Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 498 - 497: The Upcoming Confrontation

Chapter 498: Chapter 497: The Upcoming Confrontation

Sapporo, the first round of the AB district elimination competition, came to an end on the same day.

teams competed in the first round, but ultimately only 16 teams remained, with eight teams each in groups A and B.

Moreover, the competition in the first round also gave the media and the public a general understanding of the strength of each participating team.

Recently, both online and offline in Neon, the teams from the ancient country had been the most talked-about subject.

In district A, there were teams organized by Dragon Town Restaurant and the Hong Kong Alliance.

There’s no need to say much about Dragon Town Restaurant; it has always been the leader of the Shanghai Chef Association. The Tang Family is, without a doubt, the dominator of the Shanghai area in the Bright Chinese Cuisine World; even the Heavenly King could hardly establish his influence in the Shanghai region.

What the Tang Family relied on most was their legendary and perfectly preserved culinary utensil, the "Dragon Pot." It had seemed the Tang Family was on the decline, about to be replaced, having faced a period of lack in talented successors for the past two or three decades. However, a new generation suddenly emerged, recognized by the legendary utensil, and from then on, the Heavenly King simply stopped meddling in the affairs of the Shanghai Chef Association, effectively granting autonomy to the Tang Family.

There’s not much to say about the Hong Kong Alliance Team; it’s a complicated team, but its leader, Chef Lin, is definitely known to Xia Yu. He is none other than Guan Xingchen, who once left him the words "If your heart is in the light, then you are the light."

And then,

there was Yangquan Restaurant, which was crushed and eliminated by the "Research Faction."

Yangquan Restaurant was out early, not even making it to the top eight, which was considered a huge upset. However, once the contestant information was exposed online, the public quickly understood; it was a team set up for training exercises, without their strongest members.

Moving on to district B.

Two teams with an air of mystery swept through the competition, and their momentum was no weaker than those of the "Research Faction" or the "Orlando Faction."

One team was called the "White Jade Tower Team."

The other team was called the "Eight-faced Tower Team."

The people of Japan were not familiar with the names White Jade Tower and Eight-faced Tower and engaged in heated discussions, but the culinary world unanimously kept silent on the matter. Chefs of special grade and above were tight-lipped, as if it was a taboo topic not to be mentioned.

At Ookura Mountain Villa,

"Eight-faced Tower, huh!"

Zhu Qing put down her phone, having just finished an international long-distance call, and murmured to herself for a while, suddenly laughing.

Eight-faced Tower is in the Qilu Land, one of the birthplaces of the "Shandong cuisine" from the eight major Chinese cuisines, and moreover, this restaurant shrouded in mystery does not easily entertain foreigners and is located near the Liangshanpo Ruins.

Hence, this pseudonym was incidental. Anyone with a little understanding of the Chinese Cuisine World could guess the background of the Eight-faced Tower Team.

This restaurant also represents the central power of the Dark Chef World, the heart of the Dark World!

In contrast, the holy land of the Bright Chinese Cuisine World has now shifted from Shu’s Juxia Building to the Imperial Palace’s White Jade Tower!

"But... the ’Jade Dragon Pot’ is ours!" Zhu Qing’s eyes flashed with resolve.

Dojima Yin and Saito Chiyokuro arrived together.

"Miss Zhu, the competition committee has issued a notice. We must submit our matchup schedule before the seven-day break ends!" Dojima Yin said.

"Our second-round opponent in the top-eight elimination is Dragon Town Restaurant, the dominator of the SH food world!"

Saito Chiyokuro solemnly added, "Thus, this round’s pairing must be carefully considered."

"Mr. Saito, why don’t you take Yu’s place," Zhu Qing said thoughtfully, sighing inwardly. The opponent in the second round was not a pushover, and only with Saito Chiyokuro anchoring the third match could they be sure of victory.

Her nephew had still come up short, despite his successful debut in the first match. It didn’t mean he could overcome the second match. If the opponent brought out a "killer" recipe, the tactic of copying and modifying would likely be useless.

"Let Instructor Xia compete!"

Tiqie Zongwei and his wife Tiqie Leonora entered the hall.

From afar, Leonora smiled and said, "I was really just making up the numbers. Since Chiyokuro is back, I can confidently step down and be a mere spectator. Honestly, I believe I’m the weakest link in this team."

She winked at everyone.

"I respect and agree with my wife’s decision!"

Roland Chapele also arrived.

Tiqie Eriina was present as well, but she had no right to speak, only biting her lip and listening on the side.

Dojima Yin and Saito Chiyokuro exchanged glances, "Seconded!"

Zhu Qing saw this and a playful smile curled at the corners of her lips; she stretched lazily and said, "It looks like you really trust me, your good niece, but you know, I was just talking. If I don’t let him compete, that stubborn old man would curse me to death!"

"I was just accompanying the crown prince to his studies, and took on this tough task."

She said in a resigned tone.

"Then Instructor Xia’s arrangement for the matchups..."

"For the first round, he’s the youngest, full of energy, so let him continue as the vanguard to clear the path for the main force," Zhu Qing’s eyes brimmed with anticipation, "Hmm... if he can secure us the victory in the first round... then our team’s chances of winning could increase from sixty to eighty percent!"

"No, it’s a hundred percent!"

Saito Chiyokuro laughed as he corrected, "If he wins one match, Dojima Yin and I each win one, that will suffice."

"Mmm!"

Zhu Qing acknowledged with a hum, and then took up the pen to write down two graceful yet strong Chinese characters in the first round slot on the arrangement chart:

Xia Yu.

Thus, the first competitor for the Far Moon Team was decided.

...

Meanwhile.

The Far Moon Team’s opponent for the quarterfinals, SH Dragon Town Restaurant, was also holding a meeting in a villa in Sapporo City.

Lin Chef, Tang Shan, glanced over the five male and female special chefs seated around the round table.

Apart from two uncles and an aunt in their middle years, the remaining two special chefs were younger, belonging to the younger generation.

"Yuqiong, Yuqiong..."

A faint voice roused the youngest female special chef in attendance.

"Huh?"

Tang Yuqiong looked up in surprise to see everyone staring at her with strange looks in their eyes and realized she had been daydreaming during the meeting. She stuck out her tongue and blushed, "I, I just came back from outside, maybe I’m too tired."

"Aqiong, I’ve told you it’s dangerous outside and not to run around. You’ve come across some strange news events again..." A youth named Tang Jingtiao chided her. As he continued, he couldn’t bring himself to be harsh and let out a helpless sigh, "Japan is not like home. The mainland doesn’t have so many life-threatening abnormalities, but Japan, especially Hokkaido, is swarming with food mercenaries and countless oddities still emerge..."

Tang Yuqiong shook her cousin’s arm.

She was no longer the Laura of the sketches when she went out on her whereabouts; instead, she switched to a starkly masculine style of clothing, her hair tied in a single ponytail trailing behind her head, compared to when she met Xia Yu in the wilderness, Tang Yuqiong seated here exuded a stronger presence.

"We were just discussing who should take on Far Moon in the first match of the quarterfinals, whether it should be you or Jingtiao," Tang Shan said, not wanting to scold her, but his voice sank slightly to remind her.

"Ah!"

Tang Yuqiong slapped her pale forehead, finally realizing.

That’s right!

Their Tang Family was Far Moon Team’s opponent for the quarterfinals!

"I’ll go!"

Tang Jingtiao spoke, raising an eyebrow, "That ’youngest special chef in Neon’s history’ is very likely to lead off. I want to see if he can copy my ’finishing move’ recipes!"

"I’ll go!"

Tang Yuqiong said loudly, her voice tinged with excitement and barely controlled sharpness.

Becoming aware of the Tang Family clan’s gazes fixed on her, Tang Yuqiong deliberately put on a stern face and stuck out her chest, "I have a bone to pick with that youngest special chef... That day, I saw him defeating the French special chef Bernard with imitation tactics, and I’ve wanted to challenge him since then!"

"Oh?"

Her cheeks flushed a tinge of red, but the Tang Family members around her misunderstood, thinking this was hostility towards the young prodigious chef.

After all, recognized as Shanghai’s strongest new generation talent and receiving personal praise from the Heavenly King, Tang Yuqiong surely had a competitive spirit when meeting an interesting prodigy.

"Competition between geniuses?" Tang Shan found this quite amusing.

Tang Jingtiao could no longer vie with Tang Yuqiong for the spot, so he could only say, "Then I’ll take the second match, and leave the last three rounds to the uncles and aunts!"

"Good!"

People exchanged glances, their eyes filled with gravity.