"Oh! Xiao! This is all your fault! You were too careless! Look—someone else already took down the Black Gold Horned Bull Beast!"
A crisp, slightly annoyed female voice broke the silence.
Liu Yuan turned toward the sound.
A pair of siblings with extraordinary bearing approached him. The girl pouted, her bright eyes full of irritation as she jabbed the boy beside her with her elbow.
The boy—Xiao Hongchen—looked both embarrassed and helpless.
As he tried to calm his sister, his gaze remained fixed on Liu Yuan, sharp and probing.
He could tell immediately—
This person was not simple.
"Relax, Meng'er," Xiao Hongchen said in a low voice. "Maybe he wasn't after the horns. There might still be room to negotiate."
"It better be!" Meng Hongchen snorted, though her eyes were already filled with curiosity as she sized Liu Yuan up.
---
The two soon arrived before him.
Xiao Hongchen composed himself and revealed a friendly smile, cupping his hands politely.
"Greetings, friend. I am Xiao Hongchen, and this is my younger sister, Meng Hongchen. We are both students of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy. May I ask your name?"
His tone was courteous, yet subtly confident.
Liu Yuan smiled inwardly.
So it really is them.
The future prodigies of the Sun Moon Empire.
He returned the gesture calmly.
"My name is Liu Yuan."
"Brother Liu Yuan," Xiao Hongchen greeted him warmly.
His eyes drifted once more to the corpse behind Liu Yuan.
Only one wound.
A thin, almost invisible cut across the neck.
"A… one-hit kill?" he muttered internally, his shock growing.
Unable to hold back, he asked, "This Black Gold Horned Bull Beast… was it killed by you alone?"
Liu Yuan nodded casually.
As if it were nothing.
That simple reaction made both siblings visibly stiffen.
Meng Hongchen's annoyance completely vanished, replaced by sparkling curiosity.
"Incredible…" Xiao Hongchen said sincerely, giving a thumbs-up. "I truly admire your strength."
He knew exactly how troublesome that beast was.
A few days ago, even with multiple spirit tools, he and his sister failed to take it down.
Yet Liu Yuan… had killed it alone.
---
After a moment, Xiao Hongchen spoke again, this time with a hint of awkwardness.
"To be honest, Brother Liu Yuan, we came here specifically for this Black Gold Horned Bull Beast."
"My sister needs its horns to craft a core soul tool. Unfortunately, they're extremely rare and impossible to purchase, so we had no choice but to hunt one ourselves."
"We searched for days. Last time we found it… we let it escape."
He sighed.
"I didn't expect it would end up being killed by you."
Liu Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly.
"So, what you're saying is… I took your prey?"
"No, no!" Xiao Hongchen waved his hands quickly.
"Spirit Beasts belong to whoever is capable. We failed—that's on us. Since you killed it, it's rightfully yours."
He paused, then said carefully:
"We only wish to purchase the horns from you. We're willing to offer… two hundred gold coins."
A generous price.
But Liu Yuan simply smiled.
"There's no need for that."
The siblings froze.
But then—
"Meeting each other here is fate," Liu Yuan continued lightly. "It's just a pair of horns. They're not particularly useful to me."
"If you need them, I'll give them to you."
"Let's consider it a token of friendship."
---
Silence.
Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were stunned.
Two hundred gold coins' worth of rare materials…
Given away just like that?
When they recovered, their expressions brightened instantly.
Xiao Hongchen clasped his hands deeply.
"Brother Liu Yuan, your generosity puts me to shame! From today onward, you are my friend. If you ever need anything—just say the word!"
Meng Hongchen smiled sweetly.
"Thank you! You're really a good person!"
Liu Yuan chuckled.
"Just a small matter."
He personally removed the horns and handed them over.
---
After that, the atmosphere became far more relaxed.
Xiao Hongchen insisted on treating Liu Yuan to a meal.
Soon, the three sat in the finest restaurant in a nearby town, a table full of luxurious dishes before them.
Wine was poured.
Cups clinked.
"Brother Liu Yuan, I must toast you!" Xiao Hongchen said enthusiastically. "Your strength is truly astonishing!"
"Just luck," Liu Yuan replied with a smile.
Meng Hongchen tilted her head curiously.
"How old are you?"
"Fifteen."
"Fifteen?!" both siblings exclaimed.
Xiao Hongchen laughed bitterly.
"I thought we were already among the best of our generation… but it seems the world is much bigger than we imagined."
---
As the conversation deepened, Xiao Hongchen finally asked:
"With your strength, Brother Liu Yuan, you must come from a great academy. Where do you study?"
Liu Yuan calmly replied,
"I was from Shrek."
"Shrek Academy?!" they both reacted.
Then Meng Hongchen frowned.
"'Was'? What do you mean?"
Liu Yuan didn't hide it.
He briefly explained everything.
---
Bang!
Meng Hongchen slammed the table.
"That's outrageous!"
Xiao Hongchen's face darkened.
"This is clearly abusing authority for personal revenge."
Meng Hongchen clenched her fists.
"Just because you refused him? He expelled you like that? That Xuan Zi is completely shameless!"
Xiao Hongchen nodded coldly.
"I didn't expect Shrek to act this way. To treat a genius like this… they truly have no vision."
He looked directly at Liu Yuan.
"Mark my words—Shrek will regret this."
---
Their anger was genuine.
Liu Yuan smiled faintly.
Everything was going exactly as he expected.
Then—
A sharp light flashed in Xiao Hongchen's eyes.
He leaned forward slightly.
"Brother Liu Yuan…"
"Since Shrek cannot recognize your worth…"
He paused, voice turning serious.
"Would you be willing to join the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy?"