Chapter 19: That Kiss

Chapter 19: That Kiss

Eleven months later.

Shrek City, located north of the Star Dou Great Forest, situated in the triangular region where the original three Douluo kingdoms met.

This was a holy land that Soul Masters from the entire continent flocked to, and also the location of the continent's top institution, Shrek Academy.

It was just past noon, and the sun blazed like fire.

The mild subtropical climate endowed this place with spring-like weather all year round.

Under the shade of a tree outside the city, two young people, a male and a female, approached.

They weren't carrying any luggage.

The boy was tall; his handsome face still showed signs of youthfulness, but his height had already surpassed 1.7 meters. He wore a set of snug black attire that made him look sharp and capable.

The girl beside him had a lovely face, her beautiful hair cascading down her shoulders like a waterfall. Her top tightly hugged her already developing figure, showcasing an emerging graceful silhouette that would make countless women envious.

Of course, if one were to point out the most striking feature about her, it would undoubtedly be her eyes.

Her bright pupils seemed to hold pools of autumn water, as if stars resided within them, shining with exceptional spirit.

The girl turned sideways, looking worriedly at the boy accompanying her.

"Brother, are you really sure you don't need me to go with you? That's the Star Dou Great Forest, fraught with dangers! No matter what, I already have Level 27 strength now..."

The boy gently hugged her and said with a smile, "What, you have so little faith in your brother? Others might not know, but you should know better than anyone. In all our spars usually, when have you ever won against me? Besides, back when I was hunting for my second soul ring, I could already easily handle hundred-year soul beasts."

The girl mumbled softly, "It's just that your strength is too monstrous, and you're so fast too! How can a Spirit-type Soul Master like me win when you get close! And I couldn't even use my White Tiger Dagger against you."

The boy reached out and playfully flicked the bridge of the girl's fair nose, laughing wryly.

"Alright, alright, hurry up and go in. Hold onto that recommendation letter Grandpa left. With your current soul power level, Shrek will probably be fighting to recruit you. Don't skimp on money for food these next few days, treat yourself better. If you spend it all, I'll just earn more. I've put all the daily necessities in your ring. Clean up the dormitory first after you get in..."

A faint blush rose on the girl's face. Listening to the boy's rambling instructions, she silently took out a dagger from her storage ring.

The dagger was about one chi and two cun long (approx. 40 cm). Its sheath was dark green, crafted from tough soul beast leather.

The hilt was five cun long (approx. 16.7 cm), lacking any ornate decorations, yet exuding a sense of ancient simplicity.

If someone knowledgeable were present, they would recognize it at a glance as an expensive Level 5 Close Combat Soul Tool.

The boy paused, trying to refuse, "Xiao Tong, you're a Spirit-type Soul Master, lacking in self-defense capabilities. I heard Shrek's entrance test involves actual combat, likely fighting soul beasts. I'm used to using a long saber; you should keep this White Tiger Dagger for yourself..."

"Take it."

The girl's tone allowed no refusal, her eyes showing stubborn persistence. She thrust the White Tiger Dagger into the boy's hand.

"If you were really that confident, you wouldn't have given me most of the Gold Soul Coins."

"I'll wait for you to come back at Shrek."

After speaking, she stood on her tiptoes and, under the guise of a hug, quickly pecked him lightly on the cheek.

Before he could react, she had already vanished into the crowd entering the city.

The boy stood frozen in place for a good while, holding the dagger in his left hand.

"This little girl, really..."

This boy and girl were none other than Qian Zhaoguang and Huo Yutong, who had traveled from the Star Luo Empire.

Nearly a year had passed, and the crucial juncture for the original story's main plotline had finally arrived.

Huo Yutong's cultivation was already very close to Soul Venerable (Level 30+), her soul power level reaching a high of twenty-seven. Among the current batch of Shrek freshmen, she was definitely in a league of her own, capable of dominating.

If nothing went wrong, the strongest freshman currently, Wang Dong, was likely only at Level 21.

Qian Zhaoguang, during these past ten-plus months, had not continued to delve into forging or body tempering. Instead, he had focused the entirety of his cultivation efforts on the Spirit Refining Art.

Building upon his existing spiritual power foundation, he cultivated like mad once again, expanding it to the size of a basketball, then compressing it into a single point.

Expand again, compress again.

Expand again, compress again.

After repeating this process three times, a mutation occurred.

Within the compressed spiritual power, a point of starlight appeared,璀璨 (cuǐcàn - sparkling/brilliant) like a jewel.

Compared to ordinary spiritual power, the difference between it and this point of starlight was like that between a firefly and the bright moon.

The Spirit Refining Art had a specific term to define spiritual power of this level:

Pseudo-Spirit Awareness.

Watching Huo Yutong's departing figure, Qian Zhaoguang put the White Tiger Dagger into his storage bracelet and turned around, heading back the way he came.

Ten years spent sharpening a sword, all for this very moment!

Four days later.

Qian Zhaoguang's figure appeared in the southern part of the continent, within a patch of woods approximately seventy kilometers away from the Star Dou Great Forest.

"A small grove by the roadside; from the shade of the trees, the babbling sound of a stream can be heard."

Qian Zhaoguang recalled the description from the original work. Driving the Pseudo-Spirit Awareness in his mind, he spread it outwards to sense his surroundings and quickly determined the direction.

"A small stream less than two hundred meters away, about three meters wide, and about two chi deep. Yes, this is the place."

He let out a long sigh of relief and sat down by the stream bank.

After several days of high-intensity travel, even with his incredibly robust physique, he felt extremely weary.

He had arrived at the target location several days ahead of schedule. All he needed to do now was wait here for the arrival of Bei Bei and Tang Ya.

Three days later, Qian Zhaoguang was by the stream bank, building a fire and cooking as usual.

Fat from the lamb skewers dripped onto the charcoal, erupting with a strong and intoxicating smoky aroma that drifted with the wind.

Although he didn't possess Huo Yutong's exquisite fish grilling skills, having helped in the school kitchen in his past life, preparing something like meat skewers or other food with a strong, penetrating aroma was still manageable.

After all, he had lived in a culinary paradise in his previous life. Excluding unreasonable, off-the-charts talents like Huo Yutong, anything Qian Zhaoguang casually whipped up was purely a dimensionality reduction strike against the local standards.

Conditions in the wild were limited, so he wouldn't bother making braised pork with caramelized sugar.

Listening to the crackling sounds, Qian Zhaoguang sighed helplessly.

Bei Bei and Tang Ya still hadn't shown up.

Damn it, why couldn't a certain someone have been more precise and written down the time clearly?

Is today going to be another wasted wait?

He casually sprinkled some cumin and chili flakes onto the nearly cooked skewers.

Sprinkling them earlier would cause them to burn and turn bitter when licked by the flames.

Taking a bite, rich meat juices exploded in his mouth. The aromas of cumin, lamb, charcoal, and chili simultaneously filled his nasal cavity, providing the ultimate delicious experience.

As the old saying goes: There's no problem that can't be solved by one barbecue meal; if there is, then make it two.

"It smells so good!"

Just then, a girl's voice rang out, clear and pleasant.

Qian Zhaoguang instantly tensed, almost leaping up from the stone he sat on.

He had waited here bitterly for so long; were the people he was waiting for finally arriving?!

He looked in the direction the voice came from. A male and a female were walking towards him along the stream.

The girl looked about fifteen or sixteen, with long black hair tied into a ponytail, wearing a set of light blue, close-fitting attire.

Currently, she was staring intently at the large handful of meat skewers in Qian Zhaoguang's hand.

Behind her, the boy had short, dark blue hair and exuded a scholarly and refined aura.

After carefully comparing them with the descriptions in the original work in his mind, Qian Zhaoguang confirmed that the newcomers were indeed Tang Ya and Bei Bei, whom he had been waiting for days.

Tang Ya hurried over, practically skipping, looking like she was about to drool.

"Little brother, are you selling these roasted skewers? They smell absolutely divine! I could smell them from way down the road!"

Qian Zhaoguang smiled, offered half of the skewers to Tang Ya, and then took out a handful of raw skewers from his storage bracelet, placing them over the fire.

"What I'm eating isn't anything expensive. If you don't mind, please have some. There's chili on the lamb skewers; can you handle spicy food, big sister?"

(End of Chapter)