Brother Yuntao, I just don't get it. You're a Grand Soul Master, and you're so good-looking—how could you possibly be worried about not having anyone pursue you?" Zhu Wu continued, "Being a Soul Master is a dream job for us commoners. Once you become one, you'd have girls from every nearby village lining up to marry you."
"As the saying goes: 'Why fixate on one flower when there are so many others in the field?'"
Why pine for one flower when you can plant a whole forest?
After personally experiencing a scam marriage, he'd figured it out.
Hate the player, understand the player, become the player.
He hadn't been wrong.
"…" Su Yuntao seemed to be spiraling into self-doubt, walking forward in a daze without saying a word.
When they reached a door, he pushed it open out of habit.
"Who is it? Can't you knock—"
An older voice called out from inside.
"Master Matthew Nuo, this child is here for Soul Master certification. I'll leave him to you, I've got other things to do."
With that, Su Yuntao turned and left, looking utterly dejected.
"What's up with that boy today?" Matthew Nuo muttered, then called out kindly, "Come on in, child."
Another simp down, one real man gained.
Zhu Wu strode confidently through the door.
"Child, are you really here for Soul Master certification?"
Seeing how young he was, Matthew Nuo was clearly surprised.
"Yes, Master Matthew Nuo." Zhu Wu replied politely. "I'm the one Brother Yuntao helped awaken his Martial Soul in Holy Soul Village last year. I awakened a Silkworm Martial Soul with innate Soul Power level 6. Today, I just returned from the Primary Soul Hunting Forest after obtaining my first Soul Ring."
"A regular silkworm soul, and still progressed this quickly?" Matthew Nuo murmured to himself. He recalled Su Yuntao reporting this case before.
"Not too bad." Zhu Wu scratched his head. "Because of certain reasons, us work-study students no longer have to do chores in the afternoon, so I've had more time to cultivate."
"I see." Matthew Nuo nodded, now labeling him mentally as a hardworking child.
"Come over here, child." With a kind smile, he waved Zhu Wu over. "No need to call me 'Master'—I don't deserve that title. Just call me Grandpa Matthew Nuo. I'm 81 this year—probably old enough to be your grandfather anyway."
"Alright, Grandpa Matthew Nuo." Zhu Wu responded politely, quickly walking over.
Soon, Matthew Nuo led him into a special room.
Looking around, Zhu Wu saw the walls were embedded with countless black stones, each the size of a fist. They looked to be made of the same material as the black stones used by Su Yuntao to form a six-point array before. He could clearly feel a strange pulse emanating from them, making the Soul Power in his body resonate in a particular rhythm.
"This is the most basic level of the Martial Soul Hall," Matthew Nuo explained as he noticed Zhu Wu examining the room.
As he spoke, he walked over to a nearby table, picked up a yellow crystal, and brought it to Zhu Wu.
"Inject your Soul Power into this. Let me see your current level. Normally, it should be level 11 now…"
Zhu Wu did as told—sure enough, he was level 11.
Not like Tang San with his hidden reserves, he thought privately.
"Congratulations. From today onward, you are a certified Soul Master. This is your certificate."
The registration process went smoothly. Matthew Nuo handed over a card containing Zhu Wu's registration information, then his tone became more serious.
"Zhu Wu, would you like to join the Martial Soul Hall?"
Zhu Wu took the card and smiled, "Grandpa Matthew Nuo, did you forget? I'm already a student at Nuoding Academy."
"Oh, look at me. Getting senile in my old age. You're right—we're a bit too late. Even the Martial Soul Hall can't just go snatching students from the Empire's academies. I suppose it's Su Yuntao's fault, acting on his own…" Matthew Nuo shook his head with a sigh.
After giving him some final instructions and issuing a subsidy, he watched Zhu Wu leave.
Without wasting time, Zhu Wu exited the Martial Soul Hall and headed straight back to the academy. On the way, he bought a box of stinky tofu.
In this world, stinky tofu was the real deal—fermented with actual excrement.
Xiao Wu, eat sh*t!
---
Two quarters later, Dorm 7, Nuoding Academy.
"What is this? It smells awful!" Xiao Wu instinctively pinched her nose as she stared at the large box Zhu Wu handed her.
"It's called stinky tofu. Smells awful, but tastes amazing. It's one of Nuoding City's specialties," Wang Sheng explained from the side.
"Nuoding is surrounded by farmland, and nearly every village grows soybeans. So the ingredients are guaranteed authentic!"
"Really? It's that good?" Xiao Wu was skeptical.
"Why would I lie to you, Sister Xiao Wu?" Wang Sheng gave her an encouraging push.
"Alright, I'll try it." Xiao Wu placed the box on the nearby table, still holding her nose, and used a bamboo skewer to pick up a piece.
Chomp chomp. Her eyes lit up instantly. "Wow, this is actually delicious!"
Her hands moved quickly, shoveling piece after piece into her mouth, oil smearing the corners of her lips.
Zhu Wu, feeling satisfied, turned to go back to bed and began cultivating.
---
That evening, Tang San returned. Zhu Wu led the dorm mates to the cafeteria for a hearty meal. Afterward, they happily headed back to the dorm.
"Tang San, earlier Zhu brought me some stinky tofu—it was surprisingly good!" Xiao Wu said cheerfully. "When you get off work tomorrow, can you buy me another box?"
"Sure." Tang San nodded. In his past life, stinky tofu was also a local delicacy in the Tang Sect's region of Sichuan.
"By the way, how exactly is stinky tofu made? Why does it smell so bad?" Xiao Wu asked, curious.
"Sister Xiao Wu, you don't know?" One of Wang Sheng's little followers froze, looking at her strangely.
Anyone born in the villages around Nuoding should've known that, right?
Wasn't Xiao Wu from a peasant background?
"I've never had it before, how would I know?" Xiao Wu rolled her eyes.
"It's made by brewing a marinade from fermented beans, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and other ingredients, then filtered through cloth with a few drops of—uh—child's poop water," the boy quickly explained.
"Once the marinade is ready, you fry the tofu and soak it in there for a while."
Xiao Wu froze in place, her face going pale. She looked at him in disbelief, voice trembling.
"You… you're saying that stuff is made with that!?"
"Uh… isn't that normal?" The boy scratched his head. "I mean, even boy's urine is used in medicine."
"BLEURGH!"
Xiao Wu turned away and vomited violently.
"…"
Everyone looked around at each other. Zhu Wu suppressed a laugh and joined in pretending to be confused.
Could Xiao Wu be hiding her real background?
She didn't even know how stinky tofu was made…
Tang San, lost in thought, stepped forward to support her.
"Zhu! I'm going to kill you!"
Suddenly, Xiao Wu lunged at Zhu Wu, eyes red with fury.
Zhu Wu, expecting this, faked a frightened jump and dodged behind Wang Sheng.
"Hey hey hey, Sister Xiao Wu, you can't blame me for this!"
---
(End of Chapter)
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