Xiangling nodded, her eyes full of expectation as she looked at the [Culinary Apprentice] on her field and the food laid out.
Xiangling waved to the guests who were cheering her on.
"Dinner is served~"
"I activate [Culinary Apprentice]'s effect!~"
"Whenever a [Food] card is used, [Culinary Apprentice] will process the ingredients."
"When two or more types of ingredients are processed, cooking can begin!"
The [Culinary Apprentice] on Xiangling's field obeyed her command and lit the fire!
Its posture and movements were exactly the same as Xiangling's—but as for skill, the current Xiangling was far superior.
The [Culinary Apprentice] on the field was none other than a young Xiangling from her early cooking days!
Young Xiangling had already mixed [Liyue Rice] and [Horsetail] to create a special rice blend.
Now, all that remained was to fry it and make it into Guoba!
Young Xiangling heated the pan with oil.
The fire ignited in an instant, and soon the oil began to sizzle.
Timing it perfectly, Young Xiangling placed the special rice mixture of [Liyue Rice] and [Horsetail] into the pan.
With a burst of sizzling sound, the Guoba officially began to take form!
"Mmm slow fry on low heat"
Meanwhile, Young Xiangling wasn't idle! She immediately opened another pan—
To stir-fry [Special Ham] and [Jueyun Chili]!
"This is~ stir-fry with high flames!"
The fragrance of rice mixed with horsetail, and the spicy aroma of ham with Jueyun chili.
The two scents intertwined.
The spicy and savory fragrance spread, and many watching customers were already hungry, swallowing their saliva unconsciously.
Even Guoba couldn't hold back, drooling all over Xiangling's leg.
Many people, though they often ate at Wanmin Restaurant, were used to finished dishes. Watching Xiangling cook live was a first.
And the Duel Stage made the fragrance even more intense!
"This smells way too good!"
"Yeah..."
"Watching Xiangling duel is torture~"
"You can see it... but you can't eat it!"
"Didn't expect Xiangling to be this good at cooking even as a child!"
"Of course, I've watched this girl grow up."
"But... sometimes Xiangling makes dishes straight from hell!"
"Oh?"
"You don't know? Xiangling once made a special cold poultry salad—whoever ate it had diarrhea!"
"Mint leaves and Qingxin Flower must never be eaten together."
"My buddy was stuck for three days straight..."
"I really couldn't hold it anymore, so I went to Bubu Pharmacy. Doctor Baizhu told me."
"Ah... poor giegie~"
As the ingredients in both pans finished cooking, Young Xiangling placed the fried rice-and-horsetail Guoba onto a plate.
Then she covered it with stir-fried Special Ham and Jueyun Chili from the other pan.
The moment the two dishes met, golden light flared on the Duel Stage!
A Gold Legend card, [Jueyun Guoba], was completed. Seeing [Jueyun Guoba] freshly made, Xiangling continued her Main Phase!
This was the victory road Xiangling had paved for herself.
The preparation for the descent of the Stove God!
From the three cards left in her hand, Xiangling picked one.
She slapped the card down!
Excitedly declaring:
"Next! I activate a Spell Card!"
"[Pre-Preparation of Rites]!"
"From my Deck, I select 1 Ritual Spell Card!"
"And then, from my Deck or Graveyard, I choose the Ritual Monster required by that Ritual Spell."
"Both cards are then added to my hand!"
On Xiangling's field, a pig appeared as a sacrifice, madly gorging itself before death, never realizing that death was imminent.
Its existence was nothing more than a prelude to the ritual.
Suddenly, a shadow flashed.
The pig, the sacrifice, was killed, its blood soaking into the ground.
On the earth, the shadow traced a hexagram magic circle with the blood.
The hexagram circle absorbed the fallen pig...
A faint red glow emanated from the array.
Xiangling declared:
"I choose to add [Ritual of the Stove God] and [Demon God of the Stove – Marchosius] to my hand!"
The magic circle blazed crimson!
In an instant, two cards rose from it.
[Ritual of the Stove God]
[Demon God of the Stove – Marchosius]
Through [Pre-Preparation of Rites], Xiangling had added a Ritual Spell and its Ritual Monster to her hand.
"What the?!"
"What kind of Ritual is this card?!"
"I've never seen it before..."
"Don't act so shocked."
"A Ritual Spell simply requires you to meet the conditions written on the card!"
"And then you can summon the monster on it."
"For example... this card [Liturgy of Summoning Immortals]."
"It requires Dragon monsters with a total of 12 Levels from the field or hand as tribute to summon [Geo Demon God – Morax] from the hand!"
"But..."
"I've never even seen a card called [Geo Demon God – Morax]..."
"So this [Liturgy of Summoning Immortals] seems useless."
"Still, Xiangling's case is different!"
"She has [Demon God of the Stove – Marchosius] and [Ritual of the Stove God]!"
"As long as she fulfills the conditions of [Ritual of the Stove God], she can summon [Demon God of the Stove – Marchosius]!"
"Only... what kind of offering does [Demon God of the Stove – Marchosius] require to appear..."
The Demon God of the Stove was none other than Liyue's ancient demon god—Marchosius.
Born from sparks struck by colliding stones, Marchosius was the Earth Deity of Liyue, the demon god closest to humanity.
Though a god, he loved humans most...
In ancient times, when disasters plagued Liyue, Marchosius poured all his strength into the land to quell them, falling into slumber from the exhaustion of power.
Everyone looked at the [Ritual of the Stove God] and [Demon God of the Stove – Marchosius] in Xiangling's hands with great anticipation.
Since no one had ever used or even seen them...
No one except Xiangling knew their effects.
Even Luya, who owned every Yu-Gi-Oh! card, felt curious.
Though he knew of Yu-Gi-Oh! Effects, these Genshin-exclusive cards could only be understood once revealed.
Hu Tao had been quite confident at first; however, seeing Xiangling reveal cards that could summon an ancient Liyue demon god shook her.
For a moment, she panicked a little...
Albeit Hu Tao still held an advantage in Life Points and monsters.
She still had hope of winning.
Luya looked at Hu Tao, gritting her teeth as she stared at Xiangling's cards.
He smiled and said to Hu Tao:
"Master Hu~"
"Sweating bullets, aren't you~"
"Come on!!! You can definitely win!"
Hearing Luya's encouragement, Hu Tao's heart lifted, as her usual confidence abruptly returned. She laughed happily:
"Haha~"
"Of course!"
"This Hall Master's victory is already set in stone!"
"I activate [Ritual of the Stove God]!"
"To summon [Demon God of the Stove – Marchosius]!"
"It requires offering at least two types of [Food] from the hand or field!!!"
"And if [Jueyun Guoba] is offered, something unexpected will happen."
As Xiangling activated [Ritual of the Stove God], a stone table appeared before her.
It seemed food must be presented as offerings for [Demon God of the Stove – Marchosius] to descend into this world...
The guests watching stared intently at the card in Xiangling's hand, eager to see just what [Demon God of the Stove – Marchosius] truly was.
Even Hu Tao, Xiangling's opponent, felt a surge of anticipation, her heart racing.
Xiangling looked at the two cards left in her hand, besides [Demon God of the Stove – Marchosius].
With her left hand, she raised them high—two cards fluttered down from the air, gently landing.
Xiangling smiled and said:
"Going all in… is also a kind of wisdom!!!"
...
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