Senior Sister Ling, Ling Luochen

"Cui'er, isn't there still a portion of Whale Rubber at the second-floor display?" The girl on the right seemed to recall something and hurriedly spoke.

"Oh my, that Whale Rubber is pitch-black. You can tell at a glance that it's spoiled. And it's only worth six thousand Gold Soul Coins—how could we offer something like that to Young Master Ye?" Cuihua lightly glared at the girl on the right, clearly feeling that the Whale Rubber was unworthy of Ye Chen's status.

"Oh? Spoiled Whale Rubber? Take me to see it." Ye Chen raised his brows, pretending to be interested.

He had come here precisely for that ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber.

As for Huo Yuhao... what the hell did he have to do with him?

After consuming treasures and fortune accumulated over ten thousand years on the Douluo Continent, he had ultimately been willing to be someone's dog. Wasn't that just pathetic?

And he was a cuckold too, obeying his wife in everything.

Even after getting married, Tang San had still placed a chastity lock on his wife, yet Huo Yuhao had not dared to resist. There was truly no one else like him.

Before long, Ye Chen was led to an exhibition hall upstairs.

Precious medicinal herbs and treasures were displayed in transparent cabinets, each marked with price tags of no less than five digits. They were clearly all rare items.

Ye Chen stopped before one of the display cabinets. Inside the transparent case lay a pitch-black crystal, dull and lacking any luster. Compared with the other treasures, its appearance was far inferior.

"Young Master Ye, this is that portion of Whale Rubber. It is black in color, so we suspect it has spoiled. Although consuming it will not harm a Soul Master, its medicinal effects may be greatly reduced."

The saleswoman pointed at the black crystal in the display cabinet as she introduced it.

She had to make things clear, lest Ye Chen bought it, found it ineffective, and came back to complain.

She had worked here for two or three years and had seen such things before.

"Yes, this one. Wrap it up for me."

Ye Chen nodded and casually took out a Gold Card, handing it to the saleswoman so she could charge it directly.

Whale Rubber was simply too rare. Even Wanbao Pavilion had never seen ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber before, which was why they had failed to recognize it.

Otherwise, they probably would never have sold such a treasure as junk.

After all, ordinary Whale Rubber was golden because it had already "crystallized."

Ye Chen's Whale Rubber, meanwhile, was fresh and milky white, like tofu. It had not "crystallized."

Ye Chen felt that, though both were ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber, the Whale Rubber rewarded by the system might have a far better effect than this piece...

It was just that this piece of Whale Rubber was too hard due to its "crystallization," so it needed to be processed after he returned before it could be consumed.

"Yes, Young Master~"

The two young saleswomen divided the work between them.

One went to process the card, while the other carefully packed the black Whale Rubber into an exquisite gift box and handed it to Ye Chen.

Half an hour later.

Ye Chen left Wanbao Pavilion.

Since the two saleswomen had been rather pleasant, Ye Chen bought a few more things and spent seventy or eighty thousand Gold Soul Coins.

They were all ordinary items.

Soul bones cost hundreds of thousands of Gold Soul Coins at the very least, and Ye Chen could not quite afford them yet.

His remaining balance was not much now, but that did not matter.

When the time came, he could simply buy on credit with Shrek Academy's student badge.

As long as he passed the freshman assessment, he could practically buy on unlimited credit and purchase whatever he wanted.

It was already noon, and Ye Chen planned to find a tasty restaurant in Shrek City to fill his stomach.

The food in this world was still quite commendable. Though it lacked additives, it had flavors unique to this world.

Ye Chen arrived at the busiest street in the center of Shrek City. Just as he was about to randomly pick a restaurant, two people approached from the opposite direction...

One woman wore a fiery red long dress. Her figure was alluring, and she exuded the domineering aura of a queen, making nearby pedestrians instinctively avoid her while unable to stop themselves from sneaking glances.

It was Ma Xiaotao.

The woman beside her was beautiful and fair-skinned, dressed in an ice-blue long dress. Though she was slightly shorter than Ma Xiaotao, she was still over 1.7 meters tall. Coupled with a pair of snow-white heeled boots and her cold, proud temperament, she possessed an even more distinctive charm.

Though Ye Chen did not know her, his perception as an ice-attributed Soul Master allowed him to guess her identity—Ling Luochen.

"Ah, Xiaochen, why are you here?" Ma Xiaotao had been chatting and laughing with Ling Luochen, but when she suddenly saw Ye Chen, she was somewhat surprised.

"The academy cafeteria didn't suit my taste, so I came out for a stroll. Sister Xiaotao, did you come out to eat too?"

Ye Chen walked over with a bright smile.

"Oh~ So this is the Ye Chen you mentioned, Xiaotao? He's so handsome!"

When Ling Luochen saw Ye Chen, a peculiar glint appeared in her eyes.

It was because she sensed not only Ye Chen's temperament and looks, but also the powerful ice-attributed martial soul within him, which made her unable to resist wanting to get closer...

It was as though her intuition told her that getting close to Ye Chen could bring considerable benefits to her martial soul.

"Hmph, he's my junior brother, of course he wouldn't be lacking. Ling Luochen, don't get any ideas about Xiaochen. He's still young."

Ma Xiaotao instinctively stepped in front of Ling Luochen, clearly on guard.

I think you're the one who wants to keep him all to yourself... Ling Luochen rolled her eyes and silently grumbled, but she did not say it aloud. Instead, she looked at Ye Chen and said with a smile, "Junior Brother, you haven't eaten yet, have you? This Senior Sister will treat you today and take you somewhere delicious~"

Since it was their first meeting, she had to maintain her image. She could not leave Ye Chen with a bad impression.

Besides, just as Ma Xiaotao had said, Ye Chen was still young. There was plenty of time ahead, and she did not think she had no chance.

Quite a few female students at Shrek Academy were single, but that was only because their standards were high.

If they encountered someone suitable, they would naturally pursue them without hesitation.

Upon hearing this, Ye Chen did not immediately agree. Instead, he turned to look at Ma Xiaotao.

"Come on, come on. Since your Senior Sister Ling is treating, Xiaochen, just enjoy yourself~"

Ma Xiaotao rubbed Ye Chen's head as she spoke with a smile.

She was not such a petty person. Ye Chen was her junior brother, not Ling Luochen's junior brother.

She refused to believe that her Charisma was inferior to Ling Luochen's.

Though she thought this, Ma Xiaotao also felt a slight sense of crisis. She felt that she needed to quickly grow closer to Ye Chen, lest he be seduced away by some other flirtatious vixen.

The three entered a fairly nice restaurant.

Ling Luochen was a Soul King and a little rich woman, so she immediately ordered several of the restaurant's finest and most expensive dishes.

In an instant, the table was filled with all kinds of delicacies.

"Ye Chen, eat as much as you want. Order whatever you like~" Ling Luochen said generously.

Soul Masters had enormous appetites, and this much was not even enough for one person. Naturally, they needed to order more dishes.

Though this meal would cost quite a bit, she felt it was well worth it.

"Mm, Junior Brother, don't worry. Your Senior Sister Ling has plenty of money. You won't eat her broke."

As Ma Xiaotao spoke, she began ordering on her own. She even felt the dishes were not expensive enough and specifically ordered several bottles of fine wine, each worth dozens of Gold Soul Coins.

Seeing this, Ling Luochen immediately felt her heart bleed, but she was too embarrassed to say anything. In the end, she endured it...

At worst, she could save a little next month. She could consider it dieting...

PS: Regarding Ling Luochen, the original novel stated that her relationship with Ma Xiaotao was poor because Ling Luochen did not help Ma Xiaotao suppress her Evil Fire.

However, if Ling Luochen helped Ma Xiaotao suppress her Evil Fire, her cultivation speed would definitely plummet. That would mean sacrificing her own future, which was why she had been unwilling to help.

The Shrek Seven Devils had spent at least several years together, and they also had to carry out inspection missions with a fifty percent fatality rate. Their coordination was absolutely perfect, and their mutual trust was also absolute.

Any conflict between the two would at most be limited to ordinary bickering. It was impossible for them to be openly hostile, let alone reach the point where they would refuse to speak upon meeting and treat each other as enemies.