Reborn in Japan as a Chef God

"Please wait!"

Someone called out to Xia Yu, with a very polite tone.

Looking up, his eyes showed a hint of amazement.

What a charming young man.

In white clothes, his hair tied up, with a handsome face, the young man in his early twenties stood in front of Xia Yu.

He seemed vaguely familiar, as if he'd been seen somewhere before, but the impression wasn't deep.

"Who are you?"

"I am Ye Feizhou."

The young man perhaps felt he had been abrupt and retreated two steps before cupping his hands in a customary greeting.

Xia Yu wanted to return the gesture, but his hand, um, froze in mid-air.

He had no idea how to do it at all.

How does one even make such a gestured greeting? Seeking a detailed step-by-step breakdown online!

"Uh, sorry." Xia Yu could only nod as a substitute.

"It's nothing, really."

Ye Feizhou shook his head repeatedly.

"..." Xia Yu rolled his eyes, speechless as he gazed at the ceiling, "What does 'it's nothing' mean? Did I behave improperly or not?"

Ye Feizhou was at a loss for words.

Seeing this, Xia Yu's impression of the person suddenly collapsed completely.

According to rumors, someone who is pampered endlessly by the old folks at the White Jade Tower, supposedly known as Ye Ritian in the culinary world, how could he be so gentle and refined?

Damn it.

The sayings in the worldly society seem entirely unreliable, like the recent rumors labeling him as the horned Demon King.

The corridor was filled with a mysterious silence, Ye Feizhou held back words, his fair cheeks even blushing.

Thump!

His heart skipped a beat wildly.

Inexplicably, he felt a dangerous aura come over him, Xia Yu stepped back a few large steps, feeling he should keep a distance from this top of the Five Talents, otherwise he might bend.

"Forget it, let's not use the 'Shiny Silk-footed Fish' to heavily defeat such a scholar, save it for the strong enemies."

Turning his back and placing his hand on the door handle, preparing to push the door into the waiting hall, Xia Yu's movement slowed a bit as such a thought popped into his mind.

Unexpectedly, Ye Feizhou called out again, stopping him.

"I've broken through!"

The quiet words drifted from behind to his ears, the voice clear, "So, please do your best!"

"Ha?!"

Xia Yu turned around, staring at the young gentleman in white, whose face was full of seriousness, truly finding it laughable and exasperating.

Ye Feizhou, unfazed by Xia Yu's reaction, stood still, his fists at his side clenched tightly, "I can lose, but please let me lose with dignity, and please give me at least some respect. You know what kind of dignity and respect I want, right?"

Xia Yu was speechless.

"For me, dignity and respect mean my opponent's seriousness, giving their all, not being perfunctory and half-hearted."

Ye Feizhou said softly, "And..."

At this point, his eyes finally revealed the aggressive aura that the top of the Five Talents should have.

"I have already broken through and mastered the complete culinary arts, if I further reasonably apply the ancient recipes improved by the sages of the White Jade Tower, do you still believe your chances of winning are ten out of ten, one hundred percent?"

A slight seriousness appeared between Xia Yu's brows.

"I've watched your cooking recordings, all of them."

Ye Feizhou's voice spread through the corridor, "My observations and conclusions are, you like to take risks, you enjoy seizing those moments of sudden inspiration on stage, in other words, you are an unbeaten gambler, consistently getting more with less on your journey."

"But now, I am the one challenging you, aren't you, up high, truly indifferent to that slightest threat?"

With those words, Ye Feizhou had already walked several steps away, leaving Xia Yu with just a back view.

Xia Yu watched as he disappeared from sight.

"Interesting!"

"He can actually completely set aside his pride and status to understand an opponent he only knows by reputation, and is willing to put himself in a disadvantaged position as the challenger... this person's determination and resilience are certainly unlike those pampered princes like Zhao Ritian."

And then a slight laugh came.

Originally he intended to go easy, but at this point, the main character had come over to challenge him, saying going easy would be disrespectful, so well, Xia Yu could only reluctantly follow the original story script.

After all, there's a system task, and it's one that gives Talent Points, Xia Yu also wanted to take a gamble to get the Talent Points and fill up his Chef's Heart soon.

"Alright, as you wish!"

He murmured silently in his heart.

He turned and pulled the door, thud, perhaps too suddenly, a scream came from the person who was eavesdropping behind the door, and then fell to the ground.

"Li Han?" Xia Yu glanced at Li Han, the Li Family's young master rolling on the floor groaning, his mouth twitching, "When did you pick up the habit of eavesdropping on walls? Men shouldn't gossip so much!"

Li Han grimaced, supporting himself against the wall to stand up.

"You're amazing!"

He gave a thumbs up in genuine admiration, "This is the first time I've seen Ye Feizhou admit defeat before a battle!"

Xia Yu brushed off his hand, "Go, go, go!"

"Who said he admitted defeat?"

Tang Yuqiong and Wu Yingying were stunned in the hall.

...

The competition hall.

Looking around, there were no empty seats in the audience, overhead, the balconies on each floor were similarly filled with guests.

Wei An and Kong Chun arrived at the pre-booked private room.

"Hey!"

Kong Chun sighed, slapping a note on the tea table, glaring at Wei An in disdain, "Before returning to the Imperial City, I told you repeatedly, isolate Feizhou from the outside world, don't let external voices affect him, how on earth are you, this old guy, looking after him?"

Wei An glanced sideways at the note.

The note was Ye Feizhou's written message, which they found in a crevice in the car's back seat when they got out.

The content was just one line:

"Though thousands stand against me, I go forth alone!"

Reading this sage's famous quote once again, Wei An's mouth was full of bitterness, unable to defend against Kong Chun's scolding.

Yes, when did Feizhou know?

How much does he know about that 'Young Devil'?

Regardless, looking at the letter left by his beloved pupil, between the lines, full of courage and momentum, Wei An felt somewhat comforted amidst his regret, "He knew, but he didn't back down or run away!"

"And this is the chef's spirit, isn't it, Mr. Kong, which you have repeatedly taught him?"

Spirit?

The spirit to face a battle despite knowing it's a sure defeat?

Kong Chun was in a daze.

"Bang!"

At this moment, all the lights in the Dragon Gate Hall went out simultaneously, the competition hall plunged into complete darkness.

The atmosphere, which had a bit of bustle, suddenly turned dead silent.

The male host's deep, magnetic voice penetrated the entire venue, "The final showdown of the annual hunt is officially beginning. Who can seize the once-a-year opportunity and soar nine thousand miles high?"

"First, let's welcome the six ring masters to the stage. Today they will face the impact of 20 new talents!"

As a result, the deafening cheers spread to every corner of the competition hall.

Six pillars of holy light fell, and six dragon-sculpted, phoenix-engraved treasure chairs slowly rose on the empty stage. This scene had been tested and rehearsed before, but now, it was the real opening, each treasure chair with a person sitting upright, even the directors and staff who were familiar with the process held their breath, watching the six ring masters make their appearance.

"He stepped into the world at 16, his first battle was that year's hunt, with successive victories, achieving entry into the top 20 through two perfect scores and one near-perfect score in the qualifiers, and in that year's Heavenly King Mountain battle, he challenged the top of the Five Talents, thereafter taking the throne of the ring king."

"He's 21 this year, already a five-time consecutive ring king of the hunt, idolized by countless youths in the Chinese Realm—"

"Please shout out his name loudly!"

Boom.

Inside and outside the venue, there was only one voice.

"Ye Feizhou!"

"Ye Feizhou!!"

The lights shone on him, Ye Feizhou rose from his treasure chair, waving to the camera and the audience.

Next, following the ranking order, were Li Han and Tang Yuqiong.

Then came Zhao Zhen and Wu Yingying at the bottom.

After introducing the "Five Chinese Talents", the male host suddenly disappeared, his voice vanishing, and the previous reverberating cheers faded away.

A suffocating atmosphere began to emerge.

"Demon King—"

It's unclear who was bold enough to shout it from the audience, immediately followed by overwhelming cheers and boos mixed together.

There were supporters shouting with all their might.

There were also opposing camps not holding back to offer piercing boos.

When it came to Xia Yu, the audience in the hall was suddenly divided into two factions, so distinctly separate.

Seeing this, the young man on the sixth seat had a smile at the corner of his mouth.

"Let's start transforming the Chinese Realm into my home ground from today..."