Arrival in Suotuo City

"You're welcome." Yang Yunhai replied casually, then continued eating the rabbit meat.

Before long, the two finished eating and continued on their journey.

They were already within the territory inhabited by ordinary hundred-year Soul Beasts. With their strength, they naturally had no fear of danger, so they traveled at a decent pace.

By evening, before the sun had completely set, they had already left the Star Dou Great Forest.

Seeing that night was approaching, Yang Yunhai suggested finding a place to make a fire and eat first.

"I'll go gather some firewood." Reaching an open patch of ground, Yang Yunhai quickly set down his things and turned toward some dead trees nearby.

Zhu Zhuqing watched quietly. Once Yang Yunhai had walked away, she glanced at the bundle he had left on the ground, brushed her fingertip past her ear, and took out a rug. She walked to an open area nearby and spread it out. Then she took out another one, found a clean spot a short distance away, spread it out, and sat down to comb her hair.

Ever since Yang Yunhai had pulled her out of the pool, her hair had remained loose. There had been no time to tend to it while traveling. Now, she finally had the chance.

Before long, Yang Yunhai returned carrying an armful of firewood. Glancing at the rug beside his bundle, he smiled. "Thanks."

"It was nothing." Zhu Zhuqing's voice was very soft.

Yang Yunhai nodded and said nothing more as he began arranging the firewood and starting a fire.

Before long, a campfire blazed to life. Yang Yunhai picked up the Soft Bone Rabbit he had killed on the road and swiftly skinned and gutted it.

Soon, skewers of rabbit meat sizzled beside the fire, dripping oil and filling the air with fragrance.

After a while, crisp footsteps sounded. Yang Yunhai turned to look.

Zhu Zhuqing had already finished fixing her hair. Aside from not wearing leather clothing, she looked different from the image he had seen in the animation in his previous life. Her hairstyle, however, was exactly the same, tied atop her head in the shape of cat ears. Long hair fell from both sides, completely concealing her ears and purple teardrop-shaped earrings.

"Nice hairstyle. It suits you."

Yang Yunhai nodded slightly.

"..." Zhu Zhuqing's body visibly froze for a moment. Then, without shifting her gaze, she slowly walked over and sat on the side of the campfire closest to Yang Yunhai.

Her posture was elegant, and her expression remained cool and detached, betraying no emotional change whatsoever.

"Here." Yang Yunhai picked up several skewers of rabbit meat and handed them to her.

"Thank you!" Zhu Zhuqing finally broke her silence. She spoke softly and reached out to accept them.

"No problem." Yang Yunhai smiled.

Zhu Zhuqing took them and ate the meat with great elegance.

Seeing this, Yang Yunhai did not chatter any further and began wolfing down his own food.

Before long, Zhu Zhuqing, whose appetite was clearly smaller, finished eating first. She rose, walked to the rug, sat down, closed her eyes, and began cultivating.

She really is diligent, Yang Yunhai sighed inwardly.

Turning back, he quickly finished the remaining rabbit meat, packed everything up, and walked to the other rug to sit down and cultivate as well.

Nothing happened that night. Early the next morning, the two continued on their way.

Two hours later, they finally caught sight of a sandy dirt road. Following it, they arrived at a human town in the afternoon.

"Zhu Qing, are you still planning to go to Suotuo City?" After finding a restaurant, ordering their food, and sitting down, Yang Yunhai was the first to ask.

"..." Zhu Zhuqing's eyes lowered almost instantly. After a moment of silence, she nodded. "Yes."

Though she was disappointed, there were some things she had to do. Only then could she begin a new life.

Yang Yunhai nodded. "Then let's part ways once we reach Suotuo City. I happen to have something to do there as well."

If he could buy the Hair Crystal, he did not want to leave it for Tang San. It might not pose much of a threat to him, but one could never be too careful. What if it was fired at his head or eyes? With his current Spiritual Power, the crystal needles were so fine that he might not be able to guard against them.

More importantly, once infused with Soul Power and fired, they would explode!

Even Zhao Wuji, a Soul Sage with considerable defensive power, could have his defenses broken and suffer from it. Much less Yang Yunhai as he was now.

Mechanical Hidden Weapons were fine, since they were dead objects. But the original story had explicitly mentioned that technique-based Hidden Weapons could be combined with internal energy and Soul Power. That alone made their power somewhat unpredictable.

To say nothing else, Guanyin Tears had pierced the heart of the godly Qian Renxue, while Bodhi Blood had killed the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King. Those were undeniable feats. It also showed from another angle that technique-based Hidden Weapons might truly possess something uniquely formidable.

People in his previous life had said Tang San's Hidden Weapon techniques were beneath contempt. But in reality, before his own strength had grown to the point where he could completely ignore them, and before he had personally seen Tang San use Hidden Weapons and understood their exact power, underestimating an unfamiliar opponent was not a good thing.

It was never wrong to play it safe.

Besides, it was on the way and would not waste much time. Suotuo City was located in the southwest of the Balak Kingdom. Going south past the border led to the Star Dou Great Forest, while heading north along the Official Road through Jialing Pass led directly to Heaven Dou City. It was very convenient.

I wonder whether Tang San has gone to Suotuo City yet... With that thought, he smiled faintly and continued.

"After that, I'll head north along the Official Road to Heaven Dou City and join an advanced Soul Master Academy that suits me. I don't want to miss a grand event like the All-Continent Soul Master Competition. Maybe we'll even become opponents by then."

"They say battle is the best teacher. When the competition comes, I definitely won't hold back."

Zhu Zhuqing merely nodded again.

As for this lifesaver who had done something improper to her and whom she had known for only a short time, she truly did not know how to communicate with him, much less what she should say.

"Your dishes are here, honored guests." A shout broke the silence as the waiter trotted in with the food.

Once all the dishes had been served, Yang Yunhai picked up his bowl and chopsticks as he urged her on. "Eat, eat. Once we're done, let's buy some travel rations here, then hire a driver and a carriage at the Post Station by the city gate. That way, we can cultivate in the carriage too, and it'll be less troublesome."

"Alright." Zhu Zhuqing nodded, picked up her bowl and chopsticks, and began eating in small bites.

Before long, Yang Yunhai had eaten his fill. He rose and went to the counter, settling the bill and buying their travel rations at the same time.

When he returned, Zhu Zhuqing had finished as well. After calling to her, the two walked out of the restaurant and headed toward the Post Station by the city gate.

A quarter of an hour later, wheels rumbled as an exquisite carriage rolled out through the city gate.

Inside the carriage, Yang Yunhai sat on the floor near the door with his eyes closed, immersed in cultivation.

On the other side, Zhu Zhuqing, who sat cross-legged facing him farther inside the carriage, slowly opened her eyes.

Her limpid eyes quietly gazed at Yang Yunhai's face. After a long while, she gritted her teeth, raised the back of her hand to rub her slightly reddened eyes, then quickly closed them and settled herself into cultivation.

Only when it was time to eat and the driver called out did the two open their eyes.

"Let's eat." "Mm." After that brief exchange, they silently finished their meal and resumed cultivating.

Time passed day by day like this.

Until three days later, the driver's voice rang out again. "Young master, we've arrived in Suotuo City."

"Mm." Yang Yunhai opened his eyes first and gave a quiet response. Then he added, "Thank you for your trouble."

After saying that, he turned to Zhu Zhuqing, who had also awakened from cultivation. Bracing himself against the ground as he stood, he said, "Let's go. We're getting off."

Zhu Zhuqing nodded and followed Yang Yunhai out of the carriage.

Looking up at the sky, they saw that the sun had tilted slightly westward. It was still afternoon.

"There's still some time. I'm planning to take a look around the city first and see whether there's anything worth buying. Want to come with me?" Yang Yunhai turned back and asked.

If she doesn't have enough money, she can lend me some... he thought inwardly.

"Alright." Zhu Zhuqing nodded slightly.

Thus, the two walked into the city side by side, occasionally exchanging a few words as they strolled past the many shops.

After a long while, Yang Yunhai's gaze swept ahead, and a general store with a circular emblem carved onto its signboard entered his view. Looking closely, he saw three special symbols engraved within the circle: a sword, a hammer, and a dragon.

This should be the one. Yang Yunhai thought to himself as he calmly led Zhu Zhuqing closer.

When they reached a side street not far from the store, Yang Yunhai suddenly stopped, turned toward it, glanced at the signboard, and said, "There are several Soul Power fluctuations inside this store. It seems to sell Soul Tools. Zhu Qing, let's go take a look."

As he spoke, he stepped closer.

The store door was open, and the interior looked rather dim. The two entered and looked around. There was only one person inside, while scattered items hung from the three surrounding walls. They looked old and even damaged, nothing like valuable merchandise.

"It's still here!" Yang Yunhai's gaze quickly settled on a dark yellow Crystal.

That made sense. When he had left Notting City, there had still been more than twenty days before the Soul Master Academy began. Meeting Tang Hao on the way and making a trip to the mountain range where the Blue Silver Emperor was located had not taken much time either. Afterward, he had flown to the Star Dou Great Forest. Because he had comprehended the ability to gather information by connecting to Blue Silver Grass, he had found Soul Beasts quickly. Hunting Soul Beasts and absorbing Spirit Rings had not taken long either.

Counting it up, there should still be two or three days before the academy opened.

Tang San did not need to go anywhere else, and he also liked forging and making Hidden Weapons. It was normal for him to arrive later after timing it carefully. With that thought, Yang Yunhai walked toward the Crystal at an unhurried pace.

Turning to Flender, who reclined in a lounge chair with his back against it, he asked, "Boss, how much is this Crystal?"