Chapter 575: Chapter 574: The Pearl Dims

“Seven Countries United Fried Noodles!”

When Li Han announced the name of the dish, the competition venue fell silent.

Not only the chefs pondered the origin of this dish’s name, but the general audience also had a great enthusiasm for exploration. In this world, food battles already transcended all rules, and the public’s passion for gourmet and cooking was hard to comprehend outside of this environment.

Cuisine, chefs.

In the public’s subconscious, it’s as if they carried the sacred halo of angels.

“Bamboo shoots, cabbage, wood ear mushrooms, vermicelli, sea bream, flounder…”

A historian who had flown in from the Chinese Continent to Sapporo to watch the event suddenly slapped his leg, his face flushed, and said, “I get it, these six ingredients represent the six countries of the Warring States Era, excluding the strong Qin. Then the layers of beef noodles wrap these six ingredients together, blending them into one… This is the first ‘Great Unification’ in Chinese history!”

“King Qin conquered the Six States!”

The historian could hardly contain his excitement, “I never expected fried noodles to embody the grand courage of the Ancestor Emperor conquering the six states!”

“I want to eat it!”

He shouted loudly, receiving unanimous nods of agreement from the surrounding audience.

From the intensely eager eyes of the audience, it was clear that the venue was shrouded in a craving for the dish.

Li Han met the inquisitive glances of the five judges and then took the microphone handed by the female host, speaking unhurriedly, “Actually, the recipe for ‘Seven Countries United Fried Noodles’ has a legendary backstory.”

“In those days, my ancestor Ya Kan, who mastered several outstanding cooking techniques, engaged in an intense battle against Chef God Liu Maoxing in the land of Liangshanpo. The theme of the battle was to embody the grand aura of heroes in fried noodle dishes. So, my ancestor created ‘Seven Countries United Fried Noodles’ and infused the recipe with a world-sweeping ‘momentum’…”

Saying this.

Li Han pursed his lips and instinctively glanced back.

“So, the true essence of the ‘Seven Countries United Fried Noodles’ recipe lies in the creation of this ‘momentum.’ Simply put, the intrinsic meaning of the recipe and the culinary world’s external taste experience became secondary.”

Upon hearing this, several judges nodded in agreement.

“That’s right!”

The masked ‘Dragon Tamer’ Sta clenched his right hand into a fist and rhythmically tapped the table.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

“This is the sound of war drums…” Sta’s eyes suddenly became distant, as if windows opened into the vast river of history, capturing the scene of strong Qin sweeping across the six states, where Qin warriors raised powerful crossbows, firing a barrage of bolts as dense as locusts, causing the enemy formations to collapse like a wheat field flattened, disappearing.

“What a pity!”

Sta quickly regained clarity, shook his head, and sighed, “The momentum is insufficient, lacking by far!”

“Indeed!”

Andrea also regretted, “What a shame. After all, not being the original creator of the recipe, but rather a descendant inheriting it, lacks the grandeur of the original creator’s world-conquering aura!”

Li Han smiled wryly.

“Compared to my ancestor Ya Kan, I fall far short…” He shook his head, eyes filled with hope, “If my ‘Bursting Flame’ skill improves, combined with other cooking techniques and my innate talent, there is hope to fully restore the ‘Seven Countries United Fried Noodles’!”

Several judges exchanged glances, a strange light in their eyes, momentarily flashing.

They didn’t dwell much on the ‘Momentum and Spirit’ aspect.

This was an area of culinary philosophy that Li Han had yet to touch; Qilin-level judges knew where the problem lay. For a special chef to fully restore a golden recipe, cooking skill was one thing, but the realm of culinary philosophy was another major gap to fill.

After all, it was about the dish, ultimately returning to its fundamental color, fragrance, and taste!

“Color, there is nothing to criticize, the uniform heat allows each noodle strand to have even color,” Chief Judge Kogawa Shinyiro slowly said.

“As for fragrance and taste…”

Pausing, this Lin Chef had indescribable amazement in his eyes.

“Simply perfect!”

“I am sure the bamboo shoots, cabbage, wood ear mushrooms, vermicelli, sea bream, and flounder, representing the six countries, must have an incredibly strict ratio; otherwise, when integrating with the beef noodles, the taste would never be so ‘unified,’ offering a naturally elegant flavor!” Kogawa Shinyiro stared at Li Han.

“Finally discovered…”

Li Han showed a slight, well-concealed pride in his eyes.

“Indeed, the six ingredients have a perfect ratio, like sea bream and flounder representing ‘Chu’ and ‘Qi’ two powerful nations, and the use of ingredients correlated with those countries’ national strength during the Warring States end.”

“And…” Li Han couldn’t help but glance behind him again, a slight smile on his lips, “not just the ingredient combination. To perfectly blend the ingredients and beef noodles, the lubricating action of seasonings is indispensable!”

He suddenly extended his tongue, sticking it out, twirling it playfully for the cameras.

“And my [Super Taste] is the key that aids me in bringing the ‘fragrance’ and ‘taste’ aspect to perfection!” Li Han said.

Super Taste?

The chefs exchanged startled looks, and the Five Qilin Judges also exchanged surprised glances.

“No wonder!”

Kogawa Shinyiro murmured, “The [Super Taste] talent… isn’t that another kind of ‘Divine Tongue’?”

His voice carried out, and instantly, the entire audience turned their attention to a girl known as the ‘Divine Tongue’ among them.

Tiqie Eriina was similarly shocked.

“Another ‘Divine Tongue’ talent exists?” Eriina was overwhelmed.

Her mind was in turmoil.

Having believed she was the world’s one and only ‘Divine Tongue,’ representing the strongest taste humanity had ever known, she was suddenly confronted with another [Super Taste], a talent similar to her own. Eriina felt her worldview collapsing…

The source of her pride, the halo, was gradually dimming.

Cold sweat broke out on her fair forehead.

In the camera, the girl’s hands twisted together, her gaze flickered several times before gradually darkening, like gemstones losing their brilliance, evoking pity and regret. Was the Queen of Far Moon about to descend from her throne?

Witnessing this scene.

“Damn it!”

At the Gourmet Association Headquarters, in a closed room, Tiqie Ji roared in fury, “The Divine Tongue is one of a kind!”

Indeed.

One of a kind!

This was the pride Tiqie Ji had instilled in his daughter in the past, and it was the cornerstone that kept Tiqie Eriina far ahead of other chefs her age; she was winning the race from the moment she was born. But now, her pride was about to be shattered.

Tiqie Ji understood the consequences of a chef’s pride collapsing; it could be a severe blow to a chef’s confidence.

Moreover, always believing herself to be unparalleled, Eriina would struggle to accept that other ‘Divine Tongue’ geniuses existed in the world.

“Crash!”

In the Tiqie Mansion, the black ceramic teacup in the Far Moon Commander’s hand fell on the table.

“This trial was destined to come.”

“If not for the Sapporo tournament, you’d have seen the wider world beyond the island sooner…” Tiqie Xianzuowen sighed. Compared to the closed nature of the Japanese Food Industry, this had both benefits and downsides.

According to Xianzuowen’s plan, he was to gradually expose his granddaughter to more worldly knowledge over three years of high school. However, unexpectedly in her first year of high school, the girl had already encountered far more advanced culinary concepts due to a young lecturer who suddenly appeared in the Far Moon world.

“Divine Tongue!”

Tang Yuqiong’s eyes were complicated.

“This guy awakened two ancestral talents simultaneously!” Even a genius like her couldn’t help but feel envy.

The five judges had no more to say.

‘Super Taste’ and ‘Divine Tongue’ were similar concepts.

Owning it, the perfect color and taste in dishes were not surprising.

Li Han gently licked his slightly cracked lips, a smile gradually spreading on his face.

The Qilin Judges’ praise finally restored his confidence.

“Yes, I haven’t lost yet!”

He took a deep breath inwardly.

“Talent?”

“In my opinion, so-called ‘Divine Tongue’ talent, rather, tarnishes the ‘Seven Countries United Fried Noodles’ recipe…”

A voice approached from behind.

Thunk!

Upon hearing it, Li Han felt as though struck by lightning, frozen in place.

“What did you say?!”