First Encounter with Bu Le
"Little friend, what did you want with me? Uncle will do his best to grant your request!"
With that, Bu Le smacked his lips and wiped a trace of drool from the corner of his mouth, his eyes gleaming as he looked at Su Tianyu.
"Ew!"
Su Tianyu recoiled in disgust. He had not expected the man before him to be Bu Le. No wonder he had failed to recognize him. After all, Bu Le was just a minor roadside villain in the original story, and he naturally looked different in reality.
"I mistook you for someone else. Sorry about that. Could you please stop coming closer?" Su Tianyu frowned and spoke with a displeased expression to Bu Le, who was still trying to approach him with questions.
"Brat, you dare ignore me?" Bu Le fixed Su Tianyu with a fierce stare as one white, one yellow, and one purple Soul Ring slowly rose beneath his feet.
"He's a Soul Elder."
The Soul Masters waiting in line to enter the city moved away from the pair, their faces full of anticipation as they waited for a fight to break out.
When Su Tianyu saw Bu Le reveal his Soul Rings, he knew that after patting him on the shoulder, he probably would not be able to leave without a Soul Fight. Steeling himself, he revealed his simulated Soul Rings, and two Yellow Soul Rings rose beneath his feet.
Bu Le was startled when he saw the two Yellow Soul Rings rise beneath Su Tianyu's feet. His expression changed, and he thought to himself.
This kid is probably a child of some great clan or a disciple from a sect out gaining experience. There must be someone following him for protection. If I hurt him, I'm afraid I won't escape death either. I'd better let him go.
At that thought, Bu Le's expression turned ugly. He gave a cold snort, withdrew his Soul Rings, and turned to walk into the city.
The people around them looked disappointed after seeing Bu Le leave. With no more spectacle to watch, they lined up in a long queue at the passage again.
Only after seeing Bu Le's figure disappear through the passage did Su Tianyu withdraw his Soul Rings and join the queue behind the other Soul Masters. At the same time, he breathed a sigh of relief. It was not that he was afraid of Bu Le, but a Soul Fight at the city gate would draw more attention to him.
He did not want to appear before the eyes of Douluo's powers too early. He was still very weak, and if a Soul Ancestor came along and forced him to join their faction, he could only stake his life in a fight. If he won, he would have to flee to the ends of the earth; if he lost, he could only become a slave.
After he entered Suotuo City, he saw people coming and going along streets lined with shops. Every commoner walking in the streets wore a smile and was dressed neatly and cleanly. Their clothes were no longer made of the coarse linen typical of commoners.
"Looks like the commoners in Suotuo City are doing pretty well!"
Watching the commoners pass him on the street and the patrol soldiers who walked by from time to time, Su Tianyu felt much less tense. He strolled leisurely along the main street.
Suotuo City was much larger than Heaven Lake City. Whether in size or the density of its crowds, it was far beyond what Heaven Lake City, where he had lived before, could compare with.
As he walked, he saw all kinds of food being sold on both sides of the street, including delicacies famous in Heaven Dou City and the Star Luo Empire. There were too many varieties to count.
He found a restaurant and had a simple meal, then looked for a place to stay. Before he knew it, he had arrived on a sparsely populated commercial street.
Then he spotted a shop at the far end. Its signboard was very different from those of the other shops. A circular emblem had been carved into it, bearing several distinctive designs: a dragon-type Soul Beast, a hammer, and a sword.
Ordinary commoners might not know what they were, but Su Tianyu had been part of the Soul Master World for over three years. Naturally, he recognized them at a glance as the symbols on Spirit Hall's token. They represented the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, the Clear Sky Sect, and, lastly, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect of the Upper Three Sects.
"Did I wander over to Flender's little shop?"
Su Tianyu studied the shop's exterior with curiosity. It was not large, measuring about fifty square meters. When he walked in, he found the interior simply decorated and sparsely furnished. He could not even see where the counter was. All he saw was a figure with a shoehorn-shaped face, a hooked nose, and a pair of small glasses, resting with his eyes closed in a recliner not far away.
Perhaps hearing the footsteps of someone entering the shop, Flender spoke lazily without opening his eyes. "Pick out whatever you want to buy yourself. This little shop has all kinds of Storage Soul Tools. Ask me the price when you've chosen something. I'm going to sleep now, so take your time."
After glancing at Flender, the dean of Shrek, Su Tianyu turned his attention to the three walls. The shelves held various Soul Tools: rings, belts, decorative bits of scrap metal, and so on...
Soon, an item on one of the shelves caught his eye. It was a transparent crystal the size of a human head, filled with large patches of yellowish-brown impurities and starlike flecks of gold. Su Tianyu's heart instantly began to beat faster, and light flickered in his eyes.
He silently picked up the crystal and asked Flender in a casual tone, "Boss, how much for this crystal? I'm thinking of buying it as an ornament."
Hearing the customer ask the price, Flender slowly opened his eyes and stared at Su Tianyu, looking him up and down with his eagle-like eyes. Then he said casually, "Not much, just fifty Gold Soul Coins. If you want it, take it."
"All right, there are fifty Gold Soul Coins in this cloth bag. I'll buy your crystal."
Su Tianyu took a cloth bag from his Storage Soul Tool. It contained exactly fifty Gold Soul Coins, and he casually tossed it to Flender, who was lying in the chair.
Huh? He paid that readily? He didn't even haggle. Could there be something about this crystal that I couldn't see? Could it be a treasure? Flender's eyes darted about as he pondered. Looking at the money pouch flying toward him, he reached out and caught it.
After staring at the pouch in his hand for a while, a smile appeared on Flender's cunning face. He looked at Su Tianyu with a beaming smile and spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Sorry, customer. I didn't remember the price of this crystal just now. The original price is five hundred Gold Soul Coins. If you want it, you'll have to pay more. This isn't enough."
With that, Flender tossed the pouch back to Su Tianyu and watched him with a beaming smile, waiting to see whether he would pay for it or simply walk away.
This Flender really lives up to his reputation as a crooked merchant. If I want to buy this crystal from him, I'll have to bluff him.
Having decided on a strategy, Su Tianyu smiled faintly and said, "Boss, that's no way to do business. You were selling it for fifty Gold Soul Coins just now, and all of a sudden you've raised the price tenfold to five hundred. I'm afraid this lousy crystal will just have to gather dust in your shop."
"Customer, I'm terribly sorry, but the items in my shop are simply this expensive. If you want to buy it, pay up. If you can't afford it, leave. I'm afraid I can't serve you."
Flender waved his hand, seemingly unconcerned that the crystal in his shop might not sell.
"Boss, I haven't been in Suotuo City long. Earlier, while I was eating at a restaurant, I heard someone say that Shrek Academy would be recruiting students next February, and that graduates would receive the title of viscount from the Heaven Dou Empire. I was planning to take a look, but unfortunately, I only have fifty Gold Soul Coins on me. That's not enough to cover my meals."