Chapter 576: Chapter 575: My Own Dish

“What did you say?!”

Li Han was stunned.

No one could have anticipated that Xia Yu’s first statement upon taking the stage would be so explosive, shocking not only his opponent, but also the entire audience at the Hokkaido Shrine Pavilion seemed to have suddenly been hit by a massive freezing spell, turning row after row of spectators into statues.

The room went silent.

Even the two female hosts and the five Qilin-level Judges took quite a while to process the sheer amount of information in Xia Yu’s words.

“Waste?”

‘Burning Purple Rose’ Andrea slightly widened her beautiful eyes in disbelief and said, “That word is too aggressive, isn’t it?”

“Contestant Li Han’s ‘super taste,’ imparts a flawless aroma and flavor to the dish, along with a perfectly uniform color from impeccable heat control; Li Han’s fried noodles can be said to possess perfect color, aroma, and flavor!”

Andrea emphasized her point.

“If I were scoring, I would not hesitate to give full marks!”

“The reason,” she paused, her pretty face filled with seriousness, “is because this is a color, aroma, and flavor that has already reached the pinnacle at the special grade stage, and even with Qilin-level dishes, there wouldn’t be a greater breakthrough.”

“Full marks!”

“Without a doubt!”

Sta, the masked man, agreed in a deep tone.

The two Qilin Judges from the IGO, Luther and Adelaide exchanged glances.

“The color, aroma, and flavor that contestant Li Han has given to the fried noodles, I believe, are precisely what the supreme recipe originally intended,” Luther’s critique was restrained, which was consistent with his personal style.

But Adelaide was much more enthusiastic.

He looked at Li Han with continuous admiration and said, “Thank you for your noodles, in which I have truly tasted the history and culture behind the cuisine. I think that culinary culture is far more attractive than taste and texture.”

The judges didn’t hold back on their high praise for Li Han right in front of Xia Yu.

Xia Yu, however, didn’t show any signs of shame or annoyance. He was quite calm.

After the judges had finished speaking, he stepped forward and placed the oversized jade plate in his hand onto the table.

This jade plate, as always, came with a lid, under which the fried noodles remained, quite mysterious.

“Hmm?”

The judges, still longing for more, simultaneously turned their attention to the dish.

“I almost forgot you hadn’t presented your dish yet!” Andrea chuckled lightly, patting her forehead with her pale hand and gently flicking her esteemed head, as if to cast out the lingering images of delicious food from her mind.

‘Dragon Tamer’ Sta crossed his arms, his eyes showing a hint of intrigue as he stared at Xia Yu.

“I remember, just now, you both finished at the same time, right?” Sta asked, “Why did you choose to present your dish later?”

“And…”

“The similarity between your two fried noodles is very high, do you understand the disadvantage of presenting later?”

Sta questioned with a compelling gaze.

Indeed!

Once he mentioned it, the audience also came back to their senses.

Without a doubt, Xia Yu had the chance to vie for presenting first, but he showed no intention of competing and allowed his opponent to serve his dish first, for the judges to taste.

Going first had its advantages.

Presenting later didn’t necessarily mean certain defeat.

However, when considering the specific circumstances, with two dishes being highly similar, a later dish would cause judges to lose the novelty factor, and their taste buds, mouth, and even their minds would remember the earlier flavors, diminishing the impact of the second tasting.

Li Han was also staring intently at Xia Yu, waiting for his response.

He too wanted to understand what was going on in Xia Yu’s mind.

Going first, coming last.

How exactly was he thinking?

“Disadvantage?”

In response to Sta’s questioning, Xia Yu shook his head and said casually, “If I had presented my dish to you first, you might not have been able to taste the next dish—”

“What?!” Sta was taken aback.

Li Han was utterly shocked.

Whew.

The atmosphere in the venue instantly turned as frigid as a Siberian breeze.

The mood almost froze over.

“Such arrogance!”

From the White Jade Tower Team, Li Quan on the sidelines laughed out loud, unable to help but slap the armrest of his chair.

All the special chefs and Lin Giants frowned.

The female Lin Chef, Lan Chuhai, gazed at the young man with puzzlement, her eyes sweeping over the jade platter covered with a lid, and inwardly mused, “Does this young man’s confidence stem from his dish?”

“Ha, hahaha, hahahaha!” Zhu Qing laughed, holding her sides, “Too stiff!”

“This kid is not cut out for making bold threats outright.”

She said, and both Dojima Yin and Saito Chiyokuro were quite speechless.

“Just try it—”

Unaware of the chilling atmosphere, Xia Yu met the eyes of the five judges, “Once you eat it, everything will be revealed.”

“Alright, let’s eat!”

Andrea stopped laughing, her pretty face tensed slightly as her fair hand reached for the lid.

Her hand firmly grasped the lid and lifted it off.

“Pfft.”

As the lid left the jade platter, the mist that had been sealed inside immediately vented from the gap.

Clang!

The lid in mid-air suddenly dropped from her hands.

The female Qilin Judge, as if she had seen something horrifying, beads of sweat formed on her forehead, and droplets gathered on the tip of her proud nose. She felt hot, and in her field of view, wisps of white dragon-shaped mist escaped in all directions, filling the judges’ seats with whiffs of vapor.

“I, I’ve opened a door!” Andrea murmured, “The gate to the Dragon Nest!”

Veins bulged on her forehead.

The young man from the United Kingdom, Adelaide, no longer wore his sunny smile, instead, his expression was fierce.

“So hot—”

“Heh… what’s going on!”

Sta’s hands, which were resting on the table, suddenly clenched tightly.

Luther and Kogawa Shinyiro had cold sweat on their foreheads, their ears ringing with chaotic dragon roars, as if countless dragons were flying around them.

“Ah—”

Screams.

The two female hosts, already standing nearby, watched the mist fleing in all directions. When a strand of stray steam wafted over them, they felt their hair and eyebrows might ignite, sweat pouring down instantly, their outer garments seeming so superfluous.

With a snap, the microphone hit the ground. The female host, drenched in sweat, unconsciously started unbuttoning her suit jacket and shirt.

The female host tilted her face back, her dazed eyes reflecting a tumultuous culinary world.

They were bare, as if standing at the heart of the Dragon Nest.

The core’s fire scorched their bodies.

The naughty hatchling dragons inside the nest also circled around them, emitting mischievous anthropomorphic laughter. A white hatchling clung to Dubian Yuuki’s full, fair waist, its head reaching to her cheeks, its hot breath on her face.

The hatchling’s eyes sparkled with a human-like teasing, and even its tongue darted out, wetly licking the side of the host’s face.

“Mmm!”

Chiyoda Aichi covered her mouth.

Her long, straight legs twitched.

Another white hatchling wound its way up from her feet, its head quickly approaching a private area.

A warm current surged from below, coursing through her body, softening her legs which could no longer support her.

With a thud,

Chiyoda Aichi collapsed to the ground.

Thud, thud, thud…

Li Han retreated in panic as if struck by disaster.

Several white hatchlings broke free and roared toward him, eager to devour him.

After retreating three or four meters and sensing the danger had passed, Li Han stopped, his face terror-stricken.

“What, what is this!” Li Han exclaimed loudly.

The five Qilin-level Judges had already shaken off the illusion of flames, their eyes filled with disbelief, fixated on the outline of the golden fried noodles in the dish.

Vaguely, flames seemed to rise in their pupils.

“Gurgle~”

Inexplicably, their appetites were awakened again.

Even though they had been satisfied by Li Han’s fried noodles earlier, what was this sudden craving surging within them?

The judges collectively swallowed their saliva.

“Please enjoy—”

Xia Yu placed clean plates in front of them and passed the chopsticks with a slight smile, “This is Xia’s Seven Kingdoms United Fried Noodles—”

“My own recipe, my own dish!”