A Gold Soul Coin landed with a clang on the edge of the grill, and the flying sparks lit up the newcomer's hostile face. Xu Sanshi stood before the stall like an iron tower, his rough hand reaching straight for two skewers of sizzling, oil-dripping fish. His sleeves flapped as his movement stirred up a gust of wind.
Huo Yuhao's pupils narrowed slightly. Acting on battle instinct, his fingers closed around the bamboo skewers first. When both men's hands touched the scalding fish at the same time, a ripple of Soul Power burst through the air.
"Senior, the fish isn't done yet. What's the rush? Look, the skin's only slightly golden. The meat inside is obviously still raw." He raised the unevenly charred fish in his hand. "You can't eat hot tofu in a hurry."
Veins bulged on Xu Sanshi's neck, and the dark purple markings of Martial Soul Possession crawled up from his neck toward the corners of his eyes. "Don't try that nonsense on me!" He deliberately put heavy emphasis on "me," his final syllable carrying an undisguised threat. "You're selling me this fish today, whether you want to or not!"
As he spoke, he deliberately took half a step forward, his towering frame casting nearly all of Huo Yuhao into shadow.
Huo Yuhao calmly spread his hands, his lips curving in something between a smile and a smirk. "Senior, you're awfully fierce. I don't mind, but..."
"Xu Sanshi!" Jiang Nannan suddenly took half a step forward, her moon-white skirt sweeping over the flagstones as the silver bells on her wrist rang out in crisp protest. The girl clenched her teeth, her fingertips turning slightly white as she gripped her skirt. "Stop bothering me! I told you long ago, there's no chance for us!"
As she spoke, the beauty mark beside her eye trembled slightly, gleaming like a pearl in the setting sun.
Huo Yuhao complained furiously to himself, Why does every one of them like interrupting me...?
He had just been about to speak and ease the tension when two figures suddenly pushed through the crowd of onlookers. Tang Ya was like a cat that had caught the scent of fish, the gleam in her eyes astonishingly bright. "That smells amazing! What's going on?"
Her gaze suddenly fixed on Huo Yuhao, and the Blue Silver Grass ornament in her hair swayed gently with the movement. "It's you! The boy who saved me that day! You made this grilled fish?"
Bei Bei helplessly rubbed his forehead. Watching his junior sister stare fixedly at the fish, he silently took out his purse. After Huo Yuhao used the flames burning in his hand to finish cooking two skewers of fish coated in his secret sauce, he handed them to Tang Ya, who couldn't wait to take a huge bite.
She didn't even notice the drops of oil splattering onto the front of her clothes. "It's delicious! I never would've guessed you had this skill!" she exclaimed indistinctly, her cheeks stuffed with fish, making Bei Bei shake his head fondly.
At another corner of the stall, Xu Sanshi was still pestering Jiang Nannan. His bloodshot eyes were fixed on the girl, and the glances he cast at Huo Yuhao from time to time were full of venom.
Huo Yuhao's hands paused slightly as he grilled the fish. Seeing Xu Sanshi's look, as though he wanted to swallow him alive, he grumbled inwardly, Why are you staring at me like that? (It's not like I stopped you from chasing girls. You're acting like it's my fault you can't win senior sister over.)
I'm just selling grilled fish. I haven't stopped you from pursuing her. Don't tell me you're going to blame me because you can't win her over?
As she ate her grilled fish, Tang Ya said, "Xu Sanshi, looking so aggressive, you seem more like you're here to smash up his business than pursue someone."
Xu Sanshi folded his arms, the dark markings of his Black Tortoise Martial Soul flickering on his skin. He snorted coldly. "If he dares to deny Nannan face, he's slapping me, Xu Sanshi, in the face! Here in Shrek, a hard fist is the only hard truth!" He deliberately drew out the last words, and waves of Soul Power surged from him toward Huo Yuhao.
"Shut up!" Huo Yuhao suddenly stopped grilling the fish, his voice as cold as tempered ice.
Those two words struck everyone's eardrums like a heavy hammer. Xu Sanshi flew into a rage, veins throbbing on his forehead. "You little brat, say that again!"
Huo Yuhao slowly raised his head, and golden light suddenly swallowed his once-clear blue eyes. In an instant, the temperature around the stall plummeted. A seemingly tangible pressure bound everyone fast like invisible chains.
The presence radiating from him changed abruptly, becoming the chilling presence of someone who had fought through countless battles of life and death. He was like an Asura who had crawled out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. In his eyes, golden light flickered, and wisps of bloody flame burned.
Xu Sanshi's pupils contracted sharply. But how could he know whether the person standing before him now was really Huo Yuhao? This pressure was unlike any Soul Skill; it was a pure, oppressive presence that made his liver and gallbladder split.
Golden light flowed, captivating the soul, and the pressure it gave off seemed to bind him tightly.
His legs went weak, and his back was instantly drenched in cold sweat, as though the boy's gaze would tear him apart the next second. He had never seen such powerful pressure or such a terrifyingly fierce gaze.
But before he could react, the frightening presence receded like the tide, and Huo Yuhao once again became the unruffled boy selling grilled fish.
Seeing this, Bei Bei couldn't help smiling and shaking his head. "Sanshi, you've misjudged him this time. This junior brother isn't someone you can provoke as you please."
Xu Sanshi, however, stubbornly tried to save face, craning his neck as he retorted, "Bei Bei, stop exaggerating! He's just a freshman. What waves can he possibly make?"
"Brat, do you dare face me on the Soul Fighting stage? I'll cover all the expenses!" Xu Sanshi shouted, planting a foot on the wooden table at the edge of the stall and looking down at Huo Yuhao as though offering him charity.
Huo Yuhao wiped down the grill at an unhurried pace, the firelight illuminating the provocative curve at the corner of his eye. "If you want to fight, let's fight. What's with all the nonsense? Someone like you is used to throwing his weight around. Now you don't even know what sort of thing you are."
Amid the crisp crackle as his iron tongs picked up a burning coal, he suddenly stepped two paces closer and lowered his voice. "But I have conditions. I've put up with your nonsense here for so long, and my little grilled-fish stall isn't indulging your madness for nothing. I'll earn back the losses you've caused me from you."
Veins bulged on Xu Sanshi's neck. He was just about to lash out, but the other man's next words caught in his throat. "If I win, eight thousand Gold Soul Coins." Huo Yuhao held up his slender fingers to show the number. "If I lose, I'll be a free cook for you and senior sister Jiang for half a year."
"Fine!" Xu Sanshi tore the badge from his uniform collar and flung it viciously to the ground, the metallic impact as crisp as silk tearing. "Today I'll show you what a true genius is!"
Soul Fighting Arena
When Huo Yuhao entered the arena, a stir spread through the stands like a tide. "Isn't that Huo Yuhao, the super rookie everyone's been talking about? I heard he could fight old hag Zhou to a draw when she wasn't using her Martial Soul.
"Really?"
"Whether it's true or not, this match between different grades is sure to be a good show!" Someone shouted, and the entire arena erupted.
The news spread as if it had sprouted wings. The once-empty stands filled with a surging crowd, and even the aisles were packed with students standing on tiptoe to look. Plenty of people had come for the spectacle after hearing that super rookie Huo Yuhao was fighting a fifth-year senior.
Of course, some supported Xu Sanshi too. Xu Sanshi was also a genius at the academy, so each side cheered for its own.
But the story grew more distorted with every retelling, and rumors spread faster than magic missiles. At first, senior Xu Sanshi was going to fight Huo Yuhao for Jiang Nannan, the outer court's greatest beauty. Gradually, it became Huo Yuhao fighting Xu Sanshi for senior sister Jiang Nannan.
Then it became the two of them coming to blows over Jiang Nannan, the story fermenting as it passed from mouth to mouth. Someone made up a tale of "two great geniuses dueling for love," drawing countless spectators flocking over for the gossip. Even the usually quiet VIP seats filled with teachers who had come for the spectacle.
At the center of the Soul Fighting Arena,
Seeing the people in the stands supporting Huo Yuhao, Xu Sanshi also understood what was going on. He glared fiercely at Huo Yuhao, his lips curling in disdain. "So he's that Huo Yuhao. What of it? I'm a Three-Ring Soul Elder now, and he's a Two-Ring Soul Master at best. What can he use to fight me?"
"What super rising star? He's nothing but a jumping clown who got famous through luck!" With that, he turned to look at Jiang Nannan in the stands, a burning possessiveness in his eyes. "Nannan, you're mine. Anyone who offends you, I'll make him pay."
In a corner of the stands, Tang Ya sat berating Xu Sanshi. That Xu Sanshi, what's so impressive about picking on someone younger? If he loses, let's see how he'll have the face to stay at the academy! But Xu Sanshi is a Three-Ring Soul Elder. In a fight across levels, can junior brother Yuhao really win?
Bei Bei stood with his arms folded, gazing thoughtfully at the arena. "Junior brother Yuhao won't necessarily lose." He recalled the rumors circulating in the freshmen's area-the strength Huo Yuhao had displayed had long since surpassed that of an ordinary Two-Ring Soul Master.
"Perhaps this farce is just the right opportunity to make certain people see reality." He murmured to himself, a meaningful smile curling his lips.
The last rays of the setting sun slanted across the Soul Fighting Arena's dome, refracting into a rainbow halo. A stir ran through the crowd as Jiang Nannan arrived with light steps, wearing a pale-purple academy uniform.
Her gaze passed through the bustling crowd and settled quietly on the two men in the middle of the arena. The silver bells in her hair chimed softly as she moved, drawing gasps from those around her.
Xu Sanshi was loosening up when he happened to catch sight of her graceful figure, and his breath suddenly hitched. "Nannan's watching me..." His Adam's apple bobbed, an inexplicable fighting spirit surged in his heart, and his presence grew ever sharper.
The referee leaped onto the raised platform, the Amplifying Soul Tool in his hand humming. "Spectators! Today we bring you a peak showdown between different grades! Freshman genius Huo Yuhao versus fifth-year elite Xu Sanshi! Will the rising star create a miracle, or will the established powerhouse defend his glory? Let's wait and see!"
The whole arena immediately erupted in cheers like mountains roaring and seas howling. Under everyone's gaze, Huo Yuhao remained calm, his black robe swaying gently in the breeze; Xu Sanshi, meanwhile, held his face tense, veins bulging slightly on his forehead.
"Are you both ready?" the referee asked loudly. Once they had confirmed it, he swept the flag in his hand down. "I declare the match begun!"
Before his voice had faded, brilliant light burst from Xu Sanshi. Three Soul Rings rose slowly, two yellow and one purple, their dazzling halos illuminating the entire arena. With a great shout, he summoned an ink-black tortoiseshell shield out of thin air into his right hand. The patterns on its surface resembled flowing magma, and it radiated a weighty pressure.
Huo Yuhao's pupils narrowed slightly, and golden light flashed through his eyes like lightning. His lips curved in a teasing smile. "What's this? I thought you were a wild dog, but it turns out you're nothing but a turtle." The contemptuous words sliced through the tense atmosphere like a sharp blade.
Xu Sanshi's face instantly flushed red, and veins bulged on his neck. "You little brat! You've insulted me again and again! If I don't beat you into mincemeat today, I, Xu Sanshi, swear I won't rest!" His voice rumbled like thunder, making even the flagstones beneath his feet tremble slightly.
Huo Yuhao merely beckoned with a finger, an invisible mental pressure radiating from him. "Am I wrong? I didn't come here to listen to your nonsense. Show me what you've got." As he spoke, his presence surged, like a volcano about to erupt, ready to swallow his opponent at any moment.
At the edge of the arena, Jiang Nannan unconsciously tightened her grip on her skirt. Looking at the two men in the arena, their swords drawn and crossbows bent, she felt a trace of worry. In the stands, cheers, shouts, and discussion intertwined, bringing the entire Soul Fighting Arena to a boiling peak.
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