The Sacred Knife Skills Contest, for the right to own the Legendary Cookware, continues!
I am competing against Leon, who uses seven knives to cook.
My entrée was my special Red Sea Bream Continental Seal.
But we tied, so Leon challenged me to an extension round.
He finally broke the seal of his secret Underworld knife.
An ominous knife he called the North Star Sirius Blade!
With the ultimate slices made from the same bream Mao uses...
I will let you taste heaven on Earth!
Clash of Ice and Flame! A Chef's Soul
North Star Sirius Blade!
Arhat Crystal Slice!
What incredible knife skill!
Both his speed and accuracy have greatly increased!
Yes, but that's the least of it.
What is that dangerous expression on his face?
I can almost feel the strain of his effort. However...
As far as I can see, it's the same sashimi that he made before.
It seems age has taken its toll, honored Elders!
What?/NWhat?
Surely your tired old eyes can appreciate the sharpness of this blade through the slices!
W-what?!
Our faces...
Our faces are reflected in each slice!
Although Mao treated the fish roughly, the meat is still firm.
Not only that. It also reflects like a mirror.
I can't believe such a sharp knife exists.
That bluish-white glow... And fearsome sharpness...
And the look of agony on Leon's face...
I-impossible!
No, that must be it!
What's the matter, Shell?
The Underworld Knife, North Star Sirius Blade is...
The Sirius Blade is...?
It's a knife completely made of ice!
A frozen cooking knife?
That can't be right. How can there be ice when it doesn't snow in Canton?
Even if there were, it would melt!
No, I heard of it before.
That an incredible knife of ice exists in the Underworld.
It was made from ice cut from a northern glacier.
Constantly sharpened for many years in the cold.
A knife made of ice...
Right. I have heard of it.
It's an ideal blade with a razor-sharp edge, and a coldness that prevents heat from tainting the fish meat.
If so, then why didn't Leon use it from the beginning?
You will know why, when you look at his hand.
Leon's right hand is... purple! They are...!
Correct. He has frostbite.
His hand is dying from the ice knife's incredibly cold temperature.
B-but surely he could have wrapped the knife handle with cloth?
Even thin cloth can cause highly-skilled chefs to make mistakes.
To cut at a high level of precision, you must handle the knife bare-handed.
No way.
He's sacrificing his important right hand in order to cut food.
That North Star Sirius Blade is a double-edged sword for a chef.
That's the way of the Underworld!
It reminds me of a Japanese samurai warrior Mom told me about.
Seeking to possess the Legendary cookware, even at this cost!
What an obsession Leon has!
M-Mao! What can Mao do?
Brother Mao...
How can you compete with the same knives as before?
The b-bream exploded!
With one swing of Brother Mao's knife...
What did Brother Mao do?
And again!
Did Brother Mao put gunpowder inside the sea bream or something?
That would ruin the meat. There has to be some secret to his knife.
No, there is no other secret in the Hundred-Hole Knife I made.
Then what did Brother Mao do?!
Good!
Huh? The knife surface is sparkling...
W-what is this?
It's wire! He's taken the Steel Wire knife and looped it
around each and every hole of the Hundred-Hole Knife!
What?
I see. Then that explains why the fish exploded!
The loops of wire portruding from the knife surface instantly minces the fish meat.
A single swing will create ground fish meat, creating that explosion!
That makes sense!
It's amazing, Brother Mao! You combined two knives to form a new one!
Yeah. As expected from Mao!
With that, he'll make excellent bream in a relatively short time.
Mao! It's an awesome knife that is equal to Leon's ice knife!
That's right, that's right!
Boy. Did you know what you just did?
If high-quality red sea bream is minced, then its taste is ruined.
How do you plan to fix it?
It's fine as it is.
What?
The red sea bream will be reincarnated in my hand!
Utter nonsense. Pulling out the best taste from food solely depends on a chef's knife skill!
The bastard is criticizing Brother Mao.
Don't worry about him, Brother Mao!
That's right, that's right!
Combining your knives to form a third blade was a wise move, Mao.
But you are forgetting the most important thing!
Brother Mao's cutting some vegetables into strips!
He's adding them to the minced bream!
But why did he heat up the wok?
Right. Usually, you add the raw herbs. What's he doing?
Bamboo shoots.
Shiitake.
Carrots!
What's he planning to use the vegetable strips for?
No!
What horrible frostbite!
What an obsession!
It is done.
Leon... so you were here after all.
You made graves for all the animals?
Animals have lives, just like us humans. We perpetuate our lives by taking theirs.
I want their souls to rest.
He hasn't changed. Leon hasn't changed from before!
The time has come.
The boy isn't done yet, but I'll have you taste my dish now!
This is the best time for you to try it.
The finest sashimi in the world!
Flash-Frozen Ice Bream Mountain!
It's an ice mound?!
Where's the sea bream?
I-I don't see it anywhere.
Look closer.
Super-thin slices of fish are sticking to the ice.
The ice mound is made from the ice knife.
An impressive show.
It's not a mere show! Sashimi tastes best when frozen up until the moment you eat it.
With sauce made from sesame oil...
This sashimi will lead you to Seventh Heaven!
Seventh Heaven? How ostentatious.
The Secret Knife of the Underworld... North Star Sirius Blade!
You will realize ...
Its true power!
T-the wind...
The Arctic blizzard is passing through my mouth!
The wind will stop momentarily.
After a moment of coolness, the life my blade had frozen will finally melt.
Oooh. Because of the heat from my mouth, the mellow taste of the red sea bream is spreading...
What a smooth taste. It's the ultimate in savory flavor!
It's as if the red sea bream was alive and jumping in my mouth!
I feel like I'm in heaven!
Above all factors, the reason for this excellent fresh taste is in the time when you completed the dish!
It has been six hours since the bream was killed.
This is the Golden Time, the time when the meat tastes the most fresh!
You have responded superbly to the most important issue.
Well done, Leon!
Will you be fine, Brother Mao?
This is no time to adore the cuisine of others. Man!
I'm sorry to keep you waiting!
It took you quite a long time.
I'm sorry for the delay. Please.
Wha? But this is...
Spring Rolls.
That's right. A Liu Mao Xing Special: Reincarnation Spring Rolls!
Wow! So Brother Mao minced all that bream to make spring rolls!
I get it now! That's why he boiled vegetable strips!
He made those rolls by chopping the meat into thin strips, rolling them in bream skin, and frying them.
What a creative dish he came up with at such a critical moment! Yahoo!
Heh. Game over, kid.
It's too late.
Too late? What do you mean, Dad?
By the time Mao rolled the bream meat into spring rolls,
the time when it reached maximum freshness has already passed.
No way!
No matter how creative his dish is, Leon's bream, which matched the best time, will be better!
Then Brother Mao's bream can't win...
Since you cannot reverse time, the lost freshness will not return!
But Mao wouldn't miss something like that!
That's right. It's Brother Mao we're talking about. I'm sure he has a plan.
Mao, what chance of victory can you have?
We'll begin the taste test.
W-what?
W-what?!
It's alive!
Delicious! It has astounding freshness... as if a living bream was jumping in my mouth!
The fullsome savory taste of vegetables and fish meat... it's the taste of seasonal food!
These spring rolls contain the golden moment of freshness for the red sea bream, just like Leon's!
But how? The bream was cooked long after the ideal time... What gives?
The red sea bream will be reincarnated in my hand!
I-impossible.
No way.
The burns...
Mao got his hand burned?
Mao, when did you...
You... you couldn't have...
That's right. I heated the third knife directly over fire.
With that heat, I locked in the freshness of the fish!
Boy.
Heat... That's right...
Mao minced the bream with the heated knife, searing the surface of the meat at the same time.
This means that the minced bream was already cooked, thus locking in the freshness of the fish!
The third knife combined the Steel Wire Knife and the Hundred-Hole Knife, and added the effect of heat.
Does this mean...
That's right. Mao handled the heated knife with his bare hands.
Leon sacrificed a part of his body in order to slice the fish.
Mao did the same, sacrificing his own body to cook.
You're not half-bad, boy.
Likewise, Leon.
Mao's spring roll is better!
His idea was inspired!
No, it will go to Leon's frozen sashimi. It pulled out the red sea bream's taste in its simplest form.
Wow, what a long discussion.
Their opinions must be divided.
Oh, they've decided.
I will now give you our decision.
The glorious victor of the Sacred Knife Skills Contest...
The city center has a bustling din,
As I jump over the guard rails unseen.
Must hurry over to our meeting place,
And beat the dusk in a race.
In your twinkling eyes, I see so clearly,
The soothing warmth that you feel for me.
And with only that, my poor defenseless heart,
Is starting to melt and break apart.
This is a feeling that won't stop; it just keeps going straight.
And it's starting to speed up and accelerate.
I'm by your door, and knocking hard. Won't you let me in?
Let me show you my spirit filled with passion. Yeah!