I Won't Fire Myself

"Are you the one trying to steal Little Yuhao's secret recipe?"

"He works as an apprentice at the Soul Guidance Device Repair Shop during the day and comes out at night to barbecue for us, all just to earn tuition for Special Enrollment the year after next. And you actually dare set your sights on someone like that?"

"You old bastard, you'd better hurry up and explain who sent you. Daring to steal Little Yuhao's secret recipe? Looks like you're tired of living."

"Hehe, I just got my Fifth Soul Ring and haven't found anyone to test it on yet. Now a poor fool has delivered himself right to me. I was originally planning to test it on Little Yuhao and make him fall beneath my pomegranate skirt. Lucky you."

These students had no idea how outstanding their otherwise unremarkable cultivation was within the wider world of Soul Masters, nor did they know how much social power had gathered when they stepped forward together.

They were simply filled with righteous indignation. They wanted to help Huo Yuhao so that their young junior could enroll successfully in the future. They wanted to beat up the bastard in front of them who might leave them unable to eat properly later on—and have a little fun while they were at it.

Though the students themselves did not know how much influence they wielded, those people plotting behind the scenes to extort Huo Yuhao's barbecue recipe knew all too well.

When those shadowy figures with ill intentions toward Huo Yuhao heard that the man sent out to make threats had been caught red-handed and surrounded by furious students, they nearly pissed themselves. They hurriedly asked around to find out whether that pig who had been caught was sent by their own side.

After that incident, Huo Yuhao's business never encountered any more overt or covert obstacles. It was simple: Huo Yuhao's secret recipe might be tempting, but when it came to money, you needed to be alive to spend what you earned.

Though these merchants doing business in Shrek appeared immensely glamorous, most of them were white gloves sent by major forces to make money and support their sects or clans. But once things blew up, they would receive no help whatsoever from their backers. They would simply be thrown out to let the enraged students vent their anger.

After all, the reason those money-making white gloves could make money was only because of the support of the forces behind them. It had little to do with their own abilities. Consumables like them could be discarded whenever necessary.

It had to be said that this was also part of the deterrence Shrek Academy had accumulated over the years.

Four thousand years ago, the dean of Shrek Academy had raised an arm and rallied the forces of the Three Great Empires to give the Sun Moon Empire a beating. These students who loved stirring up trouble were not quite that formidable, but once they became restless, their destructive power was still terrifying enough to make people gasp.

After this incident, Huo Yuhao trusted Boss Ning's intelligence a little more.

Shrek Academy currently held an influential position on the continent. To a certain extent, it could be regarded as a monstrous political faction, one whose political influence could even contend with an empire.

Thinking again of Boss Ning's words, Huo Yuhao could not help gaining a whole new understanding of them. Boss Ning of the Muddled Treasure Pavilion truly deserved to be someone from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Even as a branch member, his political insight remained exceptionally sharp.

Awkwardly putting away his pouch of Gold Soul Coins, Xu Sanshi swept a fierce glance over the students eating nearby, hoping to suppress them with his presence and stop their whispered discussions about him.

However, apart from a small number of students dressed in white and yellow, most of those present were upperclassmen in purple and black uniforms. Xu Sanshi's plan came to nothing.

It was now the fixed Freshman Competition held three months after the new students enrolled. Most freshmen were busting their asses cultivating their Soul Power Levels, hoping to gain even a little more soul power. Who had the mood to come out for a meal? Grabbing a couple of bites at the cafeteria was enough.

As for the second- and Third Grade students in yellow uniforms, although they did not need to participate in the New Student Tournament, their academic workload was much lighter than that of the fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade upperclassmen. Naturally, quite a few had been drafted to help the teachers prepare for the tournament.

For that reason, when Xu Sanshi saw that the students on the first floor were either people he did not want to provoke or people he could not afford to provoke, he could only awkwardly withdraw his gaze and head up to the second floor as if nothing had happened.

The moment he reached the second floor, Xu Sanshi met Huo Yuhao's eyes around the corner. Huo Yuhao stopped and stepped aside to make room. When doing business, greeting customers with a smile was the most basic courtesy. To Huo Yuhao, every arrival was a customer, so naturally he could not make a customer yield the way.

But to Huo Yuhao's surprise, the burly, muscular man before him did not head straight for an empty seat on the second floor. Instead, he stopped after looking over the chef's apron tied around Huo Yuhao's waist.

"You're this restaurant's head chef? A little runt like you?"

Xu Sanshi's tone was exceedingly rude. Not only had he embarrassed himself on the first floor, but his attempt to suppress everyone's whispers had immediately fallen flat as well. The anger in his stomach was surging upward.

"Yes. Is there anything you need, sir?"

Huo Yuhao was not affected by the man's discourteous words and replied with a smile.

"I want the best dish you've got, something not on the menu. Name your price and bring it to me within twenty minutes."

Looking at the little runt who was barely one meter forty tall, Xu Sanshi seemed to have found an outlet for the anger in his gut. After barking out his orders, he waved a hand dismissively, intending to send Huo Yuhao away.

"I'm sorry, sir, but this is a barbecue restaurant. I can only make the items on the menu. We may introduce new dishes later, but I truly can't make anything else right now."

Huo Yuhao did not change his attitude because of Xu Sanshi's dismissive wave. He continued explaining calmly and respectfully.

"Are you deaf? I told you, I want something that isn't in your restaurant. If you need ingredients, go buy them. If you need tools, prepare them. Can't you understand human speech? If you can't do it, I'll call your boss over right now and have you thrown out!"

Xu Sanshi was already in a foul mood, like a powder keg that would explode at the slightest spark. Before enrolling, wherever he ate, people waited on him. What restaurant had not gone out of its way to curry favor with him?

Now that Nannan was on the second floor, this was exactly when he needed to put on a good show. He only wanted this little chef to make a few good dishes, yet he had first been embarrassed on the first floor, then met with evasions from this little chef upstairs. He had never had a good temper to begin with, so how could he possibly refrain from cursing now?

"Sir, please mind your manners. I've already made myself very clear. There isn't a single dish you requested that I can make. If you're dissatisfied, you may leave. And besides, I am this restaurant's owner. There's no need for you to look for the boss. I won't fire myself."