Chapter 743: Chapter 742: The Blade that Severs Bonds

Hall.

Yuchuan Xin and the other three family heads had somber expressions.

“I never expected to encounter such a Food Duel!” the Chiyoda Family Head, the only female among them, around the age of forty, dressed in a black and white business suit, exuded a dignified and impressive demeanor.

“Yes!”

“So sudden!”

“Noble in courage, but too reckless!”

The group shook their heads in unison.

The Dubian Family Head, a middle-aged man in samurai-like kimonos, sitting upright on his knees, sighed, “Perhaps the path was too smooth. After returning from Sapporo, he should have closed his doors for a while to rest and reflect.”

The tycoons from the Far Moon corporation were also there.

Having not shown up for a long time, since the Far Moon Team triumphantly returned from Sapporo, Kasuga Shigeru and Kikuchi Musashi, who were keeping a low profile, whispered in a corner of the room.

“Ha!” Kikuchi Musashi, the old man, had a face as radiant as a chrysanthemum. He slapped his thigh, feeling the gloom lifting from his heart, and chuckled sinisterly, “This lad has dug his own grave, we can’t be blamed!”

Kasuga Shigeru was not in a jovial mood, his face slightly gloomy.

“If he loses, the culinary society will rise in power!” Kasuga Shigeru felt a sense of tragic empathy. Honestly, ever since Ghost Father Tiqie was repelled, his ties with the culinary society had been cut. Therefore, when this Food Duel involved the honor and disgrace of the culinary society and the Japanese Food Industry, Kasuga Shigeru couldn’t help but worry.

“Heh, I wish he would just disappear!” Kikuchi Musashi didn’t hide his resentment.

Xia Yu was rising powerfully within the Far Moon Kingdom, and correspondingly, Kikuchi Musashi was losing his influence, becoming a marginal figure with his shares at risk of devaluation.

Listening to the voices inside the room, unanimously pessimistic, even Xia Yu’s relatives and friends dared not claim he could win at this moment.

Suddenly, there was a rustling noise outside the hall.

A male and a female staff member placed a food ingredient box at the entrance of the hall.

“I am Mr. Lei Zhe’s assistant.” The woman said to a waiter, who hurriedly went to report, and the lady of the house soon returned to the main hall.

Upon seeing the hostess, the female assistant said, “This is the ingredient Mr. Lei Zhe instructed us to bring!”

The hostess nodded and signaled the waiter to lift the box and place it on the bar of the hall.

Thus, pairs of eyes involuntarily stared at the metal box.

The air felt oppressively heavy, suffocating.

“So quick!” Alice’s eyes widened, incredulously gasping, “It hasn’t even been half an hour, and Lei Zhe has already decided on the recipe for the duel and sent the ingredients ahead?!”

“Eggs!”

Eriina bit her lip, her face subtly dazed.

She suddenly remembered her own “Glutinous Rice Egg” and the past infuriating and embarrassing “Xia Family Transformed Raw Egg Rice Bowl.”

It seemed that her first Food Duel with him had also been themed around eggs!

From early spring in March to the end of the year, another similar Food Duel themed on ‘eggs,’ spanning almost an entire year. What splendid and stunning spectacle would this egg-themed Food Duel bloom into?

While feeling nervous and palpitated, there was a hint of inexplicable excitement in Eriina’s eyes. Although she did not express her admiration for a mentor and close friend like Alice did, deep inside, Eriina held a blind faith in him—

That guy must have something to rely on, right?

“At the Lin Chef Promotion Ceremony, challenging an established Lin Chef in a Food Duel, and if victorious, any test dishes would seem superfluous! Yes, he definitely wants to use a resounding victory to strongly prove himself as a true Lin Chef!” Eriina clenched her fists tightly, her palms sweating.

The whimsical girl thought she had grasped Xia Yu’s deepest intentions in initiating the Food Duel, her lips curving into an uplifted arc.

Huh?

Prove what?

If Xia Yu were here, he’d definitely give a dismissive eye roll, thinking the girl was overthinking.

It’s not that complicated.

He simply wanted to defeat Lei Zhe, to eliminate a significant threat, that simple.

As for such confidence, if Xia Yu were to reveal it, he also had a sudden insight within the lady’s dishes, wanting to verify it genuinely—uh, who would believe that?

“Thud, thud, thud…”

Footsteps rang out, and everyone simultaneously stopped talking and looked up toward the corridor.

From both ends of the corridor, two figures, one tall and one short, approached each other.

“How about it, Lei Zhe, will you accept this Food Duel?”

“Hmph!”

Lei Zhe responded to Xia Yu’s joking question with a cold snort, his smile not reaching his eyes as he said, “You’re bringing this on yourself!”

There was nothing extra to say, no harsh words were sufficient at the moment to encapsulate the irreconcilable conflict between the two. Xia Yu and Lei Zhe entered the room, where the female lead had the servants set up the Food Duel stage in the grand hall. The central bar was split in half—Xia Yu took the eastern side, and Lei Zhe the western side, as they stood facing each other coldly.

Huh?

Xia Yu noticed the metal box on the table in front of Lei Zhe and felt a chill, “The ingredients are already prepared?”

Lei Zhe suddenly spoke, “Curious, aren’t you?”

Instinctively nodding, Xia Yu uttered a sound and laughed, “Naturally curious. I didn’t expect you to have the right ingredients…” A trace of subtle apprehension flickered in his eyes.

He had plenty of experience dueling Food Tyrant Chefs.

But Mars and Tiqie Ji, frankly speaking, were just small fry below the level of a Qilin. Xia Yu also felt uneasy, murmuring to himself, wondering if choosing a Food Dominator Lin Chef for a trial was too reckless?

Then he shook his head.

Reckless? In his heart, the duel with Lei Zhe was straightforward—he had long wanted to deal with this guy, sick of him coveting his labor and the precious “Jade Dragon Pot.”

Uncles could tolerate, aunts could tolerate, but he couldn’t!

The room was so silent you could hear a pin drop, as servants continued to set up the Food Duel stage, bringing in various cooking tools as requested by the two.

Moreover, the Food Duel Administration had also sent a manager.

This middle-aged manager, witnessing the scene inside, was so shocked he broke out in a cold sweat. In front of Shinohara Shigetaro, he nodded and bowed continuously, “Yes, yes, this Food Duel will be strictly confidential, no leaks whatsoever will be allowed!”

“I’ll take care of drafting the Food Duel clauses!”

Shinohara Shigetaro stood and took a file holder, walking up to the bar, and cautiously asked both parties about the Food Duel terms, “About the conditions for winning or losing the duel, what have you two discussed?”

“Uh, we haven’t discussed it yet!” Xia Yu replied.

“Lei Zhe…” Shinohara Shigetaro turned to the other side, only to hear the Food Tyrant coldly say, “Whoever loses must leave Japan and never set foot here again!”

A wave of gasps filled the air.

“Hmm?”

Xia Yu’s expression changed slightly as he firmly looked at Lei Zhe, but soon he smiled again.

These duel conditions were ruthless, a decisive strike!

Lei Zhe’s base was in the culinary society mainly in North America—he could afford to lose.

As for Xia Yu, he had moved to Japan with his grandfather in his early years, spent his middle and high school years there, and his culinary skills had rapidly advanced on this island…

Not to mention his business arrangements and the various Xia’s Restaurant chains, just the relationships alone—childhood friends, a group of beloved students, and friends and mentors like the female lead, Dojima Yin, and the monk were absolutely irreplaceable.

On the surface, it was a travel ban, but at that moment, Xia Yu felt as if a bright, sharp dagger was threatening his deep-rooted connections, watching them intently.

A blade ready to cleanly sever it all!

“Chef Xia Yu, do you accept?” Shinohara Shigetaro asked solemnly.

Everyone stared intently at him.

Alice and Eriina stood not far away, their faces slightly pale, and Yuchuan Meisha clutched her sister Ayaka’s sleeve, murmuring with her hand over her mouth, “If he loses, will Boss Xia not be able to stay in Tokyo?”

“I accept!”

Xia Yu fearlessly met Lei Zhe’s provocative gaze, “Is that the condition? To be honest, I’m at a disadvantage, so, Lei Zhe, you wouldn’t mind if I added a supplementary condition, right?”

“Speak—” Lei Zhe said coldly.

“If you lose, kneel and apologize to Reiko and her precious part!”

Upon hearing this, Lei Zhe’s pupils constricted.

Ignoring Lei Zhe, Xia Yu stared at the newly appeared Food Duel mission—

“‘Resonance of the Qilin’: Showcase the successful overcoming of culinary hurdles once again by defeating the powerful opponent Lei Zhe, rewarding 10 Talent Points and an Evolution Crystal Stone (Gold) *1. Note, there is a failure penalty for this mission, if defeated, the highest-level culinary skill of the current host will be forcibly erased by the system…”