Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 264 - 263: The Deduction of Carving

Chapter 264: Chapter 263: The Deduction of Carving

Smith first handled the basil, parsley, and dill.

Basil is a dual-purpose plant used in both medicine and food, tasting a lot like anise. There are many varieties, with sweet basil being the most representative. In Western cuisine, basil is commonly used for spreading on bread, making salads, and preparing green sauces for Italian pasta.

Parsley is also used for making salads and Italian pasta.

But parsley has one advantage; it can mask the strong, undesirable flavors of other ingredients, making them fragrant and acting as a harmonizer and lubricant. Therefore, it is often used in soups, fish terrines, roast chickens, and more.

Speaking of dill, there’s little need to elaborate; it’s known as the "little anise" and is commonly paired with fish, shrimp, and shellfish in Western cuisine.

These common herbs in Western cuisine all share one common feature—

They can be used for plating hot dishes!

But if used merely for decoration, they would seem overly extravagant.

Xia Yu was quite curious.

Smith had prepared eight kinds of seasoning plants all at once. How would he integrate these plants into a single plate?

It didn’t concern him.

The thought merely flitted through his mind, and Xia Yu didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he glanced at the mini-mission he had automatically accepted not long ago. The system God had tasked him with helping the Far Moon Team secure this victory, with the reward being a whopping 5000 Fame Points!

"Is this considered my first skirmish with a Super Chef?" Xia Yu wondered.

No wonder the system was generous; the enemy was formidable, and the stakes were high.

Although it wasn’t an official culinary battle, but merely a school-to-school exchange and competition, it was still Xia Yu’s first time competing on the same stage with a Super Chef. The significance lay in that very "competition!"

Moreover, he sorely needed those Fame Points!

In the past few days, he had impulsively bought green, blue, and purple martial arts Skill Books, emptying his coffers. He had been wanting to buy some pastry recipes recently but couldn’t gather enough Fame Points.

That’s why Xia Yu was so motivated.

He took out the carving knife he had prepared in his trouser pocket—the "Wenqu Saber"!

"Shh"

He unsheathed the knife, and the purple famed knife immediately lay bare in the air, like a utility knife, but the blade shimmered with an intimidating cold light.

Members of the Far Moon Exchange Group and the Orlando Exchange Group narrowed their eyes subconsciously and averted their gazes, not daring to look directly at such a small carving knife.

Easily, he lifted a half-meter square block of ice onto the workbench.

The dense cold air spread outward; Xia Yu seemed unaffected by the cold air, calmly putting on a pair of transparent gloves. Then, with a ’shh,’ a good portion of his carving knife disappeared into the white ice block.

It was like cutting through glass.

With four casual strokes, the square block of ice had its top four corners cut off.

"So sharp!"

"No wonder he carries it everywhere. Great knife! A masterpiece!"

A collective gasp of awe echoed throughout the large classroom, even the busy Smith couldn’t help but glance over, subsequently struck by awe.

After cutting off the corners, Xia Yu suddenly stopped, using the knife to draw some clear lines on the surface of the ice block, obviously measuring and marking lines.

Seeing this, the audience was puzzled.

"Although Instructor Xia’s carving knife is very sharp, isn’t it too arrogant not to use an ice chisel for ice sculpting?" Instructor Auson, with his hand bandaged, frowned.

"Right, how can you chip ice without an ice chisel?"

Other members of the Far Moon faculty and students agreed.

Just looking at the size and hardness of the ice block, many felt it was a daunting task, let alone processing it further.

But soon, Xia Yu showed the onlookers what he was really doing.

"Sss sss sss..."

The carving knife, swaying faster and faster, eventually left only a string of twinkling silver light.

At the same time, ice shavings flew about, a grating sound like rubber soles frantically rubbing against the floor echoed through the large classroom.

Approximately seven or eight minutes later, the noise abruptly stopped.

Xia Yu’s hair, shoulders, and clothes were more or less covered with white ice shavings.

Earlier, some Far Moon students had taken out their phones, aiming their cameras this way. Xia Yu’s movements shifted so fast—just a moment ago he was as fluid as flowing clouds, and now he suddenly stood still.

"Quick, look—"

A student recording with his phone exclaimed. On screen, the originally bulky and square block of ice seemed to have triggered an avalanche, and with a crash, countless shards collapsed and slid down in just a second or two. Many shards splashed out, causing the students and instructors sitting in the front row to cover their faces and duck.

Thud. A slightly larger shard hit Instructor Auson’s smooth forehead, she touched her forehead with her left hand, feeling the cold touch.

"What’s happening, did it fail?!"

Dojima Yin, in front of the screen, was so shocked that he suddenly stood up. But after a while, as the noise subsided, he stared steadily at the ice sculpture embryo on the worktable and drew in a breath.

"It’s starting to take shape!"

Dojima Yin said emotionally, "So fast, using only a carving knife, he’s carved out the embryo in less than ten minutes!"

Yes.

On the worktable was a Chinese Dragon, its body coiled, its head held high.

To say it was a rough embryo wasn’t wrong—the head wasn’t finely carved yet, it was just a whole piece there, and the body of the dragon was merely outlined with basic contours, the detailed textures not yet developed.

Dojima Yin noticed the calm demeanor of Qiushan Hong and Tiqie Xianzuowen, and he himself sat back down, containing his excitement.

On site.

A male staff member, seeing Xia Yu pause, came forward and handed over a bottle of liquid, respectfully saying, "Instructor Xia, this is prepared by Student Ichise for you. It’s nitrogen liquid."

"Nitrogen liquid, for secondary cooling?"

Xia Yu blinked, glanced towards the door of the large classroom where Ichise Hui stood straight, smiling and nodding at him.

"I carve very fast, no need for secondary cooling!" Xia Yu casually replied, not taking the bottle of nitrogen liquid. He took a short breath, stepped forward half a step, and swung the ’Wenqu Saber’ again!

The seemingly casual stroke sent a flurry of fine ice crystals flying, landing on the floor.

From Xia Yu’s frequent movements around the worktable, one could see his speed of work. His entire demeanor was focused, completely immersed in the world of carving. The carving knife seemed to become a pen shaft, each hook and stroke as if carefully calculated, fluid yet filled with ease and confidence.

Unknowingly, everyone in the large classroom held their breath, observing Xia Yu’s carving.

Even those students who knew nothing about ice sculpting could tell from Xia Yu’s fluid movements, that effortless and leisurely manner, that this guy was truly formidable.

The rapidly swaying carving knife, now just a blur of silver light, seemed to have merged with his arm, acting as an extension of his body.

Half an hour had passed.

Both Xia Yu and Smith’s works were starting to show their initial forms.

"This, this skill with the knife is too exaggerated!"

People were increasingly focused on Xia Yu’s ice sculpture.

On the worktable, the body and head of the Divine Dragon had been carved out, and now Xia Yu, holding the carving knife, was intently sculpting the dragon scales. As chunks of ice crystals fell, the detailed textures became ever more lifelike, simultaneously emitting a bizarre and majestic aura that gradually took shape and spread outward!

The carving continued.

"The two thousand, one hundred and sixty-fifth cut..."

Even though his right arm felt a bit sore, Xia Yu’s hand holding the knife remained steady without a tremor.

Another half hour.

"My piece is finished!"

Smith’s voice dropped in the classroom, like a huge rock plunging into a tranquil lake, immediately generating ripples.