Jiu Shen's eyes were greeted by the sight of a world filled with dense true essence. It was so thick that it even made his pores open up, greedily sucking the true essence around him.

He stopped himself from cultivating albeit regretfully. He then walked towards a crystal clear pond with giant shrimps swimming about. They looked healthy and plump.

With a high-quality living environment, these Overlord Shrimps would surely taste heavenly.

Jiu Shen caught one Overlord Shrimp with a casual swipe of his right hand. The two-meter tall shrimp thrashed its body, but Jiu Shen's hold was tight. He then pulled it out of the pond which produced a trail of clear water drops.

- Ding!

- It is better to fry shrimps when they are alive since their muscles would be taut and firm, which will, in turn, produce a more crispy texture when fried.

"What a healthy shrimp!" Jiu Shen smiled faintly while glancing at the plump shrimp. The Overlord Shrimp glared at Jiu Shen and brandished its claws on him. Jiu Shen casually swatted the claw strike of the shrimp and slap its head. Its thick carapace failed to protect its brain which made it faint after being slapped by Jiu Shen.

Jiu Shen did not kill the shrimp after hearing the system's solemn and robotic voice.

After getting the Overlord Shrimp, he stepped out of the Spirit World.

He then placed the two-meter shrimp on a large chopping board.

The peeling and deveining of the shrimp were already engraved inside his head.

The knowledge of how to cook the Deep-Fried Shrimp Tempura Dipped in Viper Magma Chili resurfaced inside his head.

"To peel raw shrimp, I have to start underneath, where their legs are attached." After peeling the carapace of the shrimp, Jiu Shen skillfully held the giant shrimp with one hand while making a shallow slit down the middle of the back to expose the black intestine. He then used the tip of his knife to lift up the black intestine of the shrimp.

He then threw the shrimp in midair and diced it into countless small pieces. The cubes of shrimp filled the huge bowl in his hands. He then placed back on the chopping board, before pulling two cleavers.

He grounded the shrimp meat using the two cleavers like a barbarian. His actions were rough and wild, but it contained a sense of charm.

He then heated up the garmosa oil with the right temperature, before whisking the top quality flour from the Gremory Empire together with some imperial cornstarch, and salt made from the Heavenly Wind Sea in a large bowl.

He then made a depression in the center of the flour. Next, he added a pure spring water, and an egg yolk of a 5th-rank beast, the Light Wind Sparrow. He then mixed just until it moistened before stirring in the egg whites.

As for the shrimp meat, he kneaded them to form a crescent shape. His hands skillfully rolled the grounded shrimp meat and formed a perfect crescent shape.

Subsequently, he carefully dipped all the crescent-shape shrimp meat into the batter and fully coated it. Jiu Shen maintained his focus while doing this part.

It is important to fully coat the shrimp meat as it will greatly affect the taste of the dish.

He then grounded a piece of Viper Magma Chili. Its appearance was menacing as if it was a poisonous spice, but strangely, it was edible. The purplish-red chili emitted a baleful glow right after it was grounded.

He then sprinkled the grounded Viper Magma Chili into the shrimp meat. He evenly sprinkled it on all sides to balance the spiciness.

Lastly, he fried the shrimp meat on the hot garmosa oil. Crackling sounds echoed inside the kitchen as Jiu Shen fried the shrimp.

Not long after, a fragrant aroma pervaded inside the kitchen before it traveled within his store. The delicious smell lingered for a long period of time while assailing the nasal cavities of the mercenaries.

The smell was indescribable, it contained a bit of freshness and a hint of intense flavor.

"What a mouth-watering aroma..." Boss Scar muttered to himself while licking his lips with a drunk expression.

The other mercenaries had it worse. A line of saliva trailed down their lips as they glanced towards the source of the smell.

Even the sleeping Liu Xiufeng woke up. His nose twitched before his eyes sprung open. He looked towards his left and right in search for the smell.

They didn't need to wait for long as Jiu Shen came out of the kitchen while holding a piping hot plate filled deep-fried shrimps. The plating was beautiful and there was even a hot sauce made from grounded Viper Magma Chili and shrimp meat oil and a bit of vinegar.

"Here is your order of Deep-Fried Shrimp Tempura Dipped in Viper Magma Chili." Jiu Shen nonchalantly spoke while giving the piping hot plate to the mercenary who ordered the dish.

The mercenaries' eyes twinkled like stars after seeing Jiu Shen come out with the dish. They were already dying to know its taste, but they held themselves back

Their friend used most of his savings to order the dish in hopes of breaking through towards the next realm.

Although Jiu Shen was confident about the mercenary's breakthrough, he still wanted to see the process. He grabbed a chair randomly before sitting in front of the mercenary casually.

"Please have a taste. Our wager is still in place. If you don't breakthrough after eating this dish, then you will have it for free." Jiu Shen confidently spoke while eyeing the excited mercenary.