A cold wind swept fine snow against the canvas awning of the barbecue stall.
The charcoal fire burned fiercely. Fat dripped onto the red-hot coals with a soft sizzle.
The rich aroma of meat mingled with the spicy fragrance of secret seasonings, overpowering the chill of the wind and snow as it spread along the street.
Su Hui flipped the skewers with smooth, practiced movements. The wooden sticks turned between his fingers, each piece of meat cooking evenly.
The blue-haired girl sitting on a small stool beneath the awning kept her eyes on Su Hui.
Her willow brows were slightly furrowed, and confusion lingered in her eyes.
Su Hui placed the crisp, fragrant skewers on an iron plate and set it steadily on the wooden table in front of the sisters.
"All done. These are yours. Enjoy."
The iron plate touched the tabletop with a light clink.
The short-haired blue-haired Shui Yue'er impatiently snatched up a skewer and took a big bite, her cheeks puffed out with utter satisfaction.
"Hmm? Sister, why aren't you eating?"
After chewing a couple of times, she noticed that her sister hadn't touched her food. Her gaze was still fixed on Su Hui.
Shui Bing'er's crystal-clear eyes studied Su Hui. With a hint of uncertainty, she asked, "Boss Su, have you... become a Soul Master?"
"?"
Su Hui's hand paused as he turned the skewers.
Shui Bing'er immediately realized how abrupt her question had been, and her tone grew apologetic.
"Sorry, I was too forward."
"My name is Shui Bing'er. I'm a student at Skywater Academy."
"I just sensed a clear fluctuation of Soul Power from you, Boss Su. It's much stronger than before, so I asked without thinking."
Only then did Shui Yue'er catch on.
She stopped eating and focused on sensing him for a moment, then exclaimed in surprise.
"It's true! Boss Su, how did your Soul Power suddenly become stronger than mine?"
Su Hui was taken aback again.
Shui Bing'er...
The name instantly brought to mind the captain of the Skywater Academy Team in the original Douluo Continent story, one of the top ice-attribute Soul Masters on the entire continent.
If the older sister was Shui Bing'er, then the sweet, short-haired girl beside her had to be her younger sister, Shui Yue'er!
A wave of emotion stirred in his heart.
He never would have guessed that the regulars at his barbecue stall for over a year were characters from the original Douluo story.
Coming back to himself, Su Hui calmly nodded.
"Mm. I just broke through a few days ago and officially became a Soul Master."
"Congratulations, Boss Su!"
Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er smiled and congratulated him.
They didn't say much more on the subject.
The golden age for awakening a Martial Soul on Douluo Continent was six years old.
The higher one's Innate Soul Power, the greater one's potential for growth.
In their eyes, becoming a Soul Master at ten meant his talent couldn't be particularly outstanding, and his future achievements would be limited.
They were afraid that saying too much would discourage Su Hui.
Once they'd eaten their fill, Shui Bing'er wiped the corner of her mouth, her little face beaming with satisfaction.
"Lots of barbecue stalls have opened in Skywater City lately, copying your flavors. We've tried them, but they just don't taste right. Yours is still the best, Boss Su."
Su Hui smiled and nodded. "Thank you for saying so."
But inwardly, he wondered if he'd just been certified as a barbecue master by two beautiful girls.
It suddenly reminded him of Huo Yuhao, who'd made a name for himself selling grilled fish in Shrek City. They'd both made themselves known to all kinds of people in a world full of Soul Masters by running a street stall.
"Boss Su, now that you're a Soul Master, why haven't you joined a Soul Master Academy?"
"Having a system to guide you is much better than figuring things out on your own."
Shui Bing'er voiced both her curiosity and her advice.
"I'm an orphan. I have no parents, no money for tuition, and no one to recommend me. All I can do is make a living running this barbecue stall. How could I possibly get into a Soul Master Academy?"
Su Hui spread his hands, a trace of helplessness in his voice.
At that, Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er both froze.
They'd first come to this barbecue stall over a year ago.
In all that time, they'd never seen Su Hui with family or heard him mention his background.
They hadn't expected him to have gone through something like that.
Shui Bing'er immediately stood up and apologized.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know about your situation. I shouldn't have asked such an intrusive question."
Su Hui waved a hand dismissively. "It's fine. That's all in the past. There's nothing I can't talk about."
Just then, a few more customers walked toward the stall, and Su Hui turned to serve them.
"..."
Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er tactfully didn't disturb him any further.
They exchanged a glance, tucked the money for their meal under the plate, then quietly said goodbye and left the stall.
The two walked along the snow-covered street.
Shui Yue'er kicked at the snow underfoot, looking a little downcast.
"Boss Su has it so rough. He's about our age, but he's an orphan and has to fend for himself."
Shui Bing'er was also lost in thought.
"He's impressive..."
"He's managed to get by in Skywater City for so long, all on his own, without relying on anyone. And now he's become a Soul Master, too."
"He has more grit than many students at the academy."
But as she said this, her voice took on a note of regret.
"Still... becoming a Soul Master at ten is rather late."
"His foundation as a Soul Master is already set. The road ahead probably won't be easy..."
Shui Yue'er nodded, then grew curious again.
"I wonder what Boss Su's Martial Soul is. It can't be a barbecue grill, can it? How else would he make barbecue this delicious?"
At that, Shui Bing'er rolled her eyes, tapped her on the head, and teased her. "Why is food all you ever think about?"
"Hehe~"
Shui Yue'er playfully stuck out her tongue.
It wasn't until late at night, when the street grew quiet and the snowfall grew heavier, that Su Hui finally packed up his stall and returned to his little room.
After washing up, he sat on his wooden bed, his thoughts churning.
The most useful thing he'd learned today was probably the identities of Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er.
The regulars at his barbecue stall for over a year really were characters from the original story.
Once the surprise wore off, he knew well enough that he and the sisters weren't destined to have much to do with each other.
They were core students at Skywater Academy.
In the future, they'd become the absolute mainstays of the Skywater Team at the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament.
Skywater Academy was one of the Five Elemental Academies on the continent, and it followed an extreme training system focused on ice and water.
The academy only admitted female students, and their Martial Souls had to have water or ice attributes. It accepted no one else.
In other words, it was a girls' Soul Master Academy that only took water-attribute Soul Masters.
Even if he wanted to find an academy where he could settle down and a teacher to help him hunt a Soul Ring, he'd never get into this one.
His thoughts drifted, and he found himself thinking of Na'er.
The silver-haired girl who had hurled the Silver Dragon Spear at him with all her strength in front of the space-time passageway two thousand years in the future.
"Now the Silver Dragon Spear has acknowledged me as its master, and it's become completely bound to my soul."
"I wonder if the Na'er two thousand years from now will be affected. What is she like now?"
Su Hui thought again of his First Martial Soul, the Anywhere Door.
Since the Anywhere Door could take him two thousand years into the future, could it also take him farther back into the past?
If it really could, would that irreversibly alter the existing timeline? Could it create a space-time paradox that couldn't be undone?
He had no definite answers to any of those questions yet.
Su Hui raised his left hand and looked at the spear-shaped mark in his palm, gently brushing it with his fingertips.
"Looks like I'll have to wait until the next time-travel opens before I can explore further."
Before you continue