So, You're Here to Buy Coffee?

"Ah? It's that woman!"

Bai Ran had just arrived at his stall and was about to start selling coffee when he spotted a red figure walking toward him from afar.

He was so scared that he immediately crouched beneath the counter.

Bai Ran: Oh no, she's coming for me? She can't see me, she can't see me...

In the original story, even with Huo Yuhao's Ultimate Ice martial soul, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, helping Ma Xiaotao suppress her evil fire had nearly gotten him roasted alive.

Bai Ran did not think he could do any better than Huo Yuhao.

More importantly, he was a Food-type Soul Master. His body was frailer, his health bar thinner, and he was more likely to die. He simply could not withstand such torment.

"Little brother~"

The voice of a mature older sister rang out beside Bai Ran's ear. Just from her voice alone, he could tell she started at a C cup.

But Bai Ran did not want to hear that voice at all.

"Um, big sister, what can I do for you?"

Seeing that he could not hide from her, Bai Ran helplessly stood up.

Fortunately, Ma Xiaotao was not suffering a backlash from her evil fire at the moment. With her mind clear, she presumably would not do anything outrageous in public.

"Little brother, I'm truly sorry about what happened this morning."

"It's fine, it's fine."

Bai Ran waved his hands repeatedly. He did not want anything to do with Ma Xiaotao, afraid that she would snatch him away the next second and refine him into a "pill" to help suppress her evil fire.

"Little brother, I haven't asked your name yet, have I?"

At this moment, Ma Xiaotao was as gentle as a girl-next-door older sister.

If anyone who knew her saw this scene, their jaw would probably hit the floor.

The sheer absurdity was comparable to a fierce Sichuan-Chongqing tyrannosaurus pretending to be a sweet young girl.

"B-Bai Ran."

For a moment, Bai Ran could not make heads or tails of the situation.

What did Ma Xiaotao mean by this?

Had she simply come to apologize to him? That seemed completely unnecessary.

No, wait, pay me back for my Level 7 defensive shield!

Fortunately, Yan Shaozhe had already compensated him on behalf of his disciple with a defensive Soul Tool that had reached Level 8, so Bai Ran had not intended to pursue the matter further.

However, since it had been made by a Shrek Academy Soul Engineer, its rank automatically dropped by one level. Its effects were actually about the same as the Level 7 defensive shield his uncle had previously given him.

After all, nearly all the Soul Tools on Ye Tian came from a certain instructor at Sun Moon Royal Academy.

His uncle had said that man was his close friend.

But because they belonged to different factions, the highest-grade Soul Tools on Ye Tian were only Level 8.

It could not be helped. The soul tool technology contained within a Level 9 Soul Tool was one of the Sun Moon Empire's trump cards and could never be sold to any other faction on the Douluo Continent.

Even obtaining a full set of Level 8 Soul Tools had taken considerable effort.

"Little brother Bai Ran, can you give your big sister some of that ice from this morning?"

Ma Xiaotao had come to the Outer Academy to find Bai Ran not only because she was somewhat interested in him, but also because she wanted to ask him for some of the ice from that morning and store it in her storage Soul Tool for emergencies.

With ice that was close to the Ultimate Ice attribute assisting her, the odds of her going berserk during cultivation next time would decrease considerably.

Of course, the best solution would be to directly snatch this little brother away and have him assist Ma Xiaotao in cultivating.

But if she did that, Ma Xiaotao probably would not even be allowed into the Inner Academy Cafeteria again.

After weighing her options, Ma Xiaotao came up with this method—every few days, she would come ask little brother Bai Ran for some ice.

Hehe, this plan was practically on par with Zhongli faking his death.

Xiaotao, Xiaotao, you really are a genius.

"So you're here to buy coffee?"

Upon hearing that, Bai Ran instantly straightened his back.

You should've said so earlier. You scared the life out of me.

As long as she was not here to drain his yin energy, everything was fine.

"Coffee?"

It was Ma Xiaotao's first time hearing the name of this drink.

At the same time, she began inspecting this newly opened stall.

"Luckin Coffee Shop. Little brother Bai Ran, could this be your shop?"

"Doesn't it look like it?"

Ma Xiaotao did not doubt Master Ye's abilities. As the person in overall charge of the Inner Academy Cafeteria, all he had to do was say the word to get a family member a stall in the Outer Academy cafeteria.

But this little brother was so young. Could he cook?

Ma Xiaotao: At least, even though I'm this old, I still can't cook.

She was usually busy cultivating. Where would she find time to learn how to cook? Otherwise, where did you think a Soul Emperor before the age of twenty came from?

It was all effort and sweat. There was not the slightest trace of talent to be seen.

"Little brother Bai Ran, which coffee did you splash on me this morning?"

Ma Xiaotao glanced at the menu and saw "Luckin Classic Americano" and "Luckin Raw Coconut Latte Coffee" written on it.

As for the price, both were 9.9 Gold Soul Coins.

They were not expensive at all. Setting the coffee aside, the chunks of ice inside, which were dozens of degrees below zero, were already worth far more than 9.9 Gold Soul Coins.

To obtain ice at such temperatures, one either needed a powerful ice-attribute Soul Master or had to travel deep into the Far North to dig it out. Either way, it was not something that could be bought directly for a mere 9.9 Gold Soul Coins.

"Luckin Iced Americano."

"Then give me one Luckin Iced Americano. Mm, and one Luckin Raw Coconut Latte as well."

Ma Xiaotao had already tasted the Iced Americano after being drenched in it.

Have you ever soaked in a medicinal bath after cultivation?

It tasted even worse than that.

But the Raw Coconut Latte sounded rather nice just from its name.

If nothing else, she could treat it as ice with coconut flavoring. Holding it in her mouth might offer a unique taste.

"Please wait a moment."

After accepting the Gold Soul Coins Ma Xiaotao placed on the counter, Bai Ran got up and went to the back kitchen to make the coffee.

Meanwhile, Tang Ya and her group had come to the Luckin Coffee Shop to buy coffee.

When they saw the red figure standing in front of the coffee stall, they hurriedly stopped advancing.

"Xiaoya, let's come back later."

"I was thinking the same thing. How about we go eat braised chicken rice first?

If we go too late, we'll only get whatever is left over from someone else's table."

Huo Yuhao: Leftovers from someone else's table? Wouldn't that make it saliva chicken? Makes sense.

With a "calamity" like Ma Xiaotao standing in front of the shop, even students who were interested in this newly opened coffee shop did not dare approach.

They were afraid their senior sister's fury would burn them too.

As for the unpleasantness that had happened in front of the coffee shop last night?

Onlookers had no memory, and besides, some of the food in the Outer Academy cafeteria had not become terrible only in the past day or two.

"Big sister, your coffee."

Bai Ran emerged from the back kitchen carrying two cups of coffee and placed both on the counter.

"Huh? Little brother Bai Ran, isn't this coffee at the wrong temperature?"

Ma Xiaotao reached out and picked up one cup of Luckin Coffee. The cup felt cold overall, but it was nowhere near the temperature of something close to Ultimate Ice. At most, it was only a few degrees below zero.

"Our coffee cups are made with temperature-insulating material."

If Luckin Coffee cups did not insulate against temperature, the ice inside, which was close to the temperature of Ultimate Ice, would have frozen customers' hands long ago.