Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 227 - 226: The Mark of a Genius

Chapter 227: Chapter 226: The Mark of a Genius

"What does this mean?"

Xia Yu was shocked.

The notice board had twelve plaques, but his was the odd one out.

The others had only one type of black handwriting, whereas his name was written in red, underlined by a circle also in red.

No score!

Earlier, the light inside the temple was dim, and he hadn’t realized it was red ink.

"Is it a circle, or zero points?" Xia Yu couldn’t understand the meaning of this mark.

As for the possibility of getting zero points, he dismissed it after a moment’s thought. Just when he came out, the shrine master had told him to prepare for the second round of assessment at six in the evening. This meant that his "Shuangjiang Magical Mapo Tofu" was recognized and ranked among the top three among the apprentices.

The question was, what did no score mean?

A strong sense of doubt filled Xia Yu’s mind, and the audience was also stunned, only to explode into a frenzy after a long moment.

"...is it zero points?"

"Idiot! Didn’t you see the other seniors’ plaques, all with uppercase numbers!"

"It seems so, that circle is not any Arabic numeral!"

Amid the whispered discussions, a group of elite apprentices came to a realization.

Indeed, the scores on the other apprentices’ plaques were written using Chinese numeral characters.

For example, the first place’s score of 90 was written as "九十."

In Japanese, there is also a way to write numbers using Chinese characters, as ninety.

So, the circle drawn in red ink wasn’t zero or any form of English letters but a special mark.

The apprentices continued whispering among themselves.

Takai Masashi and Hase Ichiro exchanged glances, both shocked in their eyes.

"Didn’t get a score, but got an ’Immediate Admission’ mark?"

Because they knew the meaning represented by the mark, these two apprentices, currently ranked first, were incredibly startled.

This mark hadn’t appeared for a long time; the last time it appeared was roughly thirty years ago. That exceptionally talented individual who possessed dual super talents is now the renowned Lin Chef.

Ujou Mamie, ranked second with 85 points, wore a blank expression.

Each class of apprentices was destined to have only three breakthrough, and Xia Yu being an ’Immediate Admission’ meant he forcefully held on to one spot, effectively removing himself from the ranking competition.

In other words, scores were now meaningless for Xia Yu.

"Immediate Admission!"

Dojima Yin’s eyes revealed intense shock.

"This mark last appeared thirty years ago, right? The chef who was marked back then is now a pillar in the Neon Food World!" Dojima Yin exclaimed.

Liangzi Lina covered her mouth in shock.

Her inner guess about Xia Yu’s score was actually above 90. If he had performed well, getting 100 points wouldn’t have surprised her much.

Because, any high-level chef who had tasted the ’Shuangjiang Magical Mapo Tofu’ could discern that the dish had transcended ordinary cuisine to embody the ’Food’s Profound Meaning.’

It was perfect, an extremely harmonious culinary display.

"No score, does it mean it can’t be measured by scores?" Liangzi Lina pondered the meaning of the red mark, her lips gradually curving into a smile.

At this moment, she completely agreed with the shrine master’s evaluation of the perfect dish—"Shuangjiang Magical Mapo Tofu."

No need for further words, the ’Immediate Admission’ mark was the greatest affirmation!

Apart from the apprentices and a few top-tier chefs, others clearly didn’t know the meaning of the mark.

Tiqie Eriina anxiously inquired, "Mr. Dojima, does this mean Instructor Xia has passed this assessment?"

Tanaka Hikari, Morioka Makoto, and Xingping Chuangzhen perked up their ears.

"Of course!"

Dojima Yin took a deep breath and smiled, "Granny Chiyoda thinks highly of him and has given him a mark that hasn’t been seen in thirty years."

He glanced at Liangzi Lina.

"You have reported this matter to the IGO organization; I guess the senior must be interested in Instructor Xia when he hears about it," glints flashed in Dojima Yin’s eyes, "that senior is still employed at the IGO global headquarters, right?"

Liangzi Lina nodded.

On the other side.

Xia Yu sat back on the cushion, listening to the noisy sounds around him, yet he felt no irritation.

He was at peace. Since the shrine owner had said he passed the assessment and was qualified for the next round, there was no point in dwelling on the score.

As soon as he sat down, Ujou Mamie, sitting across from Shanben Xiaoshu, asked him in a low voice with uncontrollable trembling, "What, what dish did you present?"

"Definitely my specialty," Xia Yu chuckled.

"What I’m asking is, what cuisine did you make? Chinese cuisine? But as far as I know, Chinese cuisine is difficult to innovate, and the scores can’t be too high... No, wait, you are an ’Immediate Acceptance’!"

"It’s Chinese cuisine, Mapo Tofu."

Xia Yu shrugged.

Shanben Xiaoshu, sitting between them, was completely confused.

"Wait, what does ’Immediate Acceptance’ mean?" Shanben Xiaoshu clenched his fists.

"It means exactly what it sounds like," Ujou Mamie took a breath, "It’s a form of privilege, also a special right for geniuses, and the evaluator is Granny Chiyoda."

Shanben Xiaoshu muttered, "You mean Mr. Xia Yu has already ’passed’?"

"Passed?"

Ujou Mamie chuckled, "You can consider ’Immediate Acceptance’ as an evaluation that transcends scores. Granny Chiyoda doesn’t plan to use scores to evaluate his cuisine, so she gave him this mark."

The young man with a rooster-head trembled all over and hung his head.

"Dang—"

At that moment, a bell rang.

The icy-faced shrine maiden, supporting the shrine owner, slowly walked out of the main hall.

"This session’s preliminary test is now over."

Granny Chiyoda’s voice, distant yet clear, entered everyone’s ears as her gaze swept over the twelve apprentices, "Those who passed, your second round of assessment is at six in the afternoon. And those who failed, do not be discouraged; the path of a chef is a long and unending marathon. Those who passed are merely ahead temporarily; you haven’t lost the qualification to catch up."

"Xia Yu, Hase Ichiro, Takai Masashi, these three apprentices, please follow me—"

Upon hearing this.

The three of them stood up simultaneously, following the elderly woman toward the back mountain.

The other apprentices hadn’t recovered for a long time.

"Miss Ujou..."

Several female chefs ran out of the crowd, helping Ujou Mamie to stand.

"You were so close to selection!" Ujou Mamie’s female assistant said with a grim face.

Indeed, Ujou Mamie was the most tragic; with her score of 85, she was already among the top apprentices, very close to Takai Masashi and Hase Ichiro. She had nearly secured a spot, but then an anomaly emerged.

"There can only be three qualifiers!"

In front of close assistants and disciples, Ujou Mamie couldn’t help but show her reluctance.

"Ujou!"

Someone suddenly patted her shoulder. The despondent Ujou Mamie looked up to see Liangzi Lina and gave a bitter smile, "Lina, I failed again. I came so close this time."

"You feel quite reluctant? Come with me, I’ll take you to the kitchen to taste his cuisine."

Liangzi Lina said calmly.

Ujou Mamie blinked, then pursed her lips and said, "Alright! Let me see the cuisine that earned the ’Immediate Acceptance’ mark!"