What do you want land for?

Seeing that Huo Yuhao's state was off, Ye Guchen knew exactly what was happening, yet he feigned ignorance and sent a mental transmission.

"What's wrong, little Yuhao?"

However, Huo Yuhao only felt gratitude toward Ye Guchen, not friendship, and he had no desire to share such matters with him.

Thus, Huo Yuhao quickly regained his composure and replied via mental transmission, "Brother Guchen, I'm fine."

The stiffness in his expression lasted only a fleeting moment before he returned to his previous smile.

"Big Brother Dai Yueheng."

Dai Yueheng was unaware that Huo Yuhao was someone who should have called him 'big brother' by right, so this turn of events was a twist of fate.

"Yuhao, if you ever run into any difficulties in the future, feel free to come find me."

Looking at Dai Yueheng's beaming smile, Huo Yuhao felt a wave of nausea; at this moment, Huo Yuhao hated everyone from the Duke's Mansion equally.

Once everyone had eaten their fill, they tactfully took their leave, leaving only Ma Xiaotao and Ye Guchen behind. Although it hadn't been officially announced, their relationship was already an open secret to everyone.

"Little Yuhao, you should prepare well for the freshman assessment in two months. You can put the grilled fish business aside for now; if you have time, go to the library and find some books on Soul Tools to get a basic understanding."

At the mention of this, Huo Yuhao became somewhat excited.

"Brother Guchen, don't you worry, I definitely won't let you down during the freshman assessment!"

Immediately, Huo Yuhao poured out the truth about his Martial Soul Fusion Skill with his roommate, Wang Dong.

After all, he had nothing to hide from Ye Guchen in this regard.

"And when the two of us are together, our cultivation speed increases significantly. In the ten-plus days since school started, my soul power has already broken through to level 14. Afterward, Senior Beibei gave me two Mystic Water Pills, and after taking them, my soul power rose to level 15!"

Hearing this, Ye Guchen felt a moment of shock. If I remember correctly, they were supposed to discover their Martial Soul Fusion Skill during the freshman assessment period. It's actually happened ahead of schedule!

However, looking at it this way, at least Tang San's gaze was still fixed on him, which would buy him quite a bit of time.

Moreover, looking at his level now, Huo Yuhao was actually three levels higher than he was at the same point in the original story.

"I've always believed in you!"

Patting Huo Yuhao on the shoulder, Ye Guchen pulled Ma Xiaotao away.

As he left, he didn't forget to remind Huo Yuhao.

"Remember what I said: make time to look into the basics of Soul Tools."

"I will!"

Inside the Shrek Academy inner courtyard, Yan Shaozhe approached an old man who looked as if he were on the verge of death, yet radiated a powerful aura.

Even as the Dean of the Soul Guidance Department and a Super Douluo, he bowed respectfully to the old man like a child.

"Teacher, Ye Guchen's fifth pet beast has been decided. It is an auxiliary-type soul beast, the Rainbow Butterfly."

The old man on the wheelchair opened his eyes slightly, his face filled with gratification.

"Auxiliary-type? It seems he intends to follow the path of an all-rounder."

"Shaozhe, go and look up all the information on this type of soul beast and send it to that child, Guchen. It seems this is all we can do to help him."

After speaking, he closed his eyes, returning to his state of feigned sleep.

Yan Shaozhe bowed slightly upon hearing this.

"Yes, Teacher!"

At this moment, Ye Guchen was wandering between the twin peaks.

He was using the most primitive method to help Ma Xiaotao purge her evil fire.

"What? Why do you need such a large plot of land?"

Inside the City Lord's Mansion of Shrek City, City Lord Shi Xing looked at Ye Guchen with a face full of confusion.

"I want to build a commercial building in Shrek City. It doesn't need to be very large, ten mu is enough."

But Shi Xing acted as if he hadn't heard Ye Guchen at all and refused outright.

"Absolutely not. You are the future pillar of Shrek Academy. If you have any needs, why not discuss them with the Academy? Your main task right now is cultivation; don't waste your time on business!"

Having known before he arrived that the City Lord wouldn't agree, Ye Guchen was well-prepared.

"Then I'll just go through the standard approval process like any other merchant."

Shi Xing's face darkened; he hadn't expected Ye Guchen to pull this move. However, he still held the authority to deny a merchant the right to do business in Shrek City.

"Let me be clear: the application will not be approved! Go back and cultivate honestly."

He had assumed Ye Guchen was just acting on a whim and would retreat in the face of difficulty.

But Ye Guchen clearly did not walk the beaten path.

He simply spread his hands, his face wearing an indifferent expression.

"Well, that can't be helped. I suppose I'll just have to take my business to another city."

In the end, he deliberately drew out the sound of his voice.

City Lord Shi Xing was at his wit's end with this attitude of Ye Guchen; he couldn't very well let him go to another city.

If he were to run off, those old fogies at the Sea God Pavilion would absolutely make his life miserable.

"Fine, fine, fine. There is still a plot of land in the east of the city. I will report it truthfully to the Sea God Pavilion. If the Sea God Pavilion approves, you can go there and build whatever chamber of commerce you want."

"Many thanks for your generosity, City Lord!"

"What? He wants to start some chamber of commerce! Isn't this just nonsense?"

Faced with the information sent by Shi Xing, Xuan Zi was the first to be angered into a laugh.

"Isn't it better to focus on cultivation? Why must he go and mess with some useless chamber of commerce!"

"Ahem! Xuan Zi!"

Lin Huiqun, the Pavilion Master of the Treasure Pavilion, coughed softly.

"I don't see anything wrong with it. He's a young man, he's bound to have some ideas. Besides, who says there's anything wrong with business? Isn't the majority of Shrek Academy's income derived from the Treasure Pavilion?"

"But!..."

Just as the two were locked in an impasse, Mu En tapped the table lightly.

"Let him be. Shrek Academy hasn't really helped him with anything anyway. It would be better to take this opportunity to give him more support, so he might develop a greater sense of belonging to Shrek."

Yet, Xuan Zi still felt it was a waste of time. "Business matters can completely wait until his cultivation hits a bottleneck later on."

However, Mu En still did not agree with his point of view.

"He is still young. Even if he really delays for a few years, it is nothing. Let it be decided this way."

Hearing this, Xuan Zi no longer opposed the decision.

Mu En then turned his gaze toward Elder Lin.

"Huiqun, you are more knowledgeable in this area. You can provide him with more assistance in the early stages."

"Very well!"

Elder Lin nodded in agreement.

Compared to the Dou II timeline, purchasing land in the Dou I era appeared to be somewhat more troublesome.

After arriving in Heaven Dou City, Ye Guchen followed the standard approval process, yet he was obstructed at every turn. Left with no other choice, he had to use money to pave the way.

However, he could not reveal too much wealth, otherwise, given the scale of Ye Guchen in Dou I, he feared that before he could even begin his venture, he would be plagued by endless trouble.

Although he did not fear them, having a few flies buzzing around him constantly was still annoying.

Helpless, Ye Guchen had no choice but to first purchase a few courtyards. After some simple renovations and modifications, the prototype of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion was formed.

It seems that no matter which world one is in, as long as one's own strength is not powerful enough and one lacks a formidable background, everything one does will be restricted.

However, as a transmigrator, while Ye Guchen's various talents could not be said to surpass the locals of the Douluo Continent, he possessed one major advantage beyond his martial soul that the locals did not: a general understanding of how the story would unfold.

Since his own strength was insufficient, why not let those who had the strength work for him?

The location Ye Guchen chose was also extremely well-considered; it was not far from Dugu Manor.

That's right, the first person Ye Guchen thought of who could be easily won over was Dugu Bo.