"These grilled fish aren't worth a Gold Soul Coin. Let me treat you!"
Huo Yuhao said calmly. After all, they were just a few worthless grilled fish.
His real goal was to keep Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya around long enough to find out what had changed in the world.
"No, no. My grandpa taught me from a young age never to accept a handout."
"Nannan, give Yuhao a Gold Soul Coin first. The fish will get cold if we don't eat them soon!"
Tang Ya just couldn't resist the grilled fish any longer. She went over to the grill, picked up a skewer, and happily started eating.
Jiang Nannan covered her face. "Little brother, I'm really sorry. Xiaoya's always been like this. Here, take your Gold Soul Coin."
Huo Yuhao stared blankly at the Gold Soul Coin lying in the fair, rosy palm before him.
In the original timeline, this woman had haggled with Old Huo over five copper coins. Now she'd so casually handed him a whole Gold Soul Coin.
Good heavens, had he transmigrated into a fake world, or was this world fake?
By the end, Huo Yuhao had no idea how he'd accepted the Gold Soul Coin.
Anyway, by the time he snapped out of it, Tang Ya and Jiang Nannan had nearly finished the grilled fish.
"Nannan, these grilled fish are so good!" Tang Ya took a big bite of the fragrant, crispy fish in her hand. It had completely won her over.
Compared to Tang Ya, Jiang Nannan ate much more elegantly, savoring it in small bites.
"Xiaoya, you're right. But don't forget you owe me five Silver Soul Coins!"
Tang Ya finished off the last grilled fish in her hand, her full red lips glistening with oil.
"As the daughter of the Tang Sect's vice sect master, you're telling me you're short five Silver Soul Coins?"
Jiang Nannan set down her finished fish and elegantly wiped her red lips.
"It's not that I'm short on money! What if there's something I want to buy, and I'm just five Silver Soul Coins short? What then?"
"Grandpa Tang and my father have been giving us less and less pocket money lately, haven't they?"
"They keep telling us we're getting older and should learn to support ourselves!"
Tang Ya took out five Silver Soul Coins and handed them to Jiang Nannan.
"You're right. Those old geezers have been giving us less and less money lately!"
"As for supporting ourselves, just treat that as a joke. The whole Tang Sect will belong to you and me someday. What's wrong with spending a little of the sect's money?"
Jiang Nannan urged, "I think Grandpa Tang and the others have a point."
"We should learn to support ourselves. It's hard work for them to earn money, too."
Tang Ya seemed convinced. "You make sense, Nannan."
"But would you really be willing to go from nearly a thousand Gold Soul Coins a month to just a few hundred, a few dozen, or even less?"
A hint of embarrassment crossed Jiang Nannan's face. Honestly, after getting used to a life of wealth and luxury, she wouldn't want to go back to square one either.
Tang Ya smiled. "You wouldn't want that either, right?"
"You and I are only at the three-ring level. Right now, our priority is to work hard at cultivation, not go out and earn money."
"Besides, do you really think my grandpa, a Soul Saint who's been tinkering with Soul Tools all these years, could be short on money?"
"Just last month, I heard my mom say that my grandpa had just negotiated an order worth over a hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins."
This time, Jiang Nannan was convinced. "You have a point, too. But what if they're dead set on it?"
"Cry, make a scene, and throw ourselves on the floor. It works every time!"
Huo Yuhao listened in silence. From Tang Ya and Jiang Nannan's conversation, he had pieced together a few things.
Both of them still had their parents, and Tang Ya also had a grandfather—one who was a Soul Saint!
Tang Ya and Jiang Nannan were both at the three-ring level!
The Tang Sect had even started tinkering with Soul Tools. What had happened to this world?
To get to the bottom of it, Huo Yuhao tentatively asked, "Sister Xiaoya, Sister Nannan, when you say the Tang Sect, do you mean Tang San's Tang Sect?"
"Oh, little Yuhao, you've heard of the Tang Sect?" Tang Ya perked up.
Huo Yuhao nodded. "Everyone's heard the legends of the Tang Sect."
Tang Ya laughed heartily and put an arm around Jiang Nannan's shoulders. "This big sister and I are going to be the Tang Sect's future successors!"
"I'll even let you in on a little secret: we're studying at the best academy on the continent, Shrek Academy!"
"By the way, little Yuhao, did you come to the Star Dou Great Forest alone?" Tang Ya asked.
"Yes. I came here mainly to put myself through some training. I'm about to enroll at the best academy on the continent, the one you mentioned, Sister Xiaoya."
Jiang Nannan smiled gently. "You're so young, yet you dared to come train alone. That's very manly of you."
Tang Ya exclaimed excitedly, "So that means you'll be our junior at the academy!"
Huo Yuhao said, "I never expected to meet my future senior sisters here."
"By the way, Sister Xiaoya, Sister Nannan, what are you doing here?"
Tang Ya and Jiang Nannan exchanged a glance, then silently communicated with each other for a while.
Finally, Tang Ya said, "Grandpa gave us a mission. A group of bandits led by an Evil Soul Master has set up camp on a mountain near the Star Dou Great Forest."
Jiang Nannan added, "Xiaoya and I came here specifically to wipe them out."
Huo Yuhao asked, "Just the two of you?"
"They're not very strong. We have solid evidence that their leader is, at most, a three-ring Soul Elder," Tang Ya said.
"A three-ring Evil Soul Master?" Huo Yuhao asked. "I remember that Evil Soul Masters at the same level are quite a bit stronger than ordinary Soul Masters like us."
"There are only two of you. Aren't you worried those cunning Evil Soul Masters might trick you?"
Tang Ya proudly puffed out her chest. "I almost forgot to tell you."
"Standing before you is Dark Silver Tang Ya, one half of the famous Twin Blossoms of Shrek Outer Court!"
"And this is Soft Rabbit Jiang Nannan, the other half of the Twin Blossoms!"
Twin Blossoms? Huo Yuhao asked, puzzled, "Are you famous?"
"Of course! No, wait... Ah! I shouldn't have introduced us like that." Tang Ya smacked her forehead.
"Let me explain!" Jiang Nannan knew Tang Ya didn't have many brain cells to spare.
"Yuhao, just know that even at Shrek Outer Court, where geniuses are as common as clouds, Xiaoya and I are among the strongest in the top tier."
"Our combat strength is nothing like an ordinary Soul Master's, either." Jiang Nannan couldn't help looking a little proud.
Huo Yuhao kept a calm expression, but inside, a storm was raging. The timeline had changed far too much!
Why had things changed so much? Tang Ya was a genius from the start, and Jiang Nannan was incredibly rich.
Why would Huo Yuhao be having a dream like this?
What had caused all these changes? Huo Yuhao wondered.
Could it be... that his early encounter with the Three-Eyed Golden Lion had caused these changes?
Huo Yuhao thought that was the most likely explanation. Then he'd explore just how much this world could change!
"By the way, Sister Xiaoya, Sister Nannan, are you full?"
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