The tournament rolled into its second day with intense martial team battles and spectacular displays of skill. Azure Sky Sect's team was doing well, winning their matches fairly. Li Fan watched from the VIP section with Pang Wei and a dozing Hongyan at his feet, enjoying snacks, courtesy of imperial caterers, which he couldn't help but critique: "These spring rolls could use more ginger".
The afternoon brought the semi-final round of the team battles. Azure Sky's four-person team faced off against an alliance of two smaller sects. The fight was thrilling: swords clashing, talismans flashing. Azure Sky held the upper hand thanks to Senior Brother Tian, a core disciple with a rock-solid defense technique and Sister Qing, a swift swordswoman. Li Fan cheered them on between bites of melon.
However, as the match was nearly won, something went awry. Senior Brother Tian had just knocked out one opponent and turned to help Qing with the last one when he suddenly stumbled. Even from the stands, Li Fan could see Tian's face had gone ashen and he was swaying. "What's wrong with him?" Pang Wei exclaimed. Qing was left to fend two by herself as the fallen opponent got back up. In moments, the tide turned: Qing took a hard hit protecting the suddenly weakened Tian, and the referee called the match over as Azure Sky conceded rather than risk severe injury.
The team hurried to Tian's side and brought him off the stage. Li Fan and others rushed down from the stands. Sect Master Yao and Elder Kang were already there, concerned.
Tian was conscious but pale and clutching his stomach. "I... I don't know what happened... Suddenly my qi was chaotic and I felt freezing cold inside." A medic from the imperial staff was checking him.
The medic looked perplexed. "Not an injury from the fight. This looks like poisoning... but how? Nothing entered his body visibly..."
Elder Kang's face darkened. "Could it be a hidden weapon? Or something he ate?"
Li Fan knelt down, sniffing. His keen nose caught a faint bitter scent on Tian's lips. He recognized it from somewhere. "Senior Brother, did you eat or drink anything right before the match?"
Tian groaned, "Just water from my flask... Wait, it tasted a bit off, but I thought it was just herbal infusion Sister Qing gave for energy. She got it from an attendant..." Qing, nursing a bruised arm, looked confused. "I... an attendant handed me what they said was a sponsored tonic for competitors. It had our names on it and everything." Her face fell. Clearly they'd been duped.
Li Fan's eyes narrowed. That bitter smell... "Snowpetal Dew," he muttered. "It's a rare herb - in small doses it refreshes, but in larger doses, especially mixed with qi-recovery tonic, it becomes a potent internal chill poison that saps strength." He knew this because he had once mistakenly brewed tea from snowpetal leaves thinking they were mint. He ended up shivering for two days until an apothecary scolded him.
"You know of it? Can you treat it?" Sect Master Yao asked urgently, overhearing.
The medics were already administering some general antidote pills, but Tian wasn't stabilizing quickly. Li Fan nodded. "I need hot water, ginger, ginseng if possible, and... some of those fire peppers from earlier." He pointed to his own satchel of ingredients he seldom went without.
In short order, Luo Bing fetched what he needed from a nearby refreshment tent. Li Fan lit a small fire under a pot. Hongyan kindly lending a flame with a gentle puff. He combined water, crushed ginger, a pinch of ginseng, and a tiny amount of diced fire pepper. As it boiled, an pungent spicy-sweet aroma wafted.
"Is now really the time to cook?!" one anxious inner disciple snapped, not understanding.
"Trust me! This is an antidote broth," Li Fan said, not taking offense. In a minute, he filled a cup with the concoction. "It's going to be spicy," he warned Tian. "But you must drink it all. It will heat up your body and burn out the Snowpetal Dew's cold poison."
With help, Tian sipped then gulped the broth. He coughed at the kick of spice, but Li Fan rubbed his back encouragingly. "Hang in there. Think of it as liquid fire."
In moments, color returned to Tian's cheeks and he shuddered as if shaking off a chill. "I... I feel warmth again. The blockage in my qi is clearing." The medic checked his pulse, astonished. "Pulse stabilizing... temperature rising to normal... It's working!"
A cheer went up from the Azure Sky folks around. Sect Master Yao let out a relieved breath. "Well done, Li Fan. You may have just saved his cultivation, if not his life."
Elder Kang looked furious, though, as he gazed at the opposing team's area where the other sect was celebrating their 'win'. "This was sabotage. I will be petitioning the judges to investigate."
Sure enough, after some inquiries, an empty flask with traces of Snowpetal and a false seal of the imperial alchemy sponsor was found tossed behind the waiting area. The evidence, though circumstantial, pointed to foul play. The sect whose disciples benefited, one of whom had faked being knocked out to slip something to Qing, was penalized, and their advancement revoked. They loudly protested innocence, but the rumor mill and many a suspicious glare marked them as cheaters.
Azure Sky Sect was reinstated to continue though Tian, still recovering, was subbed out for another disciple for the final. The sect master thanked the judges but privately all knew Li Fan's quick thinking was the true savior. Many from other sects also saw what happened, and Li Fan's reputation rose another notch: not only a chef, but a healer and hero now.
"How did you know that, really?" Pang Wei asked later as they walked out. "You identified that poison faster than an alchemist."
Li Fan shrugged with a grin. "Cooking is just practical alchemy, my friend. You learn the good and the bad of ingredients. That time I nearly poisoned myself making 'mint' tea taught me a lesson. Everything is knowledge." He patted his belly. "Learn by stomach, I say."
Hongyan squawked in agreement or maybe she was just hungry again. Lan Yin had been in the stands too and shot him a knowing smile and discreet applause when the antidote worked. That made Li Fan feel warmer than even the broth did.
The rest of the tournament proceeded with less drama, at least nothing beyond the usual dramatic techniques and fights. By the final day, Azure Sky Sect had claimed a few trophies: second place in team battle, they lost a close final, first in beast taming. Hard for others to beat a sect that literally had a phoenix chick show up, even if Hongyan didn't compete, her presence was intimidating, and a respectable showing in alchemy. Elder Hao got third with his pill, though he sulked that an alchemist from Pill Hall got first. Elder Hao did begrudgingly nod to Li Fan for the poison fix saying, "Perhaps your cooking has its uses," which was as close to praise as one could expect.
Now, at last, came the much-awaited culinary competition on the final evening. It was framed not just as a contest but as the grand feast to conclude the event. The Emperor himself would attend and taste the creations, alongside a panel of judges including famed Chef Zhu (who was both judge and competitor, representing the imperial chefs, somewhat unfair but who would object?), a renowned food critic cultivator (with taste buds said to be blessed by a deity), and a rotund jovial King of a neighboring kingdom known for being a gourmet.
Li Fan prepared all afternoon. He had to come up with a dish worthy of a celestial palate, yet true to himself. Fancy things like gold-leaf phoenix fillets or 1000-year soup were expected from others. He thought back to his strengths: making simple things extraordinary, and harnessing spiritual ingredients playfully. And of course, a bit of showmanship.
He gathered ingredients from the sect supplies and some he traded from others: a sack of spiritual rice that glowed faintly (each grain imbued with moonlight), tender Cloud-Iron pork (from pigs raised on floating islands, giving the meat a light, airy texture), some wild herbs Hongyan sniffed out near their lodging, and a special ingredient - a single Vermilion Bird feather Hongyan had molted. It still contained traces of her fire essence.
"Are you sure about this?" Luo Bing asked as Li Fan plucked that feather from Hongyan's coop (she was chilling in a fountain, causing the water to steam). "Using that in cooking..."
Li Fan grinned. "Not as an ingredient to eat, but to infuse heat and a dash of phoenix flavor. Think of it like a divine spice. Or as my stirring spoon for a bit, ha!" He winked. Hongyan had given a consenting coo when he took it, so he assumed it was fine.
Sunset arrived, and the grand banquet hall buzzed with excitement. Several cooking stations were set up in view of the Emperor's table. Li Fan took his place among other finalists: Chef Zhu in imperial whites; a Pill Hall elder with various medicinal plants on his station; a foreign chef from the Western Isles known for flambé techniques; and a nervous young cook from a small sect who looked shocked to be in the finals (he had apparently wowed everyone earlier with a unique tea-smoked trout dish).
Lan Yin was nowhere visible in the crowd - perhaps with her cover as Jade Lake gone, she was watching unseen or from above. Li Fan felt a slight disappointment, but focused.
The Emperor gave the signal and the competition began. Fires roared, including Hongyan providing Li Fan's stove a consistent blue flame via her feather's magic when ignited. Knives danced, aromas wafted. It was part cooking, part performance art.
Chef Zhu moved with practiced grace, flash-frying something in a wok with golden flames - he was making "Dragon's Breath Stir-Fry", using a rare dragon chili and actual drake meat. The crowd 'ooh'ed at his control of fire elements.
The Pill Hall elder ground herbs for a stew that glimmered like liquid jade - a "Soul Replenishment Soup", boasting to restore energy of anyone who drank it. He had an array of precious roots and even a drop of phoenix tears (obtained who knows how) in it.