Wang Dong's Gift

"I'm telling you, Wang Dong, you've been staring at that soul bone for twenty minutes already. At that price, even if they skinned the three of us alive and sold our bones, we still couldn't afford it. Just give up." Huo Yuhao leaned against a marble pillar nearby, rather helplessly watching Wang Dong stare herself silly.

Sure enough, Wang Dong had once again been dazzled by the Golden Emperor Dragon King Soul Bone, whose price was clearly inflated. She was currently staring straight at the gleaming golden soul bone.

To be honest, Huo Yuhao truly found Wang Dong somewhat difficult to understand.

Whether it was the Wang Dong before him now or the Wang Dong from the book in his past life, she behaved in ways that were far too mismatched with her identity.

Whether she thought her life was worth about the same as a Soul-Generating Pill, or was now drawn to a low-year Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone, neither fit the discernment expected of the Clear Sky Sect's richest young master.

Huo Yuhao looked up and thought, Could this be fate's corruption, forcing Huo Yuhao onto Shrek's warship?

If that were the explanation, then some things did make more sense. Huo Yuhao sighed deeply, then turned his gaze to the price tag.

Nine and a half million Gold Soul Coins. No idea which damn fool had the nerve to name that price.

Huo Yuhao had never been very sensitive to numbers in his past life, but if he remembered correctly, even the Ten Thousand Year Ice Jade Scorpion Soul Bone that had solidified the divine skill Ice Explosion Technique hadn't cost even a fraction of this soul bone's price, right?

In terms of practical value, Ice Explosion Technique could beat the shit out of this lousy soul bone, make it eat it back up, then beat it out again.

Nine and a half million was clearly a price set because they didn't want to sell it, with a hefty amount of venue fees shamelessly tacked on—or rather, venue fees probably accounted for quite a large portion of it.

Huo Yuhao quietly explained the market prices of Ten Thousand Year Soul Bones to Wang Dong. Wang Dong protested somewhat, "That's different. This soul bone is extremely compatible with me. I can feel it—if I get it, my cultivation might even rise directly."

Huo Yuhao shrugged and said to Wang Dong, "Then there's nothing I can do. Like I said, there's absolutely no way we can afford that price on our own. The credit limit on your card is only one hundred thousand, right?"

In his past life, Huo Yuhao had obtained a red card, allowing him to take one item for free every year. He had received that treatment only after the Soul Engineering Department and Martial Soul Department fought over him, which then triggered a Sea God Pavilion meeting.

That wasn't the case now. On top of that, he had offended Xuan Zi. Huo Yuhao figured that even if he went for an assessment, he would at most receive a black card—perhaps even the same purple card as Wang Dong.

Wang Dong sighed deeply, then took another golden brocade pouch from her chest and pulled out a pitch-black card. "Looks like this is the only way."

Huo Yuhao narrowed his eyes at that. As expected, since Tang San's daughter had descended into the mortal world, with Da Ming and Er Ming watching over her, the Clear Sky Sect's resources were practically Wang Dong's personal resources. She would never truly be stopped by nine and a half million.

Wang Dong hesitantly took the card to purchase the Radiant Earth Dragon King Soul Bone, while Huo Yuhao headed to another area to pick up that Ten Thousand Year Whale Rubber.

After taking the Whale Rubber into his hands, Huo Yuhao's gaze drifted toward another spot. It was tucked into an even more obscure corner than the Whale Rubber, junk considered even more ordinary and useless under Shrek Academy's evaluation system.

Among that pile, a string of eight pitch-black fruits threaded together with grass rope caught Huo Yuhao's attention.

With his eyesight, Huo Yuhao could see that the shells of those black fruits seemed to block spiritual power. Yet from the cluster as a whole, he could still sense several strands of remarkable energy surging within.

There was treasure in these fruits. Huo Yuhao reacted almost instantly, casually reaching out to pick up the string and examine it.

As useless fruits piled in a corner, they naturally did not receive the same treatment as the Ten Thousand Year Radiant Earth Dragon King Soul Bone. There was no placard, only a simple price tag.

Huo Yuhao took one look and found the price acceptable, so he took them over with the mindset of gambling on raw stones.

Xiao Xiao had originally just been browsing, but in the Soul Tool section farther back, she spotted something that interested her.

It was a badge-shaped Soul Tool. The upright display board stated that it was a Class 4 Soul Tool. When worn on the chest, it could be activated by a hidden switch in one's hand to release a Paralysis Ray, paralyzing Soul Masters below Soul Ancestor for five seconds. At maximum effectiveness, it could even paralyze a Soul Emperor for one second.

For an orthodox control-type Soul Master like Xiao Xiao, it was a very good Soul Tool for linking control techniques together.

It could also be worn normally like an ordinary badge, allowing it to catch enemies off guard. Xiao Xiao bought it without the slightest hesitation.

Since they did not know Bei Bei and the others, when Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan once again got into that comical farce, the three of them merely watched the spectacle for a moment before leaving the Treasure Gathering Pavilion together.

Although the prices of the things they bought varied greatly, with Wang Dong as such a major spender, the Treasure Gathering Pavilion staff delivered everything to their dormitory. The three could return unburdened.

The moment they stepped out of the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, Wang Dong pulled Huo Yuhao toward the snack street on the other side. Xiao Xiao, following the common tendency of girls to care more about their figures, chose to return directly to Shrek Academy.

At a stall on the snack street, Huo Yuhao bought two portions of a snack similar to takoyaki. He set one beside Wang Dong and asked, "You didn't drag me out here just because you wanted a bite of this, did you?"

Wang Dong smiled, then stuffed something into Huo Yuhao's hand. "You're not entirely wrong. That soul bone really was too expensive, so I bargained with the people from the Treasure Gathering Pavilion a little. There wasn't any direct discount, but they gave me this as a gift."

Huo Yuhao lowered his head to look. The bracelet was crystal-clear, with a silver-glinting metal base and three diamond-shaped blue gemstones set into it.

Wang Dong casually explained, "The staff member said this is an ancient high-grade storage Soul Tool. It has thirty cubic meters of storage space. It's for you!"

Huo Yuhao helplessly curled his lips and said to Wang Dong, "Thank you, Wang Dong! But..."

Wang Dong raised an eyebrow and asked Huo Yuhao in confusion, "But what?"

Huo Yuhao shrugged, then suddenly grabbed Wang Dong's arm and nearly flung her whole body into the air, kicking off the ground and shooting several meters away. "But we need to run now!"

Along with Huo Yuhao's movement, a green Soul Power light bullet struck toward where the two of them had been standing without warning...