Chapter 604: Chapter 603: Super Simplified Gold and Jade (Part 2)

Thump, thump-thump, thump-thump-thump!

This was the sound of a kitchen knife chopping down, intense and rhythmically tight. Just listening to it made it hard for onlookers to catch their breath.

“One cut!”

Xia Yu inhaled softly, his wrist rising, and with it, the “Jade Splinter Knife” also hung in mid-air.

Thud, thud, thud…

The chunks of meat on the cutting board immediately burst open. Under the astonished and stunned gazes of the spectators, they split and broke on their own into equally sized pieces of pork cubes.

It was that familiar dismembering culinary skill again. Before the crowd could react, the young master chef instructed his assistant:

“Come, help—”

He pointed to the finely chopped blood-red pork cubes on the countertop before pointing to another corner, where bags of shiny silver metal skewers were sealed, “String the pork cubes, five on each skewer. Remember, keep the shape of the cubes intact, and handle them as gently as possible!”

With many hands making light work, the entire counter of finely chopped meat was, within a few minutes, transformed into numerous strings of pork.

In the meantime, Xia Yu had brought in the grill and a small oven, and some charcoal was directly transferred from the large grilling furnace. Eventually, several barbecuing stations were pieced together to form a circle, enclosing Xia Yu inside.

“Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle…”

So, the pork skewers were densely laid out on the grill, making close contact with the fiery red charcoal beneath them. Under such high-temperature grilling, the meat on the skewers quickly cooked, the blood-red hue of the meat faded, and the rich aroma of pork seemed to become like a fountain, spreading to all directions invisibly.

“Ah!”

Zhu Qing, who had just made a bet with the person in red, was so surprised that she covered her mouth.

“This… wasn’t it cooked with a red pot directly before?”

Zhu Qing’s mind couldn’t help but conjure up the scene of the youth stir-frying the “Gem Meat Cubes” with a red pot.

Tricked!

Veins bulging on her forehead, annoyance flashed through Zhu Qing’s eyes. She felt the urge to rush forward and beat someone up, silently grinding her teeth: “He switched from the red pot to this skewered cooking method on the spot… where does this kid get all these crazy ideas from? Urgh, the bet was just settled, and I feel like I’m going to lose!”

Zhu Qing’s face underwent several changes.

“Look—”

However, the one in red suddenly spoke, staring at the grill.

Hm?

At this moment, the bigwigs present also noticed something unusual about the oven temperatures.

Each oven, quietly, flared up a nameless fire. No, the flames seemed to be following the young master chef; whichever oven he moved in front of while flipping the pork skewers on the grill, flames would burst out of that oven.

Clearly, the charcoal was already burning red-hot, and according to common sense, it should only emit high temperatures, not flames.

Of course, another possibility was that the pork’s fat had started to combust!

“The tail… finally shows itself, huh!”

Excitement flickered in the eyes of the person in red.

To others watching the scene, they exchanged puzzled looks, somewhat confused. From the perspective of ordinary people and low-tier chefs, they might think that the oven might be set with some sort of hidden air inlet, where the wind blew into the box, naturally producing the flames.

But for the guests who noticed even a hint of what was happening, they were all shocked.

“Flames!”

“Why are there flames with high-burning charcoal?”

“Is he controlling the flames?!”

Outside the crowd, the Neon Department trio, Shinohara, Aoki, and Reiko were incredulous.

“Reiko, do you see what’s happening?” Shinohara and Aoki asked the female chef closest to Lin Chef status, who was just half a step away from promotion.

“I don’t understand… but…”

Liangzi Lina focused her gaze, her eyes seriously following the side profile of the youth, “I have a familiar feeling.”

“It seems that in the past, I’ve also seen a similar culinary performance from a top-tier Lin Chef.” She said, as the impressive culinary performance from the past resurfaced in her mind, she silently compared past and present cooking scenes, confirming there was an indescribable familiarity in them.

After mulling it over in her mind, Liangzi Lina realized that if she had to describe it, that would be—

Soul!

“The flames… they have life, a soul!”

Tiqie Xianzuowen muttered to himself.

Beside him, Yan Mo’s pupils instantly narrowed.

If Dojima Yin were here, he would have noticed that Xia Yu’s culinary practice tonight was far more stable and controlled than the scene he stumbled upon backstage at the competition. The flames were not the thin, fine threads of that day, but rather blinding ribbons that twirled and contracted, gently brushing over the densely arranged skewers of pork on the grill and bringing with them an intensified aroma.

Heat wafted from the oven.

A thread of searing heat enveloped their noses, and in the innermost circle stood Makki and Eriina, their pupils reflecting the flickering flames. Of course, at the center of it all was the young head chef… For some reason, a sacred hall of flames grew clearer in their minds, and a vast and majestic presence bore down upon them, spawning a feeling of deep reverence in both women.

“Clang!”

The sound of chains rang out once more.

Upon hearing it, everyone was jarred back to reality. They saw Xia Yu, pulling an iron chain from a pile of charcoal, dragging a flaming red pot onto the stove where he had just stir-fried the twice-cooked pork.

“The temperature isn’t high enough!”

Turning his head back to the kitchen and then returning, Xia Yu brought over the Heavenly Craft Wind Box and said to Ichise Hui, Xingping Chuangzhen, and the other male assistants, “Bring charcoal!”

“Okay!”

The boys from Polar Star Dormitory sprang into action, two people carrying one bag each.

Soon, Xia Yu bent down, grabbed the handle of the wind box, and those encircling the courtyard held their breath in anticipation.

“Boom!”

With one pull and a push of the handle!

This time, it was a wild flame that instantly erupted from the stove, the sound of wind and flames mixing together. The stove resembled a blacksmith’s furnace, emitting a deep, rumbling growl like a giant beast, awe-inspiring.

A sense of familiarity!

Relatives and guests all naturally reminisced about the scene on the competition stage where the young chef used the wind box to cook “Star Rice”. Back then, the entire venue was shaken by the roar of the furnace.

With that thought, they came to their senses and took a closer look, and Xingping Chuangzhen scratched his head, saying, “Today is the first day after the competition, isn’t it? Why does it feel like that Shokugeki with the classic appearance of ‘Gold and Jade’ happened a very long time ago.”

No one answered him; they were all watching intently.

Before, the pork skewers had already been mostly grilled, and pots of rice were cooked. Xia Yu and his assistants continued to be busy, while girls like Makki, Eriina, Tanaka Hikari, and Yoshino Yuuki helped remove the skewers, carefully picking off the pork cubes and placing them on plates.

The boys then carried the buckets of rice, about two large wooden buckets of hot rice, needing to be mashed into large bowls to cool.

A quarter hour later.

“Done!”

When the pot was not red but a bright yellow color, the sound of wind stopped.

Xia Yu let go and carefully observed the red pot on the stove with his “Super Touch”, nodding silently when he felt that the temperatures in various areas of the pot were nearly identical, “The temperature zones are consistent; this pot is ready to be used!”

“Golden Frame Burst Flame, fused with ‘Qi’…”

He didn’t rush to start working but instead calmed his mind.

On the stage, Xia’s Seven Kingdoms United Fried Noodles, which stood supremely alone, made him realize that ultimate culinary skills naturally carried the essence of food.

After the competition, having gained the miraculous seed of Qi, his first thought was not that he had become some martial artist with inner Qi, but to try cooking food with Qi.

Thinking of that burnt piece of River Puffer Whale meat.

And also recalling the unintentional practice that led to the “Demonization” of Tiqie Ji’s fried rice.

Gradually, the chaos in his mind was dispelled by the light.

“It should… be like this, right?”

“Awaken, evolve!”

He seemed to have grasped the key, a look of surprise in Xia Yu’s eyes.

“Bring me the fat—”

He called out lowly, a hint of urgency in his voice.

“Okay!”

Animal fats from cattle, pigs, and poultry were brought over, and with a flick of the wok spatula, it sizzled.

“Rice, come!”

Ichise Hui and Xingping Chuangzhen came forward, each carrying a bowl heaped with rice.

At that moment, pillars of fire roared into the sky!