Industrial Assembly-Line Scrap

The outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

By a small stream.

An irresistibly enticing aroma of charred grilled fish drifted through the air on the breeze.

Huo Yuhao sat cross-legged on a flat rock, turning two wooden sticks in his hands.

Above the fire, two grilled fish had turned golden and oily, sizzling continuously.

Just then, a burst of hurried rustling suddenly came from the nearby bushes.

"Woohoo, what amazing luck! I actually found wild grilled fish."

A petite girl sprang out from the bushes.

She had long black hair tied high into a ponytail and wore a neat set of blue fitted clothes.

Her delicate, lively face was fixed on the grilled fish over the fire, her eyes shining.

She even swallowed a mouthful of saliva rather ungracefully.

Then, the bushes were pushed aside again.

A young man walked out.

He was tall and straight, with short dark-blue hair.

He was handsome, with a warm, sunny smile on his face. Dressed in a well-fitted green school uniform, he carried an air of refined elegance.

Bei Bei glanced helplessly at Tang Ya, whose drool was practically about to spill, and reached out to pull her back.

"Tang Ya, don't be willful."

"That belongs to someone else."

Tang Ya pursed her lips.

Her gaze was now completely glued to those two grilled fish.

Huo Yuhao's hands did not stop moving in the slightest as he looked up at the two of them.

Refined and handsome, short dark-blue hair.

High ponytail, an energetic young girl.

With such distinctive appearances, they should be those two from the original story.

Tang Ya and Bei Bei, the only remaining descendants of the Tang Sect.

Huo Yuhao compared them against the intelligence in his mind and confirmed that he had found the right people.

Seeing Tang Ya looking as though her eyes were about to fall into the fire, he could not help but smile.

"Meeting is fate. Want to try some?"

He handed one of the cooked fish over.

"Oh, that would be so embarrassing."

Tang Ya said it was embarrassing, but her body was far more honest.

She swiftly stretched out both hands and snatched the grilled fish from him.

Bei Bei watched from the side with a helpless expression.

He stepped forward and nodded politely at Huo Yuhao.

"Then thank you, little brother. We truly are rather hungry."

"It's nothing."

Tang Ya could not wait any longer and took a bite.

The next second.

Her pupils instantly contracted, and her large eyes widened into perfect circles.

Crisp outside and tender within, the fish and seasonings blended perfectly.

Once that bite of grilled fish went down, Tang Ya felt every pore across her body relax.

Delicious.

It was too delicious, practically not a flavor that could exist in the mortal world.

"Bei Bei, hurry up and try it!"

Tang Ya directly stuffed the remaining half into Bei Bei's hand, then looked longingly at the fish still in Huo Yuhao's hands.

Seeing her shameless, starving-ghost appearance.

Huo Yuhao sighed and handed over the fish in his hand as well.

Bei Bei took a bite too, and his originally gentle expression instantly froze.

As an outstanding student of Shrek Academy, he had eaten countless delicacies from the mountains and seas since childhood.

Yet this ordinary stream fish in his hand somehow tasted like a supreme immortal delicacy.

Half an hour later.

The ground was a complete mess, covered in fish bones picked utterly clean.

Other than the first two fish, Huo Yuhao had caught more than a dozen from the stream before he barely managed to fill this big eater.

Tang Ya let out an utterly unladylike burp and rubbed her stomach contentedly.

"Little brother, your cooking is simply incredible."

She leaned close to Huo Yuhao, her large eyes rolling thoughtfully.

"I see you're alone. Are you interested in joining our Tang Sect?"

Here it came.

The standard recruitment procedure.

Without even thinking, Huo Yuhao nodded decisively.

"Sure."

Now it was Tang Ya and Bei Bei's turn to be stunned.

They had already prepared themselves to be rejected.

After all, the current Tang Sect could generously be called a reclusive sect.

Put less generously, the entire sect could barely make up two mahjong tables, and that was counting the two dogs outside.

"You agreed?"

Tang Ya could hardly believe it.

"Of course."

"Why wouldn't I? I grew up listening to legends of the Tang Sect. Ten thousand years ago, it was the heroes of the Tang Sect who led the people of the human world to defeat the evil Spirit Hall, bringing peace to the continent. I've heard those stories ever since I was little."

Huo Yuhao answered as though it were only natural. His calm, sincere demeanor made Tang Ya's eyes redden.

Ever since the Tang Sect's decline and destruction, Tang Ya had long given up hope of its revival. Yet hearing those words now, an inexplicable ache rose in her heart.

After steadying her emotions, there was no elaborate disciple-initiation ceremony.

Out here in the wilderness, Tang Ya simply pulled Huo Yuhao down to kowtow twice, and that counted as his entry into the sect.

Then, she generously took out several small booklets.

They were the supreme arts in which the Tang Sect now took pride.

Mysterious Heaven Skill.

Purple Demon Eyes.

Mysterious Jade Hands.

Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.

Huo Yuhao took the booklets, casually flipped through them a few times, then closed his eyes and began memorizing them.

To outsiders, he appeared to be earnestly committing the techniques to memory.

In reality, Huo Yuhao had already activated his Martial Soul. With Soul Power circulating, even without using his first soul skill, his brain was like a supercomputer running at full capacity.

All manner of complex meridian circulation routes.

All manner of special methods for transporting Soul Power.

In only a few minutes, these supreme arts regarded as treasures had been completely dissected by him.

Huo Yuhao's expression did not change at all, and he even displayed a perfectly timed hint of surprise.

But in his heart, there were only four words.

This is it?

This Mysterious Heaven Skill was nothing more than a severely watered-down, castrated version.

Many key pathways capable of refining Soul Power had either been removed or altered.

Its efficiency in circulating Soul Power was not even as good as the basic version of the Heavenly Origin Art he had developed himself.

In Tang San's hands, it had been a Daoist classic capable of cultivating the Five Qi Returning to Origin and the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown, achieving something akin to a golden immortal. Now, it was nothing but defective industrial assembly-line scrap.

Huo Yuhao gave this cultivation technique a label in his heart.

Only the Purple Demon Eyes had some genuinely unique insights when it came to stimulating the acupoints around the eyes.

It had some reference value, at least.

"Little junior brother, your talent is quite good. You'll definitely make something of yourself in the future."

Seeing Huo Yuhao fall silent, Tang Ya patted his shoulder with an old-fashioned air.

"Mm."

"Little junior brother, what are you doing out here alone?"

Bei Bei interjected at the right moment.

"Obtaining a Soul Ring."

Huo Yuhao did not hide it and answered openly.

Hearing this, Tang Ya and Bei Bei exchanged a glance.

In this desolate wilderness, it was far too dangerous for an eleven-year-old boy to hunt Soul Beasts alone.

But since they were now fellow disciples, they had to carry forward the sect's fine traditions.

Bei Bei's warm smile returned.

"It just so happens that Tang Ya is also here to obtain her third Soul Ring."

"As your senior brother, it is only right that I help you hunt a suitable Soul Beast. What age are you aiming for?"

Listening to Bei Bei's confident assurance, Huo Yuhao fell into brief silence.

Huo Yuhao fell into brief silence.

He lowered his head and looked at his hands, feeling the abundant Soul Power within his body.

Ever since Ju Zi had intercepted him and brought him back to the Sun Moon Empire, he had spent the past three years eating all kinds of medicinal pills like candy every day. His cultivation had surged like a rocket.

He spent all kinds of medicinal pills like candy every day, and his cultivation surged like a rocket.

At eleven years old, having only reached level twenty in Soul Power was actually rather slow.

But he had not come to the Star Dou Great Forest this time to find some ordinary Soul Beast.

He had come to encounter that Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.

That was a million-year jackpot.

Without betraying anything on his face, Huo Yuhao said that he was level twenty and needed a Soul Ring of around eight hundred years.

Upon hearing that, both Bei Bei and Tang Ya were somewhat surprised. Reaching level twenty at eleven years old could be considered the mark of a small genius anywhere. They had not expected the Tang Sect disciple they had casually accepted today to actually be a genius.

This made the two of them even more excited. Tang Ya even patted her chest and confidently declared that she would definitely pick a good Soul Ring for Huo Yuhao.