[Ingredient: Platinum King Crab]
[Ingredient Quality: 1-Star (90/90)]
[Evaluation: ... King Crabs that move in swarms across the seabed of the Ice Continent. They repeat a cycle of migration, hunting, migration, and hunting every day. Behind their hard and sharp shells lies a chewy meat texture honed by constant struggle; its quality goes without saying.]
---
[Ingredient: Supreme Walking Shark]
[Ingredient Quality: 3-Star (85/85)]
[Evaluation: The freshness-preserving quick-freeze technology the Snow Woman clan takes pride in has perfectly retained its flavor at its peak. The Supreme Walking Shark's rich fat and juices can be called a combination of terrestrial and marine deliciousness. As for the essence, the shark fin, it is a delicacy that even people of the Inner World cannot refuse.]
---
[Ingredient: Hell Ice Bass]
[Ingredient Quality: 4-Star (95/97)]
[Evaluation: An Ice Emperor that even the Snow Woman clan must capture with extreme caution. Because no one has been able to cook it for a long time, the quality of the Hell Ice Bass has declined. But even so, its flavor still crushes a multitude of 4-star Fantasy Ingredients.]
[PS: It is quietly waiting for the person who can cook it to appear.]
===
"Fantasy Ingredients really aren't just for show; even the ingredient quality has exploded into star ratings," Mo Bai exclaimed in admiration before holding his forehead, speechless. "But what the hell is this insurance-like quick-freeze the Snow Woman clan is so proud of?"
In the end, Mo Bai didn't get to eat the Hell Ice Bass.
With a shake of her hand, Yukikawa Shiratori provided Mo Bai with a textbook example of failure—the Hell Ice Bass meat melted into broth and vanished without a trace, a scene comparable to an Undead dissolving in water.
"Your Highness Mo Bai, what are your thoughts regarding the cuisine for the Divine Festival?" Yukikawa Shiratori asked.
"My general idea is to use the Supreme Walking Shark and Platinum King Crab in conjunction with your Yukikawa Shrine's recipes. We won't use the Hell Ice Bass for now." Seeing a seasoned veteran like Yukikawa Shiratori fail so miserably, Mo Bai didn't dare to be arrogant, even as a return gift for the Century Soup from Ryougi Shiki.
Recipe: Charcoal Grilled Platinum King Crab (Special-Grade 2-Star), Recipe: Supreme Walking Shark Fin Imperial Soup (Special-Grade 3-Star), Recipe: Steamed Hell Ice Bass (Special-Grade 4-Star).
The three recipes Yukikawa Shrine gave Mo Bai were all Special-Grade without exception; it could be said they had brought out their very best assets.
Perhaps in their view, an expert capable of using gourmet food to expel evil spirits and simultaneously connect with two gods of completely different personalities must inevitably be Special-Grade. Who would have thought that Mo Bai didn't even have a star rating yet?
Fortunately, the methods for cooking these Fantasy Ingredients were just the most basic ones.
For the Charcoal Grilled Platinum King Crab, there was the double insurance of Little Bai's timer and Mo Bai's Intuition. As for the Imperial Soup, Mo Bai's favorite thing was making soup.
"If you have any needs, just inform me." Yukikawa Shiratori retreated to a corner where she wouldn't affect Mo Bai's cooking.
Mo Bai closed his eyes and immersed himself in the Mental Time Chamber.
The Platinum King Crab and Supreme Walking Shark were right before his eyes. Little Bai, having finished collecting information, manifested both of them within the Mental Time Chamber, and Mo Bai began to work, sharpening his knife.
Time passed continuously. Even someone as calm as Yukikawa Shiratori could no longer remain calm.
She watched Mo Bai standing quietly in a daze before the cooking station for two hours without moving a muscle.
Just as Yukikawa Shiratori was debating whether to wake Mo Bai, Mo Bai, who had practiced for several days in the Mental Time Chamber, woke up as if from a dream.
"A Special-Grade 3-Star recipe lives up to its reputation."
"Miko Shiratori, please fetch a portion of shark fin for me." After speaking, Mo Bai went straight to the ingredient shelf. Abalone, as the partner ingredient, was essential; aside from that, there was the stock that would establish the base flavor for the abalone and shark fin.
Old hen, grass duck, pigeon, marrow bones, dried scallops...
Mo Bai swept up all the ingredients recorded in the recipe, and after performing the necessary prep work, he tossed them one by one into the pot to boil.
During the remaining waiting time, Mo Bai faced the shark fin on the cutting board.
"Your Highness Mo Bai, please be careful. The skin of the Supreme Walking Shark is extremely tough," Yukikawa Shiratori hurriedly warned upon seeing Mo Bai pick up a kitchen knife to work directly on the shark fin.
"I know." Mo Bai still remembered the bizarre scene in the Mental Time Chamber where his knife bounced off when he chose to cut directly to extract the thread-like cartilage because he couldn't stand the tedious pre-processing steps.
"Little Bai, it's up to you." It would be a huge waste not to use a cheat when he had one.
The rhythmic melody of a knife hitting the cutting board reached the ears of Yukikawa Shiratori, who still wanted to stop Mo Bai's suicidal behavior.
Yukikawa Shiratori watched in disbelief as Mo Bai moved the knife like the wind, while fine filaments of cartilage gradually piled up on the dinner plate.
"How can an ordinary kitchen knife break through the defense of an Inner World creature!" Mo Bai's god-tier operation shocked Yukikawa Shiratori's worldview.
"Girl, you are too naive! Give me an even more awesome guy and I can cut it in minutes," Little 'Nothing-I-Cannot-Cut' Bai said, her voice full of smugness.
"Cooking should be a display of maverick style." Mo Bai expressed great satisfaction at saving several hours of shark fin processing time.
Holding a plate of shark fin without a speck of skin debris, Mo Bai only needed to do two steps next: remove the fishy smell and simmer it in the stock until soft and tender.
An hour and a half later, a pillar of light pierced the sky.
"The cuisine... is glowing?!" Yukikawa Shiratori broke free from the shock brought by the soaring pillar of light, and her gaze fell upon the dinner plate. Golden, translucent shark fin sat in an equally golden thick soup. An aroma that made one unable to stop swallowing saliva wafted through the air; it was a dish that attracted attention without any other decoration.
"Yeah, it's a success." The glow came so suddenly that Mo Bai felt slightly bored.
"Is this the effect of the recipe? Is it already approaching a level of harmony in itself?" Mo Bai wondered inwardly.
"Of course. Behind every recipe is a generation, or even several generations, of chefs constantly modifying and perfecting it. Approaching harmony is inevitable," Little Bai explained impatiently.
"At this moment, I have a bold idea."
"What a coincidence, so do I."
When it comes to recipes, it is naturally easier to seize them from the little ones.
And in the entire Far East, there was undoubtedly only one place gathering the highest quality little kids—Tōtsuki Academy.
Mo Bai and Little Bai smiled at each other, giving off a feeling of villains conspiring together.
Both seemed to see recipes rolling in towards them.
"Ah~~" A coquettish moan with a rising inflection called Mo Bai back to reality.
It turned out to be the icy and aloof Yukikawa Shiratori. At this moment, her eyes, usually calm as an ancient well, were brimming with mist. Her forehead was dripping with fragrant sweat, and her expression was intoxicated. Her miko robes were loose and half-undone, revealing the exquisite collarbones beneath her snowy white shoulders to Mo Bai's eyes.
"Clothes Bursting!!!" Mo Bai stared intently at the situation through the wide gaps between his fingers covering his eyes. He felt incredibly emotional seeing a situation that was usually just nonsense in manga appearing right before his eyes.
His cooking had finally grown up; it had successfully moved past attacking people psychologically and started attacking their external attire.
"Senior, are you ready..." Yukikawa Yukie slid open the door to the prep room.
Upon seeing the scene inside clearly, her eyes widened and her small mouth opened slightly.
"Mom?! What are you doing!?!" Yukikawa Yukie hurriedly threw herself onto Yukikawa Shiratori, covering the leaking scenery of spring.
"I want more..." Yukikawa Shiratori murmured softly, clutching the dinner plate tightly and refusing to let go.
"Senior, you should go outside!" Yukikawa Yukie, who was revealing more of herself the more she struggled with the former, cried out anxiously.
"Okay." Mo Bai walked out of the prep room with his head tilted back and closed the door.
Don't ask.
It's hot and I'm suffering from internal heat.
"Miko Shiratori is truly unfathomable. Slurp~"
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