Chapter 11: The Guardian of the Star Spirit

“All the popular science information about food spirits is in the booklet,” Chen Yu said, pointing to the small booklet he had just handed to Qin Lang.

“Since you don’t have a food spirit yet, you can take your time to learn about them once you do.”

“Now, I’m going to teach you a unique ability exclusive to Spirit Chefs.”

“Alright.” Qin Lang put away the booklet and nodded seriously.

Could the Spirit Chef’s ability be some kind of supernatural power from a past life, capable of soaring through the skies and traversing the earth?

With anticipation in his eyes, Qin Lang watched as Chen Yu lightly pressed his brow. A faint glow appeared there, and a fluffy food spirit fluttered out.

“This is the position of the second star vein, Tian Xuan. My second food spirit will demonstrate with me,” Chen Yu explained casually.

“The ability I’m going to teach you can be used alone or with a food spirit. The effects vary depending on the situation.”

“This ability is called Star Spirit Guard.”

“You only need to activate the first star vein, Tian Shu, to master it.”

“The principle is simple: using the star vein as a tether, it gathers energy to form a protective shield around oneself.”

“Watch closely!”

With a low shout, Chen Yu said, “Tian Shu, lend your strength! Guard!”

A gust of energy swept through the air. In Qin Lang’s sight, the star power in the surrounding space seemed to stir restlessly.

Countless points of light rapidly converged around Chen Yu’s body, finally forming a transparent, white, oval-shaped luminous shield that completely enveloped him.

After the demonstration, Chen Yu smiled and said to Qin Lang, “Come on, try punching it as hard as you can!”

“Got it!” Qin Lang’s eyes shone brightly at the strange sight. He quickly stepped forward and threw a powerful punch at the shield.

In the next moment, he felt as if his fist had struck cotton; all his force was silently neutralized, and the shield didn’t move an inch.

“Star Spirit Guard can easily block the residual impact from food spirit battles. It’s a divine skill for Spirit Chefs to protect themselves during combat.”

“Besides that, Star Spirit Guard allows the Spirit Chef to share senses with their food spirit, enabling better command in battle.”

As he spoke, a seven-star pattern appeared simultaneously in the eyes of Chen Yu and the summoned food spirit, as if a mysterious connection had formed, making them increasingly harmonious—almost as one.

“Of course, this ability only works if you have a food spirit,” Chen Yu added, then looked at the excited Qin Lang. “Want to learn it?”

“I do!” Qin Lang nodded vigorously.

Chen Yu smiled knowingly.

As a newly appointed instructor of the Spirit Chef Association, this was the usual reaction from the new Spirit Chefs he had guided after seeing his demonstration.

“You want to learn? I’ll teach you~”

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“Tian Shu, lend your strength! Guard!”

With a somewhat dramatic shout, Qin Lang watched the protective shield quickly form on his body, feeling indescribably thrilled.

“The shield is still a bit unstable, but you’ve already learned how to use it,” Chen Yu calmly assessed. “Just practice more.”

“Thanks for your guidance, Brother Chen,” Qin Lang said gratefully.

“It’s my duty,” Chen Yu smiled. “That concludes the instruction for new Spirit Chefs. Later, you can go to the association’s hall to pick up a food spirit scanning device. It’s a perk for newcomers.”

“With the scanning device, once you have a food spirit, you can scan it to learn some basic information.”

“I understand.” Qin Lang nodded earnestly.

After parting with Chen Yu, he smoothly received a small device that looked somewhat like a phone camera. This device was mounted externally on a phone, and once paired, it was as easy to use as taking a photo.

Although Chen Yu referred to Qin Lang as a new Spirit Chef, the Spirit Chef ranks within the association don’t actually include this level.

Only by possessing the first food spirit can one be officially recognized as a Spirit Chef and enjoy certain privileges offered by the association.

Strictly speaking, Qin Lang was still an ordinary chef at this moment.

Without hesitation, he left the Spirit Chef Association and headed straight to the nearest market certified by the association.

Creating food spirits requires cooking dishes, which was his greatest strength.

“According to the teaching booklet, the flavor of the dish is closely related to the potential of the food spirit it generates,” Qin Lang pondered as he walked through the market.

“If I understand correctly, the more delicious the dish, the stronger the food spirit it will produce.”

“This first food spirit absolutely cannot be taken lightly.”

“It has to be a signature dish worthy of a state banquet.”

As various dishes flashed through his mind, Qin Lang stopped in front of a live chicken stall, catching a glimpse of the chickens in the cages with his peripheral vision.

Their combs were bright red and upright, eyes large and spirited, feathers neat and glossy, claws strong and smooth—clearly high-quality chickens.

“How much for this chicken?”

“Eight thousand per jin,” the vendor replied.

“Say what?!” Qin Lang’s eyes widened in shock.

“Eight thousand,” the vendor pointed at his brightly feathered live chickens, “Top-grade Wuhé free-range chickens, that’s the price everywhere.”

Qin Lang: “…Sorry to trouble you.”

Without hesitation, Qin Lang turned and walked away.

Watching his retreating figure, the vendor muttered quietly, “You came to this market expecting cheap ingredients?”

He shook his head and returned to attracting other customers.

After leaving the live chicken stall, Qin Lang quickly inquired about prices at another stall.

Then a third, a fourth…

The more he asked, the more silent he became.

The prices at the morning market where he’d bought ingredients were similar to those of his past life, which gave him the illusion that food here wouldn’t be too expensive.

But he had forgotten—this was a world of extraordinary beings.

The abundant star power made the top-tier ingredients here far surpass those of his previous life. Even ordinary ingredients here matched the best of what he had known before.

The most basic ingredients weren’t expensive, similar to his past life.

But in this world, the price difference between different qualities of the same ingredient was enormous, so truly good ingredients were costly.

Moreover, this market was officially certified by the Spirit Chef Association, the best in the entire Dongxia City.

Because of the association’s certification, the quality here was absolutely guaranteed—no chance of inferior goods being passed off as premium.

But precisely because of this, the prices naturally weren’t cheap.

After buying beef and other ingredients in the morning, Qin Lang’s balance had dropped from four digits to three.

Here, the only ingredients he could afford were some vegetables.

Standing at the market entrance, Qin Lang took a long, deep look at the market sign, sighed, and turned to head home without hesitation.

Forget about making a state banquet dish for now; first, he had to find a way to earn money.