Reborn in Japan as a Chef God

The top 20 talents gather in one hall, while the "Five Chinese Talents" and the sixth competitor meet in another small hall.

Wow—

Arriving backstage by car, Tang Yuqiong takes the lead, opens the door, glances around, and sees only three people in the hall. She is slightly startled, "Hasn't Ye Feizhou arrived yet?"

Wu Yingying is brewing tea, and Li Han and Zhao Zhen are tasting it with their heads down.

Upon hearing this, the three continue without looking up, "Ah, you mean him? He probably won't come, right?"

Li Han speaks rather casually.

Then he grins, lacking the integrity of the Five Talents, lazily scratching his head, "Ahem, if I were to face a battle destined to be lost, I'd definitely hide and not show up. I'd wait until the hype passes to reappear in style."

Wu Yingying puts down the teapot and covers her mouth, giggling quietly.

"Alright, everyone in the Chinese Realm knows Li Xi's young master lacks ambition. Our leader publicly commented on you, exceptional talent, but weak competitiveness and lacking the drive to pursue, otherwise how could Ye Feizhou win the title for several sessions without anyone stopping him?"

Xia Yu is about to follow Tang Yuqiong into the small hall when a female staff member rushes up behind him, saying, "Hello, Chef Xia, two media teams are waiting for you in the interview hall. They mentioned that you agreed to a pre-competition interview."

"Oh—"

Xia Yu instantly stops, patting his head, almost forgetting about the pre-competition interview.

A few days ago, acquaintances from Neon, as well as CCTV Food Channel anchor Qi Qingyan, contacted him, and Xia Yu agreed to the interview after thinking about it.

He temporarily waves at the Four Talents and moves to the interview hall.

It's a dedicated media interview room, exquisitely decorated, with a strong Chinese style. There are guards at both symmetrical doors. Xia Yu enters through one door, and the sound of the door opening draws everyone's attention inside.

"Chef Xia!"

Joyful greetings filled the air.

Dubian Yuuki and Chiyoda Aichi, who flew from Neon to Shanghai, each lead a media team.

Dubian Yuuki represents her "Taste Weekly," while Chiyoda Aichi represents NHK's food program, with a status comparable to the CCTV Food Channel in the Japanese Food Industry.

As for Qi Qingyan, dressed beautifully in a light gray professional skirt, she sits there with a very reserved smile.

"Hello to the three of you!"

Xia Yu waves as he sits down on a chair.

With experience, he confidently sits in the main seat for the interview, while the event news officer who intended to guide can only swallow her words and then formally announce, "Let's start the interview!"

Beep.

The live broadcast signal is connected.

"Hello everyone, this is the CCTV Food Channel's hunting interview express—" Qi Qingyan speaks to the CCTV equipment.

"This is NHK's food segment, I'm Chiyoda Aichi, responsible for affairs in Tokyo."

Meanwhile.

The screen suddenly switches, and the once bustling atmosphere inside the Dragon Gate Hall venue quiets down, as if hit by cold air, making the audience pause and widen their eyes at the broadcast screen.

Outside the venue, the large open-air screen also shows the same interview live broadcast image, and the crowd at the ticket gate turns sideways, quieting down.

Neon, Tokyo.

In major intersections of bustling districts like Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Ginza, the street screens simultaneously receive the live broadcast signal.

In the crowd at crosswalks and cars waiting for traffic lights.

Pairs of eyes focus on the young man in the picture.

"Hmm?"

Perhaps due to fate's arrangement, the special-grade venue at Tokyo IGO headquarters, during the first special-grade assessment of January this winter, is in its second-day stage. Contestants are making their final push to present their culinary works before dusk.

In Kitchen No. 1, Tiqie Helinai faintly hears the sudden outdoor uproar, frowning slightly and looking up, "What's happening?"

On the judging panel, Shinohara Shigetaro leads the judging lineup, sitting in the center.

Apart from him, Aoki, the female main figure, and two other heavyweight judges are present, including NHK's food segment head, Chiyoda Aichi's superior. This middle-aged man places his phone on the judging table, volume turned down to 10%, and watches the live broadcast.

Aoki and the female main figure all have their eyes on the live broadcast.

Seeing this, Shinohara Shigetaro feels a strong itch inside, but must maintain composure due to his identity as chief judge and IGO minister, sitting upright with a seemingly serious facade, while in reality, his ears have perked up, reaching their peak performance in listening.

In a short pre-competition interview of about 10 minutes, Shinohara Shigetaro vaguely hears a few sentences.

"…Chef Xia, this is your first time attending a large culinary tournament in the Chinese Cuisine World. Do you think the young talents in the Chinese Realm completely overshadow the outstanding peers from Neon's Far Moon Culinary Academy?"

"The young generation in the Chinese Realm indeed stand out overall, much more qualified, but it's not a complete overshadowing. As for Far Moon, I have some standout students in mind, who might also achieve good results in this competitive event after adapting to high-intensity competition for a couple of years in the Chinese Realm."

"Chef Xia, have you been following external comments? You know your nickname 'Young Devil,' what do you have to say about it?"

"Kind of cool, I guess."

"Uh, the Heavenly King Mountain battle of this year's hunt will kick off in half an hour. Can you talk about your goals and expectations?"

"..."

Hearing this, Shinohara Shigetaro waits for a while but hears nothing more, shifting restlessly in his chair, almost turning sideways to view the phone screen.

But on the screen, the news officer is bowing.

"Thank you, the pre-competition interview ends here!"

Is it over just like that?

Shinohara looks at the peculiar expressions on Aoki and the female main figure's faces, growing more curious, asking quietly, "How did that youngster respond just now?"

"This!"

Aoki points upward, gesturing.

Shinohara's face is one of disbelief.

"Don't look at me like that, it's just this—" Aoki continues to point, indicating the high ceiling.

"The sky?"

"Blue sky?"

Shinohara Shigetaro suddenly understands.

Challenging the Heavenly King disciple?

Wanting to break into a vast new world?

No matter what, Shinohara is shocked. This feels like a trajectory to do big things.

...

Xia Yu comes out from the interview room, looking relaxed as if he has cast off all burdens.

Honestly, since he has fixed Fan's Recipe, he has to showcase the results to the world on a big stage, although he still has a bit of hesitation in his heart.

Should he use the "Shiny Silk-footed Fish"?

The precious taboo fish ingredient, if used in a culinary tournament with no nutritional value, seems quite wasteful.

Moreover, the ancient flashy recipe paired with the flashy ingredient is almost invincible, isn't this too unfair?

If the opponent were a Lin Chef, Xia Yu would definitely drop all contempt to use his trump card carefully. However, according to information, Ye Feizhou is stuck at the Lin bottleneck for a long time, and the great gap between Lin and special-grade cannot be bridged by talent and recipes alone.

"Please wait!"

As Xia Yu ponders, suddenly a voice calls him from the corridor.