Multiverse Gourmet Hunter

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Haruto lifted the lid from his pot.

"Jade-Melting Chicken Soup. Please enjoy."

The instant the lid came off, an indescribably intense wave of savory fragrance exploded outward like a tidal wave and swept through the entire courtyard.

The aroma was easily a hundred times richer than Luo Ke’s soup, yet somehow it carried none of the heaviness one would expect from such concentration.

Everyone’s mouths began watering uncontrollably.

Even their breathing grew faster.

Yet the aroma was not what shocked them most.

What they saw inside the pot left everyone speechless.

All three judges rose from their seats and stared into the pot with eyes as wide as bells.

Every trace of Xiang En’s seductive smile vanished.

Luo Ke reacted even more violently. The moment he understood what he was looking at, he rushed straight to Haruto’s side and practically leaned over the rim of the pot.

The smugness, confidence, and disdain that had covered his face only moments ago had disappeared completely.

Only disbelief remained.

Haruto’s broth was as clear as flawless jade.

The patterns on the bottom of the pot could be seen through it perfectly.

It was even clearer than Luo Ke’s soup.

But that was not the truly impossible part.

The pot was empty.

There was no whole chicken.

No scraps of meat.

No skin.

Not even a single bone.

There was nothing inside except soup.

"This... this is impossible!"

Luo Ke jerked his head up and stared at Haruto, bloodshot eyes wide with agitation.

"You never took that chicken out of the pot! What trick did you use?! Where is it? Where did that chicken go?!"

His mechanical claws clicked frantically as his hand trembled.

Haruto remained completely calm.

"Have you considered the possibility that the entire chicken has already dissolved into the soup?"

Luo Ke shook his head violently.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"Even if you stewed it for ten days and ten nights, the bones wouldn’t completely dissolve! You must have pulled some kind of trick!"

An entire chicken, bones and all, completely dissolved into broth in only two hours?

It defied common sense.

Haruto had no interest in arguing with him.

He simply picked up a ladle and served one bowl to each judge.

Despite its crystal-clear appearance, the broth clung thickly to the ladle, stretching into fine translucent threads as it dripped.

The three judges exchanged glances, each seeing the same disbelief reflected in the others’ eyes.

Then they eagerly picked up their spoons, scooped up a mouthful, and tasted it.

The instant the soup touched their tongues, all three men froze.

Time seemed to stop.

The entire courtyard fell silent, leaving only the faint rustling of leaves in the breeze.

A few moments later, Lord Xu’s porcelain bowl dropped onto the table with a clatter.

His lips trembled.

His eyes were filled with shock.

"This... this flavor... I... I feel like an entire chicken just melted alive inside my mouth!"

Beside him, Lord Zhao had tears streaming down his cheeks.

He hurriedly wiped at them while speaking in a trembling voice.

"I’ve never tasted soup like this before!"

"The tenderness of the meat, the silkiness of the skin, the richness of the marrow, the mellow fragrance of chicken fat—it’s all contained in this single mouthful!"

"Every sip feels like eating an entire chicken, except there’s nothing to chew. It simply melts the moment it touches your tongue!"

"It’s so savory I feel like I could swallow my own tongue!"

Lord Ma had already lost the ability to speak.

He held his bowl in both hands and drank mouthful after mouthful until even the bottom had been licked spotless.

Only then did he collapse back into his chair, wearing an expression of complete bliss.

"Luo Ke’s soup was already an extraordinary delicacy..."

"But compared with this... compared with this, it might as well be plain boiled water!"

Every word from the judges struck Luo Ke like a hammer.

He stumbled backward two steps before dropping heavily onto the ground.

His mechanical claw hung limply beside him, producing weak metallic clicks.

Luo Ke knew he had lost.

Completely.

The Five Tigers Chicken Soup he had always taken such pride in was utterly helpless before Haruto’s Jade-Melting Chicken Soup.

"How... how did you do that?"

Even now, Luo Ke could not understand how Haruto had managed to dissolve an entire chicken—flesh, bones, and all—into the broth.

Haruto had no intention of explaining.

Xiang En stared at him from the side.

Every trace of flirtation had vanished from her expression, replaced by grave seriousness.

She had still underestimated him.

Fortunately, there were two matches left.

"The winner of the first match is Traveling Chef Haruto!"

Xiang En announced the result without hesitation.

Then she continued immediately.

"The second match begins now."

"The theme is—fried rice."

"You have one hour. All ingredients are available for use."

"Begin!"

Haruto frowned slightly when he heard the theme.

Fried rice was ordinary.

But the simpler a dish appeared, the harder it was to make truly exceptional.

At that moment, Shao An stepped forward.

"I’ll be your opponent for the next round."

Haruto glanced at him, one eyebrow lifting almost imperceptibly.

He knew Shao An well enough.

The personal disciple of Master Pai, the so-called Fairy of Cuisine—a proud and talented chef who somehow had a spectacular talent for losing at the worst possible moment.

Haruto suddenly wondered what would happen if he made Golden Fried Rice right in front of him.

Would Shao An completely lose it on the spot?

Just imagining the expression on his face was rather amusing.

Haruto quickly dismissed the idea, however.

If he simply copied Golden Fried Rice in this match, he would almost certainly lose.

These three judges were not Admiral Li.

Unless Haruto used ingredients from the Gourmet Restaurant, but Shao An was nowhere near important enough to justify that.

Haruto’s gaze moved across the ingredient table as he considered what kind of fried rice he should make.

A moment later, his eyes brightened.

He had an idea.

Shao An, meanwhile, had already decided exactly what he was going to cook.

While Haruto was still standing in place thinking, Shao An strode toward the ingredient table and began selecting what he needed with quick, decisive movements.

Before long, he returned to his stove carrying a basket filled to the brim.

The ingredients inside were extravagant.

A plump, glossy partridge.

Fresh mountain matsutake mushrooms with an intense earthy fragrance.

Tender bamboo shoot tips.

Thick, springy rehydrated Liaoning sea cucumber.

Crystal-clear shrimp.

Once everything was prepared, Shao An picked up his kitchen knife and pinned the partridge against the cutting board.

His blade traveled cleanly along the bones.

In barely more than ten seconds, the entire bird had been deboned.

The flesh and skin remained perfectly intact, without a single fragment of bone left behind.

Shao An cut the meat into evenly sized cubes, then marinated them with ginger juice, aged Huadiao wine, and a small amount of salt to lock in their juices.

Next, he cut the matsutake and tender bamboo shoots into neat pieces of identical size.

With the ingredients prepared, Shao An moved on to the accompaniments for his fried rice.

He placed two iron woks over blazing fires at the same time.

Once the metal had heated until it was faintly red, he poured a ladle of scallion oil into the left wok.

A rich fragrance of scallion immediately burst into the air.

The blanched sea cucumber slid down the side of the wok with a sharp sizzle, sending a rush of smoke and wok aroma into the courtyard.

Shao An’s wrist moved effortlessly.

The wok seemed alive in his hand as he tossed, stirred, and seasoned in one continuous motion.

Rock sugar enhanced the natural sweetness, while superior stock was added to braise the sea cucumber.

Before long, a rich seafood fragrance filled the courtyard.

The glossy black sea cucumber was coated in a brilliant reddish sauce, soft and springy while still retaining its shape perfectly.

In the second wok, Shao An first caramelized rock sugar to create a rich amber glaze.

The pieces of partridge went in next, each one quickly coated with the caramelized sugar.

He added a small amount of spices, followed by superior stock and Huadiao wine, then lowered the fire and let the meat braise gently.

The fragrance of roasted meat mixed with the aroma of wine, making stomachs growl throughout the courtyard.

Once both accompaniments were finished, Shao An set them aside.

Without pausing, he swung a third wok onto the stove.

Then he brought out Lingnan silk-seed rice that had been steamed the previous day and left to cool overnight.

Its moisture content had reached the perfect level.

Every grain was dry and distinct, without the slightest trace of sticking.

Rendered pork fat and chicken fat went into the wok together.

Once they began to smoke faintly, Shao An poured in the rice along the side.

The grains hit the hot metal with a rapid crackling sound.

He stirred continuously, tossing the rice through the air so every grain heated evenly.

After a short while, the shrimp went in first.

He stir-fried them rapidly until they curled slightly.

Then came the matsutake and bamboo shoots, their clean fragrances balancing the richness of the fats.

Finally, Shao An added the prepared sea cucumber and partridge.

With one effortless flick of his wrist, every ingredient merged perfectly with the rice without damaging the shape of anything in the wok.

He killed the heat and transferred the fried rice neatly onto a serving platter.

Glossy red partridge meat, dark sea cucumber, rosy shrimp, and fresh green bamboo shoots were scattered throughout the shimmering grains of rice.

The presentation was luxurious and imposing enough to make anyone hungry at first glance.

Shao An set down his spatula and wiped the thin layer of sweat from his forehead.

Then he placed the dish before the judges with complete confidence.

"My lords, this is my dish—Heaven and Earth Fried Rice."

"The partridge represents the sky, the matsutake and bamboo shoots represent the land, while the sea cucumber and shrimp represent the sea."

"Sea, land, and sky united in one dish."

"The finest flavors beneath heaven and earth are all contained in this single plate of fried rice."

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