Xu Sanshi

"Other classes?"

Xiao Yulü's brows furrowed, but they quickly smoothed out.

"Ha, you mean people from Class One? But after you beat Wu Feng and Xiong Hui right in front of them that day, I'm afraid everyone knows your strength. They won't want to spar with you..."

"Are you stupid? It's not like the school lacks places for us to battle."

"You mean... the Soul Fighting Arena? But we're only first-years. Isn't the arena filled with third and fourth-year seniors?"

"That may be true, but how many people in our grade do you think can actually compete with us?"

Xiao Yan rapped Xiao Yulü on the head, feeling a bit frustrated by his lack of ambition.

"If you want to verify what you've learned recently, you have to find stronger opponents! What's the point of finding some small fry just to one-shot them?"

"Then... do you know anyone? Even if we go to the Soul Fighting Arena, I doubt anyone would bother challenging us..."

"About that..."

Xiao Yan chuckled, then spoke in a leisurely tone:

"Find Beibei. Beibei is a senior, a rising star who will definitely enter the Inner Court in the future. He surely knows opponents suitable for us to practice with."

"Senior Beibei..."

Xiao Yulü fell into deep thought, while Xiao Yan already had his target in mind.

Turtle Man, Licking Turtle, Two-Faced Turtle... in short, that turtle Xu Sanshi!

A Soul Ancestor around level 40, not too high in power, lacking many offensive soul skills, and exceptionally resistant to a beating!

As for how to contact this "Brother Turtle," Xiao Yan gave a sly grin and dragged Xiao Yulü off to Shrek City.

Just as he expected, although Huo Yuhao was incredibly busy juggling his martial soul cultivation and learning Soul Tools, he would always be found at certain fixed locations. Right now, little Huo was stationed at his Huo's Grilled Fish stall.

"Yuhao!"

Finding the stall was easy; there weren't many places with such long queues at this hour. Coincidentally, the skilled Huo was one of them. One only needed to follow the flow of the crowd to easily locate classmate Huo, who was busy selling grilled fish.

"Xiao Yan! Xiao Yulü! Why are you here?"

Seeing his classmates, the blue-haired youth brightened. He didn't stop his hands, but still managed to find a moment to greet them.

"Two skewers of grilled fish, first."

"Oh, oh, okay... here you go!"

Each took a skewer and paid. As Xiao Yan ate, he casually asked:

"Mm... Yuhao, do you know how to get in touch with Senior Beibei?"

"Big Brother Bei... I suppose I can, but why are you looking for him?"

Watching Huo Yuhao grill the fish with practiced ease—even incorporating the Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon technique into his movements—Xiao Yan couldn't help but twitch his brow.

Damn it, that's not how you're supposed to use Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon! If the Tang God King saw his inherited ultimate art being used like this, he'd cry, you idiot.

But complaints aside, Huo's Grilled Fish really was something else; it was as addictive as if it had been drugged.

Swallowing the last bite, Xiao Yan leaned in, looking at Yuhao with burning eyes:

"Naturally... to find someone to spar with."

"As a veteran senior, Beibei has quite a few connections in the school. Since we've made some progress in our cultivation recently, we want to find someone to test ourselves against, so we thought of Beibei."

"Oh—"

Huo Yuhao let out an "oh" and scratched his head:

"Well, you can wait here. Later, Sister Xiao Ya... the Sect Master should be bringing the Senior Brother over."

"Heh, you've really embraced your identity as a Tang Sect disciple."

Xiao Yan found a nearby step and plopped down, showing no trace of aristocratic grace. Xiao Yulü was much more particular, insisting on finding a bench and sitting bolt upright.

The two waited and waited. By the time Huo Yuhao had sold almost all his fish, leaving only two left, Beibei and Tang Ya finally arrived.

"Yuhao, today's grilled fish... eh? Xiao Yan? Xiao Yulü? You two are here too?"

Tang Ya had just picked up two skewers from Huo Yuhao's cart when she spotted the two acquaintances.

"Sister Tang Ya, Brother Beibei."

Xiao Yan greeted them casually, then didn't beat around the bush, explaining his desire to find a sparring partner to Beibei and Tang Ya.

"An opponent... hmm, preferably one with little offensive power but extremely high defense..."

As he spoke, Beibei suddenly froze. This description sounded more and more familiar.

"I do know someone who fits that description, but whether he'd be willing to spar with you is another matter."

"Who? Who?"

Xiao Yan feigned curiosity.

"Xu Sanshi, a Core Disciple with the Mystic Tortoise martial soul. He fits your requirements perfectly, but he recently lost a match to me, which has left him... quite depressed."

Mentioning the loss, Beibei's eyes flickered, and Huo Yuhao and Tang Ya lowered their heads. Xiao Yan knew exactly what had happened: the little junior brother had helped him cheat in the Soul Fighting Arena to beat Xu Sanshi. It certainly wasn't a glorious affair.

"It's fine, Big Brother Beibei. Just being able to arrange a meeting with Senior Xu Sanshi is enough; I will be the one to persuade him."

Xiao Yan waved his hand dismissively. Beibei rubbed his chin, sighing after a long moment.

"Fine, I'll help you set up the meeting... Hmm, it's a bit late today. Let's make it tomorrow afternoon. Come to the Soul Fighting Zone to meet."

Beibei was well-connected and kept his word; the next day, he successfully brought Xu Sanshi out to meet them.

"Hmm? So you're the ones who want to spar with me?"

Xu Sanshi squinted, looking the two over while sensing their auras.

"One is level 17, the other is level 18. With your strength, you can't even shake my defense. I could win just by wearing you down, so forget it."

The young man waved his hand, looking completely uninterested, but then he saw the corners of Xiao Yan's mouth curl up as he pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it over.

"Senior might want to reconsider after reading the contents of this paper."

Xu Sanshi raised an eyebrow.

"Are you so certain that I'll agree to fight you after reading this?"

Immediately, he unfolded the note, and his entire body jolted.

"Is it true?"

"Uh-huh."

Xiao Yan shrugged.

"Jiang Nan..."

"Alright, say no more. I understand. I will fight you. After the battle, you must tell me the details. Right, when are we getting on the Soul Fighting Arena? Do you have a reservation? If not, I happen to have one. There's no time like the present—let's get on the stage and fight right now."

Xiao Yulü, standing to the side, widened his eyes and then whipped his head around to look at Xiao Yan.

"What on earth did you say to the senior?"

Xiao Yan offered a mysterious smile and shrugged.

"Nothing much, just the underlying source code of the Douluo Continent doing its work."

"What underlying source code? Hey, talk to me!"

"Talk my foot. Let's go, we're heading to the Soul Fighting Arena."

While the two were bickering, Xu Sanshi had already processed the paperwork at lightning speed and applied for a battle venue.

Standing on the stage, Xu Sanshi looked at Xiao Yan with a complex expression.

"Let's get this straight: even if you used... to tempt me, I am still going to fight you fair and square. I won't go easy on you."

"That is exactly what I was hoping for, Senior."

Xiao Yan stepped forward, his aura climbing steadily with every stride.

Feeling this pressure, Xu Sanshi finally looked at Xiao Yan with a serious expression, his face no longer frivolous but becoming solemn.

"Very well then, be careful, Junior!"