"Don't worry, Sister Xiaoya. Your Gold Dragon Fish is cooking just right!"
Although Huo Yuhao was slightly out of breath, he had barely depleted his soul power. As light flickered in his eyes, the flames in the grill beside him danced along with it.
"What impressive flame control!" Bei Bei applauded softly, then walked over with a smile. "You actually managed to split your attention while fighting Xu Sanshi and keep controlling the flames in the grill. Yuhao, your talent really is astonishing."
An outsider watched the spectacle; an expert saw the workings behind it. Bei Bei was quick-witted. The moment he arrived, he had noticed that Huo Yuhao was using his soul power and spiritual power to manipulate the flames in the grill and regulate the heat. That was how he ensured that everything he grilled had the perfect texture.
Yet even during Huo Yuhao's fight with Xu Sanshi, the flames in the grill had continued adjusting themselves. Beneath some of the fully cooked meat skewers, the flames had even gone out entirely.
That meant Huo Yuhao had still devoted part of his attention to the food on the grill while dealing with Xu Sanshi's attacks.
He had dared to divide his attention against an opponent whose cultivation surpassed his own. It was hard to say whether Huo Yuhao was arrogant or simply bold enough to trust his exceptional skill.
"Tang Ya, don't think I can't do anything to you just because Bei Bei protects you," Xu Sanshi growled, his eyes blazing.
Tang Ya sneered. "Come on, then! You think I'm afraid of you? Dare to keep me from my feast again, and I'll give you a taste of this!"
Her slender hand flicked slightly, and several streaks of golden light flashed between her fingers.
Xu Sanshi's expression changed at the sight of that flashing golden light, but he still refused to lose face. Stiffening his neck, he said, "If he disrespects Jiang Nannan, he disrespects me. It's just two grilled fish. I've already paid."
Huo Yuhao calmly distributed the meat skewers and assorted vegetables on the grill to the older students around him who had already paid. Then he extinguished the flames beneath the Barbecue King Gold Dragon Fish, letting the residual heat of the charcoal continue crisping its skin.
At Xu Sanshi's words, he snorted and picked up the pouch Xu Sanshi had thrown over earlier. Pointing at the shallow dent in the barbecue cart's metal worktop beneath it, he said, "You did pay, that's true, but you also damaged my barbecue cart. Besides, those two grilled fish weren't yours. Plenty of people were ahead of you in line."
"Brat, you dare talk to me like that? Do you want to die?!" Xu Sanshi shouted furiously.
"If you had what it took, I'd already be lying on the ground," Huo Yuhao scoffed. "Your only advantage is your age. If we were in the same year, you wouldn't last three moves against me!"
"What did you say?!" Xu Sanshi roared, about to attack again. Huo Yuhao remained utterly fearless, staring coldly at him.
Tang Ya stamped her foot and shouted, "Xu Sanshi, if my precious Gold Dragon Fish gets even a little burnt, I'll never forgive you! Bei Bei, why are you still wasting words on him? Beat him up! Beat him until he can't take care of himself, and I'll let you kiss me!"
Bei Bei had been keeping a stern expression, but after hearing this Little Demoness's words, as though Tang Ya wanted nothing more than to see the whole world descend into chaos, his facial muscles twitched.
Bei Bei walked over to Xu Sanshi and lowered his voice. "That's enough. If you really hurt Yuhao today, you'll be expelled under the academy rules. Use your head and think it through."
Shrek Academy's rules forbade older students from deliberately provoking or attacking younger students. Anyone caught doing so would be expelled immediately. Younger students, however, could challenge older students, provided a teacher was present to witness it and ensure it was not a case of an older student bullying someone.
As for students in the same year, they could fight as much as they liked. As long as no one died, the academy would not interfere.
As a spiritual-type soul master, Huo Yuhao had exceptionally keen senses, and he also heard Bei Bei's conversation with Xu Sanshi.
He subtly adjusted his expression, widening his eyes and making his facial muscles tremble. Now Huo Yuhao looked as though he had flown into a furious rage.
He tapped an older student beside him who had been watching the drama unfold and said loudly, "Senior, you saw it just now too. Xu Sanshi attacked me first. Not only did he try to snatch goods I'd already sold, he also damaged my stall! You seem to be a senior from the Soul Tool Department. Sorry for the trouble, but could you find Vice Dean Qian Duoduo for me and tell him what happened here? As payment, you can eat my barbecue for free for three days. How does that sound?"
The male student in black froze for a moment, then delight appeared on his face.
What a windfall! Thank you, nature, for your bounty!
Even if Xu Sanshi came from the Xuanming Family, which student at Shrek Academy did not have a powerful background? Not everyone would be wary of the Xuanming Family's influence.
This student also had a major sect in the soul master world behind him, so he did not care about offending Xu Sanshi. Right now, all he could think about was free skewers.
"No problem, little brother. Wait here. I'll go get Dean Qian right away! Don't worry, I saw everything that happened here clear as day. I'll testify for you when we get back!"
Seeing the male student eagerly turn to head into the academy, Xu Sanshi went white with fear. If this matter reached Qian Duoduo, he would definitely be expelled. There was no chance of escaping it.
He had worked hard to reach his fifth year at Shrek Academy, and he had already been selected for admission to the Inner Academy. If he got expelled over something like this today, his time as the Xuanming Family's young master would be over. His father would twist his head clean off.
"No, no, no, no, no! Brother, I was rash this time. It was all my fault. I admit it! Isn't admitting I was wrong enough? Just tell me how much compensation you want."
Xu Sanshi grabbed the male student who was eagerly making his way into Shrek Academy, then gave Huo Yuhao a smile uglier than a crying face.
"I'm burning with anger right now, and I need to vent to cool off. If you get expelled from the academy, that might just put out the fire," Huo Yuhao said coldly, shaking his head.
"Please, don't! Bei Bei, Tang Ya, you know this little brother. Hurry up and help me talk him around!"
Sweat streamed down Xu Sanshi's forehead in his panic. He even disregarded his secret arrangement with Bei Bei to rig matches in the Soul Fighting Arena and humbly begged the two of them for help.
Bei Bei smiled helplessly, walked over to Huo Yuhao, and patted his shoulder. "Yuhao, Xu Sanshi was definitely in the wrong today. But when you can spare someone, spare them. Let me play peacemaker, and let him off this once. This guy comes from the Xuanming Family, and his pockets run deep. Feel free to bleed him dry. Don't hold back on my account."
Seeing Bei Bei step in to mediate, Huo Yuhao relaxed his tightly drawn expression.
He certainly would not let Xu Sanshi be expelled. Not only would that gain him nothing, it would also offend the Xuanming Family behind Xu Sanshi.
In the original story, Dai Huabin had dared to have assassins from the White Tiger Duke's Mansion attack Huo Yuhao in Shrek City. The Xuanming Family might well do the same.
After all, security in Shrek City was on par with Hikari's laboratory in the Land of Light. Anyone could stroll in and stir up some headline-making trouble.
"My barbecue stall rakes in gold here every day. Even if you gave me ten thousand Gold Soul Coins, so what? I don't care about them at all!" Huo Yuhao said icily.
"Since you're from the Xuanming Family, you should have some Mystic Water Pills on you, right? Give me eight or ten as compensation, and I'll pretend nothing happened today."