The day's classes soon ended. It was time to open the stall.
Huo Yuhao had only just found a deserted spot outside the academy to let Tian Meng out, yet several regulars were already waiting around his usual stall.
"Junior, I got here early to line up today."
"Brother Hao, the usual. Five skewers of grilled fish."
Seeing their smiles, Huo Yuhao felt the unhappiness in his heart ease a little and prepared to get to work.
Tian Meng's eyes were spinning like mosquito coils, and he staggered as he walked, yet he still insisted on coming out for some fresh air.
Huo Yuhao broke into a sweat.
Couldn't you just stay quietly in the Sea of Consciousness?
Some of the regulars already knew Tian Meng. One asked with concern, "Little sister Tian Meng, what's wrong today? Are you feeling unwell?"
"N-no... I'm fine... Just a little dizzy..."
The student said to Huo Yuhao disapprovingly, "Junior Huo, your cousin isn't feeling well. Why didn't you let him rest at home?"
Before Huo Yuhao could speak, Tian Meng said weakly, "N-no... I can't... Yuhao can't do without me..."
Huo Yuhao: "..."
He shook his head helplessly and took today's ingredients out of his belt.
The students in line couldn't help brightening up. Besides the blue fish, there seemed to be a new ingredient.
"Junior, what's this...?"
"Oh, I'll gradually be adding some new dishes," Huo Yuhao said. "If they're well received, I'll keep them on the menu."
"Today's new dish is grilled turtle. Eight copper coins each. Would you like to try one, senior?"
With that, a sly smile appeared on his face.
The fifth-year student in the purple uniform looked rather odd. He couldn't shake the feeling that Huo Yuhao had an ulterior motive for introducing grilled turtle.
He had been there when Xu Sanshi clashed with Huo Yuhao yesterday. And who in the outer court didn't know that Xu Sanshi's Martial Soul was the Xuanming Turtle?
At that thought, he couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed, but his appetite had still been whetted. He handed over a handful of coins and said, "All right, add a grilled turtle to my order today."
"Thank you for your patronage~" Huo Yuhao was in a good mood.
The grilled turtles sold better than he had expected.
Compared with the grilled fish, crisp outside and tender within, the soft-shelled turtle meat offered a very distinctive texture.
The tender turtle meat was packed with flavor, while the springy rim of its shell had a satisfying chew. Its original fishy odor was completely masked by the rich aroma of spices.
"Delicious!"
Every student who tried it voiced their praise.
Just as Huo Yuhao was preparing a soft-shelled turtle, a familiar figure appeared before him.
Huo Yuhao frowned, looked at the newcomer, and asked, "Can I help you, Senior Grandson?"
The newcomer was no Senior Grandson. He was Xu Sanshi, the very person who had overturned his barbecue stall yesterday.
The other students couldn't help worrying. Had Xu Sanshi come to make trouble for Huo Yuhao again today?
"Senior Grandson?" Xu Sanshi froze. At first, he thought Huo Yuhao had mistaken him for someone else. Then he realized this was a jab at him for calling Huo Yuhao a grandson yesterday.
Suppressing his anger, he bowed slightly. "Junior Huo, I came to apologize today. I was too impulsive yesterday. I'm sorry."
His actions astonished the students watching.
They had never expected the outer court's strongest defender to take the initiative to apologize to a first-year student.
Huo Yuhao didn't respond. He merely continued preparing the turtle in his hands in silence. Suddenly, he chopped off its head, making Xu Sanshi feel a chill around his neck and instinctively draw it back.
Only after a long while did Huo Yuhao speak. "All right, Senior Grandson. I forgive you."
Hearing Huo Yuhao's answer, Xu Sanshi breathed a sigh of relief. "In that case, stop calling me Senior Grandson."
"Then should I call you Senior Bastard?"
"...Why?"
"Aren't you Brother Turtle Bastard?"
"..."
Xu Sanshi pressed a hand to his forehead and tossed Tian Meng a Gold Soul Coin. "I heard your grilled fish is pretty good, junior. Give me a few skewers. Keep the change."
Tian Meng put the money away. Though dizzy, he still did his job conscientiously. "Th-thank you, honored customer. Tian Meng welcomes you, welcomes you back again..."
Huo Yuhao felt deeply conflicted.
Since you clearly know how to speak politely, why did you have to be so overbearing the first time we met?
Couldn't everyone just get along?
Xu Sanshi took the grilled fish from Huo Yuhao, bit into it, and praised it. "Not bad, not bad. It really lives up to its reputation. No wonder everyone praises it."
With that, he polished off an entire grilled fish in just a few bites.
Huo Yuhao didn't pay him much more attention. Plenty of customers were still waiting.
Xu Sanshi, however, didn't leave. Instead, he walked into the stall with a grilled fish between his teeth and stood beside Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao hadn't expected him to suddenly come so close. "What are you doing?"
With the sizzling from the stove providing cover, Xu Sanshi could speak openly to Huo Yuhao without the students lining up a few steps away making out what he was saying.
"Junior Huo, I want to ask you something."
"Go ahead."
"Did you teach Bei Bei some sort of ultimate move?"
"Huh?"
"Don't play dumb. Bei Bei already told me everything."
Xu Sanshi sounded rather agitated. "Yesterday, he used that Lightning Poison Dragon Drill you taught him to beat me up something awful!"
Huo Yuhao: "..."
He was numb.
Why was it this ridiculous thing again?
How could a move this over-the-top from a comic work so well on the Douluo Continent?
"You have no idea," Xu Sanshi said resentfully. "Bei Bei and I used to be pretty evenly matched. But yesterday, after he used that move, his strength increased by at least twenty percent. I couldn't stop him at all."
Huo Yuhao pondered for a moment, and a devious idea rose in his heart.
He gave an evil little smile. "That's right. The Lightning Poison Dragon Drill is the signature technique of Wang Xiaohu, the former leader of our Dragon Tiger Sect. It suits Brother Bei Bei perfectly."
Xu Sanshi was startled. "So it's true."
Bei Bei had already been practicing the Tang Sect Secret Arts, and now he had mastered such an ultimate technique as well. Though their Soul Power was comparable, Bei Bei now held the advantage in actual combat.
Xu Sanshi felt unwilling to accept this. Was he going to be outdone by Bei Bei forever?
Huo Yuhao suddenly said, "Senior Bastard, your Martial Soul is the defensive Xuanming Turtle, right? I have another ultimate technique that would suit you perfectly."
"What technique?" Xu Sanshi froze, no longer even caring about how he was addressed, and hurriedly asked.
"This is the signature technique of another elder of our Dragon Tiger Sect, Shi Heilong-" Huo Yuhao put on a mysterious air. "The Golden Bell Shield!"
"The Golden Bell Shield..." Xu Sanshi murmured.
Judging by its name, it seemed to be a wondrous art dedicated to cultivating defense.
"Would you like to learn it, senior?"
"Please tell me, junior."
Huo Yuhao took a deep breath and began spinning his tale. "The Golden Bell Shield is a wondrous art that cultivates both the internal and the external. It has twelve stages in total. Anyone who masters it will become as indestructible as diamond!"
"The first stage is..."
"The eighth stage is..."
Huo Yuhao talked on and on, making it all sound convincing and leaving Xu Sanshi stunned.
There was actually such a miraculous defensive art in this world?
He didn't doubt the art's authenticity in the slightest. After all, he had only just lost to Bei Bei yesterday. All he could think about now was how to regain his standing.
"Then... how should I practice it?" he asked.
"Simple. Temper your body!" Huo Yuhao said firmly. "Without releasing your Martial Soul, slam your body directly into hard objects. You can't use even a trace of Soul Power. Start with trees, then move on to rocks. Over time, your body will grow harder and harder. Once you can easily smash stone bricks and pillars with your body, that proves you have the talent to practice this art."
"Good! I'll go train right now!"
Xu Sanshi shouted and left, unable to wait another moment.
"Heh, big lugs really are easy to fool. Consider this your punishment for bullying Brother Hao." Watching Xu Sanshi walk away, Huo Yuhao's lips curved into an evil smile.
He could already picture Xu Sanshi offering himself up for a beating like a complete blockhead.
Tian Meng couldn't bear to watch anymore and said softly, "Yuhao... um... did you make that up too?"
"Of course."
"...Then what if he realizes he can't master it?"
"That just means he has no affinity with this art and lacks the talent to practice it."
Huo Yuhao snapped his fingers.
"Brother Hao reserves the right to interpret everything."
Tian Meng: "...Yuhao, you're so wicked."