Pay Up

"All right, all right, Wang Dong, don't be angry. It was my fault for not helping you, but there was a reason for it. Besides, it wouldn't have been fair for us to gang up on him two against one."

After returning to the dorm, Wang Dong angrily pulled the covers over her head. She simply could not understand how a Soul Master of barely over level ten could possess such powerful energy.

On the first day of school, she had fought Huo Yuhao, but she had not used the power of her martial soul, much less any Soul Skills. Huo Yuhao, meanwhile, had already used his Spirit Eye martial soul. The two situations could not be compared.

But this Specially Selected Student was not even a few levels higher than Huo Yuhao!

No matter how she thought about it, Wang Dong could not understand it. She was at a higher level and was even the daughter of God King Tang San, yet she had been utterly defeated by a young man from the lower realm!

Huo Yuhao's consolation felt more like a knife, viciously stabbing into the pride hidden in her heart.

"Wang Dong, there's no shame in losing to a Specially Selected Student. If he weren't strong, he couldn't have earned the Director of Studies' recognition, nor would he have received so many privileges for new students. We just need to work harder from now on."

"All right, get some rest. I'm going to sell Grilled Fish. When I close up, I'll bring two back for you."

Huo Yuhao sighed helplessly. He came from a poor background and had to earn his living expenses while cultivating. Only by putting in three hundred percent effort could he possibly pass the New Student Assessment.

When he left Dorm 108, the door to neighboring Dorm 109 opened as well.

It was Su Qingfeng. Standing in the doorway, Su Qingfeng said to Huo Yuhao in a calm voice,

"Are you going out to sell Grilled Fish?"

"Uh... yes."

Huo Yuhao froze.

"Could you save two for me as well? I'll pay."

Su Qingfeng spoke somewhat helplessly. Clearly, Huo Yuhao had not expected Su Qingfeng to know that he sold Grilled Fish, much less want to buy some.

"But you just fought my good friend Wang Dong. I can't betray her."

Huo Yuhao said.

"She attacked me first, and she was the one who challenged me. Was I supposed to let her hit me without fighting back? That would be far too unreasonable."

Su Qingfeng replied calmly.

Hearing this, Huo Yuhao sighed. "But Wang Dong is my best friend. You'll have to pay more."

If I don't fleece him hard, how can I vent Wang Dong's anger?!

After Huo Yuhao spoke, Su Qingfeng nodded. Money was no concern. Although he had arrived with nothing but his peerlessly handsome face and his unmatched Immortal Realm physique, Sea God Pavilion possessed immense Soul Master resources and wealth.

Senior Brother Yan Shaozhe had also worried that Su Qingfeng would lack money while studying in the Outer Court, so he had directly given him a storage-type Soul Tool for protection.

This Soul Tool was a ring worn on Su Qingfeng's left thumb. The ring was platinum-white throughout, and its setting was embedded with seven exquisite, dazzling gemstones like stars in a bright night sky. Six smaller gems were evenly arranged around one shining large gem. Each small gem possessed roughly six cubic meters of storage space, while the large gem held around thirty-six cubic meters of storage space!

Its name was the Seven Star Ring.

Yan Shaozhe had placed three piles of Soul Coins inside the Seven Star Ring, along with one hundred bags of Soul Coins in various sizes. They came in three colors—gold, silver, and copper. Su Qingfeng had not counted them, but there were certainly tens of thousands of coins.

"How much is one serving of Grilled Fish?"

"Five Copper Soul Coins per fish."

"I'll give you a bag. Is that enough for the medical fees and the Grilled Fish?"

Su Qingfeng casually tossed over a bag of Soul Coins. Huo Yuhao opened it and saw that it was filled entirely with Silver Soul Coins—at least fifty of them!

In an instant, Huo Yuhao was completely stunned.

What was this Specially Selected Student's background? He was this lavish? These Soul Coins were enough to buy half a month's worth of his Grilled Fish!

On the present-day Douluo Continent, the currency system was already quite well established. One Gold Soul Coin equaled ten Silver Soul Coins, which equaled one hundred Copper Soul Coins.

And one of Huo Yuhao's Grilled Fish sold for only five Copper Soul Coins.

"It's definitely enough, but why do you want my Grilled Fish? With so much money, you could eat far more lavishly in the school cafeteria."

Huo Yuhao was rather puzzled.

"Sigh... you wouldn't understand. Sometimes, being handsome is a burden."

Su Qingfeng patted Huo Yuhao's shoulder and spoke helplessly.

It was only when Su Qingfeng went hungry that he realized that, after awakening Ice Extreme Star, he no longer needed to eat every meal, but he was not yet able to stop eating entirely. He still had to eat every day.

Whenever he ate, he inevitably had to remove his mask. Causing a sensation in the cafeteria and being surrounded by onlookers made it hard for him to leave.

Su Qingfeng still chose to cultivate diligently in his dorm. Perhaps the Snow Empress's power was still taking effect, because he felt that level sixteen was not far away!

"This money should improve your circumstances. Of course, it isn't free money. You have to deliver the Grilled Fish to my dorm, and you must make sure it's fresh and warm," Su Qingfeng said.

"Of course that won't be a problem. How about this? I'll accept this bag of Silver Soul Coins. Every evening when I return this week, I'll save Grilled Fish for you."

"Fine."

Su Qingfeng and Huo Yuhao reached a deal.

At that moment, Huo Yuhao felt that Su Qingfeng was actually quite nice. Combined with that aura about him, it made people unable to help becoming somewhat infatuated with him.

Wait, infatuated? Why infatuated?

On the way to the academy's commercial district while pushing his Grilled Fish cart, Huo Yuhao scratched his head, unable to make sense of it.

At ten o'clock that night, Huo Yuhao happily returned to the dormitory building with two steaming hot Grilled Fish wrapped up. He first delivered one to Su Qingfeng.

Then he returned to his own dorm, placed one on Wang Dong's desk, and left behind a bag of Silver Soul Coins as well.

"All right, Wang Dong. A real man can accept defeat, so don't be sad. I've already avenged you. I fleeced that Specially Selected Student for fifty Silver Soul Coins. One Grilled Fish of mine only costs five Copper Soul Coins. Delivering fish to him for seven days means seven fish, which comes to only 3.5 Silver Soul Coins. Let's count 0.5 Silver Soul Coins as delivery fees. That leaves forty-six Silver Soul Coins for you. He did injure you, after all, so take it as medical fees."

At those words, Wang Dong sprang up from the bed. "What did you say? Medical fees? Isn't that a little insulting? And you're still delivering fish to him? Who are you trying to piss off?"

Wang Dong rubbed her temples. She was truly furious.

Then Wang Dong came back to her senses, and her expression abruptly changed. "Wait, what did you say? You delivered fish to him?"

"What's wrong? But I already promised him, and I accepted the money. A real man can't go back on his word, can he?"

"Well done!"

Huo Yuhao had thought Wang Dong would criticize him, but unexpectedly, she looked delighted. She jumped down from the bed at lightning speed and patted Huo Yuhao's shoulder.

"They say fools have fool's luck. That's talking about you, isn't it?"

"Come on, let's go next door and kick the door in!"

Wang Dong said excitedly.

"Again? What for? We can't beat him anyway."

"Are you really that stupid? He wants to eat fish! Can he wear a mask while eating fish?"

"Ah—right!"

Huo Yuhao suddenly understood.

At the same time, Wang Dong had already rushed to the dorm door and kicked open Dorm 109's door.

Little did they know, that kick would change Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao's lives forever...