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

In the dimly lit room, eleven figures, some young and some old, sat around a round table. At this moment, everyone's expression was serious as they discussed why Bai Yuan had come here.

They spent three days gathering from all over the world, and now they're meeting here.

"I have never heard of any such rumors, and besides, the legendary kitchen utensils have magical abilities, which is impossible to verify."

A strong, bearded man crossed his arms and suggested a possibility, but his words were filled with disbelief.

In this day and age, we believe in science. How could something that clearly violates common scientific sense be true? It's probably just a rumor that's been spread around!

"This world even has fantasy-level ingredients, and there's even another world. What are legendary cooking utensils with magical abilities compared to that?!"

Across from the bearded man, a tall, voluptuous, and mature woman spoke. She wore light makeup and clothes that accentuated her figure, attracting considerable attention.

"Even fantasy-level ingredients only have a unique and high-end taste; they can't possibly do something as exaggerated as reversing time!"

The bearded man countered, saying that perhaps the legendary kitchen utensils do possess some magical abilities, but turning stale ingredients into fresh ones—such a time-reversing thing—is simply hard to believe!

"It may be a bit exaggerated, but it's more likely to be true, because the abilities of the Eternal Spirit Blade have never changed in the legends from ancient times to the present."

Another person spoke up. He had a rather handsome face, wore single-rimmed glasses, and was leisurely drinking a cup of coffee in front of him. Although he was over fifty years old, he was still rugged and handsome.

"Let's not discuss the Eternal Spirit Blade's abilities for now; the key is the real reason that person came here!"

The bespectacled, smartly dressed middle-aged man slapped the table, bringing the topic back to where it all began: it was necessary to discuss this today!

"Do you think he might just be bringing his apprentice here to broaden his horizons? He's so young, unlike us who are tied up with all sorts of work and might have a lot of free time."

Just then, a clear female voice rang out. She was only in her early thirties, yet she was already sitting there. She had a delicate baby face, and her words immediately attracted everyone's attention.

There was a brief moment of silence.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible! He must have some purpose in coming here!"

The bearded man retorted, "If the other party came to Fujian simply to bring students to participate in the competition, then what is the point of them sitting here discussing this?"

"Admit it, he just wanted to come and keep his apprentice company. I was the same when I first took on an apprentice, afraid that I wouldn't teach him well and would mislead him."

My excessive concern for my apprentice led to some misunderstandings with me. We had to let things cool down for a while before things returned to normal.

The mature, beautiful woman who had previously complained about the bearded man spoke again, her words tinged with lingering fear. Her apprentice had initially misunderstood her as liking him, and it had taken her a long time to clear things up.

So, in a way, she understood Bai Yuan quite well. He must really want to teach his disciple well, which is why he did so many things personally.

In addition, Bai Yuan is so young, and his thinking is different from those old folks, so there is a high possibility that he will personally bring his apprentice to participate in the competition.

"I also think this is the most likely possibility, so let's leave his business aside for now."

Let's talk about how we can represent our province and secure more resources, given that fantasy-grade ingredients are about to be released on a large scale.

Jin Dafu, who had been silent all along, finally spoke.

As the only person present who had seen Bai Yuan, his intuition told him that the other party was not a very scheming person, so there was no need to pay too much attention to him.

However, even after he said that, some people still believed that Bai Yuan had ulterior motives for coming here and that he was ill-intentioned, which was why he held a small meeting specifically to target him.

However, the real purpose of this meeting was for the more important fantasy-grade ingredients. Chef associations in various provinces were preparing to compete for a larger share, as these were the lifeline of development!

"It should be around this time. All sorts of secret realms will open, and chefs from the human realm will have culinary duels with chefs from other realms."

The winner will be rewarded with fantastical ingredients born from the culinary world, which will also serve as the key to victory in the next round of the competition.

A gaunt old man spoke, his eyes revealing a hint of wisdom.

This is a culinary duel where the strong prevail, testing not only the chefs' skills but also their teamwork. The opponents are not only from this world, but also top chefs from other planets and worlds.

"Yes, in the later stages of the competition, almost every team will use a lot of fantasy-level ingredients. To defeat them with ordinary ingredients, you need to be at least two or three stars higher than the opponent."

"Most importantly, the limit that ordinary ingredients can reach is the ninth-grade special level, while fantasy-grade ingredients can break through this point very easily."

"In other words, to achieve ultimate victory, you can only keep winning, constantly acquiring new fantasy-level ingredients, and researching new dishes. Only then can you truly defeat your opponents and reach the pinnacle of culinary skills!"

Everyone offered their opinions, and the entire culinary world was closely watching this secret realm showdown, which was expected to take place within the next two years.

"No matter what, let's give it our all. Don't let chefs from other worlds look down on us. Chinese cuisine has been passed down for thousands of years and has a profound heritage!"

An old bald man, leaning on a cane, stood up, his piercing gaze sweeping over all the chefs present, and uttered these words.

"That's right, Vice President Feng is right. As long as we give it our all, it's not shameful to lose in the end!"

"We still need to win as much as possible, since it's related to the final reward."

"Winning is absolutely essential..."

Following up on the topic, a new round of argument ensued. Due to differing opinions, everyone argued heatedly, their faces flushed.

However, despite their differing opinions, they share one thing in common.

That means giving it your all and leaving no regrets!

"Aren't you asleep yet, Xiaohui, it's so late?"

Returning from Alice's room, Bai Yuan yawned as he walked towards his own room, where he saw that Tadokoro Megumi's room was brightly lit.

Out of curiosity, he went closer and saw Tadokoro Megumi cooking in the kitchen. Worried that she was under too much pressure, he came up behind her.

"I want to get back into the swing of things so that tomorrow's match will go more smoothly."

A warm embrace came from behind. Tadokoro Megumi instinctively wanted to resist, but after hearing a familiar voice, her body suddenly relaxed.

"Get some rest and recharge; that's the key to winning the game."

Bai Yuan's voice was gentle, and his breath softly brushed against the girl's ear, making her earlobes turn bright red and her body become burning hot.

"Then I'll wash up and rest..."

"It's strange, but you have a really nice scent. It's not strong or pungent, just a subtle fragrance that gives you a sense of security. It's a wonderful scent!"

I took a deep breath of Tadokoro Megumi's scent; it was the scent of a virtuous wife and loving mother, like the carefree feeling of being in my mother's arms as a child…

"Turn off the heat first. I'll give you a simple massage to help you relax, then you can go straight to sleep and take a shower tomorrow morning."

Bai Yuan sniffed as he spoke, then turned off the heat when the food was cooked to perfection and left it there unattended.

He was already impatient at this moment, so he bent down, hooked his left hand around Tadokoro Megumi's knee, and lifted her up by the waist.

"ah!"

The sudden feeling of weightlessness made the girl gasp, and her jade-like arms instinctively wrapped around Bai Yuan's neck, holding on tightly and daring not to let go, their eyes meeting.

The emotions that surged up in that instant, a faint sense of shame lingering in her heart, made Tadokoro Megumi's face flush red, and she turned her face away, unwilling to look at him.

Seeing this, Bai Yuan wasn't annoyed. He smiled and carried her to the bed, then naturally placed his large hand on Tadokoro Megumi's shoulder and began to massage her.

"Is this strength okay?"

"Yeah, just right."

Her blue ponytail swayed back and forth. She was a little reserved when the massage started, but when she felt an extremely comfortable pressure on her body, she couldn't help but show a look of enjoyment on her face.

The feeling was wonderful; large hands kneading her sore muscles sent shivers down her spine, greatly relieving her fatigue.

"Then let's use this intensity."

Bai Yuan precisely located the stiffest parts of Tadokoro Megumi's body and massaged them with the pressure she had specified, making her close her eyes comfortably.

"I could never have dreamed of such a scene before, not even in my wildest dreams."

Feeling the strength in her body and the gentleness from Shiro Awakening, Tadokoro Megumi spoke from the bottom of her heart. This was a scene she had always dreamed of, but never even dared to fantasize about.

"There's no need to keep fantasizing. After all, it's come true, and this will be our daily life from now on."

Bai Yuan gently rubbed Tadokoro Megumi's face and sincerely said that he also felt a little happiness from it, which was something he had always dreamed of.

Hanging out with pretty girls and getting all close.

"Ah, don't pinch my face after you've massaged my feet, Mr. Bai Yuan!"

Feeling the large hand groping her face, Tadokoro Megumi pouted and complained, simply because Shiro had just pressed her foot with that hand.

"Don't worry about these details."

"I can't ignore it!"

Tadokoro Megumi moved Bai Yuan's hand away with some disgust. Although she didn't dislike having her cheeks pinched, the feeling of having her feet touched had a strange, subtle taste.

"Okay, I'll turn off the light for you. Get some rest."

There was nothing he could do about being rejected. Bai Yuan got up from the bed, ruffled Tadokoro Megumi's hair, then jogged to the door, turned off the light, and left.

"Really!"

Feeling her hair become a mess, Tadokoro Megumi kicked her legs a couple of times, but a happy expression appeared on her face, and she looked very happy.

"We won't lose tomorrow! Go, Xiaohui!"

Even for Bai Yuan's sake, she couldn't afford to lose, at least not in the first round; that would be too embarrassing for him!

Good evening, dear viewers.

After last night's intense competition, I wonder if you were still fired up and couldn't sleep a wink, just to see the next round of matches?!

"Let's get started already, stop talking!"

As usual, the host started to liven up the atmosphere, pointing the microphone at the audience. The audience responded enthusiastically, spreading their hands like megaphones and shouting loudly.

"Please don't rush, everyone. Before the competition officially begins, let me introduce our two beautiful contestants."

The woman on the left is named Zhu Yan, one of the top eight finalists in last year's Youth Chef Competition.

The woman on the right, codenamed Hui, is also one of the strongest in the world of dark cuisine. I'm now really developing a strong interest in the world of dark cuisine.

As they spoke, the contestants from both sides entered the arena one after another.

Chapter 239 A Difficult Showdown, Tadokoro Megumi's Determination!

"Hui? The Dark Cuisine World? That's ridiculous. Wearing a mask to compete on stage? Do you all like to hide like rats?"

Zhu Yan, true to her name, has fiery red hair, striking features, big wavy curls, bright red lips, sexy clothes, and a healthy tan complexion.

She is from Quanzhou, Fujian. Because she lived by the sea, she loved running barefoot on the beach and catching shrimp from a young age. Later, she showed exceptional culinary talent and was given special training by her family.

Born at the age of twenty, she was already a top-tier expert, having defeated three veteran top-tier masters in succession, earning her the nickname "Red-Haired Female Asura" in the culinary world.

Looking at the blue-haired braided girl across from her, who was a head shorter than her, Zhu Yan mocked her without any politeness. She looked down on this kind of coward who didn't even dare to show his face and only dared to show his face with a mask!

"If all you're good at is talking, then I've already won this match!"

Tadokoro Megumi was not to be outdone. She was no longer the timid Megumi she used to be, and naturally she was not to be outdone in the face of Zhu Yan's sarcasm!