Watching Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi walk away side by side, Tang Ya breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Huo Yuhao. "Little Brother Huo, don't take it to heart. Your senior Xu Sanshi is just a little hotheaded. He's actually a decent person. I'll make sure he pays for your stall later."
"I hope so," Huo Yuhao said flatly.
He put the collapsed grill back together and lit the charcoal. Although it was broken, it could still just about grill three or four fish.
Seeing this, one of the students watching nearby asked, "Junior, are you still selling?"
Huo Yuhao shook his head. "I'm done for today. Come back tomorrow, everyone."
After that commotion, the spectators had lost much of their appetite for grilled fish. Hearing Huo Yuhao's answer, they all left.
Huo Yuhao started grilling again, cooking only three fish at a time.
The fish were soon ready. He handed two to Dai Huabin, who passed one to Zhu Lu.
Huo Yuhao gave the third grilled fish to Tang Ya.
"Senior Tang Ya, thank you and Brother Bei Bei for helping me out."
"Oh, how could I possibly accept this?" Despite her words, Tang Ya's hand honestly accepted the fish, and she eagerly took a bite.
"That guy's called Xu Sanshi, right?" Dai Huabin asked. "What's his martial soul? How is he so powerful?"
Tang Ya nodded. "His martial soul is called the Xuanming Turtle. It's a top-tier mutated beast martial soul, especially renowned for its defense-said to be as impregnable as a fortress with walls of metal and moats of boiling water. He and Bei Bei are known as the Outer Court Twin Stars: one has the strongest defense, the other the strongest offense. Both are about to break through to four rings."
Dai Huabin nodded. Xu Sanshi's immense strength had left a deep impression on him.
Remembering Dai Huabin's earlier performance, Wang Dong suddenly drew in a sharp breath. "You... you're already a three-ring Soul Elder?"
"Heh, scared now?"
"...And you're only a first-year?"
"Freshman Class Five, genuine through and through."
Wang Dong was utterly shocked.
Not even twelve, and already so astonishingly talented. Why did Huo Yuhao know someone like him?
Wait... what was his martial soul?
Was it that White Tiger?
Hearing Dai Huabin's rank, Tang Ya's eyes lit up. How could a genius who had reached three rings at twelve not tempt her?
"Little Brother Huo, how do you know this junior? Could you introduce him to me? Would any of you be interested in our Tang Sect?"
"The Tang Sect?"
Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, and Wang Dong all paused in surprise. "You're from the Tang Sect?"
Tang Ya nodded repeatedly. "That's right. I'm the genuine current sect master of the Tang Sect."
"The Tang Sect..." Dai Huabin exchanged a glance with Zhu Lu. "Actually, our two families have longstanding ties with the Tang Sect."
Tang Ya froze. "What ties?"
"My name is Dai Huabin, and hers is Zhu Lu," Dai Huabin said. "Our martial souls are the Evil-Eyed White Tiger and the Hell Spirit Cat. That should make things clear, shouldn't it?"
"C-could it be..." Tang Ya covered her mouth in disbelief.
"That's right. Our ancestors were White Tiger Douluo Dai Mubai and Netherworld Douluo Zhu Zhuqing, members of the original Shrek Seven Devils alongside the Tang Sect's founder, Tang San."
Their surnames and martial souls had already given Tang Ya an inkling, but when Dai Huabin confirmed it himself, she was too stunned to speak.
Wang Dong had never imagined these two had such backgrounds either. Judging by his age, wouldn't Dai Huabin be the son of the Star Luo Empire's current White Tiger Duke?
Why did Huo Yuhao know someone like him? And they seemed to be on pretty good terms, too.
"Then... then..." Tang Ya's heart raced. With this connection between them, perhaps getting him to join the Tang Sect wasn't impossible.
"However," Dai Huabin said, "we won't be joining any sect."
"So that's how it is?" Tang Ya said in disappointment. "Since you're a descendant of the White Tiger lineage, you must belong to the Dragon Tiger Sect, right?"
Dai Huabin: "???"
He was thoroughly bewildered. What was this Dragon Tiger Sect that had popped up out of nowhere?
Huo Yuhao coughed softly, handed him another two grilled fish, and gave him a meaningful look.
Dai Huabin caught on, his face darkening with exasperation.
He seemed to remember now.
The Dragon Tiger Sect was a completely fictional sect that Huo Yuhao had often talked about in the past.
By giving the Dragon Tiger Sect's name when he was out, he could keep people from knowing he belonged to the White Tiger Duke's Mansion...
"Senior," Zhu Lu asked, "I heard the Tang Sect began declining a long time ago. What's its current situation?"
Hearing a descendant of Ancestor Tang San's companions ask her this, Tang Ya felt an indescribable sadness well up within her. "The Tang Sect has now fallen into complete decline. Only Bei Bei and I remain."
"What?!"
Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, and Wang Dong all paled with shock.
How had the continent's once-greatest sect fallen to such a state?
As Tang Ya tearfully recounted the Tang Sect's hardships in recent years and how its ancestral property had been seized, they fell silent.
After a long while, Dai Huabin spoke. "Senior, there's not much we can do about the Tang Sect's current plight. But as fellow descendants of the Shrek Seven Devils, I can give you my word now that our White Tiger lineage can provide you with a sufficiently secure residence in the Star Luo Empire. I believe my father will agree."
Zhu Lu nodded as well. "The same goes for our Zhu Family."
Huo Yuhao gave Dai Huabin a somewhat surprised glance.
Without anyone noticing, he had gradually become more generous and magnanimous.
As expected, Brother Hao had taught him well. He absolutely couldn't learn from that old woman, the Duchess.
Hearing Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu's words, Tang Ya's eyes grew moist. "Thank you... thank you both..."
Seeing that Tang Ya was about to cry, Zhu Lu hurried to reassure her. "Senior, you don't need to get so emotional. It's only a small gesture."
"I'm just so touched." Tang Ya wiped her tears. "I'd thought that no matter how deep a bond once was, it would have faded to almost nothing after ten thousand years..."
"I once approached the Clear Sky Sect, which had ties of gratitude with Ancestor Tang San, but there wasn't so much as a word from them..."
Tang Ya couldn't help covering her face and weeping.
She had long since grown accustomed to being strong on her own. She had asked many people for help, yet never received any response.
Now that someone was willing to lend her a hand for the sake of that tenuous bond from ten thousand years ago, she could no longer hold back her tears.
At the mention of the Clear Sky Sect, Wang Dong's expression dimmed. She suddenly stepped forward. "Senior Tang Ya, I want to join the Tang Sect."
"What?" Tang Ya looked at her in astonishment, scarcely able to believe it.
"You... you really want to join the Tang Sect? But... but there are only two of us left now."
"That doesn't matter. I've long heard about the wonders of the Tang Sect Hidden Weapons," Wang Dong said firmly. "I want to join the Tang Sect and learn to use hidden weapons!"
"I need to think it over. You should think it through carefully, too."
Rather than agreeing, Tang Ya gave that answer.
She then turned to Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu. "Thank you both, juniors, but I'll have to decline your kind offer."
"In the future, I'll still return to the Heaven Dou Empire, to the Tang Sect's original grounds-to my home."
"I'll restore the Tang Sect's glory through my own efforts."
With that, she bowed deeply and headed into the academy.
Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, and Wang Dong watched her leave, their feelings tangled.
At that moment, Huo Yuhao asked, "Have you eaten your fill?"
"Yeah, I'm full."
Dai Huabin tossed away the bamboo skewers in his hand and stretched contentedly. He and Zhu Lu hadn't stopped eating all this time.
"Then head wherever you need to go. Brother Hao is going into town."
Wang Dong asked in confusion, "Why are you going into town this late?"
Before they knew it, night had fallen.
"To buy a new grill and pick up some more stock. I'm introducing a new dish tomorrow."
Dai Huabin's eyes lit up. "What new dish?"
"Isn't that Xu Sanshi's martial soul the Xuanming Turtle?"
Huo Yuhao grinned wickedly.
"Brother Hao is going to buy a few dozen turtles tonight!"
Wang Dong: "..."
Dai Huabin: "..."
Zhu Lu: "..."