“I just won the championship like that?”
Wei Bai felt it was a bit surreal; he was well aware of his own level.
Even if the two bowls of food he made had a bit of a royal flavor, he also understood that their appearance was truly hard to swallow.
At this moment, he didn’t notice a young man among the noble seats talking to the previous middle-aged noble.
If he were to get closer, he would be able to hear what they were discussing.
“Father, that’s the kid who punched me in public at the tavern.”
The young noble Wei Bai had struck earlier appeared to be talking to his father.
“Enough, shut your mouth. You’re an ignorant brat who spends all day doing nothing; getting hit was your own fault,” the middle-aged noble said irritably, knowing full well what his son was like.
However, this matter couldn’t be left at that.
A commoner of mediocre birth striking a noble was an act of transgression in the first place, and he had to at least regain face for his son.
When that kid had appeared to enter the competition earlier, his son was prepared to go up and look for trouble.
However, for some unknown reason, the kid had left again.
He thought the boy wouldn’t be coming back, yet he had appeared under his nose once more.
As a noble, he could not sit idly by regarding this insult to the nobility; otherwise, wouldn’t the face of the aristocracy be completely lost?
The middle-aged noble looked at Wei Bai with a slight curve at the corner of his mouth.
He planned to let this commoner suffer a bit so he would remember the consequences of offending a noble.
After whispering some instructions to the attendant beside him, the ordered attendant hurriedly withdrew, while Wei Bai was completely unaware that someone had already secretly targeted him.
“Next, Mr. Wei Bai will take the stage to receive the award.”
The host was passionately driving the atmosphere of the scene when a staff member walked over and whispered a few words into his ear.
The host was clearly stunned for a moment, but he quickly covered it up, his voice becoming even more passionate and high-pitched.
“By a temporary decision of the organizer, the championship award for this session of the Chef God Competition will be presented personally by the organizer, Earl Arnie!”
Upon hearing that the Earl was personally presenting the award this time, many in the audience were very excited.
After all, they had almost no chance of ever encountering someone of Earl Arnie’s level, yet they were able to see him at the Chef God Competition this time.
Wei Bai was also very surprised.
He stared at the high platform, wanting to see which one was Earl Arnie.
In addition to his anticipation for the prize money, he also wanted to see the backer that the tavern youth relied on.
A refined and elegant middle-aged man walked out, followed by two attendants.
Seeing the middle-aged man before him, Wei Bai’s pupils narrowed slightly, and Mida was also clearly stunned.
It was him?!
The person before them was none other than the noble they had met outside the venue.
At that time, he had even kindly found an excuse for him to join the competition.
Although he took all the money in the end, that was also justifiable.
Instantly associating this with everything from before, Wei Bai’s impression of Earl Arnie improved a tiny bit, but it was limited to him lending a hand; he didn’t think these nobles were any kind of benevolent sorts.
“Such a young and talented gentleman. It seems my previous decision was correct.”
Earl Arnie smiled slightly and performed a noble salute very properly.
“I am the Lord of the Earl Arnie territory, the person in full charge and the organizer of this competition.”
“Earl Arnie is too polite. I am merely a commoner; there is no need for this.”
Wei Bai saw Earl Arnie bowing to him and said it wasn’t necessary, but he was enjoying it quite a bit.
Old man, for silently swiping my money and adding in your playboy son’s behavior from before, giving me a salute isn’t excessive at all.
“Hoho, the youth are indeed formidable to be able to stand out among so many contestants. You must be no ordinary person.”
Hearing Wei Bai’s words, Arnie didn’t care at all.
He praised Wei Bai very elegantly and then glanced at Mida beside him.
The audience below instantly erupted.
They were proud, extremely proud—proud to have been born in Earl Arnie’s territory.
“Is that the Lord? So polite and refined, truly the leader of our Earl Arnie territory!”
“Not only does the Lord govern well, but he is also so magnanimous. Having him lead the Earl Arnie territory is truly our blessing!”
The voices below were very loud, and Wei Bai naturally heard them.
His eyes twitched as he listened to these words.
Are these commoners crazy?
These nobles ride on their heads and act high and mighty every day, yet now they actually think a noble is a benevolent person?!
Wei Bai didn’t think so.
He had seen far too many nobles; hypocrites were not uncommon among them.
To maintain their outward appearance of glory, most of these nobles had two faces.
“Lord Earl, I am honored by your praise. All this is thanks to your keen eye for talent.”
Despite his thoughts, etiquette had to be observed; otherwise, he would become a target of public criticism among the citizens.
“Haha, then we won’t waste words. Let’s start the award ceremony directly.”
Earl Arnie laughed heartily and then ordered his attendants to bring up the prize money.
Wei Bai’s attention was not on the prize money at this time.
He looked at Earl Arnie, guessing what kind of tricks he was up to.
He observed for a long time until the prize money was brought up in a case.
Earl Arnie’s expression didn’t change much, so Wei Bai shifted his gaze to the case.
“Now, on behalf of the organizer of this competition, I will present the prize money to the winner.”
As Earl Arnie spoke, he signaled the attendant carrying the case to step forward and opened it.
Glittering gold coins were exposed to the air.
Almost everyone present caught their breath, staring blankly at those gold coins with a hint of greed appearing on their faces.
Immediately after, several ill-intentioned gazes landed on Wei Bai.
Earl Arnie naturally noticed those malicious gazes.
A slight smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, and then he announced loudly.
“This contestant, a resident of Carven City and a hidden Chef Master, Mr. Wei Bai, has won the championship and received a prize of one hundred gold coins. Please come forward to receive the award!”
Hearing these words and feeling several ill-intentioned gazes, Wei Bai instantly understood what kind of scheme this old fox was playing at.
He intended to kill with a borrowed knife.
By repeatedly emphasizing his identity while flamboyantly displaying the prize money, he was stimulating the ill-intentioned people below the stage.
In this way, Earl Arnie only needed to maintain his own image and wait for these people to use violent means to subdue him.
He wouldn’t even have to exert any effort to teach him a lesson on behalf of his son.
Snorting coldly in his heart, Wei Bai acted as if he felt nothing at all, walking forward grandly to accept the prize money.
Free money; it would be a waste not to take it.
Seeing Wei Bai’s completely oblivious appearance, Earl Arnie felt secretly smug.
This would be enough to give this kid a hard time.
So what if he had a bit of skill?
With so many envious people, he wouldn’t even need to act himself; he could just use the thug forces of Carven City to take care of this self-important brat.
Wei Bai didn’t know what the Earl was thinking.
Instead, he looked at the prize money with a calm heart, closed the case, and held it in his hand.
Fine, he had already accepted this life-buying money.
Whether they could take him down would depend on whether the people this Earl found were qualified enough.
“Alright, the award ceremony is over, and this competition has come to a perfect conclusion.”
Seeing this, the host stepped out to liven up the atmosphere and arranged for the audience and contestants to exit.
As the competition ended, Wei Bai took Mida and turned to walk out of the arena, but he heard Earl Arnie say something to him from behind.
“Young friend Wei Bai, if you have any difficulties, you can come to the Earl’s Manor to find me. I don’t think I would refuse to help a sensible junior.”
Turning his head, he saw Earl Arnie looking at him with a slight smile, followed by a meaningful look directed at Mida.
Being looked at by Earl Arnie like that made Mida feel very uneasy.
She quietly moved behind Wei Bai and pulled his hand.
“Let’s go.”
“Mhm.”
After giving Earl Arnie a deep look, Wei Bai left with Mida.
Earl Arnie still maintained the smile on his face, then gave some instructions to another attendant.
The woman beside that kid indeed had a good appearance.
Once that boy was dealt with, he would have his fill of fun before giving her to his own worthless son.
Thinking this, Earl Arnie didn’t stay any longer, turning to leave the arena with his attendants.