As the Drinks Went Around

While Qian Daoliu was staring eye to eye with his granddaughter and passing on some of the knowledge of a ruler, Mu Tian'en had already followed Bishop Xiunuo and Envoy Jin Huang to his favorite cafeteria.

"Grandpa Suolong~"

Mu'en raised his hand toward Old Suolong, who was still at the cafeteria serving counter.

In the middle of all his work, Suolong took a tiny bit of time to give his Little Tian'en a broad grin that showed every one of his teeth.

But when he turned around, Old Suolong gave an almost gloomy look to the Soul Masters who rarely came by, the ones who had forced him to set up a visitor sign-in book for the cafeteria.

Especially one Soul Master who looked nine parts out of ten like Old Suolong, except that one was younger and the other older.

"Well, if it isn't Soul King Suolandao. Usually, you dare tell your own father that even a dog wouldn't eat my cooking. What brings you here today~"

For a moment, Old Suolong's eyes were no longer eyes, and his mouth was no longer a mouth.

The moment he opened it, he started berating people.

"Dad, I only went one day without eating your food, and you talk about me like that. What about Uncle Aosite? He hasn't come to the cafeteria in years, and he's in your wine cellar every day."

Having been sniped at by his own father, Suolandao promptly diverted the trouble eastward.

Rather than suffer his father's scolding and stew in resentment, he might as well let his father and his brother trade barbs. That would be more entertaining to watch.

Seeing Old Suolong's gaze shift, the old man on whom the trouble had been dumped took his tray and walked up to him. "Fill it up!"

He showed no awareness that he was the culprit who had made off with half the wine in Old Suolong's cellar.

"..."

Looking at these fellows who had swarmed in like bees the moment they heard someone had arrived, Old Suolong felt like his head had split in two.

But at this moment, Old Suolong was not the only one whose head was splitting in two. There was Old Xiunuo, too.

Usually, the people who showed up at the cafeteria could be counted as two or three cats, big and small.

The whole cafeteria was very quiet.

That was why he had thought to bring Envoy Jin Huang to the cafeteria to try Old Suolong's special dishes, and discuss Vast Sea City's upcoming support for Mu Tian'en, as well as the exchange of secret techniques with Jin Huang.

But then~

He had somewhat underestimated the Soul Masters under him, who usually had nothing to do and spent their days either cultivating or studying Sea Soul Beasts.

All he had done was personally deal with Old Ma when he went mad, and somehow the big and small cats who were usually nowhere to be seen had crawled back out of who knew what corners.

Among them were several old friends whom even Old Xiu Nuo only got to see once a year, at New Year.

Now~

Old Xiu Nuo looked at Mu Tian'en's bewildered face, then at the faint smile on Envoy Jin Huang's face. With a laugh, he said, "Lord Jin Huang, it's getting late. Let's eat first, and discuss the rest in my study afterward."

As he spoke, he placed a seafood dish unique to Vast Sea City in front of Jin Huang.

"This is a Vast Sea City specialty. Please try it. It might not be as refined as the food at Spirit Hall headquarters, but it's absolutely fresh and delicious."

Smiling, Jin Huang picked up the fruit drink beside him and clinked it against Old Xiu Nuo's raised cup.

Only after a round of drinks did Jin Huang remember to check on Mu Tian'en.

But he had no idea until he looked, and one look gave him a fright.

Mu Tian'en was not sitting with the several people in charge of Vast Sea City's main Spirit Hall. He had a table all to himself.

Clutching his own enormous bowl, Mu Tian'en had long since become so absorbed in eating that he forgot everything else.

Yet as Mu Tian'en ate, no rice or noodles went flying. All the soups and dishes went into his mouth as if entering a grinder, then vanished.

Moreover, Jin Huang could tell that the ingredients in those dishes were quite expensive and could even be called extremely rich in nutrients.

Seeing Jin Huang sitting in a daze with his chopsticks in hand, Old Xiu Nuo followed his gaze.

When he saw that Jin Huang was looking at Mu Tian'en, a measure of calm acceptance appeared on his face. "When Little Tian'en came to the main hall, he was nothing but skin and bones. He didn't even weigh as much as a normal six-year-old."

Seeing Jin Huang frown instinctively, Old Xiu Nuo poured the wine from his cup into his mouth and explained, "The little fellow has had a hard life. When he was just two or three and had only just begun to recognize people, he was caught in a tsunami and beast tide of a kind Vast Sea City sees only once in a hundred years. Only a few households in all of Anlan Village survived."

"Yan Beita, the village chief of Anlan Village, gathered the orphans left behind by the Soul Masters who fought the Soul Beasts and took them in, ensuring those children didn't starve to death." A flush appeared on Old Xiu Nuo's face, and the old man, who could not hold his liquor, looked somewhat downcast. "In that respect, I fall far short of that village chief of Anlan Village."

"But Yan Beita is an ordinary man, after all, and has limited ways of getting food. The little fellow always shared whatever food he got with his younger brothers and sisters, then went out to find something to eat himself. Over time, he developed the habit of leaving nothing in his bowl, no matter what. That became even more true after he awakened his Martial Soul."

"At the same time, after his Martial Soul Awakening, his appetite became like an abyss, bottomless. Once, he even polished off three days' worth of rice for the entire cafeteria in a single lunch."

At this point, recalling how Little Tian'en had looked that day, like a starving ghost reincarnated, Old Xiu Nuo laughed. But as he laughed, his eyes reddened.

"Later, after a simple examination with Soul Power, Old Ma confirmed that the little fellow's enormous appetite was making up for his innate deficiencies. It would need to continue for quite a long time, but we couldn't have him eating all the time, either."

A trace of pride appeared on Old Master Xiunuo's face.

"Because of that, I came up with some methods to provide the little fellow with the finest food, extremely rich in energy. Only then could I make sure he had time to rest and study."

At this point, Old Master Xiunuo instinctively glanced at Mu Tian'en again. "The day before, the little fellow circulated his Soul Power for the first time and came into contact with his Martial Soul. From then on, his Soul Power even acquired the property of plundering energy. After just one cycle, the little fellow lost five jin."

"I had no choice but to give the child the best ingredients this old man could get his hands on."

But only after saying that did Old Master Xiunuo realize that, at some point, the cafeteria, which had been so noisy just moments ago, had fallen silent in an instant.

It was as if some formidable predator had entered this territory.

With a Soul Douluo present, the intruder had still unabashedly spread his pressure over everyone nearby, apportioning it equally according to their strength.

Who?

Bishop Xiunuo's pupils contracted slightly.

Under the suddenly appearing Soul Power pressure, he felt somewhat dizzy and could not even stand steady.

Then~

The others?

This was bad!

Little Tian'en!

In an instant, Old Master Xiunuo used his Soul Power to clear the remaining haze from his drunken eyes.

If fellows like them were of value, the person who had suddenly arrived and unleashed this pressure would surely have attacked them long ago, rather than wait until now.

Then, if it was not them, the most valuable person in the entire Vast Sea City main hall was the little fellow with innate full Soul Power.

The Star Luo Empire?

Or Heaven Dou?

If they dared hurt Little Tian'en, then even if it cost this old turtle his life, he would~

But when Xiunuo's gaze actually fell on Mu Tian'en, he was somewhat dumbfounded.

"How... how is that possible!"

For a moment, Bishop Xiunuo's voice turned somewhat hoarse.