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Wu Liuqi's face fell the moment he heard they couldn't eat it. Disappointment was written all over him.
I mean, come on. That thing was huge. It could've fed us for days.
And it was a dragon!
I've never eaten dragon before!
"Tch…"
Kurama turned his head away in a bad mood. Seeing Liu Erlong's martial soul reminded him of the real culprit behind his sealing: Senju Hashirama, and one of his signature moves—Wood Dragon.
Damn you, Hashirama.
"Aiya aiya, this just got troublesome~"
While Wu Liuqi and the others were circling Liu Erlong to look at her martial soul, the King of Wisdom had already sifted through all the memories of the soul beasts from hell. The result was… nothing. There was no information at all about spatial rifts.
That left Sam feeling a bit gloomy.
Still, it wasn't a total loss. After all, those creatures had come from somewhere, so there were faint impressions left in their memories.
It was just that they'd run really far afterward. Pinpointing the exact location was honestly kind of impossible~
"Since we don't have any leads right now, how about we find a place to rest first?" Sam suggested, smiling as he looked at Kurama and the others. "There's no time limit on the mission anyway. As long as we finish it eventually, we're good."
"Yeah, yeah!" Wu Liuqi agreed immediately, nodding like crazy. "I'm starving to death already…"
"Then could you take us to the nearest town or something?" Sam turned to Liu Erlong. "Don't worry, we'll pay."
Liu Erlong: "…"
I'm not exactly rich, okay, but…
Do I really look like someone who's short on money?
What kind of person do you think I am, anyway?
"Let's go. I'll take you to town."
Even though she was speechless, Liu Erlong still led the way.
No matter what, if it weren't for them, she'd probably be dead by now.
They moved pretty fast. By evening, they'd already arrived at the town. The whole journey took just a bit over an hour, not even two.
Of course, that was largely thanks to Sam's personal little hell. As the ruler of hell, he had authority over everything inside it.
Building on that, the King of Wisdom simulated and adjusted the ability, turning it into a new skill: Undead Summoning. The soul beasts that had previously been absorbed into hell were summoned out and used as mounts.
Otherwise, there was no way they'd have reached the town this fast. It would've taken at least another hour.
Even though Elsa was strong, she wasn't exactly great at long-distance travel. Compared to the others, she was only a bit faster than a normal person.
When Sam summoned those soul beast mounts, Liu Erlong was shocked, but she assumed it was just another ability of his martial soul.
…
Soul power turns into horses, galloping all the way.
…
Once they entered the town, it turned out to be far livelier than Sam and Elsa had expected.
The town was about the same size as Arendelle's capital. Sure, it didn't have city walls, but it was basically a small city.
Shops lined the streets, all kinds of stores you could think of. Sam, Wu Liuqi, and the others nearly had their eyes light up.
There were so many things they'd never seen before. Of course they were curious.
"Should we buy something to take back?" Elsa muttered while looking around at the goods. "What would my sister like? Ugh, I'm such a terrible older sister. I don't even know what she likes…"
"Most of the shops here cater to soul masters," Liu Erlong explained, pointing as she spoke. "Weapons, armor, antidotes, recovery potions, things like that…"
Sam wandered into a clothing store, took one look around, then walked out with a look of pure disgust.
For crying out loud, all the clothes here had like a dozen pockets. Designed to stuff all kinds of gear inside. Perfect for soul master adventures.
But stylish? Not even close.
Yeah, Sam absolutely hated it~
Still, it really showed how people lived off their environment. Rely on the mountain if you live by the mountain, rely on the forest if you live by the forest.
"Hey, you guys want some?" Wu Liuqi said cheerfully.
"Mm mm mm, this grilled meat is actually really good."
Sam and the others: "???"
Hey, hey, where did that grilled meat come from?
We don't have money in this world, bro!
Are you planning to dine and dash?!
Just as they were feeling utterly speechless, the owner of the barbecue stall actually came chasing after them, a kitchen cleaver in hand.
"You bastard! You haven't paid yet!!!"
Sam and the others: "…"
Kurama and Sam instantly flashed away from Wu Liuqi, clearly acting like they didn't know him at all.
Only Elsa, the innocent sweetheart, was left standing there blankly. Sam had to run back and drag her away.
Wu Liuqi: "…???"
Where did everyone go?
Then—
A cleaver was pressed against his neck.
"B-b-b-bro, let's talk this out!" Wu Liuqi threw his hands up instantly, so scared he started stuttering.
"What's there to talk about? Pay up!" the burly man with the cleaver snapped. "You think you can eat for free? Have you asked my cleaver first?!"
Seeing this, Liu Erlong couldn't help but press a hand to her forehead.
What kind of people are these…
Every single one of them has terrifying strength, but their way of doing things is… really something else.
At least there's one that's kind of reliable…
With that thought, Liu Erlong glanced at Sam, who was clearly the leader, and couldn't help but blush a little.
In the end, Liu Erlong paid for Wu Liuqi's barbecue, and only then did the cleaver-wielding man back off.
"....."