Hearing this, Xiao Wu could not help frowning. She raised a hand, slapped the table, and said loudly:
"Enough, enough! You're lucky to have something to eat, so why are you still spouting nonsense? Lin Mo's finally treating us for once. Don't spoil the mood!"
"Right, right! Let's eat!"
"Thanks, Brother Lin Mo!"
"We're basking in Lin Mo's reflected glory today. This is my first time enjoying a proper meal on the cafeteria's second floor."
At Xiao Wu's prompting, everyone picked up their chopsticks and began feasting, no longer discussing unnecessary topics.
The food on the cafeteria's second floor really did taste more than a notch better than the food downstairs. Even the ingredients were clearly of much higher quality.
Lin Mo looked around at everyone's excitement, and something stirred in his heart. With a slight shift of his thoughts, a red light flashed, and Charmander appeared beside his feet.
"Wroo?" Charmander raised his head, a trace of confusion in his eyes, seemingly not understanding why Lin Mo had suddenly summoned him here.
"You're getting an extra meal today." Smiling, Lin Mo picked up several pieces of meat stewed until tender and placed them on a plate in front of Charmander.
Charmander sniffed, and the flame on his tail flared brighter with a whoosh.
He was very excited.
He lowered his head and began taking great mouthfuls. Compared with those leafy green vegetables, however, the higher-calorie meat clearly suited his palate better.
His appearance immediately caught the attention of everyone present.
"Wow, Lin Mo, you brought Charmander out too!" Xiao Wu's eyes lit up, and she instinctively reached out to pet him.
But remembering how she had nearly been burned by Charmander's flames last time, she ultimately withdrew her hand sheepishly.
Lin Mo quietly watched Charmander's reaction from the side. It was indeed just as he had expected: like Luo Sanpao, Charmander could replenish what he expended by eating human food.
Moreover, compared with the vegetable dishes, he clearly favored the higher-calorie meat.
He ate with relish, quickly sweeping the meat on the plate before him clean, then raised his head and looked at Lin Mo expectantly.
Lin Mo smiled and gave him a few more pieces of meat.
Watching Charmander wolf down his food, a thought stirred in his mind.
Could digesting food also bring a tiny improvement? Lin Mo wondered to himself.
He could vaguely sense that after Charmander finished eating, the Soul Power they shared seemed to have increased by a trace so faint it was almost negligible.
This was a new way to increase his Soul Power!
Although each increase was minuscule, accumulated day after day and month after month, the total improvement would presumably be quite considerable.
After all, eating was something he did every day.
However, what left Lin Mo feeling slightly regretful was that although the meals served on Nuoding Academy's second floor were far better in quality than those downstairs, they were still only ordinary livestock, poultry, and vegetables.
The academy was not so extravagant as to use Soul Beast meat as an ingredient in its meals.
If only I could eat food made from Soul Beast meat... Lin Mo could not help sighing inwardly.
The energy contained in Soul Beast meat was far beyond anything ordinary meat could compare with.
If he could eat it regularly, it would presumably be tremendously beneficial both for nourishing his body martial soul and for increasing Charmander's Soul Power.
But he also knew perfectly well that this was merely an unrealistic notion of his. Soul Beast meat was exceedingly precious.
Even if Nuoding Academy really had a way to obtain it and dared to offer it for sale, its price would certainly be jaw-droppingly high.
With only the monthly subsidy he could currently collect from Spirit Hall as a One-Ring Soul Master, plus his meager work-study wages, he absolutely could not afford the luxury of enjoying dishes made with Soul Beast meat.
One Gold Soul Coin could cover several months of expenses for an ordinary family of three, but in the world of Soul Masters, especially when cultivation resources were involved, it seemed particularly inadequate to make ends meet.
The subsidies Spirit Hall currently provided were only enough to cover his normal living expenses. If he wanted to enjoy anything a little more luxurious, they fell far short.
While Lin Mo was considering these questions, the group of senior students led by Xiao Chenyu also arrived on the cafeteria's second floor.
At a glance, they spotted the unusual creature beside Lin Mo's feet, his head buried in his meat-Charmander.
A flicker of curiosity crossed Xiao Chenyu's eyes, and he wanted to move closer for a look, but he soon noticed Xiao Wu sitting beside Lin Mo, her head lowered as she tackled a sauce-braised bone.
As though sensing something, Xiao Wu abruptly raised her head. With a rather unfriendly look in her large eyes, she glared straight at Xiao Chenyu and deliberately brandished her fist at him.
Xiao Chenyu instantly stiffened, a trace of embarrassment and fear appearing on his face. He hastily pulled back and led his followers to a seat far from Lin Mo's table, slinking away with his tail between his legs.
Over the past six months and more, Xiao Wu had beaten him up plenty of times under the pretext of "sparring." Now, seeing Xiao Wu was like a mouse encountering a cat. How could he dare approach and invite her wrath?
Wang Sheng finished gnawing on a large bone, gave a satisfied burp, and wiped his greasy mouth with the back of his hand.
He looked at Lin Mo, then at Xiao Wu beside him, who was "battling" a meaty bone, intense curiosity showing on his face.
He leaned toward Lin Mo and lowered his voice, though practically everyone at the table could still hear him. "Lin Mo, speaking of which, I'm pretty curious.
"Now that you've obtained your first soul ring too and your strength has soared, who's actually stronger, you or Sister Xiao Wu?"
As soon as he asked this question, the table grew much quieter. The other work-study students also pricked up their ears, clearly quite interested in the question Wang Sheng had raised.
In their eyes, Lin Mo, Tang San, and Xiao Wu had already become the leaders of Nuoding Academy's work-study students.
Of those three, Xiao Wu was clearly stronger than Tang San. The two had sparred more than once, and quite a few people had witnessed this firsthand.
Compared with Xiao Wu and Tang San, however, Lin Mo, whose cultivation advanced extraordinarily quickly, seemed much more mysterious.
Lin Mo had never fought in front of everyone. When he first arrived at Dorm Seven, he had also declined that sparring match on the grounds that he was not good at fighting.
Everyone had expressed understanding of Lin Mo's choice at the time. After all, his Charmander had not yet hatched back then, and if they really fought, he would most likely have been no match for Tang San or Xiao Wu.
But now, Lin Mo's Charmander martial soul had successfully hatched, and like Tang San and Xiao Wu, he possessed a hundred-year soul ring.
This could not help making everyone wonder: among these three, who was the strongest, and who was the weakest?
Xiao Wu, who was wrestling with her meaty bone, heard Wang Sheng's words and abruptly dropped the bone in her hand into her bowl with a sharp clack.
She raised her head and clenched her delicate pink fists until her knuckles cracked, looking at Wang Sheng with a "kindly" smile:
"Wang Sheng, I see your skin's itching for a beating, huh? Want your Sister Xiao Wu to loosen up your muscles and bones right now?"
Wang Sheng shrank back in fright and hurriedly waved his hands. "No, no, no! Sister Xiao Wu, I was wrong! I was just asking, just asking!"
He certainly did not want Xiao Wu to use him as a punching bag after he had eaten and drunk his fill.
Seeing this, Lin Mo merely smiled and did not take up Wang Sheng's question. He picked up his cup and took a sip of water, looking every bit as though he had no intention of joining that discussion.