First Meeting with Huo Yuhao

Tang Ya covered her mouth and snickered at the side, watching Bei Bei with glee as though he were a mouse that had run into a cat.

Ever since he had met Bei Bei, every time they encountered Ye Chen, Bei Bei was forced to call him "Little Uncle."

And Bei Bei had no way around it. Who told him to be of the junior generation?

"Xiao Chen, why are you here? Don't tell me you've reached rank thirty and come to hunt for a soul ring?"

Bei Bei knew this little uncle's talent well and sincerely admired him.

He had already been rank twenty-nine the last time they met. His Soul Power Level was almost catching up to Bei Bei's.

In truth, Ye Chen knew his own situation best. He was still only rank twenty-nine, and that was because he cultivated desperately every moment of every day.

During the day, he spent three hours studying under Mu En. Aside from meals, all his remaining time was devoted to meditation.

The main reason was that once he reached rank thirty, the cultivation speed of an ultimate-element martial soul would be restricted, so he had begun cultivating with all his might.

After reaching rank thirty, if he wanted to accelerate his cultivation speed, effort alone would likely no longer be enough. What he would need then was opportunity.

Mu En, who guided his cultivation, said nothing about this and simply let him do as he pleased.

After all, working harder was a good thing.

"What, can't I come watch you two show off your romance? I'm here to see how my dear nephew dates and pick up some experience!" Ye Chen said with a wicked grin, utterly carefree.

Ye Chen did not mind what Bei Bei called him. As long as Bei Bei called him that once every time they met, he was satisfied.

Tang Ya burst out laughing. Although she did not know what "showing off romance" meant, she still found the child's thoughts amusing.

Bei Bei, meanwhile, felt his scalp tingle under Ye Chen's gaze. If Ye Chen followed them, he would not even dare make any slightly intimate gestures.

First, it would be embarrassing to do so in front of him. Second, he feared Ye Chen would go back and tell his great-grandfather, Mu En.

Bei Bei knew perfectly well about the childhood betrothal Mu En had arranged for him. Even if Mu En would not say anything after learning of it, Bei Bei still would not dare.

"How old are you? Do you even know what dating means? Go back and drink your Beast Milk!" Bei Bei quickly said, trying to persuade Ye Chen to leave.

Bei Bei had struck a sore spot, and Ye Chen's entire face turned the color of pig liver.

Once, after finishing his lessons with Mu En, he had gone to Gong Changlong's room to steal Beast Milk, then hidden somewhere deserted to drink it in secret.

But Bei Bei had happened to discover him that time, and so...

Ye Chen's deep, gem-like eyes shifted. Rather than refuting Bei Bei, he decided to give him some face. After all, hearing that "Little Uncle" had made him feel wonderful all over.

"How about this? We'll take you with us, on the condition that you join our Tang Sect?" Bei Bei said gently, though a trace of cunning flashed through his eyes.

"Joining the Tang Sect is impossible. My seniority is right here, after all. I can't possibly lower my generation, can I?" Ye Chen replied without even thinking.

Hearing Ye Chen reject him without hesitation, both Bei Bei and Tang Ya looked somewhat disappointed, though they quickly recovered.

The two of them understood clearly what benefits Ye Chen's talent would bring them if he joined the Tang Sect.

It would practically mean that, in the near future, the Tang Sect would surely rise again!

It was precisely because he understood this that Bei Bei had begun trying to win Ye Chen over long ago. Yet every time, Ye Chen refused with the laughable reason that it was "not fun."

Thus, being rejected once again did not bother him too much.

In fact, Ye Chen had his own plans.

He truly had little interest in joining the Tang Sect, because there was no real use in doing so.

Even if he did not join, if Bei Bei ever encountered any difficulty, Ye Chen would still help him without hesitation.

Though they were separated by a generation, they had grown up together since childhood.

However, while Ye Chen did not intend to join the Tang Sect, he was quite interested in those Tang Sect's Secret Arts.

He wanted to use the Tang Sect's Secret Arts as a reference and create techniques that belonged solely to himself in the future.

"How about this, then? Let's make a deal. Let me take a look at your Tang Sect's Secret Arts. I guarantee I won't pass them on to anyone else, and I'll promise to do everything in my power to help you if the Tang Sect ever faces a crisis."

"Of course, you'll also take me along on this trip."

A sharp glint flashed through Ye Chen's eyes as he spoke to Tang Ya.

He knew that Bei Bei had absolutely no standing beside Tang Ya, so he simply ignored him.

Tang Ya's beautiful eyes moved between this unusual uncle-and-nephew pair as she sank into thought.

The Tang Sect's current situation was already precarious. Originally, she had been its only remaining member.

Bei Bei had been someone she had painstakingly recruited later.

Therefore, as long as Ye Chen did not spread the Tang Sect's Secret Arts, there was no harm in teaching them to him.

Tang Ya knew Ye Chen's identity. Though it was only a small promise, it might one day bring the Tang Sect a chance to turn things around.

If that day truly came, even if Ye Chen lacked the strength to help, standing behind him was the entire Shrek Academy!

"Is that true?"

Tang Ya gave Bei Bei one final look. After seeing the certainty in his eyes, she asked aloud.

"Even if you don't trust me, don't you trust Bei Bei? Given my relationship with him, these are all small matters," Ye Chen said indifferently. He took a green fruit from his ring, casually wiped it on his clothes, and bit down hard.

"Don't worry. As long as you take me with you, I guarantee I won't tell Grandpa Mu."

After hearing that, Bei Bei's left eyelid twitched wildly, and a chill ran down his spine.

In the end, Ye Chen still followed them, and he also obtained the Tang Sect's Secret Arts he had been longing for.

Though all he had given was a small promise, Ye Chen knew that a person could not stand without trust.

Besides, even without that promise, he would still have helped with what needed doing.

His reason for insisting on coming to the Star Dou Forest was simple: he wanted to run into Huo Yuhao.

He was deeply curious about—and full of admiration for—the protagonist of this original world.

Of course, that was not Ye Chen's true thought.

He wanted to use this opportunity to see whether he could find the Calamity of the Undead.

It would be better to keep something like a soul spirit under his own control.

Ye Chen indulged in his pleasant thoughts, feeling no guilt whatsoever.

At that moment, he had both hands clasped behind his head and a sunny smile on his face as he followed behind Bei Bei and Tang Ya toward the Star Dou Forest.

Anyone who saw him would think he was an upright, cheerful young man.

But who could have imagined that behind that sunny smile hid a "filthy" soul?

After all, this had originally been Huo Yuhao's opportunity. Stealing someone's opportunity was no different from taking their wealth and killing them.

Shrek Academy was very close to the Star Dou Forest.

With the three of them traveling at full speed, they arrived nearby a few hours later.

At that moment, the gentle babble of running water came from one side of the road.

This should be the place, Ye Chen thought silently.

Yet something did not match his memories. If Tang Ya and Bei Bei were heading to the Star Dou Forest, they should have continued straight down the official road.

Why had they turned toward that little stream and encountered Huo Yuhao instead?

Just as he was pondering this question, Tang Ya's voice came from ahead.

"Bei Bei, do you still have any water?" Tang Ya stopped and asked Bei Bei beside her.

Bei Bei took out a waterskin from his storage ring and handed it to Tang Ya.

Tang Ya found that the waterskin had already gone flat, so she turned to look at Ye Chen, who was trailing behind them.

Ye Chen shook his head. Then Tang Ya's next sentence made him realize that he had overthought things—the reason was really that simple.

"I hear water over there. Let's go take a look. We're about to enter the Star Dou Forest, so we can't go without a clean water source!"

Bei Bei nodded in agreement. For a Soul Master entering a place inhabited by soul beasts, sufficient water and food had to be prepared in advance.

If they expected to find water on the spot in the Star Dou Forest, they would not be far from death.

After all, most Soul Masters had no way of determining whether water contained deadly poison.

Of course, once a Soul Master's strength reached a certain level, they would not need to worry about such things at all.

But the three of them were clearly not at that level.

"It smells so good!"

After the three arrived by the stream, an excited cry escaped Tang Ya's lips.

A thin young man in ragged clothes was sitting cross-legged by the stream. A small bonfire burned before him, with several golden grilled fish set on a rack above it.

So this is Huo Yuhao, the protagonist of this world, Ye Chen thought as he looked at the ordinary-looking youth in the distance.

Judging by his face, he truly could not tell that this kid would grow up to become such an unconventional scumbag.

Everyone, please trust me a little. I admit that the earlier chapters were somewhat padded—I'm writing a novel for the first time too—but people improve. I still hope everyone will keep reading. The protagonist really isn't groveling before the original protagonist, and I'll fill in every plot hole I set up earlier. Please continue supporting me. Thank you!