Eat at the Kids' Table

"Nannan, he obviously still had Grilled Fish, yet he dared refuse to sell it to you. I was standing up for you."

Xu Sanshi seemed completely unaware of what he had done, speaking to Jiang Nannan with a fawning look on his face.

"Besides, I didn't even get any advantage out of it. I got hurt too!"

Jiang Nannan's face had gone red with anger as she snapped, "Xu Sanshi! I'm warning you, don't call me by my name again!"

"And no matter what happens to me, it will forever, forever have nothing to do with you! Now, apologize to these junior brothers and sisters immediately!"

Xu Sanshi narrowed his eyes. Jiang Nannan had spoken those words quickly and urgently.

This was neither the first time Jiang Nannan had rejected him nor the first time she had berated him in such a tone.

Yet at this moment, irritation still rose in his heart.

"You want me to apologize to them?" Xu Sanshi repeated, as if confirming what he had heard, his eyes reddening.

Since that incident, Jiang Nannan had never seen Xu Sanshi look like this. The sight before her could not help but remind her once again of that incomparably painful day.

At the thought of it, Jiang Nannan involuntarily took a step back.

Seeing her take that step back, Xu Sanshi froze. He only felt flames erupting in his chest.

"Hmph! Since you hate me so much, I won't appear before you again!"

With a cold snort, Xu Sanshi turned to leave.

"Old Turtle, you wrecked my stall, and now you think you can just walk away?"

"Who?!" Xu Sanshi whirled around, his eyes wide as he looked toward the source of the voice.

Huo Yuhao gently moved Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao aside and walked up before Xu Sanshi.

"If you don't compensate me for my stall today, don't even think about leaving."

Xu Sanshi snorted disdainfully. "You? Hmph, I didn't see you just now. Now that Nannan has stepped out to protect you..."

Before Xu Sanshi could finish, Huo Yuhao cut in. "I wonder which Old Turtle got beaten around by two Soul Grand Masters just now. It definitely wasn't you, was it, senior?"

"You! How outrageous! Brat, neither of the ones who hit me just now was you. Do you dare fight me?"

"It was precisely because of Yuhao's help that we were able to hurt you." Wang Dong stepped forward.

"We haven't even settled the score with you for bullying Yuhao, yet you want to force Yuhao to fight a fifth-year student like you? You truly have no shame!"

It was as if Wang Dong had suddenly found her tongue. A few consecutive remarks left Xu Sanshi speechless.

Xu Sanshi could already feel the mocking gazes of the surrounding crowd, making him even more furious from humiliation.

"Fine! As long as you dare come to the Soul Duel Zone and fight me, I'll compensate you for all your losses!"

"But this brat must participate, and only one of you and that little girl can join him!"

Jiang Nannan was about to say something, but Huo Yuhao spoke first.

"I can participate, but if you lose, how will you compensate me for my losses?"

Xu Sanshi said indifferently, "I'll replace all the equipment you lost with brand-new, top-quality ones."

Huo Yuhao stared at Xu Sanshi, finally revealing his true purpose. "I don't need you to compensate me for that. Five Profound Water Pills, or there's nothing to discuss!"

Hearing Huo Yuhao mention the Profound Water Pills, Xu Sanshi abruptly sobered up. "Impossible. I can't give you Profound Water Pills, much less five of them."

"What, can't afford it? How about this—in the future, you eat at the kids' table?"

Huo Yuhao's frivolous words, combined with the disdain on his face, instantly turned Xu Sanshi's newly cleared head furious again.

"One. At most, I can give you one Profound Water Pill!"

"No, one is too few. Give me four Profound Water Pills, and I'll fight you."

"How about this? We each take a step back. I'll give you three Profound Water Pills, but you have to fight me in the Soul Duel Zone! However, if you lose, the three of you must put up a stake equal in value to the Profound Water Pills."

"Deal!" Huo Yuhao immediately agreed.

"Fine... uh..." Only then did Xu Sanshi suddenly realize what terms he had agreed to.

But the surrounding crowd had all witnessed the wager. No matter what, it would not look good for him to go back on his word, so he could only head silently toward the Soul Duel Zone.

On Huo Yuhao's side, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were already looking at him with starry eyes.

Profound Water Pills—those were Profound Water Pills!

What were Profound Water Pills? No one understood better than they did.

A Profound Water Pill was worth a fortune. Its refinement required the blood essence of at least a dozen water-element soul beasts, along with dozens of water-element plant soul beasts, all specially blended together.

Profound Water Pills were not only potent tonics capable of increasing Soul Power; more importantly, their medicinal effects were extremely mild, allowing Soul Masters of any level to absorb them effectively.

Especially for Soul Masters below Level Twenty, they could raise Soul Power by at least one level.

Yet that was not even the most important effect of the Profound Water Pill. Its true value lay in its powerful ability to cleanse the meridians and reshape the marrow.

No matter how Huo Yuhao had known that Xu Sanshi possessed Profound Water Pills, what mattered most was that they all believed Huo Yuhao could win this wager.

After all, the reason they had been able to hurt Xu Sanshi just now was precisely because of the miraculous ability Huo Yuhao had displayed for the first time.

That was right. Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong had seized their timing so perfectly just now because Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection Sharing had been shared with them, making it so easy for them to do so.

As for Xu Sanshi's demand that only one of Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao could fight alongside Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong was not worried in the slightest.

After all, she had a thousand-year second Soul Ring!

Combined with Huo Yuhao's miraculous ability, they might not be guaranteed to defeat Xu Sanshi, but they certainly would not lose.

Besides, Huo Yuhao's close-combat abilities were not weak at all. Xu Sanshi simply did not understand Huo Yuhao.

Of course, most importantly, Wang Dong believed that since Huo Yuhao had accepted Xu Sanshi's terms—and had even actively lured him into proposing such terms—he must have something up his sleeve.

With all these advantages, Wang Dong felt that this would be an absolute steamroll. There was no chance of losing the wager.

The Soul Duel Zone was also an extremely important area within Shrek Academy. Once Outer Court students reached their fourth year, they needed Soul Duel credits earned there if they wished to advance further.

For both sides to hold a Soul Duel, each had to pay at least ten Gold Soul Coins as a venue fee.

There were no restrictions on fighting in the Soul Duel Zone, nor did anyone need to worry about hitting too hard. The teachers acting as referees would keep things within proper bounds.

Matches in the Soul Duel Zone were open to all students as well, provided they paid one Silver Coin for admission.

News of Huo Yuhao's group and Xu Sanshi holding a Soul Duel spread from one person to ten, then ten to a hundred. Most of the crowd that had been watching earlier followed them over.