Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 183: The Fire Mage

Chapter 183: Chapter 183: The Fire Mage

The muscles awoke!

Slightly lowering the chain, Xia Yu looked around at his shoulders and nodded quietly to himself.

It was worth it to practice painstakingly in the Chef God Space for a week.

At least, the [Heavenly Hero Fire Wheel], this cooking technique, had been honed to the extent of ’muscle memory.’

The graduate chefs, seeing Xia Yu take out a chain and swing it, exchanged bewildered glances.

Next, Xia Yu, using a small iron wire, tied up a mackerel of less than a pound on one end of the chain. He then grabbed the chain bundle with both hands and tried a circle, "Just about right."

Including Qian Rixiangzi and Shigong Xiaoci Lang, the graduates were utterly confused, having no clue what Xia Yu intended to do.

Xia Yu called a few equally stunned hotel assistants to help, forming a team to arrange the firewood.

[Heavenly Hero Bursting Flame River], the name brimming with fantasy, was actually a flame manipulation cooking technique.

Simply put, [Bursting Flame] provided the ’flame senses,’ allowing Xia Yu to capture temperature changes and perceive heat, while [Heavenly Hero Bursting Flame River] was the specific flame technique.

In the original work, the ’Blast Flame Chef’ Ya Kan did not actually have the terrifying ability to ignite a great river but instead used explosives planted beneath the Yangtze River to detonate it.

However, the flame technique [Heavenly Hero Bursting Flame River] was unique, suitable for grand occasions.

For instance, setting the Yangtze River on fire, using the river flames for cooking.

Like now, Xia Yu piled up bundles of firewood around himself, three layers inside, three layers outside, forming a neat formation, while he stood in the center of the array, holding the chain, pulling the mackerel still laid out on the kitchen table at the other end.

He took a deep breath.

It was about to start!

"Chef Qian, do you see that jar of sauce?" Xia Yu glanced over, calling out to Qian Rixiangzi.

"Huh?"

Qian Rixiangzi looked puzzled.

"Do me a favor, and I’ll treat you to a delicious meal later," Xia Yu said with a smile. "In a moment when I’m cooking, and the heat is just right, I’ll tell you to pour the sauce."

"It might be a bit tiring, so be prepared mentally."

Hearing ’delicious meal,’ Qian Rixiangzi nodded readily, "No problem!"

Xia Yu then turned his head to look at Dojima Yin, who waved to several assistants. It seemed he had given instructions earlier; the assistants each held a high-pressure blow-torch, aiming at the dry firewood and spraying. Instantly, a fierce fire ignited.

"It’s burning!"

Qian Rixiangzi was stunned.

"What is this? Grilling fish?" Shigong Xiaoci Lang squinted, focusing intently on the calm boy at the center of the fire circle. His evaluation of him plummeted and couldn’t help but criticize, "Grilling with such a big fire! Totally wrong!"

"Even a top chef cannot control such flames. Grilling fish requires even heating, both inside and out, and this open flame, the temperature is the most unstable, easily causing charring on the outside while leaving the inside raw!"

Shigong Xiaoci Lang’s voice was sharp.

The other graduates also frowned, agreeing with Shigong Xiaoci Lang’s remarks.

"Just quietly watch his performance," Dojima Yin stood with arms crossed at the side, glancing over, "Flame? Go ask any Far Moon student how Instructor Xia is reputed within Far Moon!"

"Hmm?" Hearing Dojima Yin’s praise of Xia Yu, the graduates were curious.

Mizuhara Fuyumi squatted on a stool behind Qian Rixiangzi, suddenly interjecting, "Rixiangzi, since you know him, surely you know his feats too, right? Tell us!"

"He seems to be known among the Far Moon students as ’The Flame Magician’!" Qian Rixiangzi whispered.

The Flame Magician?

The graduates hadn’t reacted yet when suddenly Xia Yu at the fire’s center moved.

"Hah—"

Accompanied by a powerful shout, he grasped twelve chains in his hands, six in each hand, raising his arms above his head. His gestures were grand and broad, exuding a masculine aura.

The iron chains swung faster and faster.

At the same time, the flames from the burning firewood completely engulfed Xia Yu at the center of the array.

"Wait!"

After an exclamation, there was silence.

From other angles, the high-speed swinging chains seemed to cut the wall of fire, forming an invisible protective air barrier tightly guarding Xia Yu in the fire’s center.

"Amazing!" Qian Rixiangzi covered her mouth, her clear eyes reflecting mackerels tied at the chain tops, spinning rapidly in the sea of fire.

"Is this cooking or juggling?" a graduate scoffed.

Xia Yu was swinging mackerels, not bluefish.

Naturally, smaller fish didn’t have the grandeur of larger fish, but with over a dozen mackerels along with the chain’s weight, Xia Yu maintained a super-fast yet uniform swing. Within a few minutes, his wrists felt sore!

This technical task caused significant stress on the wrists.

Arm strength was fundamental, but wrist strength was also crucial. Without sufficient wrist force, Xia Yu wouldn’t be able to sustain until the fish meat was roasted with the [Heavenly Hero Fire Wheel].

Dojima Yin wore an expression of excitement.

"Rather than cooking, it was more like a grandiose and elaborate stage performance!"

"The flames set the stage!"

"The one holding the chain is the performer... Unbelievable!" Dojima Yin exclaimed, "What an amazing young man, not a hint of disorder in his technique!"

He focused on Xia Yu’s hands, smiling, muttering, "Very steady hands!"

"Chef Qian!"

Suddenly, a low shout came from the fire sea, "The heat is right, pour the sauce!"

"Oh, oh!"

Qian Rixiangzi, a bit flustered, turned towards the kitchen table, cradling a stainless steel basin filled with sauce, holding a large ladle. She approached the fire pile, braving the searing heat waves.

The firelight revealed a fine layer of sweat on her forehead.

"Hurry!" Xia Yu urged.

Still somewhat confused, Qian Rixiangzi heard the words, gritted her teeth, and scooped a full ladle of sauce, splashing it onto the rapidly rotating mackerel in the fire wall.

"That’s right, just like that, keep going, don’t stop!"

Unexpectedly, her random splash was praised. Qian Rixiangzi was slightly startled, then smiled, her movements more lively, akin to an elf dancing by the fire.

"Perfect!" Dojima Yin applauded, "The accompaniment is here, this is the true culinary performance!"

"Isn’t this just swinging and tossing fish in the fire?" the other graduates were puzzled.

"No!"

Shigong Xiaoci Lang suddenly said, "He’s not performing but doing real cooking."

"Watch carefully!" Shigong Xiaoci Lang pointed to the mackerel at the chain tops, "Swinging like this creates significant centrifugal force, and with continuous high-speed swinging, that force can be maximized!"

"Centrifugal force?"

The graduates were thoughtful.

"Yes!" Shigong Xiaoci Lang said in a deep voice, "I observed his treatment of the mackerel closely. Deep cuts, with the keel as the midline, the sides are slanted toward the head, and the chain wraps around the tail... Therefore, using centrifugal force, the sauce Rixiangzi poured on the fish can quickly penetrate the innermost layers through the cuts, fully infusing flavor!"

"Pour sauce, roast, pour sauce, roast... This cycle repeats, as the sauce is layered into the fish meat, the excess on the surface is flung off by centrifugal force!"

Saying this, Shigong Xiaoci Lang exhaled, suppressing a hint of shock in his eyes.

"Unexpectedly, such a rough and primitive technique hides nuances everywhere! Simplicity masking complexity, remarkable!"

The other graduates fell silent.

The hotel kitchen was enveloped in a heavy, suffocating atmosphere.