That Damn Dog Leash Was Still Chasing Me!

In the end, Huo Yuhao secured the 10-Year Wind Baboon Torso Bone for 400,000 Gold Soul Coins.

Quite a few wealthy people had attended this auction.

When they saw someone in the Hongchen Family's private box bid, they made a couple of token bids before giving up.

After mulling it over for two seconds, Huo Yuhao said, "Senior Sister Meng, could I discuss something with you? If we come across..."

Next came the second half of the auction.

The items Meng Hongchen had been waiting for finally appeared.

They were a pair of Level 6 ice-attribute rapiers and a Level 7 teleportation ring, which she won for 200,000 and 1,223,000 respectively.

"Junior Brother, I'm using the supplementary card on the dean's account too. This is all pocket change to Grandpa."

Meng Hongchen winked at Huo Yuhao, and the two exchanged a smile.

Next, a fist-sized, deep-yellow piece of thirty-thousand-year whale rubber caught Huo Yuhao's attention.

In his Sea of Consciousness, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm gave a quiet exclamation.

"Yuhao, even ten-thousand-year whale glue is rare, let alone thirty-thousand-year stuff."

"It can greatly strengthen your physique, letting you withstand the power of stronger Soul Rings and increasing your chances of absorbing a Soul Ring beyond your limit."

"Get it. We'll find some time to upgrade your first and second Soul Rings."

Seeing that Huo Yuhao seemed interested, Meng Hongchen nodded.

"Thirty-thousand-year whale rubber is certainly rare."

"But, Junior Brother, haven't you gotten sick of the thousand-year whale rubber in the advanced Soul Engineer meal sets yet?"

"Huh?" Huo Yuhao was a little bewildered.

When he had first started eating the advanced Soul Engineer meal sets, he had deliberately checked the names of the dishes.

But later, as his standards for good food rose, and he became far too busy, he usually just picked up his plate and wolfed everything down.

All he knew was that it tasted good, he loved eating it, and it was highly nourishing. He had never paid attention to what some of the later dishes were actually made from.

"But if you want to improve your physique and absorb older Soul Rings, this thirty-thousand-year whale rubber really isn't something to miss."

Meng Hongchen sipped her sweet iced tea and cupped her pretty face in her hands as she estimated:

"The bidding will probably start at 200,000 Gold Soul Coins. Four hundred thousand should secure it."

Sure enough, once Huo Yuhao bid 410,000 Gold Soul Coins, no one was willing to follow.

Although the next few auction items were high-level, they were nothing remarkable, and neither Huo Yuhao nor Meng Hongchen had any use for them.

Just as the two were about to leave, staff members pushed several carts filled with small metal spheres of various colors onto the stage. The auctioneer said:

"As everyone knows, rare metals are the foundation of a Soul Engineer's work."

"Today, these discarded mid- and high-level Core Arrays used for practice can all be melted down and reforged into rare metals..."

Meng Hongchen shook her head and stood up to leave.

Did she and Huo Yuhao really need this little bit of rare metal?

Besides, the auctioneer made it sound nice, but if melting them down and reforging them could easily turn a profit, this pile of failed mid- and high-level Core Arrays would never have reached the auction.

It was nothing more than a little ploy to sell them at a premium.

She had only just risen when she noticed Huo Yuhao's eyes fixed on those Core Arrays.

"Junior Brother?"

Huo Yuhao shook his head, shared his Spiritual Detection with her, and marked a Level 4 Core Array on one of the carts.

"A Level 4 'Absorption' Core Array with one incorrect stroke? Is there something special about it?"

Meng Hongchen could not quite follow Huo Yuhao's thinking.

Huo Yuhao thought for a moment before saying, "Senior Sister Meng, have you heard about that shelved project of Senior Brother Feng's?"

Meng Hongchen asked in confusion, "Several of Senior Brother Feng's projects have been shelved. Which one do you mean?"

"The last one."

"I've played with it. What does that have to do with this?"

"He gave me a Level 3 Soul Tool. I feel..."

Huo Yuhao looked at the failed "Absorption" Core Array below. "That incorrect stroke is very interesting."

Meng Hongchen could not see what this failed Level 4 Core Array had to do with the Laminar Flow Output Soul Tool.

But she knew that inspiration was hard to come by for a Soul Engineer.

So she waved her delicate hand. "Then let's buy it. Grandpa's paying anyway!"

After the auction ended, the two paid with the supplementary card on the dean's account and collected their purchases, then found Xiao Hongchen and Feng Tingting already waiting at the entrance.

Seeing Feng Tingting's flushed face, Huo Yuhao gave Xiao Hongchen a thumbs-up and winked.

Xiao Hongchen coughed twice.

"Let's stroll around the academy together, then try Junior Brother's grilled fish."

"Yuhao, you promised earlier."

Huo Yuhao nodded.

As it happened, he also wanted to see whether he could run into the person buying Level 1 Soul Tools.

If it really was Wang Dong, judging by what had happened before, perhaps she would come looking for him herself.

The four strolled around for a while, but nothing happened.

Huo Yuhao simply bought some fresh fish at a roadside shop along the way.

Then, by the roadside, he took out all the equipment he had used to sell grilled fish in Shrek City, along with his carefully stored seasonings.

He marinated the fish for the three of them on the spot, then began grilling.

Huo Yuhao's skill at grilling fish was truly exceptional. Before long, a rich aroma began drifting outward.

Sizzle!

A light sheen of fat still ran over the river catfish, grilled golden brown, and a rich fragrance kept billowing from their bellies.

"Me first!" Meng Hongchen volunteered, taking the first grilled fish and biting into it gently.

As her teeth met the grilled fish, there was even a faint crunch. The skin had been grilled perfectly crisp without being burnt in the slightest.

Beneath the crisp skin was tender, juicy flesh, flavored all the way through.

After just one bite, Meng Hongchen's blue eyes lit up. Without even pausing to offer praise, she devoured the fish in a few mouthfuls.

Before Xiao Hongchen could question whether Meng Hongchen might be putting on an act, Huo Yuhao's gaze had already left the grilled fish.

Following his gaze, the three looked toward two people arguing nearby.

One had short pinkish-blue hair and matching eyes, with delicate, handsome features.

The other had black hair and black eyes, with a belt-style Storage Soul Tool wrapped around his waist.

A cold gleam flashed through Huo Yuhao's eyes. That damn dog leash is still chasing me!

Without betraying anything, he handed several Soul Tools to Meng Hongchen and quietly explained to the three.

With a natural expression, Meng Hongchen put them into her Storage Bracelet, holding her position for now.

Wang Dong was in a very bad mood.

Somehow, Tang Yin had learned that she was coming to the Sun Moon Empire's Imperial Soul Engineer Academy to find the person who could make Soul Tools that did not make her nauseous.

He had even followed her the whole way under the pretext of expanding the market for hidden weapons.

But Tang Yin had indeed sold quite a few hidden weapons at scrap-metal prices, so Wang Dong had no reason to chase him away.

After they arrived, Tang Yin had also suggested she pay 1,000 Gold Soul Coins to purchase a Soul Tool personally made by one of the students here.

Any level would do.

But the method was full of loopholes. Even after adding a real-name requirement, the students still swarmed her to cash in.

In just a few days, she had lost several million Gold Soul Coins.

Her spending money had hit rock bottom, and she still had not found the person she wanted.

Even then, that damned Tang Yin had picked up an issue of "Soul Engineer Genius" from two or three months ago off the ground and offered her advice with a look of delight.

He said they knew one of the academy's lower-year students, and that might produce unexpected results.

But her trust in Tang Yin had long since fallen below zero. His words only irritated her further.

She chose to blow up at Tang Yin!

"Wait, is that... Huo Yuhao?!" Noticing Tang Yin's mutter, Wang Dong followed his gaze.

Wang Dong stared at Huo Yuhao for a few moments. He looked quite familiar.

Tang Yin walked straight over. His expression was not particularly surprised to see Huo Yuhao.

After becoming Yan Shaozhe's final disciple, he had happened to learn that Huo Yuhao had fled to the Sun Moon Empire through Feng Bujue.

Just now, he had also unexpectedly discovered that Huo Yuhao was actually featured in that blasted academy-exclusive "Soul Engineer Genius."

The magazine said a Soul Engineer genius had joined the academy.

He had thought that, after fleeing to Mingdu, Huo Yuhao might really have received focused training, just as the magazine claimed.

He had not expected that, when they met again, Huo Yuhao would still be selling grilled fish to bankroll his dream of becoming a Soul Engineer. Tang Yin could not help shaking his head slightly.

It seemed that this so-called "Soul Engineer Genius" was not worth all that much after all. A Level 2 ranking? Was it some fly-by-night ranking?

Still, even if Huo Yuhao really did have some talent as a Soul Engineer, so what?

Soul Tools were nothing but a crooked, heretical path.

This incarnation of his had clearly started out just the same as Huo Yuhao.

But he had first joined the Tang Sect, then poisoned the entire field during the new student assessment, and later dealt with the evil Man Faced Demon Spider clan.

In little more than half a year, he had already grown into a top genius of the present-day holy land of Soul Masters.

As for Huo Yuhao, the fellow who had refused his personal invitation to join him...

Now he was merely selling grilled fish outside a Soul Engineer academy.

The difference was plain to see.

And he simply could not understand it. If Huo Yuhao was going to sell grilled fish anyway, why not sell it in Shrek City, the holy land of Soul Masters?

No wonder Teacher Xiaoya ignored him, Teacher Zhou Yi thought little of him, and Xu Sanshi looked down on him.

Back then, he had even considered whether Huo Yuhao might be a Child of Destiny.

What a waste of his Purple Demon Eye cultivation.