I'm Taking the High-End, Cutting-Edge Route!

(Third update delivered. Happy Dragon Boat Festival, everyone!)

Huo Yuhao placed the Gold Dragon Fish on a separate grill to cook. He even activated Martial Soul Possession for the task, using his Spiritual Detection Soul Skill to monitor the heat.

Meanwhile, the other ordinary grilled fish, meat skewers, vegetables, and the like were selling exceptionally well.

Shrek Academy students in uniforms of various colors scrambled to line up and buy food. Some even went back into the academy to bring their friends over to try it.

Just then, several female students in purple uniforms emerged from Shrek Academy's gates. The girl at the front drew countless eyes the moment she appeared.

She looked only fourteen or fifteen, with a slender, well-proportioned figure and long golden hair falling in broad waves down her back. Her skin surpassed snow in its fairness, and her eyes were like pools of clear water. With every glance, she exuded an elegant air untouched by worldly dust.

At the sight of this stunning girl, a smile immediately curled Huo Yuhao's lips. She was one of the reasons he had chosen to set up this barbecue stall.

But make no mistake: Huo Yuhao wasn't after Jiang Nannan, the so-called greatest beauty of the Outer Academy. He wanted something in her lapdog's possession.

The Mystic Water Pill!

"Nannan, that smells amazing! What is it?" another female student beside Jiang Nannan asked in surprise.

Jiang Nannan had clearly caught the aroma too, and the girls couldn't help turning their eyes toward Huo Yuhao's stall.

The students gathered around Huo Yuhao's stall spontaneously cleared a path, allowing Jiang Nannan and the other girls to walk straight up to the grill.

With a smile, Jiang Nannan gently nodded her thanks to the students who had made way.

But those students were devouring their skewers so fiercely that sparks might as well have been flying. No one responded to her; they simply kept eating the barbecue in their hands.

Giving the students a somewhat surprised glance, Jiang Nannan approached Huo Yuhao's stall. Both the spotless grilling counter and the enticing aroma of sizzling fat made her eyes light up.

"Junior, how much do you charge for these?" Jiang Nannan asked softly.

"Twenty Gold Soul Coins per grilled fish, five Gold Soul Coins per meat skewer, and two Gold Soul Coins per vegetable skewer. Small business, no credit." Huo Yuhao gave his usual spiel.

"How much did you say?!" Jiang Nannan stiffened, her voice full of disbelief. "Twenty... Gold Soul Coins?!"

"Junior, your prices are completely unreasonable. A grilled fish like this costs three Copper Soul Coins at most, probably even less. What gives you the right to charge so much?"

Huo Yuhao's face immediately darkened. Jiang Nannan might have been a feast for the eyes, but he was no lapdog.

Besides, if he wanted to play his part convincingly and hook a big fish like Xu Sanshi, he had to take action.

"Senior, that's not a very pleasant thing to say. Every senior here is one of Shrek Academy's elites, and none of them has any objection to my barbecue prices. Are you suggesting I'm treating them as suckers?"

"All the meat I use comes from Soul Beasts, and the sauces are made from my family's secret recipes. There's only one place offering them on the entire Douluo Continent, with no other branches. Your three-Copper-Soul-Coin cost only applies to ordinary barbecue stalls. I'm taking the high-end, cutting-edge route, and the flavor of my barbecue isn't something ordinary people can match."

"These are my last ingredients for today. Once they're grilled, I'll be closing up. If you don't want to buy anything, please step aside and don't keep the senior behind you from his meal. Thank you."

Jiang Nannan froze for a moment, then said apologetically, "I'm sorry, junior. I didn't understand the situation and jumped to conclusions. I apologize."

With that, she turned to leave. Barbecue priced in Gold Soul Coins was not something a girl from an ordinary family like hers could afford.

"You brat, how dare you refuse to sell to her?" a deep, resonant voice suddenly rang out, brimming with anger.

Immediately afterward, a heavy pouch slammed onto Huo Yuhao's barbecue cart, actually leaving a shallow dent in its refined-steel counter.

A black-clad figure strode over, quickly passed Jiang Nannan, and came straight up to Huo Yuhao's stall. He raised a hand to grab the two grilled fish on the grill.

"Eight Extremes Collapse!"

Huo Yuhao still had his first Soul Skill, Spiritual Detection, active. His combat instincts, honed through countless bouts of killing, instantly allowed him to predict where the newcomer would strike.

His right elbow suddenly blasted forward, aimed directly at a weak point in the bones of the newcomer's arm. At the same time, his left hand snatched up the two grilled fish and handed them to the male student who had been waiting in line.

Boom!

Huo Yuhao staggered back two steps, his face flushing. The newcomer's cultivation was indeed considerably higher than his.

The black-clad figure was also forced back a step, his arm aching, numb, and weak. Clearly, Huo Yuhao's blow had hurt him as well.

The newcomer wore a black school uniform and had a tall build, thick brows, fierce eyes, a straight nose, and a square mouth. He was quite handsome. Anger flushed his fair skin, and his slightly baby-faced features radiated an intimidating presence.

"You brat, you're asking for death!" the black-clad youth roared, his figure shifting as he prepared to strike again.

"Xu Sanshi, what are you doing?"

Jiang Nannan shouted, her face filled with shock and anger.

"Nannan, this brat refused to sell to you. That's an insult to you! Insulting you means insulting me, Xu Sanshi. I can't let him get away with it!"

Xu Sanshi stepped forward, his large hand reaching straight for Huo Yuhao's chest. His seemingly simple grab contained countless variations, making it difficult to evade.

But when it came to close combat, Xu Sanshi was nowhere near Huo Yuhao's match.

Not only was Huo Yuhao proficient in Blue Star's martial arts and possessed terrifying combat experience, he had also cultivated Yao Lao's Dou Techniques. Combined with the cheat that was Spiritual Detection, he could be said to stand undefeated in close combat from the outset.

"You're stealing my things and damaging my stall. Even if you're my senior, I won't let you bully me like this!"

His figure blurring into streaks of afterimages, Huo Yuhao activated the Heavenly Net Art. In a single flicker, he appeared at Xu Sanshi's side, evading the grab.

Then his right elbow swung out again, once more unleashing Eight Extremes Collapse. This time, however, Huo Yuhao put a full hundred and twenty percent of his strength into the strike, aiming directly at the vulnerable spot beneath Xu Sanshi's ribs.

If Huo Yuhao's attack landed, Xu Sanshi would undoubtedly suffer serious injuries. Even if his cultivation surpassed Huo Yuhao's, the damage caused by a violent shock to his internal organs was not something he could withstand.

With no time to dodge, Xu Sanshi instantly raised three Soul Rings from beneath his feet: two yellow and one purple. His originally fair skin darkened, his muscles swelled, and his entire body grew a size larger.

Most striking of all, a black Tortoise Shell Shield roughly a meter and a half in diameter appeared in his right hand.

"Dark Netherquake!"

His yellow first Soul Ring lit up, and a powerful black halo instantly spread from the shield in Xu Sanshi's hand, covering more than ten square meters. It was like an enormous dome of air pushing outward, releasing thunderous rumbles as it expanded.

Xu Sanshi's first Soul Skill sent Huo Yuhao flying uncontrollably. But while he hurtled backward, his eyes suddenly spat out a blaze of crimson light.

"Soul Shock!"

Xu Sanshi was about to give chase, but it felt as though a needle had stabbed into his brain, and his consciousness briefly blurred.

At that moment, Tang Ya stepped between them. Pouting her red lips, she said indignantly, "Xu Sanshi, you're not allowed to bully little Yuhao. If you keep me from my feast, I'll... I'll have Bei Bei teach you a proper lesson!"