Rice Bucket Lu Yuan

Shrek Outer Court, cafeteria.

Clatter, slurp, gulp.

Lu Yuan washed down several more plates of food, soup and all.

"As expected of the top-tier dishes from the Top-Tier Cuisine Window. They're incredibly nourishing!" Feeling a growing warmth rise from his stomach, Lu Yuan reached for another two plates and noisily gulped them down.

No swallowing footage.JPG

Watching the plates return to factory settings after making a trip through Lu Yuan's mouth, Ning Tian's eye twitched.

Was this guy's Martial Soul a rice bucket? Looking at the plates beside him, which were nearly piled into a small mountain, even Wu Feng, who usually kept a cold expression, almost couldn't hold it together.

"Eat. Why did you two stop eating?" Lu Yuan asked in confusion as he looked at the bizarre master-and-servant pair. Ever since the Great Tortoise Shell Technique had awakened his God Clan Bloodline, his stomach's digestive capacity had increased by the day. Whether it was rare heavenly treasures or ordinary ingredients, he could quickly digest and absorb them after eating them.

Speaking of Ning Tian and Wu Feng, this master-and-servant pair truly were a pair of tragic lovebirds!

Seeing the "subway, old man, phone" expressions appear in perfect sync on the two people across from him, Lu Yuan could not help sighing over how deeply devoted these two sisters were to each other.

As the young sect mistress of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Tian had come to Shrek Outer Court for two reasons. First, to build connections and meet geniuses. Second, to help the sect—and herself—find a suitable husband, preferably someone with the potential to become a Super Douluo and serve as the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's guardian Douluo in the future.

Of course, how she would find such a person, how she would determine that someone could become a Super Douluo, and how she would make this prospective Super Douluo fall in love with her, have their feelings reciprocated, and willingly join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect—that depended on Ning Tian's own abilities.

But all of that rested on the premise that Wu Feng was normal.

In terms of Wu Feng's role, she was somewhat like Ning Tian's dowry maid as well as her personal guard. If Wu Feng could freely fall in love in the Outer Court and bring another genius back to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, that would naturally be ideal. Of course, if Wu Feng were given to the future guardian Douluo alongside Ning Tian as part of her dowry, that would not be a loss either.

Unfortunately, Wu Feng was a lesbian who wanted to ride her mistress.

All that could be said was that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's atmosphere was too gentle and open—or perhaps Ning Tian and Wu Feng's feelings really were that strong. Otherwise, Wu Feng would have been dealt with long ago.

As a result, every time Lu Yuan saw them, he found it hard to keep a straight face—under the great hand of destiny wielded by Tang Buddha, that battle-hardened feudal warrior, the straight-girl-plus-lesbian pairing had thoroughly become a pair of tragic lovebirds.

At that thought, the corners of Lu Yuan's mouth kept rising. So, he turned his urge to laugh into appetite—another two plates of top-tier dishes returned to factory settings.

"May I ask, Lu Yuan, is your Martial Soul some kind of beast Martial Soul?"

Looking at the rice bucket before her—of course, "rice bucket" was not meant as an insult, but Ning Tian had never seen such a rice bucket of a rice bucket in her life.

Could Lu Yuan's Martial Soul be some kind of special beast Martial Soul?

As the young sect mistress, Ning Tian knew that certain special beast Martial Souls could give their hosts an appetite far beyond that of ordinary people—but those Martial Souls were generally assault-type Martial Souls. Why was Lu Yuan a control-type soul master?

"No." Hearing Ning Tian's question, Lu Yuan belatedly wiped at his mouth and glanced at the pile of plates beside him. Oh no, he had lost control for a moment. This many dishes probably, perhaps, maybe, possibly did not amount to much for the young sect mistress of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, right?

Lu Yuan glanced guiltily at the fat man beside him, then withdrew his gaze. In the original story, Zhou Yi had spent more than sixty Gold Soul Coins buying two servings of top-tier dishes for Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. As for him... forget it, forget it. They were classmates—talking about money hurt feelings!

"My Martial Soul is a Light Elemental," Lu Yuan said seriously, forcing himself not to look at the few remaining dishes on the table.

"A Light Elemental?" A huge question mark appeared on Ning Tian's small face when she heard his answer.

Elemental Envoy Martial Souls were extremely rare, but the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, as a sect with a legacy spanning ten thousand years, had some records regarding them. Those who possessed such Martial Souls were naturally favored by one or more elements and possessed extraordinary talent in elemental affinity and spiritual power cultivation.

But she had never heard of an Elemental Envoy Martial Soul enhancing its host's stomach!

"Um, Ning Tian, perhaps my physique is simply unusual." Lu Yuan gave an awkward explanation. "Sorry, Ning Tian. I made you spend so much today!"

"It's fine, Lu Yuan. I already said I was treating you, and before we ate, you really did mention that you had a large appetite. I was the one who insisted on paying." As the young sect mistress, Ning Tian naturally was not so petty that she would hold a grudge against Lu Yuan over the cost of one meal. Besides, in her view, if spending some Gold Soul Coins could earn the favor of a genius like Lu Yuan, she could pay for an entire year of his meals—

Uh, that seemed like it might be somewhat difficult...

Looking at the mountain of plates piled on the table, Ning Tian still found it difficult to keep a straight face. Still, as long as Lu Yuan showed an inclination to side with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and as long as her sect master father gave his approval, meal expenses like these were merely a small sum.

As the saying went, when one ate another's food, one's mouth became soft; when one took another's gift, one's hand became short. Lu Yuan had always been the type to repay jade with peaches. Moreover, the young sect mistress had been polite to him from beginning to end and had spent so much money treating him to a meal. Lu Yuan felt that he ought to return the favor somehow.

"How about this, Ning Tian? I'll tell you a piece of information as repayment for treating me to this meal—uh, although it probably still won't be worth as much as this meal cost."

Hearing Lu Yuan's words, Ning Tian smiled faintly and motioned for him to begin his performance. In her eyes, it did not matter what intelligence Lu Yuan intended to offer. What mattered was his attitude of repaying kindness. Why had Ning Tian, a perfectly good young sect mistress, come to Shrek's Outer Court? Was it not to recruit talent and seek potential guardian Douluos for her sect? Therefore, besides talent, character was also extremely important. Otherwise, if the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect spent heavily nurturing someone only to raise an ungrateful wretch, who could they complain to?

In the end, attitude was what mattered. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had vast wealth and resources; would it truly fuss over the cost of a meal? Besides, many deeper connections often began with such mutual assistance and exchanges of courtesy.

"According to the information I received, the reward for first place in this Freshman Assessment will be a Soul Bone," Lu Yuan continued, recalling the plot from his previous life. "It may be at the thousand-year level."

Upon hearing this information, Ning Tian nodded. It was fairly useful intelligence.

Throughout Shrek's past Freshman Assessments, Soul Bones had not often been used as rewards. Moreover, a thousand-year Soul Bone was already considered to be of very good quality. In some smaller sects, it could even serve as a treasured inheritance.

Even though the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was wealthy and powerful, who would ever think their sect had too many Soul Bones? As the saying went, a person died, but their bones remained; one bone could be passed down for three generations. As inheritable resources, Soul Bones had always been highly sought after.

The information Lu Yuan had brought was quite useful. At this point in time, Ning Tian could send word to her sect in advance and have funds prepared. When the time came, if the specific type of Soul Bone and its Soul Bone skill were suitable, then regardless of who became champion, Ning Tian could use the power of money to buy it.

As for the accuracy of the intelligence, Ning Tian chose to trust Lu Yuan. Based on her observations, although Lu Yuan could sometimes be rather unreliable, he was generally a mature and trustworthy person. Even if he had truly fooled her, there would be no real loss—at most, the cost of one meal. But if one meal could reveal a person's character, Ning Tian felt it was well worth it.

Simply put, for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, there were differences between winning, winning big, and winning so hard they went numb.