Chapter 135: The Title Got Smashed
The Old Soul Master Restaurant.
This restaurant had been the most frequented haunt of Furina, Huo Yuhao, and their small circle over the past three months.
The owner was a middle-aged man with a kindly face and eyes that held more than a few stories. In his youth, he too had been a student of Shrek Academy. Hailing from the Star Luo Empire, he had endured the baptism of war. Later, during an operation to purge evil soul masters, he had the misfortune of sustaining an intractable hidden injury, one that caused his soul power to stagnate forever, unable to advance a single step.
Disheartened and dispirited, he chose to rent this storefront in Shrek City and opened this restaurant, which he named "The Old Soul Master." It had now been in business for over a decade. Relying on solid culinary skills and honest management, the restaurant's dishes had earned a sterling reputation, drawing in diners that included no small number of Shrek students.
Of course, before a "culinary prodigy" like Huo Yuhao, the owner's skills were something he himself humbly admitted fell short. In his spare time, far from minding, he would actually humbly seek out Huo Yuhao for pointers and ideas on cooking techniques. Through this back-and-forth, the relationship between the two parties had grown quite cordial.
The owner was even often generous enough to lend his back kitchen to Huo Yuhao, letting him showcase his skills and satisfy the discerning palates of his companions.
At this moment, Bei Bei, Tang Ya, Jiang Nannan, as well as Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao—who had arrived a step earlier—were already seated around a spacious long table by the window inside the restaurant. Upon seeing Furina and Huo Yuhao approaching side by side, the group raised their hands one after another in greeting.
Jiang Nannan gave a gentle wave.
Wang Dong, leisurely swinging one crossed leg, feigned displeasure as he teased, "Took you long enough. Good thing we had the sense to order first, or we'd be waiting on empty stomachs."
Xiao Xiao let out a somewhat regretful sigh: "What a shame Yuhao isn't the one cooking today. It always feels like it's missing a bit of soul."
Huo Yuhao smiled warmly and made a promise: "Next time, for sure. I'll find a chance to cook a full table for everyone."
Tang Ya, lively as ever, broke into a beaming smile the moment the two drew near: "Hey there, you two busy souls. How have you been lately? Furina, you're practically the talk of the academy now! I've heard so much about your exploits—you've practically turned the entire place upside down! If this keeps up, I feel like Shrek Academy is going to end up as your personal backyard sooner or later."
Bei Bei chimed in with a wry smile beside her: "Isn't that the truth..."
There was half a sentence he left unspoken in his heart: even his own great-grandfather, the Dragon God Douluo Mu En, was paying special attention to Furina, and had privately instructed him to cultivate a good relationship with her. His intention, it seemed, was to take both her and Huo Yuhao as his personal disciples to train together. Such an honor was exceptionally rare in the history of Shrek.
Yet he had to admit it—the talent Furina and Huo Yuhao had displayed was truly the most top-tier he had ever witnessed among their peers, particularly Furina. Her current soul power level was already approaching the general standard of Inner Courtyard disciples, yet her age was so remarkably young.
This so-called freshman assessment was, to her, perhaps more a formality than anything else. Being directly guaranteed entry into the Inner Courtyard, classified as a core disciple—it was practically a foregone conclusion. It couldn't help but make one sigh. The gap in innate talent between people—sometimes it was so vast it boggled the mind.
And Furina's rate of growth—there was no way it looked like something propped up purely by pills, all superficial and hollow. Behind it, it was very likely thanks to those miraculous cultivation arts she possessed.
This point was proven by Tang Ya herself. Ever since she had begun practicing the modified cultivation art Furina had given her, Tang Ya's soul power had been improving at an astonishing speed. She was already on the verge of catching up to him. He himself practiced the Tang Sect's complete Mysterious Heaven Technique, and his speed was already considerably faster than the average person's, but it still seemed to lag a notch behind Tang Ya.
From this, one could see just how immense the amplification effect of a high-tier cultivation art was for a soul master's training—capable even of bridging, to a certain degree, the gap in innate talent.
Bei Bei couldn't help but let his thoughts drift. If Furina still had in her hands a cultivation art better suited for his own Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul, then his own cultivation speed would undoubtedly experience a great leap forward.
When that time came, not only would his place among the Shrek Seven Devils be beyond any doubt, he might even reach toward that legendary, godly realm which the first-generation Shrek Seven Devils had once attained.
"Hey, everyone!" Furina and Huo Yuhao greeted the group in near-perfect unison, then took their seats.
Furina responded to Tang Ya's teasing with a light laugh: "Those are all just small matters, hardly worth mentioning. Besides, turning Shrek Academy into my family's property—wouldn't that difficulty be a bit too high?" As she spoke, she cast a deliberate, sidelong glance at Bei Bei.
One had to remember, Bei Bei was the direct descendant of Mu En, the Master of the Sea God's Pavilion. By the usual logic of succession, the future position of Master of the Sea God's Pavilion would either pass to a direct-line descendant, or be taken up by a personal disciple.
In the originally destined trajectory, once Elder Xuan stepped down or passed away, with Bei Bei's innate talent and background, the likelihood of him becoming the next Pavilion Master was indeed not small at all.
Bei Bei caught wind of Furina's gaze and wisely chose to bury his head in his tea, pretending not to see a thing.
Furina redirected her attention back to Tang Ya and spoke with a serious tone: "Once the freshman assessment is over, and after a little more time has passed, the academy should arrange a short break. At that point, we'll be able to start handling the matter of your Tang Sect. I've already notified my people on that end. As soon as the exact dates for the break are confirmed, they'll rush over immediately."
Upon hearing this, Tang Ya's eyes instantly lit up. She reached out and grasped Furina's hand, overwhelmed with emotion: "Really? That's wonderful! Finally... I can finally seek justice with my own hands!" Her voice trembled slightly with the force of her emotions.