Martial Arts Returnee's Game Broadcast-Chapter 311: The World’s Greatest Martial Arts Cooking Tournament

The suffering during the tournament was not limited to just the participants and the audience.

"Isn't this supposed to be a judge's seat? This looks more like a punishment chair! This isn't food, it's garbage!"

"Ugh, I don't want to do this anymore. Can't the judges quit and rotate like the audience?"

Ujiwoo and Lee Hae-chan were among the judges at the World’s Greatest Martial Arts Cooking Tournament. The expressions of them and the other judges, as they ate the dishes, were anything but pleasant.

"Booth 41, what was this dish called again?"

"It's a Chinese-style pancake dish called 'Chongyubyeong'!"

"But it just tastes like flour."

"Well, the other team members were bringing ingredients, but they were attacked by the Haenam faction, so..."

"Disqualified!!"

Four out of ten dishes were ruined because the ingredients were stolen.

"Booth 112, is this blood soup?"

"No, it’s Mapo Tofu with a spicy Doubanjiang sauce and Sichuan noodles."

"But why does the dish have blood floating around in it?"

"Our head chef collapsed while trying to defend against the Black Path operatives' attack, so..."

"Aren't these people supposed to go to the hospital, not a cooking competition?"

"It's okay, our staff already treated all the injured."

"You guys may be fine because you're not eating, but we're the ones eating this!"

Three out of ten dishes literally contained blood and sweat.

"Booth 205, aah! Why is this fried fish moving on the plate?!"

"Get that out of here!! Get it off the plate!!"

"Are these people insane or what?!"

Two out of ten dishes were made with ingredients so fresh that they were still moving.

"Booth 254, ah, finally a tasty dish! It’s even touching!"

"Thank you!"

"But how is this Chinese cuisine? Isn’t it just ramen?"

"Our team is made up of five college students, and ramen is the only dish we all know how to cook well, so we made ramen!"

"Ah, so you stir-fried the ingredients in Chinese style for the ramen?"

"We just put in ramen flakes..."

"Get out, you bastards."

One of the teams submitted a dish that wasn’t Chinese at all, just something they knew how to make. Only one team out of the ten submitted a properly executed dish that matched the competition’s standards. In Geumsu’s team was one of them.

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‘At least we finished the dish, but will it make it?’

He was nervous.

"Weren’t you the Omakase chef who was pointed out by the guild leader? We’ve been waiting for your dish, Chef In Geumsu. Your cooking skills, which have dishonored the Haenam faction, have raised expectations. But... should we start with a penalty of -100 points?"

Such comments made him feel like he couldn't argue even if he got biased judgment.

"Next, booth 313! We’ll see the dish of In Geumsu, Lee Yoo-jung, Jo Cheol-bong, Kim Mi-ae, and Do Gwang-gi!"

Fortunately, the Haenam faction wasn’t being too underhanded to crush him. Although they interfered, they weren’t breaking the rules. They were assigned seats near the external entrance where the disruptors could come in, but it didn’t violate any regulations. In Geumsu’s team still had a good chance of winning.

"Is this seafood porridge? It tastes good."

"The stir-fried bok choy with pork is also good. I see, Omakase chefs know Chinese cuisine too."

"Since it’s a chef team, the flavor, aroma, and plating are all excellent."

The expressions of the judges, including Ujiwoo and Lee Hae-chan, were generally satisfied. After seeing how bad the other dishes were, the standards for comparison were much lower.

"I can finally let go of the disappointment I felt at the Omakase restaurant. I’ll give this 8 out of 10."

"This person is quiet, but when they cook, they really know what they’re doing. I’ll give it 9 points."

Even Ujiwoo and Lee Hae-chan, who had bad feelings towards In Geumsu, didn’t hesitate to give high marks. These dishes were really delicious! They weren’t made of raw flour or swimming in blood, and they didn’t have fish that wriggled and split in half in a hellish deep-fried dish. That alone qualified In Geumsu’s team for a high score.

"In Geumsu’s team scored 41 points! After adding the score of the final judge, Ha Eung Eung, the total score for booth 313 will be..."

The audience, as well as the viewers at home, paid great attention to Ha Eung Eung’s score. Until now, her turn to score hadn’t come due to the earlier eliminations.

‘It seems like Jiwoo or Haechan will give good evaluations.’

Ha Eung Eung wrote down a score of 31 on the scoreboard.

"Ah! A 31 points! With the total score of 72 points, we have the highest score so far!"

The audience’s reaction was somewhat ambiguous, not quite cheering or exclaiming. It was the highest score, but with 31 points out of a possible 50, it left people unsure of how to respond. Even the assistant MC, Wagu Wagu, expressed doubts over the unexpectedly low score.

"I personally have some doubts about this score. Ha Eung Eung, can you explain why you gave 31 out of 50?"

[The taste, aroma, and plating were just okay. That’s why I gave it 31 points.]

"Oh! A twist! Surprisingly, it seems like it wasn’t enough to satisfy the high standards of the chief judge! In order to advance to the finals, the contestants must impress the chief judge who holds the highest score of 50!"

The main MC, Bang Ji-cheol’s cry made the other participants waiting for their turn to compete look serious. No one was confident that they could please Ha Eung Eung, who was so tough even professional chefs struggled.

‘Tsk... Considering the grudge, I should consider it a decent performance. There’s no team with a higher score than ours anyway.’

In Geumsu reluctantly accepted it.

With a total score of 72 points, it was, so far, the highest score.

"This next team is a regular team’s dish, and it’s pretty decent."

"The total score from the five regular judges is 32 points. What’s the final score from the chief judge?"

"What?! It’s 40 points!! They beat Chef In Geumsu’s team, who runs a high-end Omakase restaurant! Their total score is also 72 points, tying with the previous team!!"

In Geumsu was genuinely frustrated that the regular team’s dish tied with his own.

‘What the hell, how is their dish on the same level as mine? The water balance was off, the plating was sloppy, and I don’t think the taste was right either.’

The assistant MC Wagu Wagu, who was a streamer and cooking expert, also expressed doubts about the unfairly high score.

"I personally don’t understand this evaluation. What part of this team’s dish deserved a higher score than Chef In Geumsu’s booth, which had the highest score so far?"

Because of his personal grudges, was the score rigged to favor the other team? Though not overly emphasized, the viewer comments about In Geumsu’s actions had already appeared several times during the live broadcast. Many people criticized his character, while others voiced complaints about possible bias in the judging.

[The martial world is in China.]

Ha Eung Eung, undeterred by the complaints, confidently explained her scoring standards.

[China has a large population.]

"Ah! Is this the reason I think it is?"

[Many dishes are needed for many customers.]

"Just as I thought! It’s about the quantity!!"

[If the portion is small, it’s just an ordinary chef’s dish, not a martial arts master’s.]

Quantity before taste!

If you don’t serve enough food, how can the customers even evaluate the taste? Ha Eung Eung remembers well how much criticism a banquet with no food for the guests would receive.

Tsk tsk. This friend is very petty.

His heart is small, he’s not generous, that’s why he gets called stingy. How can someone like this host a feast for the peace of the martial world? The demons will laugh at him.

He said he was throwing a banquet for the 70th birthday, but it seems like it ended up being a failure!

Moreover, there are people in the martial world who go crazy for food.

What? No leftovers for the beggars? These guys must be followers of the Demon Sect!

The beggars have no mouths? A guy who discriminates based on wealth? His personality shows that he must have learned the Demon Arts!

The organizers of Old Master Mao’s 70th birthday banquet should abolish the rationing system where no food is left! Abolish it!

Among the major organizations in the martial world, there are some beggars from the Gaebang, a faction under the Guipai League!

If they don’t ensure enough food for the beggars, rumors will spread, branding them as petty and miserly. If you hold a banquet and don’t provide enough food, it’s bound to be criticized!

If you want to avoid criticism, there should be more food than enough. Never let there be less!