It was actually another spirit that could speak human language!
Aside from the Arhat Panda, the Tyrant Bear before him was the second spirit Su Hao had encountered that could talk. As for Senior Brother Wu's puppet, he had never seen it speak.
"Hmm... I suppose puppets themselves probably can't talk, right?"
Su Hao opened his panel and glanced at it.
As expected, the Tyrant Bear before him was of Monarch rank.
He couldn't discern anything more specific.
Much of the information was a string of "???".
Su Hao followed the direction the Tyrant Bear was pointing.
It was the ingredient storage area.
There were spirit jades, all sorts of bizarre vegetables and fruits, and plenty of fresh meat.
Su Hao spotted a string of thigh meat thicker than his own waist.
At first, he thought it was spirit meat, and in his mind, he pictured Bear King Mountain shrouded in demonic aura, with bears baring fierce mouths and fangs.
But then he realized it wasn't.
The *New World Introduction* course had taught that, in the New World, there were ordinary creatures besides spirits.
Where there were plants, there were naturally animals.
In the New World environment, there were many beasts fiercer than tigers and lions.
But no matter how fierce, compared to spirits, they were still nothing.
Generally speaking, spirits didn't need to eat meat.
The nurturing, growth, and living environments of spirits were almost two separate, unrelated circles compared to ordinary creatures.
That was until the chefs of Dragon Country opened a new world for the spirits of Bear King Mountain.
...
After wandering around the ingredient storage area, Su Hao finally spotted some familiar jars and bottles.
Things like chili sauce, sesame paste, black pepper, cumin powder, and so on—these were all seasonings supplied by Dragon Country.
Su Hao started worrying that what he'd brought might not be enough.
He took a look and felt relieved.
Everything he brought was here.
What he hadn't brought was also here.
"Great, the goal is to conquer the stomachs of dozens of spirits!"
In the ingredient area, Su Hao also saw other contestants.
One of them was one of the two Master-level participants.
His selection technique was very skilled, and he seemed able to identify many of the strange ingredients... he looked like he doubled as a chef.
Su Hao mentally tagged him as a strong competitor.
The other person was older than him, a young man who had likely already graduated from university.
He was also a formal Spirit Nurturer... the young man's gaze kept falling on the spirit jades, but when he looked at the ingredients, he seemed very hesitant.
Clearly, he couldn't identify many.
Master-level Spirit Commander Chen Ming saw this and felt relieved.
"The three of us are in the most direct competition...
"But they're both young, and their understanding of the New World is far inferior to mine."
Especially...
He looked at Su Hao.
He had heard about how outstanding this young man was.
But he was just a freshman, likely never even ventured into the New World's wilderness.
How could he identify those bizarre ingredients?
Rely on spirit jades?
Even the jade powder set required adding other materials.
In other respects... since they were all in the cooking area, everyone was a Spirit Nurturer.
He dismissed the threat of the two, his gaze falling on the ingredients before him as he picked them up unhurriedly.
In Chen Ming's mind, a complete plan had already formed.
He reached out.
Suddenly he paused, catching a glimpse from the corner of his eye.
He saw that student named Su... Su Hao, swiftly picking up various ingredients and spirit jades.
"Is he messing around?
"No, wait..."
He saw Su Hao pick a few things on the left, then head to the right, moving purposefully toward a specific ingredient.
He wasn't grabbing randomly at all!
"These ingredients do seem to pair well together!!
"Impossible, has he encountered these materials before?!
"Even if he has, can he have the same rich experience as me, with over a decade of practice?"
Su Hao... of course, didn't.
He grabbed a few items, then glanced at the panel.
Thanks to the high quality of the ingredients provided by Bear King Mountain, they could be displayed on the panel.
[Rainbow Vine Fruit: Picked from a rainbow vine, these fruits have attributes of metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, and thunder. They greatly benefit spirits when consumed, and pairing with XXX yields better effects, details as follows...]
[Note: After the rainbow vine bears seven fruits, it withers and dies.]
[Red Sun Flower: Can only be picked at noon when the sun is strongest. After being prepared with special methods and consumed, it can raise the temperature of a spirit's flames... Can be consumed multiple times.]
Su Hao looked at them with envy.
He felt like drooling.
Not every ingredient could be displayed on the panel.
If it was too poor, he wouldn't take it.
If he couldn't understand it, he'd just skip it.
After selecting, he started tinkering with the fully equipped facilities of Bear King Mountain.
Even the talking chef Tyrant Bear kept nodding as it watched.
Chen Ming and the other nameless contestant felt even more pressured.
What kind of monster was he!
...
While the eight contestants each employed their methods, in the reception hall of Bear King Mountain, bears carried plates of fruits and fine wine.
Some big shots visiting Bear King Mountain for the first time glanced around and felt a strong sense of familiarity from every angle.
Oh...
They realized the scene before them seemed... similar to certain movie clips.
The bears' way of hosting looked...
Also learned from some Dragon Country films.
The computers Dragon Country provided to Bear King Mountain naturally contained countless movies, anime, and novels, besides games.
Of course,
Things like textbooks, history books, or related videos were absent.
What was on the computers was mainly entertainment.
"Who do you think will take the lead?"
King Wu said with a smile, his gaze falling on King Lu, whose hair stood on end.
King Lu scowled and snorted, "Everyone knows what you're thinking, but your junior brother might not take first place. In my view, the one with the most votes should be Chen Ming."
King Wu thought for a moment and, unusually, didn't argue.
He also didn't think Su Hao would get the highest votes.
In terms of experience and skill, the older Chen Ming was far richer than Su Hao.
But as long as he outperformed Old Ghost Lu's student and crushed him,
King Wu would be very pleased.
"Hmm... I still need to aim for high votes."
When seeking a spirit contract later, there was an unwritten rule.
If two people fancied the same spirit, the one with higher votes had priority in trying to attract it.
...
From noon to evening.
Then through the night.
Su Hao used his self-created Su-style set meal and earned praise from many bear spirits.
"With so many bears saying it's good, even if only a third or a quarter of them vote, I can easily get twenty votes."
...
Master-level Spirit Commander Chen Ming, after serving his cooked dishes to the bear spirits for tasting, also received plenty of praise.
"I underestimated that young man Su Hao, but with my food and other approaches, I won't be short on votes either."
...
Thunder Prison Training Area.
Master-level Spirit Commander Wang Wu, with his Purple Lightning Wings, had extensive experience in how lightning spirits used thunder for training.
He was instructing some Rolling Beasts and Electric Light Bears.
"Too bad, a single day of training won't show immediate results. And the bear spirits of Bear King Mountain are either obsessed with food or computers!
"Dammit, I wonder if I can get twenty votes!"
...
"Firebird's student won't give up!"
Wu Hang had given up on the "Spirit Union" game and started with "If You're a Spirit, Climb a Hundred Floors," finally attracting some bears.
"Twenty votes, I have to get them!"
...
At that moment,
Die Xiaodie was no longer playing five-player games with the bear spirits.
Because its reputation had gradually spread.
Every bear wanted to team up with it.
Die Xiaodie thought for a moment, found stomping noobs boring, and went back to its old trade.
"Die Xiaodie's class is starting..."
They had moved to a multimedia classroom.
Die Xiaodie hovered in midair, the computer connected to the large projection screen behind.
Looking down,
Tyrant Bears, Thunder Roars, and Arhat Pandas sat in rows.
To ensure all spirits could see, Die Xiaodie had the shorter ones sit in front and the taller ones in back.
It then began lecturing.
It wasn't just about the Spirit Union game, but other things too.
Like a game called "If You're a Bear Bro, Come Slash Me."
It also recommended plenty of movies, anime, and novels to its bear friends.
Like the one it had written.
"Gu nuo~"
It felt a bit regretful.
Bear King Mountain's network was a local area network.
The novels it read were pirated, so it couldn't earn income from them.
"Gu nuo~"
It thought as it continued lecturing without pause.
It went on until the next day.
In between, it played a few games with its newly acquired fans.
Many bear spirits, previously hooked on food or staying in the training area, heard the news and joined in.
Some had shining eyes, looking like starstruck fans.
Others were impressed by its skills, clinging to its leg for carries.
Its fan count kept increasing.
Finally...
Time came to noon the next day.
The many King-level and quasi-King-level big shots gathered in the square before the main hall.
The Arhat Panda elder stepped forward, its mouth slightly opening, "Woo—"
The sound spread far.
Soon,
Bear spirits emerged from the internet café hall or other buildings.
Participating in the annual voting event.
Su Hao and the other seven contestants, having finished their tasks, arrived early to wait for the final results.
Whoosh~
At that moment,
The Dream Butterfly flew over and landed on his head.
Su Hao hadn't seen it for a day and was about to ask something when the Arhat Panda elder spoke.