Ma Xiaotao

"Uncle, this academy is way too shady. How can it make a child this young work?"

At Tang Ya's words, Gao Ren looked as though he had found a kindred spirit and nodded repeatedly.

"It's shady all right. Shady beyond belief."

Of course, he wasn't talking about the academy employing child labor.

Whenever he thought about how ten Gold Soul Coins would be taken from him for every Overlord Drumstick he sold, he felt as though ants were crawling all over his body.

Watching someone else make money hurt worse than losing money himself—especially when they were making it off him!

"You think it's shady? Fine. Take your drumsticks and set up your stall outside the academy gates," Gao Wei said with an irritated roll of his eyes.

"On second thought, the cafeteria's great." Gao Ren surrendered without hesitation.

Bei Bei, who had been listening nearby, caught the important point. "Little brother, did you make these Overlord Drumsticks?"

Gao Ren nodded.

Gao Wei picked up the thread, a hint of pride in his voice. "This is my nephew Gao Ren, Xuan Zi's disciple. The Overlord Drumstick is his Martial Soul."

"He's Xuan Zi's disciple?" Tang Ya's eyes widened, and the words burst out of her. "I knew it! Xuan Zi had a whole pile of Overlord Drumsticks on his table, so why were the rest of us limited to one each?

"Turns out he ate so many there weren't enough left for everyone, and that's why they had to limit them!"

"Xiaoya!" Bei Bei tugged at Tang Ya, trying to stop her from blurting out any more inconvenient truths. You're eating here for free. Do you really have the nerve to say that?

Hearing Bei Bei say Tang Ya's name, Gao Ren paused. Oh, it's these two.

He had been finding ways to gather information about the people from the original story since he was very young.

That was how he had pinned down where he fell in the timeline and how far apart he was in age from certain important figures.

Gao Ren was three years younger than Huo Yuhao, the protagonist of this era. Huo Yuhao would enter Shrek Academy in two years.

"Big brother, big sister, please take your drumsticks." Gao Ren slid two metal trays through the serving window and set them on the counter outside.

"Okay," they said together.

After taking their Overlord Drumsticks, Bei Bei and Tang Ya found somewhere to sit in the cafeteria.

They each took a bite, then stared at each other wide-eyed.

What kind of divine drumstick was this?!

The food-loving Tang Ya ate quickly, while Bei Bei savored his carefully.

As a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Soul Master, he was more sensitive to the flow of blood and vitality than many other Soul Masters.

He soon noticed that his blood and vitality had grown slightly stronger than before the meal.

His earlier hunch had been right. If this drumstick sold for so much, there had to be something special about it.

"Mmm... This is way too good!" Tang Ya sucked the last of the grease from her fingers, then picked up the bone and gnawed every delicious morsel off it. She looked ready to crunch up the bone and swallow it too.

Bei Bei gave her a wry look. "You're a girl, at least. Mind your image."

"An image isn't nearly as important as good food!" Still wanting more, Tang Ya leaned toward Bei Bei's ear and lowered her voice, a crafty glint in her eyes. "Bei Bei, what if... we coaxed that little Gao Ren into joining the Tang Sect? Wouldn't we have all the Overlord Drumsticks we could eat?"

A Super Douluo's senses were extraordinarily sharp. Even though Tang Ya had deliberately lowered her voice, Xuan Zi still heard her.

He could put up with Tang Ya almost calling him senile.

He could even put up with her saying he had eaten so many that everyone else had been limited to one.

After all, that was true.

But if Tang Ya wanted to lure Gao Ren into the Tang Sect, he could not put up with that.

As deputy master of the Sea God Pavilion, Xuan Zi knew perfectly well what state the Tang Sect was in now.

A drumstick bone snapped with a crisp crack. Bei Bei, sensing something amiss, hurriedly said:

"Xiaoya, he's Xuan Zi's disciple. Do you think you can just lure him away? It's broad daylight. Can you stop dreaming about things that'll never happen?"

"Haha, you're right..." For some reason, cold sweat broke out on Tang Ya's face. "Then let's just get on his good side. Maybe we can still have all the Overlord Drumsticks we can eat..."

Xuan Zi: Cow coming → cow not coming.

While the two were whispering, a young woman's voice sounded behind them.

"What's an Overlord Drumstick? It sounds pretty tasty."

Bei Bei and Tang Ya turned around together.

Before them stood a girl of about fifteen or sixteen, tall and well-proportioned.

The first thing they noticed was her somewhat exaggerated bust.

And in the outer academy, only Ma Xiaotao, a sixth-year student in the Martial Soul Department, had curves like those!

"Hello, Senior Xiaotao," Bei Bei greeted her politely. "We're eating Overlord Drumsticks. They're sold at the window on the far left of the cafeteria."

"The far left? Since when have drumsticks been sold at that window?" Ma Xiaotao looked puzzled.

"Senior Xiaotao, here's what happened..."

Bei Bei explained, briefly telling her about Gao Ren.

"Gao Ren? So it's that little guy." Ma Xiaotao nodded thoughtfully.

Then she headed for the far-left window.

Seeing Ma Xiaotao approach, Gao Wei greeted her with a smile.

"Xiaotao, what would you like today?"

"Uncle Gao, have your nephew fry me a drumstick," Ma Xiaotao replied with a smile.

The two clearly knew each other well.

Gao Wei had known Ma Xiaotao since her first year.

They had met at an eating contest held in Shrek Academy's outer academy.

Gao Wei had been the head cook, while Ma Xiaotao had come in second, narrowly losing to a sixth-year senior.

After Ma Xiaotao entered her second year, she took first place every year without fail.

In a sense, she and Xuan Zi were "the same kind of person."

Once Gao Wei knew what Ma Xiaotao wanted, he called toward the kitchen, "A-Ren, one Overlord Drumstick! Fried!"

A few minutes later, Gao Ren came out carrying a fried Overlord Drumstick.

His drumsticks were already cooked. Coating one in starch and dropping it into hot oil barely took any time.

The instant Gao Ren saw who had ordered the Overlord Drumstick, he recognized her.

After all, his uncle knew Ma Xiaotao far too well.

Whenever the cafeteria made a special meal for Ma Xiaotao, his uncle was usually the one they had cook it.

"Sister Xiaotao," Gao Ren greeted her, his face expressionless.

"Little Renren, you don't look very happy to see me." Ma Xiaotao gave him a flirtatious look. "Just like when you were little. You haven't changed a bit."

"How could that be?" Gao Ren gave a couple of dry laughs.

Ma Xiaotao was right. He really wasn't keen on seeing her.

Like his teacher Xuan Zi, Ma Xiaotao was a "ticking time bomb."

The difference was that Xuan Zi exploded when he took students out, while Ma Xiaotao made no distinction between friend and foe when she exploded.