"So that's how it is."
Ma Xiaotao: "It's just special insulating material?"
As she spoke, Ma Xiaotao opened the lid of the Iced Americano and took out two ice cubes, stuffing them into her mouth.
"This is the feeling."
Ma Xiaotao closed her eyes for a moment and silently savored the chill that came close to the Ultimate Ice attribute.
Among the disciples of her generation in the Inner Academy, only Ling Luochen possessed the rare ice-element martial soul.
However, Ling Luochen's ice-element martial soul was still quite far from Ultimate Ice in terms of ice attributes. Since Ma Xiaotao broke through to Soul Emperor, Ling Luochen, who was only a Soul King, had been able to offer her almost no help.
Besides, because of their clashing personalities, the two had a very poor relationship.
Ma Xiaotao: Even if I, Ma Xiaotao, suffered a qi deviation and burned to death from evil fire, I would never ask Ling Luochen for help.
"Um, little brother, can you make me a coffee with only ice cubes in it?"
Ma Xiaotao suddenly opened her eyes and frowned slightly.
Even the faint scent of Classic Americano was still hard for her to accept, especially for someone like Ma Xiaotao, who loved sweet desserts.
"No."
Bai Ran shook his head.
Adding extra coffee could still be justified, but extra ice cubes?
With one part coffee and nine parts ice, if she added more ice, his martial soul might as well stop being called Luckin Coffee and just be called an ice cup.
Well, she could add whatever she wanted herself.
"Then can I pour out the black liquid inside?"
"Big sister, you're surprisingly polite."
Of course, Ma Xiaotao did not really pour it out. Instead, she took a container from her Storage Ring and poured it in first, planning to tell her teacher it was this year's newly arrived Pu'er Tea the next time she saw him.
Yan Shaozhe: 666, a Demon Pill was born in the family. (Not that kind-hearted.)
Ma Xiaotao also put away the remaining ice cubes, intending to use them when she went back to cultivate.
Compared to that black, murky Iced Americano, the other Raw Coconut Latte suited her tastes much better.
The lower half was a rich milky-white liquid. The upper half should originally have shown black espresso, but after mixing with the coconut milk, it had turned brown, like the edges of a little cake. It looked appetizing just from the sight of it.
"Slurp."
The moment Ma Xiaotao swallowed a mouthful of Luckin Raw Coconut Latte, her eyes immediately lit up.
Th-this was really the bitter coffee from earlier?
It was way too delicious.
The fragrance of coconut blended with the flavor of milk, and the sweetness was just right. Had this really been made by the child in front of her?
Ma Xiaotao had every reason to suspect that Master Ye had prepared it in advance and then had little brother Bai Ran bring it to the Outer Academy to sell.
Hmph, was Master Ye underestimating the purchasing power of their Inner Academy disciples?
If the Outer Academy disciples saw this, they would think the Inner Academy disciples could not afford it. Another cup—one for each person!
"Little brother, another cup."
"Another cup."
When Ma Xiaotao had drunk two Luckin Lattes in a row and was still unsatisfied, preparing to order another—
Bai Ran merely stood behind the counter and pointed to the sign beside him: a limit of three cups of coffee per person.
His Soul Power Level was too low right now, and he could not make many coffees in a short period, so a purchase limit was necessary.
Of course, compared with Shrek Academy, once he went to Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy—
Bai Ran would understand what true despair was, what it meant to make 33,550,336 orders on the first day and step back into the cycle on the second day. (Stop rushing me, there really isn't a single drop of Soul Power left!)
"Then I'll come again next time."
Although Luckin Raw Coconut Latte was delicious, Ma Xiaotao could still tell the difference between being full for one meal and being full every meal.
If worst came to worst, she could just find a few junior brothers from the Inner Academy to help buy her a couple of cups.
What Inner Academy disciple would dare refuse a request from the "Flame Maniac"?
The last one who had been that stubborn had apparently gotten his underwear scorched by Senior Xiaotao's evil fire, then said, "Thank you, Senior Sister."
Next, Tang Ya and Beibei each bought a Luckin Raw Coconut Latte.
Huo Yuhao bought a Luckin Iced Americano and a Luckin Raw Coconut Latte.
With a good brother backing him up, Huo Yuhao would be able to tag along for a free cup of Luckin Coffee every day over the next few months.
However, if he wanted to achieve true Luckin Coffee freedom, he would have to wait until Huo Yuhao obtained his Second Martial Soul and officially became a core disciple of the Outer Academy.
Drink up, drink up. Brother Sky Dream, have a cup too.
Speaking of which, Huo Yuhao's first turning point would be the Freshman Competition two months from now.
But this time, with Bai Ran's interference, would Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong still be able to take first place in the Freshman Competition?
Bai Ran: I'm just selling coffee. How can I affect the course of the plot? I don't get it. I completely don't get it.
As for Ma Xiaotao, ever since drinking Raw Coconut Latte, she had almost never suffered backlash from her evil fire while cultivating.
Of course, in Ma Xiaotao's view, it was probably mainly because the ice cubes in the coffee were so effective.
Every time she cultivated, she would put a few cubes into her mouth.
Her Soul Power, which had shown almost no progress for a month, began to rise again.
After that day, whenever Bai Ran arrived by Sea God Lake and prepared to head to the Inner Academy, he would always find a red figure already waiting there for a long time.
Once could be called a coincidence, but after two consecutive months, Bai Ran came to a conclusion: coffee really was addictive.
Still, Bai Ran did not dare approach her at all, afraid Ma Xiaotao might suddenly go berserk and punch him to death.
Bai Ran did not dare gamble with his life. What if the evil fire within her suddenly erupted?
In the blink of an eye, Shrek Academy's annual Freshman Competition was about to arrive, one of the liveliest events in the Outer Academy.
It was held every year three months after the freshmen enrolled. On one hand, it tested the strength of the new students. If their individual abilities were too poor, they might be held back by the academy or simply expelled.
After all, Shrek Academy had always followed one principle: only monsters, no ordinary people.
On the other hand, students who achieved good results in the Freshman Competition would be promoted to core disciples and enjoy better treatment than other disciples their age, such as a higher monthly Gold Soul Coin allowance, powerful soul masters sent by the academy to help hunt the best-matched Soul Rings, or even precious soul bones.
Over these two months, Bai Ran had successfully sold more than four hundred cups of coffee. After making the final cup of coffee that night, his Soul Power Level successfully broke through to level twenty.
According to his agreement with Xuan Zi last time, the old man had gone to Star Dou Great Forest a few days ago to catch a fruit-type Soul Beast for him, with the required age being between five hundred and two thousand years.
To be honest, Bai Ran had nearly forgotten about the agreement. If old Xuan Zi had not come looking for him, Bai Ran truly would not have remembered.
Why did Xuan Zi come looking for Bai Ran, you ask?
It was mainly because the shelf life of Luckin Coffee was a little absurd.
For ordinary food-type martial souls, being able to remain for twenty-four hours already counted as long-lasting. But as long as the ice cubes in Bai Ran's coffee cup had not completely melted, his coffee martial soul could remain intact.
In the end, Xuan Zi tested it and found that it lasted ninety-nine hours.
Room-temperature coffee was horse piss, so once the ice melted completely, it was perfectly reasonable for the coffee to disappear along with it, right?
Before you continue