Cheers erupted from the arena behind him.

Lu Ye had already left his seat and was now wandering around the nearby booths.

Meanwhile, the video of Lu Teacher defeating Gym Leader Ji was blowing up on all major social media platforms, quickly becoming the hottest topic of the night.

The Modu Evening News caught the scent of a headline instantly and posted a quick review via their official account:

[Complete Victory! Facing the Imperial Gym Leader, this UP actually turned out to be…]

In the comments below, many netizens speculated it was all just for show.

But those who had witnessed it live couldn’t help but recall the scenes they had just seen.

Lu Teacher had almost clean-swept the Imperial Gym Leader!

If it hadn’t been a friendly match—if he hadn’t held back to save face—would Ji have been the one getting carried off?

Lu Teacher, and you still claim you’re not a Master?!

For the longest time, fans had endlessly debated Lu Teacher’s actual strength.

Even with a perfect record in various rookie tournaments, it was never seen as definitive proof.

Who the h*ll knew if this guy was stomping noobs or grinding levels?

But now, this match against Ji Shiyin during the year-end gala had everyone convinced.

It wasn’t just corporate-grade tactical understanding—he had the raising skills and humility of a true Master.

It's clear: once this battle video goes public, another wave of Lu Teacher hype will hit!

"So when Lu Teacher said not to post the video—did he mean not to post the part where Ji got wiped?!"

"Good grief, this man’s a Baby Cup slayer!"

"Ahem, sure, some of it’s due to raising a new team, but still... this is just classic Lu Teacher."

Tonight, everyone who attended the award ceremony had one thing on their timeline: commentary about the exhibition match.

Gym Leader Tang scrolled through his feed, then sank into thought.

Now that he thought about it...

Even if he'd brought his own ace lineup, he'd probably have still gotten smacked by that kid!

"Thank goodness..." Tang Hui breathed a sigh of relief. "This guy’s leaving in a couple of days..."

"At least he won’t be haunting the Modu Gym any longer!"

Back in the lounge, Ji Shiyin reflected on the earlier battle and let out a quiet sigh.

If he hadn’t gone easy on her… even Dragonite might not have made it out alive.

First off, Fairy-types were brutally effective against Dragon-types.

Even she, the Imperial Gym Leader, had only dared to trade a single hit with Guillotine.

Second, their command instincts were clearly on different levels.

From the unexpected Baton Pass strategy to the flawless switch-ins—

This level of play was rare even among veteran Masters.

Still, Ji Shiyin wasn’t upset.

As a Gym Leader, being outplayed meant she simply had to keep training.

“What a shame,” she murmured to herself, “Guess I’ll have to postpone a few upcoming cons…”

The battle was over, but the audience had yet to recover from the shock.

Even the event organizers were thrown off.

When they realized the winner was Lu Teacher, the manager paused in surprise.

“This UP… wasn’t he one of our rival platform’s creators?”

Lu Teacher’s appearance had brought enormous attention to the award ceremony.

As a partner, they figured—it was only right to do something in return...

“In addition to the standard prizes,”

The manager pondered, “Shouldn’t we prepare a little thank-you gift for Lu Teacher too?”

Of course, the platform’s budget always went to strange places.

It had to be affordable... but also something that a Master might still find valuable...

While brainstorming what to give Lu Teacher,

The manager scratched his head—then suddenly lit up.

“Didn’t Lu Teacher catch a Farfetch’d?” he asked his assistant.

“It was a Galarian Sirfetch’d,” the assistant confirmed after checking the data. “He even showed up at the Kanto P1 Grand Prix.”

“Perfect. And Lu Teacher’s also a Food Content Creator.”

The manager grinned.

“Let’s gift him that special leek... I think it’s supposed to be really helpful for Farfetch’d too.”

For Farfetch’d, a long, sturdy leek greatly boosted combat ability. The same went for Sirfetch’d.

The “leek” wasn’t that expensive, but to non-Trainers, it was hard to tell it apart from an ordinary one.

The manager had bought one by chance, and it had been sitting in a pot in his office as a decorative mascot.

Now that it was the perfect fit for Lu Teacher’s Pokémon, the manager nodded with a smile.

“We’ll sort out the thank-you gift after the awards ceremony.”

“For now—let’s organize the UPs for the stage presentation!”

At that very moment—

Lu Teacher was in the Food Section, participating in a “Food Wars” match with other creators.

“Food Wars,” of course, just meant mutually judging each other’s dishes.

Just like the exhibition battle, there were no winners or losers.

With the open kitchen setup, they quickly attracted a crowd of spectators.

“Lu Teacher can cook too?” Lt. Surge asked in surprise.

Brock squinted. “To be precise—he’s really good at it.”

“For real?!” Surge’s jaw dropped.

“You’ll see soon enough,” Brock said, peering into the open kitchen.

Suddenly, the crowd began buzzing.

“Are my eyes playing tricks on me?”

“Why is that fried rice... glowing?!”

Lu Ye calmly flipped the rice from the wok.

“Is this... the legendary wok energy?!”

“It’s the Berries—Lu Teacher added Berries!”

Making food literally glow from flavor… yeah, not easy.

But in Cooking Master Boy, there’s that iconic “Plum-Fried Rice” dish.

Lu Ye had used Golden Cranberry Berries, a tart type of Berry, to recreate that effect.

Steam billowed upward. People rubbed their eyes—the golden light had vanished.

Wait... was that just an illusion?

But the rich aroma and the perfectly round, golden fried rice sitting before them—

Everyone couldn’t help but swallow hard.

Every other UP’s carefully crafted dish—

Paled instantly in comparison to this casually made plate of fried rice.

Lu Ye was just hungry.

And there happened to be some cold rice left in the rice cooker on the counter.

So he whipped up this classic golden fried rice on the spot.

As for joining Food Wars? He was really just here to mooch off the other dishes.

His sparring partner, a young lady, held out a steaming bowl of Kanto Oden.

“This is the dish I prepared—please give me your thoughts!”

“I’ve got something too… might not be enough for everyone, though.”

Lu Ye also served small bowls to Sonia and the others.

“Gengaar~ (╯▽╰)” Gengar held a plate and spoon with a cheeky grin.

“Why does it smell so good?!”

“I get it—I’m ordering delivery right now!”

The lady’s oden had excellent daikon.

Lu Ye nodded in approval.

Meanwhile—

“Ahh!” As soon as she took a bite, it was like electricity surged through her body. The lady froze.

A wave of warmth filled her chest. Satisfaction and joy surged upward—and her eyes welled up.

“So good!”

Clinks and clatters echoed as the others dove into their bowls.

Lu Ye turned to look.

All three of them were scooping at the same lightning-fast pace.

Even Sonia, usually so graceful, had already emptied her bowl.

Face flushed, she met Lu Ye’s gaze and mumbled shyly:

“A-a-any more?”

“I’d like… just a little bit more…” She held her thumb and index finger an inch apart.

Around them, the onlookers clenched their fists, tears running down their faces.

D*mn it... I want a bite too!

Lu Ye gave a faint smile and stylishly pulled off his apron.

“Sorry for the modest portions!”

8:30 PM. The award ceremony officially began.

Sonia, Brock, and the others took the stage one by one, welcomed by waves of applause.

Sitting beside Lu Ye, Lt. Surge smacked his lips.

“I dunno... this celebration’s starting to feel a little boring.”

“Hang in there, Major Surge.” Lu Ye smiled. “Maybe next time, we can collab on electronic music!”

“Yeah, right.” Surge chuckled. “Still, I’ll take the sentiment!”

Lu Ye smiled without answering.

[Next up, please welcome Top 100 UP—‘Did Lu Teacher Cook Today?’—]

Lu Ye was part of the second batch of awardees—the closing highlight.

In a flash, the livestream chat lit up with comments.

“LEGENDARY ENTRANCE!!”

“So cool, Lu Teacher!!”

The narration kicked in on cue:

[As one of the Gaming Zone’s proudest UPs, this graceful young man has used his tactical insight to deliver valuable tutorials and experience to the community.]

[In battle, cuisine, and music, Lu Teacher has given us countless unforgettable highlights.]

[Some of the year’s most beloved tabletop and single-player titles were crafted by this brilliant indie game developer…]

Viewers unfamiliar with Lu Ye gaped at the narration.

Meanwhile, his loyal fans burst into applause and waved their glow sticks in unison.

As the spotlight fell on this handsome young man, Lu Ye lifted the small golden trophy and nodded with a smile.

Thunderous applause shook the hall as camera flashes sparked like fireworks.

“Gengar!” Gengar suddenly flew out, grinning wide as he posed for a photo with Lu Ye.

At the same time, a System Notification chimed in:

[Ding! Quest ‘Top 100 UP of the Year’ completed!]

[Reward: Skill Upgrade Ticket ×1, Golden Crown ×1!]

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read