Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 394 - 393: Blood is Burning

Chapter 394: Chapter 393: Blood is Burning

"Hi—"

Xia Yu greeted Yuchuan Ayaka.

Then, he looked her up and down, scrutinizing his opponent.

He had to admit, Yuchuan Ayaka was quite the looker, though not as angelic as Tiqie Helinai, but if he had to rate her appearance, Xia Yu would give her an 11, one extra just to test her ego.

Long legs, slender waist, hourglass figure—overall, impressive.

The light makeup enhanced her natural beauty, Xia Yu personally confirmed up close, definitely no plastic surgery involved, no talk of the four major Asian cosmetic procedures.

Still wearing that Bohemian-style floral maxi dress, her hair was brownish-yellow, dyed and permed, falling in waves over her shoulders, with her fair forehead fully revealed, and delicate facial features.

A Bohemian headband wrapped around her forehead, keeping her wavy, curly hair in place.

Moreover, Yuchuan Ayaka’s height was somewhat intimidating. Xia Yu had grown nicely in the past half-year due to his martial arts training, yet up close, he found himself barely matching her in height, nearly overpowered by her stature.

Her figure, her style, she didn’t look like a Neon girl.

More of a Europe and America vibe.

"Wait, where is your chef’s uniform?"

Xia Yu suddenly glared.

Who knew Yuchuan Ayaka would just give him an extremely indifferent glance, the corner of her lips curving into a cold arc, "You should be more concerned about yourself."

"Control—"

She slowly raised her hand.

Her pale hand, nails neatly trimmed, no nail polish, no manicure, completely natural.

Pointing at Xia Yu, Yuchuan Ayaka said, "If you lose, you’ll become part of the Yuchuan family."

"Just like that?"

Xia Yu instead laughed, "I thought you’d want me to change my nationality, take your surname, and marry into the Yuchuan family."

"Marry into?"

On hearing this, Yuchuan Ayaka froze, then after a moment, angrily retorted, "Stop dreaming! If you lose, you’re only fit to be a retainer for the Yuchuan family, at my beck and call!"

"A retainer?"

Xia Yu shook his head, calmly locking eyes with Yuchuan Ayaka, a smile playing on his lips.

"Hey, want to hear what I’ll do after I beat you?"

By this time, Yuchuan Ayaka had turned her back, her hand on the doorknob of the rest room, probably intending to change clothes.

Regardless of whether she wanted to listen or not, Xia Yu leisurely spoke:

"Actually, if I win, you can rest easy, there won’t be any R-rated scenarios, after all, with the Yuchuan family and Shi Lin Temple behind you, I wouldn’t want to offend these two culinary giants to death, that’d be endless trouble."

"But after that, you’d probably be working for me indefinitely."

Xia Yu shrugged, "My shopping street is short-staffed, Xia’s Restaurant even more so, and since you’ve mastered a ’killer’ recipe, coming over to be a chef would barely qualify, so I can free up some time to do more of what interests me."

"But let me state this upfront, room and board only, no salary!"

Listening to the young chef’s wishful prattle, the princess of Yuchuan finally exploded.

"Enough!!"

She rebuked sharply, utterly infuriated, completely provoked.

"I’ve decided, after I defeat you, I’ll first trample your dignity thoroughly, completely shatter your pride!"

Yuchuan Ayaka was trembling with anger.

Xia Yu too dropped his smile, "I’ll return that sentence to you, exactly as is!"

With that, he waved his hand and walked away, his back to her.

He had already changed into his chef’s uniform, for a Shokugeki that had attracted society’s full attention, he had to forego the traditional Xia’s Restaurant cooking garb and switch to a Western-style, pristine white chef’s uniform, coat and trousers distinctly separate, accentuating his now maturing tall and lean frame.

Standing at the exit, with the venue lights directly shining on him, Xia Yu squinted slightly.

At that moment, Chiyoda Aichi, with a receiver hidden in her ear, received a notification from backstage, she immediately took a deep breath, and with an impassioned voice shouted, "Woah, woah, woah, here he comes, here he comes!"

"One of the contestants is ready, let’s welcome him to the stage!"

The moment her voice dropped, the venue, after a second of utter silence, erupted with applause, cheers, and screams.

Multiple voices overlapping, thundering throughout the auditorium.

The eyes of the general audience all locked on the exit.

The VIP seats, the judges’ panel.

Even the Far Moon Commander folded his arms and cast an attentive gaze at the faint silhouette at the entrance.

"It’s my turn to enter the stage!"

Hearing the loud clamor from outside, Xia Yu gently exhaled a breath of stale air. He raised his palm, and despite his typically unshakeable courage in the face of formidable opponents and challenges, his hand now trembled uncontrollably.

But no, this wasn’t fear!

It was excitement!

His blood surged restlessly within him, leaping with zeal!

A faint voice seemed to tell him: This is my stage!

"My stage..."

Xia Yu gripped his right palm, clenching it into a fist.

Like a boxer declaring victory in advance, he raised his right fist high, veins protruding, and took a large, decisive step out, as clean and sharp as his knife skills.

Whoosh—

Gazes and spotlights converged on him.

"Let’s cheer for his name—Xia Yu!" Chiyoda Aichi joined in to rally the crowd.

The students of Far Moon went wild, all of them screaming at the top of their lungs.

Even the usually gentle Reiko Shen and Sen Tian Makki shouted themselves hoarse, their cheeks flushing red as they both held a breath:

"You must win!"

Under the gaze of the entire venue, Xia Yu briskly walked to his cooking station.

Bang!

A backpack in hand was flung onto the counter.

Ssshh, the zipper opened, and a camera above zoomed in, displaying a close-up of his backpack on the large screen.

Two knives.

One small, and the other a narrow, curved blade, both sheathed in sharkskin.

Finally, Xia Yu took out a sealed small box.

It seemed to contain another knife, but Xia Yu placed the entire box on the counter without immediately opening it.

Chiyoda Aichi pressed her lips together and walked over, handing him a microphone, admiring his young face that bore not a trace of nervousness. She asked, "Chef Xia, are you aware of the judging panel for this Shokugeki?"

The activity of setting up his station paused slightly.

Xia Yu looked up at the judges and nodded as a greeting.

"Actually, except for Master Yizhen, I am acquainted with the other three judges," he said.

One didn’t need to mention the Far Moon Commander and the Chiyoda.

Ironically, Xia Yu had spent this month in quiet reflection at Yuchuan Temple, mastering his "killer" recipes.

If the Yuchuan Abbot was here, then what about Yuchuan Meisha?

Thinking this, he turned his head to look around.

Seeing this, Chiyoda Aichi asked curiously, "Chef Xia, who are you looking for?"

"I’m looking for a friend, but it’s okay if I can’t find them," Xia Yu replied with a slight smile towards the camera, "Please allow me to say something to him on stage—I will win!"

In a corner of the guest seating,

Yuchuan Meisha and other top-tier chefs mingled together, turning at the sound.

The audience was still in shock, not yet able to let out a gasp when the second contestant stepped onto the stage with a confident and graceful stride.

"Miss Yuchuan!"

Chiyoda Aichi immediately abandoned Xia Yu, dashing over with light footsteps, handing over the microphone, she voiced the question on everyone’s mind, "Do you intend to use your top-tier ’killer’ recipes for this Shokugeki?"

Everyone pricked up their ears.

"For this Shokugeki, I’ve prepared two sets of recipes and ingredients. For the past month, I’ve mostly been practicing dishes beyond my ’killer’ recipes, intending to compete with those."

Yuchuan Ayaka answered leisurely, "But just 10 minutes before stepping on stage, I suddenly changed my mind!"

An uproar ensued.

She paid no mind to the noise, glancing at the young man across in the opposite station.

"I’ve decided to honor him with my special ’killer’ dish!"

Honor my ass!

In the midst of all the noisy chatter, Xia Yu rolled his eyes.

To his ears, her words carried an underlying message:

I could beat you without using my ’killer’ recipes; using them is just overkill!

"Come on..."

Pushing aside extraneous thoughts, Xia Yu picked up the sheathed Wenqu Saber and slowly drew the shining, engraved knife with narrowed eyes.