After staying inside the cave for more than two months, Kael finally finished all his preparations. The first stage of the Gourmet Corp inheritance was complete.
He had to admit—the Gourmet Corp was genuinely impressive when it came to ingredient fusion.
Of course, compared to IGO, they were still a step behind. After all, IGO had managed to mass-produce gourmet ingredients that normally could only survive in the wild.
Take Rainbow Fruit and Ozone Herb, for example. Rainbow Fruit was one thing—if you were lucky, you might actually run into it out in the world. But Ozone Herb was different. Before IGO successfully cultivated it, the only place it existed was Vegetable Sky.
Without a cell level of at least fifty or sixty, you shouldn't even dream of going there.
That said, while this was clearly a weak point for the Gourmet Corp, it was more than enough for Kael at his current stage.
With the first phase completed, the second phase of the Gourmet Corp inheritance began.
This time, Kael wasn't asked to continue researching or creating fusion ingredients. Instead, the inheritance shifted to something new.
Beast taming.
In the world of Toriko, the two most mainstream professions were gourmet hunters—who specialized in combat—and chefs, who supported them.
Of course, there were other professions as well. Sharpeners, gourmet regenerators, and many others. While they weren't as prominent as chefs or gourmet hunters, they still played important roles.
One of those professions was beast tamer.
However, by the time the story reached the Gourmet World arc, beast tamers had largely lost their usefulness. The higher a beast's level, the higher its intelligence—and the harder it became to tame.
Still, in the Human World, both the Gourmet Corp and IGO maintained beast tamer divisions.
IGO's most famous beast tamer was Rin, Sunny's younger sister. She was capable of taming even the most ferocious tribal hunters of the Human World.
The Jurassic Unicorns prepared by IGO may have been mass-produced clones, but taming them was no easy task. Yet Rin managed to tame every single one.
Afterward, those Jurassic Unicorns were sent across the world, ultimately blocking the majority of Midora's Meteor Spice and saving hundreds of billions of lives in the Human World.
When the Gourmet Corp launched its surprise attack on the Cooking Festival, they also controlled massive numbers of beasts to assault the chefs.
It could be said that, during the Human World era, beast tamers were an extremely valuable profession.
The Gourmet Corp was especially skilled in this field.
And so, the second phase of Kael's inheritance was for him to master the Gourmet Corp's beast-taming techniques.
Along with that, he also received several potion formulas—special concoctions designed specifically to assist with beast taming.
As the second phase began, Kael received another reward as well.
A beast.
A Gourmet Corp beast he could summon at any time, and return whenever he wished.
That beast was none other than the one Toriko and Terry encountered while heading out to capture BB Corn—the Jack Giant Beetle Elephant.
This creature had the body of an elephant, but sprouting from its back were beetle-like wings, along with a massive pair of pincers.
Despite its elephant-like build, it had six legs, each ending in razor-sharp claws.
Its size was staggering—thirty-five meters long, over twenty meters tall, with a capture level of eighty-five.
At that level, even in the Human World of Toriko, it was considered an absolute powerhouse.
This Jack Giant Beetle Elephant wasn't born naturally. It was personally created through fusion research by Grinpatch, one of the Gourmet Corp's vice chefs.
Beyond its sheer size, it possessed terrifying defense, offense, and mobility.
Once it got moving, it was faster than a jet fighter. It could run on land, fly through the sky, and even dive into the sea when necessary.
A truly all-purpose mount.
The only downside was that it wasn't a camping monster. If it were, it would have been perfect.
Even so, Kael was more than satisfied. Forget the Cooking Master Boy World—even in the Human World of Toriko, this mount was more than enough for him.
Most importantly, its loyalty was maxed out from the start.
Kael didn't need to tame it at all.
And with a capture level of eighty-five, it far surpassed Kael's current level of nineteen.
Standing before the enormous, ferocious Jack Giant Beetle Elephant, Kael was all smiles. He circled it, looking left and right, completely delighted.
The beast itself looked rather helpless. Its massive trunk swung slightly in front of Kael, as if unsure what to do.
Creatures like the Jack Giant Beetle Elephant already possessed intelligence comparable to humans. You could treat it as a person.
"I've decided," Kael said after a moment of thought. "From now on, your name is Bahemoth."
The Jack Giant Beetle Elephant rolled its eyes.
It could clearly tell how perfunctory that name was.
But since it came from its master, it had no choice but to accept it.
"Bahemoth, let's go. It's time to head out."
They were still inside the cave, Kael realized—just as he said that, he remembered a problem.
The exit passage had partially collapsed over time. It was only large enough for creatures a few meters tall.
Bahemoth, standing over twenty meters tall, obviously couldn't fit.
However, Bahemoth could clearly sense that they were close to the surface.
So after hearing Kael's command, its body suddenly surged upward.
With a terrifying burst of power and those massive pincers, it smashed straight through the ground, blasting open a gigantic crater.
Outside, Ramon and the others—who had been waiting near the entrance by the Eight Spirit Tower—were completely startled.
Kael didn't come out from the expected direction.
Instead, an enormous, horrifying creature burst straight out of the ground from elsewhere.
A beast this huge and grotesque was immediately mistaken for a monster.
"A monster… a monster came out of the ground!"
Bahemoth also noticed the group of people nearby.
They were incredibly weak, but it still watched them carefully. In its eyes, Kael himself wasn't very strong either—stronger than these people, sure, but still fragile.
If these people had hostile intentions, Bahemoth would act without hesitation.
"Easy, Bahemoth. They're not here to cause trouble."
Kael spoke calmly as he followed Bahemoth out.
Hearing that, Bahemoth withdrew its hostility.
Meanwhile, the members of the Taiji Cuisine Realm collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath.
Bahemoth hadn't even released its full pressure. If it had, with its level of eighty-five, focusing its intimidation on ordinary people would have killed them instantly.
Seeing that Kael could casually calm such a terrifying creature, the Taiji Cuisine Realm members were completely stunned.
They already knew Kael had a monster at his side—one that was still guarding Arkan and the others.
But that one wasn't particularly large.
This one was different.
Over thirty meters long. Over twenty meters tall.
A monster among monsters.
Just the trace of aura it leaked was enough to overwhelm them. They couldn't even imagine what would happen if it truly went berserk.
"So," Kael asked, "what do you want with me?"
After ordering Bahemoth to suppress its presence, Kael walked over with the massive beast beside him.
Each step Bahemoth took shook the ground, thunderous booms echoing with every movement.
Its weight alone was several hundred tons.
Kael had received Bahemoth's detailed data from the Gourmet Corp—and honestly, it differed from what he'd known before.
But this version made far more sense.
According to the gourmet encyclopedia he'd read in the past, the Jack Elephant supposedly weighed only eighteen tons.
That was ridiculous.
A full-grown elephant weighed around five tons—and that was only three meters tall.
This thing was over thirty meters tall, covered in armor-like plating, and weighed only eighteen tons?
Completely impossible.
With a body weighing hundreds of tons, the noise it made while moving was unavoidable.
Of course, Bahemoth could reduce the disturbance if it wanted to—but just like a human walking, unless you deliberately tread lightly, sound is inevitable.
Watching the mountain-like creature approach, the tremors growing stronger with each step, Ramon and the others were drenched in cold sweat.
Finally, Kael stopped in front of them.
"I…"
Even Ramon stuttered, his mind completely blank.
"Bahemoth, go play over there for now. I'll call you when we're leaving."
Kael could tell that as long as Bahemoth stayed, these people wouldn't be able to speak properly.
Bahemoth let out a cry, spread its wings, and shot off at incredible speed.
The resulting shockwave was like a category ten gale, blowing everyone except Kael off their feet.
Dust and debris filled the air.
Kael waved his hand sharply, stirring the air and dispersing the dust in an instant.
"Now you can talk."
"Yes—yes! Kael se—no, Kael-sama!"
Ramon immediately changed how he addressed him.
At this moment, he suddenly felt that walking the path of martial arts wasn't as appealing as he once thought.
If Kael left behind some terrifying force to suppress them, what could they even do?
Once you joined under someone like this, there was no chance of ever rising above them.
But there was no choice.
He didn't dare deceive Kael—and honestly, joining him didn't seem like a bad thing at all.
Kael's future would undoubtedly surpass theirs in every possible way.
Especially after witnessing the terror of the Jack Giant Beetle Elephant, Ramon had lost any trace of resistance.
Anyone who dared defy Kael now—Ramon would personally deal with them.
"So," Kael said with some surprise, "you want to join under me? And this was a joint decision by all of the Phoenix Eight Immortals? That's interesting."
"Yes," Ramon replied. "We know our past actions would definitely displease you, so the Taiji Cuisine Realm has already begun internal reforms. We've abandoned those practices similar to the Dark Cooking Society."
He carefully explained everything they had done.
Since Kael disliked those methods, they would change. Simple as that.
"That's not bad," Kael said, nodding. "If you really clean things up, then maybe you're still salvageable."
If the Taiji Cuisine Realm truly abandoned its dirty practices, bringing them under his banner wasn't impossible.
They could be managed jointly by Arkan and the others.
As for whether Arkan's group was weaker than the Phoenix Eight Immortals—that didn't matter.
As long as Kael was there, no one would dare step out of line.
Even if Arkan and the others were inferior in strength, the Phoenix Eight Immortals wouldn't dare say a word.
"So… Kael-sama, what is your decision?"
Ramon asked, barely containing his excitement.
"I agree," Kael said. "But from now on, the Taiji Cuisine Realm will be co-managed by Arkan and the others. If you disagree, then the deal is off."
Ramon agreed instantly.
They had already discussed this possibility beforehand, and Wu had said the same thing—it was extremely likely.
As long as things weren't taken too far, the Taiji Cuisine Realm had no objections.
Ramon also knew Arkan's character. As long as things ran normally, Arkan wouldn't abuse his authority.
With that, the matter was settled.