Industrial Assembly-Line Scrap

The outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

By a small stream.

An intensely enticing charred aroma 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 campfire, two grilled fish had turned golden and were dripping with oil, constantly sizzling.

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 of the bushes.

She had long black hair tied high in a single 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 gleaming.

She even swallowed helplessly.

Then the bushes were pushed apart again.

A boy walked out.

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

He was quite handsome, with a gentle, sunny smile on his face. Dressed in a well-tailored green academy uniform, he gave off an air of refined elegance.

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

"Xiao Ya, don't be willful."

"That belongs to someone else."

Tang Ya pursed her lips.

Her gaze was completely glued to those two grilled fish.

Huo Yuhao's hands never stopped moving as he looked up at the two of them.

Refined and handsome, short dark-blue hair.

High ponytail, energetic young girl.

Judging from their highly recognizable appearances, they should be those two from the original story.

The last remaining descendants of the Tang Sect, Tang Ya and Bei Bei.

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

Seeing Tang Ya looking as if 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 grilled fish to her.

"Oh, I couldn't possibly."

Tang Ya said she could not possibly accept it, but her body was very honest.

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

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 flew wide open.

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

After swallowing that bite of grilled fish, Tang Ya felt every pore in her body relax.

Delicious.

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

"Bei Bei, hurry and try it!"

Tang Ya directly stuffed the remaining half into Bei Bei's hand, then stared eagerly at the fish in Huo Yuhao's hand.

Seeing her look like a starving ghost with no concern for dignity whatsoever.

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

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

As an outstanding student of Shrek Academy, he had eaten countless delicacies from 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 clean.

Besides 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 in satisfaction.

"Little brother, your cooking is absolutely incredible."

She leaned close to Huo Yuhao, her large eyes darting around.

"You seem to be alone. Are you interested in joining our Tang Sect?"

Here it came.

The standard recruitment process.

Without a second thought, Huo Yuhao nodded decisively.

"Sure."

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

They had long prepared themselves to be rejected.

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

Less generously, the entire sect barely had enough people for 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 the legends of the Tang Sect. Ten thousand years ago, it was the heroes of the Tang Sect who led countless people of the human realm to defeat the evil Spirit Hall, bringing peace to the continent as it is today. I heard those stories all through my childhood."

Huo Yuhao's answer was perfectly natural. His calm, sincere manner made Tang Ya's eyes redden.

Ever since the Tang Sect had declined and fallen, Tang Ya had given up hope of any so-called revival. Yet hearing those words now, she felt an inexplicable ache in her heart.

After steadying her emotions, there was no elaborate apprenticeship ceremony.

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

Then, with great generosity, she took out several small booklets.

They were the peerless arts the Tang Sect still took pride in.

Mysterious Heaven Technique.

Purple Demon Eyes.

Mysterious Jade Hands.

Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.

Huo Yuhao accepted the booklets, casually flipped through them a few times, then closed his eyes and began committing them to memory.

To outsiders, it looked as though he were seriously memorizing the techniques.

In truth, Huo Yuhao had long activated his martial soul. With his soul power circulating, even without using his first soul skill, his brain was practically a supercomputer running at full capacity.

All kinds of complex meridian circulation routes.

All kinds of specialized methods for transporting soul power.

In just a few minutes, these treasured secret arts had already been completely analyzed by him.

Huo Yuhao's expression remained completely placid, and he even revealed just the right trace of surprise.

But at that moment, only four words filled his mind.

That's it?

This Mysterious Heaven Technique was simply a severely watered-down, castrated version.

Many of the crucial pathways that could purify soul power had either been removed or altered.

Its soul power circulation efficiency was not even as good as the basic version of the Heavenly Origin Art he had devised himself.

The Daoist classic that, in Tang San's hands, could cultivate Five Qi Returning to Origin and Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown, making one akin to a golden immortal, had now become nothing but defective industrial assembly-line scrap.

Huo Yuhao mentally slapped a label onto this cultivation technique.

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

It was at least somewhat useful as a reference.

"Little junior brother, you're quite talented. 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 all 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 wilderness, an eleven-year-old boy hunting soul beasts alone was far too dangerous.

But since they were now fellow sect members, they ought to uphold the sect's fine traditions.

Bei Bei's gentle smile returned.

"As it happens, Xiao Ya is also here to obtain her third soul ring."

"As your senior brother, it's only right that I help you hunt a suitable soul beast. What age are you aiming for?"

Listening to Bei Bei's confident promise, Huo Yuhao fell silent for a moment.

Huo Yuhao fell silent for a moment.

He lowered his head to look at his hands, feeling the abundant soul power within his body.

Ever since Juzi had intercepted him and taken him back to the Sun Moon Empire, over the past three years he had eaten all kinds of pills like candy every day, and his cultivation had soared like a rocket.

He had eaten all kinds of pills like candy every day, and his cultivation had soared like a rocket.

At eleven years old, being only Rank 20 in soul power was actually considered quite slow.

But he had not come to the Star Dou Great Forest to find some ordinary soul beast.

He had come to encounter that Tianmeng Iceworm.

That was a million-year jackpot.

Without changing his expression, Huo Yuhao stated that he was Rank 20 and needed a soul ring of around eight hundred years.

At this, both Bei Bei and Tang Ya were somewhat astonished. Rank 20 at eleven years old would qualify as a little genius anywhere. They had not expected the Tang Sect disciple they had casually recruited today to actually be a genius.

This made the two of them even more excited. Tang Ya even thumped her chest and confidently declared that she would definitely pick out a good soul ring for Huo Yuhao.