"Brother Xie Yue, there's no need to be so formal. Just call me Yu'er," Tuoba Yu'er said with a smile.
Despite her extraordinary background, she was not the type to use her clan's influence to bully others. Furthermore, Hu Liena was the disciple of Her Majesty the Pope, and Xie Yue was Hu Liena's elder brother.
His own natural talent was exceptional; he was not someone who could be looked down upon simply because one had a clan backing them.
Xie Yue smiled and turned to Ling Xiao.
"Ling Xiao, it's been a few days. How do you find the Academy?"
"It's been good. However, I heard someone is treating us today, so I'm quite interested in tasting whatever delicacies are on offer."
"Haha, Yan, that's up to you. You're the authority on this subject."
Yan snorted, ignoring Xie Yue's teasing.
After greeting Tuoba Yu'er, he looked at Ling Xiao and said, "Your strength is decent. Last time, I took advantage of my higher cultivation level. Once your rank catches up, we can fight again."
"Don't worry, it won't be long." Ling Xiao didn't mind at all; having a rival only made things more interesting.
Now that everyone was gathered, the group didn't linger. Yan led them out of the Academy and toward the city center. After walking for a while, they arrived at a luxurious hotel in the heart of Spirit City.
Seeing the extravagant decor, Ling Xiao almost forgot his composed reasons for coming; his mouth began to water. He couldn't help but think that he was in for a massive feast—Yan certainly seemed to have money to burn.
Upon reaching their destination, even Xie Yue lost his calm and breezy demeanor.
He looked at his friend in surprise. "You rascal, no wonder you kept your mouth shut earlier. I didn't expect you to bring us here. It looks like your wallet is going to take a heavy hit today."
Yan didn't say a word, but the slight upturn of his lips betrayed his inner pride.
As for the cost—while it was indeed expensive here—he didn't feel the sting. After all, the money wasn't earned by him; it was given to him by his father. As the illustrious Presiding Judge of Spirit Hall, his father certainly didn't lack such funds.
"Brother, is there something special about this place?" Hu Liena asked curiously.
Tuoba Yu'er felt the same; as the eldest young lady of the Tuoba Clan, she rarely left home and spent most of her time cultivating.
"Hehe. Among all prepared foods, the most precious are 'Soul Beast Meat Feasts' that aid a Soul Master's cultivation. The most unique thing about this hotel is that they serve rare delicacies that are usually hard to find even in a central hub like Spirit City. You'll see in a moment."
Xie Yue didn't reveal the secret just yet, playing coy and leaving Hu Liena looking quite disgruntled.
The moment they entered the hotel, a waiter near the counter spotted them and rushed over.
"Young Master Yan, you've arrived! Please come in, please come in," he said with a flattering tone.
"Mn. Is what I ordered ready?" Yan asked expressionlessly.
"Of course, it was prepared long ago. Please take your friends upstairs first; it will be served immediately."
Nodding, Yan said no more and led them to a private room on the third floor. Sitting in the plush chairs around the dining table, Ling Xiao was curious to see exactly what "special" items Xie Yue had been talking about.
The dishes began to arrive shortly.
However, after the first few were served, Ling Xiao found that while they were made from hundred-year Soul Beasts and tasted excellent, they didn't seem particularly "unique."
This was Spirit City, after all—the place with the highest density and quality of Soul Masters on the continent, frequented by countless Soul Master teams. It was the richest place for anything related to the profession.
Soul Beast meat might be a rarity in smaller cities, but in Spirit City, as long as you had the gold, ten-thousand-year meat might be hard to come by, but thousand-year Soul Beast meat was definitely available.
Based on what Xie Yue said, the truly special dishes hadn't appeared yet.
As Ling Xiao ate and pondered, he suddenly noticed Hu Liena across from him. She was gorging herself on a dish with absolute delight. Her eating manner was a sharp contrast to the elegant Tuoba Yu'er beside her; it wasn't refined in the slightest.
Ling Xiao looked at her plate. He couldn't tell exactly what kind of Soul Beast it was, but seeing a small piece of leg meat left on the tray that looked delicious, and seeing Hu Liena's cute, gluttonous expression, he couldn't resist teasing the girl.
Leaning forward slightly, Ling Xiao snatched the piece of leg meat right into his own bowl. Shocked by the theft of her food, Hu Liena cried out, "Ling Xiao! Give me back my rabbit meat! There are so many things to eat, why did you have to steal mine?"
As if he hadn't heard her, Ling Xiao stuffed the meat into his mouth and began to savor it.
Chewing, he spoke with a muffled voice, "So you like eating rabbit meat? Don't be so stingy, let me have a taste too. Besides, you've already eaten so much. If you keep going, aren't you afraid of turning into a fat girl?"
"You!" Hu Liena's face puffed up with anger, but she couldn't find the words to refute him. She clenched her small fists as if she wanted to hit someone, especially seeing how much Ling Xiao seemed to be enjoying it.
"I have to say, this really is delicious." Ling Xiao felt streams of warmth flowing through his body, slightly bolstering his soul power.
But more than that, he genuinely thought the dish was fantastic. Not only was the rabbit meat succulent, but even the bones were tender enough to be eaten along with the meat without having to pick them out.
"Hmph! Brother, Ling Xiao is definitely doing this on purpose. He's bullying me!" Hu Liena said indignantly to Xie Yue. Beside her, Tuoba Yu'er found the scene quite amusing; it was rare to see Hu Liena so flustered.
"Alright, Nana. Ling Xiao didn't eat that much; didn't you finish most of it anyway?" Xie Yue said helplessly.
Then, he looked at her with some confusion.
"Nana, I don't remember you being such a glutton before. Could it be... that spending all that time by Her Majesty the Pope's side lately, eating nothing but the best, has made you such a foodie?"
Hearing this, Hu Liena fell silent and turned her head away.
Xie Yue was right.
Ever since she was brought to Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong had taken a great liking to her.
Not only did she take her as a disciple, but she often kept her by her side. Her food and clothes were naturally of the highest quality. Growing up, other than Xie Yue, this was the first time someone had treated her so well—just like a mother would.
Ling Xiao shook his head and smiled. He felt that Bibi Dong truly treated Hu Liena like a daughter. After all, her feelings for Qian Renxue were complicated—a mix of love for her biological daughter and hatred for the Angel Clan.
But for Hu Liena, Bibi Dong even considered passing the entirety of Spirit Hall to her.
Perhaps, in Hu Liena, she saw her own younger self. But while she had met the wrong person and suffered a tragic fate, she hoped that Hu Liena would never have to walk that same path.