Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 393 - 392: Empty Alleys with Crowds

Chapter 393: Chapter 392: Empty Alleys with Crowds

No matter how the outside world viewed it or gossiped about it, time carried on as usual. The sun continued to rise and set.

A setting sun slowly descended in the west.

The evening glow lent a dreamy hue to Tokyo’s iron forest.

Pedestrians and vehicles on the street hurried along, seemingly eager to get home.

In front of the large TV screens at plazas, parks, and shopping malls, black masses of people gathered.

The roadside izakayas and even various upscale restaurants paused their soothing music, removed the in-house bands, and all the televisions were locked onto the IGO’s official Food Duel live broadcast channel.

At Uesugi Izakaya, a few regular customers loudly called to the busy young manager in the kitchen:

"Tetsuya!"

"It’s starting!"

Uesugi Tetsuya came out with two plates of sashimi, seated himself, and looked up at the television in the store, silently cheering for his idol and the target of his efforts.

Soon, from various terminals receiving the live broadcast signal, came the enthusiastic voice of the host, Chiyoda Aichi:

"Good evening, everyone!!!"

On-site, there were endless cheers and screams.

Despite being summer vacation, the group at the Polar Star Dormitory had agreed not to return home. They sat in the corner of the ’Moon Sky In-between,’ with Ichise Hui, Tanaka Hikari, Shen Liangzi, Xingping Chuangzhen, and others all gathered.

Even Morioka Makoto, Tiqie Helinai, and Niho Fuyuka were nearby.

This area had been commandeered by the students of Far Moon.

"Let’s welcome the four judges to the stage!"

Without much tedious procedure, after greeting and successfully stirring up the atmosphere, Chiyoda Aichi continued to shout.

So, in the presence of many eyes, four elders with uniformly graying hair stepped out.

Leading them was Tiqie Xianzuowen, the Far Moon Commander.

He showed no emotion, sitting with crossed arms at the center seat.

"I guess there’s no need for me to introduce this one."

Chiyoda Aichi made a joke, eliciting laughter. There’s no Neon person who doesn’t recognize the Food Demon King; he’s on camera often; whenever there’s a significant event in the food world, his presence is indispensable.

During the summer special-grade assessment, images of this Food Demon King’s torn garments were still endlessly circulated on Twitter, stirring various events.

However, the second and third judges were unfamiliar to the public.

A bald male monk wearing a cassock.

A female monk with short silver-white hair and a stern look, dressed in blue.

The common point between these two judges was their age: they were old!

Chiyoda Aichi appeared shocked, not expecting this Food Duel to have alarmed these two, and those in the hall who recognized them also stood in astonishment.

"Let us welcome Master Yizhen from Shi Lin Temple!"

"Yuchuan Abbot from Yuchuan Temple!"

The female host’s voice trembled uncontrollably, and the venue fell silent momentarily, with no one responding.

Guest seats.

Far Moon’s and the Four Houses’ special-grade elders gathered in droves.

When Yuchuan Abbot appeared, there was chaos among the eleven members of the Yuchuan Family, and House Chief Yuchuan Xin’s eyes glowed with joy, "Mother, has he finally been willing to return to Tokyo?"

Compared to the huge Far Moon and Yuchuan Elders, the other three houses of the Four Houses, the Chiyoda Family, the Dubian Family, and the Hasegawa Family, appeared extremely modest in their turnout.

The Chiyoda Family was better, though not as prosperous as the Yuchuan Family, they still had six special chefs bearing the family name.

The Dubian Family and the Hasegawa Family were unable to, and including the house head, they only had three special chefs.

Hase Ichiro was prominently in the Hasegawa Family’s turnout.

The Hasegawa Family was considered lucky that Hase Ichiro had become a newly promoted special chef, at least preventing the family from falling too far behind.

The decline of the Hasegawa Family and the Dubian Family was the main reason why Takai Masashi’s ’Takai Group’ dared to challenge the standing of the Four Houses. If not for the support of other special-grade teams, these two families would have long fallen from their thrones.

"The, the fourth judge, is..."

At this moment, Chiyoda Aichi was also excited and inarticulate.

Everyone’s gaze swept towards the fourth judge, who was almost overlooked.

Bang!

In the guest seats, the six members of the Chiyoda Family could no longer remain calm, each standing up in ecstasy.

"Chiyoda Shrine Maiden!!!"

Under the camera, an old woman slowly walked to her seat, clad in the familiar Chiyoda Witch’s Costume, with the Shenle Bell and yin and yang fan placed on the table before her.

The golden flower ornaments on her head glistened under the venue’s lights.

Seeing the camera pan over, Chiyoda Shrine Maiden merely smiled slightly, but the native special-grade chefs in the guest seats stood up one by one, bowing ninety degrees to the old woman.

This Shrine Maiden was the ruling head of Chiyoda Shrine.

The guest seats were rather calm, or perhaps indifferent, were only Mars, Elizabeth, and the three who had just arrived in Neon today, Guan Xingchen, Guan He, and Guan Yi.

"Neon Food World’s four strongest, the four pillar stones, are all here!"

Guan Xingchen was stern, sweeping his gaze across the four on the judging panel.

Far Moon Commander, Chiyoda Shrine Maiden, Shi Lin Temple’s Master, Yuchuan Temple’s Abbot.

Ultimately, Guan Xingchen’s eyes settled on the leading Tiqie Xianzuowen, his gaze complex, and his expression inevitably showing a trace of respect, "This old fellow, he’s probably going to charge toward that realm!"

A corner of the venue.

Among the stunned crowd, the Far Moon graduates mixed in.

"This judging lineup..." Shigong Xiaoci Lang adjusted his glasses.

"Terrifying! Frightening! Unbelievable!"

Qian Rixiangzi beside him used several words to describe it but still felt the words were inadequate, her beautiful brows furrowed.

Kazasaki Tatsuki and Kikuchi Sankaku were there.

Kikuchi Sankaku covered her mouth, worry evident, "With such a judging lineup, losing would be difficult to recover from! I don’t know if Instructor Xia’s confidence is just pretending to be strong or has a root cause..."

"Losing is simply ruin and shame! Such a simple matter!"

Kazasaki Tatsuki crossed his arms, glancing askance at the female graduate with clenched hands, making the pair of large spheres on her chest even more prominent, a vein popping on his forehead, "I say, Big-breasted Demon, worrying won’t help, because the outcome was decided a month ago! Ha!"

...

Backstage.

Restroom.

Liangzi Lina leaned against the wall behind the door, saying nothing.

Xia Yu appeared to have his eyes closed, seemingly resting, but he was quietly communicating with the Chef God Space, engaging in the final practice to improve his proficiency with the "Killer Move" recipe.

Knock knock!

Liangzi Lina opened the door.

Standing outside was Keiru Kuushou, the director of the Far Moon Food Spear Administration, who bowed and said, "Chef Xia, please prepare, it’s nearly showtime."

At this, Xia Yu opened his eyes.

"Reiko, have my ingredients been transported?"

"The ingredient truck has been delivered to the ’Moon Sky In-between’ underground warehouse."

"Then I’ll trouble you to help deliver the ingredients to the stage; I don’t fully trust anyone else." Xia Yu instructed, as those few ingredients had no spares, so utmost caution was required, and any lapse on his part could severely tip the victory scale in the opponent’s favor.

Main General Liangzi left with a drawn knife.

After a while, Xia Yu, prompted by the radio, opened the door and stepped out, running into Yuchuan Ayaka, who also emerged into the corridor.

The long corridor held only the two of them, no other people around.

Remarkably, this was Xia Yu and Yuchuan Ayaka’s first face-to-face meeting in reality.

"Hi—"

So, he raised his hand in greeting.