E23 - The Limitless Hero

Source: Crunchyroll
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(Please feel free to edit the speaker names if incomplete or inaccurate. Names are handled on a best-effort basis depending on the info on the source file. Dialogue is left as is.)
[00:05] Meili
    Zhu Qi! Even his hair has turned white.
[00:10] Shirou
    He's breathing, but he's out cold...
[00:12] Shirou
    What happened to him?
[00:15] Mao
    Zhu Qi...
[00:17] Mao
    Why did you do this to him?
[00:21] Kaiyou
    He betrayed us.
[00:24] Kaiyou
    He got was he deserved.
[00:27] Mao
    What do you want?
[00:29] Mao
    What are you trying to accomplish here?!
[00:32] Kaiyou
    We are simply trying to
    establish righteousness.
[00:35] Mao
    Righteousness?
[00:36] Kaiyou
    It's in the name Mount Liang.
[00:39] Kaiyou
    We inherited the ambition of the
    righteous Timely Rain Song Jiang.
[00:44] Kaiyou
    He entered these mountains
    during the Sung Dynasty,
[00:48] Kaiyou
    seeking to create a utopia
    in this rotten land.
[00:51] Kaiyou
    But he and his companions ultimately
    failed to realize their ideals.
[00:57] Kaiyou
    The remnants of the chefs who served him
[00:59] Kaiyou
    passed down his story to their descendants
[01:02] Kaiyou
    and eventually established
    the Cooking Underworld.
[01:05] Kaiyou
    This land is a massive culinary continent.
[01:08] Kaiyou
    The people follow the hand that feeds.
[01:13] Kaiyou
    Well, Liu Maoxing?
[01:14] Kaiyou
    You could hold the lives of thousands
     in the palm of your hand.
[01:19] Kaiyou
    Doesn't that sound marvelous?
[01:22] Mao
    I don't want to hold people's
    lives in the palm of my hand.
[01:28] Mao
    My mother Bei and Master Zhou Yu taught me.
[01:33] Mao
    The zongzi you eat as a hungry traveler...
[01:36] Mao
    The mapo tofu you eat while
    surrounded by warm family...
[01:39] Mao
    The bowl of porridge that gently
    helps the sick recuperate...
[01:44] Mao
    Helping people achieve those
    tiny moments of happiness
[01:48] Mao
    is the greatest joy a chef can experience.
[01:52] Kaiyou
    I could kill you here and take your map,
[01:56] Kaiyou
    but there's one man
    who wouldn't accept that.
[01:59] Kaiyou
    Your ideals against ours.
[02:02] Kaiyou
    Let us prove whose are superior in a battle
    for our lives and the utensils.
[02:08] Meili
    Mao...
[02:09] Shirou
    Mao!
[02:17] Mao
    This will be our final battle,
    Cooking Underworld!
[02:20] Chef A
    Wh-What a kid!
[02:22] Chef B
    He shackled his own leg!
[02:24] Kaiyou
    Liu Maoxing, you will be facing
[02:28] Kaiyou
    the Five Tiger Star who has come
    closest to achieving perfection.
[02:31] Kaiyou
    Mainstay of the Cooking
    Underworld, revered by all.
[02:39] Meili
    Could it be?
[02:41] Kaiyou
    That's right. He is...
[02:50] Kaiyou
    Flaming Chef Ya Kan!
SIGN    True Cooking Master Boy
[04:27] Mao
    The heavens will never side
    with the Cooking Underworld,
[04:31] Mao
    Flaming Chef Ya Kan.
[04:35] Yakan
    Our battle will determine that,
    Liu Maoxing, son of Lady Bei,
[04:40] Yakan
    in the most ceremonious
    of Mount Liang's kitchen stadiums,
[04:45] Yakan
    Song Jiang's resting place,
    the Protector of Justice Cave!
[04:55] Like
    Allow me to announce the subjects
    selected for this decisive battle.
[05:01] Like
    The first subject is yakisoba!
SIGN    Yakisoba
[05:05] Like
    Adding color to this first-class battle
    is the second special subject...
SIGN    Heroes of the Land
[05:11] Like
    ...heroes of the land!
[05:13] Like
    Please use yakisoba to represent
[05:15] Like
    the heroes of China you
     picture in your hearts!
[05:21] Like
    Lastly, the rules require the loser
    of this battle to pay in blood.
[05:26] Like
    Just as Lord Song Jiang did 700 years ago,
[05:28] Like
    they must drink a cup of poisoned wine.
[05:33] Shirou
    What?!
[05:35] Like
    Let the Protector of Justice
    Cave battle begin!
[05:44] Yakan
    I shall crush you, Liu Maoxing!
[05:48] Yakan
    I swear on my honor as the Flaming Chef!
[05:55] Mao
    Ya Kan.
[05:58] Shirou
    He cut an entire cow in half
    with his bare hands!
[06:01] Wuyong
    That single blow is the beacon signaling
    the start of his flaming cooking.
[06:05] Ludaci
    Those skills and that spirit were born
    and bred in Mount Jiang.
[06:10] Ludaci
    Always leading the charge,
[06:12] Ludaci
    he is the great protector
    deity who inspires us.
[06:16] Kaiyou
    Impressive as always, Ya Kan.
[06:18] Kaiyou
    He truly is the brave leader who will
    shake the culinary world to its core.
[06:22] Kaiyou
    The spirits of the Kirin Chefs
    will be lifted to the heavens.
[06:29] Like
    Lord Ya Kan is taking this seriously.
[06:32] Like
    Though he gracefully withdrew
    on the Yangtze River that day,
[06:36] Like
    Mao's shadow must have grown
    unbelievably large inside Lord Ya Kan.
[06:43] Like
    That's the kind of chef Mao is.
[06:53] Shirou
    H-He really did it!
[06:54] Shirou
    He turned the holding pond
    into a sea of fire!
[06:57] Shirou
    That water buffalo and boiled fish...
[07:02] Shirou
    That's it.
[07:03] Shirou
    Ya Kan's cooking a hearty yakisoba
    with fish and meat in a thick sauce.
[07:12] Shirou
    What is Mao doing?
[07:14] Shirou
    He's spending an awfully long
    time choosing his ingredients.
[07:24] Shirou
    Should he be cooking so calmly?
[07:28] Kirin
    There's an unspeakably fragrant
    aroma coming from the holding pond!
[07:33] Ludaci
    He's begun cooking his
    noodles in the lake of fire!
[07:38] Kaiyou
    Only a man so fascinated by the god of fire
    could achieve such divine techniques.
[07:46] Meili
    Mao...
[07:47] Meili
    What kind of hero of the
    land will he represent
[07:49] Meili
    with so many ingredients available to him?
[07:53] Shirou
    Mao, he's incredible!
[07:55] Shirou
    They don't call him
    the Flaming Chef for nothing!
[07:59] Mao
    You're right. He is amazing.
[08:02] Mao
    But ultimately, he hasn't changed
    since our battle on the Yangtze River.
[08:07] Shirou
    Huh?
[08:09] Mao
    He's just doing the same thing.
[08:12] Shirou
    But don't forget, Mao.
    Ya Kan still has a mysterious power.
[08:18] Shirou
    The wondrous power he used
    on the Yangtze River
[08:23] Shirou
    to grill those fish without charring them.
SIGN    Great Heavenly Grilled Black Carp
[08:25] Shirou
    He'll use that same hellfire to overcome
[08:28] Shirou
    the greatest hurdle of cooking
    yakisoba, uniform browning.
[08:33] Mao
    Shirou, I'm not the same
    chef I was back then.
[08:38] Mao
    I figured something out through
    my battle against Zhu Qi.
[08:41] Shirou
    What do you mean?
[08:43] Mao
    Ya Kan, Zhu Qi...
[08:45] Mao
    Every Five Tiger Star has exceptional senses
[08:48] Mao
    far greater than the common person's.
[08:51] Mao
    Ya Kan's power is most likely
    his sense of touch.
[08:56] Mao
    His extraordinary skin accurately measures
    the temperature of all parts of a fire,
[09:01] Mao
    allowing him to make optimal
    use of it at all times.
[09:06] Shirou
    Can you beat him, Mao?
[09:09] Mao
    Take a look, Shirou.
[09:11] Shirou
    Huh?
[09:18] Shirou
    The noodles are falling like a waterfall!
[09:22] Mao
    This is my chance
    to root out the Underworld.
[09:32] Wuyong
    Such a vivid color!
[09:36] Wuyong
    The noodles are becoming a golden
    brown right before our eyes!
[09:39] Shirou
    Ya Kan uses his exceptional sense
    of touch to detect the heat of the fire
[09:43] Shirou
    and the wind pressure generated
    by his arms to control the heat.
[09:48] Like
    Chinese cuisine is about cooking with fire.
[09:51] Like
    Lord Ya Kan's control over fire makes
    him the greatest chef in the land!
[10:02] Shirou
    What's he doing?
[10:03] Meili
    He's steaming it so that
    the flavors will blend.
[10:09] Shirou
    He uses a knife so delicately
    despite his size.
[10:13] Shirou
    Damn! His skills with both fire
    and knives are perfect!
[10:17] Shirou
    He's a flawless chef!
[10:19] Shirou
    Will you be okay, Mao?
[10:27] Mao
    All done.
[10:27] Shirou
    Huh? What?
[10:30] Mao
    I carved up a carrot. Cute, right?
[10:32] Shirou
    Why are you wasting your time doing that?!
[10:35] Shirou
    Why can't you take this seriously?!
SIGN    Mogao Caves, Dunhuang
[10:43] Xielu
    That's odd. It should be
    around here somewhere.
[10:53] Leien
    This wall looks like it was built later.
[10:57] Xielu
    Huh? All right. In that case...
SIGN    Spirit Storehouse
[11:06] Leien
    This is the sixth utensil!
[11:08] Xielu
    All right!
SIGN    Daxian Temple, Guangzhou
[11:52] Like
    Time's up!
[11:54] Like
    We'll now move onto the judging!
[11:56] Like
    Lord Ya Kan, who shall judge this contest?
[12:03] Ya Kan
    Mei Li of Yang Spring Restaurant, you do it.
[12:06] Meili
    What? Who, me?
[12:09] Shirou
    He's choosing someone on our side
    just like he did on the Yangtze River.
[12:13] Shirou
    He's as fearless as ever.
[12:15] Yakan
    You don't object, do you, Liu Maoxing?
[12:20] Mao
    I do!
[12:21] Mao
    Jade Arrowhead Li Ke,
    I'd like you to judge, as well.
[12:24] Like
    What?!
[12:27] Kaiyou
    He hates losing just as much as Bei did.
[12:31] Yakan
    You just pulled the rug out
    from under yourself.
[12:35] Mao
    Did I?
[12:42] Like
    First, Lord Ya Kan.
[12:47] Meili
    Wow, so thick.
[12:49] Like
    The subject was heroes of the land.
[12:52] Like
    Which hero did Lord Ya Kan choose
    to represent with his yakisoba dish?
[13:03] Shirou
    Mao, something's not right.
[13:05] Shirou
    I don't see the beef or fish he was cooking,
[13:09] Shirou
    and his noodles aren't in a thick sauce.
[13:20] Shirou
    What was that?
[13:24] Like
    I-Incredible!
[13:26] Like
    He wrapped the noodles into spirals
[13:28] Like
    and fried them so they'd harden
    into a cylindrical shape.
[13:30] Like
    And inside the noodles is a thick
    sauce as intensely hot as lava!
[13:35] Wuyong
    What? He didn't pour his
    sauce over the noodles?
[13:39] Ludaci
    He hid it inside the noodles?!
[13:43] Like
    The sauce contains flatfish,
    sea bream, bamboo shoots,
[13:46] Like
    Chinese cabbage, wood ear mushrooms,
    and chopped vermicelli.
[13:49] Meili
    The powerful flavor of
     the noodles ties together
[13:52] Meili
    the textures of the various ingredients
    that spread throughout your mouth
[13:55] Meili
    and their light and elegant taste.
[13:58] Meili
    It's powerfully delicious.
[14:00] Meili
    I can't believe he tied together
    so many different ingredients.
[14:04] Meili
    What's his secret?
[14:05] Like
    Could it be that the rich
    flavor of these noodles is...
[14:10] Like
    It's beef!
[14:12] Like
    He made these noodles by grinding up
    that entire water buffalo
[14:15] Like
    and mixing it into the dough.
[14:17] Like
    Normally it's the noodles
    that are seasoned by the sauce,
[14:20] Like
    but in this case, it's the noodles
    that are powerfully seasoning the sauce!
[14:23] Wuyong
    I've never seen anything like this.
[14:26] Ludaci
    The power of these noodles
    will allow us to bring together
[14:29] Ludaci
    the culinary worlds of this land!
[14:35] Ludaci
    If we follow this man,
    our success is guaranteed.
[14:38] Ludaci
    Hurrah! Three cheers for Panther Head Ya Kan!
[14:42] Like
    Lord Ya Kan, your dish is perfect.
[14:42] All
    Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!
[14:45] Like
    How does it connect to the theme
    of heroes of the land?
[14:51] Yakan
    Not even you can tell, huh? This is—
[14:54] Mao
    This land was once divided
    into seven kingdoms.
[14:57] Mao
    It was split amongst the lands of
    Qin, Han, Wei, Zhao, Qi, Yan, and Chu,
[15:04] Mao
    known as the Seven Warring Kingdoms.
[15:08] Mao
    However, two thousand years ago,
[15:12] Mao
    there was a man who unified China
    for the first time in history.
[15:16] Mao
    His name was Qin Shi Huang.
[15:21] Yakan
    Th-This boy...
[15:22] Mao
    The six ingredients: flatfish, sea bream,
    bamboo shoots, Chinese cabbage,
[15:28] Mao
    wood ear mushrooms, and vermicelli
    represent the six other kingdoms,
[15:32] Mao
    and the water buffalo noodles
    holding them together
[15:35] Mao
    represents the kingdom of Qin
    and Qin Shi Huang.
[15:38] Mao
    Am I wrong, Ya Kan?
[15:41] Yakan
    He saw through everything. In that case...
[15:48] Mao
    Now, it's my turn.
[15:50] Yakan
    What did he make?!
[15:56] Kirin
    What's that?
[16:00] Ludaci
    There's nothing special about it.
[16:02] Like
    He's right. It's ordinary yakisoba.
[16:04] Like
    I'm a little disappointed.
[16:06] Meili
    You don't know Mao.
[16:08] Meili
    There's no way he'd cook ordinary
    yakisoba for such an important battle.
[16:16] Yakan
    It certainly looks like ordinary yakisoba.
[16:20] Yakan
    But what have you hidden
    behind it, Liu Maoxing?
[16:25] Both
    N-No...
[16:30] Like
    It's just one dish.
[16:32] Meili
    But with each bite, a completely different
    flavor spreads throughout your mouth.
[16:37] Both
    That's right!
[16:41] Both
    It's like eating thousands
    of different types of yakisoba!
[16:49] Yakan
    What...
[16:51] Yakan
    What in the world did he do?!
[16:56] Wuyong
    Li Ke's still eating Liu Maoxing's
    yakisoba without slowing down.
[17:01] Ludaci
    The capricious and fickle Li Ke,
[17:04] Ludaci
    whose strict tongue has earned her
    the title of God's tongue?
[17:06] Like
    I... I can't stop eating!
[17:09] Mao
    This is Liu Maoxing's
    special Henghesha Noodles!
SIGN    Henghesha Noodles
[17:16] Ludaci
    H-Henghesha?
[17:18] Kaiyou
    Henghesha...
[17:21] Kaiyou
    A numerical value far greater
    than 100 million, or even one trillion.
[17:25] Kaiyou
    A term derived from the number
    of grains of sand in the Ganges River.
[17:30] Kaiyou
    Is he saying it contains that many flavors?
[17:33] Like
    Wait.
[17:34] Meili
    What?
[17:35] Like
    I'd like to confirm something.
[17:37] Like
    Cut, braided, folded, twisted.
[17:41] Like
    Though the noodles are of uniform thickness,
[17:43] Like
    different techniques have been applied
    to each individual noodle.
[17:47] Meili
    That's why the textures are so diverse.
[17:53] Meili
    I see.
[17:54] Meili
    Unlike Ya Kan, whose dishes
    are browned perfectly uniformly,
[17:56] Meili
    Mao altered the shape of his dishes
    and deliberately produced varied textures.
[18:06] Like
    This one is spinach.
    This one is century eggs.
[18:10] Like
    Crab innards, shrimp,
    yams, soft-shelled turtle,
[18:13] Like
    red perilla, and silkie chicken, too.
[18:16] Like
    Each noodle has a different
    ingredient mixed into it.
[18:21] Kirin
    E-Every noodle?
[18:24] Meili
    It's like a compilation of all the
    ingredients Mao has ever encountered.
[18:28] Meili
    That's why each bite tastes so different.
[18:32] Mao
    That's right. For example, the same
    longxia noodles taste totally different
[18:35] All
    when combined with
    the salted duck egg noodles
[18:38] All
    versus the sweet kabocha squash noodles.
[18:42] Mao
    Furthermore, the shapes of the
    noodles themselves are different,
[18:45] Mao
    so you can enjoy the change in texture.
[18:47] Mao
    The combinations change
    every time you take a bite.
[18:50] Mao
    The flavors and textures change endlessly.
[18:53] Mao
    The flavors are truly limitless.
[19:00] Like
    No matter how delicious
    the first bite of yakisoba is,
[19:04] Like
    the persistent and monotonous
    flavor will eventually slow you down.
[19:08] Like
    But you'd never grow bored
    of this incredible dish
[19:10] Like
    that expands your appetite infinitely.
[19:14] Like
    So, Maoxing, how does this dish tie
    into the subject heroes of the land?
[19:21] Mao
    Well...
[19:23] Mao
    Over four thousand years, as many people
    as there are stars have appeared in this land.
[19:27] Mao
    Some found success, while others failed.
[19:31] Mao
    I think everyone who
    lived the best they could
[19:34] Mao
    was the hero of their own story
    who fulfilled their destiny, so...
[19:45] Mao
    this limitless flavor represents
    all the people of China.
[19:53] Like
    All the people?
[19:56] Like
    What a mysterious dish.
[19:58] Like
    What is this feeling? It's like the knot
    inside my heart is being unraveled.
[20:08] Kirin
    The winner gets the utensils and the map.
[20:11] Kirin
    And the loser drinks a poisoned wine.
[20:14] Kirin
    Who will they chose?
[20:16] Like
    Lord Ya Kan's dish made
    from six ingredients tied together
[20:19] Like
    with water buffalo noodles
    represented Qin Shi Huang.
[20:21] Like
    It embodied unification.
[20:24] Like
    Liu Maoxing's dish embodied liberation.
[20:29] Like
    Unification and liberation.
[20:31] Like
    Lord Ya Kan, I...
[20:36] Yakan
    Li Ke.
[20:38] Yakan
    You don't need to pass your judgment.
[20:42] Like
    Lord Ya Kan?
[20:45] Yakan
    The winner of the Protector of
    Justice Cave yakisoba battle
[20:50] Yakan
    is Liu Maoxing!
[20:56] Ludaci
    Impossible!
[20:57] Ludaci
    The undefeated Five Tiger Star
    Lord Ya Kan declared his own defeat.
[21:03] Yakan
    His dish was impeccable
    in both flavor and idea.
[21:08] Yakan
    Li Ke, your tongue proved it all.
[21:12] Yakan
    Losing this contest was my destiny.
[21:21] Kaiyou
    No! He's going to drink it.
[21:24] Kaiyou
    He's actually going to drink it.
[21:28] Kirin
    No way...
[21:30] Ludaci
    Li Ke, overturn his ruling!
[21:33] Ludaci
    Why aren't you saying anything, Li Ke?
[21:36] Yakan
    The rest is up to you, Kai You.
[21:42] Wuyong
    L-Lord Ya Kan...
[21:44] Ludaci
    We're going to lose everything...
[21:47] Shirou
    Is he serious?
[21:55] Like
    Lord Ya Kan!
SIGN    Next Time
SIGN    "Creators of an Era"
[23:56] Narration
    "Creators of an Era."