The story begins in Food Wars, when Alice took him home.

"Suddenly, I feel like all the fatigue I felt today has been cured!"

"That's outrageous! I remember this place; I heard it's a hotel operated by Totsuki Culinary Arts, and a night's stay is supposedly 80,000 yen—an incredibly expensive hotel!"

"Eighty thousand?! That's already a month's rent!!"

As they stepped off the bus and looked at the towering hotel in front of them, the students gathered around and whispered among themselves, their faces filled with indescribable awe.

"Can we... really live in a place like this?"

Swallowing hard, someone said in disbelief.

"Alright, boys, no doubt about it, this is where you'll be staying tonight."

However, before that, there were Anzu Yasuda, Yamayama Honma, Ryuji Ota, Sho Kitakawa…”

"Those whose names have been called, step forward!"

Looking at the list compiled from the scores of each group, Bai Yuan looked at the students in front of him with a serious expression, his voice clearly reaching their ears.

"what happened?"

"Why are you suddenly telling us to step out of line? What happened?"

"I don't know..."

Upon hearing Bai Yuan call out the name, the people present immediately began to discuss among themselves.

Some of the teams weren't led by him and seemed confused when they heard his shout, but they still stepped forward.

“Your accommodation is slightly different from theirs. Now, come with me on the bus.”

Looking at the somewhat bewildered young men and women emerging from the crowd, Bai Yuan boarded the bus after saying those words.

"What? Different places to stay?"

"What are you trying to do? Aren't you going to explain...?"

With trepidation, the students whose names were called boarded the bus one after another, whispering among themselves.

Soon, all the students whose names were called boarded the buses, and the three buses started moving at the same time, heading into the distance.

"Does anyone know what happened? Why were these students suddenly taken away...?"

As the bus slowly drove away, most of the people who remained stood there discussing the matter, except for a few who left.

"As mentioned before, students whose grades are below 100 will have to sleep in the wilderness."

If nothing unexpected happens, these should be the students whose grades are below 100! The intention is probably to create a harsh environment that will encourage them to drop out.

One of the students guessed that he was a student in Bai Yuan's group. He looked relieved. His score wasn't very good either, but because he brought enough ingredients and was in good condition, he finally got 23 points, which was in the lower middle but not at the bottom.

"That's true, but if all these underachievers drop out of school, doesn't that mean it'll be our turn sooner or later?!"

One of the girls said worriedly,

If those at the bottom of the class can't handle the pressure and leave, and the remaining number dwindles, wouldn't that mean they'll become the new bottom of the class?

Once this was cleared up, there was a moment of silence in the room.

"Then let's hurry up and improve our ranking! So we can enjoy a big bed! So we won't have to sleep in the wilderness!"

At this moment, the atmosphere inside the bus was slightly oppressive.

Bai Yuan, wearing a baseball cap, sat at the front of the bus. The window was open, and feeling the biting wind, the boy comfortably squinted his eyes.

"Teacher, where are we going next?"

Among the trainees, Anzu Yasuda sat down next to Shiroyuki.

Being in Shirabuchi's group, Yasuda Anzu wasn't surprised by this trip because she had been warned about it beforehand.

But what intrigued her was where they were going.

Judging from Bai Yuan's expression, he doesn't seem to have any intention of giving up on them; otherwise, he would have just expelled them from school.

"hell."

As the outline gradually emerged, Bai Yuan said something casually.

"here it is…"

As they got out of the car and looked at what was in front of them, a gasp of surprise erupted from the crowd.

"This is such a dilapidated wooden hut... Is this where we're supposed to stay? How can we possibly get a good rest in this remote, uninhabited place deep in the mountains!"

Looking at the wooden house in front of them, which seemed like it could be blown down by a strong wind, some students went forward to check it out, and then swallowed hard in disbelief.

"This is outrageous! Just because our scores are low, we have to live in a place like this?"

A girl with an innocent-looking face shouted, her voice revealing a hint of disbelief.

"That's... a cliff!?"

"what?!"

"It really is a cliff! Where am I?!"

Someone exclaimed in surprise, causing a commotion. Soon after, many people went forward to investigate and were shocked to discover that behind the wooden house was a cliff!

It's so deep you can't see the bottom; if you throw a stone in, you won't hear a sound for ages.

"Welcome to hell, losers."

Just then, a slightly deep voice rang out from not far away.

Bai Yuan jumped off the bus, attracting the attention of those around him.

Looking at the students in front of him, who seemed bewildered and at a loss, Bai Yuan continued:

"I am Bai Yuan, the one in charge of training you bunch of losers."

Bai Yuan's voice rang out, silencing the previously noisy scene.

"This is the new Chinese cuisine teacher."

"He seems very strict, this is bad!"

"I heard he's a really amazing chef! He's coming to train us? Really?"

After a moment of silence came a heated discussion. Clearly, Bai Yuan had accumulated considerable fame in Totsuki Academy. Even those who hadn't taken his classes had heard of him to some extent.

This is a teacher who is very strict about cooking.

"Listen up! You must absolutely obey my orders here. Anyone who dares to resist will be pushed off the cliff without mercy!"

To the onlookers, Bai Yuan's voice was loud and clear, indicating the use of internal energy, and had a powerful and awe-inspiring effect.

After what happened that morning, he deeply understood the importance of order.

Before training begins, the first thing to do is to establish absolute authority! To keep all unstable factors under control.

"Alright, there are training clothes inside the cabin. Go change and we'll start training right away."

"Huh? Training's starting now?!"

"Didn't it just end?! Wasn't there even a moment to rest...?"

"Mom, save me!"

“I’m only giving you five minutes. Anyone who can’t finish is to get down the mountain right now and drop out of school.”

Ignoring the wailing and howling of the crowd, Bai Yuan left the scene after saying those words, heading towards the wooden house.

Inside the wooden house, a girl with long golden hair was waiting for him. She bowed slightly when he approached and a bright smile appeared on her face.

"Long time no see, Boss Bai."

Seeing Bai Yuan approach, the golden-haired girl opened her arms and hugged him with a big smile.

"It has been a while since we last met. Judging from your appearance, you've been doing quite well lately."

The faint fragrance of the girl wafted to Bai Yuan's nose. He took two deep breaths, looked at her delicate and bright face, and spoke with a slightly teasing tone.

"Because I wanted to see you, I started looking forward to it from the day you called to tell me. My mood was pleasant and my complexion naturally improved."

Without any pretense, the girl frankly expressed her feelings.

"I see. Thank you for coming all the way from Sichuan."

"Then give me a reward, Boss Bai."

"A reward? What do you want? A delicacy? Unlimited wealth? Or top-quality ingredients? Tell me, Leah."

Seeing the girl suddenly gazing at him with intense affection, Bai Yuan pretended not to understand and said...

"Honestly! You know perfectly well what I want. I'll be waiting for you in my room tonight, don't stand me up!"

Hearing Bai Yuan's words, Lia's cheeks puffed up slightly, and she raised her hand and punched Bai Yuan's chest twice.

"But speaking of which, why do you care about those guys?"

They studied at Totsuki Academy for three years, yet their skills lagged far behind their peers; they were simply good-for-nothings who should have been abandoned!

Releasing her grip on Bai Yuan and taking two steps back, Liya looked at the students who were changing clothes and coming out of the wooden house one after another in the distance and asked with some confusion.

These guys are meant to be eliminated; what's the point of training them?

"No one is born useless; they just have the wrong approach."

If success is judged solely by grades, then food battles shouldn't exist in this world.

Looking at the students in the distance, whose expressions varied but who were all obediently changing their clothes, Bai Yuan's eyes gleamed.

"Besides, wouldn't it be a bit too boring to let those top performers advance without any pressure?!"

"You want the weakest of them to challenge the strongest? Isn't that a bit too much..."

Having grasped the meaning behind Bai Yuan's words, Lia's voice carried a hint of surprise.

"Compared to those who are slightly inferior but can surpass the outstanding ones who have advanced with a little effort."

Isn't it incredibly satisfying to have someone who had absolutely no chance of advancing survive to the end?!

Now, the opportunity has been given to them. Let's see if they are truly hopeless or simply lack a good mentor!

After speaking, Bai Yuan jumped down from the entrance and walked towards the direction where the students were.

"Give top performers a chance to advance without any pressure? Just because of that idea, you personally train these guys who should have been eliminated."