The Divine Knife Skill Showdown.
The time was set for three days later, at the Guangzhou Daxian Temple. Anyone who had reached the level of Special Grade Chef could register for the competition via their mobile phone.
The champion's reward was the title of Five-Star Special Grade Chef, along with the qualification to sign a contract with the legendary cooking utensil during the sealing ceremony at Daxian Temple.
The rewards for second and third place were the title of Four-Star Special Grade Chef. If a chef already held that rank, the win would count towards their accumulated record. Three such accumulated wins would allow them to travel to Kyoto to participate in the Five-Star Special Grade Chef examination. As long as they could create a luminous-level dish during the assessment, they could become a Five-Star Special Grade Chef.
In addition to the Four-Star title, the second and third place winners also gained the qualification to sign a contract with the legendary cooking utensil.
The emergence of the legendary cooking utensil was like dropping a stone into a calm lake, instantly stirring up Guangzhou's culinary world. News about the Divine Knife Skill Showdown now filled the streets and alleys. The competition would even be broadcast live throughout the Guangdong region on the day.
This competition was also the largest in the Guangdong region in ten years. Once confirmed, the Guangdong Culinary Federation (Guangchu Lian) organized it to the highest standards. The purpose was to generate buzz, attract foreign chefs to join Guangdong, and revitalize the local culinary scene!
The night before the competition.
Dylan hadn't gone anywhere. He simply found a corner in the kitchen and began sharpening his knives. His body trembled slightly, his face etched with an expression of indescribable excitement and anticipation.
"What's wrong with Teacher Dylan? He's been like this all day. Apart from eating at meal times, he hasn't done anything else, just sharpening knives in the corner of the kitchen. He didn't even say a word when we came in. Could the pressure be too much...?"
Watching Dylan, engrossed in sharpening his knives in the corner, silent for ages, Hojo Miyoko placed a hand on her chest, her brow furrowed with worry.
"Him? Pressure? Impossible! Look at him, he's ridiculously excited!"
Hojo Miyoko was young and couldn't quite tell, but the others knew very well. Hearing her concern, their expressions turned strange.
Dylan was a battle maniac. When faced with a strong opponent, others would think about how to show respect, or at the very least, maintain distance. But him? He'd walk right up and say, "How about a spar? Let's see your skills!"
Being a battle maniac was one thing, but the key was that Dylan actually had the skill to defeat those long-established powerhouses, which made everyone want to avoid him. There was no benefit in winning against him, and losing was embarrassing. No one wanted to engage in such a thing.
"Excited?"
Hearing Li Wanwan's words, Hojo Miyoko frowned slightly, clearly not understanding why Dylan would feel that way.
"You haven't experienced a Shokugeki before, so you don't understand this feeling. When people encounter an evenly matched opponent, they all react like this." Kakuzaki Taki crossed her arms, looking like she knew it all. As the former second seat of the Elite Ten, she had fought her way up through competition and naturally understood Dylan's current feelings very well.
"This guy is different from us. We only get excited about evenly matched opponents. But he gets excited about anyone strong, the stronger the better!" Li Wanwan watched Dylan with complicated eyes. After spending this time together, she had come to understand the man's true nature. He was a man utterly obsessed with cooking. Although he sometimes acted lecherous, if forced to choose between beauty and cuisine, he would always choose cuisine; beauty couldn't sway him in the slightest. And once he started cooking, his entire demeanor changed, shifting from a lazy cat to a hunting tiger in an instant!
"Sonoka, did you buy the tofu?"
Hearing the girls' discussion, Dylan finally looked up, his gaze settling on Kinokuni Sonoka, or more accurately, the bag in her hand.
"I bought it. But why tofu all of a sudden? Could tomorrow's test theme be..."
Kinokuni Sonoka covered her mouth, as if struck by a thought. Considering Dylan's relationship with Master Baiyao, knowing the test theme in advance didn't seem entirely impossible.
"Take out the tofu, line it up on the cutting board."
Facing Kinokuni Sonoka's inquiry, Dylan didn't explain, merely instructing her to place the tofu on the cutting board. He then rinsed his sharpened knife with clean water.
"What's this for?"
Watching Dylan walk towards them—more precisely, towards the cutting board—with knife in hand after the tofu was arranged, the girls stared intently.
"Just practicing my knife skills a bit. Since it's the Divine Knife Skill Showdown, knife skills are tested more heavily than the flavor of the cooking."
Dylan understood. If the legendary Yongling Knife was truly stored in Guangzhou's Daxian Temple, then the requirements for the user's knife skills would surely be stringent. In this situation, if he focused too much on the cooking and performed poorly in knife skills... even if he won, he definitely wouldn't gain the knife's recognition!
Dylan certainly wouldn't make such a foolish mistake. He wanted to win and showcase his knife skills to earn the Yongling Knife's approval.
With this thought, his hand began to move slightly.
The next moment, a silver blade flashed. The 'Wenqu Dao' (Literary Melody Knife) danced like a butterfly among flowers, weaving gracefully over the tofu.
In less than a minute, Dylan sheathed his knife, then tapped the tabletop lightly. The surface layer of the tofu peeled away, revealing the creature sculpted within. Its eyes were vivid, its scales lifelike. Looking closely, one could even see the dragon's teeth in its mouth, its eyes fierce—a veritable White Dragon Riding the Waves!
Though motionless, just standing there emanated an incredibly solemn draconic pressure. The overwhelming aura nearly made Kinokuni Sonoka stumble; she had to grab the nearby table to steady herself. And this was just from a glance! She felt as if a true dragon was staring at her, making her legs tremble, feeling like something might... burst forth!
The others, not having made direct eye contact, fared slightly better, but their faces were pale, feeling the terrifying sensation of being watched by a powerful existence transcending the world.
"It's a pity I've never seen a real dragon. I can only simulate its form, not fully capture its spirit."
Seeing the girls nearly collapse, an aura suddenly rose from Dylan, countering the White Dragon's presence. This pressure lifted from the girls, allowing them to breathe a sigh of relief before quickly moving behind him. If the sky falls, the tall one holds it up!
"Teacher Dylan, is that a dragon on the table? Why does it exert such intense pressure? It's terrifying! It feels like being stared down by a ferocious prehistoric beast!"
Kinokuni Sonoka, thoroughly frightened, now clung to Dylan's arm, looking timidly towards the White Dragon.
"That's a Chinese dragon. Just practicing some carving techniques I haven't used in a while. Been a long time, so I'm a bit rusty."
Dylan shrugged, speaking nonchalantly. His casual, slightly boastful tone made the girls roll their eyes.
That's rusty? Didn't you see you almost scared Sonoka half to death?!
"Incredible. It's clearly just carved from tofu, why does it possess such terrifying power, making one's heart tremble?" Kakuzaki Taki muttered, her voice filled with shock. Wasn't this a bit too exaggerated?!
"This completely defies common sense!"
Hojo Miyoko voiced what everyone was thinking. A dragon carved from tofu having such power—didn't that defy common sense!
"Actually, it's alright. This level isn't really anything special. It's because you all are too weak that you're affected by this level of 'presence'. Any Special Grade Chef wouldn't be affected like this." Dylan shrugged again. It wasn't really the tofu's fault; Kinokuni Sonoka and the others were just too inexperienced to be scared like that.
"The way you say it makes Special Grade Chefs sound like cabbages, found everywhere," Li Wanwan retorted speechlessly, hearing Dylan's casual tone.
"Huh? Aren't they? Oh, right. From your level, you probably haven't met many Special Grade Chefs. Once you reach my level, you'll find there are actually quite a few Special Grade Chefs in the world."
Dylan looked puzzled at first, then, as if realizing something, his expression cleared.
"It feels like you're being incredibly smug, and there's no way to refute it, which is the most infuriating part!" Li Wanwan clenched her fists, grinding her teeth. If she weren't sure she couldn't win, she really wanted to punch him right now!
______________
🌟 WE DID IT, WANGSHENG FAMILY! We're +50 on Patreon! 🌟
The Director is OVERJOYED – thank you so much to each and every one of you for making this possible! 🥰 To celebrate this incredible achievement, a special gift: YOUR 10 BONUS CHAPTERS are now live! Go check them out!
And the journey continues! Our next big goal is to
Reach 75 amazing supporters! And yes, the reward will be epic again: 10 more brand-new chapters, all at once! 🤩
👻 Want more?
100 powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone! 5 reviews = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone!
Growing Wangsheng family and unlock even more exclusive content! ✨
Join us: 👻 patreon.com/Walnutchan 👻