More than half an hour later, all four of them were finally full.
Ning Tian felt like it had been a long time since she had eaten with such gusto; Huo Yuhao's grilled fish was truly a culinary masterpiece.
She stretched her body, then turned to face Huo Yuhao, looking directly into his eyes as she asked:
"Thank you for the meal. Now, let's talk about serious matters. Huo Yuhao, you are the Huo Yuhao from the Duke's Mansion, correct?"
"Yes, it seems you've heard of me. This is my fiancée, Zhu Yun."
Huo Yuhao had expected Ning Tian to know his name.
After all, he was one of the four young masters of the Duke's Mansion, and excluding the youngest master, Dai Luoli, who had almost no competitive ability, there were only three heirs competing for the title of Duke.
Coupled with the stir Dai Hao caused when Huo Yun'er died five or six years ago, he was even quite famous in high society.
It would be truly strange if Ning Tian, as the Young Mistress of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, hadn't heard of him.
Ning Tian looked at Huo Yuhao, then at Zhu Yun, and finally sighed:
"First, tell me why you came to find me. Do you have any requests?"
"I hope we can form a cooperative relationship."
Huo Yuhao answered her question directly:
"I believe you've also heard that Shrek Academy's elimination rate is extremely high, and the difficulty of the assessments is far beyond what ordinary academies can match. If we cooperate, many things will go much more smoothly, and we can look out for each other."
Ning Tian was silent for a moment, then asked:
"So the question is, why should I cooperate with you instead of with Dai Huabin?"
She crossed her arms over her chest and said calmly:
"Our Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and your Duke's Mansion have had friendly relations for tens of thousands of years, so we are quite familiar with your situation. Given your relationship with Dai Huabin, if I cooperate with you, I will easily be categorized into your faction, won't I? That would anger Dai Huabin. What benefit is there in that for me?"
"I see, you're asking me where I am stronger than Dai Huabin, right?"
"You could say that."
Ning Tian said in a deep voice:
"Huo Yuhao, I admit you are completely different from what I imagined, but you are still just a concubine's son. You should know better than I do how disadvantaged a concubine's son is when competing for the position of White Tiger Duke."
"That's correct."
Huo Yuhao nodded.
Just as Ning Tian said, allying with Huo Yuhao meant becoming enemies with Dai Huabin. If he didn't present conditions that could sway Ning Tian, she had no reason to anger a genius who could become a Soul Master at the age of eleven.
Huo Yuhao took a deep breath and asked:
"Then please allow me to ask you first, what do you think are Dai Huabin's advantages in competing for the position of White Tiger Duke?"
Ning Tian raised an eyebrow slightly and replied indifferently:
"Isn't that simple? First, he is the legitimate son. Second, he is a genius who became a Soul Master at the age of eleven. Third, he has a Spirit Fusion Object."
"Is that all?"
Huo Yuhao spread his hands and smiled confidently:
"If it's just that level, then I'm not inferior to him. First, although I am a concubine's son, Xiao Yun is the legitimate daughter. Second, he is an eleven-year-old Soul Master, and I am also an eleven-year-old third-tier Soul Mentor. Finally, he has a Spirit Fusion Object, and Xiao Yun and I can also use a Spirit Fusion Skill. And besides that, more importantly..."
At this point, Huo Yuhao's smile became even more confident.
"I took the initiative to find you, but he didn't think of doing that."
In other words, Huo Yuhao had the brains to take the initiative to seek an alliance with Ning Tian, while Dai Huabin did not.
"...I see."
After quietly listening to Huo Yuhao's words, Ning Tian suddenly smiled.
Seeing her smile, Huo Yuhao suddenly realized that this was the first time Ning Tian had smiled since they met.
Up until now, because she had kept a straight face, she had given off a dignified and serious impression. With this smile, her whole person immediately became much more lively and lovely.
She smiled and extended her hand towards Huo Yuhao.
"You are truly a very interesting person."
Huo Yuhao also extended his hand, shook hers, and smiled:
"May I understand that you have agreed to cooperate with me?"
"Yes, of course."
Ning Tian smiled slightly and said:
"To be honest, I actually went to find Dai Huabin two days ago to discuss cooperation."
"Oh?"
Huo Yuhao's curiosity was immediately piqued.
"How did it go?"
Ning Tian smiled again, but this time her smile seemed a little chilling.
"I can only say that I profoundly realized that cultivation talent and intelligence are not correlated."
"Understood."
It seemed the conversation did not go well.
Considering Dai Huabin's personality, Huo Yuhao felt he could roughly imagine the scene at that time.
However, speaking of which, since Ning Tian would take the initiative to find Dai Huabin, it meant...
"Ning Tian, how many students at the Soul Master level are there in our grade?"
Huo Yuhao asked in a deep voice.
Since Ning Tian also intended to find allies, she must have actively sought out new students who were three-ringed or above.
Considering the difference in their intelligence networks, Ning Tian should have a complete grasp of the answer by now.
Ning Tian's smile became even brighter.
"It's indeed more pleasant to talk to smart people, but unfortunately, I have to pour cold water on you."
She narrowed her eyes and said:
"There are three students at the Soul Master level among this year's new students. If you include yourself as a third-tier Soul Mentor, then there are four. Excluding you, me, and Dai Huabin, there is another student named Xie Huanyue. His spirit is the Pi Pi Elephant, which is a very powerful defense-type spirit."
Speaking of this, she paused, then continued:
"Just as you thought, I also went to negotiate with him, but the result was also not very ideal. Unlike Dai Huabin's arrogance, he simply had no intention of allying with anyone. No matter what I said, it was useless, and I could only return empty-handed. I suggest you also give up on him."
"Understood, thank you for telling me this."
Huo Yuhao kept the information Ning Tian told him in mind.
If Xie Huanyue couldn't be an ally, then the two of them were in a competitive relationship, and it was good to understand the opponent's information in advance.
He stood up, patted his clothes, and said:
"Then, as a return, I will also give you a piece of information—the content of the new student assessment is likely to be team competitions in groups of three. It's best to find teammates and practice in advance."
Ning Tian blinked in surprise.
"How do you know this information?"
Huo Yuhao closed one eye and smiled slightly at her.
"Well, that's a secret."