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The sky had turned a suspicious shade of gravy.
Lin Feng stared up at the swirling clouds, which looked disturbingly like thick soup about to pour down. There were noodles in the air. Literal floating noodles, drifting lazily as if they owned the heavens.
"This... isn't weather," Bai Xue muttered. "This is… a culinary omen."
"It's raining ramen," Flame Duck whispered reverently, opening his beak to catch a passing udon strand. "Truly, the heavens are generous."
They stood before the second trial: The Gluttonous Feast of Fate.
After narrowly surviving the Pickled Judges of Doom—and acquiring an unfortunate lifetime supply of weaponized fermented vegetables—the team had been magically transported to the floating Arena of Excess. It hovered above the Carnival Grounds, suspended by ancient chopsticks impaled into clouds of steamed rice.
Before them lay an impossible buffet—an endless series of dishes from every realm, piled high with meats, noodles, jellies, dumplings, and things that may or may not have been alive.
And in the center of it all was The Glutton King.
The Glutton King was three things:
1. Enormous.
2. Bare-chested.
3. Floating on a throne made entirely of barbecue ribs.
His beard was a river of noodles, his crown a rotating skewer of meats from a thousand dimensions. His fork crackled with culinary energy, and his aura was… disturbingly greasy.
"CHALLENGERS!" he bellowed, voice shaking the gravy-clouds. "You seek to pass the Gluttonous Feast of Fate? THEN PREPARE YOUR STOMACHS… AND YOUR SOULS!"
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The Rules of Engagement
A floating jellyfish waiter approached, holding a scroll made of tempura paper.
"Per the Royal Rules of the Gluttonous Feast," it squeaked, adjusting its tiny monocle, "you must engage in three rounds of combat."
"Combat?" Lin Feng asked.
"Culinary combat," the jellyfish clarified. "You must duel in the Three Trials: Appetizer Annihilation, Main Course Mayhem, and Dessert Duel to the Death."
"What kind of desserts are we talking about?" Flame Duck asked, already sharpening a spoon.
The jellyfish looked somber. "Deadly ones."
Bai Xue sighed. "Of course. Deadly desserts. Why wouldn't they be?"
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Round One: Appetizer Annihilation
The battlefield was a circular arena with a spinning lazy Susan the size of a football field. Platters of volatile appetizers rotated, ready to be seized or stolen.
Their opponent?
Madam Dumpling Doom, a plump sorceress wrapped in layers of doughy robes, who conjured shrimp tempura storms and weaponized wontons.
"Ready your spatulas!" she shrieked, summoning a flying battalion of spring rolls.
Lin Feng leapt into action, his Wok of the Phoenix Flame glowing with chi-infused heat. With a spin, he deflected the incoming rolls, sending them back like spicy missiles.
Flame Duck, now dual-wielding a ladle and a whisk, launched himself into a duel with a swarm of fortune cookies that exploded on impact. "Taste destiny, crunchy fiends!"
Bai Xue danced through the chaos, slicing dumpling projectiles with chopsticks as sharp as blades. Her aura shimmered with Chili Lotus Qi, granting her elegance and deadly grace.
Lin Feng focused. "I must summon the spirit of the Appetizer."
He stabbed his spatula into the rotating Susan and unleashed his signature technique:
"Spring Onion Spiral Sky Dance!"
A vortex of green onion and ginger erupted, sucking in Madam Dumpling Doom's forces and seasoning them beyond recognition.
Madam Doom cried out, flailing in the whirlpool of garnish.
"You FOOLS! You've over-seasoned my soul!"
With a dramatic pop, she exploded into harmless tofu cubes.
Round One: Victory.
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Round Two: Main Course Mayhem
The ground trembled. A massive grill rose from beneath the arena, ignited with sacred flame.
Their new opponent landed from the sky, wielding two meat cleavers the size of tree trunks.
He was Baron Brisket, a carnivore cultivator from the forbidden Smoked Realms.
"I am the Meat Messiah," he roared. "And you shall be well-done!"
His aura pulsed with Charred Essence, his steps branding the ground with sizzling steak marks.
Lin Feng gulped. "We'll need meat. Legendary meat."
Flame Duck slammed a crate of emergency steak onto the ground. "I stole this from the Rib Dimension."
"Perfect."
Bai Xue summoned a spectral Ox Spirit from her Beef Bone Broth Technique, its horns glistening with collagen energy. It charged at the Baron.
But Brisket countered with a devastating move: "Ribcage Rainstorm Rend!"
A storm of bone-charged ribs flew toward the trio.
"TO THE GRILL!" Lin Feng shouted.
They ducked, rolled, and dashed across the flaming grates. Lin Feng tossed his meat onto the grill with divine timing, flipping each piece with his Chi-Wok.
He activated a forbidden recipe from Master Zhou's scrolls:
"Flame-Kissed Fusion Beef: Thousand-Spice Variant."
As he cooked, a meat aura surrounded him—a swirling vortex of spicy aroma and protein enlightenment.
Flame Duck added his secret sauce, brewed from fermented phoenix tears and garlic. The sauce sang.
Together, they plated the dish: A tower of beef medallions, resting on a bed of rice infused with smokey soul salt.
Baron Brisket sliced it with one cleaver.
He chewed.
He paused.
He… wept.
"It's… it's so tender," he whispered. "I… have never felt love before."
Then he exploded in a blaze of brisket.
Round Two: Victory.
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Round Three: Dessert Duel to the Death
The arena transformed.
Now they stood inside a vast sugar palace. Cotton candy walls. Mocha rivers. An ominous jelly pit bubbled nearby.
From the ceiling descended a cloaked figure made entirely of marzipan.
Count Creampuff.
His eyes were cherries. His breath smelled of mint. His voice was whipped cream and regret.
"Dessert… is eternal. You cannot handle my sweetness."
Lin Feng trembled. "He's… horrifying."
Flame Duck stepped forward. "I've trained for this. I once survived the Dessert Labyrinth of Caramel Hell."
The Count extended a hand, and the air shifted. Candy canes turned into spears. Pudding pillars shot up from below. A chocolate earthquake cracked the palace.
Bai Xue whispered, "This is a sugarcultivator… at the Sovereign Sweetness stage."
Lin Feng activated his secret technique.
"Banana Split Blade Style: Forbidden Sundae Form!"
Ice cream swords formed at his side. He somersaulted over a jelly tsunami and slammed down with explosive sprinkles.
Bai Xue infused her Lychee Petal Rain Technique, creating a blizzard of fragrant fruit that froze the pudding storm mid-air.
Flame Duck unleashed his ultimate:
"Molten Lava Cake Inferno—WITH A TWIST."
He twisted. Literally. Into a spiral of heat and frosting fury, diving at Count Creampuff like a sugared missile.
The Count screamed, flung backwards, and crashed into the trifle tower.
He exploded in a violent burst of syrup and existential anguish.
Round Three: Victory.
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Post-Battle: The Feast of Fate
A warm voice echoed from the heavens.
"You have conquered the Gluttonous Feast of Fate," it said. "You have pleased the God of Gourmands."
The Glutton King descended, eyes teary.
"You… you reminded me what food is truly about. Chaos. Courage. Deep-frying things that should not be deep-fried."
He reached into his meat throne and pulled out a glowing box.
"This… is for you."
Inside was a scroll glowing with culinary energy. On it, ancient golden runes read:
"Recipe of the Eternal Skillet: The God-Flipping Pancake Manual."
Lin Feng accepted it, hands shaking.
Bai Xue narrowed her eyes. "That sounds overpowered."
Flame Duck was crying. "We've made it… we've truly made it to the Second Course Realm."
"Wait," Lin Feng asked, "How many realms are there?"
The Glutton King coughed. "You're currently in Appetizer Ascension. You still have: Main Course Mountains, The Garnish Fields, The Forbidden Pantry, Saucefall Abyss, and the Final Dessert Duel—Part Two."
Flame Duck fainted.
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