"Wow, Xiao Yuhao, your stir-fried noodles are so delicious! What did you put in them? When we get back, I want Beibei to learn how to make this for me!"
Shrek City's East Gate was still bustling with activity at night. Young men and women, dressed in Shrek Academy uniforms, walked out of the gate, chatting and laughing, exuding a vibrant and youthful energy.
Huo Yuhao's food stall was as popular as ever. Despite purchasing more folding tables and chairs, many students still had to take their grilled food back to their dorms or eat it standing up because of the long lines.
Even so, many students chose to feast at Huo Yuhao's stall, significantly reducing the nighttime crowd at Shrek Academy's cafeteria.
Holding a grilled fish, several skewers, and some side dishes like grilled eggs, Huo Yuhao placed them all on the table in front of Tang Ya.
"Sister Tang Ya, making stir-fried noodles isn't hard. Besides controlling the heat, the most important thing is adding chicken essence. It makes the noodles taste fresher," Huo Yuhao said with a smile.
"Then Beibei and I will try making it when we get back," Tang Ya said, her eyes narrowing with pleasure as she enjoyed the food, nodding continuously.
Huo Yuhao nodded and smiled at Beibei, who was standing nearby, before getting back to his work.
Three months had flown by, but Huo Yuhao's cultivation still hadn't broken through the nineteenth level. This wasn't because, like Xiao Yan, who had his cultivation drained by Yao Lao, but due to the effects of the elixir he had taken.
The elixir made by Yao Lao had extraordinary effects, combined with the presence of the wood attribute's heavenly laws. After taking the elixir, Huo Yuhao's physique had undergone a dramatic transformation.
Firstly, his meridians, which had been sluggish, were now completely clear thanks to the effects of the green liquid Yao Lao had previously concocted. He now had a cultivation talent comparable to top-tier soul masters with powerful martial souls.
In other words, this was the innate talent Huo Yuhao, who possessed the top-tier spirit eye martial soul, was supposed to have.
After taking the elixir, Huo Yuhao's talent had been further transformed. If the green liquid had restored his innate soul power to about the eighth or ninth level, now his innate soul power had surpassed ten levels, reaching the level of a divine martial soul master.
Of course, this referred to his talent, not his actual power.
Under the elixir's effects, Huo Yuhao's twelve principal meridians and eight extraordinary meridians were completely unobstructed. His meridians were not only several times wider than those of soul masters of the same level, but also extremely resilient, capable of carrying a significant amount of soul power.
Huo Yuhao's body had also been strengthened to the level of having bones like gold and muscles like jade, to the point where a single punch could leave a mark on iron. Therefore, all the soul power cultivated over these three months had been used to nourish his body and enhance its strength.
The capacity of his meridians to carry soul power and the strength of his body directly determined the age of the spirit rings a soul master could absorb. Now, Huo Yuhao could absorb spirit rings over 6,000 years old without any pressure.
"Give me five meat skewers."
A familiar voice came through. Busy, Huo Yuhao looked up and met a pair of light pink eyes.
Dressed in a red outfit as fiery as her personality, and with a commanding figure, who else could it be but Ma Xiaotao?
"Are you free to come to me today to absorb the evil fire?" Huo Yuhao asked quietly, seeing no one else around.
"I encountered a Soul Saint from the Holy Spirit Sect on a recent mission. He was tough to deal with, and I had to use all my strength to kill him," Ma Xiaotao said with a light laugh.
"But it wasn't a loss. This trip was quite rewarding. At least I earned enough to pay you."
With Huo Yuhao's help, Ma Xiaotao had been training recklessly for the past three months. Normally residing on Sea God Island, she had taken five inner courtyard missions during this time.
However, engaging in combat caused Ma Xiaotao's evil fire to flare up more quickly. With Huo Yuhao around, she had no worries, always going all out, reducing her enemies to ashes each time.
Huo Yuhao was more than happy with Ma Xiaotao's behavior. He had gained three more spirit bones, and the phoenix evil fire was almost perfectly cultivated, ready for his Devouring Art to consume.
"Same old rules, tonight at the hotel, book a room and wait for me. Don't be late," Huo Yuhao winked, smiling.
Ma Xiaotao's face turned slightly red at his words. She gave Huo Yuhao a playful glare, then took her skewers and walked away.
As she left, she made sure to approach Xu Sanshi, tonight's barbecue king, and tore off a lamb leg from the whole roasted lamb, before satisfiedly returning to Shrek Academy.
Xu Sanshi: Why do I always get bullied?
"Xiao Xiao, it's just because I lost to Huo Yuhao last time. Granny Zhou Yi has been scolding me every day for the past three months. I can't take it anymore! Wait and see, I'm ready to write a letter to Grandpa and Second Grandpa. This time, she won't get away with it!"
Still, Huo Yuhao recognized the familiar voice and shook his head with a light laugh, knowing who had come without even looking.
The daughter of the Tang Sect's King of Gods (not in full form), the Young Master of Haotian Sect (unfortunately not sharing the same surname as the king next door), the Class Monitor of the Freshman Class (purely misunderstood), Wang Dong!
"Oh, Wang Dong, don't be angry. Our class has already been reduced to only fifteen students by Teacher Zhou. If you get expelled too, I doubt I'll pass the freshman assessment," Xiao Xiao replied.
"Wow, it smells so good! What's this flavor?"
These past few months had been exhausting for Wang Dong. Despite her efforts to save her classmates, Zhou Yi's personality had become even more unpleasant after being provoked by Huo Yuhao and Mu Jin. She became even stricter in managing the students.
For three months, almost every other day, a student from the Freshman Class would be expelled, with a record of three students being expelled in a single day.
Each time a student was expelled, Wang Dong, as the class monitor, would be harshly scolded by Zhou Yi. She blamed Wang Dong for not leading the class in cultivation properly.
The fear of being scolded by Zhou Yi every day, coupled with the guilt of seeing her classmates being expelled, nearly drove Wang Dong insane.
Facing the upcoming freshman assessment, Wang Dong chose to relax. That's why she and Xiao Xiao had come to Shrek Academy to relax after class.
"Hey, you are…"
Xiao Xiao took the lead, pointing at Huo Yuhao with her jade-like finger, surprised.
While continuing to turn the skewers on the grill, Huo Yuhao shrugged and said, "My name isn't Hey, it's Huo Yuhao.."
"Huo Yuhao?"
Wang Dong stood in front of the neatly-aproned fishmonger Huo Yuhao, unable to utter a word.
Although, theoretically, her increasingly bad temper and the scolding she had endured over the past three months were all thanks to Huo Yuhao. But when she saw Huo Yuhao, she couldn't help feeling a bit envious.
Envious of what? Of course, envious of Huo Yuhao's smooth sailing!
"What would you like? Grilled fish costs twenty gold soul coins, meat skewers are five gold soul coins each, and vegetables are two gold soul coins each. No credit in this small business," Huo Yuhao said with a light laugh.
As the daughter of the Haotian Sect's Young Master, Wang Dong was naturally wealthy, and Xiao Xiao, being from a major force, didn't hesitate to spend these soul coins.
They each ordered some food and found seats closer to Huo Yuhao.
"Hey, is he your friend?" Seeing a new face greeting him, Tang Ya quickly approached.
"No, he's my enemy," Huo Yuhao said with a smile.
"Ahem, ahem, ahem." Wang Dong almost choked on a piece of grilled meat and coughed repeatedly. Xiao Xiao beside her covered her mouth, giggling.
Wang Dong helplessly rolled her eyes at Huo Yuhao, stood up, and said to Tang Ya, "Hello, senior sister. I'm Wang Dong."
Tang Ya smiled, "What a handsome little boy! I like it. Do you want to join our Tang Sect?"