The delicacies of the heavens begin with obtaining gem meat.

Chapter 177 Hunting Crimson Leaves Tournament

After the on-site study and celebration, Jiang Yan's peaceful days did not last long.

Because they received no response to the food battle challenges they had previously received, some students started coming directly to the school to take on the challenges.

Jiang Yan originally didn't intend to pay attention, but after being bothered by the repeated attacks, he simply accepted ten food battles and arranged them all on the same day.

The result was, of course, without any suspense.

With his current culinary skills, Jiang Yan still emerged victorious even in a 1v10 match.

Even so, the more times he won, the more enthusiastic the challengers became.

This kept Jiang Yan a little busy.

Of course, Jiang Yan did not come away empty-handed.

While most of the challengers weren't particularly strong, they each had their own area of ​​expertise: French cuisine, Japanese cuisine, desserts, molecular gastronomy—

In addition, Jiang Yan intentionally absorbed the different skills and ideas of these opponents and integrated them into his own knowledge, which improved his cooking skills without him even realizing it.

This is also the real reason why Jiang Yan was willing to patiently accept these challenges.

Soma Yukihira, Akira Hayama, and Ryo Kurokiba shared the same experience as Jiang Yan.

However, Jiang Yan, Hayama Ryo, and Kurokiba Ryo will choose to refuse some of the challenges that are not very interesting.

But Soma Yukihira accepted all comers, regardless of the opponent or the stakes.

Every day is spent either in food battles or researching new recipes in the kitchen.

After a period of busy activity, the annual autumn foliage hunting festival arrived.

The so-called Hunting Maple Leaf Tournament, to put it simply, is a meeting between the top eight students who have entered the autumn selection main competition and the Elite Ten of Totsuki Academy.

It can also be described as a meeting between the current Gan Jie and his candidate.

After all, once the top ten students graduate in their third year, the new top ten will most likely be selected from the top eight in the fall selection.

Jiang Yan found the arrangement boring.

The only thing that really interested Jiang Yan was the fact that he could eat the dishes made by the Ten Heroes at the Red Leaf Hunting Tournament.

Unlike Jiang Yan, Yukihira Soma had been excited ever since he heard the news.

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Soma Yukihira clearly wanted to take this opportunity to have a food battle with the current Elite Ten.

Following the address on the invitation, Jiang Yan, Yukihira Soma, and Tadokoro Megumi arrived at a maple forest within the Totsuki Academy.

The maple trees covering the mountains and fields were all red, their leaves turning completely red, like clusters of burning flames. When the wind blew, the red leaves slowly drifted down from the sky.

"I've never been here before, the scenery is really nice."

Jiang Yan looked at the mountains covered in red maple leaves and smiled.

"By the way, when we have some free time, how about we have a picnic here at Polaris Dormitory?"

"Bring a grill, grill some meat skewers, and enjoy the view while eating—that would be a great experience."

Upon hearing this, Tadokoro Megumi's eyes lit up instantly.

"That's a great idea! I'll ask Yuuki and the others when I get back; I'm sure they'd like to come too!"

Soma Yukihira nodded repeatedly.

"It really looks quite nice."

The three of them got more and more into their conversation, discussing everything from what ingredients to grill, what cookware to bring, and even what drinks to pack.

As we were talking, a series of hurried footsteps approached, accompanied by a shout.

"Soma Yukihira! Jiang Yan! You two, stop right there!"

Jiang Yan and the other two turned around and saw Takmi running over.

Taking a deep breath, Takmi straightened up and said solemnly.

"Let's have a food battle! I will definitely defeat you."

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"No problem."

Soma Yukihira agreed readily, even showing some eagerness to try.

Seeing that Yukihira Soma had agreed, Takumi then looked at Jiang Yan.

However, Jiang Yan was not prepared to agree.

After all, he was quite familiar with Takumi's cooking.

I didn't feel there was much to learn from the food battle with Takumi.

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Yan spoke up.

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"I'll accept your challenge once you can defeat Yukihira."

"Yukihira is someone I've defeated. If you can't even beat him, you're not qualified to challenge me."

Hearing Jiang Yan say this, Yukihira Soma really wanted to refute it, but he couldn't say a word.

Whether it was the Autumn Selection or the subsequent Food Wars, he did indeed lose to Jiang Yan; that's an indisputable fact.

"Okay! I agree."

Takmi agreed without hesitation.

"I will beat Yukihira, and then I will challenge you."

As for Takumi, he was already prepared to beat Soma Yukihira, so naturally he had no objections.

However, Takumi's words displeased Soma Yukihira, who was standing next to him.

"That's impossible, I won't lose to you."

"Nothing is impossible. This time, I will definitely beat you."

Takumi looked at Soma Yukihira, his eyes filled with fighting spirit.

Now, in addition to winning back his kitchen knife, there's another reason why I absolutely must win against Yukihira Soma.

As they were talking, Hayama Akira and the others came over and joined the discussion.

"Thump, thump, thump—"

A dull drumbeat suddenly sounded, one after another, unhurried and steady.

The crowd quieted down and looked toward the entrance.

With each drumbeat, nine figures slowly walked in.

The autumn sunlight filtered through the gaps in the red leaves, falling on the nine people.

These are the nine seats among the Elite Ten, excluding Erina Nakiri.

The nine people walked to the opposite side of Jiang Yan and the others and sat down in turn.

The air in the entire venue seemed to become heavy, and even the sound of wind rustling through fallen leaves became clearly audible.

Jiang Yan tapped the table casually with his fingertips, his gaze sweeping calmly over the nine people.

The first seat of the Ten Outstanding Individuals, Tsukasa Eishi.

He had neat white hair and gentle eyes.

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But Jiang Yan knew that Si Yingshi had a talent for communicating with ingredients and could bring out their full potential.

In Jiang Yan's view, although it is not quite "listening to the voice of the ingredients", he has already touched some thresholds.

If Tsukasa Eishi were to enter the world of Gourmet Devil, given time, he would most likely grow into a top 100 chef in the world, and even have the potential to reach an even higher ranking.

Sitting next to Tsukasa Eishi was the second seat, Kobayashi Rindou.

Her long, blood-red hair was casually draped over her shoulders, and when she smiled, she revealed two sharp canine teeth, exuding a wild yet vibrant aura.

Jiang Yan had a very good impression of this second seat holder, Kobayashi Rindou, who was skilled at cooking rare ingredients.

However, more than cooking skills, Kobayashi Rindou is passionate about traveling all over the world, searching for ingredients he has never seen before, and tasting delicious food.

Therefore, he often uses his privileges as one of the Ten Heroes to travel around in search of delicious food.

Jiang Yan agreed with this, since he had entered the Far Moon Academy specifically to enjoy delicious food.

Third seat: Fuyusuke Megijima.

He was tall and strong, and wore a soft knitted hat on his head.

He is skilled at making ramen. Beneath his seemingly rough exterior lies a delicate skill that allows him to perfect every aspect of a bowl of noodles, from the broth to the noodles themselves.

The fourth seat, Momo Akane, was holding a plush bear in her arms. She looked petite and cute, like a delicate doll.

She has a cute, innocent look in her eyes and seems completely harmless, but she has an extremely high level of skill in making desserts.

Moreover, Jiang Yan knew that although Akane Momo really liked her teddy bear.

However, when cooking, Momo Akane pulls off the bear's hands to use as heat-resistant gloves.

The fifth seat is held by Saito Somei, who is skilled in sushi. He is like a long sword that is sheathed but still sharp.

He was tall, and a horizontal scar on his nose added to his cold and stern aura. He always carried a long knife with him.

Even without it being drawn, Jiang Yan could feel the sharp edge of the knife, honed from years of handling food.

The sixth seat is Nene Kinokunori, who is skilled in kaiseki cuisine. She wears round-framed glasses, and her light blue twin ponytails hang down in front of her shoulders. She has a cool and dignified temperament.

His posture was impeccable, and even the way he picked up the teacup was done with strict rules.

The seventh seat, Isshiki Satoshi, was leaning lazily back in his chair, a gentle smile on his lips.

Jiang Yan was naturally very familiar with Isshiki Satoshi, a "private exhibitionist" who would often wander around the Polar Star Dormitory wearing only an apron or loincloth.

Although it may not seem very reliable, his actual culinary skills are definitely far beyond the seventh seat. If he really got serious, he could definitely compete for a top-five spot among the Ten Masters.

The eighth seat, Kuga Terunori, was leaning forward with his arm resting on the table. His brown and gold hair was combed in a flamboyant and fluffy style, almost standing up, giving him a somewhat arrogant look, though his vision was limited.

Specializing in Sichuan cuisine, or more precisely, the spicy and numbing flavors of Sichuan cuisine.

However, looking at Terunori Kuga's hairstyle, Jiang Yan always felt that he did it to make himself look taller.

Sitting at the very end was the ninth seat, Eizan Etsuya.

Known as an "alchemist," he is more skilled at business than cooking, and his influence can be seen in many food and beverage industries.

Of course, compared to the ninth seat's culinary skills, Jiang Yan would give more credit to the "first seat" of facial expressions, which are so rich that they are unparalleled.

From the moment Eizan Etsu sat down, her gaze seemed to be fixed on him, albeit subtly.

Jiang Yan knew very well that Ruishan Zhijin was definitely plotting something.

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