"It's getting late. Let's go have dinner!"
Looking at Xiao Wu, who was hiding her head but leaving her rear exposed, Chu Chengzhou suggested.
"No, no, you can bring me something back."
Wriggling slightly, Xiao Wu still kept her head buried in the pillow.
"Not going? Then I'll go play by myself."
Chu Chengzhou pulled out his ultimate move.
Instantly, Xiao Wu reacted and quickly lifted her head from the pillow.
"How dare you, Little Chu, think of not taking Sister Xiao Wu with you?"
Xiao Wu said "angrily."
There was no real anger—her "anger" was just a cover for her embarrassment.
"Haha~, let's go!"
Leaving the Rose Hotel, the two strolled leisurely along the bustling streets.
Suotuo City truly lived up to its status as a main city. Though it was still early evening and the night had yet to fall, the city already exuded an aura of prosperity, even before reaching its peak hours of activity.
The streets were lined with all kinds of shops. After having dinner at a restaurant and being dragged around by Xiao Wu for half an hour, even Chu Chengzhou, whose physique rivaled that of a spirit beast, began to feel dizzy.
His body wasn't tired, but his mind was.
Women who couldn't lift things, carry loads, or even open bottle caps suddenly became unstoppable warriors when it came to shopping. And this was especially true for Xiao Wu, a three-ring Soul Elder!
"Hey, Little Chu, look over there—it seems like there's a shop related to soul masters!"
Suddenly, Xiao Wu exclaimed in surprise.
Following the direction she pointed, Chu Chengzhou saw a small shop not far away. The storefront wasn't large, but the sign hanging above it was unique.
The sign bore a circular emblem with several distinct symbols: a sword, a hammer, and a winged lizard—or rather, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon?
Chu Chengzhou remembered that in the anime from his previous life, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon didn't have wings and resembled more of a Chinese-style dragon, shaped like a breadstick.
But after arriving on the Douluo Continent, he discovered that the continent's dragon-type spirit beasts weren't Eastern dragons at all—they were Western-style dragons with wings. The creatures closest to the image of Eastern dragons were probably the python-type spirit beasts.
"Let's go take a look!"
Chu Chengzhou led Xiao Wu toward the shop.
He vaguely recalled that Flender had opened a shady store in Suotuo City, specializing in selling overpriced junk.
However, it wasn't entirely devoid of treasures. In the original storyline, Tang San had stumbled upon a valuable item here a few months later, and that very item would come in handy for Chu Chengzhou.
The shop door was open, and the interior appeared dimly lit. As soon as they entered, they sensed a peculiar energy fluctuation unique to soul tools.
Soul tools emitted soul power fluctuations. If they hadn't been used and bound to someone's soul power, their energy would leak outward.
However, in this era where soul tool technology was still raw to say the least, aside from some everyday-use soul tools, most soul tools on the continent were antiques, and they rarely had offensive or defensive capabilities.
Inside the shop, there was only one person, no counter in sight, and the walls were adorned with various items that looked very old and certainly didn't seem valuable.
The lone person sat on a wooden recliner, eyes closed, swaying gently with the chair. He appeared to be about fifty years old. Despite his age, his build was robust, and the sturdy-looking recliner creaked under his weight as it rocked.
This man had a long, narrow face, a protruding chin, wide cheekbones, a flat face, and a slightly hooked nose. Though his eyes were closed, he gave off an air of cunning.
He wore black-framed crystal glasses with stiff, square frames, giving him an odd appearance.
Neither Chu Chengzhou nor Xiao Wu disturbed him as they entered. He continued to rock evenly on the recliner, breathing steadily.
'No wonder Liu Erlong didn't choose Flender—it turns out his looks are so lacking!'
Looking at Flender's long, narrow face, Chu Chengzhou couldn't help but muse inwardly.
He had seen Yu Xiaogang before. Aside from his somewhat disheveled appearance, though not exactly handsome, he was at least passable.
But Flender? Tsk~—it was hard to put into words.
Perhaps if Yu Xiaogang weren't around for comparison, Flender might have stood a chance.
But next to Yu Xiaogang—who, despite being weak in combat, was well-educated—Flender's chances of winning Liu Erlong's affection were slim to none.
Xiao Wu curiously looked around: "Are these all soul tools? They look like junk."
'They really are useless junk!'
Chu Chengzhou thought to himself.
But he wouldn't say it aloud. Tomorrow, he'd enroll at Shrek Academy, and soon he'd need to ask Flender to help him obtain his third spirit ring. He had to give Flender some face.
After glancing around, Chu Chengzhou focused on a fist-sized crystal hanging near the entrance.
The crystal was unremarkable, transparent in color but filled with large patches of dark yellow impurities.
In Flender's shop, the only item that matched the crystal Tang San had picked up in the original storyline—containing a wealth of tungsten gold—was likely this one.
"You want to buy this broken crystal?"
Seeing Chu Chengzhou's gaze fixed on the crystal, Xiao Wu asked curiously.
"Mm, boss, how much is this crystal?"
Chu Chengzhou nodded and turned to Flender lounging on the recliner.
At that moment, Flender opened his eyes.
Seeing two well-dressed teenagers who appeared to have money, Flender's eyes immediately lit up.
Were these customers divine beings? No—they were clearly two little fat sheep!
With a quick turn of his eyes, Flender hatched a plan and lazily said, "Not expensive, just three hundred gold soul coins!"
"Three hundred gold soul coins? For this broken crystal? Why don't you just rob us?"
Before Chu Chengzhou could respond, Xiao Wu widened her eyes in shock.
Flender, who already had an untrustworthy appearance, instantly cemented his image as a greedy merchant in Xiao Wu's mind.
"Rob? Young lady, robbery is illegal! This crystal is a treasure I bought at a high price. Three hundred gold soul coins is already the lowest price. If you want it, pay up; if not, please leave."
Flender waved dismissively.
It was true—he had bought it at a high price, spending a whole silver soul coin!
Three years without a sale, and one sale to last three years—that was Flender's motto!
Three hundred gold soul coins wasn't beyond Chu Chengzhou's means, and the tungsten gold inside the crystal was worth far more than that amount.
But Chu Chengzhou knew Flender was a crafty merchant. If he agreed to pay now, the price of the crystal would skyrocket to five hundred or even a thousand gold soul coins, making it unaffordable.
After pondering for a moment, Chu Chengzhou came up with a plan: "Boss, can you make this crystal a bit cheaper? We're planning to enroll at Shrek Academy outside the city tomorrow!"
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