Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 316 - 315: The Young Examiner

Chapter 316: Chapter 315: The Young Examiner

"New task acquired!"

"Advance to Special Level!"

"Hint: Pass the Special Level examination before the summer break to earn the badge engraved with your name."

"Reward: Evolution Crystals (Purple) *2, randomly unlock one forbidden item."

The task details spread across my retina.

Finally, it was here!

Xia Yu took a silent breath. He had been waiting for the Special Level task for over half a month, thinking that the next task would follow soon after becoming a "Special Level Candidate." He hadn’t expected the system to time the trigger so precisely.

"It’s June 5th now."

"Far Moon’s summer vacation begins on July 20th."

I immediately calculated the remaining time. Less than two months, just over 40 days.

Was that a long time? Just look at Takai Masashi, who recently passed the Special Level exam. He had been building up experience for twenty-five years, from the age of twelve to his current thirty-seven years. His experience was vast.

The journey of a chef is, in fact, what one would call "foundation"!

"I’ll have to go all out!"

Xia Yu thought to himself.

No longer interested in watching someone else’s Special Level exam, Xia Yu read through the task details carefully.

Evolution Crystals *2!

Two as a reward!

My breath became hot in an instant. This was certainly the system’s way of putting pressure on me; now, Xia Yu found an undeniable reason to give it his all.

Currently, among his culinary skills needing evolution, were "Spice Inequality" and "Seven Stars Breaking Army Rapid Cutting." Both skills had been maxed out at 10 points for a while.

To evolve both at once, to possess two purple culinary skills... The thought was thrilling!

And then...

My eyes lingered on the reward details.

"A random unlock of a forbidden item?" Xia Yu had developed a habit of parsing words finely.

If it were a forbidden ingredient like the "Rainbow Fruit," the system certainly wouldn’t play so mysterious.

An item that wasn’t an ingredient, recipe, or cookware.

Forbidden!

Xia Yu could only sigh inwardly. The system’s bait was indeed of expert-level, and at this moment, he couldn’t control the rush of excitement through his body, trembling slightly.

Having sat idle in the little shop for nearly a month, it seemed his heart also longed for the grand stage that commanded the attention of thousands.

No need to say more, the stage for the Special Level exam was broad enough.

Let’s do this!

...

"Congratulations!"

The sound of Chiyoda Aichi’s voice came from the live broadcast.

The second qualifier had emerged, Hase Ichiro.

This leader of the last term’s training class had, surprisingly, signed up to take on the Special Level exam with Takai Masashi.

With regards to experience and foundation, the over-fifty-year-old Hase Ichiro, who had gone gray early, was undoubtedly deeper.

Hase Ichiro was a chef who had started his career midway through life, only returning to the Hasegawa family to begin as a helper in the kitchen after graduating college. He gradually worked his way up and was a late bloomer. His "Hasegawa Workshop" was now a traditional Japanese pub frequently visited by Tokyo’s elite, rivaling Xia’s Restaurant in terms of making money.

Fittingly, the theme of this examination was "beer lobster."

This gastronomic ingredient naturally carried a hint of beer aroma. For Hase Ichiro, who specialized in brewing cuisine, ingredients with a beer flavor were tailored for him, so the result was not surprising.

"Too lucky!"

Instructor Auson commented sarcastically, "This assignment, ’beer lobster,’ using ’beer lobster’ ingredients to create a dish, it’s as if it was specifically prepared for Mr. Hase."

Other teachers and professors also whispered among themselves.

Hase Ichiro certainly had good fortune. After receiving his Special Level badge, he stepped down from the stage with a triumphant air.

Xia Yu watched silently.

Luck?

He and that old man, Takai Masashi, had come from the same training class, so of course he wouldn’t have such a ridiculous thought.

Those two had already shown Special Level standards in their training assessments, much stronger than him.

And now, for them to pass the Special Level assessment was just a matter of course.

He continued to read on.

There were six examinees in total for this term’s Special Level assessment.

Takai Masashi and Hase Ichiro were among the slower batch, with three others having already failed.

"The last chef has come out!"

Amidst the discussion, Xia Yu also looked up.

He immediately showed a look of astonishment.

On the screen, there appeared a slender and graceful woman. Her skin was tanned, characteristic of Central Asia, yet she was tall and had astonishing curves, dressed in a Bohemian-style floral maxi dress, her skirt fluttering as she walked.

Her wavy brown hair cascaded over her shoulders, adorned with a blue silk woven headband on her forehead.

Around her neck was a necklace made of various exotic stones that had been polished and perforated.

And on her wrists and ankles were ornaments made of pure gold bangles.

The very image of a Bohemian goddess!

"So young! Definitely under thirty!" Instructor Auson couldn’t help exclaiming on the side.

The Far Moon Classroom and the on-site guest seats were also thrown into turmoil.

Without a doubt, the audience watching this Special Level assessment must have been shocked, their eyes wide. Hearing about it was one thing, seeing it with one’s own eyes was another. The news about Xia Yu was nowhere near as heart-shaking as the live broadcast.

Every Special Level chef under the age of 30 was a hot star cherished in the palm of the culinary world.

"It’s her!"

Xia Yu didn’t recognize her, but that didn’t mean the Far Moon Teachers didn’t.

"The eldest daughter of this generation’s Yuchuan Family!"

Professor Roland Chapele’s voice echoed in the classroom, "The only daughter of the Governor of Tokyo, Yuchuan Yuriko, and also the genius chef considered by the Yuchuan Clan to be the most likely to take over the family business!"

A genius from the Yuchuan family, one of the four distinguished families?

At this statement, the instructors fell silent.

"It’s said that she has an extraordinary innate sense of hearing..."

A low whisper from a teacher was caught by Xia Yu, and his heart rate immediately sped up.

Extraordinary hearing?

An innate talent?

Wait a minute!

Xia Yu felt he might have encountered another female chef with the talent of "super hearing."

What puzzled him secretly was that the last suspected female chef with "super hearing," also surnamed Yuchuan, named Yuchuan Meisha, hadn’t contacted him recently and seemed to be in seclusion at an ancient shrine in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture.

Yuchuan Meisha.

And this one...

The live broadcast camera just happened to move to the overhead screen in the venue, where the simple information of the Special Level examinees emerged at the right moment.

"Yuchuan Ayaka, gender female, age 26..."

Or could it be that the Yuchuan Family has a lineage with the talent of super hearing? Xia Yu could only guess so.

Oh!

Upon looking at the dish Yuchuan Ayaka had brought up to the judges’ table, Xia Yu was slightly startled.

The Far Moon Classroom fell dead silent.

Inside the white ceramic pot, there was no trace of lobster, not even a single piece of red lobster shell that had been cooked through.

Instead, there was steaming hot rice giving off billowing steam.

As the camera zoomed in for an overhead view, everyone could see that the rice was layered. The first layer of rice was golden in color, obviously fried and with the excess oil drained away.

The second layer was steamed rice.

And within the steamed rice, the vague shadow of ingredients could be made out.

The lobster meat was buried inside the rice!