Reborn in Japan as a Chef God-Chapter 986 - 985: Huang He’s Struggle (Part 2)

Huang He’s "stubbornness" made his masterly image collapse instantly.

At this moment, seeing Huang He muttering incoherently "I can’t lose," Xia Yu’s smile disappeared completely. He sighed inwardly, "This is the higher you stand, the harder you fall... If someday I am also kicked off the pedestal by the juniors, I would certainly explode on the spot."

Up until now, Xia Yu had mostly understood why chefs at the Lin Chef level and above rarely engaged in competitions, and for the past decade, there hasn’t been any public Dragon Chef duels in the Chinese Realm.

The higher the position, the more they cherish their reputation.

Moreover, the deeper the culinary skills, the more hidden aces and strategies one possesses. Without absolute confidence, why would those at the top risk their lifelong reputation and achievements? Unless it’s a life-and-death feud.

Realizing this, Xia Yu’s eyes filled with determination.

Therefore... he must always move forward without stopping. He can’t be complacent, let alone arrogant, or else the defeat of Huang He today will one day reappear on himself!

"Hmm?"

"System?"

Xia Yu glanced at the system log but couldn’t find the expected task completion message.

Shouldn’t the task "Leap through the Dragon Gate" be completed?

What’s going on!

He frowned deeply.

The system silently popped up a prompt: "Please keep pushing, truly conquer a Dragon Chef."

"..." Xia Yu was speechless.

According to the system’s intention, Huang He had only lost a minor battle. He hadn’t lost to the point of being penniless, at least, that’s how Xia Yu understood the system’s emphasis on the word "conquer."

"Ha!"

Xia Yu sighed inwardly, "In the end, it’s about completely defeating Huang He’s last bit of ’stubbornness’."

Now, seeing Huang He lose his masterly image, suddenly aged, Xia Yu said to himself, "Sorry, Boss Huang."

Dragon Head Zhu Ji shifted his gaze away from Huang He.

"Your recipe has many ingenious ideas. Can you share them with us?" Zhu Ji no longer hid his admiration.

Xia Yu spread his hands, "I know up until now many people think I’ve simply copied the recipe for Arab countries’ famous dish, but in truth, my recipe is unrelated to the so-called roast camel."

He slightly smirked, his gaze sweeping over the judges, "You’ve all tasted it. Do you agree on this point?"

"We agree!"

"Superficial ’roast camel’!"

The Dragon Chefs nodded.

Xia Yu said, "Right, simply put, the camel acts as protection, providing high-quality wine for the inner layer of meat, further speaking, it provides the material for ’wine-marinated meat.’ Essentially, the camel is just a minor ingredient!"

"Then there’s the ’Juxia Sauce’—" Xia Yu pointed to the half camel on the dining table.

In the deepest part of the camel’s cavity, the sauce continued flowing. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"Looking at it this way, doesn’t the deep layer of sauce resemble the scorching hot magma of Earth’s crust?" Xia Yu’s mouth slightly curled.

The Dragon Chefs gathered around the dining table again and exclaimed in awe.

The camera focused on the meat’s texture and the deep sauce with extended close-up shots. With Xia Yu’s description, a magnificent "volcanic eruption" scene naturally occupied the audience’s mind, imagining the sauce breaking through layers of roasted meat forming the "crust," finally gushing in the mouth, saliva involuntarily being swallowed, the mere thought igniting a frenzy of appetite!

"The recipe doesn’t have a name yet, right?"

Dragon Head Zhu Ji suddenly spoke, "With meat as the ’crust,’ sauce as ’magma,’ and the innermost pigeon gathering various roast meat juices, absorbing the essence... How about calling it ’Meat of the Earth’s Core’?"

"That’s a good name!" Yan Qi praised, "The Earth’s core has the scorching heat of magma, perfectly matching the spirit of flame-influenced cuisine."

Xia Qing added coolly, "The Earth’s core is also a return to Gaia mother’s embrace. This aspect matches the Shell Fairy’s ’Juxia Sauce’ culinary spirit imprint, warming the heart!"

"Great, let’s name it ’Meat of the Earth’s Core’!"

Xia Yu clapped his hands.

For a moment, the square was filled with discussions about Xia Yu’s new recipe, ’Meat of the Earth’s Core’.

Female host Qi Qingyan put down the microphone, swaying her slender waist, approached Xia Yu, blushing, and asked, "Chef Xia, may I try your latest classic dish?"

"Please enjoy!"

Qi Qingyan immediately shifted toward the dining table.

Seeing this, many in the guest seats couldn’t sit still. Chen Yang watched his mother Lin Qingfeng leave her chair in surprise, then reacted quickly, shouted, "Hey hey hey, Mom, take me along too!"

The remaining half of the barbecue on the table was quickly divided among the esteemed guests.

Xia Yu deliberately set aside a portion; on the white plate were various roast meats. He handed this plate to Tiqie Ji.

"Thanks for your hard work." Xia Yu said.

Tiqie Ji chuckled inaudibly, "Congratulations. Honestly, I didn’t expect you to win, but you always reverse the situation against strong foes unexpectedly."

Speaking, Tiqie Ji watched Xia Yu turn and head back to the stage, his expression momentarily froze.

What is this...

With Xia Yu back on stage, the square’s atmosphere subtly shifted.

"Master, sit down, try not to think too much, and calm down first..."

Luo Tiangang finally helped Huang He to a chair. Hearing the chaos from all sides, the master and apprentice were shocked.

"What is he doing?!" Huang He frowned, his eyes still dizzy, his head heavy and feet light.

"I don’t know..."

Luo Tiangang shook his head.

As Xia Yu returned to the stage, he directly threw a sealed box of ingredients onto the cooking table. This box was like a signal of renewed battle fire, instantly drawing everyone’s attention and cameras.

This time, Xia Yu prepared two sets of plans, one with ingredients provided by Ghost Father Tiqie Ji, and another set of ingredients he brought himself. When the box opened, a small part of fresh ruby-like ingredient appeared amidst scattered vapor, and IGO and the food society members all stood up.

Pseudo-IGO ingredient!

Moreover, the highest quality ’frog tongue’!

In Far Moon Polaris Dormitory, Ichise Hui, Xingping Chuangzhen, and others subconsciously leaned forward to get closer to the TV, saw the scene where the young instructor took out a cold shimmering ’Ice Soul Blade’ from the box, instantly several voices overlapped in the dormitory hall, "I’ve seen this knife before!"

Xingping Chuangzhen exclaimed in surprise, "...Is it that sashimi knife?"

Spectators hoping for a grand opera or spectacle were destined to be disappointed; Xia Yu’s "cooking" was very simple: taking ingredients, fetching professional tools, and then swiftly throwing the knife.

Swish swish swish.

The blade flashed, the camera showing only flickering white light. A few blinks later, Xia Yu had already sheathed his knife.

The cooking abruptly stopped!

A plate of shredded raw fish, with a small sauce dish placed on the side.

Xia Yu took off his apron, closed the ingredient box, carried the box in his left hand, and held the plate in his right hand, placing this second creation on the long table in front of Huang He, then, leaving a meaningful glance, said nothing and exited the stage.

Huang He smelled the ice-fresh aroma, especially within which lurked a terrifying torrent of life.

"Hmm? This sauce... Green plum sauce? Such a rich summer flavor!"

One hint halted Huang He abruptly.

Rustle rustle.

The sound of rain hitting banana leaves, frog croaks engulfing the sky!

Luo Tiangang saw two lines of tears suddenly fall from Huang He’s aged face, unable to restrain himself from blurting out, "Master, what’s wrong..."

"I—I lost," Huang He’s pupils reflected the image of a banana tree under rain, a boy playing with frogs under the cover of rain, that boy smiling at him from afar with an extraordinarily gentle smile. Suddenly, the boy’s hair grew longer to his waist, and his simple clothes became a delicate dress. Amidst the frog croaks, he vaguely heard a pleasant voice saying, "Come on."

Huang He took a step.

Crack.

Cracks spread over the chef’s heart plate.

Not far away, Xia Yu paused his steps, seeing the task log pop up, secretly amazed, so fast?

What a wonder!