Although the GT Robot seemed unaffected, and Kael's disappearances always lasted for a while, as time went on, everyone still couldn't help feeling uneasy.
After all, no one knew whether the GT Robot could keep operating forever.
What if it broke down one day? None of them had the ability to repair it.
So when they finally saw Kael return in person, everyone instinctively let out a sigh of relief. It couldn't be helped—recently, the Taiji Cuisine Realm had caused far too much chaos.
Nearly every well-known chef in the culinary world had been captured. Only a handful had managed to escape.
They themselves should have been on the first arrest list, but thanks to the GT Robot's protection, they'd avoided being taken.
"You're staring like you just got a second chance at life. Was my absence really that stressful?" Kael said with a faintly amused smile, glancing at their obvious expressions.
"We don't have a choice," someone replied. "Not long after you left, the Taiji Cuisine Realm appeared out of nowhere. Compared to the Dark Cooking Society we used to deal with, they might as well have the word 'arrogant' written on their faces."
"At least the Dark Cooking Society tried to keep things hidden. The Taiji Cuisine Realm? They're as high-profile as it gets."
"They even arrested a Dragon Chef from the Imperial Kitchen right in the capital. The entire Light Culinary World was furious—but the Taiji Cuisine Realm comes and goes like ghosts. No one even knows where their headquarters is, so there's nothing they can do."
Ensei explained the current situation in the culinary world. After listening, Kael nodded.
The Light Culinary World being helpless was nothing new to him.
The Taiji Cuisine Realm and the Dark Cooking Society weren't even on the same level. The Taiji Cuisine Realm was far more calculating. Unlike the Dark Cooking Society, they would never expose their base so easily.
On top of that, they had airships. Capturing people was absurdly easy for them. Appearing out of nowhere in the capital to seize a Dragon Chef? That was nothing. If they felt like it, they could probably storm the Imperial Kitchen itself.
As for the Light Culinary World—unless one of the Big Four was willing to help, finding the Phoenix Eight Immortals was nearly impossible.
And even with help from the Big Four, locating the Taiji Cuisine Realm's headquarters was still out of the question.
After all, the Taiji Cuisine Realm had been founded personally by Xu Ling. Its headquarters was naturally located in an extremely special area, one capable of isolating all forms of detection.
Under those conditions, even the Big Four wouldn't be able to find it.
"Judging by your reactions, the Taiji Cuisine Realm must have already come after you," Kael said.
Everyone nodded. The Taiji Cuisine Realm had indeed caused them trouble—but each time, the GT Robot had dealt with it.
Even so, they all knew just how terrifying the Taiji Cuisine Realm truly was.
"Relax. The GT Robot isn't some cheap puppet. At this level, it'll last for hundreds of years without any issues. You won't have to worry about it dying before you do—"
Kael suddenly stopped mid-sentence and fell silent.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing him abruptly go quiet, as if something had caught his attention, everyone instinctively looked around. But they didn't notice anything unusual.
"It's nothing. I just received a message."
Kael shook his head. The reason he'd paused earlier was because a faint message had reached him—weak, but unmistakably clear in its intent.
"A message? From where?"
Everyone looked confused. There were no letters, no messengers. It couldn't possibly be some kind of long-distance voice transmission, right?
"A message from far away," Kael said, narrowing his eyes slightly. "It's guiding me to a certain place."
"Guiding you? To where?"
"To the Eight-Spirit Tower. The message came from the Eight-Spirit Tower. It's calling me there."
The moment he said the name, everyone except Arkan and Ensei looked utterly lost, Mira included.
"I've never even heard of that place. Why would the Eight-Spirit Tower summon Kael-sama?" Mira asked, puzzled.
"I have heard of it," Ensei said. "It's normal that you haven't. Most of you joined the Dark Cooking Society later on. Back then, our society actually split off from the Taiji Cuisine Realm."
"Anyone who came from there has at least heard of the Eight-Spirit Tower. But information about it is extremely secretive. Hardly anyone outside knows about it."
"Legend says that the Eight-Spirit Tower houses the Eight Extremes Sacred Codex. That codex supposedly records knowledge related to immortal cuisine. Whether that's true or not, no one knows."
"The tower has opened many times in the past, but not once has anyone managed to obtain the Eight Extremes Sacred Codex. To this day, it still remains inside the tower."
Ensei and Arkan explained what they knew to the others who had joined later.
"I see… but isn't the Eight-Spirit Tower, well, a tower?" someone asked. "How did it send a message to Kael-sama? And from what you're saying, it should be extremely far away. How is that even possible?"
They were still confused. The existence of the Eight-Spirit Tower was far beyond their understanding—though, considering Kael and the GT Robot, maybe it wasn't that strange after all.
"Don't ask me. That's all I know about it," Ensei said, rolling his eyes. "I know roughly where it is, but I'd never go there. There's supposedly a Phoenix Eight Immortal guarding it from the Taiji Cuisine Realm."
"That's not someone we can afford to provoke."
"I'll explain," Kael said. "I know a bit more about the Eight-Spirit Tower. It's connected to Bodhidharma."
"You all know that the two strongest figures in culinary history were Xu Ling and Bodhidharma."
"Bodhidharma left behind a stone slab imbued with his will. That slab possesses extraordinary abilities."
"Long ago, a monk discovered the slab and used it as the foundation to build the Eight-Spirit Tower. He then placed the Eight Extremes Sacred Codex—something he'd obtained by chance—inside it. That's how the tower came to be."
Kael explained based on what he knew.
In the original story, Xu Ling had lived over a thousand years ago. The Eight-Spirit Tower was built by Xu Ling using Bodhidharma's stone slab, and it was said that after understanding everything, Xu Ling abandoned the secular world and became a monk.
But this world was different.
The Xu Ling Kael knew had existed seven thousand years ago.
Which meant Xu Ling had come before Bodhidharma. The original version of events clearly no longer applied.
"Because of Bodhidharma's stone slab, the Eight-Spirit Tower developed its own will. It can even change shape, and it functions as an enormous storage vault."
"Any ingredient stored inside will never spoil, no matter how long it's kept."
"On top of that, the phantom of Bodhidharma within the tower can use attacks like Eight Extremes Thunder. In short, the tower is extremely special. You can think of it as a living tower."
"Because of Bodhidharma, it even has the power to summon all chefs across the continent."
"Of course, that summoning is only a one-sided call. If you truly don't want to go, you can ignore it."
After Kael finished, everyone finally had a clear understanding of the Eight-Spirit Tower.
"But why would it summon Kael-sama?" someone asked.
"Because all the Legendary Kitchenware are in my possession," Kael replied. "The Taiji Cuisine Realm can't obtain them. And this time, the Eight Extremes Sacred Codex should finally emerge."
Even as he said it, Kael felt a little surprised.
He couldn't help wondering whether Liu Maoxing had already lost his status as the protagonist.
In the Eight-Spirit Tower arc, the entrance was said to open only when Liu Maoxing arrived—'It opens upon meeting Mao.'
And yet now, the tower had summoned Kael directly.
At this point in time, Liu Maoxing was probably not even close to becoming a Lin Chef. Under these circumstances, how could the Eight-Spirit Tower possibly summon him?
In the original story, Liu Maoxing had grown through hardship and defeated Song Wan. But if the current Liu Maoxing went now, it would be nothing but a death sentence.
"Then should we go to the Eight-Spirit Tower?" Ensei asked.
Kael was the leader. The decision ultimately rested with him.
"Of course we're going," Kael said, nodding. "This time, I doubt I'll be the only one summoned. I'm also curious about that Eight Extremes Sacred Codex."
This trip, however, would be a solo journey.
As for whether the monks there would try to make things difficult for him, he wasn't worried in the slightest.
After giving a few instructions, Kael set off.
At the same time Kael departed, others also received the call.
"The Eight-Spirit Tower is summoning us… looks like Song Wan has finally waited for its opening. But before that, we need to make a trip to Guangzhou."
Within the Taiji Cuisine Realm, Ramon had just finished capturing a group of people and hadn't even had time to rest when he sensed the tower's call. Pei had been summoned as well.
Ramon was about to head out again. After all, the airship was under his control—but before going to the Eight-Spirit Tower, he needed to bring someone with him.
"Song Wan's descendant, huh? That makes sense. After all, if you want to read the Eight Extremes Sacred Codex, only Song Wan's bloodline can do it."
Pei knew exactly why Ramon was going to Guangzhou.
Even though Song Wan himself no longer cared about his descendants, the Taiji Cuisine Realm certainly did.
In the entire culinary world, the only person still capable of interpreting the Eight Extremes Sacred Codex was Zhou Meili.
They had to capture her first. Otherwise, even if they obtained the codex, it would be useless.
With the airship, it took just over a day.
They arrived at night, so the airship didn't draw much attention.
After confirming the location of Yangquan Restaurant, Ramon led his men straight inside.
Yangquan Restaurant had taken some precautions, but against the Taiji Cuisine Realm, they were meaningless.
The staff were taken down in an instant. The Taiji Cuisine Realm's operatives were all highly trained fighters—fanatical and terrifyingly strong.
The people of Yangquan Restaurant were chefs, not martial artists. Even if they had some strength, they stood no chance.
Even Zhou Yu fell just as quickly.
As he lay defeated, confusion filled his face. He couldn't understand why these people were targeting his daughter.
In his mind, the raid should have been aimed at him, Liu Maoxing, or perhaps even Master Ruoh.
He never imagined their true target was Zhou Meili.
"Let go of Meili!"
Liu Maoxing charged forward without hesitation.
He had feelings for Zhou Meili, even if he hadn't fully realized it himself. Seeing her in danger, he was the first to rush in.
"Not bad, kid. Trying to play the hero," Ramon said calmly. "Too bad you're too weak. You're Liu Maoxing, right? If your father were here, we might have been some trouble—but you? You're nothing."
The Phoenix Eight Immortals knew Liu Maoxing well.
After all, his mother was the Jade Qilin, Malyu.
To them, even someone like Pai, a Supreme Dragon Chef, wasn't worth much attention.
But Malyu was different.
Every generation of the Jade Qilin was special. This generation was no exception.
Malyu could wield all the Legendary Kitchenware on her own—something even the Phoenix Eight Immortals couldn't do.
Her blade was also an extraordinary existence. It was said that every Jade Qilin carried a unique mission.
A mission even the Taiji Cuisine Realm didn't fully understand.
They had once moved against Malyu themselves.
After she faked her death and disappeared, there was never any news of her again.
They could only seal away all information about her and forbid anyone from mentioning her name.
In the original story, Liu Maoxing and the others were nearly blown up with explosives just for mourning her.
And now, history was quietly shifting once again.