Chapter 22 One Second Explosion, Perfect Magic Mapo Tofu
The plane landed at Winter Tokyo International Airport, and the group immediately boarded the Nakiri family’s convoy to head to Totsuki Academy.
Zhang Haoran, using his position as the Secretary-General of the IGO International Food Organization for the Asia continent, pulled some strings and had the IGO Neon division send over a batch of Wild Bull Soybeans in the shortest possible time.
These Wild Bull Soybeans were slightly larger than regular soybeans, very plump, and upon closer inspection, their surface displayed evenly distributed fat marbling, resembling 5A-grade Wagyu beef. They were also harder than regular soybeans.
Nearby, Senzaemon Nakiri was instructing Li Yang on how to use his taste sensation.
“Focus and calm your mind. Concentrate your attention, and you will feel the aura of the ingredients before you… Don’t be nervous. As a beginner, it will take about ten minutes to see the illusion.”
Li Yang closed his eyes, carefully sensing. Almost instantly, he saw a bright flash. It was like a food illusion. On an endless grassland, a wild bull with menacing horns suddenly appeared. Its blood-red eyes locked onto Li Yang, and it angrily scratched the ground with its front hooves.
The wild bull roared, galloping towards Li Yang with full force.
“Damn it, I’m not even ready yet! Are you going to attack me ?”
Facing the wild bull’s sudden attack, Li Yang quickly assessed his strength.
“Huh, I can use the Explosive Flame technique?”
“Then it’s no problem!”
Li Yang was overjoyed and waved at the wild bull, “Bring it on, bull! Let’s go!”
As the wild bull charged, its sharp horns glinted coldly, making Li Yang’s arm hairs stand on end.
“I won’t hold back… Explosive Flame, maximum firepower!”
Li Yang unleashed all of his fiery energy, sending a torrent of flames that resembled a terrifying fire dragon charging at the wild bull.
Upon seeing the fire dragon, the wild bull’s copper-like eyes flashed with fear. It turned around and started to flee, tail between its legs. But it wasn’t fast enough. The fire dragon quickly caught up, and in the blink of an eye, there was an explosion.
A massive mushroom cloud rose from the grassland. Li Yang suddenly heard the crackling sound and the astonished exclamations from those around him. He quickly opened his eyes. On the table, a small pile of Wild Bull Soybeans had exploded. It was like popcorn popping!
Except on the table, it was exploding soybeans instead.
“Li Yang, what exactly did you do to those Wild Bull Soybeans?”
Erina stared at Li Yang in shock, as if she were looking at a deity. Senzaemon Nakiri was equally stunned.
The Wild Bull Soybeans exploded?
How long did it take?
From when Li Yang closed his eyes to when the Wild Bull Soybeans exploded, how long had it been?
It couldn’t have been that long.
It seemed like as soon as Li Yang closed his eyes, the very next second, the Wild Bull Soybeans exploded!
Senzaemon Nakiri was so excited that he almost pulled out his beard. Amaterasu above, just how terrifying this talent is. It only took one second to tame the Wild Bull Soybean. No, it would be more accurate to say that he killed the Wild Bull Soybean!
Could this be the potential of a Dragon Chef?
Although Senzaemon Nakiri was extremely excited inside, he appeared calm and composed on the surface. He secretly glanced at Zhang Haoran beside him and, seeing no reaction, sighed in relief.
“Fortunately, Old Zhang doesn’t understand the intricacies of this. I still have a chance!”
Li Yang looked at the Wild Bull Soybeans that had exploded on the table and asked, “So, does this mean I’ve successfully tamed the Wild Bull Soybean?”
Senzaemon Nakiri lied through his teeth.
“To tame the Wild Bull Soybean means you can control it freely in your cooking. But now, look at these—can you still use them for cooking?”
Li Yang shook his head. The Wild Bull Soybeans had turned into exploded soybeans, completely losing their cooking value.
Senzaemon Nakiri nodded.
“Correct, you failed. But don’t be discouraged, with more practice, you should succeed…”
“Your potential seems not to be as strong as mine. When I tamed the Wild Bull Soybean back in the day, I succeeded on the first try.”
“Now, I am a Lian-level chef… and your future will only be slightly behind mine.”
Senzaemon Nakiri made a gesture with his fingers, forming a tiny universe.
“Here’s the plan, Erina, take Li Yang to your place. You have a well-equipped kitchen, and I’ll have someone deliver the ingredients for the Magic Mapo Tofu to you shortly.”
“You young ones should take the opportunity to exchange ideas!”
Erina blushed as she pulled Li Yang away. Although she lived in the Nakiri manor, she had her own villa where she lived with Hisako. Zhang Haoran glanced at Senzaemon Nakiri with suspicion.
“Senzaemon, I have a feeling you deliberately sent Li Yang away…”
“And by the way, did Li Yang really fail to tame the Wild Bull Soybean?”
Senzaemon Nakiri tried to maintain a righteous appearance.
“Didn’t you see the Wild Bull Soybeans explode? They’ve lost all cooking value.”
“So, as I’ve said, the stronger a chef’s taste sensation, the higher their culinary talent.”
“Li Yang failed to tame the Wild Bull Soybean, which means his culinary talent is mediocre. In the future, becoming a Lian-level chef may be his limit.”
Senzaemon Nakiri lied smoothly, without any signs of nervousness.
Zhang Haoran thought for a moment.
Could it be that Li Yang didn’t have the potential to become a Dragon Chef?
Did Liu Long mistake him?
Seeing Senzaemon Nakiri’s indifferent attitude, Zhang Haoran suddenly smiled.
“Well then, if Senzaemon doesn’t think highly of Li Yang, after we solve the Snow Woman’s curse, I’ll take him back immediately and make sure he’s not in your way!”
Now Senzaemon Nakiri was in a panic.
“Hey, why are you not playing by the rules?”
“President Zhang, there’s no need to rush. Totsuki Academy has a large group of students around Li Yang’s age with good culinary skills. Let them interact for a few more days. Solving the Snow Woman’s curse can wait…”
Zhang Haoran, seeing how easily he made Senzaemon Nakiri anxious, immediately realized that things weren’t as he said. Li Yang wasn’t just a genius—he was a genius among geniuses!
“Senzaemon, you really are an old fool!”
“Don’t even think about stealing away our Chinese culinary genius… if you try any more tricks, I’ll take Li Yang and leave immediately!”
Senzaemon Nakiri immediately reassured Zhang Haoran.
“Please, please, President Zhang, we’ve known each other for a long time. Just stay here and relax for a while longer.”
In Erina’s kitchen, Li Yang relaxed his grip and easily tamed the Wild Bull Soybean. He then used the prepared broth to stew the soybeans, letting them soak in flavor before deep-frying them in hot oil. He used the fried Wild Bull Soybeans as minced meat to cook a perfect Magic Mapo Tofu.