"Gurgle~"
The moment Qin Lang woke up from his unconsciousness, an unusual sound swiftly echoed near his ears.
He weakly turned his head toward the source of the sound, only to snap up from the ground the next moment.
"Don't come any closer!"
Qin Lang cried out in surprise, hastily scrambling toward the corner of the kitchen.
However, the owner of the voice came closer again, a look of concern in his eyes.
"Gurgle~"
"I… you…"
Qin Lang shook his head slightly, memories from before he fainted came rushing back.
He made a plate of egg fried rice, then the fried rice started glowing.
Next, he suddenly felt weak all over, everything went black, and he fainted.
Upon waking up, he was greeted by this little fellow.
A semi-transparent, milky white spherical body with a small face like a yolk inside, a pair of fluffy yellow ears, an oval-shaped tail, altogether an incredibly weird-looking creature.
It seemed a little similar to the process of Food Spirit birth described in the books.
Now, when he finally calmed down, he could feel an unseen link between himself and the creature in front of him, which allowed them to understand each other's intentions.
So... This is his Food Spirit? Born from the Egg Fried Rice?
Qin Lang's eyes suddenly filled with complex emotions.
The birth of a Food Spirit meant that he had become a Spirit Chef, he had reached his goal.
But the effort he put into making Boiled Cabbage with Water failed, whereas a simple Egg Fried Rice succeeded...
It felt a bit like fate was having fun at his expense.
A wave of unprecedented hunger washed over him, causing Qin Lang to set aside his thoughts for now.
According to the books, the birth of a Food Spirit consumes the vital essence of a Spirit Chef, causing exhaustion and hunger which probably resulted in his fainting.
He didn't have the energy to greet the little creature; he struggled to stand up and lurched towards the counter with the egg fried rice.
The dish that gave birth to a Food Spirit should theoretically stay intact - just like the relationship between the eggshell and the creature inside it...
Qin Lang looked at the empty plate, momentarily stunned.
Could it be...
He turned to gaze at the little creature on the side.
"Gurgle~"
When Qin Lang looked at it, the little creature rotated its body, its yolky face rolling a few times before turning its back to Qin Lang, seemingly a bit embarrassed.
It was just born, it was also very hungry!
Qin Lang: "…"
Right now, he was quite relieved that he had also cooked Boiled Cabbage with Water.
He dashed over to the living room in a few steps and began gulping down the food and the remaining ingredients like an old hen and duck.
"Gurgle~"
Hearing the sound, he paused in his action, turning to look at the food spirit which seemed somewhat embarrassed.
Every now and then, it stole glances at the food in front of Qin Lang before looking away again.
It was hungry again…
"Here you go." Qin Lang tore off a chicken drumstick and passed it to the food spirit, then buried his head back in his meal.
Letting out cheer, the little food spirit quickly rushed over.
Soon, only empty plates and bones were left in front of him.
After he had his fill, Qin Lang finally had time to pay attention to his food spirit.
"You…" As he looked at the creature in front of him, who was doing the same, he was at a loss for what to do.
Despite having lived two lives, he had no experience dealing with such a situation.
However, the Food Spirit took the initiative to rub against Qin Lang's hand, marking the official greeting.
"Hello." Qin Lang hesitantly reached out and patted the creature's large ears.
The feel of it was unusual, fluffy and light as a feather.
As he watched the adorable creature in front of him, his voice unconsciously softened; "My name is Qin Lang. Since you've just been born, let me give you a name."
"Gurgle~"
Under the connection of heartfelt feelings, Qin Lang felt the little fellow in front of him eagerly awaiting its name.
It seemed that the newborn creature, too, wished to have its very own name.
"I'll call you…" Qin Lang's voice trailed off for a moment, and then, considering that the little creature was born from egg fried rice, a name quickly came to mind, "Dan Bao?"
No sooner had he spoken than Qin Lang couldn't help shaking his head.
He really sucked at naming things.
"Gurgle~"
Unexpectedly, the little guy seemed excited, flipping and spinning in the air. Its eggy-face continuously bobbing, as if ricocheting within its body like a ping-pong ball, seeming to really like this name.
Upon seeing its unique expression of excitement, a smile crossed Qin Lang's face.
Although it was born from egg fried rice, in such a short period of time, he had already grown fond of this little food spirit.
"Dan Bao?" Qin Lang called out tentatively again.
Consequently, Dan Bao's aerial dancing became more intense, until it crashed into Qin Lang. After he caught it in his arms, the little fellow finally calmed down slightly.
Looking at Dan Bao, an idea flashed across Qin Lang's mind.
From his understanding, the rank of a food spirit can range from one-star to seven-star.
The newborn Dan Bao was a one-star food spirit. The characteristic of this was a tiny light point, like a satellite, rotating around it incessantly.
Two-stars would mean two light points spinning around, and so on.
However, the magic of food spirits was mainly embodied in their skills.
Food spirit skills were divided into food skills and combat skills.
Each food spirit had only one food skill. There was no offensive ability, but it could assist the spirit chef in cooking.
The combat skills of a food spirit started from one-star and increased with each additional star.
So, Dan Bao should have a food skill and a combat skill.
"Dan Bao, what is your food skill?" Qin Lang asked in a soft, expectant tone.
As a chef, he naturally cared more about the food skill than the combat skill.
"Grumble Gurgle~"
The food skill was Fresh Full! This could make any ingredient reach its freshest state!
Dan Bao's eggy-face rolled around, bearing an expression that seemed slightly boastful.
Make any ingredient reach its freshest state?
After pondering this for a moment, Qin Lang fetched a leftover section of green onion from the kitchen.
The green onion section was already a bit wilted.
"Come, let's give it a try!"
On Dan Bao's eggy-face appeared a hint of seriousness, and with a mighty puff, it blew at the green onion section.
In the blink of an eye, the green onion section became as green and vibrant as if it had just been plucked, even the onion smell, which had faded considerably, became strong again.
"That's kind of magical." Witnessing this, Qin Lang's eyes sparkled.
Fresh ingredients could significantly improve the taste and flavor of a dish.
While Dan Bao was using its skill, Qin Lang felt a force being drawn from the top of his head.
It was the Shen Ting acupoint, corresponding to the first vein of the Seven Star Vein - Tian Shu, which was naturally open.
One vein could nurture one spirit. The food spirit and the star vein were closely connected. Any use of skills required the spiritual power stored in the star vein by the spirit chef to be used as an energy source.
And spiritual power could be regained by the spirit chef through meditation.
The spirit chef and the food spirit depended on each other, connected by the star vein.
"And what about your combat skill?" Qin Lang couldn't help but ask further.
"Gurgle Gurgle~"
The combat skill was Full Firepower! It could spit out flames to attack!
After introducing its power, Dan Bao took a deep breath, as if ready to display its skill in place to Qin Lang.
"Stop, stop, stop!" Feeling the fluctuation of spiritual power in the Tian Shu Star Vein, Qin Lang promptly held onto Dan Bao to stop it.
Don't burn down the house. It's the only valuable thing I have left!
"Let's go, we're going to the Spirit Chef Association for registration!"
"Gurgle~"