Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 454 - 453: New Recipe (Part 1)

Chapter 454: Chapter 453: New Recipe (Part 1)

The Tiqie Mansion’s professional kitchen.

This kitchen was designed in a classic Japanese style, with transparent tempered glass partitioning the space into individual booths, each equipped with a complete set of countertops and facilities. A sweeping view revealed a grand hall that brought together the essence of small kitchens—spacious, bright, with decor and furnishings that created a deep, ancient atmosphere.

Upon entering, Xia Yu’s heart steadied.

His field of vision was open.

In this way, everything he had prepared could be fully displayed.

The villainous tycoons had not yet arrived.

Xia Yu took his position and handed Keiru Kuushou a piece of paper with the ingredients he needed.

"Wait!"

After a moment’s thought, he stopped Keiru Kuushou, "I’ll bring my own ingredients!"

He took out his cell phone and made a call.

Soon, the Yuchuan Sisters hurried over, sweat on their cheeks, each placing a sealed ingredient box on the countertop.

"Is there a problem?"

Yuchuan Meisha and Yuchuan Ayaka, who probably had heard about the food duel, watched with concern.

"If I lose, then at worst I’ll just leave Far Moon and focus on managing the restaurant and repaying debts by working," Xia Yu shrugged.

"You can’t lose!"

Tiqie Eriina suddenly spoke out, glaring at him from not too far away, her ample chest heaving as if she was trying to control her fury, "If you lose, our Tiqie family loses too."

She glanced subtly backwards from the corner of her eye.

Dojima Yin and Tiqie Zongwei were conversing quietly, and the other two tycoons were in discussion as well.

Xia Yu understood the situation all too well.

Apart from Dojima Yin, Tiqie Zongwei, and Saito Chiyokuro—the three staunch loyalists—the rest of the tycoons could betray them at any moment.

Kasuga Shigeru had already turned, so it was no wonder that Tiqie Eriina felt insecure.

If Xia Yu lost, the morale of the Tiqie camp would plummet, and terrible consequences were to be expected...

To put it simply.

If this food duel was lost, the Far Moon Board of Directors would most likely change allegiances like a flag on the battlements, the Tiqie faction would fall from power, and the resulting turmoil and chaos at Far Moon would begin ahead of schedule.

"What a hefty responsibility," Xia Yu thought to himself.

He wasn’t too concerned about the Tiqie faction; Old Man Senzaemon hadn’t made his move yet.

What he cared about were the students at Far Moon.

Like, Morioka Makki, and Eriina in front of him.

...

Elsewhere.

The villainous tycoons gathered once more.

"Kikuchi, you are too reckless!"

Kasuga Shigeru said angrily.

"Kasuga, perhaps you’re being too cautious!" Kikuchi Musashi replied coldly, "He set the challenge, so let him do it. No matter who we send to fight, we can win!"

"Then you go?"

Kasuga Shigeru laughed, "If you lose and your supply of cell fluid is cut off, with your gourmet cells half-awakened, there’s no turning back!"

"I’ll go then!"

"I won’t lose to such a challenge!"

Kikuchi Musashi rose to his feet.

But at this moment, the youngest of the tycoons spoke.

"Mr. Kasuga, Mr. Kikuchi, leave this battle to me."

In his early forties, Sekiya Takashi spoke up.

He was dressed in a sharp suit, an imposing figure, the helmsman of the Far Moon-affiliated Sakaiya Hotel, and the youngest and most promising tycoon among this faction, the one most likely to contend with Dojima Yin and Saito Chiyokuro.

"Sekiya, you’re going?"

Kikuchi Musashi was surprised, and Kasuga Shigeru along with the other tycoons showed puzzled expressions.

Among the tycoons, Sekiya Takashi was not the least powerful. Though his rank wasn’t at the front, he wasn’t at the bottom either.

"Leave it to me!"

"The youngest Super Chef in history, I’ve long wanted to meet him!" Sekiya Takashi turned and took a blade from the display rack in the corner of the room. With a clang, half the blade was unsheathed.

The bright silver gleam of the blade reflected his cold countenance.

"The recipe?"

Kasuga Shigeru’s fingers tapped on the tea table.

"I will bring out my strongest recipe besides my ’finishing move’!" Sekiya Takashi squinted at the sharp katana, flicking it lightly with a finger, "That recipe has been evolved by me to its limit, with no room left for further modifications."

"Just look, give him a look!"

"But he will never dream of instructing me how to cook dishes of higher quality!"

"Even if I don’t win, I won’t lose either!"

Upon hearing this, Kasuga Shigeru and Kikuchi Musashi exchanged glances.

"Alright!"

They rendered full trust to a bigwig.

A bigwig of Far Moon Board of Directors would be a potentate capable of seizing control in any of the Four Top families.

Unfortunately, it was an unconventional duel; Sekiya Takashi couldn’t crush his opponent with his ’finishing move’ recipes. Pondering this, Kasuga Shigeru’s eyelids twitched slightly, "That kid intentionally proposed such an outrageous topic, he must have prepared himself, right?"

...

Kasuga Shigeru was right; Xia Yu indeed came prepared.

"System, exchange for the ’Tofu Carving Seven Sages of Bamboo Grove’ recipe."

"You have lost 20,000 Fame Points."

A brand new recipe appeared in the item bar. With a light call of "Use," the recipe transformed into a flood of information rushing into his head. Xia Yu shook his slightly dizzy head, and after two seconds, his eyes shone with brilliance.

"As expected!"

He was pleased with himself, "The main focus of this recipe is on the knife skills; the sauce is actually secondary. I can make use of ’Bursting Flame’ and the ’Unequal Spices Formula,’ adapting as I learn."

He had rarely exchanged recipes recently.

For one, the recipes he had were temporarily sufficient, as he had shifted his focus to pondering forbidden dishes, inherently putting the recipes from the Chinese One System on the back burner.

Secondly, unless it was a ’finishing move’ recipe, they weren’t of much help to him; they only provided ideas and directions, and wouldn’t change his strength.

"Challenging with a brand-new recipe, plus the spices framework I’ve just figured out, heh!"

"System, what about the Food Duel task?"

Xia Yu inquired, and the task bar popped up.

As expected.

A shining new mission appeared:

"[The First Step to Thwarting Tiqie Ji]."

"Hint: Defeat the Far Moon bigwig in a Food Duel and seize the farmland."

"Reward: 5 Talent Points, Kitchenware [Greedy Wolf Knife] (Purple)."

The genuine Greedy Wolf of ’Seven Stars Knife’ has finally appeared, huh?

Xia Yu couldn’t help but get excited.

Speaking of which, he had used the blue-quality counterfeit Greedy Wolf Knife for some time now, and as the [Fierce Bull Green Dragon Slash] improved, training it to level 10 perfection, the blue kitchenware became increasingly unsuitable for him. This mismatch between utensils and skills had become a hindrance.

Click.

The huge doors to the kitchen opened, and a succession of bigwigs filed in.

Keiru Kuushou from the Food Duel Administration said with a stern face, "The Food Duel begins now."

"Since it’s an unconventional duel, both chefs need to cook 2 portions of a dish. The first portion, cooked independently, is to be done in silence and chefs must not leave the kitchen."

"The second portion will be cooked under instruction!"

"In the end, if the quality of the instructed dish surpasses that of the original, it is deemed a Food Duel victory!"

The rules were easy to grasp.

Put simply, it was a contest between previous and subsequent versions of the same dish.

If the instructed version wins, the victory is almost in hand.

But if the instructed version is considerably inferior to the original, that would be a huge loss of face.

Sekiya Takashi stepped forward.

"I’ll come at you! The youngest ever Super Chef!" he declared with a hawk-like stare, "Are you ready?"

"Ready whenever you are!"

Without further ado, they each entered a glass room.

Click.

Xia Yu opened the box of ingredients sent by the Yuchuan Sisters.

Seeing him take out the tofu with a beautiful snowflake marbling, Sekiya Takashi raised an eyebrow and chuckled meaningfully, "Shuangjiang Magical Mapo Tofu, huh? I’ve studied that recipe. You’ll surely lose if it’s that one!"

Sekiya Takashi stood still.

While Xia Yu volunteered to cook first, he watched from the side.

"Shuangjiang Tofu?"

Outside the glass room, Tiqie Eriina chewed nervously on her thumb, pacing uneasily behind a group of bigwigs.

Yuchuan Meisha and Yuchuan Ayaka didn’t leave, standing in a corner.

Soundproofed, the glass room kept out any noise from outside. Xia Yu, appearing relaxed, first examined the whole block of tofu in the box, nodded in satisfaction, and then opened the second box, taking out a dazzling array of glass vials. Inside each vial were the spices Xia Yu had ground and prepared himself over the past couple of months.