Xu Sanshi, the Stubborn Donkey

Huo Yuhao and Xu Sanshi's words carried clearly to everyone's ears. When they heard Little Yuhao say with a serious face that he would not open a shop himself, they could not help bursting into laughter.

Xu Sanshi had already been annoyed. Now, seeing that everyone on the second floor was laughing as well—and Jiang Nannan might have been among them—he could no longer hold back. One large hand shot toward Huo Yuhao, accompanied by the sound of wind and thunder.

Huo Yuhao frowned. Had his temper been worn down too much after three months in Shrek's gentle haven, making him overly friendly? Was that why speaking properly not only earned him no respect, but instead got him pushed into a corner and bullied?

He bent lightly at the waist and stepped aside, dodging Xu Sanshi's confident grab. His right fingers slowly brushed over the Storage Soul Guidance Device. With a flash of light, a katana forged from Hundred Refined Steel appeared in Huo Yuhao's hand.

"Xu Sanshi, what the fuck are you trying to do?!"

Jie Chu, who had been drinking upstairs with Bei Bei, Tang Ya, and the others, was the first to notice that something was wrong. Like a furious Fierce Bear, he charged before Xu Sanshi. His huge palm struck out like a bear paw. Xu Sanshi raised both hands to block, but was still forced several steps back.

Four soul rings instantly appeared beneath Jie Chu's feet. The two yellow and two purple rings—the optimal Soul Ring Configuration—erupted with an overwhelmingly terrifying pressure.

Although Bei Bei was a step slower, he and Tang Ya moved to Huo Yuhao's left and right, shielding him behind them. Nearly everyone on the second floor of the Canteen abruptly stood up and stared Xu Sanshi down. Among them were quite a few Sixth Grade Black-Clad Seniors whose auras were terrifyingly powerful.

"Xu Sanshi, I originally thought you only disgusted me. But now you're even taking pleasure in bullying a nine-year-old child?"

Jiang Nannan slowly walked over to Xu Sanshi. The cheerful expression she had worn while chatting with everyone was gone, replaced by confusion she could not understand, along with disgust and disappointment.

"No, Nannan, listen to me. I didn't—"

Xu Sanshi immediately panicked and hurriedly tried to explain himself. But the utterly unmoved look in Jiang Nannan's eyes told him that he had completely ruined everything.

"Nannan!"

Xu Sanshi instinctively tried to push past Jie Chu and the others to grab Jiang Nannan's hand, but Jie Chu expressionlessly pressed a palm against his chest and smacked him back into the corner.

"Sanshi, we'd better settle one matter before dealing with another. You tried to make a move against my brother. I haven't even settled that score with you yet."

How could Xu Sanshi care about that? He wanted to shove Jie Chu's large hand aside and go after Jiang Nannan, but Jie Chu's cultivation was simply too formidable. They were both Fourth Grade students, yet Xu Sanshi had only just reached Rank 29, while Jie Chu had already obtained his Fourth Soul Ring. He was a genuine Rank 41 Soul Ancestor—the gap between them was enormous.

Moreover, Xu Sanshi's Martial Soul was the Mystic Tortoise. Though its defensive power was impressive, in terms of sheer strength, there was no way it could compare to Jie Chu's Vajra Bear Martial Soul.

"Xiao Ya, I didn't expect something like this to happen before your Birthday Banquet was even halfway through. Sorry. Take Nannan back first; we'll deal with Xu Sanshi here."

Bei Bei gave Tang Ya an apologetic look.

"Hehe, it's fine. Who knows how Xu Sanshi found out about this? Having you, Nannan, and the others here, along with Little Yuhao and Brother Jie Chu, to share a drink and eat some barbecue skewers was already wonderful. But when you hit him later, remember to hit him hard. Beat him until he can't take care of himself, and I'll let you kiss me. He dared bully Little Yuhao, hmph."

Bei Bei had been holding himself tense, but after hearing the Little Witch Tang Ya's words—clearly intent on stirring up trouble—his facial muscles immediately twitched.

Tang Ya turned back with a smile and rubbed Huo Yuhao's head. The reason Huo Yuhao had gone upstairs earlier was that it was Tang Ya's birthday. He had brought wine up to drink a couple of cups with them, only to run into this incident just after coming back downstairs.

Watching Tang Ya and Jiang Nannan leave, Bei Bei finally let out a breath of relief. He turned to Huo Yuhao with an apologetic expression. "Sorry, Yuhao. I brought this stubborn donkey here. I originally wanted to help him out, but it seems he really is hopeless. I apologize to you."

Huo Yuhao gently shook his head, signaling that it was nothing. After all, no one could know whether they would meet one or two stubborn donkeys with dim brains in their lifetime. This was not Bei Bei's fault.

Turning back, Bei Bei's eyes showed a trace of displeasure. "Xu Sanshi, you'd better give my junior brother an explanation. Otherwise, we'll settle this on the Soul Duel Stage."

Xu Sanshi shuddered slightly. "Who are you calling a stubborn donkey? Isn't it just the Soul Duel Stage? Whoever backs down is a grandson!"

As soon as he said that, not only Bei Bei, but even Jie Chu nearly lost it. Jie Chu had thought his own mind was straightforward enough, but this kid was even more brainless than him.

"Senior Xu, the one who should go to the Soul Duel Stage with you is me."

Huo Yuhao braced the sword guard with his left thumb and gripped the hilt with his right hand, staring fixedly at Xu Sanshi. He needed an opportunity to enter the school teachers' field of vision. At the same time, he had to tell everyone that although this shop's owner was only nine years old, that did not mean he was a lump of dough anyone could knead as they pleased.

"Yuhao, don't be impulsive."

Bei Bei instinctively wanted to dissuade Huo Yuhao, but Xu Sanshi was already so furious that he laughed instead and accepted first.

"Fine. Even a little runt like you, only nine years old, dares look down on me now? Kid, you should only have your First Soul Ring, right? I won't bully you. On the Soul Duel Stage, I'll only use my First Soul Skill. If you can last sixty seconds against me, I'll apologize."

Bei Bei still wanted to say something, but Jie Chu stopped him. Unlike Xu Sanshi, that one-track-minded fool, Jie Chu might look honest and straightforward, but he was actually meticulous. Seeing Jie Chu wink at him, Bei Bei seemed to realize something and stopped trying to prevent Huo Yuhao.

"Wait. Don't be in such a hurry."

Suddenly, Bei Bei, who had already decided not to stop them, spoke again.

"Xu Sanshi, you came upstairs and provoked my junior brother first. Apologizing if you lose is only proper. If you win, I won't say anything. But if you lose, an apology alone won't be enough."

Xu Sanshi only wanted to find somewhere to vent the nameless fury in his stomach. How could he care about anything else? Without thinking at all, he blurted out, "I'll fucking add a Mystic Water Pill too. I want to fight right now. Kid, you'd better pray I don't flatten that pretty little face of yours with one punch."

"Fine. Wait for now. I only came upstairs to have a drink with a few friends, and I still have plenty of barbecue skewers to make. I don't get off work until after ten. If you have a problem with that, you can talk to the seniors waiting for their food here. I'm going downstairs to make barbecue skewers first."

Huo Yuhao's voice was not loud, but it made Xu Sanshi's brow throb. Yet if he were really asked to stop Huo Yuhao, he did not dare.

Those seniors behind him seemed to have been waiting to deal with him all along. If he angered them too, then even as Young Master Xu, he would probably have to be carried out of this shop sideways.

Xu Sanshi's cultivation speed in the original work was truly slow as hell. He repeated a year for Jiang Nannan, and when he first appeared, he was already a Sixth Grade student in black clothes. Yet he seemed to be only Rank 38 or 39, without even four rings, and he fought Bei Bei on roughly equal footing.

You have to know that Bei Bei and Tang Ya were Fourth Grade students at the time, while Xu Sanshi had repeated a year. In other words, this old guy was three years older than Bei Bei.

Maybe it was because his awakening ceremony had only been half successful. Setting Xu Sanshi's cultivation at Rank 29 two years earlier here was fairly reasonable.

Supplement: Later, during Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi's soul duel, Xu Sanshi became a Fifth Grade student again. What the fuck.

[The Referee Teacher walked to the center of the field and said in a deep voice, "Fourth Grade Bei Bei challenges Fifth Grade Xu Sanshi.]