"Wu Yifan? The Proud Sword Sect?" Die Qiu's big eyes were filled with big questions.
"Never heard of it."
Die Qiu's "never heard of it" completely shut Wu Yifan down. Only then did the latter realize that these two were likely outsiders. The Proud Sword Sect was a reclusive sect and usually kept a very low profile, far from being as flamboyant as the Body Sect.
Huo Yuhao looked at him as if he were a clown. He really wanted to sing a line to fit the occasion: You should be in jail, you shouldn't be here...
"You two must be from out of town and have never been to Ao Lai City. Why don't you allow this young master to play the part of the host and grace my sect's noodle shop with your presence for a little while, how about it?" Wu Yifan did his best to maintain his image. He was the most outstanding of the Proud Sword Sect's younger generation. Not only did he possess powerful talent, but he also had a handsome appearance that made passing girls scream.
"A noodle shop? Is there anything good to eat?" Die Qiu showed great interest in food. She had a trace of the Golden Dragon King's bloodline, and her appetite could not be measured by common sense.
"Our noodle shop's Big Bowl Wide Noodles is a famous delicacy far and wide. Paired with a fresh broth cooked with Canada Electric Eels, it's highly praised by visiting travelers." Wu Yifan introduced to Huo Yuhao and the other with great diligence.
Hearing this term, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but be reminded of a certain master he had met during the freshman tournament, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
"Hao, I want to eat roasted fish." Hearing his introduction, Die Qiu seemed to think of something. She tugged on the corner of Huo Yuhao's clothes and said with a look of longing.
"Alright, I'll make it for you." Huo Yuhao dotingly stroked Die Qiu's hair, then turned to Wu Yifan. "May I ask, Brother Wu, does your esteemed shop have fresh grass carp? We plan to cook it ourselves. We can pay, of course."
"Ah, uh, yes, yes, we have it all."
The corner of Wu Yifan's eye had never moved away from Die Qiu's delicate face. "May I ask for your names? I, Wu, saw that your dispositions were extraordinary and couldn't help but feel the desire to befriend you."
"My name is Huo Pulei, and she is Die Qiu'er." Huo Yuhao casually made up a name. After all, when you're away from home, your identity is what you make it.
"You two should both be soul masters, right?" Wu Yifan led the way in front, not forgetting to probe at the same time.
Huo Yuhao nodded. With Die Qiu present anyway, he continued to make things up without any reservations. "My martial soul is Purple Thunder Wood, and hers is Golden Scale Dragon."
The noble Golden Dragon being made up by Huo Yuhao as a Golden Scale Dragon, although Die Qiu knew this guy was talking nonsense, she still couldn't help but pout her small mouth slightly.
Purple Thunder Wood? Golden Scale Dragon? Wu Yifan had never heard of these martial souls and was momentarily stunned.
"It seems I, Wu, am ignorant. I have never heard of Brother Huo's martial soul before." Wu Yifan smiled. He could see that these two were clearly a bit wary of him, but that didn't matter, because he had officially advanced to the Soul Emperor realm not long ago. Among the younger generation, there were almost no one who could compare to him.
Huo Yuhao simply released his Thunderous Nether Vine soul spirit. He still had many abilities he had not yet displayed to the outside world, and this Thunderous Nether Vine was one of them. Back then, it had recklessly absorbed a great deal of the lightning power from the Snow Empress's seven hundred thousand year tribulation and had rapidly transformed into a fierce beast-level soul spirit. To this day, it still had a considerable amount of energy that had not been fully digested, which was perfect for concealing his identity.
A plant-type soul beast like the Thunderous Nether Vine rarely appeared before human soul masters. Coupled with the unique appearance of Huo Yuhao's second martial soul, the Immortal Spirit Wood, it was naturally impossible for Wu Yifan to recognize it.
Normally, Huo Yuhao would be too lazy to play tai chi with a clownish side character like Wu Yifan. But the Proud Sword Sect could be considered a not-insignificant asset to the emerging Heavenly Soul nation. Even if the sect didn't have a Titled Douluo level soul master in charge, they still had a few Soul Douluo.
The three arrived at the noodle shop Wu Yifan had mentioned. Upon seeing Wu Yifan, the receptionist at the front immediately showed a look of understanding and enthusiastically welcomed Huo Yuhao and Die Qiu to their seats.
Learning that Huo Yuhao planned to roast his own fish, the chef in the restaurant was first stunned, but then, under a signal from Wu Yifan's eyes, borrowed a grill from the neighboring shop and presented them with fresh grass carp.
Huo Yuhao's fish-roasting skills, which were engraved in his muscle memory, could not possibly fail. The original Huo Gua was, after all, a roasted fish immortal who had conquered the stomach of a God King's daughter. Of course, he could barely manage some other home-style dishes, but they were far from reaching half the achievement of his roasted fish.
Watching Huo Yuhao's skilled fish-roasting technique, Wu Yifan became even more certain that the two were not the descendants of some powerful nobles. After all, the famous chefs in the aristocratic circles rarely used the most basic ingredients to cook delicacies, not to mention Huo Yuhao was using almost exclusively common seasonings used by the general populace.
Looking at Die Qiu's delicate, flushed cheeks reflecting the firelight, his mind gradually began to stir.
"Brother Huo, little sister Die, since we've met by chance, why don't we have a few drinks? This wine is a treasured collection of mine." Wu Yifan, from who knows where, brought out a few jars of aged fine wine and came before the two with a smile.
Huo Yuhao didn't even have to think to know that there was definitely something wrong with this wine. On the Douluo Continent, there was currently no human who could resist all kinds of drugs. It was just like when Huo Yuhao was hit by the Ten Thousand Men Drunk that Zhongli Wu had prepared for him, which had trapped him in a secret room for three full years. Although, as a man, he had quite enjoyed it.
"Oh? I wonder what kind of wine it is, to be worthy of Brother Wu's praise?" Huo Yuhao accepted a jar with a smile but did not open it immediately.
Wu Yifan looked directly into Huo Yuhao's eyes and smiled mysteriously. "I call this wine 'Concubine Selection'. Each jar has a different flavor. Drinking this wine is like tasting beautiful women of many different kinds. This is a small token of my sincerity. I hope Brother Huo will not refuse."
As he spoke, he gracefully filled the small cup in front of him with wine and raised it towards Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao was speechless. What a "Concubine Selection"!
"Little Huo appreciates Brother Wu's sentiment, but we are both under eighteen and are considered minors. Drinking wine rashly would be against the rules. Brother Wu should take this wine back." Huo Yuhao continued to fiddle with the grass carp on the grill and refused outright. He hadn't even dared to use the seasonings provided by the noodle shop; they were all his own.
"Brother Huo, by acting like this, you're making things difficult for me... This fine wine is for a beautiful lady. Since Brother Huo has his concerns, why not let little sister Die have a taste first?" Wu Yifan's face darkened slightly. Although he maintained a smile, the threat in his tone was undisguised.
Even Die Qiu could sense through her spiritual power that many powerful soul masters had already been stationed in ambush around the noodle shop.
Huo Yuhao was amused. The shrewdness of this disciple from a major sect was so shallow. To openly coerce a 'virtuous young lady' in public, who knew how many innocent girls this scum of the earth had harmed to this day.
Die Qiu didn't even want to bother with him. Her attention was now entirely on the fish on the grill. With the great increase in her spiritual power, Huo Yuhao's control over the fire had also reached the extreme. The fish was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Soaked in the seasonings, its aroma was overflowing, making it impossible to resist.
"Brother Huo, there are rules at the drinking table. I, Wu, am toasting you. You can't make your elder brother lose face..." Two yellow, two purple, and two black—six soul rings appeared beneath Wu Yifan. He hoped that Huo Yuhao would know when to back down and not continue to stay here and disturb his 'refined pleasure'.
"I never thought there would be so much drinking table culture on the Douluo Continent. It's truly nauseating." Huo Yuhao said a sentence of ambiguous meaning, which slightly stunned Wu Yifan. At the same time, six soul rings of strange colors also rose up.
Bright gold, fluorescent white, silver, silver-purple, glazed, and rose-gold!
In an instant, Wu Yifan seemed to think of something. Among all the soul masters on the continent, there was only one person in the world with such a bizarre and unique soul ring configuration!
The Demon King, Huo Yuhao!