The delicacies of the heavens begin with obtaining gem meat.

Chapter 178 Eizan Etsuya's Invitation

As Jiang Yan was silently evaluating the Ten Heroes, Yukihira Soma suddenly leaned forward and said loudly.

"Um, I want to become one of the Top Ten right now!"

"Is there any senior who would like to have a food battle with me?!"

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at Soma Yukihira.

However, Tsukasa Eishi and the others were not surprised at all.

After all, at last year's Autumn Leaf Hunting Tournament, Terunori Kuga also shouted in front of the previous Elite Ten that he wanted to have a Food War and win a place in the Elite Ten.

Kobayashi Rindou secretly nudged Kuga Terunori next to him with his elbow, giving him a wink.

Hisagi Terunori's face instantly turned half red, and he glared fiercely at Kobayashi Rindou.

"Well, don't rush."

"We've prepared some dishes to treat our junior students to this autumn foliage hunting event."

"Let's talk about the food battle after everyone has tasted the dishes."

"I said with a smile."

As soon as Tsukasa Eishi finished speaking, uniformed waiters carried trays and placed plates of exquisitely crafted cakes, each resembling a work of art, in front of everyone.

This is an autumn-themed cake made by Momo Akane. The main body of the cake is shaped like a red apple, and maple syrup is applied to it like a soft veil.

As soon as you put it down, a sweet fragrance wafts out, making you feel as if you are in an autumn maple forest.

Jiang Yan picked up his fork and took a bite of the cake.

A look of surprise immediately appeared on her face. The cream that melted in her mouth had just the right amount of sweetness, and the dense cake base contained the refreshing sweetness of persimmons, which blended perfectly with the slight astringency of maple leaves.

Layers of flavor explode on the tongue, each bite like touching the autumn wind and sunshine.

It's as if the scent of autumn wind and sunshine has been kneaded into the cake.

It must be said that Momo Akane's cake is truly impeccable, perfectly capturing the essence of autumn in this small cake. The flavor is perfectly balanced, without any excessive sweetness, making it a truly rare delicacy.

The only downside is that the portion size is too small.

Jiang Yan put down his fork and looked at Akane Kubo Momo.

"Could I have another one?"

One sentence instantly silenced the entire terrace so completely that you could hear a pin drop.

All eyes turned to Jiang Yan, some of them speechless.

This was a dish made by Momo Akane herself, but Jiang Yan ordered a second serving immediately after finishing it, just like he was casually eating at a dessert shop on the street.

Momoko Akane paused for a moment, tightened her grip on the teddy bear, puffed out her cheeks, and looked at Jiang Yan with a hint of inexplicable frustration.

However, seeing Jiang Yan's open and honest demeanor, completely without any malice, and simply enjoying the delicious food and not having had enough, the waiter could only helplessly wave his hand and ask the waiter to bring Jiang Yan another cake.

Luckily, she had prepared extra.

"Thanks."

Jiang Yan took the plate, nodded to Qian Kubo Momo, and then calmly continued to enjoy his meal.

"Now you understand, right?"

"The Ten Outstanding Students are significantly stronger than the other students."

Tsukasa Eishi looked at Yukihira Soma and said seriously.

At that moment, for reasons unknown, Terunori Kuga walked directly in front of Soma Yukihira.

"In short, that's the gist of it. I think you should understand the difference."

"We really, really, really didn't take you seriously."

Upon hearing what Terunori Kuga said, the expressions of the Ten Heroes all became somewhat strange.

After all, last year, Terunori Kuga did something even more aggressive than Soma Yukihira did last year: he made bold statements to the Elite Ten and shouted that he wanted a food battle.

However, Terunori Kuga himself did not feel anything was wrong at all, and still looked at Soma Yukihira with an arrogant expression.

"However, seeing how motivated you are, I might as well give you a chance."

He stroked his chin and said, feigning contemplation.

"By the way, for example, if you have one skill that can beat me in cooking, it's not impossible for us to have a food battle."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ji Zhiguo Ningning, without even raising her head, added a sentence in a flat tone while holding her teacup.

"height."

For a moment, the entire room fell silent for two seconds, and then bursts of suppressed laughter rose and fell.

Kuga Terunori's forehead veins bulged instantly, and he abruptly turned to look at Kinokuni Nene.

"I said it was about the food! You bitch!"

Despite Kuga Terunori's furious outburst and near-jumping attitude, Nene Kinokoku remained calm, holding her teacup with her fingertips, taking a sip of tea without even glancing at him.

As Jiang Yan ate his second slice of cake and watched the farce unfold, the cake tasted even better.

After finishing the last bit of cake, Jiang Yan looked up at Ruishan Zhizun, who had been staring at him.

Jiang Yan saw greed in Eizan Etsuya's eyes.

Seeing Jiang Yan looking over, Eizan Etsuya's gaze did not waver in the slightest. Instead, he gave Jiang Yan a smile, his expression becoming even more determined.

He had his eye on Jiang Yan ever since Jiang Yan took out the special ingredients.

After all, those special ingredients had never appeared before, yet their taste and flavor were simply divine.

Of course, what he wanted was not the special ingredients Jiang Yan had, but the supply channels for those special ingredients.

Eizan Etsu was well aware of the terrifying commercial value hidden behind these unique ingredients.

If he can control this supply channel, he can package these ingredients as top-tier luxury goods, monopolize the entire high-end ingredient market in Japan, and even use this to enter the international market.

In this way, his painstakingly built business empire will experience explosive expansion, and what will a mere seat on the Totsuki Ten Elites matter then?

However, obtaining this channel is not so easy.

In fact, from the very beginning, he dispatched all his manpower, used all his connections and resources to investigate Jiang Yan's background, to investigate all import and export channels, and even thoroughly investigated Jiang Yan's entry and exit records and consumption records.

But in the end, nothing was gained.

The special ingredients in Jiang Yan's hands seemed to have appeared out of thin air, with no purchase records or traces of transportation.

This made Eizan Etsu increasingly anxious and greedy; the more mysterious it was, the higher the value of the channel.

His original plan was to have Mimasaka Ang use the Food Wars to extract the secrets of these special ingredients from Jiang Yan.

To his utter surprise, Mimasaka, on whom he had placed high hopes, lost to Yukihira Soma, which caused his entire plan to fall apart.

He can't wait any longer.

After all, he knew that Kiriji was about to take over Totsuki Academy.

At that time, all resources and channels in the entire Far Moon region will be firmly controlled by Cheji.

There will be no more chances for them to get their hands on Jiang Yan's special ingredients.

Therefore, he must secure this channel before then.

After the Red Leaf Hunting Tournament ended, Jiang Yan prepared to return to Polar Star Lodge.

"Jiang Yan, please wait."

Jiang Yan stopped and turned around to look at Ruishan Zhizun, who had called out to him.

At this moment, Eizan Etsuya also wore what he thought was a very sincere smile, but his eyes still concealed an undisguised scheming.

He strode up to Jiang Yan and solemnly extended an invitation.

"Join my team, Jiang Yan, let's work together."

"With my business acumen, connections, and resources, coupled with the unique ingredients you have, we will be invincible."

"I can help you promote your unique ingredients throughout Japan, and even the world. Together, we can build a food empire that belongs to us."

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Of course, all these nice words are false.

Ruishan Zhizun had already planned ahead. Once he had figured out the supply channels for those ingredients and gained control of all the resources under the guise of cooperation, he could easily discard Jiang Yan, this useless pawn.

At that time, all the benefits and all the achievements will belong to him alone.

Jiang Yan looked at Ruishan Zhizunya without any change in his expression.

"Not interested."

After saying that, Jiang Yan didn't look at Ruishan Zhizun again and turned to continue walking forward.

Eizan Etsuya's smile froze instantly. He never expected Jiang Yan to refuse so decisively, without even the slightest hesitation.

Soon, Eizan Etsuya's face darkened, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes, but he forced it down, twitching the corners of his mouth and speaking in a feigned calm tone.

"In that case, forget it."

He never expected to succeed in persuading someone on his first try, but he was unwilling to give up without giving it a shot.

Now that the soft approach isn't working, we have to resort to the hard one.

He'd rather die than refuse a polite toast. Since Jiang Yan wouldn't cooperate, he wouldn't be lenient either.

Jiang Yan naturally noticed the venomous gaze behind him, but he didn't pay it any mind.