Hell Camp Checkpoint

"You three were way too reckless!"

"They were graduates! Former Elite Ten members!"

"…"

After returning to Marui’s room, Yoshino Yuki immediately started complaining at Xu Yue and the other two, leaving them with no choice but to smile apologetically and endure it.

Still, no matter what, getting through the day safely was already good enough. After that, they resumed their cheerful dorm activities.

Yet while joining in their fun, Xu Yue was still savoring Inui Hinako’s dish from earlier.

He had used the Sharingan to copy her movements, Yang Release Chakra to enhance the ingredients’ flavor, and spices to further boost it.

Yet in the end, he had lost that Food Wars! match by an overwhelming margin!

0–5!

Both Dojima Gin and Shinomiya Kojiro had voted for Inui Hinako.

They had made exactly the same dish, yet even Yang Release could not help him break even!

In Dojima Gin’s words—

"If the judges had been ordinary people, you might have won or lost by a single vote. But with chefs like us judging, you had no chance of winning whatsoever."

Shinomiya Kojiro also gave his opinion.

"True, merely copying something after one look and achieving this level of pure flavor without putting your own soul into the dish is already a miracle. But food is meant to be eaten. It is not just flavor alone—otherwise, people could simply eat seasoning powder…"

Having just absorbed something from Tadokoro Megumi, Shinomiya Kojiro was speaking from the heart.

"Your talent is far too strong. But if you cannot carve out your own path, then even if you someday reach the pinnacle of the culinary world, you will still lack your own soul…"

In truth, Xu Yue had known he had lost from the bonuses on the dishes alone.

Inui Hinako’s dish possessed the terrifying bonus of "all abilities increased by 10% for one hour after a full meal." The enhancement from a former second-seat Elite Ten graduate’s signature killer dish had completely surpassed his expectations for dish bonuses!

This was a completely separate culinary bonus. Its calculations were multiplicative and did not conflict with other effects!

His own dish, however, still only had the basic "Glowing Cuisine" effect: "mentally refreshed."

Even though he had forcibly used Yang Release to optimize the dish and reverse the gap in flavor, there was still a limit to how delicious a dish could become.

The reason he had been able to defeat Shinomiya Kojiro, aside from the fact that it had not been Shinomiya’s specialty and that Shinomiya’s confusion during his bottleneck had affected his performance, was mainly because the competition required leftover vegetables.

It was precisely because Xu Yue had been confident about that that he had carried out this plan.

But against Inui Hinako, he clearly had no corresponding advantage whatsoever.

Even Yang Release could not prop it up anymore. If he increased the dosage further, that fish might actually come back to life…

The fish that had been fried golden was still flicking its tail on the plate. It was still struggling after he bit into it. He had truly done his best.

Still, challenging Inui Hinako had originally been meant to test his limits and understand the bonuses of this world’s top-tier dishes.

Even if he lost, there was not much to lose, given Inui Hinako’s easygoing personality and the fact that it had not been an official Food Wars! match.

Moreover, during this Food Wars! match, he had unexpectedly discovered something else.

Aside from the physical drawbacks of using the Reincarnation of Heavenly Life Technique, his soul seemed to have remained incomplete to this day.

Even though Code had absorbed the entire C World, something still seemed to be missing.

A deficiency in his sense of self.

Because of his usual personality, that deficiency had never shown itself. Only now, when facing a former second-seat Elite Ten member giving it her all, did he vaguely come to understand it.

No matter what, only by discovering a problem could one have a chance to solve it. This Punishment mission had not been a loss after all!

Beyond that, they had also pointed out another shortcoming of Xu Yue’s…

"As you participate in more Food Wars! matches, people will probably come to understand your traits. If a competition is divided into separate rounds and they do not allow you to imitate them, your ability will undoubtedly drop by another level. So finding your own path and discovering your own heart is the most urgent problem you need to solve…"

"No one doubts that you can reach the pinnacle of the culinary world. But whether you become a saint or a god will depend on you…"

Xu Yue humbly accepted the advice given by these true big shots and seniors of the culinary world.

But perhaps because of the missing part of himself he had discovered, or perhaps simply because of his personality, he just could not treat cooking or culinary arts as something to pour his feelings into.

Culinary arts were merely tools, weren’t they…?

"I love cooking. I love culinary arts. I will become the greatest chef!"

After getting up in the morning and once again giving himself the mental suggestion of "loving culinary arts" in the mirror, Xu Yue realized that it would take at least several months before he could fully immerse himself in that suggestion.

"Having too much resistance to Illusion Techniques is also a problem."

Both the Eternal Mangekyo and the Rinnegan were practically immune to Illusion Techniques. Even Illusion Techniques of the same level faced extremely powerful resistance.

At the end, during the Infinite Tsukuyomi, had Uchiha Sasuke not been the only one able to withstand it with the Rinnegan?

Still, this was currently the most feasible path.

Using a "chef" personality created through suggestion to fill in his temporarily missing sense of self still felt somewhat off. Once he returned to the space in the future, he would need to find a more practical solution.

The Reincarnation of Heavenly Life Technique really was a trap…

After undergoing Shinomiya Kojiro’s trial on the second day, the following days of the camp passed normally and steadily.

Aside from the daily scheduled "suggestions," the lessons during camp and the "summaries" after returning to Marui’s dorm were all completed methodically.

And under this Hell Camp, even though it lasted only a few days, the students who endured it all made enormous progress.

From being worked like dogs after preparing fifty steaks in an hour and having fifty minutes on the first day, they had eventually reached the point where they could finish eighty servings in an hour. Through survival of the fittest and relentless elimination, under Totsuki Academy’s brutal rules, raw gems would eventually shine.

Then, Hell Camp reached its final checkpoint.

10 p.m. on the night before the camp’s second-to-last day.

The main hall of Totsuki Palace.

The hall that had been packed to the brim on the first day was now visibly sparse. A great many students had been eliminated along the way.

Now, everyone had to face the final checkpoint!

Every face carried tension and determination.

They had endured so many checkpoints already. They had to break through this final one!

Dojima Gin then took the stage again and announced the subject of the final challenge!

"This time, the theme is a new breakfast dish worthy of the guests at Totsuki Resort."

"The main ingredient is eggs. Any style of dish is acceptable."

"It must be made in a format suitable for a buffet. Judging will begin at six tomorrow morning."

"You may freely arrange your time until morning. All kitchens will be open for your use."

"Any student who fails to sell two hundred servings will be expelled."

After hearing this series of rules, many students could hardly believe their ears.

It was already ten o’clock. They were supposed to create a new breakfast dish by six tomorrow morning and sell two hundred servings?

They were not going to get any sleep at all!

Yoshino Yuki even asked Xu Yue whether she had misheard and it was actually six in the evening, but Xu Yue mercilessly crushed that fantasy. You have some potential too. Don’t go getting expelled on me here…

After several days of hellish living and another intense day, the students were already physically and mentally exhausted. Yet when it was time to sleep, they had to stay up and prepare for the next day’s assessment.

This was a complete challenge to their limits. It was enough to make anyone collapse!

"Good luck, everyone. I’m going back to Marui’s room to sleep for a while."

Yet among that crowd on the verge of collapse, Xu Yue simply waved, yawned, and left the hall, leaving the onlookers utterly bewildered.

Was this guy not planning to prepare at all…?

Second update complete~

Being able to keep from missing updates was all thanks to stubbornly grinding out two updates. I’ll take a shower, cultivate, and write tomorrow’s chapter. I have to go out tomorrow, so the update may be late again. Weekends are more exhausting than workdays now…