Reborn in Japan as a Chef God

Late at night, the stars were like dreams.

Embedded within Shinjuku Imperial Garden, the 'Zen Residence' saw a figure leisurely vaulting over the not-so-tall wooden fence, crossing the forest, and strolling hands-behind-back around the bank of Yuzao Pond.

The winter breeze blew head-on, yet Xia Yu felt not a trace of the chill; on the contrary, his heart was ablaze with warmth.

"Food Ethos!"

He suddenly stopped at a viewing pavilion, gazing at the glittering water of the pond and the koi occasionally surfacing, Xia Yu wore a smile, "System, this counts as my own understanding of Food Ethos, right?"

"Host has comprehended Food Ethos, which can greatly enhance the flavor of ingredients, amplifying and doubling their effects. Please name this Food Ethos!" The system's mechanical voice rang out, and to Xia Yu, it sounded incredibly pleasant—as if in a good mood, every scene turned beautiful.

"Hmm, naming it…"

He pondered, muttering to himself.

"How about 'Magnifying Glass'?"

But from behind, a voice chimed in unexpectedly.

Xia Yu had actually noticed the gaze from behind; his private exchanges with the system weren't something he worried others could spy on.

Turning around, he saw the old fellow Senzaemon.

"Magnifying Glass?" Xia Yu shook his head with a beaming smile, "General, that name isn't flashy enough, too plain!"

"Flashy?"

Senzaemon was taken aback, then burst into laughter, only to be surprised by the cold air rushing into his mouth, which immediately triggered a severe cough. Xia Yu found it hilariously amusing. This old man talked big about being stern, but at critical times, he always goofed up, taking down his own prestige, unlike his own grandfather who always carried himself with gravity, full of dignity.

Having made up his mind, Xia Yu did not show off, "Let's call it 'Whirling Dance' then!"

"Whirling Dance?"

Chewing on the name, Senzaemon's eyes lit up, clapping in appreciation: "Good name, dancing amid the flames on the tip of the tongue. It's like the various ordinary ingredients in the steamed tea bowl we just had, compared to the extravagant delicacies, they are but tiny fireflies. Yet, the sea of light formed by countless fireflies dancing together still possesses a stunning impact!"

Xia Yu nodded in agreement, not bothering to engage further with Senzaemon, appearing to quietly gaze at Yuzao Pond at night, but in reality, he was continuing to communicate with the system.

Claim the reward for defeating Lei Zhe.

"System: Mission 'Qilin's First Roar' completed."

"Earned 10 Talent Points."

"Received [Evolution Crystal Stone] *1."

"Host culinary skill level lv58→lv62, earned 4 Talent Points for level-up reward."

He now had a total of 14 Talent Points, all of which he threw into his Heart of Cooking talent, bringing its progress to 81/100.

As the data updated, a golden hue began to emanate from the golden border around the talent box, the color gradually rendering inwards.

It was on the verge of being completely gold-framed!

"I didn't expect to master a type of Food Ethos on my own before advancing to a gold frame…"

Xia Yu had reason to be delighted.

This time, without relying on any gold recipes that inherently came with Food Ethos, nor the forcible conveyance of Bursting Flame, he used his insights gathered from Senzaemon's 'Demon King's Ramen' and the female protagonist's 'Japanese Steamed Tea Bowl', through ingenious conception to incubate his own Food Ethos.

The process seemed simple, yet it was the natural fruition of his accumulated experience.

Why?

Simply because, before reaching Qilin level, Xia Yu had prematurely seen the scenery of that level. With recipes provided by the system and the perfected Bursting Flames, he used these two sharpest tools to claim the final victory in the Sapporo contest, and to overcome the formidable Tiqie Ji. And now, using his own weapons, he pierced through Lei Zhe's divine fortress, the sense of achievement was even more overwhelming.

If the female lead, Dojima Yin, and Saito Chiyokuro had his fortune to see the scenery behind the door ahead of time, they wouldn't have been trapped for so many years. However, like the female lead, these talented chefs lacked only an opportunity to take flight.

In other words, on Xia Yu's journey of climbing and traversing, there seemed to be no such thing as a bottleneck; once he accumulated enough, breakthroughs came naturally.

The rise in culinary skill level and the Heart of Cooking drawing ever closer to the goal of his return home were certainly reasons for joy, but the greatest harvest of the night still lay quietly in the item column.

His gaze fixed on the golden gemstone, Xia Yu gleefully said: "The second culinary skill is taking off!"

Without any hesitation, he used the item!

"Would you like to use the Advanced Crystal Stone (Gold) on Culinary Skill [Spice Inequality]?"

"Use it!"

Ding.

A purple frame, engulfed in a golden flame, completed its promotion within the fire.

The sharp pain of information flow entered Xia Yu's head; he slightly shook it off as the sting was fleeting. Then, he opened his eyes wide, as if receiving an enlightenment from a martial arts grandmaster. His accumulated doubts in the world of spices all suddenly cleared up, and he sensed signs of extrapolation in his thinking. That moment of bursting inspiration was exhilarating.

Wow!

He exclaimed silently, "The difference between the purple frame and the golden frame truly is like heaven and earth!"

To put it simply, the previous difficulty Xia Yu had with "Merck's Stardust" seemed to have dissipated in an instant after his culinary skills advanced, as if he had the composure of a spice emperor.

You see, unlike knife skills and Bursting Flame, "Spice Inequality" is a culinary technique that requires careful calculations and experience. Xia Yu, having forcibly received a spice emperor's experience and insight from the system, inevitably felt overconfident.

If it weren't for the presence of Xian Zuoemon standing by his side, Xia Yu would have put his hands on his hips and laughed out loud three times, celebrating the second of his culinary skills reaching perfection.

"Huh..."

Just as he was checking the updated skills information and halting his conversation with the system, Xia Yu turned his head and realized that the old man, Xian Zuoemon, had long since disappeared.

Time to go back.

After standing silently for a few more minutes, treasuring the most beautiful scenery in his heart and losing interest in a night stroll, Xia Yu stretched lazily, planning to return to his temporary lodging to rest.

On his way, Xia Yu encountered Yan Qi. Standing in a forest bathed in moonlight, Yan Qi heard footsteps and glanced over.

"Bestowing the 'Righteousness of Eating'?"

His voice landed in the cold winter forest.

Xia Yu felt immediately awkward, "It's not what you think at all!"

He gestured with his hand.

It was no wonder Yan Qi was not aware of what happened at Zhonghua Building that evening. Being all alone in Japan without informants or spies, and probably not using the internet much, it was understandable that he didn't know about the tofu set meal incident.

"Oh?" Yan Qi frowned.

"Actually, it's the merit of the recipe. I simply recreated an ancient recipe. Reiko had her own realization through tasting it; it has nothing to do with me!" Xia Yu raised his hand high to assert his innocence.

He had already said similar words before inside the house.

He really feared that this so-called "bestowing the 'Righteousness of Eating'" would spread like wildfire after tonight, as there had been many people talking. If, later on, all the cooks who were at a bottleneck came knocking on his door for help, that would be a real trouble.

Yan Qi hummed in acknowledgement, without the intention to probe further.

With his hands behind his back, he looked up at the full moon, a smile forming at the corners of his mouth, "It's time to go back."

"Ah?"

Xia Yu was confused.

Pointing at Xia Yu then at himself, Yan Qi said, "We should both go back."

"I plan to return before the New Year," Xia Yu shrugged.

Yan Qi said in surprise, "You have already proven your culinary skills. Returning now, you won't fear most challenges and can firmly establish yourself in the Chinese Realm..."

Xia Yu shook his head to interrupt, "Firmly establish myself? I'm not there yet!"

"..."

Yan Qi just looked at his youthful face, hearing the young man laugh, "When I go back, it's not to fight for fame or gain. That old man of mine has been back home for too long, shrouded in mystery. It's time for me to support him. I'll help out wherever I can."

Upon hearing this, Yan Qi was silent for a long while.

Without saying much more, Yan Qi turned and walked slowly, "Then, strengthen yourself as much as possible. This road is not easy to tread."

"Also, when I go back, you'll need to be wary of the envoy sent by 'that person'."

"That person? Which person?" Xia Yu shouted after his retreating figure.

"The one high above."

The voice echoed through the night forest, "The emperor of the culinary world, who brooks no defiance."

Xia Yu froze.

The boss of the Chinese Realm was looking for him?