Witch, I'm really not the Deep Sea Ancient God!

Chen Qi counted them, and they weighed about thirty kilograms in total, which was a pretty good amount.

Shell Country, as a nation of merchants and industry, had a wide circulation of spices.

But the spices in the Monster Kitchen were relatively rare, especially black sesame and chili peppers.

In Shell Country, chili peppers weren't abundant; most chili-related products needed to be imported from the neighboring Golden Flower Bird Kingdom.

In Shell Country, only large restaurants typically used chili peppers.

Chen Qi recalled the spice prices in Shell Country.

Pepper and cumin were a bit expensive, while black sesame was quite pricey.

As for the devil's pepper, it was the spiciest of all peppers and was more than ten times the price of ordinary chili peppers, making it a very costly spice!

Chen Qi weighed the devil's pepper. If he could find a good buyer, he could probably sell it for over a hundred thousand Shell Coins.

A pretty nice gain!

Chen Qi rubbed his hands together excitedly; he was usually broke.

He couldn't sell the items he had previously acquired.

Now he finally had something he could exchange for money.

However, considering he was about to advance as a chef, he needed to keep some of these spices for himself.

Moreover, in Maro Town, or indeed the entire Witch Sea, the food was hardly decent, with many dishes seasoned only with a bit of salt.

He could finally eat something delicious.

After looting the Monster Kitchen, Chen Qi climbed out of the crack on the belly of the overturned fish, carrying a big bag.

Drip, drip!

The weather was still unpredictable; it started raining again...

As soon as he emerged, raindrops hit his face.

Like the whispers of a monster, the wind continued to ravage the ocean.

The Crack Tide was far from over; there would be more and more strange creatures at sea.

"With this weather, Maro Town will likely get lively again when I get back,"

Chen Qi felt the sea breeze blowing over his body.

And at night, there would be even more terrifying creatures.

But now he had a boat that could shield him from the wind and rain, at least he wouldn't get soaked to the skin anymore.

Chen Qi suddenly threw the spice bag onto his small houseboat, the heavy bag making the boat sway.

A pretty nice income!

Chen Qi entered the boat cabin, set the course, and took out the most crucial thing he had acquired in the crack:

The Transcendent path pass, the Chef Occupation Card.

The First Order Occupation Card, as the initial card, could be assimilated as long as Spiritual Awakening was achieved, with no extra conditions needed.

Chen Qi knew the effects of the chef profession but had never obtained the precious Hunter Yu Huo.

Hunter Yu Huo could enhance his Transcendent powers from First to Fourth Rank, though he didn't know the specifics.

Chen Qi bit his finger, letting the blood drip onto the Chef Occupation Card.

As the blood slowly soaked the card, it twisted and melted, ultimately turning into blood and flowing into his body.

A wave of heat surged through his body.

In his mind, more and more hallucinations emerged.

[Digesting...]

Chen Qi closed his eyes. In a daze, he stood on an endless dark sea.

Lowering his head, he saw the waves slowly wash over his ankles, and a pillar to stand on gradually emerged beneath his feet.

His blood leapt from his heart, flowing down his abdomen and thighs, carving the design of a 'cup' onto the pillar.

"Phew..."

The burning sensation slowly faded, and Chen Qi reopened his eyes.

Before him, beautiful prompts appeared again.

[You have entered the path of the Transcendent, becoming a 'chef.']

[Your learning aptitude for chef skills has increased, and you have acquired the skill "Transcendent Cooking."]

[You are now at the starting point of the Transcendent path: Constitution +3, Inspiration +3, Body Limit, and Total Spiritual Power enhanced.]

Chen Qi felt the changes in his body.

A new 'chef' section had appeared on his panel.

[With the blessing of Hunter Yu Huo, you have gained the extra skill "Soul Seasoning."]

Hunter Yu Huo had unexpectedly granted him an extra skill immediately.

Was Soul Seasoning about extracting souls to make seasoning?

Chen Qi checked his occupation panel.

[Chef]

[Rank: First]

[Nature Form: Cup]

[Skills:]

[Chef's Insight: You will learn culinary skills more efficiently.]

[Transcendent Cooking: You are a born chef and have mastered the method of Transcendent Cooking.]

[The food you cook will have stronger effects than those cooked by ordinary people who know nothing about nutrition and gourmet.]

[Soul Seasoning Lv1: You can transform Spiritual Power into seasoning, sprinkling it to enhance the inherent flavors of Transcendent ingredients and simultaneously boost the nutritional value for better digestion.]

[Note: Transcendent Cooking improves food effects by approximately 20%, while Soul Seasoning enhances them by about 10%.]

He wasn't making seasoning out of souls after all, Chen Qi mumbled.

It was just a First Order skill, not what he had imagined—extracting someone's soul to make seasoning.

But as a First Order skill, Soul Seasoning already had a decent effect.

And enhancing flavor was very important in the culinary world.

At this point, Chen Qi blinked; Soul Seasoning was actually an upgradeable skill!

It required a hundred Spiritual Points...

He had earned almost two hundred Spiritual Points in the Monster Kitchen.

Upgrade.

[Soul Seasoning Lv2: You can blend the Spiritual Power seasoning with spices, sprinkling them together to enhance both the spices and the food's power.]

[Description: A true chef is never limited by ingredients; even stinky shoes and feet, under the enhancement of Soul Seasoning and spices, can become a delicacy!]

[Food cooked with Soul Seasoning will ultimately make picky eaters blush, from pure physical delight and soul-deep tremors!]

[Note: Further enhances flavor by an additional 5% on top of the original effects.]

15%, this was the slight boost from Hunter Yu Huo!

Chen Qi felt genuine joy.

A chef's significant strength lay in Transcendent Cooking's 20% food effect enhancement.

As an additional skill, Soul Seasoning could enhance by 15%, totaling 35%.

This was already a considerable boost, equivalent to adding a minor chef to the chef profession.

If paired with enough Transcendent ingredients, his boost would be akin to taking performance-enhancing drugs.

He could achieve what others gained through day-and-night training just by eating.

Next, Chen Qi looked at the second crucial part of the Transcendent profession, the occupational tasks.

[Cooking: You can earn Spiritual Points by cooking a delicacy.]

[Note: The number of Spiritual Points varies depending on the deliciousness of your dish, refreshed daily.]

A chef's occupational task was very straightforward: cooking.

In the New Sun, occupational tasks were very important, being a major source of Spiritual Points for many.

If done well enough, the profession could even gain special enhancements.

For instance, Transcendent Cooking couldn't be upgraded through Spiritual Points; it could only level up by continually cooking.

For high-order Transcendents, occupational tasks were also a stable way to maintain sanity.

Thus, you could even see battle-hardened weapon masters selling silver scale armor or experts who could understand the stars and mysteries giving free street divinations.

Wait—

Chen Qi suddenly realized something.

Soul Seasoning could increase the deliciousness of food, and the key to chef tasks was the deliciousness of food.

Didn't this mean that, even if his cooking skills were terrible, he could easily complete the daily task?

The boost from Hunter Yu Huo to a First Order occupation was stronger than he had imagined.

"Even if it's a shoe, it can become delicious..."

And if it was already delicious?

Roasted lamb, stir-fried beef, pan-fried small fish...

Chen Qi looked at the refrigerator. He currently had a rare golden-scaled fish.

He recalled from books that the golden-scaled fish had delicate meat, as smooth as silk, and melted in the mouth.

If grilled, it would obtain a crispy, slightly charred skin.

Chen Qi couldn't help but drool.

His imagination was running wild.

Chen Qi looked at his boat cabin.

As a travel boat, it had a simple pot but lacked a cooking device and basic seasoning like salt.

"We'll talk when I return!"

Chen Qi gently steered the wheel, shifting the boat's direction, speeding towards Maro Town.

Time passed little by little, and before he knew it, the sky was painted in the warm orange-red hues of the setting sun.

Chen Qi stepped out of the boat cabin. From this position, he could already see the lighthouse.

Night was approaching, and the lighthouse keeper had already lit the light, guiding the ships returning home.

Chen Qi turned his head, looking to the left, seeing a large number of fishing boats passing by.

Mentor An and the Maro Town Mayor had instructed that these days, they must return before the moon rises.

After the Crack Tide, the night belonged to the monsters.

Rumble—

The huge steam roar mixed with human chatter sounded in his right ear.

Chen Qi turned to the right, seeing a massive steel construct approaching him.

A huge steel steamer was now on the same course as his small houseboat.

Both boats sailed side by side, heading towards Maro Town.

"A large ship..."

Chen Qi looked up at the behemoth.

Compared to this giant ship, his small houseboat was like a shrimp.

He could see fresh cannon damage on the hull, seemingly still emitting thick smoke.

On the ship, heavily armed hunters walked by, all with well-equipped gear and heavy backpacks, clearly professional rift explorers.

On the top of the ship, the Shell flag fluttered in the sea breeze.

"It's a large merchant ship officially recognized by Shell Country, and from the aura, there are many high-order Transcendents on board."

Chen Qi confirmed the identity of the ship.

In the Witch Sea, merchant ships were no less powerful, sometimes even stronger than the navy.

However, a large merchant ship of this scale with so many fully armed hunters coming to Maro Town, what for?

Chen Qi contemplated.

"Hello! Hello! Can you hear me?"

At this moment, a young, sunny guy waved at him from the ship.

"Hmm?"

Chen Qi looked at the young man calling to him.

The other guy wore an expensive set of steam armor, carrying a gold-handled sword on his back, and had a head of flowing golden hair.

He looked familiar...

Chen Qi squinted.

The guy seemed quite famous in Maro Town:

The Maro Town Mayor's son, a sunny, cheerful young man, a First Order Transcendent novice, Little Maro.

Almost everyone in town knew this young man.

But Chen Qi wasn't well-known in Maro Town, just a poor, helpless sea beast disease patient.

Little Maro had been away for years; he knew little about Maro Town and rarely interacted with his peers there.

The guy probably didn't recognize him.

"What's up?"

Chen Qi asked, seeing that the guy had a lot to say.

Little Maro looked at Chen Qi with great interest:

"Are you from Maro Town?"

"You could say that..."

Hearing a positive answer, Little Maro immediately revealed an excited expression:

"Actually, I have some questions to ask you; of course, it's not for free.

How about this, I'll tell you my sea encounters with the Flower Witch.

It's news about a witch, and it will be tomorrow's big news in the White Dove Times!!

Then I'll tell you this incredible news, and you answer two of my questions, how about that?"

More witch stuff...

Chen Qi rubbed his chin. The fervor around witches was almost overshadowing that of the Black Whale Group's treasure hunt.

In the game's early stages, no player had ever seen a real witch.

Witch news seemed to chase after him... Chen Qi internally complained.

But being the protagonists of the Witch Sea region, witches left legends everywhere.

It wasn't surprising; what piqued his curiosity more was what questions this Little Maro had.

After thinking for a while, Chen Qi answered:

"Sure, as long as you're not asking math problems or anything like that."