---
The sun rose like a perfectly poached egg over the Sacred Skillet Isles. From above, the isles formed the shape of a frying pan—one giant island surrounded by a ring of tiny ones, each with sizzling geysers of oil and the constant aroma of spice and danger.
Lin Feng, Flame Duck, and Bai Xue stood aboard a suspiciously fluffy boat made entirely of steamed buns. The Mantou Mariner bobbed toward their destination, cutting through the misty soup sea that separated the mainland from the Skillet Isles.
Flame Duck pointed toward the horizon, where a plume of smoke spiraled upward like a desperate noodle. "There it is... The central isle. Yolk Temple. The Egg Elders reside there. And they hate outsiders."
"Especially ones who stir instead of scramble," Bai Xue added grimly. "We'll have to follow the Way of the Whisk."
Lin Feng checked the golden dumpling insignia pulsing on his palm. "Then we scramble with style."
---
The Trials of the Yolk Temple Begin
As soon as they set foot on the shore, the ground cracked.
A figure rose from the sand—eight feet tall, rippling muscles, yolk dripping from his eyes like tears.
"I am Omelektor, Guardian of the Yolk Path. Only those who survive the Three Trials of Whiskdom may meet the Egg Elders."
Flame Duck squinted. "Weren't you the sous-chef at Duck Royale last year?"
Omelektor growled. "SILENCE. THE TRIALS BEGIN NOW!"
---
Trial One: The Great Flip-Off
A giant flat griddle appeared in the center of the jungle. Ten enormous omelets sizzled on the surface.
"You have sixty seconds to flip all ten with no breaks, no spatula… and no cracks."
Lin Feng leapt forward and activated the Dumpling Glide, his feet skimming the scalding metal.
Bai Xue moved like silk, flipping eggs mid-air with her Tempura Fans. Flame Duck just blew everything up, declaring, "CHAOS IS FLAVOR."
The final omelet, however, resisted. It screamed. It grew legs.
"YOU SHALL NOT FLIP ME!" it roared.
Lin Feng's eyes narrowed. "Challenge accepted."
He soared skyward, gathered steam energy, and unleashed a mighty Heaven's Wrap Flip, spinning the sentient omelet into the air.
It landed. Perfectly golden.
Omelektor's eye twitched. "...Pass."
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Trial Two: The Boiling Betrayal
The team was separated into boiling cauldrons.
Each of them was greeted by a clone of their worst enemy—except it was made of soup.
Bai Xue fought a broth-version of her former master, made entirely of shrimp bisque. She defeated him with a tearful strike of her Fan of Frying Memories.
Flame Duck fought a soup-clone of himself, yelling, "WHY DO YOU KNOW MY EVERY MOVE, DUCK ME?!"
"You are me!" it shouted back.
They exploded simultaneously.
Lin Feng's clone was… his childhood dumpling stand boss, Chef Gristle, formed from aged miso.
"You'll never be good enough!" it spat. "Your dumplings are always overstuffed!"
Lin Feng, glowing with the Ninth Seal, gently placed a perfect dumpling into the clone's broth chest.
"You're wrong. I stuff them with heart."
The clone exploded into emotional consommé.
---
Trial Three: The Whiskening
Final trial.
The trio now stood on a platform suspended over a lava pit of hollandaise sauce.
Omelektor appeared, wielding the Titan Whisk—a weapon forged by the first Egg Elder during the Century of Scramble.
"You must best me in single combat," he growled.
Flame Duck lunged, screaming, "I'LL WHIP YOU TILL YOU PEAK, YOU EGGY MUSCLEHEAD!"
Omelektor flicked his pinky and sent Flame Duck spiraling off the platform. He landed in the hollandaise with a splash.
Bai Xue tried precision strikes, but her fans were no match for the Whisk Cyclone.
Lin Feng stepped forward.
Seal glowing.
Eyes burning.
He raised his hand—and summoned the Dumpling Lance.
Their weapons clashed in a storm of yolk, steam, and psychic egg auras. For a moment, reality browned.
Then—Lin Feng's Seal pulsed.
He spun midair.
"DUMPLING OF DESTINY – LAYER TEN: WHISK BREAKER!"
His lance pierced the Titan Whisk.
Omelektor fell to one knee.
"…You are worthy."
---
Meeting the Egg Elders
In a golden dome filled with egg-shaped chairs and smell of boiled eternity, seven ancient beings awaited.
The Egg Elders.
Each glowed with yolk-light. One cracked slightly when he moved.
"You have passed the Trials," said Elder Scrambalor. "Now, we tell you the truth."
He gestured, and a hologram of the Ninefold Recipe scroll appeared.
"It was not just a dish. It was a prison—for the ancient being known only as… THE HUNGER."
Lin Feng blinked. "I'm sorry, what now?"
"The Hunger," said another elder, "was a primordial force that consumed flavors, cultures, cuisines. The ancient chefs trapped it using the Ninefold Recipe, each ingredient a seal."
"But Hollow Flame—" Bai Xue gasped, "—was trying to cook it back to life!"
Elder Poachelius nodded solemnly. "You, Dumpling Bearer, have sealed it again using the Ninth Layer. But beware… the other eight seals are weakening."
They handed Lin Feng a glowing whisk-shaped compass.
"This will guide you to the next seal... in the Realm of Roast, ruled by the tyrant Brisket King Bar-Bar-Q."
Flame Duck, still sizzling slightly, stood and saluted. "Then we ride again, baby. For seasoning! For nonsense!"
Lin Feng grinned. "Time to stir the pot.
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