When You're Out in the World, You Make Up Your Own Identity (Yan Zu's Reading Recommendation)

"Get lost!"

Gu Yuena's voice was ice-cold.

She didn't even look at the man in the red suit holding a rose. Her gaze remained fixed on the half-eaten cake in her hand.

The smile on the red-suited man's face instantly froze.

His expression darkened slightly, but when he saw Gu Yuena's stunning beauty and cool demeanor, his desire to conquer her and his vanity won out. He forced down his displeasure.

"Beautiful miss, why so hot-tempered?"

He cleared his throat, deliberately letting a note of superiority creep into his voice.

"Do you know who I am? I'm the eldest prince of the Balak Kingdom, Liu Qingfeng!"

He deliberately stressed the words "eldest prince" and stared intently at Gu Yuena, expecting to see surprise on her face.

But Gu Yuena didn't even lift her eyelids.

Yang Teng, standing nearby, had nearly burst out laughing the moment Liu Qingfeng introduced himself.

He leisurely pulled the fork from his mouth, his usual roguish smirk returning.

He stepped forward and planted himself squarely between Gu Yuena and Liu Qingfeng, blocking the other man's view of her.

"Hey, did you hear her?"

Yang Teng picked at his ear. His tone was lazy, but carried an unmistakable edge.

"She told you to get lost. Are your ears broken, or is your brain?"

Liu Qingfeng's expression turned completely grim as he glared viciously at Yang Teng.

He'd noticed the boy accompanying Gu Yuena earlier, but he'd paid him no mind. The boy was plainly dressed and young.

Now that Yang Teng dared to talk back to him, anger surged through Liu Qingfeng.

"What kind of thing are you? How dare you spout nonsense in front of me!"

Liu Qingfeng snapped, Soul Power stirring faintly around him.

"If you know what's good for you, get out of my way! I don't have time to waste on a nobody like you!"

"You want me to get lost?"

Yang Teng looked as though he'd just heard the funniest joke in the world. He scoffed, his smile slowly fading as his gaze sharpened.

A faint aura of the Space-Time Divine Dragon seeped from him, making Liu Qingfeng's heart skip.

"I'll count to three."

Yang Teng held up three fingers. His voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear, cold as a sentence being passed.

"Three."

Liu Qingfeng shifted his feet. Some nobody who'd popped out of nowhere actually dared threaten him, the mighty eldest prince of Balak?

He laughed in fury, as though watching a clown put on a show.

"Two."

Yang Teng remained expressionless and lowered one finger.

The mockery on Liu Qingfeng's face deepened. He straightened the cuff of his suit, and Soul Rings slowly rose around him.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple—the four rings of the optimal configuration pulsed around him, displaying his Soul Ancestor cultivation.

"One."

Having finished counting, Yang Teng glanced at the four Soul Rings around Liu Qingfeng's feet, his eyes brimming with undisguised contempt.

"Showing off your Soul Rings?"

He sneered inwardly. You really don't know how high the heavens are.

In the next moment, light flashed beneath Yang Teng's feet, and his Soul Rings rose.

Purple! Purple! Black!

Two purple rings and one black ring—one fewer than Liu Qingfeng had. But the instant that black Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring appeared, deep as ink and radiating a hair-raising aura, the air in the dessert shop seemed to freeze!

The customers who'd been watching curiously all sucked in a breath. Their faces filled with shock and disbelief.

A Ten Thousand Year third ring! What kind of monster was he?!

Many customers turned pale, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire. They lowered their heads and hurried to pay before fleeing the shop, no longer daring to watch.

The smugness and superiority on Liu Qingfeng's face froze completely, replaced by utter astonishment and a hint of barely suppressed fear.

Beside Yang Teng's purple-purple-black configuration, Liu Qingfeng's four optimal rings looked like a mayfly gazing up at the heavens.

The pressure from that black ring in particular made even a Soul Ancestor like him tremble deep in his soul.

"Y-you... who are you?!"

Liu Qingfeng's voice trembled almost imperceptibly. He stared hard at Yang Teng, his expression wary and uncertain.

"There's no one like you in the Balak Kingdom!"

Yang Teng found it amusing. Then, as though an idea had struck him, he smiled.

He withdrew his Soul Rings, and the oppressive aura receded, though his gaze remained sharp.

He stepped closer, nearly pressing his face against Liu Qingfeng's. Each word came out slow and deliberate, brimming with swagger and provocation.

"Listen up! My name's Tang San, and I'm from Shrek Academy in Heaven Dou City!"

He deliberately emphasized the words "Shrek Academy."

"Got a problem with that? Then come find me at Shrek Academy, if you've got the guts! I'll be waiting!"

Before Xue Luochuan could react, Yang Teng casually bumped his shoulder into Liu Qingfeng's.

Liu Qingfeng felt a force like that of a Soul Beast slam into him. He lost his footing and staggered backward several steps.

Yang Teng grabbed Gu Yuena by the wrist and strode away without looking back, leaving only an unbearably arrogant figure behind.

Liu Qingfeng steadied himself and watched the two disappear around the corner. His fists clenched with a crack, his eyes brimming with humiliation and venom.

"Tang San! Shrek Academy!"

He practically ground the words out through clenched teeth.

"Good! What a coincidence!"

He knew Shrek Academy, of course. Flender from Shrek had visited the palace several times before. Liu Qingfeng would remember this score.

As they made their way toward the Spirit Hall Branch, Gu Yuena finally came back to herself after that little farce.

Confusion was plain in her eyes. Every so often, she glanced sideways at the boy beside her, who had already returned to his usual languid manner.

Yang Teng noticed her gaze and grinned.

"What is it, Xiao Na? Did my manly swagger leave you spellbound?"

Gu Yuena rolled her eyes at him, her cool voice ringing out.

"Why did you say your name was Tang San and that you were from Shrek Academy?"

Yang Teng shrugged as if it were only natural.

"Xiao Na, today I'm going to teach you a golden rule of life on the road."

He stopped and turned to face Gu Yuena, lowering his voice.

"When you're out in the world, your identity is whatever you say it is!"

Gu Yuena blinked her silver eyes, not quite understanding.

Yang Teng patiently explained.

"Look, that idiot prince was clearly someone important. He might cause trouble later. If I gave him my real name, wouldn't I be bringing trouble down on myself and Skywater Academy?"

"But if I make up an impressive-sounding identity and pin the blame on Shrek Academy, all the way over in Heaven Dou City, then even if he wants revenge, he'll have to go looking for trouble with Shrek first."

"That's called diverting the flood to someone else's fields and escaping like a cicada shedding its shell! Get it?"

A look of dawning understanding flickered in Gu Yuena's silver eyes. Then her gaze turned strange as she sized Yang Teng up and down, as if she were seeing him for the first time.

She'd thought he was just strong, shameless, and a little clever. She hadn't expected him to have such a "sneaky" side.

But in the human world, this approach did seem to work rather well.

"It's a strategy," Yang Teng added, raising his chin smugly.

The two said no more and soon arrived at the Spirit Hall Branch in Balak Royal City.

Yang Teng went straight to showing the token Qian Renxue had given him, carved with the character "雪" and an image of a Six-Winged Angel.

As soon as he showed it, the branch's guards and reception staff became utterly respectful. Soon, a middle-aged steward came out in person to greet them and ushered them into the VIP room.

"What can the Spirit Hall do for you esteemed guests?"

The middle-aged steward was deferential. His gaze passed over Yang Teng and Gu Yuena, lingering for a moment on Gu Yuena's peerless beauty as he marveled inwardly.

"I need to purchase a batch of Whale Rubber," Yang Teng said plainly.

"Whale Rubber?"

The professional smile on the middle-aged steward's face faltered slightly, and surprise flickered in his eyes.

He gave Yang Teng another careful look, then glanced at Gu Yuena, who sat quietly beside him with her cool, composed air.

Whale Rubber was more commonly purchased in large quantities by young nobles. Its widely known "other" effect was the main reason they wanted it.

It was a potent aphrodisiac and stimulant, often used for bedroom pleasures. They said it worked remarkably well.

The boy before him was young, and yet he'd come with such a stunning beauty and asked to buy Whale Rubber right away.

The middle-aged steward immediately understood. He couldn't help thinking:

Heh, young men sure have stamina!

But not a trace of it showed on his face. He remained just as respectful as before.

He cleared his throat and confirmed, "May I ask how much you need?"

Yang Teng held up five fingers and gave them a shake. "Let's start with five thousand."

"F-five thousand?!"

This time, the middle-aged steward was genuinely stunned and nearly lost his composure.

Even if the kid uses it every day... he couldn't possibly need that much!

Yang Teng frowned at his shocked expression.

"What, is there a problem?"

"We can certainly provide that much!"

The middle-aged steward quickly collected himself. Whatever the man wanted so much Whale Rubber for, someone carrying the Young Master Token of the Elder Hall was not someone he could afford to offend.

"It's a large quantity, so it'll take some time to gather. When do you need it?"

"The sooner, the better. Money's no problem."

He patted the bulging Storage Soul Tool at his side, stuffed with the "hard-earned money" he'd won at the Soul Fighting Arena.

The steward nodded and withdrew to arrange it. As he left, he couldn't help glancing back at the striking young couple in the room. He shook his head, that same thought surfacing once more.

Young men really do have stamina!