"Cough, cough~ I really don't know what you were thinking. The two of us, with two rings each, went up against two people with three rings!"
Lin Tian coughed twice and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Though his tone was reproachful, his face showed the excitement of defeating powerful enemies.
"Our enemies won't always be at the same level as us. We'll run into stronger opponents too, so we might as well sharpen our skills now!"
Lu Yu looked just as exhausted. Leaning against the wall of the competitors' passage, he panted heavily.
"Besides, fighting above our level does a lot to improve our strength!"
After a month together, Lu Yu and Lin Tian had grown increasingly in sync, and no one with two rings could defeat them.
Today, Lu Yu had suggested fighting above their level. To his surprise, the Soul Fighting Arena had matched them against a level 39 defense-type Soul Master and a level 35 agility attack-type Soul Master.
Although they had struggled to win, the feeling of defeating powerful enemies was truly exhilarating.
Lin Tian grinned. "That's true. Give me one night and I'll break through to level 30! If it weren't for today's match, I reckon it would have taken me another half a month or so!"
"Hahaha~ Good! Once you become a Soul Elder, you won't be in such a sorry state fighting Soul Elder-level matches."
Delight showed on Lu Yu's face as he patted Lin Tian on the shoulder.
"Then don't hold me back. We're on a thirty-match winning streak now," Lin Tian teased, looking forward to the future as well.
"I'm already level 24. If you slack off, watch out or I'll overtake you!" Lu Yu immediately shot back.
"I don't even know what to say. You're a monster! It's only been three months since you awakened your Martial Soul, and you're already level 24! Did you really have Innate Soul Power of level one?"
Lin Tian looked deeply suspicious. They had spent a whole month together, and Lu Yu was still being so secretive about his Innate Soul Power level.
"You've seen my Martial Soul Awakening certificate. I really did have Innate Soul Power of level one. Don't tell me you doubt Spirit Hall too?"
Lu Yu raised an eyebrow. He was helpless too. He couldn't reveal the secret of his Martial Soul yet; at the very least, he had to be strong enough to escape from a Titled Douluo before he could say anything.
For a moment, Lin Tian had no answer. Spirit Hall had helped awaken his Martial Soul too, and he had always had a favorable impression of it. Naturally, he wouldn't doubt its authority, but Lu Yu's cultivation speed was truly frightening.
"All right~ It's only natural that you can't understand a genius like me!" Lu Yu looked at Lin Tian's constipated expression with enjoyment.
"Once you reach level 30, don't go hunting for a Soul Ring just yet. I'll give you something good!" Lu Yu leaned close to Lin Tian's ear and whispered.
The good thing Lu Yu spoke of was naturally Whale Rubber. After a month together, Lu Yu had come to fully acknowledge Lin Tian and had taught him Flowing Cloud Seven Tremors and the first two palms of the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms; there was no harm in telling him the secret of Whale Rubber.
"Since you're about to break through, we won't drink tonight. We'll have a proper celebration after you advance!"
With that, Lu Yu and Lin Tian supported each other's weary bodies as they returned to their lodgings.
Once Lin Tian entered a meditative state to cultivate, Lu Yu had rested enough and got up to buy Whale Rubber at the Seven Treasure Chamber of Commerce.
On the way to the Seven Treasure Chamber of Commerce, Lu Yu suddenly caught a strange fragrance. It was very unusual, unlike the aroma of ordinary food.
The aroma of good food usually made a person think it would be delicious the moment they smelled it. But when he smelled this fragrance, his body instinctively told him to hurry and eat it, that eating it would be good for him.
Lu Yu sniffed and followed the fragrance, wanting to see what could possibly make his body crave it.
After going around several stalls, Lu Yu stopped in front of a small cart. A sign hung above it, bearing the words "Sausage specialty shop."
A small grill sat on the cart, with several sausages on it. The fragrance that made his body instinctively crave them came from those grilled sausages.
Behind the cart stood a little boy who looked about eight or nine, provided one ignored the little mustache on his upper lip.
Looking at the unusual stall and its distinctive sausages, Lu Yu felt a slight jolt in his heart.
"Could it be him...?"
The person Lu Yu had in mind was none other than a future member of the Shrek Seven Devils-Food God Oscar!
Oscar was still very young at this time. Seeing Lu Yu stand silently in front of the cart and stare at him, he shrank back and didn't dare make a sound.
If he didn't know, he could just ask. Lu Yu tapped the tabletop with two fingers and asked, "How much are your grilled sausages?"
Oscar shrank back again and held up two fingers. "Two Copper Soul Coins each."
"I don't mean the ones on the grill. I want freshly made ones!" Lu Yu shook his head. Having read the original novel, he knew there was no telling how long those sausages on display had been sitting there.
Lu Yu also had another little purpose in saying that. If the boy before him really was Oscar, he would surely be able to produce sausages with his bare hands.
Oscar hesitated. Flender had told him not to use his Martial Soul to make sausages outside the academy. He could only make them inside the academy and then take them out to sell.
Seeing Oscar's reaction, Lu Yu had a thought. He took a Gold Soul Coin from his Storage Soul Tool and flicked it into Oscar's arms.
"Give me two freshly made ones!"
Oscar's eyes widened at the Gold Soul Coin in his hand. At Shrek, he could eat his fill at most; there was no spare money at all for anything else.
He also had to pay tuition to that profiteer Flender out of the allowance he received from Spirit Hall.
"Um~ You gave me too much. I can't make change!" As he spoke, Oscar reluctantly held out his hand to Lu Yu.
"Consider the rest a gift to make friends, unless you don't want to be my friend." Lu Yu waved a hand, not caring in the least about one little Gold Soul Coin. All he wanted now was to confirm the boy's identity.
Oscar thanked him and hurriedly tucked the Gold Soul Coin into his pocket. He looked around, and only after seeing that no one was paying attention did he let out a long breath.
Then he pressed his hands together and murmured, "I Have a Big Sausage!"
Hearing the gleefully vulgar incantation and seeing the sausage slowly appear in the boy's hands, Lu Yu's face lit up with delight.
"It really is him!"
"Here, your sausage!" Oscar took a bamboo skewer, threaded it through the sausage, and handed it to Lu Yu.
Lu Yu accepted it with a smile and looked it over. He paid no mind to Oscar's strange incantation; on Blue Star, that line wouldn't even rank.
He took a bite and swallowed it, feeling a warm current rush through his limbs and bones. The injuries he had suffered in the Soul Fight improved considerably, and much of his fatigue vanished as well.
Lu Yu gave Oscar a long look but said nothing more. He took the second grilled sausage and turned to leave, continuing on to the Seven Treasure Chamber of Commerce to buy Whale Rubber. Poaching someone had to be done slowly.
As for the present Oscar, Lu Yu reckoned he hadn't known Flender for very long, so it was entirely possible to turn his character around.
With a special talent like this, only a fool wouldn't poach him for his own use. Surely he couldn't leave him for his future enemies! That would only add to his troubles!