Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 382 - 381: Awakening (Part 2)

Chapter 382: Chapter 381: Awakening (Part 2)

"Sashimi!"

"I want sashimi!"

The white-haired elder was dressed the same as yesterday, in kimono and feathered garments.

Xia Yu frowned but didn’t respond.

"Kid, are you afraid I’ll dine and dash?" the elder laughed heartily. "The reward I’ve brought this time will definitely satisfy you!"

Saying so, the elder raised his hand.

He actually had a fish strung on a rope.

It was a fat, lively crucian carp.

"Aren’t you in solitary contemplation to grasp the ’ultimate kill’? It’s not as complicated as you think; you’re definitely overthinking it."

The elder’s eyes showed deep meaning as he reminded, "The so-called ’ultimate kill’ is tailored to the individual, the chef’s strongest unique recipe! It’s a fusion of his own intentions and all the ultimate flavors!"

"This crucian carp, being of a fiery nature, I think it best suits you!"

The message was layered.

The information was significant!

Xia Yu was shaken, his face transitioning through confusion, contemplation, and half-understanding before finally settling into calm.

He wasn’t stupid; the elder had nearly spelled it out for him.

Special Level Three Stars ’ultimate kill’ dishes didn’t require some profound, Zen-like mystery.

In reality, it came down to one word—

Fusion!

Merging one’s own culinary heart and the ultimate flavors one had mastered, everything one owned into a single recipe!

If successful, that was the ’ultimate kill’!

A Special Level Three Stars chef’s strongest ’ultimate kill’ move, once executed, is the deadliest!

"Damn it!"

Regret appearing in his eyes, Xia Yu slammed his hands on the kitchen counter, more amused and frustrated at his own stupidity. He began to many rub his hair roughly to vent his surprise and frustration.

Finding the method was the hardest step.

The feeling was like a sudden clearing of clouds and mist revealing a broad avenue just ahead, incredibly... exciting!

Xia Yu leaned on the counter, not caring about the three people behind him, and asked himself introspectively:

"What is my ’culinary heart’?"

"I haven’t mastered many culinary spirits because my ’culinary heart’ is already capable of endless imaginative transformations... The challenges other Special Level Three Stars chefs face, blending multiple culinary hearts into one recipe, don’t apply to me!"

His eyes twinkled with joy, the more he thought, the clearer it became.

No one had ever told him what a Special Level Three Stars ’ultimate kill’ dish really was. If it was about ’fusion,’ Xia Yu dared to say his culinary heart held unlimited possibilities! The areas he could explore were vast!

"Ultimate flavors..."

He pondered further.

"’Bursting Flame’ gave me the primitive flame!"

"’Spice Inequality’ endowed me with the imperial spices!"

These were two fundamental, ultimate flavors. Mastering any, one could derive even more complex ultimate tastes.

For example, ’Nine Feathered Phoenix’ and ’Flame Dragon Roll Fish Fin Sausage’—the combination of flame and spices.

’Shuangjiang Magical Mapo Tofu’ incorporated Shuangjiang Tofu’s unique taste on top of flames and spices.

’The Song of Ice and Fire’ followed the same logic.

How integrated should a Special Level Three Stars ’ultimate kill’ dish be?

"I remember the certification criteria for a ’Special Level Three Stars’ chef are at least two culinary spirits, more than three ultimate flavors... Is this, then, the minimum requirement to achieve an ’ultimate kill’ recipe?"

Xia Yu thought secretly.

"So, for me, an ’ultimate kill’ recipe is about how to create more than three ultimate flavors on a single plate? The true ultimate trio..."

Suddenly, looking back, none of the recipes he had mastered or created met this criteria.

At most, two ultimate flavors intertwined.

Suddenly, Xia Yu was struck.

"But what about ’Fierce Ice Fresh Carving Mountain’? That’s a sashimi dish..."

"Yes!" Xia Yu slapped his palm, "Soft, smooth, icy, refreshing... these are all branches of ’texture,’ plus the recipe’s sesame oil dip, no wonder this recipe can challenge for ’ultimate kill,’ perhaps even bordering on a Qilin dish!"

This is the ultimate in minute details.

Xia Yu realized many things, the summit of "taste" was indeed all-encompassing; the term was too broad!

Temple kitchen.

Yuchuan Meisha brought over a bucket filled with clean water and placed it in front of the old man.

The still lively crucian carp naturally fell into the water.

"Thank you!"

She looked back at the young chef who was laughing and talking to himself in front of the kitchen counter and softly thanked the old man.

In reality, Xia Yu came to the temple for a retreat for the reason she had told the old man the previous night.

This led to the enlightening moment that had just occurred.

Actually, Xia Qing, who was far away in the mainland, didn’t quite understand his grandson’s circumstances; otherwise, he wouldn’t have needed someone else to enlighten his grandson. With a true transmission of a single phrase, he would naturally share everything he knew with his grandson.

Yuchuan Abbot watched his delighted granddaughter with a faint sigh.

After a while, Xia Yu finally snapped out of his ecstatic state.

"Bang!"

Regaining his senses, his first action was to chop down on the cutting board, Xia Yu, without turning his head, said, "Just a moment, the pufferfish sashimi will be ready soon!"

"Sister Meisha, go bring me a block of ice—"

Yuchuan Meisha quickly left.

Soon, Xia Yu moved a square meter block of ice onto the clean kitchen counter.

Only a block of ice was left on this kitchen counter, everything else had been moved to the corner. Xia Yu gripped the Wenqu Saber and turned to start his work.

The light from the knife flashed.

For a while, the only sounds in the kitchen were the sizzling of the knife scraping against the ice.

"So familiar!"

The old man’s pupils contracted as he looked at the carving knife in Xia Yu’s hand, and then at the carving techniques he was using, faintly recognizing the shadow of the "Fierce Bull Green Dragon Slash" and "Seven-star Breaking Army Rapid Cutting."

One knife stroke, one line.

One hook, one draw.

In just a few minutes, Xia Yu stepped back slightly, and at the moment his footsteps halted, the ice burst forth in a shower of glittering fragments.

Even though she had seen it once the night before, Yuchuan Meisha was still so shocked that she covered her mouth, a shard of ice hitting her delicate cheek, the slight pain unheeded as she stared wide-eyed at the busy young chef.

"It’s even more fierce than during the competition the previous night!"

Yuchuan Abbot quietly marveled, "What’s happening, did he not use his full strength last night? Now, his entire being has become a knife, and the hard ice is like tofu under his hands! Terrifying, is this the manifestation of the highest realm of knife skills?!"

About 30 minutes.

"Finished!"

Stepping back lightly and rotating his slightly numb right wrist, half an hour of intense carving had put a great strain on his wrist, but fortunately, his physical strength had improved, particularly his dexterity, which greatly benefited this precise work.

Xia Yu exhaled, stored the Wenqu Saber away, and then looked with satisfaction at the lifelike ice sculpture on the counter.

This was the masterpiece that satisfied him and the system the most!

"Puffer, pufferfish?"

Yuchuan Meisha exclaimed, pointing at the ice sculpture on the counter.

That’s right.

A snow-white pufferfish, chubby and in a defensive posture, had puffed up its belly, almost turning into a sphere.

"Essence, charm!" the old man slowly pronounced.

Yuchuan Abbot opened his mouth to speak, but then saw Xia Yu pull out an ice knife!

This was a real ice knife, not the "Fragmented Jade Knife."

Because, after passing the Special Level Three Stars test, as one of the rewards, a certain purple forbidden item had been unlocked.

The "Beichen Sky Wolf Blade" was that kind of forbidden item!

A one-time use Ice Soul Blade!

Once unlocked, the system clearly priced it: each blade cost 10,000 fame points.

Xia Yu had not planned to use it casually since it was expensive, but since the old man had given him a hand, as a chef’s return gift, he would prepare his most proud dish for him!