The special effects of the dish Qing Dynasty Blessed Pork Meat were not as powerful as some might expect.
It couldn't regenerate lost limbs, nor could it revive the dead or heal bones; it could only cleanse deep-seated chronic illnesses.
Chronic illnesses were akin to the incurable diseases of Earth.
In the extraordinary world of Douluo, many chronic ailments could slowly heal as one's cultivation level increased.
Even something as deadly as cancer, which was considered untreatable in his past life, could eventually be cured with sufficient cultivation strength.
At worst, a high-level healing spirit master could probably resolve it.
Those most affected by chronic illnesses were often ordinary people who could not cultivate.
However, the term "hidden injuries" referred to wounds that hadn't fully healed, leaving behind hidden scars or lasting effects.
These hidden injuries could range from minor, like a common cold that could pass with time, to major, where one's health could collapse overnight.
The value of removing hidden injuries varied from person to person.
Of course, even without these special effects, the ingredients used in "Qing Dynasty Blessed Pork Meat" were of such high quality that consuming them would greatly benefit one's cultivation.
Moreover, the dish's irresistibly delicious taste made it worth a fortune.
While this dish added to the growing reputation of Small Shop, it was only another layer to the legend that the establishment was becoming.
Meanwhile, Food Critique Magazine's Chief Editor, Mu Liufeng, was once again doubting his life's purpose.
After the latest issue of Food Critique Magazine was published, Small Shop had introduced four new dishes: Fish Belly Stuffed with Lamb, Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth, Triple No-Stick, and Qing Dynasty Blessed Pork Meat. Although Triple No-Stick was impressive, it was not the restaurant's best dish, so its omission from the magazine was not a major issue.
But Fish Belly Stuffed with Lamb, Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth, and Qing Dynasty Blessed Pork Meat were a different story.
Their absence from Food Critique Magazine left readers questioning if there was any discord between the magazine and Small Shop.
Mu Liufeng found it laughable. If they had any issues with Small Shop, why would they feature sixteen of their dishes in the latest issue, overshadowing all other restaurants?
The real problem was that the owner, Qi Han, had been holding back his best dishes. After Food Critique Magazine praised the restaurant, it turned out that even more impressive dishes were introduced afterward, making their review seem incomplete.
Mu Liufeng even began to wonder if the previously praised dishes weren't Small Shop's signature dishes after all.
Little did he know that these recent dishes were just 3 Star recipes, and there were still 4 Star and 5 Star recipes yet to come, which would be even more astonishing.
Determined, Mu Liufeng swore that the next issue of Food Critique Magazine would include these dishes. And if there were more standout dishes later on, he would raise the rating scale from ten to eleven.
Qi Han was unwittingly raising the bar for food reviews single-handedly.
Qi Han himself, however, was a bit troubled as well.
He had thought that the 3 Star recipe for Wensi Tofu would take only about a week to master, but the reality proved much more difficult.
As of twelve days after the introduction of Qing Dynasty Blessed Pork Meat, Qi Han was still training to perfect Wensi Tofu and had not yet moved on to the next dish.
In those twelve days, nothing too significant had happened at Small Shop.
Every day, more and more customers would come to the restaurant, though the increase was manageable. Since there was a limit to how many guests they could serve in a day, those who realized they were too late would leave and return another time to try to be earlier in line.
The man in the bamboo hat still came to the restaurant daily. He never took off his hat, always having Keke place his orders.
Initially, Keke had been a little uncomfortable with this, but over time he got used to it. On the rare occasion that the man didn't show up, he even felt a slight emptiness.
In just over ten days, Keke's spirit power had advanced rapidly from level nine to level ten, allowing him to absorb a spirit ring and become a one-ring spirit master.
Qi Han had planned to take a day off to help him hunt for a spirit ring, but Keke declined. He insisted that he didn't need a spirit ring just yet.
Although Qi Han found it strange, he respected his decision.
Only Keke herself knew the reason.
The day he reached level ten, he hadn't had a chance to tell anyone before the restaurant opened. That day, the man in the bamboo hat spoke to him using a secretive voice transmission technique.
"If you want a 1.000 years old spirit ring as your first, don't absorb any spirit ring for now," he told him.
Conventionally, the maximum age limit for a first spirit ring was 423 years, a result from the research of the legendary Grandmaster who founded Shrek Academy five thousand years ago. By now, this knowledge was widely accepted across the continent.
Despite this, Keke inexplicably believed the man and decided to hold off on absorbing a spirit ring.
Of course, he kept this secret to himself.
Meanwhile, the Advanced Spirit Master Academy Fighting Tournament had been going on for almost a month, attracting countless spectators from all over the Douluo Continent.
Rather than tapering off, the crowd of onlookers continued to grow as the tournament progressed, and discussions about it could be heard even in Small Shop.
The reason was that the tournament had reached its final stage.
The second round of the group stage had ended, and the finals were approaching.
After four intense groups, the top two teams from each advanced to the quarter-finals. After that, the top four were decided.
The semi-finals would determine the teams in the winners' and losers' brackets.
In the finals, the winners would face off for the championship and runner-up titles, while the losers would fight for third place.
The top three teams would receive the most prestigious rewards, including ten thousand gold coins and precious spirit bones.
The five remaining teams that made it to the finals would only receive participation prizes in the form of gold coins, while those that didn't make it to the finals would go home empty-handed.
Twelve days later, the tournament had reached its last match: Shrek Academy vs. Star Luo Royal Academy.
The final match was scheduled for the following day, where the champion would be decided.
On the eve of the final, Qi Han, unsurprisingly, received another invitation from Shrek Academy to attend the match.
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