It just so happened that Setsuno was about to start learning Qi, and at the same time she intended to teach Kael various techniques.
During this period, she planned to quietly observe him. If his character proved solid, she would bring up the matter of taking him on as her disciple.
She didn't know whether Kael himself had any intention of formally apprenticing under someone, but she didn't want to miss this opportunity.
After the meal, Setsuno arranged living quarters for Kael. From then on, Kael came to Setsuno's Dining Hall every day. On one hand, he taught Setsuno Qi; on the other, he absorbed vast amounts of information about different ingredients, gradually filling in the enormous puzzle forming in his mind.
On the third day, Kael met Setsuno's disciple, Nono.
Nono was genuinely surprised that someone else was able to stay by her master's side and study like this—especially since Kael hadn't even formally taken her as his master yet. That meant Kael wasn't her junior brother.
Under those circumstances, Setsuno still taught Kael with remarkable seriousness, something Nono had never expected.
However, as a qualified disciple, Nono didn't ask questions. If her master chose to do something, there had to be a reason. As a disciple, all she needed to do was carry out what her master instructed.
Setsuno also never suggested that Kael teach Qi to Nono. Just because Kael had taught her didn't mean she had the right to casually pass the technique on. Setsuno understood this clearly, so she never even brought it up.
And so, as time passed, one week later, Setsuno successfully grasped Qi.
Qi was a very mysterious thing—the higher a chef's level, the easier it was to master. Setsuno had already reached the peak. Her culinary skill and physical condition far exceeded normal standards, so mastering Qi in just a week wasn't surprising.
That said, Qi had its own peculiarities. While it became easier to grasp at higher levels, the most critical stage was actually the Dragon Chef level—the equivalent of the Eight-Star and Nine-Star range in this world.
Beyond that point, Qi could still be learned, but its growth potential would never compare to that of someone who mastered Qi sixteen times at the Dragon Chef stage. This had already been proven long ago in the Cooking Master Boy world.
Kael also noticed something else. After Setsuno learned Qi, it didn't immediately synchronize with her Gourmet Cell level.
Thinking about it, that made sense. Kael's Qi kept growing because every time his Gourmet Cells advanced, his Qi was dragged upward alongside them. Setsuno and others, on the other hand, were incredibly powerful, with cell levels in the thousands—but their Qi hadn't grown together with their cells.
As a result, the amount of Qi inside Setsuno's body was pitifully small.
If Setsuno wanted to strengthen her Qi, she only had two paths: slowly polish it over time, or find a way to raise her Gourmet Cell level again.
Of the two, only the first was realistic. At her current level, increasing her Gourmet Cells by even a single level was unimaginably difficult. That path could practically be abandoned.
Which meant Kael's Qi was destined to be the strongest in this world.
As for whether others could master Qi at the Dragon Chef level—possible, yes, but the difficulty wouldn't be any lower than in the Cooking Master Boy world. This ability originated there, after all. Having Gourmet Cells wouldn't make Qi any easier to master.
Kael himself could master Qi not because of Gourmet Cells, but because of the system.
And adding special attributes to Qi in this world was no easy task. Kael had gained quite a few attributes from the remains of sacred beasts, but those sacred beasts were unique to the Cooking Master Boy world. They had already mastered Qi and raised it to extremely high levels.
In this world, there were countless beasts stronger than those sacred beasts—but so what? None of them possessed Qi. Trying to absorb special Qi attributes here would be nothing but a fool's dream.
Kael wasn't in a hurry. He was waiting—waiting for his Qi to reach a perfect state, at which point he would shatter the limits in one go.
When that happened, he could skip straight past the Ten-Star level and reach the Path-Seeking stage, or perhaps even break directly into the Ascension stage.
That would be true ascension in a single step.
Even if Setsuno's Qi were to suddenly reach an extremely high level, Kael wasn't worried in the slightest. He understood his own potential. Even if someone surpassed him now, he would inevitably surpass them in the future.
This applied not only to Qi, but to strength as well.
After all, Kael carried Toriko's inheritance. He possessed three Gourmet Demons within him—and unlike others, he could control them freely.
If his cell level were high enough, he could already have Red Oni fight independently.
Yes, Gourmet Demons didn't need to fully revive to leave their host's body and fight—but doing so required an extremely powerful physique or the aid of special ingredients.
In the original story, during the Cooking Festival, Red Oni emerged once to save Toriko's life. At the time, Toriko's cell level was around two to three hundred, and even then Red Oni could only appear for an instant.
Later, when fighting the Horse King, Blue Oni managed to fight for five minutes—but that was thanks to the fruit of the Air Tree.
Having the demons fight outside the body placed an enormous burden on the host.
Kael's current cell level hadn't even reached one hundred. He couldn't let Red Oni appear even for an instant—doing so would drain all the calories in his body immediately.
Still, because he could perfectly control his Gourmet Demons, as long as his physical condition was sufficient, Kael would possess the absolute top-tier combat power on Earth.
In terms of strength, he was destined to become the strongest.
As for culinary skill, Kael had no doubts either. His Qi alone was proof enough.
Even if he spread Qi throughout this world, he would still remain the strongest Qi user. For others to catch up to him would be nearly impossible.
After mastering Qi, Kael also shared some of the attributes he had unlocked with Setsuno. With that guidance, adding attributes to Qi became much easier. Otherwise, fumbling around on one's own would take an extremely long time.
Among the attributes Kael opened up, Setsuno found the one most suitable for her: pressure.
This attribute came from Tai of the Phoenix Eight Immortals. Their Qi each carried unique attributes, and Tai's was pressure.
This attribute suited Setsuno perfectly, because the main ability granted by her Gourmet Demon was air pressure.
She could use this pressure offensively or defensively.
The Pressure Dome from the original story was a perfect example—a powerful defensive technique formed entirely from compressed air pressure. Setsuno once used it to shield the entire Human World. However, the attacks striking it were so powerful that she had no choice but to burn her lifespan to maintain the defense.
If she relied solely on the calories in her body, the dome would have shattered after taking a single Guinness Punch from Master Jiro.
This Qi attribute was ideal for Setsuno, but for it to truly enhance her strength would require a great deal of time. The amount of Qi in her body was simply too small right now.
At this stage, she could only use Qi to assist her cooking. As for using it in battle—that was hard to say. Her Gourmet Cell level was simply too high.
Not everyone could be like Kael, whose Qi and Gourmet Cells grew in perfect sync.
After another period of study, Setsuno continued refining the Qi within her body. Kael, meanwhile, learned even more culinary techniques from her.
In terms of combat strength, Kael had Toriko's inheritance and Midora's guidance—there was nothing to worry about there. But in terms of cooking, he had previously been exploring on his own. Now, with Setsuno's direct instruction, his culinary skill began improving at an almost unbelievable rate.
Even Setsuno herself was stunned. She had truly never seen someone grow this fast.
A month passed in the blink of an eye. Having witnessed Kael's rate of growth, Setsuno now had a clear understanding of what kind of person he was.
She didn't believe Kael could deceive her. In her view, he wasn't a naive good guy—but his way of doing things leaned toward the side of good.
She found this temperament quite satisfactory. She didn't need her disciple to be a pushover. People like that rarely survived well in this world.
The current era was relatively peaceful, but centuries ago, the Human World had been nothing short of hell.
Just look at Midora. Why was he even born into this world? He had come into existence as pig feed. It was hard to imagine just how terrifying that era had been.
The world had changed dramatically since then, but there were still regions plagued by endless conflict. And Setsuno didn't believe the IGO could maintain its current state forever.
She could already sense it— as the IGO grew larger, people with strong selfish motives were becoming more common within the organization.
If not for Ichiryu still standing at the top, suppressing everything through absolute strength, the IGO's nature might have already changed.
After confirming that Kael's character posed no problems, Setsuno finally asked him the question.
"Kael, you've been studying here for a month now. I have something I want to ask you. Would you be willing to become my disciple?"
Her expression was unusually serious. Normally, Setsuno had the temperament of a playful old child. She looked old, but her heart was that of a young girl.
In fact, she could have used knocking like Granny Chiyo to restore her youth, but she saw no need. She liked beauty, yes, but she wouldn't lose herself over it.
"Of course I'm willing. I was actually wondering when I should bring it up myself!"
Kael had been prepared to formally take a master from the very beginning. Since Setsuno brought it up first, he naturally agreed without hesitation.
Even if their earlier arrangement had been more of a transaction, Setsuno had genuinely taught him everything with sincerity. Becoming her disciple carried only benefits, no downsides.
"Good, good! From now on, you're truly my disciple!"
Seeing Kael agree so readily, Setsuno broke into a smile. A genius like Kael becoming her disciple was undoubtedly wonderful news.
"Since I'm taking you in, I should invite some old friends over as well."
After saying that, Setsuno went to make some calls. She planned to invite old acquaintances to visit—and to announce her new disciple.
Kael understood her reasoning. On one hand, it was for bragging.
Yes, Setsuno actually loved to show off—though only things she truly possessed. It was a childlike mindset, and there was nothing wrong with it.
On the other hand, she was paving the way for Kael. She knew Kael was strong, but that strength was currently limited to the Human World.
Many of her old friends were capable of entering the Gourmet World. Introducing Kael to them now was also a way of smoothing his future path.
"She took in a disciple? Is it Mr. Kael? I didn't expect him to really become my junior!"
After receiving her master's call, Nono was shocked—but quickly accepted it.
She had seen with her own eyes how Setsuno taught Kael. His learning speed was far beyond her reach, leaving her countless streets behind.
And although she was a Ten-Star Chef while Kael was only Nine-Star, according to Setsuno, no Ten-Star Chef could defeat Kael.
Kael was deliberately staying at the Nine-Star level. As for why, Setsuno hadn't explained. Nono was curious, but she also knew that if her master didn't want to say, asking would be pointless.
She had already suspected that Setsuno might take Kael as her disciple. She just hadn't expected it to happen so soon.
Nono said she would return to help with preparations. Meanwhile, the news of Setsuno taking a disciple quickly spread throughout the culinary world.
After all, Setsuno held an extremely high status. Her taking a disciple naturally drew immense attention.
Everyone was curious about what kind of person she had accepted. Aside from a very few special cases—such as Melk the Second—everyone who received an invitation accepted it.