What a Coincidence

Sure enough.

The desire of the palate was also one of life's ultimate pursuits.

Ever since coming to Douluo Continent, Huo Yuhao had spent his days braving the elements, most of his time consumed by travel. All he ate was the grilled fish and roasted meat he cooked himself.

Xiao Huo's Grilled Fish—quality guaranteed. Succubus Barbecue—capturing hearts.

But no matter how good it was, he could not keep eating it as every meal.

Coupled with his considerable appetite now, a few grilled fish were simply far too difficult to use to fill his stomach.

So, Huo Yuhao turned his attention toward roasted meat.

Unfortunately, roasting meat was not so simple. Under such crude conditions, even Huo Yuhao, with the power of the Spirit Eye, could not disregard objective limitations.

It was enough to fill his stomach, but it still fell short of satisfying his appetite.

Fortunately, with the Flower Bud Gu he later obtained from Tang Ya, Huo Yuhao prepared all sorts of grilling equipment and seasonings within the Gu Insect's space.

That finally eased the awkward predicament of a clever housewife being unable to cook without rice.

The Second Rank Flower Bud Gu resembled a flower bud. Its entire body was pale blue, yet it possessed the texture of crystal, translucent and gleaming. Inside was a storage space of nearly thirty cubic meters.

It was not a Storage Soul Tool, yet it was better than one.

With its help, Huo Yuhao's primitive lifestyle improved greatly.

He thoroughly enjoyed a feast.

All one could say was that expensive things had their reasons for being expensive.

As expected of the restaurant highly recommended by Young Lady Wang Dong. Aside from being expensive, it had no flaws.

Moreover, its greatest flaw had already been resolved manually.

If one had to nitpick, its service might not have been particularly attentive.

But that was only because Wang Dong had firmly refused the restaurant's service of providing young female companions. They could not be blamed for that.

Therefore, Huo Yuhao could temporarily give this dinner a nine out of ten, deducting one point merely for form's sake.

If his favorability could be displayed, his impression of Wang Dong had already leaped from acquaintance to friend.

This was food diplomacy.

After finishing dinner at an unhurried pace, the two did not immediately head back. Instead, they continued wandering among the vendors outside the northern city gate.

Wang Dong said excitedly, "Since we're already here, I'll show you around the city. You can broaden your horizons too."

"Sure."

Huo Yuhao nodded in agreement. Work and rest had to be balanced, after all.

Read ten thousand books, travel ten thousand miles. One could not always shut oneself away and build a cart behind closed doors.

The same applied to a Soul Master's cultivation. Focusing solely on meditation was merely the least efficient cultivation method.

As for the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, Huo Yuhao considered it but ultimately did not suggest going there.

It was better to let things take their course.

Given their current status, without invitations in hand, they might be stopped outside before they could even enter the Treasure Gathering Pavilion. That would be troublesome too.

A mere Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue was not worth making such a fuss over.

Besides, without a sufficient amount of Gold Soul Coins on hand, he did not feel very confident.

There were less than ten thousand Gold Soul Coins in his storage space. That truly gave him no sense of security.

As one of the most prosperous cities on Douluo Continent, Shrek City was far livelier at night than during the day.

The crowds bustled about, and noisy clamor rang endlessly in his ears. Looking around, all he could see was a dense sea of people, with pedestrians flowing constantly back and forth.

Under the adornment of lights, every street in Shrek City was illuminated. Amid this brilliantly lit prosperity, cries of vendors rose and fell in succession.

It rather felt like being packed shoulder to shoulder in a night market back on Blue Star.

"Let's go." Huo Yuhao naturally took Wang Dong's small hand and smiled gently. "Don't get separated."

"Mm."

Wang Dong's ears grew hot as she nodded.

Just as Yuhao said, there were simply too many people. He was only worried they might get separated.

After composing herself, Wang Dong led Huo Yuhao through the vendor stalls and shops of every kind. They stopped to admire the dazzling array of goods and bought items they liked.

Although he possessed memories of his previous life, the exotic customs of this other world truly opened Huo Yuhao's eyes. The experience was genuinely quite good.

Of course, it would have been even better if there were not so many people.

That was until the two arrived before a large shop.

From afar, the establishment appeared to have four floors and stood over twenty meters tall. The building itself occupied a considerable area, its exterior resplendent in gold and jade, like a treasure basin.

This was the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, which dealt in all kinds of items related to Soul Masters and Soul Engineers.

Wang Dong said, "Today, I'll take you to the Treasure Appraisal Meeting to broaden your horizons."

Huo Yuhao asked doubtfully, "The Treasure Appraisal Meeting? I heard that the one held in Shrek City isn't somewhere people can just enter."

Wang Dong explained, "That's right. Shrek City's Treasure Appraisal Meetings are mainly divided into three types. The first is held for the academy, with the academy making the purchases. For example, various rare metals needed by the Soul Tool Department, teaching supplies used by the Martial Soul Department, as well as items ordered by the academy, precious ingredients, and all sorts of other things."

"The other two Treasure Appraisal Meetings are aimed at students like us, and they actually have even better items. One is for Inner Court Students, and everything there is top quality. Extremely precious Spirit Bones appear every time. The remaining one is only open to Outer Court Core Disciples, and medicinal pills, herbs, Spirit Ring customizations, and things like that often show up."

"But none of those three Treasure Appraisal Meetings have anything to do with two Shrek freshmen like us, right? What do you mean?"

Huo Yuhao wanted to see what Wang Dong was planning.

"Are you underestimating my connections? Since registering until now, I've been at Shrek for so many days. I haven't just been staying in the dormitory cultivating the whole time."

The moment she said that, Huo Yuhao immediately understood. So this was the butterfly effect brought about by his later enrollment.

"Don't sound so proud when you're talking about slacking off," he teased.

"Who cultivates all the time? You need to balance work and rest," Wang Dong retorted before continuing her explanation.

"It was quite a coincidence. While I was out for a walk to relax one time, I met the Tang Sect's leader, Senior Sister Tang Ya. We hit it off immediately. You've heard of the Tang Sect, right? It used to be the number one sect..."

Huo Yuhao's heart skipped a beat. "Did you join the Tang Sect?"

Wang Dong nodded. "My family has some ties to the Tang Sect. Seeing it decline to this extent, I naturally couldn't just stand by and do nothing. Besides, I'm quite interested in the Tang Sect's hidden weapons."

"Fine." Huo Yuhao's lips curved slightly. "As long as you're happy."

With Wang Dong's identity, joining the Tang Sect was no different from a crown prince traveling incognito. Although she didn't know his identity, it didn't matter.

"There's a Treasure Appraisal Meeting for Outer Court Core Disciples today. You probably don't know this, but Thunderbolt Beibei, one of the Outer Court Twin Stars, is our Tang Sect's Senior Brother. With his VIP rank, sneaking the two of us in will be no problem at all."

Huo Yuhao: Actually, I do know.

Wang Dong looked utterly unconcerned. "Besides, even if Senior Brother can't do it, don't I still have me? Just put a hundred hearts at ease..."

He understood. This was the confidence of the young lady of the Clear Sky Sect.

When the time came, if anyone dared look down on them, they could reveal their identities and put on a crooked-mouthed Dragon King act.

Just as Huo Yuhao was about to say something else, an exceptionally delighted voice rang out.

"Yuhao! Why are you here?"

The newcomer was none other than Ma Xiaotao, who had fled in panic a few hours earlier.

The instant their eyes met, she charged over in a whirlwind.