Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 222 - 221: The Assessment is Underway

Chapter 222: Chapter 221: The Assessment is Underway

The next day.

Around noon, Far Moon’s staff led the students to board a series of buses to return to Tokyo from Kanagawa Prefecture.

One bus had already started, emitting exhaust.

Tanaka Hikari, Morioka Makki, and Xingping Chuangzhen, still groggy, were called off the bus by a hotel employee.

As soon as they had steadied themselves on the ground, the bus drove off, leaving Xingping Chuangzhen dumbfounded, "We’re done for. How are we going to get back to Tokyo? This place is in the middle of nowhere!"

"Look over there—"

Tanaka Hikari suddenly pointed towards the parking lot.

Morioka Makki and Xingping Chuangzhen looked over to see a commercial van parked about ten meters away, with Dojima Yin standing tall next to the driver’s door, waving at them.

As they approached, they heard Dojima Yin say, "We’re short on time, get in the car and we’ll talk!"

The three of them, still in a daze, got in and shut the door.

Dojima Yin pressed the accelerator, and the commercial van immediately took off.

At the same time, a black sedan followed from behind.

Seeing the sedan in the rearview mirror, Dojima Yin nodded and said to the three passengers, "I’m taking you to a special place. Your Instructor Xia is about to undergo a crucial assessment. If he passes... he will be an ’acting’ elite chef!"

"Ah!"

Upon hearing this, exclamations echoed inside the vehicle.

Xingping Chuangzhen couldn’t hide his shock, "An acting elite chef?"

Tanaka Hikari and Morioka Makki exchanged glances.

"Instructor Xia will definitely make it through!" Tanaka Hikari took out a talisman she had been carrying in her pocket, clasped her hands tightly over it, closed her eyes, and muttered some unclear prayers.

A few days ago, after the cooking battle ended, Tanaka Hikari had asked Makki for her phone number. Tossing and turning in bed, she eventually sent Xia Yu a thank-you text late at night. In the morning, she received a reply that simply read "Keep it up," which excited Tanaka Hikari for several days.

Morioka Makki, being his childhood friend, naturally said, "He will make it through."

Xingping Chuangzhen just scratched his head.

Among his peers, that guy was the strongest he had ever seen.

A sixteen-year-old elite chef, huh?

His thoughts drifted. Xingping Chuangzhen fell silent.

Using the rearview mirror inside the car to observe these three, and hearing the words of Tanaka Hikari and Morioka Makki, Dojima Yin was caught between laughter and tears.

The Chiyoda Shrine assessment, which had blocked countless nine-star chefs from Neon, was not so easy to pass.

As for himself, he had only passed on his second try, by sheer luck, and at that time, Dojima Yin had already possessed real elite chef capabilities. In other words, attending the Chiyoda Shrine assessment was like catching the train before buying a ticket.

After all, as a chef, who wouldn’t want to receive the elite medal from the IGO international gourmet organization?

With that medal, no matter where you went, you’d be looked up to and protected by the government.

Fifteen minutes later.

The commercial van stopped at the foot of a mountain.

Everyone got out, and Xingping Chuangzhen was stunned to see Tiqie Eriina getting out of another sedan.

"Hey there—" he waved to greet her, only to find that Eriina didn’t even glance at him but instead gave a slight nod to Tanaka Hikari and Morioka Makki.

Ding!

Suddenly, a loud bell rang out across the mountainside, startling a flock of birds.

"Just in time!"

Dojima Yin said gravely, "All of you, follow me up the mountain!"

Walking along a winding path hidden in the forest, the group reached mid-slope, where the view suddenly opened up. Several ancient shrine buildings gave Tanaka Hikari and Morioka Makki a sense of the passage of time.

"Mr. Dojima!"

"Mr. Dojima!"

In front of the main sanctuary of the shrine, a group of people had already gathered, consisting of both men and women, all of whom were trusted attendants or proud protégés of the apprentices.

They, of course, recognized the ’living legend’ of the Far Moon Lineage and greeted him with the respect due to their junior status, bowing their heads.

At the commotion, the dozen or so apprentices, who were kneeling uniformly on cushions in front of the steps of the main sanctuary, also turned their heads to look.

From a quiet corner, Dojima Yin found Liangzi Lina.

"How are things?" asked Dojima Yin.

"The first apprentice just went in—" Liangzi Lina gestured toward the deep sanctuary.

"Who?"

"Takai Masashi!"

"Heh, that guy!" Dojima Yin was taken aback, "This apprenticeship is basically a contest for first place between Takai and that old man Hase Ichiro, isn’t it?"

Liangzi Lina nodded, speaking softly, "Mr. Hasegawa seems to have already penetrated that kind of ’intention’!"

"That will be something to see!"

Dojima Yin’s eyes gleamed with anticipation.

It wasn’t the first or second time that a real high-grade talent had emerged from the group of apprentices.

Behind them, people like Tanaka Hikari and Morioka Makoto listened with confused looks on their faces.

Takai Masashi?

Hase Ichiro?

The names sounded vaguely familiar, yet they couldn’t quite remember where they had heard them. They were definitely noteworthy individuals.

Tiqie Helinai’s heart was churning.

"Takai Masashi, president and chief culinary officer of the Takai Hotel Group, a self-made man who built a culinary empire from scratch in just ten years! He has achieved success both as a chef and as a businessman!"

"Hase Ichiro, the old housekeeper of the Hasegawa Family, is also the manager of the well-known ’Hasegawa Workshop,’ specializing in cooking with alcohol!"

Eriina whispered explanations to Xiao Hui, Makki, and Xingping.

Morioka Makoto covered her mouth and said, "The Hasegawa Family... could it be the Hasegawa Family of the ’Neon Food World’s Four Noble Houses’?"

"That’s right," said Eriina, "the so-called Four Noble Houses of the food world are the Hasegawa Family, Chiyoda Family, Dubian Family, and Yuchuan Family. Below IGO, Far Moon, and Shi Lin Temple, stand the Four Noble Houses!"

"But recently, the Takai Group’s prominence has been astounding, and in terms of business scale and influence, it is no less than any of the Four Noble Houses. If their president, Takai Masashi, successfully passes the preliminary exam, then he would qualify to challenge the Four Noble Houses in the next ’All Neon Culinary Grand Prize’..."

Tiqie Helinai faintly realized that today’s assessment results could cause upheaval in the Neon Food World.

A new challenger had appeared.

Could the high and mighty ’Four Noble Houses’ maintain their positions?

Her gaze slightly hardened. Tiqie Helinai collected her thoughts; the Far Moon Lineage had faced many challengers, and now beneath the shining throne of Far Moon lay a mountain of bones.

She, too, would stand up to defend the status and dignity of Far Moon if necessary.

She then shifted her gaze to those dozen or so apprentices, finding the familiar figure seated at the very end, her heart uncontrollably speeding up.

The seating order of this term’s apprentices was clearly based on the sequence they entered the society.

Xia Yu happened to be at the very end, and seated carelessly above him was Shanben Xiaoshu.

"Here he comes, he’s coming out!"

"Mr. Takai is coming out!"

Suddenly, the waiting crowd erupted into noise, and the apprentices all turned their attention.

Takai Masashi emerged in high spirits, crossing the threshold with a broad laugh, standing at the entrance of the main sanctuary.

That young, stone-faced shrine maiden came out from inside the sanctuary, walked over to the notice board beside the steps, and hung a palm-sized plaque on it.

The entire place fixed their eyes on the fresh ink on the plaque:

Takai Masashi, 90 points!