The Glowing Cuisine Conquers the Tongue of God
Chapter 15 - The Culinary Light Comparable to Divine Powers

Chapter 15  The Culinary Light Comparable to Divine Powers

Upon hearing the system’s prompt, Li Yang paused for a moment. Although he had a feeling that this batch of golden fried rice would be better than ever, he hadn’t expected it to reach the super-over state!

The super-over score didn’t have a specific number because it surpassed 100 points. Whether it was 101 or 110 didn’t matter. However, the system issued a reward!

When Li Yang saw the words “Extraordinary Skill – Explosive Flame,” his heart immediately raced with excitement. This was a true superpower. It came from one of the Five Tiger Stars of the Dark Culinary World in The Chinese Cooking Master, Yakan!

Yakan was renowned as the “Explosive Flame Chef” and was famous for his fiery techniques, possessing superhuman touch sensitivity. His “Explosive Flame” skill allowed him to generate an ultra-high body temperature, far above normal human levels. He could ignite anything he touched and had to drink cooling water to suppress his temperature.

Li Yang had initially been worried that he might experience a similar rise in body temperature like Yakan, but after reading the system’s explanation, he felt at ease.

[Extraordinary Skill – Explosive Flame: Immunity to high temperatures from flames. During cooking, it absorbs the fire energy from combustible materials and gathers it within the body. When necessary, the accumulated fire energy can be released, forming a high-temperature explosive flame!]

(Note: The enhanced version of Explosive Flame does not increase your body temperature.)

Reading this explanation, Li Yang was overjoyed. He realized a key point.

“During cooking, absorbing fire energy from combustible materials… theoretically, my Explosive Flame should be stronger than Yakan’s!”

The key was in the word “combustible materials”!

In ancient times, chefs used firewood as a combustible material while cooking. Theoretically, firewood could reach a maximum temperature of 800 to 900°C under normal air pressure.

Modern chefs, however, typically use natural gas for cooking, which can reach a theoretical maximum temperature of 2300°C. In other words, Yakan’s Explosive Flame could only reach 900°C, while Li Yang’s could reach 2300°C. That temperature was high enough to melt steel!

With this, I finally have some means of self-defense! Li Yang thought to himself, feeling a sense of security.

While Li Yang was quietly rejoicing, the judges, IGO staff, and the crowd remained immersed in the shock of the golden fried rice’s brilliance. Especially the judges and IGO staff, who were closest to the golden fried rice when the light from the dish erupted. The golden mist from the burst enveloped them, and at that moment, everyone felt as if they were being purified.

All negative thoughts and emotions were swept away. It was as though they had been placed in a warm and relaxing hot spring, and they involuntarily relaxed. The sensation was so exhilarating it was beyond words!

In the crowd, Zhao Li stood there, dumbfounded, watching the golden light erupting from the fried rice. He was utterly stunned.

“This is different… It’s not the same as the first batch of golden fried rice that old ghost ate!”

“This kid Li Yang managed to improve his golden fried rice even more?”

“This monster! This freak!”

The power from earlier… Zhao Li was filled with unease. Even as a soul ferryman, with a thousand years of unresolved attachments, if he were bathed in that golden light, perhaps he would instantly give up his attachments and ascend to immortality?

If there were hundreds or thousands of hungry ghosts here right now, they might also be instantly purified!

“This is no ordinary extraordinary cuisine… With just this golden fried rice, Li Yang has already touched the realm of divine powers!”

“Heh, if Li Yang set up a fried rice stall in the Underworld, I bet all the lost souls would be purified!”

Zhao Li couldn’t help but admire Li Yang’s super-over golden fried rice. The sound of fabric tearing suddenly rang out.

Hearing this, Hinari, sitting at the back of the judges’ table, was horrified, fearing her own clothes might rip again. She hurriedly checked her attire, relieved to find it intact.

But where had that sound come from?

All eyes instinctively turned towards the center of the judges’ table.

Tashike Senzoemon!

Li Yang saw that his originally loose-fitting clothes were now tight, with several rips appearing. It looked as though a powerful air current was surging between his clothes and his body.

At this moment, Tashike Senzoemon remained unaware of his own transformation. He stood up straight, his gaze fixed firmly on the golden, radiant fried rice in front of him. His mind seemed to be elsewhere, lost in thought. That towering culinary light had reminded him of something.

There was no doubt that this golden fried rice was on par with Master Liu’s golden fried rice, known as “Liu the Divine Chef!”

Tashike Senzoemon was certain of this. Even Master Liu’s disciple, Chef Liu Long, whose solar fried rice had been spectacular, could not compare to this golden fried rice!

Tashike Senzoemon had witnessed the culinary light from Liu Long’s solar fried rice. When the lid was lifted, a massive ball of light would burst forth from the dish, surrounded by a fervent mist, resembling the sun rising from the clouds. The diameter of this light ball was over five feet!

This was where the name “Solar Fried Rice” came from. But what Li Yang had created was even more extraordinary. The culinary light shot up over ten feet high. The dense mist spread out and actually enveloped a hundred-meter radius.

The golden light refracted through the mist, creating a pervasive golden fog that reached out over a hundred meters. This scene was nothing short of miraculous!

Tashike Senzoemon returned to the present, unable to stop himself from praising.

“What an incredible golden fried rice!”

“The mere aroma has awakened my appetite!”

Taking a deep breath, Tashike Senzoemon’s face transformed into a look of blissful ecstasy. “Let’s taste it quickly! My hunger is unbearable!”

With that, he eagerly scooped a full spoon of golden fried rice and immediately devoured it. The other judges did not hesitate either, each taking large bites of the fried rice.

The moment they took the first bite, the taste of the golden fried rice overwhelmed their minds, leaving them in a state of blankness. A culinary illusion, unreasonably intense, crashed down on them!

A tiny golden light, the size of a rice grain, appeared in the empty space and quickly expanded. It was as though the universe itself was evolving!

Golden light filled the sky, illuminating their bodies, and they felt an overwhelming sense of rejuvenation, as if the gods themselves had bestowed their blessings. Their souls seemed to ascend to immortality.

At that moment, every judge’s expression turned peaceful and content. Their movements hastened, with each spoonful of fried rice quickly devoured.

Time passed, though it was hard to tell exactly how much. Tashike Senzoemon was the first to awaken from the food-induced vision. He remained silent for a long time. His clothes were completely torn, leaving only a small cloth to cover his most essential parts.

He hadn’t tasted anything this extraordinary, this delicious, this beyond-limits in a long time. Every grain of fried rice deserved to be savored. Next, Zhang Haoran, the regional president of IGO, regained his senses, followed by one Tiger-level chef and two five-star chefs.

However, the remaining two Tiger-level chefs and eight five-star chefs, along with Tashike Hinari, still showed no sign of awakening. Meanwhile, the fried rice, enough to serve thirty to fifty people, was almost gone.