Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 144: Metamorphosis in Flames

Chapter 144: Chapter 144: Metamorphosis in Flames

"At this stage of a student, perfect cooking skills!"

"The main thing is still the ingredients..."

"Ingredients? If one doesn’t know the proper method to handle them, top-grade ingredients can rather be a burden. With these judges being so picky and strict, eight or nine times out of ten, they’d directly hand out zero points!"

In the corner of the auditorium, apart from the leading Si Yingshi, the other ten outstanding students gathered together.

"Indeed formidable!" Tiqie Helinai bit her thumb, even someone as proud as her truly recognized the strength of Si Yingshi in her heart.

Perhaps, only when Si Yingshi graduates would she have the chance to compete for the position of the Ten Outstanding Chief.

At least for now, Tiqie Helinai felt that her chances of winning against Si Yingshi... were close to zero!

The gap was just too big!

"Is that guy going to give up?"

The yellow-haired second-year, Koga Shoji, who claimed the eighth seat, had his hands tucked in his pockets as he glanced at Xia Yu on the stage of the auditorium.

"No, he will not back down!" Ichise Hui, who held the seventh seat, said firmly and resolutely.

Feeling the eyes of the entire hall on him, including those of the judges, Xia Yu knew it was his turn to serve his dish.

"Not bad, not bad. Si Yingshi bought me at least ten minutes; otherwise, the timing would have been really uncertain!"

Xia Yu secretly broke out in sweat, put on a pair of heat-resistant gloves, bent down and reached into the debris of the ’earth oven’, and scraped out a mud ball that kept shedding its clay skin. Without worrying about any fancy plating decorations, he simply carried the mud ball to the judges’ table.

Facing the exemplary dishes, Xia Yu actually felt a great deal of pressure in his heart.

Hisses filled the venue, and many Far Moon students laughed unrestrainedly.

Compared to Si Yingshi, who exuded a full gentlemanly demeanor, Xia Yu’s approach to serving his dish was indeed somewhat lacking; with his upper body bare, his skin inevitably got covered with charcoal and wood ash. But it was mainly about the food!

Delicately delicious, like an art piece, the white Cinderella beefsteak versus a dish hidden inside a mud clump—the difference in appearance was stark!

Simply in terms of the "form" scoring category, Xia Yu seemed to have already lost.

The mud clump lay on the table, with several dry pieces of mud breaking away from the outer layer and scattering across the surface.

Waves of warm air were continuously rising from it.

"...What is this?"

Dojima Yin asked, looking intently at the mud clump with a deep voice.

"A dish full of rural Chinese atmosphere, but I have ’improved’ it," Xia Yu replied calmly, putting emphasis on the word "improved".

The other judges, Aoki Motota and Liangzi Lina, remained silent.

Shinohara Shigetaro gave Xia Yu a doubtful look, to which Xia Yu nodded back, signaling for him to be at ease.

He went back to his kitchen station to get a small hammer and lightly tapped it against the mud clump on the table.

"Crack"

With a faint sound reminiscent of an eggshell cracking, a crease spread rapidly from where the hammer struck, expanding across the entire mud ball.

The broadcast screen above the auditorium provided a prolonged close-up of the mud ball.

The hissing stopped, the laughter vanished, and the scene seemed to freeze.

The second hammer!

Pop.

This time Xia Yu exerted more force, and with one strike, the mud clump, already full of cracks, shattered suddenly. The outer two layers of common yellow mud fell away, revealing the dark earth layer inside.

"So fragrant—"

A Far Moon student suddenly exclaimed.

Unknowingly, Pandora’s box had opened, and the rich, magical fragrance instantly overtook the entire venue, making Far Moon’s teachers and students keep swallowing saliva and clearing their throats.

"Spiced mud?" The five judges all focused on the last layer of dark earth encasing the chicken dish.

"The third hammer!"

Xia Yu put all his strength into the blow. Crack—the eggshell broke, and he held a small knife in his left hand, striking a double blow. He aimed at the lotus leaves wrapped around, slicing through them, cutting the twine entwined around the leaves all at once. The lotus leaves immediately unfurled like a blossoming summer flower!

Boom!

At that moment, the aroma became so tangible that it burst forth like a fountain, swirling up into the sky before raining down over the entire venue.

Suddenly, the broadcast screens lit up.

Many of the students and teachers from Far Moon instinctively closed their eyes.

"Am I seeing things?" the group from Polar Star Dormitory rubbed their eyes vigorously, the only ones remaining focused were Xingping Chuangzhen and Sen Tian Makoto, holding their breath as their gaze seemed to penetrate the light, seeing the chicken covered in flames, gracefully dancing within.

No!

It was not just a chicken!

Ichise Hui and Tiqie Eriina’s eyes widened, a strong impulse surged in their hearts as they opened their mouths, wanting to scream out the name of that mythical creature—

Bathed in holy flames... a Phoenix!

It was the flames that transformed the chicken!

Silence.

The auditorium was quiet for several minutes before a wave of murmurs finally erupted, with teachers and students whispering to each other.

The atmosphere was tense in the judges’ area.

Standing by the side, Si Yingshi had a blank expression, completely dumbfounded.

"This kind of dish... I’m very much looking forward to it," Tiqie Xianzuowen declared solemnly.

"I’m looking forward to it too!" Xia Yu smiled.

Just then, he received an unexpected system prompt.

"Here, chopsticks!" Xia Yu passed clean chopsticks to the judges and used the knife from before to dissect a whole chicken.

The chicken was a fiery orange-yellow color all over, very bright, as if a turkey laid sprawling on the table.

This beautiful appearance was actually thanks to a marinade of spices that Xia Yu had experimented with many times in his own small shop, finally raising the ’form’ aspect of his score as well.

"Give me that chicken leg!"

Aoki Motota forsook his chopsticks, reaching out directly to grab a chicken leg and bit down with a crisp snap, his expression suddenly softened.

Dojima Yin also picked up a piece of chicken with his chopsticks and chewed thoughtfully; his previously somber expression turned brilliant.

"It’s indeed a dish roasted with charcoal and firewood, the flavor is completely different... wait!" Dojima Yin sat up straight, "What is this spice combination? Cinnamon, galangal, Angelica dahurica... and cloves... that slightly spicy flavor, it should be cardamom, no, there’s also tsaoko... so many spices mixed together, yet they don’t clash, but are instead rich and lingering, certainly dried tangerine peel must have been used..."

"Heh—"

Two streams of hot air suddenly shot out of his nostrils, Dojima Yin abruptly stood up, snapping his chopsticks in his hand, "And there’s the scent of a ninth spice! No! It’s not a spice!"

"It’s the flame!"

The moment he chewed, the eight spices were ignited by the flame, mixing and exploding in his mouth. Dojima Yin was shaking all over, and he vaguely saw a golden key prying open the treasure trove of his taste buds—

The ultimate!

He was nearing the pinnacle of ecstasy!

Liangzi Lina was the third taster; as soon as the chicken entered her mouth, her heart let out a scream that made her feel ashamed.

"Ah—"

The scream echoed across the empty land, with Liangzi Lina standing bare under the gloomy sky.

Lava flowed across the ground, and light erupted from the distant volcano’s crater, filling the entire space with an intense charcoal aroma.

A clear and distant cry from the heavens cast a large shadow over her, and Liangzi Lina watched in awe as a mythical creature bathed in golden holy flames slowly descended before her, flapping its wings.

Upon careful count, Liangzi Lina realized that this Phoenix had eight colorful tail feathers, each enveloped by flames, bringing a strong, fragrant aroma.

The Phoenix seemed to be inviting her, so Liangzi Lina climbed onto the great bird’s back, surprised to find that the sacred flames swirling around the Phoenix didn’t scorch her. Instead, they were warm and comforting, almost making her let out another moan of embarrassment.

With a gentle flap of its wings, the Phoenix soared through the highest heavens.

Liangzi Lina felt herself lifted into the air as well, nearly transcendent as if to become an immortal.