The Glowing Cuisine Conquers the Tongue of God
Chapter 17 - The Youngest Tiger-level Chef in the World

Chapter 17  The Youngest Tiger-level Chef in the World

The offerings for Heaven and Earth are no ordinary items. Before the advent of extraordinary cuisine, the ancients offered rare and precious treasures, hoping that the heavens would look kindly upon them and that the Earth would nurture their blessings.

However, since the emergence of extraordinary cuisine, although it can still be used for sacrifices to spirits, it has never quite been enough to offer to Heaven and Earth. Therefore, whenever offerings are made to the heavens, rare treasures remain the primary focus, and extraordinary cuisine is just a side dish.

It wasn’t until a century ago that “Chef Liu,” also known as “Liu the Divine Chef,” emerged and elevated extraordinary cuisine to a whole new level. This development made it possible, just barely, for extraordinary cuisine to be used as an offering to Heaven and Earth.

One hundred years ago, the world faced a massive disaster. At the time, “Liu the Divine Chef,” who had only attained the rank of “World’s Top Dragon Chef,” gathered most of the Dragon Chefs from around the world, intending to cook ten divine dishes to offer to Heaven and Earth, in hopes of calming the catastrophe.

But in the end, after completing six divine dishes, the strength of all the Dragon Chefs had been completely exhausted. Reluctantly, “Liu the Divine Chef” single-handedly completed the final three divine dishes, but this left him nearly drained of all his strength.

In a final attempt to bring hope to the world, “Liu the Divine Chef” aimed to ascend to the “Divine Chef Realm,” but ultimately failed. This failure caused all the Dragon Chefs involved in the Heavenly Offering Ceremony to disappear, and their information was largely erased from the world’s records.

Eventually, the remaining Dragon Chefs, along with Lín-level and Tiger-level chefs, used nine divine dishes to offer to Heaven and Earth. While this temporarily quelled the catastrophe, it also left behind hidden dangers.

Since then, the culinary world has faced a massive break in progress, with no one ascending to the rank of Dragon Chef for a century! And as for the knowledge of divine cuisine, only twelve Dragon Chefs know of it, and part of the information is stored in the highly confidential archives of the IGO International Culinary Organization.

This was the first time Zhang Haoran had heard of “divine cuisine,” but from Chef Liu Long’s brief explanation, he realized just how powerful it truly was.

“These are dishes that can be used to offer to Heaven and Earth!”

Zhang Haoran’s eyes burned with passion as he gazed at Li Yang.

In his eyes, Li Yang was like a walking, living treasure!

A super gem!

Zhang Haoran couldn’t help but wish he could hide Li Yang away, guarding him with a strong security force 24/7. Even if Chef Liu Long turned out to be wrong and the golden fried rice wasn’t a divine dish, based on the talent Li Yang had displayed, it was entirely possible that he could one day replicate Chef Liu’s glory!

After taking a deep breath and silently reciting the “Calm Scripture” ten times, Zhang Haoran barely managed to calm his emotions and awaited Chef Liu Long’s arrival.

Meanwhile, Senzoemon was also anxiously awaiting. While he didn’t understand why Chef Liu Long would leave the restricted area, he focused on the key issue—the golden fried rice.

“In my opinion, the golden fried rice Li Yang made is even better than Liu Shishu’s Sun Fried Rice… Is there something about this golden fried rice that I haven’t noticed?”

Senzoemon was perplexed, for even a Lín-level chef was kept in the dark about the secrets of divine cuisine. Soon, while most people were unaware, a small old man dressed in a Tang suit quietly ascended to the judges’ platform.

Zhang Haoran and Senzoemon were instantly filled with excitement.

“Chef Liu Long (Uncle Liu), you’ve arrived?”

As for Chef Tang Hu and the other two five-star chefs, they stood like bystanders, so overwhelmed with emotion that they couldn’t speak.

The small old man, who was none other than Chef Liu Long, gestured for them to calm down. He first looked at the chefs who were in a state of enlightenment, nodding in satisfaction.

“Not bad, not bad. Once they awaken from this state of enlightenment, their culinary skills will certainly improve.”

Then, he moved to the golden fried rice that had been sealed and took a scoop with a spoon, placing it into his mouth. After a long pause, Chef Liu Long slowly opened his eyes, and tears began to well in the corners of his eyes.

“There’s no doubt about it. This is the taste! This is the golden fried rice my father made!”

“I had almost forgotten this flavor, but when I tasted this golden fried rice just now, everything came back to me!”

“Such a beautiful golden color, like sunlight falling onto the earth, the whole world feels like a crystal-clear, golden kingdom.”

Chef Liu Long immediately turned into a “rice machine,” finishing the remaining golden fried rice on the plate, even carefully picking up the last grain of rice that had stuck to the bottom of the plate and putting it in his mouth.

After savoring the last grain of fried rice, Chef Liu Long eagerly asked, “Where is the young man, Li, who made this golden fried rice? I want to meet him!”

Zhang Haoran immediately brought Li Yang over. Although he had heard that Li Yang was young, Chef Liu Long was still taken aback when he saw him in person. He was simply too young!

“Li, have you reached adulthood yet?”

“Just turned eighteen!”

“Good! Good! Good! Truly, heroes emerge in their youth!” Chef Liu Long praised, then added, “Your golden fried rice has already reached an extremely high level. If you can maintain this standard, then just based on this golden fried rice alone, you are qualified to become a Dragon-level chef!”

His words left everyone present dumbfounded. Chef Liu Long’s words were simply too astonishing!

To become a Dragon-level chef with just one dish of fried rice?

If it weren’t for Chef Liu Long’s esteemed position, the others would have likely shouted out, calling him out for speaking nonsense.

Zhang Haoran, upon hearing Liu Long’s high praise for Li Yang, immediately realized that the golden fried rice might indeed be close to the threshold of divine cuisine. Otherwise, Chef Liu Long wouldn’t be so emotional.

“Li, do you think you can make this level of golden fried rice again?”

Facing Liu Long’s hopeful gaze, Li Yang thought for a moment, then gave a bitter smile and shook his head.

“It’s unlikely.”

The reason he could create that over-the-top golden fried rice wasn’t just because of the super five senses’ help, but also because his mind, spirit, and energy were perfectly integrated during the cooking process, plus the timing, environment, and favorable conditions—each element was necessary.

Such an opportunity was rare, almost impossible to recreate.

Chef Liu Long nodded regretfully.

“In that case, would you mind making another golden fried rice at your normal level?”

“Of course, no problem!”

While the over-the-top golden fried rice was rare, the regular golden fried rice was something Li Yang could make with ease. He returned to the stove and turned on the highest flame.

With flames roaring, in just over a minute, Li Yang had cooked up a perfect batch of golden fried rice. Chef Liu Long finally saw the towering pillar of light rising up to more than ten feet high, and tears filled his eyes.

“I’ve finally seen a culinary light that reaches over ten feet again…”

After tasting the regular golden fried rice, Chef Liu Long made a final decision.

“With this flawless golden fried rice alone, Li Yang is more than qualified to be called a Tiger-level chef!”

For a moment, the entire judges’ platform fell silent. Everyone was stunned.