Kael didn't even need to use firewood. He burned his own qi directly as fuel.
That kind of method was incredibly extravagant—but Kael's qi was tied directly to his Gourmet Cells. Even if he burned through it quickly, he could recover just as fast by eating. That was the terrifying strength of Gourmet Cells.
Which meant Kael could afford to waste qi however he liked.
At that moment, qi surged from his body, and terrifying flames erupted from his hands.
"This is even more domineering than Arkan's Explosive Flame… his control over demonic fire is insane!"
Seeing this, Ensei's mouth twitched. He suddenly realized something unsettling—Kael always seemed to defeat them using the very field they excelled in.
That was just absurd.
Both Kael and Arkan were now completely engulfed in flames. From the outside, no one could even tell what they were doing.
Then, in the next instant, the flames on Arkan's side moved.
A chain wrapped around a fish began spinning at high speed. The flames were dragged along with it, coiling tightly around the ingredients. In a flash, the chain and fire merged into a massive, blazing rotary disk.
This was Arkan's strongest move—and a secret technique only he could use.
Heavenly Flame Wheel.
Kael could use the same technique if he wanted to, but there was no need. Under his control, the flames behaved like obedient pets. He didn't need such complicated maneuvers.
Arkan's Explosive Flame was nothing like Kael's fire. Kael's flames could isolate heat, which was why no one else could sense them. Arkan's flames, on the other hand, were brutally real.
The surrounding temperature skyrocketed under the combined effect of scorching fire and high-temperature steam.
Even though it didn't last long, everyone present was already drenched in sweat.
"This is ridiculous. With abilities like these, they're actually using them to cook?"
The judges exchanged looks, completely at a loss for words. They weren't chefs themselves, so watching people with this level of power cook felt unreal.
With abilities like that, why be a chef at all? Wouldn't it be easier to become some kind of overlord?
What they didn't realize was that in the world of Cooking Master Boy, these kinds of powers only ever appeared in chefs. Outsiders simply couldn't understand.
Arkan finished his dish quickly. After all, he was using flames to directly sear the food, and the seasonings had already been infused into the fish beforehand.
Compared to the previous round, both chefs were much faster this time. Kael finished almost simultaneously.
Both dishes were covered with lids. For glowing cuisine, this step was mandatory—without covering it first, the dish wouldn't glow.
The moment the lids were lifted, two pillars of crimson light shot straight into the sky, flames coiling around them.
Once again, the glow took form—but this time, the spectacle was even more overwhelming than before.
The light looked like twin columns of fire piercing the heavens. If everyone didn't know these weren't real flames, some of them might have already fled in panic.
"Is that roast goose? It looks pretty good."
Everyone turned their attention to Kael's dish.
On his plate sat a whole roast goose.
"That's right. This dish is called Universe Roast Goose. Please, enjoy."
After saying that, Kael didn't explain further.
This dish was something he'd seen before in The God of Cookery. Back then, during the Culinary God Tournament, Universe Roast Goose was mainly about the rice-field sparrows cooked inside the goose—the goose itself was just a supporting role.
But Kael wouldn't waste such a fine ingredient.
He fused the flavors of the roast goose and the sparrows perfectly using fire, creating an entirely new taste.
In terms of pure fire control, Arkan's grilled fish and Kael's Universe Roast Goose weren't even on the same level anymore.
The result matched Kael's expectations exactly.
Arkan lost.
With that, the title of First Fire Extinguisher Chef of the Six Lands fell into Kael's hands.
"A bet is a bet. From today onward, I'm your subordinate."
Arkan didn't waste words. He had lost, so he accepted the outcome cleanly and immediately severed his ties with the Dark Cooking Society.
"Arkan-sama… don't forget about me!"
A girl suddenly spoke up.
It was Riko.
She had always followed Arkan, and she liked him. In the original story, it seemed like Arkan and Riko died together in Huboyi Cave—but who knew? Maybe they never died and simply disappeared into seclusion.
Now that Arkan had become Kael's subordinate, Riko naturally followed. Wherever Arkan went, she would go.
Arkan understood her feelings, but now that he served Kael, he instinctively looked toward him.
"Don't look at me like that," Kael said calmly. "You're my subordinate. As for the people around you—whether they stay or leave is their own choice."
Kael made it clear: accepting Arkan and Ensei wasn't because he desperately needed them. They simply couldn't offer better stakes, and Kael wanted to test himself against them.
Truthfully, he didn't really need either of them.
"Then that leaves the final match," Kael said, turning his gaze to Ensei. "It's your turn."
Ensei set down the wine jar in his hand and sighed.
"I forfeit. I admit I'm not your match. My hearing doesn't lie—so you win."
Throughout the match, Ensei had been monitoring Kael with his Divine Hearing. Kael's Universe Roast Goose was something Ensei simply couldn't defend against.
If Arkan lost, then Ensei would lose as well. So he chose to surrender outright.
That was just Ensei's style—casual, free-spirited, perfectly fitting his reputation as a wanderer. He genuinely didn't care much about winning or losing.
Honestly, Kael would never do that.
Even if his Super Senses told him defeat was guaranteed, he'd still fight it out. If you don't try, how do you know who'll win?
The odds might be slim—but slim didn't mean zero.
Surrendering outright meant killing even that last sliver of possibility. Kael couldn't bring himself to do that.
But since Ensei had already forfeited, Kael wasn't interested in continuing. Just like that, he had taken in two of the Five Tiger Stars.
As for the remaining three—Juchi and Mira weren't worth worrying about. They were still Dragon Chefs, and upright ones at that.
Both followed Kaiyu's orders anyway.
If anything, Juchi was the trickiest among them. His personality had twisted, turning him into someone who would stop at nothing. In the original story, he even poisoned Meili(Meirei) and nearly killed her.
"So… it's really over already?"
The judges asked with some regret. They had expected three matches, but it ended in just two.
Even so, they had gained a lot. Before today, they'd never tasted dishes like these.
If Kael hadn't restrained his Chef's Heart, they'd probably already be kneeling before him.
"From now on, you'll follow me," Kael said. "At least until the Dark Cooking Society is destroyed."
Originally, Kael hadn't planned to bring them along. But after thinking it through, leaving them alone would just get them killed by the Dark Cooking Society.
Better to keep them close. Anyone under Kael's wing didn't need to worry about safety.
"Kael-sama," Ensei asked, "what about the Lou Lin Ship?"
"That thing's useless to me. Leave it."
Kael had no intention of taking the ship. He had nowhere to use it anyway. Besides, there were still plenty of Dark Cooking Society members left behind.
They'd take it.
And Kael had no intention of handing something like that over to the Light Culinary World.
He knew exactly how rotten the Light Culinary World had become. If not for a handful of people still clinging to dreams and ideals, it would've collapsed long ago.
Any organization that existed too long—especially a powerful one—was bound to decay.
The Light Culinary World was the perfect example.
Thankfully, it wasn't beyond saving yet.
With that, the group left the Lou Lin Ship and continued forward.
The ship itself was left in the hands of the Lin chefs. With two Five Tiger Stars already recruited by Kael, they had no other choice.
"Wait—what's this?"
Just as the Lin chefs were at a loss, they noticed several sheets of paper placed atop the floor tiles used to detonate the ship.
They hurried over and picked them up.
"These are maps… maps showing the locations of the Legendary Kitchenware!"
Their eyes lit up.
Their original goal had been to seize the Legendary Kitchenware—or at least the maps to their locations. Instead, two of their own Five Tiger Stars had been taken.
And yet now, maps had fallen into their hands.
"Weren't these maps supposed to be on Kael?" one Lin chef asked, confused. "Why are they here?"
"He left them on purpose," another said. "There's no way something like this was accidentally dropped."
"Exactly. He's using us—using the Dark Cooking Society—to collect the Legendary Kitchenware for him."
They quickly understood Kael's intention.
After all, Kael already possessed Legendary Kitchenware himself. There was no way he wouldn't clash with the Dark Cooking Society again.
By leaving the maps behind, he was forcing them to search for the utensils—something they couldn't refuse.
Because the Legendary Kitchenware was exactly what they wanted.
"Send word to the leader," someone said. "Both about the two Five Tiger Stars—and these maps. We need his orders."
They discussed briefly and decided this was beyond their authority.
The maps were sent back, with several copies kept as backups. Losing something this important would make finding the Legendary Kitchenware nearly impossible.
Meanwhile, Kael had already brought Arkan and Ensei back to the Light Culinary World in Jia City.
Their identities were sensitive, but with Kael around, no one dared to touch them.
In fact, Kael's actions were a massive boon to the Light Culinary World—he had subdued two Supreme Dragon Chefs in one move.
The blow dealt to the Dark Cooking Society was anything but minor.
"So… where are we going next?"
Arkan asked.
Now that they wouldn't be targeted in the Light Culinary World, things felt different. Honestly, their personalities never really fit the Dark Cooking Society in the first place.
They had simply risen from it, and without outside help, switching sides had been impossible.
Ensei didn't care either way. With their abilities, survival was never an issue.
But Arkan was different now—he had Riko with him. With their status resolved, he finally relaxed.
As Kael had said, until the Dark Cooking Society was destroyed, staying close to him was the safest option.
Arkan understood that well. As a former Five Tiger Star, he knew exactly how dirty Kaiyu's methods were. Even with Explosive Flame, he couldn't defend against the Society's underhanded moves.
"We're heading to the imperial palace," Kael said.
"I left the maps to the Spirit Storehouse and the White Tiger Pot with the Dark Cooking Society. Even if they know I did it on purpose, they'll still chase after them."
"But they'll never find the Jade Dragon Pot."
"Because that thing is inside the palace—hidden within the emperor's dragon throne itself. With the Dark Cooking Society's strength, there's no way they can get it."
The tournament was still far off.
For Kael, infiltrating the palace and tearing apart the dragon throne was more than enough.
For anyone else, that would be unthinkable.
For him, it was trivial.
"I seriously can't tell whether you're human or a monster," Ensei said, exasperated. "The palace is guarded like a fortress. Even the Dark Cooking Society can't get in—yet you talk about it like a stroll."
"If you had my strength, you could come and go as you pleased too," Kael replied. "Enough talk. Let's move."
With that, Kael led the way forward.