The delicacies of the heavens begin with obtaining gem meat.

Chapter 181 The establishment of Shiji

Jiang Yan did not respond to Ruishan Zhizun.

It wasn't that they lacked confidence, but rather that they simply looked down on Eizan Etsuya's conditions.

But Jiang Yan knew that if that were the case, he could simply refuse the food battle.

Therefore, Eizan Etsu must have some tricks up his sleeve, and Jiang Yan was quite curious about this.

Ruishan Zhijin looked at Jiang Yan, who did not respond, with a calm expression.

In his view, Jiang Yan must understand that he had arranged for people to engage in a series of challenges, so it would be abnormal for him to easily agree to a food battle with him.

However, Eizan Etsu had naturally anticipated this, and kindly reminded him in a calm and unhurried manner.

"Never give up a seat obtained through a food battle."

"If the business is not managed well, according to Totsuki Academy's rules, students will be expelled directly."

Jiang Yan raised an eyebrow, a knowing glint in his eyes.

It turned out to be the case.

I finally understand Eizan Etsuya's scheme.

Arranging for people to take turns eating with him was not only to exhaust his physical strength and energy, but also to set a trap using the "bedroom" as a pretext.

He can no longer apply for this berth, and even if he wanted to deliberately lose it, he simply couldn't.

This means that he has to open a shop.

If he doesn't agree to the food battle, then Eizan Etsu will definitely arrange for someone to sabotage his shop and force him to drop out of school.

"Indeed, quite insidious."

Jiang Yan chuckled softly, then leaned forward slightly, making no attempt to hide his mockery.

"In the end, you're just scared, aren't you?"

"You're afraid to face me head-on when I'm at my peak, afraid of being completely crushed by me in a food battle, right? Coward."

Faced with Jiang Yan's mockery, Eizan Etsuya's expression froze for a moment before he regained his composure.

"The winner takes all; this world only cares about the result, not the process."

"As long as we can win, it doesn't matter what method we use."

"As for being afraid of losing to you? Don't take yourself too seriously."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"I just don't want to waste too much unnecessary energy on someone as insignificant as you."

Despite saying that, Ruishan Zhizun knew in his heart that he was indeed somewhat wary of Jiang Yan.

He had been paying attention to Jiang Yan for a long time, and the more he studied him, the more he felt that Jiang Yan was hiding something.

That's why he set up this scheme to exhaust Jiang Yan's physical strength and energy, and then he would step in and win with one blow.

"Yeah?"

Jiang Yan raised an eyebrow, his smile deepening.

"So, do you think the special ingredients I have are more important, or my status as a Totsuki Academy student?"

Upon hearing this, Eizan Etsuya's expression froze completely. There was no need to think too much about this; special ingredients were definitely more important.

The rules of food battles are always based on mutual consent.

Even if he is one of the Ten Outstanding Students, he has no right to directly ask students to have a food battle with him.

That's why he wanted to force Jiang Yan to fight him in a food battle by threatening to drop out of school.

However, he overlooked the importance of special ingredients.

Therefore, Jiang Yan could not possibly agree to the food battle, since the status of a student was not as important as special ingredients.

Seeing that Ruizan Etsu's expression had also changed, Jiang Yan slowly straightened up.

He took a step forward and looked at Eizan Etsuya, saying...

"If you want to have a food battle with me, you can, but you'll have to wager your ninth seat in the Elite Ten."

"If you win, the supply channels are yours; if you lose, hand over your ninth seat."

In fact, apart from Tu Jie's seat, Jiang Yan didn't care about the others at all.

In addition, Jiang Yan was well aware of the troubles that Totsuki Academy would face in the future.

This is a perfect opportunity to seize a spot among the top ten and thwart someone's plans.

However, to be fair, he didn't have any supply channels at all! This whole thing was a complete scheme to get something for nothing.

When he heard Jiang Yan ask him to use one of the Ten Outstanding Seats as a wager, Ruishan Zhijin was first taken aback, and then the veins on his forehead suddenly bulged.

"A seat among the top ten? That's impossible."

His position among the Ten Heroes was the foundation of all his power and status in Totsuki.

-

From the very beginning, I never intended to gamble with this.

Eizan Etsuya wanted to say something more, but Jiang Yan coldly interrupted him.

"I will not accept any other conditions."

At this moment, Jiang Yan's eyes were filled with undisguised disdain.

"If you're not brave enough to gamble, then take your underhanded tricks and get out of my sight, you piece of trash."

The word "trash" was like a slap in the face to Eizan Etsuya.

Eizan Etsuya's face turned bright red, his expression contorted, and his teeth clenched so tightly they made a grinding sound.

Since entering Far Moon, he has always been one of the best among his peers. After taking Gan Jie's position, no one dared to insult him to his face.

As a result, Jiang Yan kept calling him a coward and trash—did he really think that his position among the top ten was just something he picked up by chance?

"Damn it, fine, I promise you."

"Food Wars, let's bet on a spot in the Elite Ten."

"I'll show you just how vast the difference is between you and an arrogant brat like you!"

Ruishan Zhijin stared intently at Jiang Yan and said fiercely.

Seeing that Eizan Etsuya was somewhat flustered, Jiang Yan smiled.

Eizan Etsu was also very decisive. After making his decision, he immediately dialed the Food Wars Bureau's hotline.

After all, Jiang Yan had just gone through nineteen food battles, and his physical strength and energy were greatly depleted.

The longer it drags on, the better Jiang Yan's condition becomes.

Therefore, he needs to act decisively and seize the initiative firmly in his own hands.

What he wanted was a crushing victory with no suspense whatsoever.

No more than three minutes after the phone call ended, staff from the Food Wars Bureau arrived at the scene.

This is naturally because Eizan Etsu had made arrangements in advance.

In the presence of staff, Eizan Etsu also proposed a ban on the use of special ingredients, requiring that all ingredients be selected only from the Totsuki Food Reserve.

After all, although he could also produce some special ingredients, he had heard that Jiang Yan had even higher-grade special ingredients.

In addition, Eizan Etsu also requested that the theme of the duel be randomly drawn on the spot.

-

This is also to make things more advantageous for themselves.

Jiang Yan readily agreed to both requests.

However, Jiang Yan's decisiveness caused a shadow to flash across Ruishan Zhizun's eyes.

After the rules were finalized, the staff scheduled the food battle to begin an hour later.

It's not that Eizan Etsu didn't want to compress the time even more; the key issue is that the official Food Wars involving the Elite Ten seats have a strict process.

We must invite judges with sufficient credibility; we can't just randomly find a few people to fill the quota.

Since the theme will be drawn on the spot, the ingredient warehouse must complete the inventory and preparation of all categories of ingredients in advance to ensure that both parties have all the necessary materials no matter what theme they draw.

These procedures require at least an hour of preparation time.

After confirming the start time of the food battle, Jiang Yan and Ruishan Zhijin also arrived at the food battle venue.

The two then went into separate lounges.

After entering the lounge, Jiang Yan began to eat some food, as he needed to be in top condition for the battle.

-

In another lounge, isolated from the outside noise, the only sound in the enclosed room was Eizan Etsuya's slightly heavy breathing.

Just as Eizan Etsuya was about to sit down and calm himself down after loosening his tie, his cell phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket, the sharp ringtone sounding particularly jarring in the quiet room.

Eizan Etsu also took out his phone, and when he saw the caller ID on the screen, his face instantly darkened, and a vein on his forehead throbbed slightly.

Azami Nakiri was a member of the Nakiri family who was expelled from the clan.

After hesitating for two seconds, Eizan Etsu still swiped to answer the call and put the phone to his ear.

As soon as the call connected, Kiriji's cold rebuke came through the phone.

"Eizan, what exactly is going on with this food battle?"

"Why risk the Elite Ten's spots in a food battle at such a crucial moment?"

Eizan Etsuya gripped his phone tightly, his knuckles turning pale from the force, his face so dark it was almost dripping with water.

Although he was very unhappy, Eizan Etsu knew that Kiriji was key to his future advancement, so he could only suppress his dissatisfaction and explain.

"It's just a minor, insignificant problem."

"I'll take care of him. It's just a food battle; nothing unexpected will happen."

"It will absolutely not affect our subsequent plans, please rest assured."

After a moment of silence, Kiriji on the other end of the phone spoke calmly.

"That would be best, and we shouldn't make any mistakes, otherwise, you should know the consequences."

Before Eizan Etsu could say anything more, the phone went dead with a "beep beep" tone, indicating that the other party had hung up.

Silence fell over the lounge once again.

Eizan Etsu also gripped his phone tightly, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.

He is Eizan Etsuya, the ninth seat of the Totsuki Ten Masters, and an alchemist.

When did it become anyone's place to point fingers at him and speak to him in such a warning tone?

"I will not fail—"

Eizan Etsu gritted his teeth, his eyes hardening.

"Absolutely not."