Have a Meal Before You Go

Chen Xuan slipped his hands into his pockets, his fingertips brushing the rim of the rusty iron wok.

In the lobby, the blond young man's voice was arrogant and overbearing.

"I, Dai Mubai, have been in Soto City for so many years, and no one has ever dared to snatch a room I had my eye on." Dai Mubai impatiently tapped the marble counter. "I'll say it one last time. Hand over the key."

The lobby manager was a slightly plump middle-aged man, his forehead covered in sweat. He bent at the waist and forced a smile. "Young Master Dai, it's not that I'm refusing to show you respect. This room was fully booked three days ago. The guest will probably arrive today. We're running a business, after all..."

Bang!

Dai Mubai slapped the counter, and the pressure of his thirty-seventh-level soul power poured forth.

The lobby manager's legs went weak. With a thud, he dropped to his knees, unable even to catch his breath properly.

The pair of twin girls in Dai Mubai's arms cried out, but instead of being frightened, they pressed themselves even closer to him.

"You talk too much." Dai Mubai extended his hand, ready to take the key from behind the counter himself.

"That room is mine."

A calm voice rang out in the lobby.

Dai Mubai paused and turned around.

Chen Xuan strolled over to the counter, pulled out a wooden number plate from his pocket, and tossed it onto the counter.

"Booked three days ago. The Red Rose Suite." Without even looking at Dai Mubai, Chen Xuan nodded toward the lobby manager on the floor. "Get up and check me in."

The lobby manager looked at Chen Xuan, then at Dai Mubai, but he did not dare move from where he was sprawled on the ground.

Dai Mubai sized Chen Xuan up.

His clothes were ordinary, and that faint soul power fluctuation on him was at most in the teens.

"Kid, are you new to Soto City?" Dai Mubai sneered and released the twins from his arms. "I want this room. I'll give you double the room fee. Take the money and get lost."

Chen Xuan turned his face and stared at Dai Mubai.

"I'll give you double the money too." Chen Xuan took out two gold soul coins and casually flicked them to Dai Mubai's feet. "Take the money and find another place to get a room with your women."

All the attendants in the lobby sucked in a breath.

Dai Mubai had always run rampant through Soto City. This was the first time anyone had dared to throw money in his face.

"You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit." Dai Mubai undid two buttons at his collar and rolled his neck. "In Soto City, people who dare speak to me like that are usually soaking in the moat."

The lobby manager trembled in fright and frantically signaled Chen Xuan with his eyes, urging him to give in.

Chen Xuan acted as though he had not seen it.

"You're courting death!"

Dai Mubai's face instantly darkened.

He could not be bothered with any more nonsense. Clenching his right fist, he threw it straight at Chen Xuan's face with a sharp howl of wind.

He had not used his martial soul in this punch, but the physical strength of a level thirty-seven assault-system Soul Elder was enough to break the bones and tear the tendons of a soul master in the teens.

Chen Xuan stood where he was, with no intention of dodging.

The Earth Shadow Stone circulated faintly within him, and a dim yellow glimmer flashed across his palm.

Chen Xuan raised his right hand and spread his fingers.

Smack!

A dull impact rang out.

Chen Xuan's palm firmly caught Dai Mubai's fist.

The violent force traveled down Chen Xuan's arm. With a crack, the marble tiles beneath his feet split into fine fissures.

Chen Xuan did not move an inch.

Dai Mubai froze.

It felt as if his punch had struck a solid block of pig iron, leaving his entire right arm numb from the shock.

He tried to pull his hand back.

He could not move it.

Chen Xuan's five fingers were like iron pincers, clamped tightly around his fist.

Dai Mubai's expression changed. He was a level thirty-seven Soul Elder. Even without possessing his martial soul, his physical strength far surpassed that of ordinary soul masters. This kid clearly only had soul power in the teens, so where had this monstrous strength come from?

"That's all the strength you've got?" Chen Xuan tilted his head slightly. "Didn't eat dinner last night?"

Dai Mubai's face reddened all the way to his neck. Having his attack caught one-handed by a kid with soul power in the teens, right in front of his women, felt worse than being slapped across the face.

"Let go of me!"

Dai Mubai roared, and the soul power within him erupted without restraint.

A blinding white light exploded from his body.

His bones crackled. Dai Mubai's body instantly grew taller, his golden hair turning black and white, while a distinct character for "king" appeared on his forehead.

Two yellow and one purple, three soul rings rose beneath his feet.

White Tiger Possession.

The powerful blast of air sent the account books on the counter flying everywhere, and the twin girls screamed as they fled outside the front doors.

"You should be proud that you forced me to use my martial soul!"

Dai Mubai abruptly pulled back his right hand, and his second soul ring flared brightly.

White Tiger Fierce Light Wave!

A dazzling white orb rapidly gathered in Dai Mubai's mouth. Carrying a violent gale, it blasted straight toward Chen Xuan's chest.

They were too close.

The lobby manager closed his eyes. He could already imagine the gruesome sight of the kid being blasted to pieces.

Chen Xuan watched the white beam rushing at him. Not only did he not panic, he actually sighed.

"You just had to make me bring out the tools."

Chen Xuan grabbed at the air with his right hand.

There were no flashy effects, nor any awe-inspiring pressure.

A wok half a meter across, smeared with black soot and rusted around the edges, appeared out of thin air in Chen Xuan's hand.

Chen Xuan gripped the handle with both hands and raised the wok in front of himself.

Boom!

The White Tiger Fierce Light Wave slammed fiercely into the bottom of the wok.

The expected explosion did not occur.

The beam, filled with the power of level thirty-seven soul power and strong enough to blast apart city walls, abruptly veered off the instant it touched the bottom of the wok.

Sizzle—

Following the curve of the wok, the White Tiger Fierce Light Wave was perfectly reflected and shot diagonally toward the lobby ceiling.

Boom!

The enormous crystal chandelier was struck directly by the beam and exploded into fragments that filled the air.

A massive hole two meters across was blasted into the ceiling, and rubble and plasterboard came raining down.

A rain of glass fell through the lobby.

The twin girls squatted on the ground with their heads covered in terror, while the lobby manager crawled directly beneath the counter.

Dai Mubai remained frozen in the pose of firing the beam.

He stared at the hole in the ceiling, then at the blackened wok in Chen Xuan's hand.

That had been his second soul skill!

Even against a defense-system Soul Elder of the same level, no one would dare take it head-on so casually.

This kid had not even lit up a soul ring, yet he had pulled out a cooking wok and blocked it? He had even reflected the light wave?

"Wh-what kind of defense-system martial soul is that?" Dai Mubai's voice trembled.

Chen Xuan lowered the wok and wiped the soot from its bottom with his sleeve.

"What martial soul?" Chen Xuan found it rather amusing. "Never seen a cooking wok before?"

Dai Mubai's eyes widened as he pointed at the wok. "You used a broken iron wok to block my second soul skill?!"

"Your aim is indeed a little off." Chen Xuan held the wok by its handle in one hand and weighed it twice. "Young noble masters spend all day chasing girls, so your soul skills are a little sloppy. Want to spit out another blast and give it a try? My wok happens to be short on firewood."

Dai Mubai felt as though he was going insane.

He was the prince of the Star Luo Empire, the tyrant of Shrek Academy, yet today he was being mocked by some kid holding an iron wok.

"I'll kill you!"

The third purple soul ring on Dai Mubai's body suddenly lit up as he prepared to unleash White Tiger Vajra Transformation.

Just then, a flurry of hurried footsteps came from outside the entrance.

"Stop!"

A cold shout came from beyond the doors.

Chen Xuan turned his head and saw two familiar figures standing on the steps through the glass doors.

Tang San wore a worn training outfit that had been washed until it had faded white, with a faint metallic gleam from hidden weapons visible at his cuffs. Xiao Wu stood beside him, still holding a half-eaten candied hawthorn skewer.

Their gazes passed through the shattered glass doors and locked onto Chen Xuan.

More precisely, they locked onto the rusty wok in Chen Xuan's hand.

Tang San's expression was a sight to behold.

Shock, confusion, incomprehension—eventually, all of it turned into deep wariness.

He had spent a full half month recovering from his injuries in Notting City before the meridians in his arms barely healed. Those dark-gold claws and that outrageous repeating crossbow had become his nightmare.

Even Yu Xiaogang had searched through every martial soul text available without finding the origin of Chen Xuan's martial soul.

They had only just arrived in Soto City today and had not even found a place to stay, yet they had run into this menace again.

And now, this menace had another absurd thing in his hands.

"Chen Xuan..." Tang San stepped forward, shielding Xiao Wu behind him. His right hand was already pressed against Twenty-Four Bridges Under Moonlight at his waist.

The candied hawthorn skewer in Xiao Wu's hand fell to the ground with a plop.

"Brother, h-he changed weapons again?" Xiao Wu pointed at the wok, her voice trembling. "Last time it was claws and a crossbow. Why did he even pull out a wok this time?!"

Hearing Xiao Wu's words, Dai Mubai abruptly turned his head.

"You know him?" Dai Mubai stared at Tang San. "Who exactly is this kid? What is his martial soul?"

Tang San looked at the three soul rings around Dai Mubai, then at the completely unharmed wok in Chen Xuan's hand, and a powerful sense of absurdity rose within him.

Even a level thirty-seven Soul Elder could not break that wok?

"His martial soul..." Tang San gritted his teeth and took a long time before forcing out an answer. "It's five stones."

"Bullshit!" Dai Mubai cursed. "What kind of stone looks like a wok?!"

Chen Xuan looked at the two outside, then at Dai Mubai beside him, who was on the verge of flying into a rage.

He slung the wok over his shoulder and grinned.

"Oh, what a coincidence." Chen Xuan waved his empty left hand at Tang San. "It's been a while since Notting City. Are your injuries fully healed? Want to come in and have hot pot together? I've already got the wok ready."