Martial artists are strong.
Compared to the weak Awakeners of the modern era, Ha Eung Eung truly felt this fact. Naturally, she didn’t expect the tournament participants to be at a particularly high level.
An impulsive thought.
An impromptu tournament.
Even if it was a poor tournament, if there were no expectations, there would be no disappointment.
However, contrary to that mindset, this tournament surprisingly had some interesting aspects.
Just then, Main MC Bang Ji-cheol began to bring up the participants that Ha Eung Eung was paying attention to.
“Before we start the finals, I’m curious if any of the judges have a team they’re keeping an eye on. Ujiwoo, which team are you particularly watching?”
At Main MC Bang Ji-cheol’s question, Ujiwoo immediately spoke up without hesitation.
“Booth 313. Chef In Geumsu’s skillful cooking, the support of the most popular participant, housewife Kim Mi-ae, and the combat power of participant Do Gwang-gi. It’s practically a complete team, isn’t it?”
“Ah, that’s a good point. Certainly, that’s a solid analysis. This tournament values not just cooking skills but also ingredient procurement and physical combat abilities.”
The two participants who hadn’t been mentioned by Ujiwoo showed their disappointment with downcast eyes.
“Cheol-bong oppa, looks like we’re just the sidekicks.”
“Don’t be too down. We did well with ingredient preparation and mastering the recipe.”
The innocent and cheerful high school student Lee Yoo-jung and the 10-year veteran householder Jo Cheol-bong.
Lee Yoo-jung made Do Gwang-gi reveal his heavy past with an innocent question, and Jo Cheol-bong, though more in the background, still contributed.
The other three stood out the most, but they were by no means lacking.
“Speaking of evaluations, we can’t forget Lee Hae-chan’s thoughts.”
“I heard that Lee Hae-chan helped a lot with the tournament sponsorship?”
“Not only that, but he’s also the only judge who didn’t disqualify due to an overdose of laxatives!”
With Main MC Bang Ji-cheol and Assistant MC Wagu Wagu’s ambiguous introduction, Lee Hae-chan grabbed the microphone, his expression sour.
“I believe Team 370 is the strongest contender for the championship. The skills of participant Peng Hui-long wielding a greatsword are the peak of this tournament.”
“Indeed! With physical strength being crucial in this tournament, outstanding martial ability is a great asset. Team 370 is the only one to withstand the penalty that grew stronger every 10 minutes in the preliminary round, lasting all the way to 50 minutes. Lee Hae-chan’s analysis makes sense!”
“On the other hand, the team’s weakness could be the long cooking times. If they don’t manage to cook more quickly and cleverly, even Peng Hui-long’s strength might reach its limit.”
Lee Hae-chan was confident.
According to the crazy tournament rules, the longer time went on, the stronger the enemies that would appear to interfere, and at the end, that madman might even come down to participate personally.
At that point, it would basically be game over due to time-out elimination.
‘Although I don’t know if the rules from the preliminaries will continue into the finals.’
Since the final preparations weren’t done yet, Main MC Bang Ji-cheol smoothly kept the conversation going.
“We’ve heard from the judges, but we can’t skip hearing from Assistant MC Wagu Wagu as well. As a cooking researcher and V-tuber, Wagu Wagu, which team do you think is the favorite to win?”
“That’s a tough question. Booths 313 and 370 are strong, but I think Team 388’s Yoo Yo-hyun is the dark horse.”
“That’s an unexpected pick. What’s noteworthy about Yoo Yo-hyun, the team leader?”
Wagu Wagu, a streamer specializing in cooking content, couldn’t help but focus on cooking-related abilities rather than team balance or combat power.
“Yoo Yo-hyun showed outstanding analytical ability by filtering out the powdery drugs from Haenam faction members twice, and she carefully discarded the spoiled or wilted ingredients brought by her team. She has an incredible focus when it comes to cooking.”
“Certainly! Her ability to fix her team’s mistakes without rushing and cleaning up the mess makes her a hidden talent.”
Team 313, led by In Geumsu.
Team 370, led by Peng Hui-long.
Team 388, led by Yoo Yo-hyun.
After the preliminary results, the tournament had become a battle of the three strongest teams.
They were all the ones Ha Eung Eung was watching closely.
In Geumsu: A skilled chef who earned a high score even with small portions.
Peng Hui-long: A skilled fighter who overcame the 50-minute penalty caused by the Haenam faction’s high-ranking members.
Yoo Yo-hyun: A person who, unbeknownst to the judges, filtered out not just laxatives but also cold medicine, headache pills, and motion sickness medication four times.
‘I’d say it’s certain they’ll place.’
Each one of them was so skilled that Ha Eung Eung was already considering what rewards to give them.
‘More restaurants will be opening in empty stores.’
After Min Woo-sung pressured the National Security Bureau to close down the unappetizing restaurants in the Haenam faction’s neighboring business district and buy up the land,
aside from a few buildings where secret surveillance bases were built, no real restaurants had entered.
Ha Eung Eung thought of granting the winners of this tournament the right to open restaurants in those vacant stores.
Of course, she didn’t know about Min Woo-sung’s plan.
She didn’t know the National Security Bureau owned the land either.
But who is she? A martial artist with a bigger identity than that of a modern-day person.
If she were the leader of a sect who considered herself the ruler of a region, she believed she could kick out whoever was in the way and put whoever she wanted in their place.
The National Security Bureau would rather hand over those stores than risk provoking her.
‘But if we lose in the finals, it’s all for nothing.’
Even the next-generation martial arts masters praised by the likes of Yong Bong Ji-hwa and Ho Gi Ji Su could fall prey to the tides of time.
If Ha Eung Eung couldn’t overcome the trials she had prepared herself, then the victory she had been so close to could slip away.
‘The three martial artists... What will they do?’
Will they be swallowed by the stage Ha Eung Eung personally prepared for them in the finals?
Will they rise above adversity and make their names known to the world?
Either way, it’s going to be fun for her.
[Please assist in the finals.]
“...You want me to use my strength? The participants must be feeling sorry for themselves. What exactly do you think a Martial Arts Master Chef is?”
“This is amusing. You want me, a high-ranking member of the Black Path, to lend you my power? Have you finally grown tired of playing childish games and want to turn this into a bloodbath?”
Ha Eung Eung had even found special helpers for the finals.
Only by overcoming these trials would one truly be able to claim the title of the World’s Greatest Martial Arts Master Chef.
A mischievous smile mixed with satisfaction and playfulness appeared on Ha Eung Eung’s face.
“Thank you for waiting! The finals of the World’s Greatest Martial Arts Cooking Tournament have finally begun, with the 22 teams that survived the preliminary rounds!”
“Huh? Didn’t you say the previous group tasks were the first round of the preliminaries?”
“There were so many disqualified teams that we skipped the second round and went straight to the finals!”
This news was a huge relief for the audience who had been enduring the wait.
The first group of audience members who were relieved by this fact had already been replaced by others, but that detail was left unsaid.
“I see! But the number of booths seems significantly fewer than the remaining participants. Will there still be group battles in the finals?”
“Wagu Wagu noticed a great point! Yes, in the finals, the teams from the preliminaries will continue as they are!”
Unknowingly, teams that had formed bonds with each other showed relief and high-fived.
“Chef, please take care of us!”
“We’re counting on you again!”
“Chef, we’re relying on you~”
“If it’s about using knives, leave it to me again.”
In Geumsu also felt relieved.
Main MC had compared the teams and played replays of their performances, giving In Geumsu the chance to confirm how lucky his team was.
“I’ll be counting on everyone too.”
With that, In Geumsu’s team entered Booth 313, waving and shouting together.
The booth was the same as the previous one, but there was a significant difference in the venue’s layout.
“So that’s why we were made to wait in the waiting room?”
“Wow! This is amazing! It looks like a movie set.”
Lee Yoo-jung and Jo Cheol-bong, who were relatively younger, jumped with excitement, the set reminding them of a scene from a martial arts movie.
The enormous guesthouse, which was divided into 22 sections for each team, stretched wide to the left and right.
“Ugh, this will be a pain to clean. I’ll have to serve too. Gotta hurry and bring the food.”
Kim Mi-ae, the housewife, was satisfied with just observing. However, the expressions of In Geumsu and Do Gwang-gi were nothing short of serious.
“It feels cold.”
“This isn’t good.”
“Why? Doesn’t it fit the vibe of Chinese cuisine? Isn’t there even a cheongsam inside? Ah! What if there really is?!”
Lee Yoo-jung, excited as usual, was stopped by Do Gwang-gi, who looked serious.
“You’ve never seen a martial arts movie, have you?”
“Why? What happens if you watch one?”
“In martial arts movies, this kind of guesthouse gets destroyed.”
“...How much?”
“Everything you see.”
Realizing that ordinary cooking and serving wouldn’t work, the other team members finally realized the seriousness of the situation.
It wasn’t something they could dismiss as a joke, especially considering the preliminaries they’d been through.
“Hmph. I don’t want to be a Martial Arts Master Chef anymore...”
“Oh no, don’t make the girl cry! Yoo-jung, don’t worry, there’s an aunty here too.”
Lee Yoo-jung, scared and on the verge of tears, was comforted by Kim Mi-ae.
The source of this c𝓸ntent is freewebnøvel.coɱ.
Got mother vibes
The one who made her cry is the one who’s at fault LOL
But why does it feel like this will really happen?
With that kind of personality, she could totally do it
So do those guys have to watch the guesthouse collapse?
How would they do that?
I don’t know
As Yoo-jung showed signs of withdrawing, and Do Gwang-gi and In Geumsu sweated nervously at the risk of losing team members, the Main MC finally took the microphone.
It was time to find out if their suspicions were correct, and how the finals would proceed.