Food Wars, my food not only glows!

　Upon hearing Master Baiyao's words, Hojo Miyoko and Kikuchi Sonoka, who were standing next to her, interlocked their fingers and showed excited expressions. This time, they were directly guaranteed a spot in the finals!

　"No wonder Master Baiyao called me before I went to bed last night to ask what techniques I and Teacher Baiyuan were practicing. So that's what he was after!"

　Looking at the contestants who were staring blankly at the ice sculpture, Li Wanwan had a thoughtful expression on her face. This was definitely some kind of secret, private tutoring!

　However, with Bai Yuan's amazing knife skills, even if the test wasn't about ice sculpting, he could probably pass it very easily.

　Thinking of the majestic little white dragon in the waves yesterday, Li Wanwan couldn't help but shrink her neck, then looked intently at the competition field.

　At this moment, Bai Yuan put down the knife he carried with him and picked up the ordinary kitchen knife that the Guangchu Alliance had prepared for them. The blade had been appropriately thickened, making it very suitable for cutting and carving ice.

　"Kid, I hope you won't let me down."

　After glancing in Bai Yuan's direction, the man in blue pressed down his bamboo hat to prevent anyone from seeing his face. He then spat out the toothpick from his mouth and stared intently at the ice sculpture in front of him.

　Ice sculpture cuisine has always been a very difficult subject. The hard ice is difficult to carve in detail, and only those with masterful knife skills can create good ice sculptures!

　"Look, that young man has moved!"

　Because Bai Yuan's performance in the previous round was particularly eye-catching, his sudden action has attracted a lot of attention.

　Besides the audience, some contestants couldn't help but look over, marveling at how the sculpture had come up with its design in such a short time.

　What could it be?!

　If he wanted to play it safe, he would probably carve a simple creature. He wouldn't aim for nothing, just to avoid mistakes. However, judging from Bai Yuan's spirited and passionate demeanor, he clearly wouldn't do such a thing.

　The boy raised the kitchen knife in his hand, and the sharp blade struck the ice, producing a dull thud.

　Ice shards fell like rain, revealing the general outline of the ice sculpture. With just a few bold strokes, it was clear that it was an ice phoenix yearning to soar through the sky.

　Such exquisite knife skills immediately made the other contestants swallow hard, and they all mentally regarded Bai Yuan as their biggest opponent on this trip.

　at the same time.

　An elderly man with a stooped back also took action. He slowly swung the blade as if he were using no strength, yet the ice blocks fell like tofu, displaying an effortless ease.

　Chapter Seventy-Seven: The Ice Phoenix's Dimensional Reduction Attack

　"They've already started, I can't fall behind!"

　As he spoke, the man in the blue shirt rolled up his sleeves, twirled the cleaver in his hand, and then chopped at the ice block in front of him.

　With a few powerful movements, the square block of ice took shape in an instant, and then it was refined with the blade.

　Seeing Bai Yuan and the others take action, the other top-level chefs immediately felt a sense of crisis and also took action within five minutes.

　The scene was filled with the dull thud of blades colliding with ice, and ice shards flew everywhere, some even landing on the faces of the audience.

　However, no one cared.

　At this moment, everyone was captivated by the master chef's superb knife skills. The competition area was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, and even the sound of swallowing saliva could be clearly heard!

　With the blades flashing, the chefs' creations quickly took shape, and the audience began to discuss and speculate about what they were carving.

　"If nothing unexpected happens, that should be Xuanwu! With the lower body of a turtle and the upper body of a snake, there is no other creature in China with this image except for Xuanwu!"

　The elderly man with the cane leaned on one hand and held a kitchen knife in the other. He looked shaky, but he actually held it very steadily. With each cut, he could make the shape more precise.

　"I also think it's Xuanwu, and this old man looks so familiar, I feel like I've seen him somewhere before. No, let me think carefully..."

　A young man looked at the old man with a thoughtful expression on his face. Such a skilled chef, he shouldn't have no recollection of him at all!

　"This is Lei Tianci, the former head chef of Guangzhou Tianlan Restaurant, a master chef with five-star special-grade skills."

　In his youth, he was known for his decisive and efficient style of doing things, which earned him the nickname "Wind and Thunder Knife Technique," which allowed him to cut ingredients quickly and with great precision.

　In the same spot, a single cut is all it takes, and there will never be a second cut. Even the thickest pork bone can be split in two with a single, clean cut on both sides!

　I never expected him to participate in this Shinto knife skills competition!

　Someone recognized the old man with the cane and explained to the crowd in a deep voice that this man was a famous figure in the martial arts world 40 years ago!

　"It's actually a senior chef from decades ago! It seems the legendary kitchen utensils are really attractive, even drawing such a master chef here!"

　Some people couldn't help but sigh, their eyes fixed intently on the legendary kitchenware wrapped in red cloth.

　"That's not right. He seemed to be wielding the knife very slowly, which is different from your description!"

　Some people have raised questions because of the speed at which the cane-wielding old man Lei Tianci swung his knife.

　The speed was actually quite slow, which was completely different from its description.

　"I'm not entirely sure of the specific reasons, but I can sense that his knife skills have improved again. I guess he's learned something new over the years."

　The shift from fast to slow isn't necessarily a bad thing.

　The same middle-aged man who spoke earlier looked at Master Tianci with his arms crossed and eyes full of respect.

　Such a hero is someone chefs should admire!

　"If it really is Master Tianci, then this knife skills duel before the gods will be quite a spectacle! This is a top-tier five-star chef! An absolute powerhouse!"

　The audience watched Master Tianci with anticipation. In just a short while, the ice sculpture of the Black Tortoise in his hands had already begun to resemble a divine creature.

　"Who's that over there? It looks like he's wielding a cleaver randomly, but every strike lands precisely where he wants, as if he's carving a tree!"

　Among the top-level chefs, Master Tianci is not the only one with outstanding performance; another young man dressed in black robes is also an example.

　He was laughing wildly as he slashed at the ice block in front of him with frenzied speed, as if he were a madman.

　The ice block gradually thinned in his hand, eventually transforming into an ice tree. Although the carved details were chaotic, the sheer number of them created a kind of chaotic beauty.

　"I've seen that guy before! He appeared at a youth chef competition held in Fujian. His name is Li Xiao!"

　I think it was about three years ago when this guy made it to the finals of the Fujian Youth Chef Competition, but unfortunately he was defeated by a genius girl!

　Unexpectedly, he has now become a master chef, but his cooking style has changed drastically. Previously, his dishes were very conventional, aiming for mediocrity rather than excellence. Now, however, he seems to have a greater understanding of pushing his boundaries!

　Some sharp-eyed people recognized him as the runner-up in the Fujian Youth Competition three years ago. That championship match left a deep impression on many people!

　“No wonder he looked so familiar. I watched that competition too! He lost to that girl by just one vote, missing the chance to become a master chef through the competition.”

　"That battle was truly spectacular. Both sides brought out traditional Chinese pastries, but unfortunately, the Lion Pastry lost to the Swan Pastry in the end."

　"That's right, I've never seen such a superb pastry competition before. The two sides were evenly matched, but in the end, it seems that Li Xiao was slightly inferior because of the subtle difference in the frying temperature."

　This revelation caused a huge stir. Those who had seen the young man in black robes immediately began to speak, revealing his identity clearly to everyone.

　As a master chef, he couldn't possibly be an unknown nobody!

　"Where's that uncle in the straw hat and blue robe? He seems to be carving a Teng Snake, and he's one of the most outstanding people here. Does anyone know his identity?"

　"I'm not sure about that, because the straw hat covered his face, and I don't recall any chefs liking to dress like that. Maybe he didn't want people to know his identity."

　Frowning, he had no recollection of the person in front of him compared to the other two easily recognizable individuals; at least, he had never seen this person in any competition over the past decade.

　"Wearing a bamboo hat and a green robe, I do have a guess in my mind, but it's too shocking. To avoid being proven wrong later, I'd better not say it."

　Some viewers had guesses in their minds, but because it was too shocking, they thought about it and decided not to say it.

　"What?! They're keeping us in suspense!"

　Based on the identity of the man in the straw hat and blue robe, they discussed it for a long time, but ultimately could not reach a conclusion and had to give up in disappointment.

　"Where's that young guy? His skills seem to be the best here. Such a top genius must have a terrifying background!"

　Someone changed the subject, and everyone's attention was drawn to Bai Yuan. Watching his sharp swordsmanship dance across the ice, each move was incredibly elegant, a perfect visual treat!

　"On the contrary, I've watched a lot of cooking competitions, but I've never seen him before. This guy seems to have appeared out of nowhere. Could he be a foreigner?"

　"How could he be a foreigner? He has such an obviously Asian appearance. He couldn't possibly be from that... well-off Japanese family!"

　"No way, such a tall man is unlikely to be from that side."

　Moreover, given the culinary traditions in Japan, they'd probably be able to fry tempura or make sushi at most, so how could they possess such amazing knife skills!

　A heated discussion erupted at the scene regarding Bai Yuan's identity, with many believing he was a foreigner, but many more firmly convinced he was Chinese.

　The reason is nothing more than national self-confidence.

　"Cook Bai Yuan is from China and only recently passed the Guangzhou Special Grade Chef assessment, so it's normal that you don't know him. Also, there are amazing Special Grade Chefs in Japan that we can learn from. They're not as useless as you say."

　Hearing the surrounding discussions, Li Wanwan couldn't help but speak up.

　Meanwhile, Kikuchi Sonoka, Kakuzaki Taki, and Hojo Miyoko looked embarrassed, as they didn't actually have any decent dishes to offer in their country.

　Tempura and sushi are Japanese dishes that foreigners often associate with Japanese cuisine.

　"The little girl makes a good point. Every country has great chefs, so we can't generalize."

　"That's where we've been biased."

　"Anyway, our country definitely has the most skilled chefs, directly accounting for half of the world's total, there's no doubt about that!"

　Li Wanwan's words silenced everyone. In the end, some people nodded in agreement, while others tried to make amends for what they had just said, which finally eased the awkwardness.

　Bai Yuan's identity was also completely exposed to everyone through her吐槽 (tu cao, a form of online commentary/criticism).

　"If he passed the top-level assessment in Guangzhou, his skills must be no less than those of a typical star chef. And at such a young age, his future is limitless!"

　"This level of skill is beyond what someone who just passed the top-level assessment could possess. I bet his strength is far more terrifying than we imagined!"

　Watching the ice phoenix gradually come to life in Bai Yuan's hands, as if it had been given a soul, a person working in the culinary industry murmured to himself.

　This level of skill doesn't seem like something someone who has just entered the Special Grade level could possess. Didn't you see that even the Special Grade five-star Master Tianci is not as good as him?

　The carving continued, and the discussion on site persisted, though it mostly revolved around the other chefs, many of whom were famous, but many more were relatively unknown.

　Even among master chefs, there are differences. In a country like China, which has the most master chefs, they are relatively less noticeable.

　Therefore, many top-level chefs are actually not recognized.

　"It seems someone over there made a mistake!"

　Someone couldn't help but gasp in surprise. The hippopotamus suddenly shattered as the sculptor exerted force, falling to the floor and breaking into pieces, probably beyond repair.

　Just 20 minutes into the assessment, someone broke the ice sculpture due to excessive force and had to leave the competition.

　And coincidentally, the one who used the most force was the very one who initially pointed out that ice sculpture was not suitable as a knife skills test question.

　It turns out it was a dish, which is why they protested.

　The other master chefs understood what was going on. Unless they happened to be assigned a subject that was their weak point, they could handle any subject and would not have specifically chosen to stand out.

　That guy was probably just unlucky; ice sculpting was his weakness, which is why he pretended to be angry and said those things, making himself a clown.

　On site, the vast majority of the participants were experienced and had learned some ice sculpting techniques. They might not be very proficient, but they could still create works of art.

　Many people have already completed more than half of their carvings, and it is estimated that it will not be long before they can present their works on the display stand.

　40 minute later.

　"I'm done! This is my work, the giant ice bull."

　Diligence, perseverance, and selfless dedication are all manifestations of the fine spirit of cattle, and beef is an indispensable element in our culinary world!

　Therefore, because I felt that compared to some pretentious and empty ice sculptures, it was better to be realistic and practical, I sculpted this giant ice bull!

　The man proudly presented the meticulously carved ice bull sculpture to the audience, his voice filled with emotion.

　While praising his own ice sculptures, he subtly belittled the works of later artists, hoping to increase his vote count through this method.

　"This is really great!"

　Those who were close by carefully examined the giant ice sculpture of the bull and couldn't help but praise it.

　Although not every single hair of this giant bull is perfectly clear, its majestic and imposing presence is undeniable, and its imposing stature is exceptionally strong when placed before one.

　"Look at those incredibly sharp horns, they give you the feeling that they could punch a hole in the sky!"

　The enormous horn points straight to the sky, looking incredibly majestic, and its eyes, nose, and mouth are clearly distinguishable below it.

　It's truly remarkable that you could achieve this with just a kitchen knife!

　"I hope everyone will vote for me when the election is held. I will definitely not let you down in the final cooking competition."

　After saying this, the man took his ice sculpture away on a cart and placed it in the designated display area for the competition.

　Next, a number of master chefs completed their ice sculptures.

　Many of the male students presented their work to the audience while delivering a passionate speech to garner votes, while others simply placed their work in the display area, closed their eyes, and waited for the audience to vote.

　This group consists mostly of people who are extremely confident in their work. They are confident that they don't need to garner votes; they can win people's hearts with their work alone!

　"That's fine. Compared to tofu, ice is still a little lacking."

　Looking at the ice phoenix spreading its wings in front of him, as if trying to break free from the shackles of the ice and soar into the sky, Bai Yuan helplessly pursed his lips.