Food Wars, my food not only glows!

　Just as the two sides were about to clash and were locked in a standoff, Bai Yuan's voice suddenly rang out from not far away, accompanied by footsteps and Wang Hai, who looked unusually respectful.

　"Teacher Baiyuan!"

　“You’re here, Professor Bai Yuan.”

　Are you here to officiate our competition?

　Upon hearing the voice, everyone turned their gaze and saw Bai Yuan standing in front of Wang Hai. The black-clad youths immediately showed excited expressions.

　"Professor Bai Yuan, come to think of it, I haven't seen him at all during this midterm exam..."

　"So that's how it is. No wonder those underachievers disappeared; they were taken away for special training."

　However, while you're training hard, we haven't been idle either. If you think you can defeat us just like that, you're being incredibly naive!

　Bai Yuan's appearance made the students in the 20th hall think a lot. No one standing there was a fool. After a little thought, they understood the cause and effect.

　Special training?

　joke!

　They have been training hard during this period.

　After training each day, they would fall asleep as soon as their heads hit the bed. Some of them were so exhausted that they even vomited. They all pushed their potential to the limit!

　Under such circumstances, they certainly don't think they can be inferior to the underachievers after special training!

　“You are conducting humane training, while we are experiencing hellish training where we could lose our lives if we are not careful!”

　Hearing what the students in the twentieth hall said and looking at the scene, Mitsui San's expression remained indifferent.

　This statement is correct. At its most brutal, hellish training required students to stay up all night and only get three hours of rest a day.

　Those with strong abilities can finish their tasks ahead of time and rest longer, but those at the bottom are still at the bottom, and most of them are weak.

　They didn't know how they persevered; they only knew that they had a strong belief in their hearts at the time.

　I must hold on and take revenge on those who bullied me!

　As the bottom of the class at Totsuki Academy, they have all suffered unfair treatment to varying degrees.

　It's not uncommon for important items to be stolen through food battles, for students to be ridiculed for making subpar dishes in class, and for students to be bullied in various ways.

　"I'm not interested in this level of food battle. If you want me to be a spectator, try to survive to the end."

　Remember, you are the challengers. If you lose even one game, there will be no more.

　As the surrounding noise subsided, Bai Yuan waved his hand, looked at their faces, and smiled as he spoke.

　The competition venue has been set up for them, and what follows is a real battle. Hopefully, this period of training will truly transform them!

　Bai Yuan's lips curled up slightly, then he looked at Wang Hai, who had remained silent, and said:

　"As a judge in this food battle, you must remember to ensure fairness and impartiality."

　"Leave it to me. I'm also very curious about what those brats have done to deserve your personal tutelage, Chief!"

　"Then take your time reading it."

　After saying this, Bai Yuan turned and left.

　After he left, Wang Hai regained his dignified expression and then looked away.

　"Since it's a food battle, let each side send one judge, plus me, to form a three-person judging panel to evaluate the dishes of both sides."

　Seeing that the atmosphere was at a stalemate, Wang Hai stepped forward and spoke to the leaders on both sides.

　"I have no opinion."

　"Let's do it this way!"

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　Meanwhile, after leaving the twentieth venue, Bai Yuan went to other venues to investigate the situation.

　Due to the large number of students, this midterm exam was divided into twenty sessions. The higher the number of a session, the higher the overall academic performance of the students in that session.

　Both Erina Nakiri and Alice Nakiri are in the first venue.

　Meanwhile, Hojo Miyoko, Mito Ikumi, Yoshino Yuuki, and others were assigned to the third venue and ranked among the top in the third venue.

　This

　In their second attack, the bottom-ranked players were not blinded by the prospect of 'becoming stronger.' Instead, they wisely chose venues nineteen and twenty to challenge.

　Because their initial scores are still low, challenging stronger opponents and even if they win, they won't gain many points, and the risk is high.

　Therefore, they planned to start from the back, step by step, steadily and surely, to take the points from the other students!

　During the last five days of the midterm exams, students are free to challenge the top-ranked players on the leaderboard, up to two hundred places higher at a time, with no limit on the number of challenges.

　On the last day of the midterm exam, everyone only has one chance to challenge and be challenged. In other words, the challenger is risking everything, and the challenged may be left behind if they are not careful. However, they still have one chance to return to the top fifty.

　If you have no objection to your ranking, you can choose to give up the opportunity to challenge and simply defend your current position.

　To ensure fairness, the challenges on the final day were restricted, with no more than fifty people allowed to be ranked higher or lower; that is, the fifty-first-ranked person could not challenge the first-ranked person.

　"Teacher Bai Yuan, it's been a long time."

　As they passed the third venue, a slightly hesitant voice rang out. Bai Yuan turned his head and saw that the speaker was Mito Ikumi, who had a restrained expression.

　When the girl saw him looking over, her bright gaze became somewhat evasive, but she still raised her hand to greet him, her heart beating a little fast.

　"Mito, it's been a while. Are you making tempura?"

　When others greeted him warmly, Bai Yuan naturally couldn't be cold, so he walked up with a smile and asked, trying to make conversation.

　"Yes! Today's task is to make tempura."

　But I just can't seem to get it right. I've practiced all day, and only a dozen or so have passed the test, with the highest score being only 70, accumulating a mere 2 points.

　Seeing Bai Yuan arrive at her cooking station, Mito Ikumi immediately began to demonstrate, a look of frustration on her face.

　"The problem lies in the batter itself. When mixing gluten powder and cold water, you need to put it in the refrigerator to cool it down first. Cooling will inhibit the gluten and improve the crispy texture."

　"I see!"

　Seeing that Bai Yuan had only observed the state of the batter before pointing out the problem that she hadn't noticed, Mito Ikumi immediately showed a look of realization.

　"Besides that, there are the ingredients. For a professional chef, each ingredient needs to be pre-treated before frying."

　Mushrooms need to be scored, asparagus needs to be peeled and have its ends removed, and then there's this...

　Using the ingredients on Mito Ikumi's table, Shiroyuki began to talk at length.

　Although the lesson today focused on frying, cooking is a comprehensive skill. If the preparation is not done well beforehand, even the best frying technique will not result in delicious tempura.

　"Taking what you have now as an example, I won't make too many adjustments to the others. Let me talk to you about the issues of cooking ingredients and heat control when frying dishes."

　Actually, these things are hard to describe in words. Just watch carefully, learn diligently, and pay close attention to my techniques.

　Having come this far, Bai Yuan stood in front of the cooking counter and began to explain. He had also become somewhat interested and was preparing to demonstrate for Mito Ikumi.

　His actions aroused the curiosity of those around him, especially Hojo Miyoko and others who had noticed him long ago and were hesitating whether to approach him.

　"Let us take a look too, Professor Bai Yuan."

　Miyoko Hojo strode forward, a longing expression on her face.

　"That means there are still many things we don't know!"

　Ryoko Sakaki echoed this sentiment, jogging forward to secure a spot to Shirayuki's left, a position with an exceptionally good view.

　"Me! Can you take me with you?"

　As Yoshino Yuuki spoke, she turned off the fire that was heating the oil pan and came up behind him, her big eyes filled with longing.

　Seeing this, Bai Yuan didn't say anything. After testing the oil temperature with a few drops of batter, he threw the fried food in. The most important thing when frying tempura is to maintain a constant temperature.

　However, just as he was about to say something...

　"What are you trying to do? Are you planning a rebellion? Why aren't you cooking at your own counters? What are you all doing gathered there?"

　Just as everyone was focused on the pot, a slightly angry voice came from the doorway.

　When Bai Yuan entered, the teacher in charge of the venue had gone to the restroom. Now, upon returning from the restroom, he saw a group of people standing together and immediately showed an unhappy expression.

　"Splitting up now, everyone do an extra 100 sets. If you make the same mistake again..."

　The female teacher lashed the ground with her whip, creating a loud sonic boom. Her expression was serious, as if she was about to lash out at the group if they didn't separate.

　"No need for extra practice. I asked them to come over. You can come over if you want to watch, Huang Yun."

　Just as Mito Ikumi and the others were feeling awkward, standing still and refusing to move, which slightly angered the woman, Hakugen's voice came from inside.

　"So it's the leader! I'm sorry, I didn't see you in the crowd. You guys make way for me, give me the middle seat!"

　Upon hearing that familiar voice, Huang Yun's expression visibly brightened, and she hid the whip behind her back. Then, she pushed through the crowd and forcefully took the center position.

　"Alright, you're already a master chef, stop acting like a child."

　"

　Turning his head, Bai Yuan saw the woman with heroic spirit in her eyes and his voice revealed a hint of helplessness. He hadn't expected that the person in the third venue would be her.

　"This was made by you, the leader, personally to cover it up! How could I not be excited! If this were in the world of dark cuisine, I'd probably need a food battle to get it right now!"

　Huang Yun pouted and said excitedly. Although she was almost thirty, she looked like a young girl in her late twenties because she took good care of herself.

　Her entry into the world of dark cuisine was due to a chance encounter when Bai Yuan saw her cooking and casually offered a couple of pointers.

　These two sentences were a revelation to her, giving her a deeper understanding of cooking. She then participated in the top-level assessment and passed it successfully.

　While her ten years of experience as a top-tier chef certainly contributed to her success, without Bai Yuan's guidance, it would have taken her at least another five to ten years to reach that level.

　Therefore, she felt gratitude and admiration for Bai Yuan. Without him, there would be no top-tier chef Huang Yun today!

　This is also why, when Bai Yuan rallied the crowd, she immediately closed her restaurant, which she had run for over a decade, and devoted herself to the world of dark cuisine.

　"Alright, I won't say any more. Just watch carefully and learn as much as you can. 58 seconds, this one is just right. Try it."

　As they spoke, Bai Yuan used chopsticks to pick up the asparagus from the pot. The asparagus was covered with a golden coating, making it look very light and fluffy.

　A few seconds after the asparagus tempura was taken out of the pot, it burst into a golden light. Although it wasn't very strong, it was enough to make it look like a luminous dish.

　This is the best that tempura can achieve when there is insufficient preparation beforehand.

　Of course, there is another reason: tempura is a type of dish that is too simple, and its deliciousness is not enough to support more sophisticated dishes.

　Generally speaking, tempura is only served as a side dish for a certain dish and is not served as a main course.

　"A dish that glows?! Can just deep-fried tempura really achieve this level of perfection...?"

　Staring blankly at the asparagus tempura in front of her, Huang Yun's face was filled with disbelief. A dish she wouldn't even dare to dream of, Bai Yuan had made so easily?!

　It only took less than a minute...

　While admiring Bai Yuan, she also felt a pang of melancholy. Why was there such a vast difference between people? He was even younger than her!

　Thinking of this, a hint of resentment appeared in Huang Yun's eyes.

　"The key is controlling the heat. This is the most crucial aspect of 'frying' this type of dish."

　Deep-frying, soft-frying, crispy-frying, clear-frying, oil-soaked frying, drizzled frying, raw frying, and cooked frying—the cooking method of 'frying' alone has a wide variety of types if you really want to break it down.

　Every frying method has subtle differences, but they all have one thing in common: controlling the heat.

　As they were talking, Bai Yuan put the mushrooms into the pot.

　As soon as the mushrooms were added to the pot, countless bubbles rose up, coating the surface of the batter and turning it an enticing golden color.

　As the bubbles gradually dissipated, Bai Yuan dipped his hand into the batter and then slightly trembled his fingers.

　In this way, the batter becomes small dots that enter the oil pan. Because of their small size, they quickly turn golden brown and are then attracted by the mushrooms.

　At the 74th second, Bai Yuan used chopsticks to pick it out without the slightest hesitation.

　Those watching were completely captivated, admiring the incredibly swift and decisive technique, and frantically trying to memorize it.

　The way I put the ingredients into the pot, the way I tossed the batter into the pan—every scene played on repeat in my mind, and I carefully reviewed every detail.

　A seven-star chef's instruction—this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

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