dong Zhilan's, but she can occasionally unleash a level far exceeding her current strength.

Overall, their potential ranks among the top tier (T1), making them a formidable opponent that warrants close attention.

Next, the music became grand and uplifting.

The camera shifts to the imperial kitchen deep within the palace, a stark contrast to the other kitchens. Here, everything is resplendent in gold and the utensils are all of imperial use. A young man in a magnificent brocade robe stands with his hands behind his back, several exquisite court dishes laid out before him, his expression carrying a subtle hint of arrogance.

He frowned slightly, gently stirred the food on the plate with his silver chopsticks, and shook his head in dissatisfaction.

"The timing was off by half a breath; it's a failure."

The camera zooms in, focusing on the boy's face. He rolls up his sleeves and takes up the knife himself.

"It seems that this step cannot be taken lightly; I still have to do it myself."

The bold, vigorous ink-wash characters appear at the bottom of the image:

【Eastern Amazement】

"Wow...this guy's kind of arrogant."

"My husband is so handsome!"

"It feels so classy..."

Seeing this, Nan Xu slightly curled the corners of his mouth.

Dongfang Jinghong is the youngest prince of the current emperor, and a disciple of the imperial chef. He possesses profound knowledge and astonishing talent.

It can be said that, apart from those T0-level "world protagonists", he is undoubtedly the number one of the younger generation. If we had to rank them, he could be ranked at the T0.5 level.

However, those main characters in the game world can easily defeat him, so players jokingly call him the "T0 gatekeeper".

What's even more interesting is that Dongfang Jinghong is very keen on proving himself. Whenever he grows to a certain extent, he tries to find someone who has defeated him to take revenge.

But how easy is it to bridge the gap between T0 and T0.5? While he grows, the main characters in those worlds often grow even more.

Therefore, Dongfang Jinghong always lost more than he won, and his record was quite tragic.

As he lost more and more, Dongfang Jinghong's image among players gradually became associated with "suffering setbacks," somewhat like Kaiba from Yu-Gi-Oh!

Of course, Nan Xu was well aware of Dongfang Jinghong's strength and would not underestimate this opponent just because of the memes played by the players.

In fact, even Dongfang Jinghong, who was at T0.5, was an insurmountable gap for him in his previous life.

He quickly adjusted his mindset and his expression became serious again.

Meanwhile, the segment about Dongfang Jinghong in the PV has also ended.

This means that... the chef who will appear next is a T0-level "world protagonist"!

The scene suddenly changed the next moment.

"Is it coming..." Nan Xu muttered to himself, his fists clenching unconsciously.

But the new scene that appeared took him by surprise, and he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise:

"—How did I get here?!"

What appeared on the screen was none other than the tall cooking arena in the square of the Shexian County Government Office!

The camera's perspective then focuses on one of the cooking contestants—

He was a handsome young man with a calm expression.

A cacophony of noise could be heard from outside the frame.

"A mere chef who has just entered the ninth rank dares to represent our Baiwei Restaurant in this battle? If we lose, you can't afford the responsibility!"

"Does a mere novice who has just entered the ninth rank have even the slightest chance of winning a culinary duel against a seventh-rank chef?"

"What are your intentions in taking away the opportunity for other eighth-rank chefs to perform?"

The boy spoke resolutely, his words devoid of any fear:

"So what if I've just entered the ninth rank? When I was just starting out as a chef and hadn't even reached that rank yet, I could already defeat an eighth-rank chef in a culinary competition. Now, as a ninth-rank chef, defeating a seventh-rank chef is no problem at all!"

Then, he stepped forward, looked directly at the chefs below the stage who were raising many questions, and his eyes revealed his sharpness!

"Those of you whose culinary skills have reached the eighth rank, you can ask yourselves honestly: are you confident you can defeat the Jiang family's seventh-rank chef?"

"If not, then please don't criticize my behavior—"

The camera zooms in, and light shines on one side of the boy's cheek, creating a clear contrast between light and shadow.

Bathed in sunlight, the boy's eyes gleamed with a sharp light.

"At least I'm confident of victory, while you aren't."

With a soft thud as the porcelain bowl landed on the wooden table, the scene shifted once more.

In the scene, a judge who appears to be a high-ranking official puts down his empty bowl, which he has ate clean, and speaks in a loud voice:

"I hereby declare the winner of this culinary competition to be—"

"—Baiweilou, Nanxu!"

The surrounding crowd suddenly erupted in an incredulous uproar.

The young man, however, simply smiled calmly, clasped his hands in greeting, and said:

"I have successfully completed my mission."

The elegant ink-wash style characters were also outlined and formed.

Nan Xu

The density of bullet comments also reached its peak at the same time!

"That strong?!"

"!?! Strong vs. Strong?!"

"Nobody believed in you, but you just had to prove them wrong!"

"Ahhh, he's so handsome! I declare Nam-xu my new husband!"

"An unranked person fighting an eighth-rank, a ninth-rank fighting a seventh-rank—this kind of cross-rank challenge is just too protagonist-like!"

"Powerful, confident, fearless before stepping onto the stage, and nonchalant after victory—I give this display of swagger a perfect score!"

"Suddenly, I realized that this Nan Xu seems to be the same person who was lying on Luo Qinzhu's bed before..."

At this moment, Nan Xu, who was at the center of the discussion, had no time to pay attention to the barrage of comments on the screen.

"I never expected... that I would actually have my own segment in this PV, and so far down in the credits." His feelings were somewhat complicated.

To be fair, this is definitely a good thing. After all, increased fame makes it easier for him to profit from players.

However, he was puzzled as to why he was ranked after Dongfang Jinghong.

His culinary talent is top-tier among players, but among the top NPCs, he's only around T3 level, not even as good as Kong Shuli.

Logically speaking, even if he were to appear in this PV, he should be the first one to appear.

Could it be that he won the cooking battle two levels higher based on his past life experience, leading the official "Chef Soul" team to mistakenly believe that he has the potential to be a T0-level character?

However, in a sense, this ranking isn't wrong. As long as he makes good use of his past life's memories, his future achievements won't be lower than those of the world's protagonist.

Nan Xu pondered for a moment, then shook his head, temporarily attributing the reason to the mysterious judgment standard of the official "Chef Soul".

He didn't have time to think about it in detail, because what followed was the most important part of the entire PV.