The Strength-Boosting Snake Gallbladder

"It was an honor to think that you knew me too, Senior Sister," Huo Yuhao said politely, nodding to Ma Xiaotao.

Ma Xiaotao nodded at Huo Yuhao. For some reason, ever since seeing him, she had felt an endless, inexplicable sense of familiarity, as though he were the person most worthy of her trust.

"You needn't be surprised. Shrek has always respected students with strength and potential. Besides, Ling Luochen has mentioned you quite often, saying you were a very interesting junior he had met. He even said that if we had lived in the same era, we might not have been able to stand at the same height as you."

Huo Yuhao merely smiled and waved a hand. Even according to the original story, you wouldn't have caught up with me at the same age, much less now that I've taken over.

"Never mind that, Senior Sister. Are you on vacation, or are you carrying out a surveillance mission?" Afraid that he would burst out laughing if they kept discussing his future, Huo Yuhao promptly changed the subject as he examined Ma Xiaotao's attire.

"The Inner Court doesn't have benefits as nice as your Outer Court, let alone vacations. Of course I'm carrying out a surveillance mission. This one isn't particularly major, though. It's just a minor noble who grew rich through cruelty, so they didn't send many people. I can handle it alone," Ma Xiaotao said with a shrug, utterly unconcerned.

Huo Yuhao nodded, then glanced at the private room behind him and said to Ma Xiaotao,

"If you want to eat here, wait for me a moment. I'll be done soon." As he spoke, Huo Yuhao pointed toward the private room behind him.

If it had been anyone else, Ma Xiaotao definitely would have been reluctant.

Yet after hearing Huo Yuhao's words, she obediently nodded. She then found an empty large table, sat down, and quietly waited for Huo Yuhao to finish eating and leave.

Huo Yuhao sensed the feedback from the Ice Seed in Ma Xiaotao's mind. The message it sent him was that Ma Xiaotao had not developed even the slightest suspicion.

Huo Yuhao did not deliberately make things difficult for Ma Xiaotao. He neither sped up his meal nor deliberately dragged it out. Once he had finished eating at a normal pace, he rose and left the private room.

Seeing that Ma Xiaotao had raised no objections throughout, the proprietor naturally did not dare show his face or say anything. But as soon as Huo Yuhao emerged, he immediately arranged for an attendant to clean the private room.

Huo Yuhao timed things carefully and traveled along the route leading toward Shrek Academy. In the end, he concluded that none of these empires had any right to mock the others. They were all equally terrible. Even if there were a few good people among the nobles, they were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.

As for the Sun Moon Empire, whose written setting already had Evil Soul Masters everywhere and whose class conflicts had grown so sharp that they could only barely be eased through foreign wars, Huo Yuhao felt there was even less reason to visit it.

Even if he did visit, there was no need to use his vacation time. He could wait until his strength had improved further.

He returned to Shrek Academy just before he would have been late, but Wang Dong had gotten back before him.

When Huo Yuhao pushed open the door, he saw that his bed had been covered with bedding that was clearly far more high-end than the set he had brought back. He could not help but stare blankly.

Wang Dong was sitting on the bed at the time, her fair bare feet gently swinging.

When she saw Huo Yuhao return, Wang Dong sat upright, coughed lightly, and said, "Ahem, I brought an extra set of bedding. Letting you try what real high-end goods are like."

Huo Yuhao smiled, put his luggage back in his wardrobe, and said to Wang Dong, "Sure. Then I'll show you some real good stuff too."

Wang Dong immediately grew interested and asked Huo Yuhao, "What good stuff?"

Huo Yuhao took a step forward, and three Soul Rings—one yellow and two purple—floated beneath his feet.

Seeing this, Wang Dong became even more interested. She looked Huo Yuhao over with curiosity and said, "Not bad, kid. You've upgraded your gear. You really reached Rank 30."

Huo Yuhao smiled and flicked the dust from his clothes. "I'm already Rank 34."

This time, Wang Dong froze on the spot. "That fast?"

Huo Yuhao smiled and said to Wang Dong, "I have to thank you for the information. It let me directly encounter a Medusa soul beast that suited me. Otherwise, I might not have gone so smoothly."

Upon hearing that, Wang Dong immediately puffed out her chest and patted it. "See? I treat you well, don't I?!"

Huo Yuhao smiled and continued, "But speaking of which, that Medusa dropped two snake gallbladders. I have no idea what they're for. Do you think they might be poisonous?"

Wang Dong paused before saying, "You got snake gallbladders from it? Then you really were lucky. Rumor has it that once a Medusa's snake gallbladder is steeped in wine, it tastes excellent and can greatly increase physical strength. It's a pretty good tonic for soul masters."

"Really? You've never eaten something that good before, yet you still have to rely on rumors?" Huo Yuhao asked Wang Dong with some suspicion.

Wang Dong frowned and said, "What do you know? No one has seen such a pure-blooded Medusa in many years. If it weren't for our relationship, I wouldn't have given you that information."

Huo Yuhao nodded and said, "All right, then I'll count it as a favor. I'll treat you to dinner later."

Only then did Wang Dong open her eyes and say to Huo Yuhao, "That's more like it."

Huo Yuhao laughed inwardly. Wang Dong was really easy to placate; one meal was enough to smooth things over. If it had been someone more scheming, they would have found a way to take at least one snake gallbladder.

Wang Dong had no idea what Huo Yuhao was thinking. She merely said excitedly, "Oh, right. While you were gone these past two days, something new happened at the academy."

Huo Yuhao asked curiously, "What new could happen during vacation? Did some teacher cause another disaster big enough to blow the roof off?"

Wang Dong said in a gossiping tone, "Not that. It's about that old witch Zhou Yi. I heard she went to the Soul Engineering Department and became an assistant instructor there. The strangest part is that her pay as an assistant is actually no lower than what she earned as a full instructor."

Huo Yuhao shrugged and said to Wang Dong, "That's perfectly normal. Who told you that Teacher Zhou's lover is a next-generation core instructor being heavily groomed by the Soul Engineering Department?"

Wang Dong suddenly understood. "So that's what happened. Then it's no surprise. But I heard she also clashed with the people in the Soul Engineering Department. That teacher's teaching style has already doomed her not to go far."

Huo Yuhao pursed his lips and said to Wang Dong...