Ya Li

"Gu Yue? What a coincidence. I never expected to run into you here." The moment Xu Xiaoyan spotted Gu Yue, she waved warmly at her, seemingly forgetting that she was still holding a grilled squid skewer.

As Xu Xiaoyan swung her arm, the squid tentacles at the tip of the skewer swayed wildly. The sauce clinging to them sprayed everywhere.

Yun Chen hurriedly stepped several paces aside, avoiding Xu Xiaoyan's indiscriminate attack. Yet from the corner of his eye, he caught a flash of embarrassment—or perhaps mortification—on Gu Yue's face.

Even after taking human form, Gu Yue had not abandoned her identity. She believed that the noble Silver Dragon King could deign to study human technology and knowledge and understand humanity, but she could not be assimilated by humans. That was why, after regaining her memories, she had scorned Na'er's dependence on and fear of humans, as well as those memories of wallowing in warmth and tenderness.

The amnesiac Na'er had possessed an enormous appetite and loved all kinds of food from the human world. After splitting from Na'er, Gu Yue had looked down on such behavior. She believed that as long as she maintained the circulation of Soul Power within her body, she could go without food for long periods, just as she had before taking human form. Eating was merely an instinct of lower lifeforms.

Yet when she walked alone through Gourmet Street, she was still drawn in by the fragrance of the food. Before she knew it, her hands were filled with bags. Being caught by Xu Xiaoyan and Yun Chen made her feel as though she had been found out.

"Yes, what a coincidence. I came to buy some food for my family," Gu Yue replied blandly.

Upon hearing that, Yun Chen, who had just taken a sip of his drink, nearly sprayed it out. His reaction immediately drew the attention of both Xu Xiaoyan and Gu Yue.

"Sorry, sorry. It went down the wrong pipe." Yun Chen waved at the two girls, though inwardly he thought, What have Di Tian and the others done to deserve having you, their lord, personally buy food for them? If they heard that, wouldn't they be trembling in terror?

Just as Yun Chen had thought, Ziji, who was secretly protecting Gu Yue, truly shuddered all over. Right now, she desperately wanted to ask Di Tian whether protecting their lord was always this thrilling.

"I see. Then we won't disturb you. We can go shopping together next time. I like tasty food too," Xu Xiaoyan said with a smile.

Gu Yue nodded, then turned and left. However, as she passed by Yun Chen, her footsteps hesitated for an instant. In the end, she did not stop.

After she left, Yun Chen and Xu Xiaoyan entered Gourmet Street. By the time they had made a full circuit, Yun Chen was carrying quite a few more bags. Many of them had been bought by Xu Xiaoyan, only for her to be unable to eat more than a few bites.

"It would've been nice if Na'er were still here. If the two of us shared one serving, we definitely could have finished it all." Xu Xiaoyan poked repeatedly at the little meatballs in her bowl with a bamboo skewer.

"Even without you, Na'er could finish a serving by herself," Yun Chen said faintly from beside her.

"Hmph!" Xu Xiaoyan snorted, then held a meatball skewered on the bamboo stick up to Yun Chen's mouth. "You can't waste food. Eat it!"

Seeing her like this, Yun Chen smiled helplessly, then opened his mouth and ate the meatball Xu Xiaoyan fed him.

When Yun Chen returned to the academy dormitory, Wei Xiaofeng was still meditating. In this competition, he had truly witnessed the gap between himself and Yun Chen and Gu Yue. But the one who had truly made him feel a sense of urgency was Xie Xie, an opponent he had never taken seriously.

Although Xie Xie had ultimately lost to him in this match, he had still caused him considerable trouble. To avoid losing face in the future, Wei Xiaofeng felt that he needed to work twice as hard.

However, when Yun Chen placed the food he had bought on the table and its aroma spread through the room, Wei Xiaofeng still emerged from meditation. He looked at Yun Chen resentfully. "You interrupted my meditation."

"Then are you eating or not?" Yun Chen asked, lifting the barbecue in his hand.

"Eating! Of course I'm eating! I kept meditating and never even had dinner. I'm starving to death." At the sight of the barbecue, Wei Xiaofeng immediately leaped off the bed. Without even putting on his shoes, he rushed over, grabbed the barbecue, and wolfed it down.

In the latter half of the night, a Black-Grade Mecha landed on a runway somewhere in Eastsea City. A beautiful figure stepped out of the Mecha and directly entered the soul-guided sedan waiting nearby. The sedan quickly started up and vanished into the night.

Half an hour later, the soul-guided sedan stopped before Eastsea Hospital. As the passenger stepped out, the figure standing at the hospital entrance immediately came forward to greet her.

"Your Eminence." Wu Zhangkong bowed in greeting, but his gaze swept once more toward the soul-guided sedan.

"He didn't come." The one addressed as Your Eminence was Ya Li, the Holy Spirit Douluo, the most powerful healing-type Soul Master on the continent.

At her words, disappointment surfaced in Wu Zhangkong's eyes. But in the next moment, it was concealed beneath his usual coldness.

"Come. Take me to see that child. Let me see what is so exceptional about the little fellow you think so highly of," Ya Li said.

Though her tone was calm, it seemed to carry a peculiar magic that soothed the slightly tangled emotions in Wu Zhangkong's heart.

"Please follow me." Wu Zhangkong answered, then led Ya Li into the hospital.

After learning of Tang Wulin's condition, Wu Zhangkong had sought help from his teacher. On this continent, the only person capable of healing Tang Wulin's injuries was the Holy Spirit Douluo before him.

Yet even after conveying his request to the Red Dragon Douluo, Zhuo Shi, Wu Zhangkong had not dared guarantee that he could truly persuade her to act. After all, her status within Shrek Academy was among the very highest, even somewhat above that of his teacher.

What Wu Zhangkong had not expected was that his request received a response very quickly. After learning that she had already set out for Eastsea City, he had left the hospital and waited until now. He had originally hoped that his teacher might come with her, but in the end, he still failed to see him.

However, Tang Wulin's condition was the most important matter at hand. Wu Zhangkong could only suppress his emotions and lead Ya Li to Tang Wulin's hospital room.

The moment Cen Yue saw Ya Li enter, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

Although Ya Li was one of Shrek Academy's higher-ups, unlike the other mysterious senior figures of Shrek Academy, she frequently appeared in major Federation news reports. As a result, she was highly renowned across the continent. But Cen Yue could never have imagined that a teacher from Eastsea Academy could invite this eminent figure to travel thousands of miles to save a child.