Transcendent Dawn

Eighteen years have passed in the blink of an eye.

The first ray of morning sunshine gently spreads over East City.

“Bai Ling, aren’t you getting out of bed yet? Watch out, or you’ll be late to school. College entrance exams are imminent, can’t you take it a bit more seriously?”

A mildly infuriated voice came from outside the door.

“Alright, I’m getting up! I’m up!”

In the bedroom, there were a flurry of noises, and then the door opened. A youthful girl of only seventeen or eighteen years old, with big, bright eyes, delicately shaped cheeks, long legs, and full of youthful vitality as if a deer, ran out.

In the living room, Bai Tong had already prepared breakfast: “Come, eat quickly.”

“Oh, okay!”

Once Bai Ling had settled down, she picked up her glass of milk and absent-mindedly said, “Afu, I want to watch Food Hunter.”

“Understood, master!”

In the hall, a mechanical voice echoed. It was the voice of their home’s intelligent housekeeper: “Bai Ling, Affu has successfully recorded last night’s ‘Food God Challenge’ show for you!”

“Yay, well done.”

Bai Ling clenched her small fist in victory, her gaze fixed intently on the holographic screen:

“Ladies and Gentlemen… Welcome to the grand finals of the Food God Challenge! This event is brought to you exclusively by the culinary channel, with thanks to the Sunbird Food Group for sponsoring this show…”

A tall, elegant anchorwoman, who had an ethereal pair of wings on her back, was hovering in mid-air against a backdrop of a serene, azure sea.

“First, let’s welcome our contenders, from England, Food Hunter Ano and his partner, Top Chef Adams! They bring us ingredients that are… Oh, my God!”

On the screen, a brawny Caucasian man with bounding muscles, resembling a Mr. Universe contestant, was striding forward carrying a three-headed winged dragon on his shoulders.

The winged dragon was as big as a small hill, in stark contrast to Ano’s figure, but he was carrying it effortlessly as if a mouse shouldering an elephant, each step causing a slight tremor in the ground.

“It… It’s a Mutant Three-Headed Wind God Winged Dragon! A capture level five monster! A formidable monster that only Fifth Level Professionals have confidence in defeating!”

The anchorwoman’s excited voice remarked, “Its ‘Dragon’s Liver’ is one of the main ingredients for the five-star dish, ‘Dragon Chanting Nine Days,’ a significant challenge even for Top Chef Adams. It seems the partner duo are ready to break through the Fifth Level bottleneck, aspiring to ascend the world-class experts’ leaderboard, right?”

“Wow, it’s truly a Mutant Three-Headed Wind God Winged Dragon!”

Staring at those lifelike scales, and the dominant aura that was still tenaciously present even in death, Bai Ling’s eyes couldn’t help but sparkle with excitement.

Food Hunter and Top Chef!

This was a complementary pair of professions. The Food Hunter hunted powerful monsters and gathered ‘ingredients,’ which the chef would cook into unique dishes—dishes that could act as magic potions, promoting continuous enhancement through consumption!

The first significant practitioner of this route was history’s first Top Chef, Liu Xiaodang, who is also the chief judge of the ‘Food God Challenge.’

“Next, let’s welcome the second team; they are Food Hunters Zhao Meili and Liu Xing from Summer Country. Their special ingredients are…”

Gurgle gurgle!

The ocean suddenly roared in turmoil, forming a giant whirlpool.

As if some ancient colossus was stirring up the tidal waves from within.

Splash!

Suddenly, a surge of seawater shot into the sky, transforming into countless raindrops, revealing the true face of a massive creature.

“Deep Sea Demon King!”

“The most fearsome and elusive apex war monster of Five Star level—the Deep Sea Demon King!”

“Could it be that our Food Hunter Liu Xing is no longer a Four Star hunter, but has become a Five Star Hunting King?”

The anchorwoman’s voice resonated with extreme excitement, “Let’s proceed to enjoy the culinary battle between the two Top Chefs…”

Snap!

Suddenly, the screen turned dark, and the voice vanished without a trace.

“Eat your meal properly, and hurry up. You’re always late…”

Bai Tong switched off the television and spoke to Bai Ling.

“No…”

Bai Ling held her head in her hands, deep in existential crisis.

“Why must you always cause me such worry?” Bai Tong said exasperatedly. “The martial arts higher education exams are approaching… aren’t you aware of how fierce the competition is? If you can’t get into a good university, your future…”

“Hold on, no matter what happens, I always have my uncle as my safety net. It’s not like I could do that poorly?” Bai Ling rolled her eyes dismissively. “I could easily secure an admissions quota without having to compete, why make it so complicated?”

“You…”

Bai Tong was left exasperated. “Don’t you dare mention that man to me again, he is not your uncle! Moreover… there’s no one who can help you digest magic potions or counteract the curse… If you continue with this attitude, I advise you to give up your dream of becoming an Occupational Person, and take arts instead for your exam.”

“No way!”

This was Bai Tong’s trump card. When Bai Ling heard it, her face immediately dropped: “I’m off to school now.”

She picked up a piece of bread between her lips, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and dashed out.

Bai Ling’s high school was a key school in East City, just a ten-minute walk away from her home.

“Hey, Bai Ling, wait for me!”

On her way, another girl with pigtails chased after her: “You run so fast… I have to use Eight-step Cicada Catching technique just to keep up with you.”

Her name was Mi Jiaying, Bai Ling’s classmate and best friend.

“Enough of your nonsense, where are the things?”

“My Palm Treasure was also confiscated, all I have is this cut-out…”

Mi Jiaying handed over a square piece of newspaper where a picture of Liu Xing and Zhao Meili holding trophy was printed.

“As per our news… In the Food God Challenge finals, Zhao Meili performed exceptionally well. She used the Deep Sea Demon King’s gem meat to cook a flawless five-star dish. After consuming it, Liu Xing successfully became a Fifth-order Hunting King. His achievement has been officially recorded in the world’s top expert rankings, and his current position is 98…”

“Yay, I just knew it, Zhao Meili won. She’s my idol.”

Bai Ling jumped up excitedly.

“Fifth Level, huh… That’s a big deal.”

Mi Jiaying was looking enviously at Liu Xing: “A top expert ranked within the top 100 in the world.”

Bringing this up made Bai Ling slightly guilty. She had been keeping her family circumstances a secret, not mentioning anything about her uncle, because her mother had forbidden it.

When she was little, her family and her uncle seemed to be very close. But she had no idea when they started growing distant, and her mother would become infuriated whenever the topic of her uncle was brought up.

“Even if we do well in the martial arts college exam, and luckily acquire magic potions, we’ll have to start from Level One… But I believe that one day, I will make it onto the leaderboard!”

Although Mi Jiaying was a girl, she had a tenacity that was no less than the boys.

“Right, right, let’s pass the college exams first. Think about the school’s incentives… If we get into those special universities, the school’s reward would be enough for us to afford a trip to the moon.”

Bai Ling cheered up for her friend.

Ever since Summer Country established a forward base on the moon five years ago, other nations followed suit one after another. Consequently, lunar tourism ventures started developing and the demand surged in hype.