Nian Bing successfully earned his spot in the preliminaries and was scheduled to compete on the second day. After some inquiry, he learned that virtually no one was signing up anymore. After ten days, only around one hundred and thirty chefs have advanced to the semi-finals. Only ten chefs made it to the finals after their cooking demonstrations on the outdoor podium. The final rankings would be decided in a competition held on the last day. The competition was straightforward - the qualifying round requires cooking a dish using ingredients assigned by the Hua Long Restaurant. The semi-finals involve preparing a dish of one's specialty. The finals consist of three rounds - the first mandates the preparation of a dish with Hua Long-assigned ingredients, the second requires the competitors to fulfill various requirements put forth by the judges, and the final round is free rein.