That evening, Julian and Pierce went out rather than eating at home.
The two of them first had a barbecue outside, picking a random barbecue joint.
Each of them ordered dozens of meat skewers, and neither ordered a single vegetable dish.
In this respect, Pierce was exactly the same as Julian—they were both devoted carnivores who couldn't live without meat.
Whether it was barbecue or hotpot, they basically only ordered meat.
Even if they did order vegetables, it would usually just be some lettuce to wrap around the meat, partly to cut through the greasiness so they could eat even more.
Julian used his psychic abilities to subtly adjust his appearance, though he still looked sunny and handsome.
Anyone who saw him would subconsciously think, 'What a handsome guy.'
The two little ones had wanted to come along as well, but Julian had sent them away with two hundred bucks each.
As a result, no one recognized that the man eating barbecue and drinking beer was actually Julian.
Compared to Julian, Pierce wasn't bad-looking either—especially with the steely, resolute aura of a soldier. Even without his uniform, people could tell at a glance.
Sitting together, the two attracted quite a few glances from the people around them.
Since they were seated outside, many girls passing by couldn't help sneaking a look or two at them.
Men liked beautiful women, and likewise, women liked handsome men.
Even though the two were sitting at a roadside barbecue stand, anyone with discerning eyes could tell from their bearing that they were far from ordinary.
"I thought you'd take me somewhere fancy," Pierce said, eating a beef skewer and taking a big gulp of beer, a contented expression spreading across his face.
"What? You don't like this?" Julian asked with a smile.
"Not at all. Compared to exotic delicacies, I actually prefer this." Pierce grinned.
He knew Julian fairly well. Julian didn't have the slightest air of a wealthy young master, and despite being an absurdly talented trainer, Julian didn't carry himself like a genius.
Most prodigies possessed some degree of pride, but Pierce had never seen that sort of arrogance in Julian.
When it came to making friends, Julian never cared about a person's family background—it all came down to whether he found them agreeable and whether their personalities clicked.
As long as those two conditions were met, that person was his friend.
As the rich juices and fat from the lamb skewer burst in his mouth, Julian couldn't help enjoying himself.
The flavor was nowhere near as good as Slowking's barbecue, but this kind of atmosphere was something that simply couldn't be found at home.
Having stayed at home for far too long recently, Julian felt that coming out once in a while was actually quite nice.
The surrounding noise, the chatter of people talking, and the lively atmosphere all sounded rather pleasant to him now.
"I'm planning to make a trip to the Primal Secret Realm. Anything I should watch out for?" Pierce asked.
At his current level, if he wanted to improve further, one option was to rely on steady accumulation over time.
That method was stable and safe, but it took far too long.
Generally speaking, it took several years just to advance a single level. He wasn't some seventy or eighty-year-old trainer; he was only in his thirties and still at the stage of striving forward aggressively.
Moreover, as Julian's friend, he had already fallen far behind him.
If he couldn't even become a Champion, then perhaps in the future he wouldn't even qualify to stand beside Julian as a supporting character.
So in order to quickly increase his strength, Top-tier Secret Realms and Primal Secret Realms were his best options. And compared to Top-tier Secret Realms, he preferred the Primal Secret Realm more.
The Primal Secret Realm had already begun opening access to domestic Pseudo-Champion trainers.
Of course, not every Pseudo-Champion was eligible to enter. Approval from the higher authorities was required.
As for Elite trainers, entering alone was almost impossible. After all, there were simply too many Elite-level Pokémon inside the Primal Secret Realm.
"With your strength, as long as you stay out of the King's Domain, you'll be fine," Julian said.
He had known about the Primal Secret Realm being opened to Pseudo-Champions for a while—in fact, he was one of the people who had approved the decision.
Although Pierce was only a mid-stage Pseudo-Champion, the strength of the three Regis allowed them to contend against even late-stage Pseudo-Champion opponents.
And the three Regis also possessed the combination move.
Once they used that move, even Peak Pseudo-Champion Pokémon could potentially be defeated.
Therefore, as long as Pierce didn't do something stupid like provoking a Champion-level Pokémon and entering the King's Domain, he was unlikely to encounter any real danger in the Primal Secret Realm.
"As if I'd go there." Pierce rolled his eyes.
He knew exactly how strong he was. Picking a fight with Champion-level Pokémon would be nothing short of seeking death.
The two of them spent a little over two hours eating barbecue. By the time they finished, it was around ten o'clock at night.
"Ready to head back?" Pierce asked after seeing Julian pay the bill.
Judging by his tone, he seemed to have other plans. Julian raised an eyebrow. "You've got something else in mind?"
"Wanna hit a bar? I heard Blue Whisper Bar is pretty famous in Lake City."
When he said that, there was a hint of excitement in Pierce's voice.
"It is pretty famous," Julian nodded.
The Walker family naturally had no interest in small businesses like bars, but he vaguely remembered that this particular bar was owned by one of the Walker family's affiliated clans.
The reason he remembered it was because he had a VVVIP membership card for the place.
Just by showing that card, you could get everything on the house, and you could even just shout "drinks are on me for everyone" and that would be perfectly fine.
Thinking about it, someone had given him the card several years ago at a banquet. A middle-aged man, if he remembered correctly.
And Julian had never used it even once.
"Alright, let's go. My treat."
Thinking of that, Julian patted his chest confidently.
So the two of them hailed a cab to Blue Whisper Bar.
The trip took about half an hour, and by the time they arrived, it was already past ten.
At this hour, the bar already had quite a few people, though it hadn't reached the truly lively peak yet—the crowd would hit its max around midnight.
The two of them sat down directly at the bar counter.
Julian rarely came to places like this, it could even be said that he almost never did. The booming music filled his ears, along with the dazzling lights flickering overhead—and of course, there were plenty of girls around.
Under the stimulation of alcohol and music, you'd find no shortage of players and party girls here. If you weren't careful, you might just run into a walking biohazard.
Sipping a cocktail, Julian chatted with Pierce on and off.
"Hey handsome, can you buy me a drink?" A pretty girl came up beside Pierce, looking at him with a coy, sweet expression.
And Pierce, like a seasoned bar pro, gently wrapped an arm around her waist and smiled, "Of course."
Julian felt that there had to be something wrong with the woman's eyesight.
No matter how he looked at it, whether in terms of appearance or temperament, he was clearly superior to Pierce—so why go for Pierce and not him?
Definitely bad eyes.
Although if she had approached him, he probably would have pushed her away.
Seeing Pierce shoot him a smug look, Julian pursed his lips.
This kind of woman wasn't his type anyway. And not that he cared. Definitely didn't care.
After muttering that to himself, Julian quietly continued sipping his drink.
*****
Upto 30 chapters ahead on patreon :-
patreon.com/ReduxMagister