Draw a Crappy Pot and Head to Soto City

Late at night.

The snores in Dorm Seven rose and fell one after another.

Chen Xuan leaned against the headboard, the red countdown in the lower-right corner of his vision ticking down.

00:00:03.

00:00:02.

00:00:01.

Midnight arrived.

During the day, he had ground Yu Xiaogang into the dirt and picked up the Wind Eagle Crossbow along the way. Chen Xuan rubbed his hands together, wondering whether, since he had drawn an epic weapon during the day, the guaranteed draw at night might give him matching armor.

Since the Earth Shadow Stone had lit up and the Earth-Splitting Claws were for offense, if he got something focused on defense too, the set would be complete.

Draw, Chen Xuan muttered inwardly.

The system panel unfolded, and the roulette spun at high speed.

There was no dazzling golden light like during the day, nor were there any purple effects unique to epic-grade items.

A dull gray light popped out of the panel, spun twice in midair, then dropped straight into Chen Xuan's arms.

It was fairly heavy, too.

Chen Xuan hurriedly caught it.

[Ding! Congratulations, Host, you have obtained: Ordinary household item—Rusty Iron Frying Pan ×1.]

[Description: An iron pan weathered by the years, with a thick layer of soot on its bottom and a slightly loose handle. Besides cooking, perhaps it can also be used to cover instant noodles.]

Chen Xuan held the black iron pan, half a meter in diameter, in both hands and fell silent.

The smell of rust from its bottom rushed straight into his nose.

He scraped the bottom with a finger, and his fingertip came away covered in pitch-black grease.

"This thing..." Chen Xuan rapped his knuckles twice against the rim. It rang out twice with a crisp clang, clang. It was actually pretty sturdy.

Still unwilling to give up, he mobilized the eleventh-level soul power within his body and slowly poured it into the iron pan through his palm.

By the standards of the Douluo Continent, even an ordinary lump of iron should show some reaction after soul power was infused into it.

Yet this iron pan was like a bottomless pit. His soul power vanished without a trace, and it did not even make a sound.

Chen Xuan could even faintly smell the rancid odor of old cooking oil being heated.

"Fine, you win." Chen Xuan quickly cut off the soul power, shoved the iron pan beneath the bed, and casually stored it in the system space.

If it had been anyone else, waiting with eager anticipation in the middle of the night only to receive such junk, they would probably have cursed the system's ancestors for eighteen generations.

But Chen Xuan laughed.

Luck had always been conserved. Drawing the Wind Eagle Crossbow during the day had used up all his luck, so getting a pan at night to balance things out was perfectly reasonable.

He leaned back against his pillow and clasped his hands behind his head.

That was what he liked most about the system—its unpredictability.

You could never guess what you would get the next second.

By contrast, Tang San poured all his energy into hidden weapons and controlling Blue Silver Grass, striving to keep every detail in his own hands. Yu Xiaogang treated this "absolute control" as gospel, believing that as long as one followed the steps, one could become invincible.

But how could there be so many things in this world that went according to plan?

Chen Xuan turned over and closed his eyes.

When Tang San one day encountered a situation completely beyond his control, the expression on his face would surely be wonderful.

The next day, dawn had barely broken.

The people in Dorm Seven were still asleep.

Chen Xuan did not bring much with him, only a few changes of clothes and a worn cloth bundle.

He walked to the door and glanced back at Tang San's bed.

Tang San sat cross-legged with his eyes closed. The bruises on his face had yet to fade, and the Mysterious Heaven Technique was circulating at full force.

Useless. When your master has gone off course, training alone won't set you right.

Chen Xuan turned away, shut the door behind him, and left Nuoding Academy directly.

There were no farewells, nor did he go to Yu Xiaogang to handle any withdrawal procedures.

Since Flender's letter had arrived, there was no reason to remain in Notting City, this beginner village, any longer.

After leaving the city gates, Chen Xuan hired a spacious carriage at the post station.

"Young man, where are you headed?" The driver was an old man in his fifties, his skin darkened by the sun.

"Soto City." Chen Xuan tossed him a silver soul coin. "No need to rush. Just keep it steady."

The old man caught the silver soul coin and happily raised his whip.

The carriage followed the main road south.

Chen Xuan did not idle away the days on the road.

Whenever they stopped at a post station or a small town, he would seek out local bartenders, laborers, even beggars by the roadside, and chat with them.

Not for free, of course.

Chen Xuan would pull out the assorted odds and ends he had drawn from the system space.

While stopping at a roadside tavern, Chen Xuan took out a windproof lighter with a plastic casing.

With a click.

A faint blue flame danced inside the wind guard.

The caravan guard sitting across from him, a man who had traveled north and south for years, nearly had his eyes pop out of their sockets.

"Young man, what kind of soul tool is that? It can make fire without soul power? And the wind can't put it out?" The guard stared at the lighter, practically drooling.

"Just a little toy made by an elder in my family." Chen Xuan casually tossed the lighter to the guard. "It's yours. Tell me about Soto City."

The guard clutched the lighter like it was some priceless treasure and immediately spilled everything he knew about the major powers in Soto City.

He even explained in crystal-clear detail how many mistresses the city lord's brother-in-law kept outside.

Yu Xiaogang's intelligence network was built upon Spirit Hall records and circles of high-ranking soul masters, so the people it investigated were all important figures.

Chen Xuan had no intention of taking that route.

He targeted the lower market.

These ordinary people struggling at the bottom might not know what soul skills a particular Titled Douluo possessed, but they knew which street had the easiest black market for fencing stolen goods, which young noble liked bullying others with his status, and which academy had the strangest admission rules.

"Young man, why are you asking about Shrek Academy?" The driver gnawed on the roast chicken Chen Xuan had given him, looking utterly puzzled. "I've been hauling passengers for years, and people who've gone there say it's a rundown village that scams people out of money. The registration fee is ridiculously expensive, there are no refunds, and they barely recruit any students all year."

"A scam?" Chen Xuan leaned against the carriage wall and bit into an apple. "Then what kind of people do they scam?"

"Easy marks who think their kids are extraordinarily talented." The driver spat out a bone. "I hear the academy's dean is a real miser, stingy as they come."

Chen Xuan smiled.

Flender's reputation among the common folk was truly terrible.

But that only confirmed Chen Xuan's thoughts.

Shrek Academy was an isolated island that accepted only monsters.

A place like that was best suited for tearing apart Yu Xiaogang's theory of "universality."

Five days later.

The carriage entered Soto City.

This place was far larger than Notting City. The streets were broad, shops lined both sides in neat rows, and cries of vendors mixed with the aromas of all kinds of food rushing toward him.

Chen Xuan hopped down from the carriage with his bundle and thanked the driver.

He casually bought a skewer of grilled meat by the roadside and wandered about while eating.

The meat had been sprinkled with special spices, and every bite burst with sizzling oil.

Chen Xuan was in no hurry to visit Shrek Academy.

According to the information from his intelligence network, Shrek Academy's admissions would not begin for another two days.

For now, he needed to find somewhere to stay.

He followed the main street, passed through two alleys, and a uniquely styled building came into view.

The entire building was dark red, its walls carved with vast rose patterns. Even the air carried a faint fragrance of roses.

Rose Hotel.

The most famous couples' hotel in Soto City, and also a place mentioned in his intelligence reports that a certain blond young master frequented most often.

Chen Xuan finished the grilled meat in a few bites and casually tossed the bamboo skewer aside.

He wiped the grease from his hands, climbed the steps, and pushed open the hotel's ornate glass doors.

The lobby was covered in thick carpeting, and crystal chandeliers lit the entire space brilliantly.

Chen Xuan had just taken two steps inside.

An extremely discordant argument came from the front desk.

"I'm sorry, sir, but this room has already been reserved." The receptionist's voice carried obvious fear and ingratiation, and he was practically bowing beneath the counter.

"Reserved?"

An exceedingly arrogant male voice rang out, thick with nasal disdain.

Chen Xuan turned his head.

A tall blond young man stood at the front desk, dressed in luxurious white clothes, both hands pressed against the counter.

On either side of him, he held a pair of voluptuous twin girls in his arms.

The blond young man looked down at the receptionist, his fingers knocking loudly against the counter.

"That room. I want it. Tell him to get lost."

Chen Xuan slipped a hand into his pocket and touched the rim of that iron pan.

He smiled and walked toward the front desk.