Bu Fang remembers exactly two things when he arrives in this unfamiliar world, he has left Earth behind, and someone—or something—has decided that his future depends on running a restaurant.
The location could hardly be less impressive. Hidden away in a quiet alley of the imperial city, the little establishment attracts more puzzled glances than paying customers. Anyone who bothers to read the menu usually walks straight back out. A few simple dishes carrying prices fit for priceless treasures? It sounds ridiculous, and Bu Fang hears that opinion often enough to stop caring.
Walking away would be much easier if the Gourmet System allowed it.
Instead, every detail of the restaurant comes with rules. The ingredients cannot be substituted, recipes cannot be changed to please customers, and even the opening hours are decided for him. Arguing gets him nowhere. Cooking is the only option left, so he throws himself into it with the same patience he once devoted to everything else.
That quiet confidence is easy to misunderstand. Some mistake him for an arrogant fraud, others assume the tiny restaurant is laundering money for someone powerful. Very few believe the food is actually worth the price until curiosity wins the argument. The first bite has a habit of ending debates faster than Bu Fang ever could.
Even the restaurant itself feels slightly off. A black dog spends its days sleeping near the entrance without anyone daring to chase it away, a mechanical assistant works tirelessly in the kitchen as though such things are perfectly normal, and ingredients appear that experienced cultivators cannot even identify. None of it is explained in a hurry, which somehow makes it more interesting.
News travels strangely in the imperial city. At first only curious passersby stop for a meal, then influential families begin sending people to verify the rumors, and before long cultivators capable of shaking kingdoms are standing outside the same unremarkable door for reasons they never expected. Some arrive chasing flavor, others come looking for answers, a few simply want to see whether the stories can possibly be true.
Bu Fang, meanwhile, remains exactly where he has always been, behind the stove with an expression that rarely changes. He has little interest in status, grudges, or proving himself stronger than anyone else. His attention stays on the next dish, because every meal prepared under the Gourmet System pushes him a little farther along a path no cultivator has ever walked.
Cultivation is still woven into every corner of the world, but this time the road to the top runs through a kitchen. Rare ingredients replace heavenly treasures, recipes become opportunities, and a bowl of perfectly cooked Egg-Fried Rice can leave a greater impression than techniques people spent decades mastering. That unusual idea is what gives the novel its charm, turning an ordinary restaurant into one of the last places anyone would expect legends to begin.
