86: Chapter 86: Fierce Bull Green Dragon Slash Get!

86: Chapter 86: Fierce Bull Green Dragon Slash Get!

Flying fish!

The cod, which normally lived in the deep sea near the Antarctic, had now transformed into a flying fish beneath the azure sky, gently descending upon the verdant sea of tea.

The wind brought with it the scent of mint and olives, as the soaring cod brushed past and circled around him—a truly dreamlike scene.

Shinohara Shigetaro indulged himself, taking a gentle breath, and the ultimate freshness brought by the cod surged into his body through his mouth and nose.

This taste was soft and comforting, warming both body and soul.

In reality, Shinohara Shigetaro exhibited an expression of contentment and happiness, as if this was the true essence of life.

“Gulp~”

After swallowing the food in his mouth, Shinohara Shigetaro finally regained his senses.

“If one were to say that a sashimi platter of cod represents the ‘freshness’ in its most original form, infused with the power of the deep sea and a faint chill that trembles the soul…

then this Silver Cod Green Tea Meatballs is the perfect manifestation of ‘novelty’ and ‘freshness’!”

Shinohara Shigetaro spoke slowly, “It has an additional flavor, ‘novelty’, it is not just ‘fresh’!”

“One is the pure extreme.”

“The other is a marvelous symphony of mixed flavors…”

“No wonder it was a tie!”

With a hint of shock in his eyes, Shinohara Shigetaro calmed his emotions and stared intently at Xia Yu, saying, “I take back my previous assessment, if this were a scoring system, you would also receive full marks.”

“Full marks!”

Liangzi Lina suddenly said as well.

Dojima Yin, with a smile, passed his second business card of the day, “What’s your name?”

“Xia Yu.”

Taking the business card, Xia Yu knew what Dojima Yin was about to say, and very straightforwardly said, “Mr.

Dojima, I am currently managing my own small restaurant, so I am very sorry.”

Dojima Yin was slightly taken aback, then shook his head, “I wouldn’t dare hire you.”

He glanced at Shinohara Shigetaro sitting next to him, the implications in his words clear without being stated.

Shinohara Shigetaro stood up first, signaling to a female staff member, who, as if waking from a dream, quickly grabbed the microphone and coughed before announcing, “This two-star certification assessment is now concluded.”

“There are four successful candidates: Takama Tairo, Dubian Junya, Yuchuan Meisha, and Chef Xia Yu.

Congratulations to you all!”

Upon finishing, the staff member led the applause, and the audience echoed with loud claps.

The session had ended.

The chefs in the audience did not rush to leave; instead, they reminisced about the splendid reviews they had just witnessed.

Many young male and female chefs turned their gaze to Watanabe Junya, Yuchuan Meisha in the resting area, and Xia Yu as he headed to the resting area, their eyes full of admiration.

Such young two-star chefs could be said to be the future stars of the culinary world.

Especially Yuchuan Meisha and Xia Yu, who had received full marks from a luxurious lineup of judges, immediately became the center of discussion among the crowd.

“That young man is amazing!”

“That’s right!

I thought he would be the first one to be eliminated, but it turns out he spent an hour conceiving his own new recipe!”

“A new recipe with such terrifying completion without any practice, it’s simply unimaginable!”

It wasn’t just the young chefs discussing; some middle-aged chefs also gave Xia Yu high praise.

“Let’s go—”

The murmur behind made Tiqie Eriina very uncomfortable.

She called out to Niho Fuyuka and left the audience with a composed face.

As soon as she returned to her private resting room, a gasping IGO staff member rushed in, bowing, and said, “I am very sorry, Miss Tiqie, today’s three-star assessment has been postponed to one week later.”

“Why?” Tiqie Eriina asked discontentedly, having waited an entire afternoon at the IGO Tokyo headquarters.

“Minister Shinohara and Main General Liangzi have just received a last-minute invitation and are preparing to attend an important banquet at the Imperial Palace.”

“Is there no other panel of judges available?”

Frightened by the intense gaze of Tiqie Eriina, the staff member lowered his head and spoke softly, “Miss Tiqie, you possess the ‘Divine Tongue’ and are the heir to Far Moon, as well as the future pillar of the Neon Food World.

The assessment must be chaired by Minister Shinohara personally, please understand.”

“I understand.”

Waving her hand dismissively, Tiqie Eriina strode out of the rest room, with Niho Fuyuka lingering behind, constantly looking back.

“Hizaki?” Tiqie Eriina stopped and stared at her, puzzled.

“Eriina, wouldn’t you like to try the cod sashimi platter and the Silver Cod Green Tea Meatballs?” Niho Fuyuka said, bowing her head.

“What a joke…”

“Who would want to try that kind of dish!”

Tiqie Helinai quickened her pace.

…

“System: Host has completed the [Rising to Two-star Chef] task.”

“Reward ‘Fierce Bull Green Dragon Slash’ (Advanced Culinary Skill) has been added to your inventory.”

“Your culinary level has risen to LV16.”

“Your outstanding performance in the skill assessment has made you the talk of the event, +500 Fame Points.”

Xia Yu sat in the resting area’s chair, going through the system messages.

Hey!

Ignoring the level for now, he summoned his inventory and stared at the newly acquired purple culinary skill book, silently whispering, “Use.”

The book transformed into a stream of data and entered his mind.

He closed his eyes, and after a while, when he opened them, they sparkled with eagerness to try.

“It really is a purple culinary skill!” Xia Yu wished he could grow wings and fly back to his small shop to try out the freshly learned culinary skill.

One assessment task and he went from LV14 to LV16.

But the critical part was the change in the rating information.

“Host: Xia Yu.

Gender: Male

Age: 16

Overall Physical Condition: LV20 (Strength, Dexterity, Burst, Neural Reflex, etc.)

Overall Culinary Skill: LV16 [Two-star Chef]

…”

“Basic Skills—Knife Skills (10), Heat Control (10), Seasoning (8), Ingredient Identification (8).”

“Talents—[Heart of Cooking] (5)

“Culinary Skills—[Bursting Flame] (2), [Fierce Bull Green Dragon Slash] (1).”

Gaining two levels, he earned 2 free Talent Points.

[Heart of Cooking] always needed more points, requiring a lot of investment to evolve from basic to advanced and finally to divine level.

But for the culinary skills [Bursting Flame] and [Fierce Bull Green Dragon Slash], if he wanted to quickly grasp the essence, he inevitably needed to allocate Talent Points to them.

Relying solely on practice for enlightenment, progress was too slow.

After a bit of thought, Xia Yu still decided to save these 2 Talent Points for now.

He would think more about it when he got home, or simply save them for some emergency that might come up where he could make a last-minute breakthrough.

“Plus, 500 extra Fame Points, such a profit, what shining recipe should I buy?” Xia Yu was already considering how to spend this windfall wisely.

Buying a new glowing recipe seemed like a good choice.

Suddenly, approaching footsteps interrupted his train of thought.

“Do you have any of that ‘Silver Cod Green Tea Meatballs’ left?”

Dubian Junya, his hair slicked back and having changed out of his chef’s uniform into a set of designer clothes, stood in front of Xia Yu and asked with a hint of respect.

“Yeah, you want some?” Xia Yu’s train of thought was interrupted, but he wasn’t annoyed and just glanced at him.

Upon hearing this, Dubian Junya was overjoyed and nodded incessantly, “I’d like some!”

“I’d like some too—”

A lively voice cut in.

Xia Yu looked over and saw Yuchuan Meisha with a smile, “I’d also like to try your ‘cod sashimi platter’.”

“Sure, I’ll go get another plate for you.”

Yuchuan Meisha promptly agreed and turned to head back to her own cooking station.

She had a similar idea to Xia Yu when preparing her dishes and made some extra to keep on hand.

So, a few minutes later, the ‘cod sashimi platter’ and ‘Silver Cod Green Tea Meatballs’ were both laid out on the table.

Dubian Junya tasted both of their dishes one after the other and was stunned.