Chapter 61 Give Him a Taste of His Own Medicine

Li Xun narrowed his eyes and began to haggle. He knew he must never show off his wealth in front of Flender, or he would end up spending even more money.

"This crystal is already the cheapest item in my shop. Take it or leave it." The chair stopped as Flender tilted his head back, his body remaining completely motionless.

What a rip-off. Truly a cunning merchant, Li Xun thought silently to himself, especially considering a single soul gold coin could sustain an ordinary family for a whole month. He cursed inwardly before taking a hundred gold soul coins from his soul tool and handing them to Flender. "Boss, I..."

"Your money is not enough." Before Li Xun could finish, Flender said flatly.

Li Xun rolled his eyes. If he hadn't wanted to intercept the Dragon Whisker Needle, he wouldn't have bothered dealing with Flender at all.

Though this weapon looked unassuming, it was extremely sinister and vicious. Even the Diamond Douluo Zhao Wuji couldn't endure it, and if a low-ranked soul master were struck by it in vital areas like the eyes or spine, they would likely suffer a fate worse than death.

Most importantly, Tang San was supposed to arrive soon, and he would not let this item fall into the other's hands.

"Boss, this is precisely one hundred gold soul coins." Li Xun put on an anxious expression. He had money, but no matter how much he had, he wasn't going to let Flender extort him like this.

He had to find a way to mess with him...

Flender's expression remained completely unchanged. "But I've changed my mind now. This crystal costs two hundred gold soul coins. Take it or leave it."

"Forget it then, if you're not selling!"

Li Xun looked somewhat annoyed. "Why is Souto City such a daylight robbery? You lot demand exorbitant sums for everything. I only brought three hundred gold soul coins when I left home this time, and I've already been scammed out of a hundred the moment I arrived here."

"Now you're trying to fleece me too?"

"That so-called Shrek Academy is probably a scam school as well, charging a tuition fee of one hundred gold soul coins a year. I suppose everyone in Souto City uses the same trick."

"I might as well go look elsewhere, lest you skin me until I can't even afford to eat!" With that, Li Xun turned and walked away, while slightly and seemingly carelessly exposing the soul tool on his wrist.

In his heart, he began to count: one, two...

Hm? This kid is actually heading toward my Shrek Academy.

A thought flashed through Flender's mind as he instantly stood up from the recliner, looking Li Xun up and down. "Hey! Little friend, wait a moment."

Judging by his age, he certainly met Shrek Academy's enrollment standards. Moreover, the clothes he wore were clearly not something an ordinary family's child could afford, and most importantly, he was wearing a gold bracelet soul tool on his wrist.

An outfit like that probably couldn't be bought for less than ten or twenty thousand gold soul coins.

And a family capable of spending so many gold soul coins to dress up a child must possess high-level soul masters.

The offspring nurtured by high-level soul masters would also have a very high probability of inheriting their talent. This child likely possessed the qualifications to enroll in Shrek Academy.

Flender's mind raced through countless thoughts in an instant. Then, his owl martial soul's innate sensory ability activated, carefully listening to the soul power fluctuations within Li Xun's body.

"Child, would you allow me to test your bones?" Flender fought hard to suppress the wild joy in his heart.

Sensing this child's soul power fluctuations, he turned out to be a thirty-seventh or thirty-eighth-rank soul elder, and judging by his age, he was even younger than Dai Mubai.

A bona fide genius!

The owl martial soul had extremely sharp hearing; at night, he could distinguish surrounding objects without using his eyes, relying solely on the echoes of sound. Just now, it was precisely by listening to the flow of soul power within Li Xun's body that he had roughly determined Li Xun's soul power rank.

"Are you insane? If you're not selling, fine, but why should I let you feel my bones?" Li Xun shook his head, turned around, rolled his eyes at Flender, and continued walking toward the door.

Panic gripped Flender's heart. He hurriedly took a few steps forward and blocked Li Xun's path. "Hey, hey! Don't leave. As long as you let me test your bones, this crystal will be one hundred... no... fifty gold soul coins!"

"Such a dishonest merchant, lowering it to fifty gold soul coins just like that. The fact that you can drop the price proves there's still a profit margin. I have no intention of letting you slaughter me." Having said that, Li Xun prepared to walk past Flender.

He wouldn't accept it even if it were given to him for free today.

"Hey! Child, to tell you the truth, I am the headmaster of Shrek Academy." Flender pressed a hand onto Li Xun's shoulder, then let out a sigh. "Actually, it's not just you who thinks Souto City's prices are high; even I can barely afford them anymore."

"I won't conceal it from you, the one hundred gold soul coins you students pay upon enrollment are simply not enough for daily expenses. I had no choice but to open a shop to provide nutritious meals for the students." Flender applied a slight, massaging pressure with his hand on Li Xun's shoulder, and a profound shock struck his heart.

He discovered that Li Xun was only twelve years old.

Dai Mubai was fifteen this year, and being a thirty-seventh-rank soul elder already classified him as a genius. Then what concept was a thirty-eighth-rank soul elder at twelve years old?

This meant that the other party was likely the fastest soul master in the entire continent to reach the realm of a soul master, and the fastest record for reaching the soul ancestor realm would also be swept up by him.

Cultivation further up might depend somewhat on luck, but it could be foreseen that this child would inevitably become a mighty figure on one side in the future.

Truly a monster among monsters.

Hearing Flender plead poverty, Li Xun wore a look of suspicion. "Really? I don't believe it!"

Utter nonsense. Even if Shrek only had a few students and their monthly food expenses were calculated at ten gold soul coins, a year would only amount to one hundred and twenty gold soul coins. That was enough for ten ordinary families to live on for a year.

Li Xun had every reason to suspect that the only reason Flender opened a scam shop was entirely for the sake of his disciple, Ma Hongjun.

After all, a child had no source of income, so where would he get the money to visit pleasure houses every day?

Ah! Almost forgot, the Spirit Hall also provided soul master subsidies... but a place like a pleasure house should cost quite a lot, right? I wonder if the subsidies are enough...

"Child, would I, a seventy-eighth-rank soul sage, lie to you?" Flender struggled to calm his excited emotions, summoning his martial soul while simultaneously manifesting seven soul rings beneath his feet—two yellow, two purple, and three black. "Since you want to join Shrek Academy, I'll simply give you this crystal for free. How about that?"

"You actually are a soul sage expert!" Li Xun hurriedly put on an astonished expression, covering his mouth. "No wonder I heard that Shrek Academy can cultivate the elite among elites."

"That goes without saying." Flender proudly turned his neck; he found those words immensely pleasing to the ear.

"..."

Li Xun hesitated for a moment, appearing somewhat bashful. "Better forget it, Headmaster Flender. Shrek Academy's finances are so tight that you can't even guarantee the students' meals, how could I brazenly accept something for nothing from you?"

Flender laughed heartily, quickly picked up the crystal from the wall, and shoved it straight into Li Xun's arms. "Don't you worry, kid, losing one crystal isn't going to starve you all."

He was truly happy now; he hadn't expected this child to already be considering the academy's interests before even enrolling.

Flender patted Li Xun on the shoulder. "Since you like the item, keep it safe, and you needn't worry about the rest. Reckoning the time, the entrance examination should be starting soon."

"Wait for me a moment, I'll go tidy things up, and then I'll take you to the academy." With that, Flender turned and walked quickly back into the shop with a beaming smile.

Why run a shop anymore when he had just harvested a monster among monsters?

Seeing Flender step inside the shop, Li Xun stowed the crystal away into his soul tool while slowly and lightly stepping backward. Seeing that the distance was about right, he abruptly turned, broke into a sprint, and bolted, while forming a seal with one hand and vanishing from the spot in an instant.

Only a fool would go with you to Shrek Academy...

Executing the Body Flicker Technique, Li Xun flashed several times and was already far away from the street.

Taking a careful look around, he inquired along the way about the location of the Rose Hotel. Amidst the ambiguous gazes of passersby, he quickly vanished.

"You little brat, how dare you scam me!!"

A moment later, an immensely furious roar suddenly echoed across the sky above Souto City.