Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao couldn't help smiling at Wang Dong's words.
Wang Dong rubbed the purple jade token in her hand and said,
"But this treasure appraisal fair really is extravagant. Jade this fine would be a showpiece anywhere else, yet they're giving it away as an ordinary identity token."
Huo Yuhao shrugged and was about to say something to Wang Dong, but she immediately turned and pulled him back the way they had come.
"Oh, right, right! I only caught a glimpse earlier. I haven't had enough of a look at that thing yet."
In her excitement, Wang Dong had already forgotten her complaints about being treated poorly. She simply chattered excitedly to Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao shrugged helplessly, then let Wang Dong pull him back. They only stopped when they reached a display case in the Soul Bone section.
A Soul Bone lay within the display. It was golden-red and actually hovered inside the case. It appeared to be an arm bone, with five slender finger bones pointing upward, each fingertip giving off a faint golden-red glow.
They weren't the only ones who noticed this Soul Bone. Almost everyone who passed it took notice.
Its display was also at least twice as large as those of the other exhibits. The enormous crystal cover scattered its golden-red light into a dazzling brilliance.
Beneath the Soul Bone sat a plaque covered in writing, recording its origins and related information.
The golden-red Soul Bone attracted plenty of attention. Everyone eligible to attend today's treasure appraisal fair was a core disciple of the Outer Court.
However, unlike the Huo Yuhao of the original story, Huo Yuhao hadn't joined the Tang Sect and wasn't particularly familiar with Bei Bei or Xu Sanshi.
Huo Yuhao could more or less recognize the two of them, but neither had any idea who he was. They had merely heard that the top student of this year's freshman class was named Huo Yuhao.
At that moment, Xu Sanshi was still trailing behind Bei Bei, shamelessly begging him to recruit Jiang Nannan into the Tang Sect so that he could follow her in and use the opportunity to take their relationship a step further.
Bei Bei likewise bristled and glared, insisting that the Tang Sect was absolutely not a matchmaking tool for Xu Sanshi and telling him to give up on that idea sooner rather than later.
When Xu Sanshi's shameless pestering finally reached the point where Bei Bei could no longer maintain his refined composure, Bei Bei kicked him away, and Xu Sanshi took advantage of the momentum to shoot off like a cannonball.
Naturally, there was no need to ask which way Xu Sanshi flew: straight toward the entrance Jiang Nannan had come through. Thoroughly annoyed, Jiang Nannan lashed out with a sweeping kick and sent Xu Sanshi flying like a soccer ball.
After that kick, murderous intent blazed in Jiang Nannan's eyes. Through gritted teeth, she delivered her final ultimatum to Xu Sanshi, word by word. "Keep following me, and I'll withdraw from Shrek Academy."
"Uh..." Xu Sanshi, who had been about to sidle up to her again, froze on the spot. After a long silence, he said quietly,
"Can't you give me a chance... Nannan?"
Jiang Nannan looked coldly at Xu Sanshi, then turned to leave. Behind her, Xu Sanshi called out,
"Nannan, don't be so heartless. Give me a chance..."
Jiang Nannan abruptly turned back and said to Xu Sanshi,
"If you want a chance, fine. But you only get one. I want you to swear on your martial soul that if you can't meet my condition, you'll never bother me again."
At those words, Xu Sanshi immediately straightened his back and said to Jiang Nannan,
"I swear! I swear on my martial soul that, as long as your demand is theoretically possible, I'll do whatever it takes!"
Jiang Nannan gave a cold laugh, then said to Xu Sanshi,
"You've heard of the top freshman in the Outer Court this year, haven't you? If you can defeat him, I'll give you a chance to turn over a new leaf."
As soon as Jiang Nannan finished speaking, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao's expressions turned strange, while Huo Yuhao looked as though he'd swallowed a mouthful of shit.
Are you kidding me? You can drag me into even this? What does any of this have to do with me?
Xu Sanshi rubbed his hands together and said,
"No problem. However badass he is, he's still just a freshman. Just watch how I deal with him. The top freshman is only the best among freshmen!"
Xu Sanshi spoke to Jiang Nannan with boundless confidence. Beside him, Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong looked at Huo Yuhao in perfect unison, barely able to contain the laughter in their eyes.
Then Xu Sanshi turned curiously to Huo Yuhao and asked,
"Hey, brother, I haven't seen you around. A freshman?"
Huo Yuhao nodded, then told Xu Sanshi with a perfectly straight face,
"Hello, senior. My name is Huang Chutian."
In truth, Xu Sanshi had only heard of the three members of Huo Yuhao's team, the top freshman team. That was the extent of it; he didn't really know anything about them.
He nodded and said to Huo Yuhao,
"Then sorry for the trouble, but please tell Huo Yuhao to accept my challenge if he's got the guts."
Huo Yuhao gave a light cough, then said to Xu Sanshi,
"Sure, no problem, senior. I can answer for him right now: he absolutely won't accept."
Xu Sanshi immediately bristled and glared at Huo Yuhao, then demanded,
"What do you mean by that?!"
Huo Yuhao loosened up his hands and feet, then said to Xu Sanshi,
"Senior, don't you two think it's downright shameless and cruel to drag a freshman who's merely a little famous into this romantic bullshit between the two of you?"
"That freshman is a person too. He has his own life and plans. Insisting on disrupting his life over your bullshit is awfully selfish, isn't it?"
Xu Sanshi bristled and glared, pointing impatiently at Huo Yuhao as he said,
"I don't need a brat like you lecturing me. Let me teach you a lesson instead. Shrek Academy doesn't care about any of that. Whoever has the harder fists makes the rules. And that isn't just Shrek's rule. It's the rule of the entire soul master world."
Just then, a light, breezy voice remarked casually,
"Whoever has the harder fists makes the rules, huh? Your Xuanming Sect really has shot up in the world these past few years."
The three looked toward the voice and saw a girl with softly colored hair approaching. It was Ning Tian, who had previously fought Huo Yuhao.
Xu Sanshi was about to speak when Ning Tian walked over to Huo Yuhao and said,
"Brother Huo, why borrow someone else's identity just to teach a man a lesson?"
Huo Yuhao scratched his head helplessly, then shrugged and said,
"When disgusting nonsense like this lands in your lap, there's not a damn thing you can do. I'm being made to carry the blame for someone else's mess out of nowhere. If I don't want it sticking to me, naturally I have to slip into another identity and dodge it."
Only then did Xu Sanshi catch on. He immediately bristled and glared at Huo Yuhao.
"So you're Huo Yuhao! You..."
Before he could finish, Huo Yuhao lunged at him. In that single tigerlike pounce, he broke through Xu Sanshi's incompletely formed defenses and pinned him to the ground...
Before you continue