Chapter 568: Chapter 567: Old Tricks?

“Filter all purchasable ‘fried noodles’ recipes for me—”

Beep.

In just a second, his vision was filled with a dense array of recipe data.

He ignored the green and blue recipes directly.

But there were only a few purple recipes.

“Huh?!”

At a glance, even the names were unfamiliar; there were no recipes from ‘Cooking Master Boy’. Xia Yu was startled: “No ‘Ganges Fried Noodles’, ‘Seven Countries United Fried Noodles’ or anything…?”

The recipes he had in mind for the competition could only be those two; others were not reliable.

“Golden recipes cannot be purchased directly!”

The system said coldly.

Golden ones?

Xia Yu slapped his forehead, secretly thinking it was a mistake.

The ‘Ganges Fried Noodles’ and ‘Seven Countries United Fried Noodles’ appeared during the ‘Cooking Master Boy’ Liangshanpo showdown. The storyline was in the later stages. At that time, Liu Maoxing and Ya Kan had fought with all their strength, so it was no surprise the recipes were of golden quality.

Seeing he hadn’t responded, Chiyoda Aichi couldn’t help but remind him, “The competition starts in 30 minutes. You must quickly decide on a recipe and list the ingredients and kitchenware to be provided to our event committee for preparation. Of course, if Contestant Xia Yu prepares any special ingredients yourself, you can present them for the match—”

“I know!”

After thinking about it, Xia Yu gritted his teeth and gestured to a staff member waiting below the stage.

Pointing to Li Han, Xia Yu did not hide his intention: “Whatever he wants, I want the same, and duplicate all the materials and kitchenware on the list exactly!”

“Ah!”

Chiyoda Aichi behind him was shocked and covered her mouth.

Xia Yu’s words, broadcast through her microphone, made the ‘Hokkaido Shrine Pavilion’ seem like a cold wind passed through, leaving it in dead silence.

After a long time, noise erupted.

“The exact same ingredients and kitchenware? It feels so familiar!”

“Your feeling isn’t wrong. Have you watched Chef Xia’s debut at the Sapporo Championship? At that time, he faced off against the French Academy Team’s Chef Bernard, where he copied the opponent’s recipe and easily won…”

Not only the audience but the chefs also remembered that stunning debut.

The France Academy Team members were also present. Being part of that fiasco, Bernard stood up in his seat, exclaiming in a lost voice: “Is he going to rely on copying and on-the-spot modification to win again?!”

On stage, Li Han had just handed over the list to the event committee’s staff, frowning as he turned back upon hearing his words.

Thud, thud, thud…

Li Han stepped forward.

Getting closer, he whispered to Xia Yu: “I advise you not to try to copy my recipe on-site…”

“Why?”

Staring into his bright black eyes, Li Han chuckled lightly: “I probably know your reliance. Isn’t it just that kind of talent? But when the opponent’s recipe far exceeds your understanding and culinary level, that visual talent becomes useless.”

“How much can you copy and how much can you recreate?” Li Han countered.

“So, bring out your own recipe. Compete with me using the same recipe, and you will surely lose!”

He spoke with sheer confidence, his face reflecting his self-assurance.

With that said, Li Han said deeply, “I can tell you in advance that my recipe is passed down from my ancestors. In the field of ‘fried noodles’, it’s the supreme! Unless you have Chef God Liu’s recipe!”

“Oh?”

Initially, Xia Yu was unmoved, but after hearing Li Han’s last words, he smiled.

Indeed!

Since he confirmed Li Han was the descendant of former Ya Kan, Li Ke, the so-called supreme fried noodle recipe in his mouth could only be that one, coincidentally the one Xia Yu planned to spend Fame Points on to buy for the competition…

His lips moved silently.

Li Han paused for a moment, “You know, then why…”

His words stopped.

Choked by the boy’s calm expression.

“Ha!” Li Han laughed angrily, seeing the determination in the boy’s eyes, and stopped persuading, “Then let me see how much you can copy and recreate! Additionally, please show your ‘Bursting Flame’ to its fullest! I won’t hold back!”

Li Han returned to his cooking station, hands in his pockets, closing his eyes to rest.

Under the different stares of everyone present, Xia Yu stood at his own cooking station, pulled up a chair, and leisurely crossed his legs, seemingly resting with eyes closed, while secretly communicating with the Chef God Space.

He instructed the system to materialize the ingredients used for the fried noodle recipe in his memory.

He didn’t plan to take the test blindly.

Having time to familiarize himself with the recipe before the official cooking stage, Xia Yu certainly wouldn’t waste the opportunity.

Knowing Li Han’s background and knowing what recipe he would use for the competition made Xia Yu’s caution necessary.

Otherwise, he would lose.

…

Although it was said to be half an hour, in fact, the event committee’s efficiency was very high. They only took a quarter hour to prepare all the ingredients and items on the list, and there were two identical copies.

“Rumble.”

The familiar sound of casters on trolleys echoed.

Two trolleys, carrying large iron cages with captive livestock, slowly stopped at the center of the stage.

The ‘Hokkaido Shrine Pavilion’ stage was quite spacious. The two chefs’ cooking stations were located separately in one corner, occupying less than a quarter of the space. The remaining three-quarters of the space were for the judging panel and places for the Far Moon and White Jade Building teams to wait.

Even more space was available for setting up trolleys and iron cages, yet the stage still seemed empty.

“Wagyu!”

The audience’s eyes were fixed on the livestock in the large iron cages.

It wasn’t some ‘bull pig bird’, nor was it a fantasy ingredient. It was a live wagyu.

“Black hair, short legs, hornless…”

Dojima Yin remarked in surprise: “A very pure-bred wagyu!”

Among the audience, Yuchuan Ayaka was shocked.

“This kind of cow seems to be supplied by our Yuchuan Farm to the IGO.” She pursed her lips and told Meisha next to her, “Look closely at the A5 tags on those two cows’ ears. They have the Yuchuan family’s emblem.”

“Wagyu, huh?”

Hearing the noise, Li Han slowly opened his eyes.

Seeing the cow in the large iron cage, he was very satisfied.

Among the fantasy livestock, wagyu almost produces the highest quality beef.

Then, a group of staff members, each carrying fairly heavy square metal containers, lined them up on stage.

Every metal container was filled with water.

Thus, the tightly packed circular placement of the metal containers almost formed a small pond. Crucially, there were still lively fish in many containers. With the spotlight shining down, one corner of the stage glimmered with light.

Due to the duplication of materials and tools, both contestants’ cooking stations had mirror-like pond layouts.

What is this…?

When the camera captured this man-made pond, the audience was dumbfounded.

Not a few professional chefs were also puzzled.

Cows, fish, ponds…

What did this have to do with the ‘fried noodles’ theme?

“Ha ha!”

Li Han let out a hearty laugh, giving a thumbs up to the director on stage, “Very creative! I needed a ‘pond’ where I could let loose, and I didn’t expect you to cleverly satisfy me!”

He glanced at Xia Yu, who was still “resting with his eyes closed” in the chair.

He stood up and walked to the iron cage holding the wagyu.

Clang—

The bell rang on time.

The 30-minute preparation stage was over.

“Next, is a 2-hour cooking session!” the two female hosts announced simultaneously.

Everyone simultaneously focused their attention on the young boy, and Li Han was also watching.

Without a reminder, Xia Yu slowly opened his eyes.

“It’s starting!”

He stretched to relax his shoulders and stood up.