The Glowing Cuisine Conquers the Tongue of God
Chapter 16 - Liu Long Chef is Coming? Divine Cuisine!

Chapter 16  Liu Long Chef is Coming? Divine Cuisine!

Upon seeing that some people had yet to break free from the illusion of the food, Zhang Haoran asked with concern.

“Could it be that these people are trapped in the food illusion?”

His concern was not unfounded.

Ordinary people cannot enjoy extraordinary dishes of too high a level because their willpower is too weak, which increases the risk of becoming lost in the food illusion.

Li Yang’s golden fried rice was a work of art, and the food illusion it created was immense and incredibly realistic. Even extraordinary individuals were at risk of losing themselves in such a high-level food illusion.

Just as he finished speaking, Kichikawa Senzoemon and another Tiger-level chef exchanged a complicated look before gazing enviously at the people still in the illusion.

Before Senzoemon could explain, Chef Tang Hu, standing nearby, clarified.

“President Zhang, you’re mistaken. They haven’t fallen into the food illusion. They’re experiencing enlightenment!”

Enlightenment?

Zhang Haoran, being an extraordinary individual himself, knew just how rare and valuable the state of enlightenment was.

“Are you saying… they have the chance to level up?” He asked, his eyes wide with realization.

Chef Tang Hu nodded gravely, his expression even more envious.

“Chef Sui Hu and Chef Wei Hu have struck it rich this time. Once they wake up from this state of enlightenment, they’ll definitely be able to advance to the Lín-level chef in a short time!”

“It’s a pity, though, that my own foundation is still too shallow. Although I just had a moment of enlightenment myself and gained many insights, those insights aren’t enough to help me advance to the Lín-level chef… Alas, such is fate!” Chef Tang Hu said, a mixture of joy and regret in his tone.

At this moment, Zhang Haoran gasped, even jumping up from his chair in shock.

“Sui and Wei are about to become Lín-level chefs?”

His voice was filled with joy. There were only thirty-six Lín-level chefs officially recognized worldwide, and only five of them were in China. If two more were to be added all at once, it would be a momentous occasion.

Senzoemon pointed to the other eight chefs in the state of enlightenment and said enviously, “This time, not only will China gain two more Lín-level chefs, but we may also have eight new Tiger-level chefs!”

Zhang Haoran was so excited he could hardly speak, completely overwhelmed by the great news. It felt as though he were soaring to the sky.

Worldwide, there were one hundred and eight Tiger-level chefs, with sixteen of them in China. If eight more were added, the total would reach twenty-four—making China the undisputed leader in the world!

Senzoemon then glanced at Eri, his granddaughter, with a look of satisfaction in his eyes.

“She’s truly blessed to have had the chance to taste such an extraordinary dish. Thanks to this enlightenment, the distance between her and becoming a one-star chef has been shortened significantly. Perhaps soon, she’ll become the first ever student at Totsuki Academy to achieve one-star chef status while still enrolled—an achievement even the legends from the ‘Golden Era,’ like Islando Gin and Saibou Seiichiro, could not accomplish.”

The key figure behind all this?

Senzoemon’s gaze turned to Li Yang, his sharp eyes once again filled with awe and admiration. He was astounded by how, at such a young age, Li Yang had mastered a dish that could be called “the world’s strongest” fried rice.

And he marveled at the fact that, given time, Li Yang would undoubtedly rise to become a major figure in the culinary world. Perhaps, in the next century, he could even become the only new Dragon Chef!

Senzoemon thought his evaluation was already high enough.

Little did he know, after Zhang Haoran made a phone call, he delivered an even more astonishing message to Senzoemon.

“Chief Senzoemon, Chef Liu Long is coming. Don’t touch the remaining golden fried rice, seal it all up and wait for Chef Liu Long to personally taste it!”

“What? Chef Liu is coming? Isn’t he supposed to be guarding the restricted zone?”

Senzoemon was stunned.

He was well aware of how busy Chef Liu Long was, and he had heard that there had been recent trouble in the restricted zone, making it impossible for Liu Long to leave.

To think that Chef Liu Long would leave the restricted zone at such a critical time? Could it be that he has such high expectations for Li Yang’s golden fried rice?

However, Zhang Haoran was evasive about the details.

He simply said, “Chef Liu Long has managed to carve out five minutes from his busy schedule. He will be directly transported from the restricted zone.”

Zhang Haoran didn’t reveal any more information. Earlier, he had intended to tell Liu Long about the two Tiger-level chefs possibly advancing to Lín-level and the eight five-star chefs advancing to Tiger-level. After hearing about the golden fried rice, Liu Long had immediately decided to come and see it for himself.

On the phone, Chef Liu Long’s voice was incredibly serious, with a hint of suppressed excitement.

“From your description of the food illusion experience, it sounds like the golden fried rice cooked by that young man, Li, has completely transcended the realm of extraordinary cuisine, perhaps even reaching the level of divine cuisine!”

Divine cuisine?

This was the first time Zhang Haoran had ever heard such a term, but the word “divine” made his heart skip a beat.

“Chef Liu Long, what exactly do you mean by divine cuisine?” He asked.

Chef Liu Long took a deep breath.

“Do you remember the Taishan Heavenly Offering Ceremony twenty years ago?”

Zhang Haoran could never forget that grand event. It was the largest celebration ever held since the founding of China, with nearly the entire circle of extraordinary beings mobilized for it.

At that time, Zhang Haoran was still training at Mount Longhu, following his senior brother Zhang Zhiwei, leading over a hundred high-ranking Taoist priests from Mount Longhu to Taishan for the ritual.

The most important part of the entire ceremony was the heavenly offering banquet prepared by Chef Liu Long and Chef Lan Long, assisted by five Lín-level chefs, sixteen Tiger-level chefs, and over a hundred star-level chefs.

It consisted of one hundred and eight extraordinary dishes, formed using the thirty-six Heavenly Stems and seventy-two Earthly Branches.

Only with a banquet of such scale could it qualify to offer to Heaven and Earth. Ordinary extraordinary dishes were not worthy of such an honor!

This banquet had brought great fortune to China, ushering in twenty years of rapid development, propelling China into a world power.

How could Zhang Haoran forget such a monumental event? After recalling the past, he heard Chef Liu Long sigh deeply on the phone.

“Ah, the one hundred and eight extraordinary dishes from that ceremony were actually a forced measure.”

“Lan Long and I were still not skilled enough, and the quality was lacking. We could only rely on quantity to make up for it.”

“If our culinary arts had reached the level they should have, we wouldn’t have needed so many people, so many resources, to make an extraordinary banquet. Three divine dishes would have been enough to offer to Heaven and Earth!”

Zhang Haoran gasped in shock.

At this moment, he finally understood what Chef Liu Long meant by “divine cuisine”!

A dish that could be offered to Heaven and Earth!

An unparalleled dish!