Just Finished Killing Fish, an Extraordinary Junior

"What's wrong, Senior Beibei? Is there a problem?"

Seeing Beibei suddenly cancel his Martial Soul Possession, Bai Ran was somewhat puzzled.

Had he surrendered?

If he remembered correctly, although the original Beibei had been described by Xu Sanshi as slyly devious, he was no coward.

Besides, thirty-eight against thirty-one. You had the advantage, Beibei. What were you afraid of?

Beibei: Put simply, the combined age of my three Soul Rings isn't even as high as that of one of yours.

"We came here for a get-together. A get-together should look like a get-together.

I just remembered that we haven't bought any drinks yet.

Come on, Tang Ya. Let's go get something to drink."

As he spoke, Beibei pulled along Tang Ya, who had been killing fish.

"Bai Ran, since Teacher Xiao Ya is accompanying Senior Beibei to buy drinks,

could you help me out? Can you start a fire?"

The fish had nearly all been cleaned, and asking a young master like Bai Ran, who had never done any work, to kill fish?

The poor little fish would probably end up in pieces everywhere.

And its death would not only be long, but immensely painful.

"Sure."

Starting a fire?

Who didn't know how to do that?

Get a lighter...

No, there were no lighters here.

Then use a fire starter.

Apparently, there wasn't one of those either.

Then he would use the most primitive method: rubbing sticks together to make fire!

For a moment, Bai Ran hated that he wasn't a fire-attribute Soul Master.

If he were, he wouldn't need to start the fire himself. He could just breathe fire onto the grill in front of him.

"Bai Ran, what are you doing?"

Watching Bai Ran hold a little wooden stick against a log and rub it back and forth, Huo Yuhao felt his vision go dark.

"Why aren't you using flint? Could it be that your family usually cooks like this?"

In the books Huo Yuhao had read, most records of secluded clans described groups of people isolated from the world and living deep in the mountains.

So perhaps this old method of making fire by rubbing wood together was really something they used in their daily lives?

Could it be that there wasn't a single fire-attribute Soul Master in his entire clan?

"Yuhao, you brought flint? Why didn't you say so earlier!"

He had been rubbing for several minutes and was almost getting smoke when Huo Yuhao finally mentioned it. Bai Ran nearly cracked.

"Ha ha!"

Tang Wutong's laughter suddenly rang in Bai Ran's ears.

Tang Wutong: Haki Bai, I never thought there'd come a day when you'd be countered.

"You didn't ask. I thought this was some ancient cultivation method practiced by your clan."

Huo Yuhao spread his hands, looking utterly innocent.

"Alright, alright. Hurry up and start the fire, Young Master Bai.

Grilled fish takes quite a while to make."

If they delayed any longer, the dormitory curfew might arrive before they even got to eat the delicious grilled fish.

Meanwhile, Tang Ya, who was accompanying Beibei to the academy convenience store, curiously examined Beibei beside her.

"What is it, Xiao Ya?"

Whenever Xiao Ya had stared at him like this before, it was usually because Beibei had done something guilty.

But this time, he hadn't done anything at all.

"Beibei, why did you suddenly stop sparring with that junior?"

"Xiao Ya, we should follow the academy rules. We can't spar anywhere except the Soul Dueling Arena."

Hearing Beibei's words,

Tang Ya couldn't help rolling her eyes at him.

Tang Ya: As if you and that Xu Sanshi guy haven't fought all over the academy plenty of times.

"Tell me the truth."

"Xiao Ya, you know about the monster in this year's freshman entrance assessment who had a thousand-year first Soul Ring, right?"

"Of course I know."

Tang Ya was known as the "information hub" of the Outer Court. Any little development in the Outer Court reached her ears immediately.

Naturally, Tang Ya also knew about what had happened during this year's freshman entrance assessment.

"Could Yuhao's roommate be that monster whose first Soul Ring was a thousand-year Soul Ring?

But that doesn't seem right either. It's only a thousand-year first Soul Ring. Your soul power is a full seven levels higher than his, Beibei. There's no reason for you to be afraid to fight him."

"Xiao Ya, he really has a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring as his second ring and another as his third. And neither of those Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings is low in age—one is thirty thousand years, while the other is fifty thousand years."

"What? What did you say? I thought all that was just rumor. I didn't expect it to be true?"

"So he really is from some mysterious secluded clan."

Originally, Tang Ya hadn't believed it.

But the strength he had displayed, along with Soul Rings far surpassing the standard age limits, left Tang Ya no choice but to wonder.

Yet this only made Tang Ya even more determined to recruit him into the Tang Sect.

Tang Ya: Such a capable little fellow, and Yuhao's roommate too, so we know his background. If he joins my Tang Sect, there'll only be benefits and no downsides.

"I'm not too sure either.

But secluded clans are mostly mysterious. The Dark Nether Sect that Xu Sanshi belongs to is one such hidden sect.

The pills they refine surpass those of other sects in both quality and effectiveness."

"Alright, alright, don't overthink it. Let's buy the drinks first. Don't keep little Yuhao and our junior waiting too long."

As she spoke, Tang Ya pulled Beibei into the convenience store.

"Oh, right, Xiao Ya. Since earlier, I've been smelling something stinky. Do you know what it is?"

Only now did Beibei realize it.

"Uh... I just finished killing fish and haven't washed my hands yet."

"Xiao Ya, why are you so unhygienic?"

Beibei, who was mildly germophobic, instantly flung away Tang Ya's little hand.

But remembering that it was Xiao Ya's hand, he took it back on his own initiative.

Then, catching that unpleasant fishy smell again, he hurriedly flung it away once more.

Tang Ya: Beibei, are you using my hand as a swing or something?

"Xiao Ya, what would you like to drink?"

The Outer Court convenience store did not sell alcohol.

Even if Beibei wanted some, he couldn't buy it there.

"Soda. As for little Yuhao and our junior, just get some juice and milk or something.

Oh, and get some ice too.

It's so hot. Drinks taste better with ice."

"Alright, alright."

After Beibei and Tang Ya finished buying drinks, on their way back,

Huo Yuhao finally began grilling the fish.

If the fish were cooked first and then grilled, they could be ready in less than fifteen minutes.

But fish prepared that way always seemed to be missing something.

If raw fish were grilled directly, although it might take over half an hour,

the resulting fish would not only smell wonderfully fragrant, but taste absolutely superb as well.

"Yuhao, is it done?"

He had slept too late that morning and skipped breakfast. Then, after hearing at noon that there would be Huo Yuhao's grilled fish that evening, he hadn't eaten much either.

As a result, Bai Ran was now very hungry.

The moment he smelled the fragrance wafting out, his stomach began growling uncontrollably.

"I only just put them on the grill, Bai Ran. Don't rush me."

What was the difference between eating them now and jumping straight into the lake, grabbing a fish that had just basked in the first ray of morning sunlight, and eating it raw?

"How much longer?"

"Soon, soon."