Ning Tian and Huo Yuhao's First Meeting

Outside.

A man and two women sat together.

The man was Yao Haoxuan, whom Huo Yuhao had met before and who had reserved grilled fish in advance. The two young women sitting opposite Yao Haoxuan, however, were particularly eye-catching.

The girl on the left had red hair like Ma Xiaotao's. Though young, her pretty face already carried a hint of cold glamour. Her eyes were red as well, giving her an eerie air.

Her features were exquisite, but her gaze was exceptionally icy, just like Ling Luochen, whom Huo Yuhao had encountered before.

The girl on the right wore a light Fighting Suit suited for travel. Her soft golden hair cascaded down her back, and a faint smile rested on her flawless, delicate face. Yet the smile was far from approachable; instead, it gave off a distant, elusive feeling. Her jade-like hands were folded on her lap, making her look every bit the elegant noblewoman.

The moment he stepped out of the Grilled Fish House, Huo Yuhao spotted Yao Haoxuan and called out with a smile, "Brother Yao."

Hearing the voice, Yao Haoxuan instinctively turned his head. When he saw Huo Yuhao approaching, he immediately smiled. "Little Brother Huo, I didn't break my promise, did I? I came to eat your grilled fish today."

As Huo Yuhao approached, the two quiet young women both looked over.

The red-haired girl merely swept her gaze over Huo Yuhao before looking away.

The golden-haired girl, however, met Huo Yuhao's eyes directly.

Seeing his starry eyes, the girl froze for a moment. A flicker of admiration appeared in her equally beautiful aqua-blue eyes, but that was all.

Huo Yuhao merely nodded and smiled at her politely before turning to speak with Yao Haoxuan.

"I didn't expect my first table of customers to be you, Brother Yao."

Yao Haoxuan said with a smile, "I'll probably be busy later, and I was afraid I wouldn't have time to come eat grilled fish. Since I happened to be free today, I brought my two younger sisters along to have some fun."

"Oh, right, let me introduce you. The redhead is Wu Feng, and the one with the golden hair is Ning Tian."

"Whoosh."

The moment Yao Haoxuan finished introducing them, Huo Yuhao's expression changed slightly.

"What's wrong?" Yao Haoxuan noticed the change in Huo Yuhao's face and asked curiously.

Huo Yuhao shook his head with a soft laugh. "Nothing. Brother Yao, you all sit tight. I'll go get things ready."

"Alright." Yao Haoxuan nodded with a smile.

Huo Yuhao turned and left. Yet at the instant he turned around, he glanced at Ning Tian and Wu Feng from the corner of his eye, a strange feeling stirring within him.

Two more characters had appeared.

But he remembered Ning Tian being described as having short hair in the Original Work. Why did she have long hair here?

Still, it had to be said that the two sisters were truly beautiful. In a few years, they would likely become peerless beauties. He just hadn't expected them to know Yao Haoxuan.

Then again, considering Yao Haoxuan was the son of the Lord of Nine Treasures City, it was hardly surprising that they knew one another.

After returning to the kitchen, Huo Yuhao immediately got to work.

Lan Mei assisted him from the side.

"You two insisted on coming out with me. When we get back, Grandfather Wu will definitely give me trouble," Yao Haoxuan said helplessly to the two girls.

A trace of a smile crossed Wu Feng's cold face. "We're both coming to study at Shrek Academy next year. Let's just say Brother Yao brought us here to familiarize ourselves with the place ahead of time. I'm sure Grandfather won't blame us."

Yao Haoxuan pursed his lips, picked up the teacup before him, and took a sip. Then he asked curiously, "Have you really decided to study at Shrek Academy?"

"Mm." Ning Tian raised a hand and tucked the hair by her ear back. Her smile carried a hint of bitterness as she said,

"Staying in the sect isn't free at all. There are too many rules and restrictions. But there's nothing I can do about that. I'm the Sect Master's daughter. Since I've used the family's resources, I have to bear the responsibilities that come with them. My identity means that I'm destined to form a marriage alliance with a powerful Soul Master family or a talented young Soul Master."

"Our Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul has no offensive power whatsoever. My future husband must be a powerful attack-type Soul Master. I can't possibly break away from this rule like Ancestor Ning Rongrong did. This time, it was my father and mother who told me to enroll at Shrek."

"Rather than grow up in the sect, then enter a marriage alliance and inherit the sect's affairs, I'd rather come here and find a suitable other half."

Ning Tian lowered her head, feeling somewhat dejected.

At times, she was proud that her Martial Soul was the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda. Yet at other times, she regretted that it was the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda.

Beside her, Wu Feng bit her lip tightly, her fists clenched.

Yao Haoxuan fell silent. He knew full well that even Ning Guanqing, the current Sect Master of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, had entered a marriage alliance. Ning Tian would be unable to escape that rule in the future.

Throughout the entire Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, there had only ever been one exception: Ning Rongrong of the initial Shrek Seven Devils. Her husband had been a Food System Soul Master.

But in ten thousand years, that rule had only been broken once.

All Yao Haoxuan could do was offer some comfort. "Xiao Tian, you're still young. As long as you study well at Shrek Academy in the future, enter the Inner Court, and gain the support of an Elder, even those old-fashioned Clan Elders in your sect won't dare force you."

"Your uncle and aunt clearly considered this when they sent you to Shrek. It's no exaggeration to say that Inside Shrek Academy, there are plenty of students with powerful backgrounds. When the time comes, you must make good friends and strengthen your own influence and connections."

"I understand." A smile appeared on Ning Tian's gentle face. She seemed unwilling to continue discussing the matter and immediately changed the subject. "By the way, Brother Yao, how much longer until you graduate from the academy? Uncle Yao has been looking forward to you returning to help him."

Wu Feng raised her head and listened.

"Probably just a few more years. By the time I graduate from the Inner Court, reaching the cultivation of a Soul Emperor won't be a problem. As for that old man, when does he need my help? He just wants me to go back so he can dump everything on me and enjoy himself." Yao Haoxuan laughed.

"Believe it or not, the moment I go home, all my aunts will probably nag me about getting married every day. Just thinking about that makes my head hurt."

Hearing that, Ning Tian and even the usually unsmiling Wu Feng could not help but laugh.

Then, Ning Tian suddenly seemed to recall something and asked curiously, "Brother Yao, who was that person just now?"

Yao Haoxuan glanced into the Grilled Fish House. "His name is Huo Yuhao. We met him when we were returning from outside before. This kid's grilling skills, especially his grilled fish, are absolutely superb. You have to try it later."

"So that's why you brought us here," Wu Feng finally understood.

"You eat delicacies from land and sea every day. It's about time you had some ordinary food," Yao Haoxuan said.

"What delicacies from land and sea? I don't know where my grandfather got that recipe book, but while those dishes are nutritious, the taste is truly indescribable. I'm almost sick of eating them," Wu Feng retorted with a pained expression.

"I remember your sect and the academy had a collaboration before. That recipe was probably traded at the time," Yao Haoxuan said teasingly. "You'll understand once you enter the Inner Court. The food you eat now really isn't that bad."

Wu Feng: "..."

While the two chatted, Ning Tian did not join in. She turned her head toward the Grilled Fish House and only came back to herself when Yao Haoxuan called out to her.

"What's wrong?" Yao Haoxuan looked at her in confusion.

Wu Feng wore much the same expression.

"Nothing." Ning Tian shook her head. "That person named Huo Yuhao has very beautiful eyes. It's the first time I've seen someone with eyes that beautiful."

"They really are beautiful," Yao Haoxuan replied, but he did not explain that Huo Yuhao's eyes were beautiful because his Martial Soul was his eyes.

Without Huo Yuhao's permission, he would not casually reveal what the other party's Martial Soul was.

Today, I've finally finished all the early groundwork.

What I can say is that if things proceed normally during the new book period, there will still be plenty of free chapters that won't cost anything. I hope all readers can give me a little more patience.

The plot everyone has been reading these past few days has all been from my saved drafts. When I went back to check for typos, I also felt that it dragged on. There really was too much unnecessary talk, and I'll correct that going forward.

Because it's the new book period, there are two updates a day, which makes it seem rather watered down. After all, waiting is exhausting. I'll reveal that I've currently written past the parts involving Electrolux and Big Worm.

I think the opening plot I wrote about encountering Big Worm and Electrolux should be quite different from other fanfictions.

As for how that plot turns out, all you readers will find out then.

If you don't like this book's plot when it goes premium, it won't be too late to drop it then.

Also, I saw several insulting comments and deleted them directly. I've kept all normal comments.

My previous book, Dragon's Roar in the Sky, was written to a full 2.18 million words and concluded properly. Old readers should know this. I won't abandon it midway or anything like that.

Lastly, thank you all for reading this far, and thank you for your support. Let me quote a line from the completion note of my previous book:

Without your support, I am nothing.