Ultimate Scheming System

"Mama, look, there’s a man coming!"

The kid pointed his little finger at Xu Que the moment he saw him.

The woman rarely had any customers, so she shot up to her feet immediately and timidly addressed Xu Que. "Mister, would you like..."

She bit her lips and paused mid-sentence when she looked up at Xu Que.

His attire and appearance gave him a unique sense of presence that prompted the woman to think that perhaps he was a rich young master of some noble family!

His bonus charisma points helped as well. In that moment it would be no surprise at all if an average person thought of him as an angel or a white knight!

The woman was dumbstruck for a moment as she took in the sight of this extraordinary man in front of her. How could a nobleman like him end up in this part of the city?

"S-Sir, would you like to buy some meat pies?" asked the woman nervously.

She might have lived in the Imperial City all her life, but she was still just a commoner, so she had never been so up close and personal with upper-class people before. This was why she was suddenly so nervous!

"Hey mister, my mama makes the best meat pies in town! Try it!" said the kid, trying to help his mother.

Xu Que smiled and stroked the kid’s head gently. "I’m not buying meat pies, I want chicken wings!"

"Huh?" The woman froze in confusion and was unable to formulate a replt.

He wanted chicken wings?

Had she heard him right? Who would spend their money on chicken wings?

Xu Que looked at the woman and said, "Ma’am, picking out the meat and throwing the wings away like this is just too wasteful! Let me teach you my secret recipe for the best grilled chicken wings, then I’ll get three pairs of wings for free, how about that?"

"Grilled... grilled chicken wings?" asked the woman, even more bewildered now.

Did he say he was going to grill chicken wings? Who would eat that? There was barely any meat on chicken wings! Wouldn’t it be more sensible to grill chicken drumsticks instead?

The boy kept on picking the meat off the chicken wings with his head down while adding, "mister, try my mama’s meat pies! They’re really the most delicious pies in the world!"

"I know, I know," replied Xu Que with a laugh. Then he turned to the woman and said, "So what do you think? I’ll make you an offer. You can just give me two pairs of chicken wings instead of three!"

The woman finally regained her senses and waved her hand and laughed nervously, "sir, you must be joking! If you want chicken wings I can just give them to you for free! They’re not worth any money anyway."

"That won’t do! We from the Exploding Heavens Faction would never cheat or rob anyone! Come on, let me teach you Exploding Heavens Faction’s secret recipe for the best grilled chicken wings in the world!"

As he spoke he rolled up his sleeves and pulled out a pile of charcoal and a barbecue grill from the storage in the system. Then he twirled his finger in the air and a small flame appeared at the tip of his finger which lit up the charcoal instantly!

Both mother and child were flabbergasted.

This man was a divine spirit!

But what... what the hell was he trying to do exactly?

The woman’s face turned pale and she held her son closer to her immediately as she stared at Xu Que with a face full of apprehension.

Obviously divine cultivators had left a very bad impression on them. This woman’s reaction to Xu Que was full of fear and alarm, as if she was concerned that Xu Que might hurt them.

After all, they were just powerless commoners, so they had never had the chance to interact with any immortals at such a personal distance before.

But still, this spirit was acting strange. Why would he want to teach them how to grill chicken wings? Even lowly mortals like themselves didn’t eat chicken wings, so naturally it was impossible for divine spirits to want anything to do with these scraps... right?

And what was this spirit going to do to them?

Xu Que smiled cynically and said, "Ma’am, you’re misunderstanding me. All I want is to teach you how to grill chicken wings. You can’t break the promise, though! Once I’ve taught you how to grill the chicken wings you must give me two pairs of them for free!"

"S-Sir, w-we’re just lowly commoners..."

"I know, I know! Look, don’t worry! I’m not like any of those fuckhead Cultivators out there! I’ll have you know that I’m the cream of the crop in the World of Cultivators!"

Xu Que then casually went to work and started piercing the chicken wings through an iron skewer and placing them on the grill.

"Now pay attention. This is the first step. You must always grill the chicken wings with moderately high heat!"

The woman was completely flummoxed and clueless as to what Xu Que was doing. All she did was silently stand and watch him, unsure of what to do.

Then Xu Que continued to take out more ingredients for the chicken wings from the system—chili powder, honey, barbecue sauce, a basting brush...

The woman had never seen such exotic things before and was getting more and more confused. The boy simply stood there curiously watching Xu Que with eyes as wide as saucers.

This immortal spirit sure was strange!

The boy kept on watching him even more keenly now, hardly daring to blink!

Meanwhile, though, the woman pulled her child even tighter against her body. She bit her lips as she watched Xu Que’s strange actions as he played arounf with his peculiar bottles and jars. She was completely at a loss as to what to do.

Flap!

Xu Que pulled out a chef’s apron from the storage in the system and swiftly wrapped it around his body. Then, with his left hand holding the skewer, he used his right hand to brush the marinade onto the chicken wings.

"These steps are key to making delicious chicken wings, you see. You must remember the exact order—baste the chicken wings with the marinade, then grill them until they’re golden brown, then brush the honey onto the chicken. Now, for the sauce ingredients..."

Xu Que explained as he basted the chicken wings with the sauce he had made. In fact, he was meticulous in every step of the cooking process and made sure that everything was done perfectly.

The woman gradually calmed down as she saw how engaged Xu Que was in his task. He started to think that this cultivator really was different to the others that she had encountered before!

Sizzle, sizzle...

The chicken wings coated in sauce had been grilled until their skin was a scrumptious golden brown. The oil and fat that dripped out from them fell onto the charcoal, sizzling and spitting whilst filling the air with an irresistibly delicious aroma.

"It smells yummy!" cried the child who was clasped in his mother’s arms.

The woman was stunned herself. She stared wide-eyed at Xu Que, expression incredulous. Who would’ve thought that once grilled, chicken wings could give off such an enticing smell? It was probably the most appetizing fragrant she had ever smelled in her life!

"Now, time to brush on the honey!"

Xu Que’s movements were quick and efficient. He picked up a new brush and basted the golden honey onto the chicken wings with smooth swipes of his wrist.

At that moment, his movements were so smooth that he looked extremely cool, even though he was only grilling chicken wings!

Sizzle... sizzle...

After the chicken wings had been brushed with honey, they were now golden and glistening. The sumptuous smell became even more intense as the steam from the grilled chicken filled the whole area.

What a heavenly smell! The common folk in that area had never smelled anything like it before!

The hawkers nearby began to flock to Xu Que, lured by the mouth-watering aroma of the chicken wings. In no time at all, he was completely surrounded by a huge crowd of people trying to catch a glimpse of what was producing such a tempting aroma.

"Do you believe me now, Ma’am?" asked Xu Que. "These chicken wings should be done now. You can ask the customers how spicy they like their chicken wings and adjust the amount of spice you add accordingly. As for me, I like them fiery hot!"

As he spoke, Xu Que sprinkled a generous pinch of chili powder onto a pair of wings. They turned from golden brown to flaming red! As for the rest, he sprinkled a tiny pinch of the same chili powder on them, making them look instantly more scrumptious!

And so the inviting aroma of grilled chicken wings spread further and further into the heart of the night market...