The next day, barely a glimmer of dawn had appeared when Huo Yuhao left the dormitory, leaving only Wang Dong in the room, still dreaming over and over of being kicked in the knees.
"Morning, sir."
Seeing the old man reclining by the dormitory entrance, Huo Yuhao casually greeted him and headed outside.
"Hmm? Up so early?"
The old man opened his eyes a little, then narrowed them again.
Huo Yuhao essentially did two things that day. First, he thoroughly familiarized himself with Shrek Academy. Apart from the Inner Court, which he couldn't enter, he explored every other area.
The Martial Soul Department's teaching buildings, the Soul Tool Department's experimental area, the plazas... Even places he couldn't enter, he looked over from outside. In about one morning, he had covered nearly the entire enormous academy.
The second thing was to enter Shrek City. Shrek Academy wasn't directly connected to the city center; he had to leave through the eastern gate, take a long detour, and enter through another gate.
"The Soul Tool Department... I'll definitely have to check it out when the time comes."
As Huo Yuhao walked, he toyed with an exquisite blue, eight-pointed star badge in his hand.
It was a Level 1 Soul Engineer badge, which he had earned in just five months when he was nine.
After coming to the Douluo Continent, he had naturally developed a keen interest in the novelty of Soul Tools and used some of Princess Xu Jiujiu's connections to find someone to teach him.
As a result, he had gone and become a Level 1 Soul Engineer almost by accident, making his teacher exclaim on the spot that he was a monster.
If Xu Jiujiu hadn't stopped him, the man would have dragged Huo Yuhao away by force, no matter what. He might well have been the youngest Level 1 Soul Engineer on the entire continent!
To Huo Yuhao, making Soul Tools was like assembling Lego or plastic model kits. It looked complicated, but once he found the pattern, it was just simple, repetitive work.
Naturally, he felt far more affinity for these products of technology than for those so-called Tang Sect Hidden Weapons.
"Yuhao, why did you stop learning afterward?" Tian Meng already knew about Huo Yuhao's past, but he couldn't understand this. As he spoke, he reached out to touch the small, exquisite badge.
"Making Soul Tools requires Soul Power to support the process, too. My Soul Power was only at level eight then. Without raising my level, I naturally couldn't advance. Besides, buying all those different metals costs quite a bit, and I didn't feel right troubling other people."
"So I put my mind to selling barbecue instead. I could earn money and cultivate at the same time-two birds with one stone."
Huo Yuhao put away the badge, evading Tian Meng's curious touch.
"But now that I'm at level eleven, it's time to pick up Soul Tools again."
"Technology makes life better~"
He sighed contentedly, then suddenly realized something was wrong. Turning around, he pinched Tian Meng's cheeks hard.
"Why did you come out again!"
"Ow, ow, ow-Yuhao, I get so bored in there..."
Huo Yuhao truly had nothing to say.
There had been no one around a moment ago, and Tian Meng had come out again without asking. Now they were about to enter the city, and with everyone watching, he couldn't put him away again.
He asked helplessly, "What if someone discovers your identity?"
Tian Meng replied confidently, "Don't worry about that. I've already abandoned my original body. Even a Titled Douluo couldn't see through my identity. Even a monster like the one at the dormitory entrance would never imagine I was your Soul Ring as long as I stood beside you."
Despite his solemn assurances, Huo Yuhao still felt he wasn't particularly reliable.
How could Shrek City, where crouching tigers and hidden dragons lurked, have no experts? The chances of being discovered were high!
And so, while considering all sorts of emergency plans for what to do if they were discovered, he led the curious Tian Meng into Shrek City.
Shrek City truly lived up to its reputation as one of the continent's economic centers. It was prosperous, bustling, and densely populated.
Not everyone here was an expert, either. Even Soul Masters made up only a small proportion of humanity.
Yet it was these ordinary people, whose strength fell far short of the Soul Masters', who had built Shrek City's prosperity together.
Negotiations with the ingredient supplier went smoothly. Being a Shrek Academy student was itself a guarantee of credibility.
The supplier agreed to deliver directly to Shrek Academy's cafeteria, where Huo Yuhao could collect the goods himself, saving him the time of making trips into the city.
For now, Huo Yuhao ordered only a batch of black carp. First, grilled fish was a little more beneficial to his cultivation. Second, he currently planned to set up his barbecue stall at the academy entrance, so he needed to investigate the market before gradually introducing new products.
After settling the supply of ingredients, there was still some time before dark, so Huo Yuhao took Tian Meng for a leisurely stroll through Shrek City.
They were in a marketplace. Vendors doing business lined the neatly laid-out streets, and a constant stream of voices filled the air.
Fruit stalls, snack stalls, stalls selling miscellaneous goods...
Cries of hawkers, voices haggling, laughter and playful curses...
Huo Yuhao loved listening to this noisy hawking and watching these lively scenes. This was the warmth and bustle of human life.
"Yuhao, this tastes so good!"
Holding a skewer of candied hawthorn, Tian Meng wore a sweet smile.
"Eat slowly. Take some time to savor it."
Huo Yuhao spoke casually while continuing to study the street closely, seemingly searching for something.
"Yuhao, what are you looking for?" Tian Meng asked, taking a bite of candied hawthorn.
"I'm seeing whether there's a suitable place to open a shop."
He couldn't rely on a roadside stall forever in the food business. A proper storefront was the first step toward establishing a proper operation.
Location mattered. It had to be convenient for both the customers and the owner.
The sky gradually darkened, but the marketplace didn't disperse. Instead, lamps lit up one after another, and it remained as lively as ever.
Huo Yuhao simply stood by the roadside, quietly watching these people go about their ordinary lives.
"Yuhao, what's wrong?"
Seeing that Huo Yuhao hadn't spoken for a long time, Tian Meng asked.
Huo Yuhao asked calmly, "Whether in the Far North where you were born or in the Star Dou Great Forest, have you ever seen Soul Beasts living together in harmony like these people?"
Tian Meng fell silent for a moment before answering, "No."
Huo Yuhao continued, "Let me guess. Do Soul Beasts spend every day trembling with fear, constantly guarding against becoming another Soul Beast's food or a human's Soul Ring? Either you eat them, or they eat you, without a moment's peace from morning to night."
"Every Soul Beast does everything it can to live just a little longer. It's the same at ten years, at a hundred years, and even at ten thousand or a hundred thousand years?"
Tian Meng nodded gently. "Yes."
Looking at the marketplace before him, Huo Yuhao smiled. "But humans aren't like that."
"Powerful Soul Masters protect weak, ordinary people. They unite to drive away Soul Beasts that bring danger, build cities, establish nations, create rules, and establish order, allowing these ordinary people to live and work in peace."
"They're weak, not even a match for some ten-year Soul Beasts, yet they can still live short but happy lives through their own labor."
"What you see before you is merely one corner of this city. At least five million people live in this city, and this continent has countless other prosperous cities like it, with hundreds of millions of humans living in peace and tranquility."
"Do you think Soul Beasts could do that?"
Tian Meng looked gloomy as he answered softly, "Of course not. High-level Soul Beasts only see low-level Soul Beasts as food."
Huo Yuhao said, "I've heard that hundred-thousand-year Soul Beasts possess intelligence on par with humans. But would they do what humans do?"
Tian Meng shook his head. "Of course they wouldn't."
Huo Yuhao chuckled softly, then abruptly changed the subject, his tone turning serious.
"I don't like Soul Beasts as a group. Humans and Soul Beasts are natural enemies, so I need to confirm where you stand."
"And given that crazy plan of yours yesterday, I'll definitely be showing Soul Beasts no mercy in the future. Whose side are you on?"
"Mine, or the Soul Beasts'?"
Tian Meng sighed and answered, "Yuhao, do you think I can still choose the other side? Yours, of course. Besides, those Soul Beasts... never treated me as one of their own, did they..."
"Good, then."
Huo Yuhao snapped his fingers in satisfaction, smiling toward the marketplace and watching it for a long while more.
"Humans are pretty remarkable, aren't they?"
"Yes."