Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 624 - 623: Child-Cutting Anko

Chapter 624: Chapter 623: Child-Cutting Anko

"Clang!"

The sound of the bell.

"The 2-hour cooking segment has ended, please present your dishes!" the female host announced with a stern face.

Whew!

The Lin Giant and the special chefs exhaled and looked up.

At the end of the cooking period, of the 58 cooking stations, only about half of the teams were still battling it out.

The broadcasting screen above the venue showed real-time scores and rankings.

In fact, the top ten had been roughly settled half an hour ago:

First place, "Rainbow Wine," 99 points.

Second place was tied among three teams: the Yan Mo and Lin Miao team, the Li Han and Lan Chuhai team, the Tang Shan and Yuqiong team, all scoring 93 points.

The situation for third place was even more terrifying.

No fewer than five teams were jammed at 92 points: starting with Lei Zhe, the newcomers included the Desani and Elizabeth team, the Reiko and Wu Yingying team, the Li Quan and Xue Feichen team, and the Indira and Liangzi Lina team.

By the end of the second round, 9 out of 10 spots had been determined, with the last one belonging to the barely making it team of Qiushan Hong and Shinohara Shigetaro.

With the cooking segment concluded, next came nearly half an hour of tasting and reviewing, during which the audience felt drowsy.

Even the judges could not muster enthusiasm.

The red-haired judge, who called himself "Yoshitsune," dismissively said to a team sponsored by a conglomerate:

"Disqualified!"

"A complete failure!"

The serving Lin Giant frowned, while the side-standing special chef defiantly asked, "Why! Please give us a sufficient reason for your critique!"

"What does a collaborative work mean?" the red-haired judge impatiently said, "Collaboration is not about forcibly blending Qilin level dishes and special dishes into one; it’s about the special chef and the Lin Chef finishing it together!"

"Don’t tell me that at your current level of culinary skill, you don’t even understand where the problem lies!"

With that, he waved his hand again: "Step down—"

"Let’s go!"

The Lin Giant called the special chef "partner" away.

This scene was familiar to the audience, having occurred countless times during the past half-hour of tasting.

Below the stage, Dojima Yin raised an eyebrow and said, "Chiyokuro, it seems only ’Rainbow Wine’ reached the Qilin level dish standard in the whole competition!"

"Mm!"

Saito Chiyokuro affirmed with a nod, praising, "From the perspective of the essence of royal cuisine, ’Rainbow Wine’ perfectly meets the ’Qilin Level One Star’ standard, and from the Food Dominator’s perspective, ’Rainbow Wine’, being brewed from a dreamy fruit, undeniably possesses Qilin level quality!"

"And that harmonious culinary essence..." Dojima Yin wondered.

Hearing this, Chiyokuro slightly narrowed his eyes.

"Guessing is useless, only tasting can bring understanding."

He said this and started walking.

"Where are you going?" Dojima Yin followed in surprise.

"Backstage!"

Saito Chiyokuro’s expression was eager.

...

Thus, the first round of the competition was declared over.

Ten highly anticipated teams advanced to the second round, with no dark horses and no dramatic occurrences.

Post-competition, the hottest topic was the high-scoring dish presented by Xia Yu and Zhu Qing— "Rainbow Wine."

"The second stage of the first round of the Sapporo competition has concluded! The champion’s dream wine is born!"

—Sapporo competition official website.

"Miracle Wine reappears! Come and watch!"

—Weibo headlines.

Related video clips exploded in clicks and comments across major online platforms. On Bilibili, the most popular video bulletin website in the country, the recorder clipping hung prominently on the homepage, attracting tens of thousands of viewers who had missed the live broadcast.

Well-known gourmet blogger Mu Qiuyue was among the spectators. She had watched the live broadcast but rushed to analyze the game immediately after.

"Crack!"

On the screen, the female head chef Zhu Qing opened a bottle of liquor, and a fountain of multicolor rainbow light burst forth.

The video was immediately occupied by a dense barrage of comments:

"Eye protection!"

"High energy warning!"

Seeing this, Mu Qiuyue also found it amusing and contributed to the barrage: "Barrage, come and protect me!"

After savoring the competition process once more, Mu Qiuyue hesitated with her phone but finally tagged Xia Yu on her Weibo and sent her congratulations: "A victorious start, congratulations!"

Not just Mu Qiuyue—on various Weibo platforms, acquaintances and friends of Xia Yu who were somewhat connected with him all sent their congratulations.

"Truly deserved!"

Adelaide, certified as the ’Duke of Regenerators’ by the Lin Giant, posted on Facebook.

"A bountiful harvest of miracle fruits!"

Luther, the research authority, was not to be outdone.

"99 points! Perfection within imperfection!"

Even Tiqie Xianzuowen, the usually reticent and uninvolved ’Food Demon King’, surprisingly posted this sentiment of his viewing experience through his personal account.

Regardless of the outside world, at least at this moment, Xia Yu was not in the mood to deal with the numerous tags and private messages.

Zhu Qing was currently blocking him at the door.

After the competition ended, the five judges stepped down from the stage.

"Bang!"

As Zhu Qing opened the door, her gaze locked onto the fifth and most mysterious female judge, "Where is the flaw in the ’Rainbow Liquor’? Give me an explanation!"

Five pairs of eyes swept over simultaneously, causing Xia Yu to immediately sweat profusely, feeling an immense pressure.

"Let’s go!"

He tugged at Zhu Qing, "We won first place anyway!"

"You speak lightly, but this flaw is on me," Zhu Qing muttered somberly. "What if that one point deducted was because of you? Would you not be bothered?"

Xia Yu was at a loss for words.

Hey!

He inwardly criticized, understanding is one thing, but these judges have mysterious backgrounds; what if upsetting them led to trouble?

"Ha ha!"

A loud laughter erupted as the red-haired judge lifted his hood and approached enthusiastically: "I was wondering how to find you guys! The liquor, I still want to drink the ’Rainbow Liquor’. Quick, satisfy my craving!"

The laughter turned into a deep, eerie whisper, and the atmosphere in the resting room suddenly grew chilly.

It seemed like an illusion, but Xia Yu saw the red-haired judge transform before his eyes; his average human size suddenly expanded to over three meters. His red hair grew longer, entwined with a faint red glow, and two strange, protruding horns gradually appeared on his head...

"Jiu Tun!"

A stern voice came from the door.

A young man in a kimono, with rosy lips and white teeth, stood there slightly bowing in a wary posture, his hand on the hilt of his sword worn on his waist in a perfect sword-drawing position.

The red-haired, handsome man who seemed on the verge of a rampage, suddenly froze.

Xia Yu, eyeing the peculiar duo as they left, was drawn to the young man’s ancient sword; perhaps due to the presence of ’spirit’, in his vision the sword seemed to be shrouded in a faint black aura.

"Do you see it now."

The elderly Nuliang approached, patted his shoulder, and chuckled softly: "Have you ever heard of the ’Five Great Swords’? That katana is called Child-Cutting Anko. The bearer of that sword is the direct descendant of the contemporary Minamoto Clan."

Xia Yu was shaken.

Wait!

His mind was somewhat muddled—what did Jiu Tun, the Five Great Swords, and Child-Cutting Anko mean all at once? Combining the various abnormalities of this world with the stories he knew about Japan, he couldn’t help but take a deep breath: "Child-Cutting Anko... isn’t that the famous sword that beheaded the Ghost King Jiu Tuntongzi?"

The atmosphere in the backstage rest area was bizarre.

Zhu Qing stopped demanding an explanation and glanced at the remaining four judges with furrowed brows.

"Let’s go—"

She tugged at Xia Yu’s arm.

From behind the door, a faint voice emerged:

"The flaw lies in the essence of your dish itself."