The Market's Bargaining Champion

But once he resumed cultivating, Huo Yuhao was quickly startled. After absorbing soul power into his body and circulating it throughout his entire system, the speed was nearly one-tenth faster than before. Moreover, the soul power wasted due to blocked meridians had also decreased by one-tenth.

Although his meridians were still extremely fragile and obstructed, this change proved one thing to him: with Lan Mei's Second Soul Skill, he would surely be able to continuously widen and strengthen his meridians.

A Profound Water Pill from the Profound Nether Sect was worth a fortune. He could not afford one, but Sister Lan Mei's Second Soul Skill was different. As long as he worked harder and performed well in his daily life at the Grilled Fish House, he would surely be able to ask for one.

One Sunlight Blueberry could not compare to a Profound Water Pill, but what about a hundred? A thousand? Or even ten thousand?

The thought made Huo Yuhao increasingly excited, and as he meditated, his mind gradually sank into silence.

Meanwhile, in her bedroom, the already sleeping Lan Mei's legs twitched. She abruptly sprang upright, staring around in panic. Only when she saw the moonlight spilling across the desk did she finally let out a breath of relief. She had just dreamed that someone had locked her in a little dark room and made her use her Second Soul Skill every single day.

They had squeezed her dry.

Ugh!

That was terrifying.

When the first ray of sunlight fell and filled the room, everything seemed much warmer.

There were not as many people on the streets outside the Grilled Fish House as there had been yesterday, but plenty of elderly people still strolled about in groups, enjoying retired life.

Unknown birds flitted among the roadside trees, feeding the chirping chicks in their nests.

Knock, knock! Someone knocked on the door, and Lan Mei's voice came through. "Little Yuhao, the sun's already on your backside. Time to get up."

Hearing her voice, Huo Yuhao awoke from his meditative cultivation.

When he opened the door, he saw Lan Mei standing outside.

Lan Mei wore athletic clothes that made her look especially lively. Smiling, she said, "Breakfast is ready. Wash up and come downstairs quickly. Today, I'll take you to the market. We need to prepare the ingredients the guests reserved for tonight."

"Right away." Huo Yuhao did not delay and hurried into the bathroom.

Humming a little tune, Lan Mei happily headed for the kitchen.

Breakfast was lavish, with meat, eggs, milk—everything one could want. Lan Mei herself did not eat much, while Huo Yuhao ate most of it.

Huo Yuhao took the initiative to wash the dishes afterward. He could not just eat for free.

Once everything had been cleaned up, the two officially set off for the market.

The morning sunlight was pleasant and not too hot. The streets were clean, a light breeze drifted through the air, and residents continuously passed by around them.

The clouds in the sky were a pure white, drifting lazily through the air. Against the azure sky, they were so tranquil that it was hard to look away.

Bus-like carriages occasionally passed by on the roadside, their bells ringing without end.

"Good morning, Granny Li."

"Morning, Auntie Liu."

As they followed the wide avenue ahead, Lan Mei constantly greeted people along the way. They all appeared to be old acquaintances.

Huo Yuhao did not say a word the entire time, merely following behind Lan Mei.

He occasionally looked to either side. Come to think of it, the Original Work had never mentioned Shrek City's everyday life. Now that Huo Yuhao was seeing it for himself, he felt somewhat moved.

People flowed in and out of breakfast shops, steam rose from bamboo baskets, children chased one another downstairs, and old people sat beneath large trees, gathering to discuss the state of affairs on the Douluo Continent... The feeling was strange, as though he had seen it somewhere before.

Lan Mei walked ahead with her hands behind her back, leading Huo Yuhao through streets and alleys. He took in countless sights and crossed elevated corridors more than ten meters above the ground.

When they reached one of the corridors, Huo Yuhao paused. From that height, he could see a great distance.

Golden sunlight spilled across the layered rooftops. Many buildings had green plants growing on their roofs, adding a touch of vitality.

At the lowest point of the terrain lay a broad river that seemed to run through all of Shrek City. Its surface shimmered, and many Pleasure Boats slowly sailed forward.

Ripples continuously spread across the river's surface.

Although Shrek City had been built on the Lima Plain, its original site had actually been chosen along an edge region with water and relatively varied terrain.

"Let's go." Lan Mei called out after waiting for Huo Yuhao for over ten seconds.

Huo Yuhao withdrew his gaze and smiled as he followed Lan Mei onward.

After crossing a bridge over the river and watching enormous Pleasure Boats glide past, the two arrived in another district. There were even more people here, and the streets buzzed with voices. Shops lined the roads, especially breakfast shops.

Huo Yuhao soon spotted a sign in the most crowded area. It clearly read: "Market."

The market entrance was huge, much like the gates of some universities on Earth. Crowds constantly entered and exited, with everyone carrying large and small bags.

"The markets here are generally called ordinary markets," Lan Mei explained as they walked.

Ordinary market?

Were there ordinary, intermediate, and advanced ones too?

Huo Yuhao was puzzled.

Lan Mei soon gave him the answer.

"In Shrek City, there are many ordinary markets. They mainly sell common ingredients. But the Soul Power Markets sell ingredients related to soul power. Some Soul Beast meat can only be bought there, though it is more expensive. Of course, its nutritional value far surpasses that of ordinary ingredients."

Huo Yuhao nodded in understanding.

This ordinary market looked much like some of the huge markets on Earth. Every section had signs telling visitors what was sold there.

The environment was also pleasant, without the slightest hint of disorder.

Uniformed managers regularly patrolled the area to prevent any incidents.

One praiseworthy thing was that the meat stalls did not use those terrifying red fresh-food lights. When buying meat, you could clearly see whether the quality was good or not.

Huo Yuhao had been fooled by those lights in his previous life. Thinking about it brought tears to his eyes.

Lan Mei was clearly a bargaining champion at the market. Other than ingredients with fixed prices that could not be haggled over, she bargained for everything else.

Under the Bosses' speechless and horrified gazes, Lan Mei claimed item after item.

She gave Huo Yuhao a vivid lesson.

Speaking of which, Huo Yuhao could not help but sigh.

Lan Mei had a Storage Ring Soul Tool. After buying something, she simply tossed it inside, making everything effortless.

Compared to the other people shopping for ingredients, it was simply worlds apart.

Lan Mei had clearly made a detailed plan beforehand regarding what to buy. The two followed the list, and the trip went fairly smoothly.

By the time they finished buying ingredients, an hour had passed. Only after the Storage Soul Tool Ring's space had been filled did Lan Mei finally stop her bargaining campaign and lead Little Huo home.

This time, Lan Mei splurged a little and hailed a carriage. The two rode a bus carriage home.

A bit of everyday life...