"Is that a problem?"
Su Yu glanced at Wang Dong'er and spoke indifferently.
Wang Dong'er: "…"
Sure, why not, you filthy rich guy.
Now, Wang Dong'er finally understood—Su Yu was truly loaded.
"But little Xue'er is so young. Can she handle eating ice marrow already? Won't it harm her?"
Ice marrow was certainly a beneficial substance, but this child was still so young. Wouldn't such a potent supplement be too much for her?
Hearing Meng Hongchen's concern, Su Yu shook his head.
"It's fine. Xue'er's constitution is different from that of ordinary people. This will benefit her."
What a joke—Xue'er was the Snow Empress, after all!
She wasn't just human; she was also a Snow Maiden. Eating some ice marrow? How could that possibly harm her? Greasy foods like roasted meat were exactly what the Snow Empress avoided. Her diet needed to be pure and light.
"Oh…"
Meng Hongchen nodded, no longer worried.
While looking after the Snow Empress, Su Yu also started eating. The roast lamb was indeed something special. Though it didn't quite measure up to his cooking, it was still a rare delicacy.
"I heard the next Soul Master Tournament is coming up soon. Does the academy have any plans?"
Su Yu asked casually, taking a sip of wheat juice.
Meng Hongchen paused mid-slice and replied, "The academy is taking this Soul Master Tournament very seriously. The official team members are all top students from Illustrious Virtue Hall. The team leader will likely be Ma Rulong, a level-62 Soul Emperor and a level-six Soul Engineer. The other members are all Soul Kings and level-five Soul Engineers."
"A Soul Emperor and six Soul Kings? That strong?"
Wang Dong'er was shocked. The contestants from Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy were on a whole other level—there was even a Soul Emperor among them!
"Hmph! Those official team members aren't all that impressive. Aside from Ma Rulong, the others are just so-so," Xiao Hongchen scoffed with a hint of disdain.
Back when he was only at the four-ring level, he'd barely managed to defeat Mi Jia. Now that he'd broken through to the five-ring level, only Ma Rulong was stronger than him—and Ma Rulong was several years older. Xiao Hongchen was confident he would surpass Ma Rulong sooner or later. In his eyes, his only true rival was Su Yu—the one he would spend his life trying to surpass.
"Don't listen to my brother's nonsense. Those official team members are very strong," Meng Hongchen said, casting Xiao Hongchen a glance. "They're elite students the academy has invested heavily in. They shouldn't be underestimated."
Wang Dong'er said nothing but looked at Su Yu, curious to hear his evaluation. She trusted Su Yu's opinion more.
"Su Yu, what do you think?"
"I'm just sitting and watching," Su Yu replied nonchalantly.
"I mean, what do you think of the strength of their representatives?" Wang Dong'er pressed, slightly exasperated.
"They're okay, but if they want to beat Shrek Academy, it'll be tough. Shrek has at least two Soul Emperors," Su Yu remarked.
"And both are good at explosive attacks, with very strong offensive capabilities."
Both Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng possessed remarkable overall strength. Ma Xiaotao's explosive power was especially terrifying. In the original story, her Evil Fire Phoenix was so powerful that she couldn't even control it, burning two students from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy alive on the spot. This woman, who could set herself ablaze, was a dangerous foe—though only for others. To him, Ma Xiaotao wasn't much of a threat. His Ice Emperor abilities naturally countered Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire Phoenix.
"Shrek's team has two Soul Emperors? How do you know that?"
Xiao Hongchen couldn't stay calm. Two Soul Emperors? That seemed like an exaggeration.
"Don't forget where I'm from. Is it that hard for me to get information about Shrek Academy?"
Su Yu replied in a calm tone without even glancing up.
Xiao Hongchen was momentarily speechless. Right, Su Yu was from the Ice God Palace. He could probably access their intelligence network.
"What are the strengths of those two Soul Emperors from Shrek?"
Meng Hongchen asked, getting to the key question.
"One is a level-64 Soul Emperor with a White Tiger martial soul. The other is level-67, with an Evil Fire Phoenix martial soul."
"You'll need to be wary of the level-67 Evil Fire Phoenix. As for the White Tiger Soul Emperor, he's not particularly remarkable," Su Yu commented lightly as if he didn't take Dai Yueheng seriously.
The White Tiger? While it was a top-tier martial soul, it wasn't anything extraordinary—strong, but not outstanding. In martial soul rankings, it was even a notch below the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. Su Yu didn't think it was a big deal. Unless it could fuse with the Hell Spirit Cat to perform the Hell White Tiger fusion technique, it wasn't enough to make him take it seriously.
"How strong is that Evil Fire Phoenix?"
Xiao Hongchen asked curiously.
"One-on-one, she could probably beat Ma Rulong so badly he wouldn't know which way is north."
"Of course, I'm not belittling Ma Rulong here; I'm just stating a fact," Su Yu said softly as he set down his cup.
Upon hearing this, Meng Hongchen's face turned serious, and even the smile on Xiao Hongchen's face disappeared. Was the Evil Fire Phoenix really that powerful? They all knew Ma Rulong's strength surpassed many.
"It seems like the academy will be under a lot of pressure in this tournament. Looks like it'll be up to me to step in," Xiao Hongchen declared, tossing his hair confidently. He was a natural optimist, self-assured and unshaken by Su Yu's words.
"Narcissist!"
Wang Dong'er muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes. Just a Soul King, yet talking so big.
"You little brat, what do you know? I'm the captain of the reserve team!"
Xiao Hongchen glared at Wang Dong'er, puffing up with pride.
"Captain of the reserve team?"
Wang Dong'er raised a brow, confused.
Meng Hongchen explained, "The reserve team consists of those who will compete in the next tournament. Although the reserve team hasn't been officially chosen yet, my brother has been bragging as if he's already captain."
"But three people are more or less guaranteed spots," she added quietly.
"Who?"
Wang Dong'er asked.
Meng Hongchen replied softly, "My brother, myself, and…"
She glanced at the person beside her.
"Su Yu?"
Wang Dong'er's eyes widened in understanding.
"Yes, Su Yu is also one of the pre-selected reserve team members. But this isn't public knowledge; the rest of the academy doesn't know yet."
"The formal selection process will begin once the academy term starts. There's likely to be a reserve team selection tournament. Students aged fifteen or younger who are in their third year can all participate," she continued.
"We pre-selected members can skip the early rounds and start directly from the top 32. Those who make it to the final eight will become the reserve team, and the overall champion will be the captain."
"Oh~ Now I get it," Wang Dong'er said, giving Xiao Hongchen a disdainful look.
"So, the selection hasn't even started, yet someone is already calling themselves captain? Shameless."
Xiao Hongchen's face reddened.
"With my strength, becoming captain will be a piece of cake. Who at this academy can compare to me?"
Wang Dong'er sneered, "Why don't you beat Su Yu first? I bet you can't last three moves against him."
"What did you say?"
Xiao Hongchen's face darkened as he slammed the table and stood up.
"What? You want to fight?"
Wang Dong'er crossed her arms, glaring defiantly.
"Brother, don't cause trouble!"
Meng Hongchen quickly tried to calm him down, worried he might lose his temper.
"If you're going to fight, take it outside and don't break anything in here," Su Yu said coldly.
At Su Yu's words, Wang Dong'er settled down, huffing at Xiao Hongchen and turning away. But Xiao Hongchen was still fuming, leaning over the table and glaring at Su Yu.
"Su Yu, if Wang Dong says I'm not as good as you, how about we make a bet?"
Xiao Hongchen challenged, his aura fierce.
"During the reserve team selection, let's have a proper fight and see who the real academy genius is. Do you dare?"
Su Yu raised an eyebrow. This guy was pushing it.
"Brother, stop messing around," Meng Hongchen interjected.
"Meng, this is a man's business. Don't interfere," Xiao Hongchen replied, waving her off.
Meng Hongchen was speechless. How was this not messing things up? Before she could protest, Xiao Hongchen turned to Su Yu again.
"Su Yu, you know what they say—two tigers can't share one mountain. Only one of us can be the top dog here," he said.
"If you don't agree, I'll keep bothering you. You wouldn't want me following you around all the time, would you?"
Su Yu sighed, suppressing the vein throbbing on his forehead.
"Fine. If you insist on a fight, let's have one. But be warned—I won't hold back."
In the past, Su Yu might have taken it easy on him, but seeing Xiao Hongchen's stubbornness, he decided to teach him a real lesson.
"Good! I want you to go all out. Winning too easily wouldn't be any fun," Xiao Hongchen replied, chest puffed with confidence.
Meng Hongchen looked worried. No matter who won, she'd feel bad. Besides, she doubted her brother had much chance against Su Yu, whose power might already rival a Soul Emperor. She feared Xiao wouldn't handle defeat well.
"Don't worry," Su Yu reassured her.
"It's just a friendly match. No one here would break down over a loss, right, Brother Xiao?"
Xiao Hongchen smirked.
"Of course. But Su Yu, if you lose, don't get all gloomy about it."
"Right back at you," Su Yu replied calmly.
"Don't start questioning your life if you lose."
Xiao Hongchen laughed.
"As if! I'm Xiao Hongchen. There's no way I'd get hung up over a loss. Besides, I'm not losing."
Su Yu smiled faintly, then turned to Meng Hongchen.
"Sister Meng, feel better now?"
Meng Hongchen's face flushed, her gaze softening as she looked at him, touched by his thoughtfulness.
"What are you looking at? If you don't eat, the meat will get cold," Wang Dong'er interjected, shoving a piece of meat into Su Yu's mouth and breaking the moment.
Su Yu chuckled, shook his head, and continued eating.
After a satisfying meal, Su Yu stood up, holding little Xue'er in his arms. "Let's go for a walk," he said, leading the way downstairs.
After paying the bill, the group left the barbecue restaurant. In a shadowed corner, an old man in black watched the four teenagers with interest, a glint of amusement in his eyes.
"Encountered him again," he muttered.
"And now he's broken through to the Soul Ancestor level? Such rapid progress… how interesting!"
Suddenly, a cold voice interrupted him.
"What's so interesting?"
The black-clad old man whirled around, startled, to find a blue-robed elder with white hair standing behind him, exuding an icy, arrogant aura. The man had approached silently, catching the old man completely off guard.
"My friend, you've been watching for quite a while. Is it that fascinating?" Hai Bodong stood with his hands behind his back, his presence emanating the dominance of a king of ice.
"Who are you?" the black-clad man demanded, on high alert.
"Before asking someone's name, shouldn't you introduce yourself first?"
Haibo Dong replied indifferently.
"I'm Long Xiaoyao," the man in black responded.
"So, the Dragon Emperor Douluo, who once shook the continent. No wonder," Hai Bodong's expression shifted slightly as he recalled Long Xiaoyao's legendary status.