(A picture of Xiao Xiao)
Lin Ye thrust it into her hands and said breezily, "Take it. Since we're friends, I won't charge you."
Xiao Xiao took the milk tea, her cheeks turning even redder. Friends? He said we're friends...
She cradled the warm cup and cautiously took a sip.
"Wow! This is so good!"
Xiao Xiao's eyes instantly lit up, sparkling like two little stars.
"No wonder so many people are lining up to buy it! Lin Ye, you're amazing!"
Lin Ye was a little embarrassed by the praise. He scratched his head and laughed. "Haha, then come by more often."
Hugging her milk tea, Xiao Xiao stood beside Lin Ye, thoroughly content, and sipped it little by little.
After a few sips, her expression suddenly grew serious. She rose onto her toes, leaned close to Lin Ye's ear, and lowered her voice.
"Lin Ye, I think cultivation is still more important right now. The Freshman Assessment starts in just over two months. If we can't pass, we'll be expelled on the spot."
Looking at the worry written all over Xiao Xiao's delicate face, Lin Ye sighed inwardly.
Xiao Xiao was under way too much pressure.
No wonder she'd even specially given her Second Martial Soul a Hundred-Year Soul Ring in order to pass the assessment in the original story.
Sigh, Zhou Yi really was a menace.
Lin Ye patted her shoulder and reassured her, "Xiao Xiao, don't be so nervous. With your talent, you'll definitely pass the assessment with ease."
Xiao Xiao bit her lip and looked at him doubtfully. "Really...?"
She looked so weighed down by worry, like a little cat drenched in the rain. It made anyone who saw her feel sorry for her.
Lin Ye thought it over and decided to give her a hand.
Lowering his voice, he said mysteriously, "Once I'm done here, I'll give you something~"
Xiao Xiao lifted her head. Her big, watery eyes looked straight at Lin Ye, her voice full of curiosity and anticipation.
"Hmm? What is it?"
Looking into those clear eyes, Lin Ye couldn't help smiling.
She was still so adorable. It was best when the little girl could live without a care in the world.
He reached out and gently patted Xiao Xiao's head.
Xiao Xiao's body stiffened slightly. Then, as if she'd been scalded, she lowered her head shyly, the tips of her ears burning red.
Just then, a system panel silently popped up in front of her:
[Congratulations! Main Quest · More Children More Blessings stage mission complete!]
[Soul Power increased by one level!]
Xiao Xiao's eyes widened, and she froze in place.
Lin Ye had patted her head... and her Soul Power had gone up a level?!
Feeling that warm current surge out of nowhere within her, her thoughts churned like a stormy sea.
System, you understand me way too well!
I want to cling to Lin Ye right now...
She secretly raised her head and peered through the gap in her bangs at Lin Ye's handsome profile. Her heart pounded like a drum.
Just then, an unwelcome voice rang out.
"Well, well. Selling this slop again?"
A mocking voice came from the edge of the crowd.
The girls scattered to either side as if they'd seen a plague god.
Xu Sanshi swaggered over with a folding fan in hand, striding like he didn't care who lived or died.
Today, he wore a golden young master's outfit, and his hair was slicked back until it gleamed.
The smile on his face, though, looked like it was begging for a beating.
Lin Ye glanced at him, never pausing his work as he continued making milk tea for the customers in line.
"Xu Sanshi? If you want a drink, pay up. One Gold Soul Coin per cup. No tabs."
Xu Sanshi snapped his fan shut with a smack, tapped its tip against the blackboard on the stall, and curled his lip.
"Me? Sure! I'll buy your whole stall. You and the stall, bundled together and taken away!"
Lin Ye looked up and glared at him. "Are you looking for trouble?"
Xu Sanshi came closer with a grin and lowered his voice, speaking so only the two of them could hear.
"You're Lin Ye, right? We're not finished with what happened last time! You ambushed me and made me lose all face. We'll settle that score—slowly."
Then he straightened up, raised his voice, and shouted to the crowd lining up around them.
"Everyone, take a good look! He doesn't even have any ingredients here, so how's he making milk tea for you? Who knows what he's put in it? Is this stuff even safe to drink?"
At his words, whispers immediately rippled through the crowd.
"Right, I've never seen him take out any ingredients..."
"Could there really be something wrong with it?"
"But I haven't felt sick after drinking it..."
Lin Ye's expression darkened, and he was about to speak when Xiao Xiao grabbed his arm, her little hand clenching tight.
"Lin Ye, why don't we leave for now...?"
Xiao Xiao spoke softly, her voice tinged with fear.
"We can't afford to provoke him. He's a fifth-year senior from a major clan, and he's known as 'the strongest defensive soul master in the outer courtyard'..."
Lin Ye glanced down at the worry in Xiao Xiao's eyes, and anger surged within him.
This Xu Sanshi had refused to accept his defeat in the Soul Fighting Zone last time, so now he'd come looking for trouble?
Looks like he needed to teach him a proper lesson!
He silently said in his mind, System, bind Xu Sanshi!
[Would you like to spend 100 points to bind Xu Sanshi? Current points: 320]
Confirm!
[Ding! Subsystem successfully bound to Xu Sanshi!]
[Remaining system points: 220]
[Binding reward obtained!]
[Magical treasure: Gold Brick!]
[A brick-shaped throwing weapon made of pure gold, also known as the "Immortal-Striking Gold Brick," with area-of-effect damage!]
Lin Ye's eyes lit up.
A Gold Brick?
This thing... was a treasure!
It was solid gold, so it'd hurt like hell to hit someone with—and he could make an unlimited number of them to sell!
Why keep selling milk tea? He didn't need to sell that anymore!
Meanwhile, Xu Sanshi was still shaking his head and hollering, completely unaware that a pale-blue screen had appeared in front of him.
It was a translucent light screen, glowing faintly blue as lines of text flickered across it.
Xu Sanshi froze for a moment, then instinctively rubbed his eyes.
What the hell was that?
He looked around.
Everyone's eyes were on him. Some looked curious, some were enjoying the spectacle, and some were openly gloating.
But no one was staring at the blue screen that had suddenly appeared in front of him.
They can't see it?
His heart jolted. He turned his gaze back to the translucent screen.
Text began appearing on it line by line:
[Detected a lover of taking the back door. Bound to the Ah San System!]
[The righteous road is rough, so I never take it,]
[With countless shortcuts waiting behind me!]
[Remember: Never let others know this system exists!]
Xu Sanshi's pupils shrank slightly, and his heart began racing.
Before he could make sense of those lines, new text appeared on the screen:
[Ding! The Ah San System's main quest has been unlocked!]
[Walk the heavens, walk the earth, walk the air! Anything and everything can be entered through the back door! Each time you take a back door, you'll gain one A-San Value!]
[The more bizarre the creature/object, the higher the A-San Value!]
[A-San Value can be exchanged for all kinds of generous rewards! Including: increasing your level, raising your Soul Ring's age, Soul Bones, and more!]
[Current A-San Value: 0]
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