The first day of the Moon Banquet Festival came to an end in the blink of an eye.
Unsurprisingly, first place in the Central District went to the Chinese Cuisine Research Society. They were in a league of their own, with no real competition.
Over in the Main Street District, first place belonged to the Polar Star Grand Hotel. After all, everyone there was an elite from the Autumn Elections.
Add the Polar Star Dormitory name on top of that—already a natural brand—and their solid cooking, and it was obvious no other group in the district could compete with them.
As for the High Platform District, the top spot didn't go to Nene Kinokuni like in the original story. Instead, it was Eishi Tsukasa. Among the Elite Ten, his cooking skills were the strongest, and he also possessed a Special Ability.
Erina Nakiri wasn't much weaker than him, but her stall was never fully open. She always kept one table unused, which naturally put her turnover at a disadvantage compared to others.
When everyone returned to Polar Star Dormitory, smiles were plastered on their faces. Taking first place was always something to celebrate.
That said, a full day of business had worn them out. Before long, everyone washed up and went to bed. After all, not everyone had a body like Kael's.
Kael, however, didn't sleep that night. Instead, he entered the second zone of the Dark Cooking Society space. This time, he wasn't there to temper his Chef's Heart. He had another goal—qigong.
With his current level as a Special Grade Chef, Kael technically wasn't qualified to touch true qigong yet. To do that, one needed to reach the level of a Supreme Dragon Chef.
What he was aiming for now was a weakened version—Churin Temple–style qigong.
This Churin Temple version couldn't change the fundamental nature of ingredients, but it could strengthen the body. When used in cooking, it provided a powerful boost across the board.
More importantly, it served as a stepping stone. By mastering this version first, learning true qigong later would be far more efficient. All in all, there were only benefits and no downsides.
Even though it was a weakened form, the entry requirement was still a Special Grade Chef. To control qigong, one had to have a complete Chef's Heart. That alone filtered out almost everyone.
This was why Kael hadn't tried learning it earlier. Kaiyu's inheritance did include Churin Temple–style qigong.
After all, Kaiyu came from the Taiji Cuisine Realm, and Churin Temple was its sworn enemy. Knowing your enemy's techniques was only natural.
But Kaiyu had already mastered true qigong, so he never cared much for this downgraded version.
Kael, on the other hand, needed it right now.
To learn Churin Temple–style qigong, the first step was to sit in stillness. The eyes were half-closed, the tongue pressed lightly against the roof of the mouth.
After that, both hands were held in the air, forming the shape of embracing a ball. The hands moved closer and farther apart in rhythm with breathing, while the mind imagined a sphere forming in front of them.
The moment one truly touched that sphere, it meant qigong had officially been entered. From then on, maintaining this state day after day would allow the qigong within the body to grow.
The second zone of the Dark Cooking Society couldn't directly speed up qigong cultivation—but it could dramatically accelerate the entry phase.
Going from zero to one was always the hardest part. Qigong required the support of a Chef's Heart, which was why Kael came here in the first place.
In this space, the Chef's Heart grew faster, making it easier to step through that initial threshold. Once entry was achieved, the benefits of staying here dropped off sharply.
After that, training could be done either inside or outside. As long as the method was understood, the location didn't matter.
Even as a weakened form, qigong wasn't easy to master. Even Liu Maoxing hadn't succeeded on his first try.
Kael entered the state carefully, moving his hands with his breathing while letting his Chef's Heart repeatedly reach toward that imagined sphere.
His powerful physique made the birth of qigong easier. Combined with his Chef's Heart and Kaiyu's terrifying talent, everything seemed to fall into place naturally.
At first, Kael felt a little lost. He'd read countless novels and manga describing entering stillness, but experiencing it himself was completely different.
Still, his speed was astonishing. As someone running on blatant cheats, his advantages were even bigger than Liu Maoxing's (Mc of Chuuka Ichiban).
Gradually, Kael entered an extremely strange state. It felt as if the outside world no longer existed. Even the flow of time seemed to vanish.
Within that state, he sensed something between his hands—a sphere. It was small, but it was real.
The moment joy surged through him, the sphere vanished. He snapped out of the state instantly.
"So that counted as success?" Kael murmured. "First try, too… No wonder Kaiyu mastered true qigong at such a young age."
When he checked the time, Kael froze. Ten hours had passed without him realizing it.
He hadn't slept at all, yet there was no sign of fatigue. With his current body, staying awake for days wasn't a problem—but normally, it would still affect his condition.
But now, his state was perfect. That was the power of entering stillness. Once truly immersed, it was even more effective than sleep.
Kael had originally thought it might take a month just to get started. Instead, by the third attempt, he'd already touched the threshold.
After grabbing something to eat, he returned to his room and reentered the Dark Cooking Society space. One success wasn't enough—he needed practice, repetition, control.
The second time, entering stillness was far faster. It felt as if his first experience had left behind a kind of memory.
Not muscle memory, but something closer to mental imprint.
As he entered that state again, Kael touched the sphere more clearly than before. With time, his perception of qigong grew sharper. He could even feel the sphere expanding.
According to Churin Temple teachings, that sphere represented one's own qigong. Its size reflected its quantity.
Right now, Kael's sphere was only about the size of a normal fist—but it was steadily growing.
The feeling was intoxicating. He didn't even want to think about the outside world anymore. He'd planned to sample other Moon Banquet dishes, but now he had no interest at all.
Compared to cultivating qigong, food could wait.
"Strange… where did Kael go today?"
After another busy day, everyone returned to Polar Star Dormitory, only to realize one person was missing.
"That guy? Aside from eating and using the bathroom, he's been holed up in his room all day," Fumio Daimido said. "He even sent Sarge and Bunnyhair away."
She found it odd. Kael had exchanged a huge pile of tickets yesterday, saying he wanted to tour the entire Moon Banquet Festival. Yet today, he'd gone full shut-in mode—worse than ever before. Plenty of tickets were still unused.
"Could he be sick?" Megumi Tadokoro asked softly.
"Sick? No way. Let's check."
Alice Nakiri was already on her feet. She led everyone to Kael's door and knocked.
Kael, who had been in stillness, was jolted awake.
"What are you all doing here?" he asked, opening the door in confusion.
Before he could say more, Alice's hand was already on his forehead.
"No fever. Guess you're not sick."
Kael stared at them, speechless. "Why did you jump straight to that conclusion?"
They explained their worries, and Kael finally understood.
"Oh, that's all. Don't worry. I'm fine. I've just been practicing a method of entering stillness lately."
He didn't mention qigong. In the world of Food Wars, its value was no less than a Special Ability. He wasn't about to share that lightly—and even if he wanted to, none of them met the entry requirements.
The threshold was Special Grade Chef, nine-star and above. Even with his help, reaching that level would take them at least ten years.
Without it, only Soma Yukihira and Erina Nakiri had a chance—and even they'd need several years.
"Stillness? Like monks and Sages?" Soma asked, intrigued.
"Exactly," Kael nodded. "It puts you into a very special state. I've gotten hooked on it."
"That sounds interesting. Can we try too?" Alice asked eagerly.
The others nodded along, curiosity written all over their faces.
Kael chuckled. Teaching them wouldn't hurt—after all, it wouldn't actually work for them.
Without his cheats, entering stillness took a long time. And without a qualified Chef's Heart, even success would only improve mental clarity a little.
And honestly, he doubted any of them could stick with it. Entering stillness was painfully boring. They were all young. Sitting still wasn't exactly their strength.
As expected, only a few minutes in, Yuki Yoshino gave up.
"Nope. Can't do it. The moment I close my eyes, my mind goes wild."
Others followed soon after. Megumi Tadokoro lasted the longest, but even she started getting sleepy before half an hour passed.
Without truly entering stillness, drowsiness came easily when your eyes stayed closed.
"So you've really been in that state all day?" Alice asked, having quit second.
"Pretty much. Strictly speaking, since last night," Kael said. "Once you really enter it, you'll find it works better than sleep. You just need an alarm, or you'll lose track of time."
Sleep could rely on a body clock. Stillness couldn't. Hunger was about the only thing that could pull you out.
"You started last night? And you're replacing sleep with that?"
Everyone shuddered just thinking about it. After tasting how painful failed attempts were, the idea of using it instead of sleep was terrifying. Even Megumi felt the same.
"You're really something else," Zenji Marui said.
"You just haven't experienced true stillness," Kael replied calmly. "Once you do, you'll understand."
He didn't bother arguing further. Before entry, it was torture. After entry, it was addictive.
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