"Ahem, little one, your name is Lu... Fei, right? Would you like to join Spirit Hall? I can recommend you for a place at Spirit Hall Academy."
Su Yuntao calmed himself, crouched down, and placed both hands on Lu Fei's shoulders, pressing lightly with his thumbs.
His brows instantly knitted. The squeeze pressed straight against Lu Yu's shoulder blade. To Su Yuntao, it felt as though there was nothing but a layer of skin over bone, with no flesh at all.
Su Yuntao's eyes darted around, and he continued, "Lu Fei, as long as you join Spirit Hall, I promise you'll have your fill every day from now on, and meat to eat every day."
Lu Fei, who had been shifting uneasily and cautiously, instantly brightened at the prospect of having enough to eat. He looked Su Yuntao straight in the eye, his face full of anticipation.
"Big brother, r-really? Can I really have food every day?"
"Of course. If you don't get enough to eat, you can come find me here anytime, and I'll take you to get food!"
Su Yuntao hurried to reassure him, thinking that a child couldn't eat much anyway. Besides, with a genius who had innate level-five Soul Power, wouldn't the teachers at Spirit Hall Academy all be fighting to take him as a disciple? How could they possibly let Lu Fei go hungry? And if he recommended Lu Fei to Spirit Hall Academy, the bonus would be considerable.
All he needed to do now was recommend Lu Fei to the academy first; everything else would be easy to sort out. Su Yuntao looked over Lu Fei's head at Lu Yu, who was playing with the golden-furred monkey behind him.
He beckoned to Lu Yu and said, "Child, come here."
After seeing Lu Fei begin his Martial Soul awakening, Lu Yu had picked up the golden-furred monkey and kept stroking it in his arms. He hadn't paid any attention to the conversation between Su Yuntao and Lu Fei.
Lu Yu was engrossed in stroking the golden-furred monkey when he suddenly heard the call. He looked up at Su Yuntao in confusion and pointed a finger at himself.
"Me?"
"Yes, you!" Su Yuntao's voice was noticeably impatient, but remembering that Lu Yu was the genius Lu Fei's older brother, he deliberately suppressed his feelings.
After walking over, Lu Yu looked at Su Yuntao in confusion. He didn't know what this wholesaler of god kings wanted, but he didn't ask.
Su Yuntao didn't say much either. Instead, he turned back to Lu Fei. "Lu Fei, as long as you join Spirit Hall, your older brother can come with you to study at Spirit Hall Academy. Both of you brothers can eat your fill and never go hungry again."
Lu Fei was visibly moved by Su Yuntao's words, but he had been bullied since childhood and had always hidden behind his brother. He didn't answer directly, instead turning to look at Lu Yu beside him, hoping Lu Yu would agree for him.
Lu Yu, however, felt differently. What kind of international joke is this? What kind of place is Spirit Hall? It's full of backstabbing dogs. Wouldn't joining Spirit Hall be asking for trouble?
With Lu Yu's Martial Soul, if he joined Spirit Hall today, Bibi Dong would send him before Yu Xiao tomorrow to curry favor with that good-for-nothing Yu Xiaogang.
She would work with Yu Xiaogang to study him and find a way to break through level thirty. Just thinking about those days, it would be a fate worse than death.
At that thought, Lu Yu hurriedly shook his head. "No, I won't join Spirit Hall."
Su Yuntao was also looking at Lu Yu expectantly. Just as he was about to repeat what he had promised Lu Fei, he heard Lu Yu refuse to join Spirit Hall.
"Why? You don't want to join Spirit Hall?" Su Yuntao couldn't understand it no matter how hard he thought, and he immediately tried to persuade Lu Yu.
"Do you know how talented your younger brother is? If you don't join Spirit Hall, you won't just ruin yourself; you'll also hold back your brother's future."
Hearing this, Lu Yu looked at Lu Fei and frowned in thought. He didn't actually dislike Spirit Hall; it was those three love-brained backstabbing dogs he hated.
They clearly had chances to kill Tang San, but they just had to court death, especially Bibi Dong. If Lu Yu got his hands on an Immortal Herb, he would definitely give it to Lu Fei, and that would certainly let Bibi Dong find out.
Given Bibi Dong's infatuation with Yu Xiaogang as her moonlight, if she learned that something could rapidly increase Soul Power, she would definitely force him to hand over the Immortal Herb.
After pondering for a while, Lu Yu took a deep breath and began to explain to Su Yuntao, "Brother Tao...!"
The moment he spoke, both Lu Yu and Su Yuntao froze. Su Yuntao thought, Are we that close? He called me "brother" right off the bat?
Meanwhile, Lu Yu was screaming holy crap in his heart. Back on Blue Star, he had called Su Yuntao Brother Tao every day. Now that he had transmigrated, how had he ended up saying it to the man's face?
As the saying went, as long as he wasn't embarrassed, someone else would be.
Lu Yu continued, "Uh, well, Grandmaster Su, you know my talent is poor. Even if I joined Spirit Hall, it wouldn't be much use. I'd be better off studying at Nuoding Academy. As for my younger brother..."
Lu Yu looked at Lu Fei and fell silent. This was the original owner's younger brother, and now he was his own younger brother too. Lu Yu really didn't know what arrangements to make for him.
"Do you... want to join Spirit Hall?" Lu Yu asked, frowning at Lu Fei.
Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Fei answered, "I'll do whatever you say, big brother. Wherever you go, I'll go."
Hearing this, Lu Yu smiled with relief and affectionately rubbed Lu Fei's greasy hair.
"Grandmaster Su, how about this? Could you let us think it over? My brother and I will go back and ask our parents what they think." Lu Yu looked at Su Yuntao. He would first find a chance to leave and deal with the rest later.
Hearing this, Lu Fei was just about to ask, Aren't we orphans? Where did we get parents? But Lu Yu was quick-eyed and quick-handed; the hand resting on Lu Fei suddenly tightened and squeezed his head.
Lu Fei drew in his neck and shut his mouth.
Su Yuntao opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it again. He had worked his way up through the rough and tumble to become a deacon in Spirit Hall.
If Su Yuntao forcibly took Lu Fei, who had innate level-five Soul Power, to Spirit Hall Academy, it would only be a matter of time before Lu Fei's Soul Power Level surpassed his own.
If Lu Fei later held a grudge against him over this and came to kill him, there would be no one to avenge him.
In the end, Su Yuntao sighed helplessly. "Ah, all right! But remember, if you do join Spirit Hall, make sure you say that I, Su Yuntao, recommended you."
"All right, Grandmaster Su, I'll remember." Seeing Su Yuntao relent, Lu Yu let out a long breath, and the look he gave him softened.
Su Yuntao reluctantly walked a couple of steps away, then suddenly turned back to look at the two brothers, Lu Yu and Lu Fei.
"You two wait here a moment. I'm going to get something. Whatever you do, don't leave; wait for me to come back." With that, Su Yuntao turned and ran out of the awakening room without waiting for either of them to respond.
About ten minutes later, Su Yuntao came running back, panting heavily, a blue-covered book in his right hand and two lunch boxes in his left.
"This is the Basic Meditation Method I practice. Take it home and make sure you study it carefully. Once you've memorized it, burn it immediately."
Su Yuntao held the Basic Meditation Method out to Lu Yu and gave him the serious instruction.
Looking at the Basic Meditation Method Su Yuntao was offering him, Lu Yu froze. Had this happened when he awakened Tang San's Martial Soul? Had he given him the Basic Meditation Method too?
Su Yuntao stuffed the Basic Meditation Method into Lu Yu's arms, then pulled a fist-sized cloth pouch from his pocket. Coins jingled inside.
"There are fifty Copper Soul Coins in here. Take them and keep them safe. If you ever run into trouble, you can come find me at the Spirit Hall Branch anytime. Just give them my name."
After another round of instructions, he finally handed the food boxes to Lu Fei to carry and rubbed Lu Fei's greasy hair regretfully.
Under Lu Yu's dumbfounded gaze, he saw the two brothers out of the Spirit Hall Branch in Nuoding City.