Chapter 227.2. Two Women Fighting For Glory


    Zhang Lexuan said, Alright, everyone has finished their introductions, so let me allocate our formation once we enter the Great Star Dou Forest. I will be scouting the path ahead, and Li Yongyue and Wang Qiuer are responsible for the left and right nks respectively. Ruoruo will be positioned in the center towards the front right behind me, and shell be the main control-type soul master. Mo Xuan will be positioned behind Han Ruoruo, which means youll be near the center  do pay attention to cooperate with everyones movements. Huo Yuhao, youre the secondary control for flexibility, and you will be behind Mo Xuan. Youre responsible for providing support for whoever needs help. Wang Donger, youll be all the way at the back, and youre responsible for sweeping. Dean Cai will be following behind the group, and she wont make a move other than as ast resort  were all students from the inner courtyard, and it will extremely humiliating if we need a teachers help to obtain our own soul rings, so I hope that doesnt happen. Alright, lets proceed if nobody has any more questions or objections.


    Nobody had anything to dispute about her arrangement. There was no doubt that the central and anchoring positions were rtively safer  there was no need to mention the center, and Cai Meier was all the way at the back.


    There was a deeper meaning to arranging Wang Qiuer and Li Yongyue on the two nks. Wang Qiuers martial soul was the Golden Dragon, and she stirred up quite some disturbance when she sessfully enrolled in the inner courtyard. She was said to have impressive fighting strength, as the Golden Dragon was the Ancestor of Strength, and thus assigning her to one nk was also a test. Li Yongyues strength would also be greatly boosted with Zhang Lexuan around, so assigning him to guard the other nk was the optimal choice. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dongers positions, along with Mo Xuans, were considered protected. The academy still had some bias after all  the truth was, Cai Meier wouldnt have been with them in this operation if Huo Yuhao hadnt registered for it.


    Everyone belonged to the inner courtyard. Even if they werent that familiar with each other, they would definitely not hold each other back. They got in line with Zhang Lexuans formation once they left Shrek City, and went straight for the Great Star Dou Forest.


    Nobody deliberately attempted to disy his or her speed on the way, and the formation was maintained impably under Zhang Lexuans deliberate control.


    Just as Cai Meier had said, this wasnt the first time these students were going inside the Great Star Dou Forest. Everyone was extremely familiar was this ce, and nobody really interacted with each other along the way. Everyone just hurried onward.


    Wang Donger nced at Wang Qiuer beside her from time to time, and even Huo Yuhao couldnt help but throw a few glimpses in her direction.


    Wang Qiuer looked very quiet, but one could see from the side that her eyes were exceedingly cold and in, as if she were wearing an outeryer over herself at all times. She could definitely feel Wang Dongers stares, but she never once looked back to return her gaze.


    She didnt release her martial soul when they travelled, she just simply ran along. However, she bounced up with bewildering speed every time she touched the ground with her feet, and one could tell upon closer inspection that there would be a groove in the ground after every step she took, while the ground around her footprint seemed to have cracked. She was dashing forward with pure strength, yet she looked like she was floating. She lived up to her name as the Ancestor of Strength and the owner of the Golden Dragon martial soul.


    Shrek City was quite close to the Great Star Dou Forest. They didnt unleash their full speed, but still reached the forest before midday.


    Lets take a break and grab something to eat, everyone. Adjust yourselves to your optimum condition and states  we will proceed into the forest after one hour. Zhang Lexuans instructions were short and concise.


    They were near the Great Star Dou Forests Peripheral Region. They would be inside the forest once they passed the danger signs that dotted the road.


    Huo Yuhao felt a sense of nostalgia as he stared at a danger sign hanging from a tree not far from him. He could clearly remember what it was like during his first trip here, as that expedition had changed his destiny  he met the Skydream Iceworm, Electrolux, his senior brother Bei Bei and Xiao Ya.


    Following the passage of time, Electrolux was gone, and there was no news about teacher Xiao Ya, while he had grown up as well.


    Everyone came by the roadside. Their cultivations meant they were far from fatigued, but slowing down and rxing still felt good anyway. Zhang Lexuan said to Huo Yuhao with a smile on her face, I hear from Bei Bei that your culinary skills are exceptional, Yuhao. I remember you selling grilled fish outside the academy a long time ago. What do you think about showing us your skills?


    A thought came to Huo Yuhaos mind as he said, Theres a small river nearby, eldest senior sister. This ce was close to the small stream where he had first met Bei Bei and Tang Ya.


    Zhang Lexuan smiled and said, I know. Im not sure how many days well be spending in there once we head in, and the living conditions are going to be harsh inside  we wont get good food, and well have to sleep in the open. Everyone should enjoy a good meal before we enter. How about this  Li Yongyue will follow me to catch some fish, and Yuhao will be responsible for preparing and cooking them. Are you two okay with that? She was a lot more familiar with thendscape of the Great Star Dou Forests Peripheral Region than Huo Yuhao was.


    Yes. The two of them acknowledged at once.


    Zhang Lexuan stood up and said, The others will help Yuhao prepare the firewood needed for the grilled fish. We will get to enjoy our food earlier if we work together.


    Cai Meier didnt hide herself as she followed behind the students. She came forward at this moment, and a faint smile appeared on her face as she watched the students bustle around. She thought to herself, these youngsters are so full of life and energy! Its nice to be out here to walk around.


    They were all high-level soul masters, so how easy was it for them to collect firewood and catch fish?


    It didnt take long before Zhang Lexuan and Li Yongyue returned with more than ten huge fish skewered on vines. It was clear that these two didnt really know how to cook, and Huo Yuhao immediately returned to the riverside with the fish that they had brought back.


    The first step to grilling fish was to process the fish properly, and then to grill it directly  would that actually work?


    Zhang Lexuan followed Huo Yuhao back to the riverside with a tinge of curiosity as she watched him take the fishes from the vines. He washed them again inside the crystal-clear river as he cut them open, took out their organs, peeled off the scales, and extracted the tendons.


    Extracting fish tendons was a special technique, as most people who steamed fish didnt do that, so the fish they made would have a strong fishy smell. It wasnt hard to remove the tendons  one would use a sharp de to cut the fish below the gills before cutting the fish near the tail, and then one would look carefully look for a small white dot on the wounds cross-section before using the back of the de to tap lightly on the fishs body. If appropriate strength was applied, it wouldnt take too many hits before a small white tip that looked like the tip of a needle would emerge, and then one would pinch it and pluck it out, and the tendons on that side would be extracted.


    Every fish had two long tendons, and one would have to follow all these steps to consider even simple preparationsplete.


    Both Zhang Lexuan and Wang Donger were watching by the side. They wanted to help, but they were clumsy and confused when they actually tried. Their formidable cultivations were useless at times like these, and they could only sit by and watch.


    Huo Yuhao picked the things he needed from his surroundings. He found some spices and herbs that he was rtively familiar with and picked a pile before he returned to camp. He ced the washed fishes and the herbs onto somerge clean leaves, and Chef Huo finally got to work.


    Perhaps it was because his life had been tough and difficult as a kid, but he always carried his cooking tools with him; bowls,dles, tubs, all sorts of seasonings  he had everything. When he took out all these things from his Starlight Sapphire storage ring, the other students stared unblinkingly.


    Han Ruoruo couldnt help butugh as she said, Are you preparing to be a chef in the future, Yuhao? This is the first time Ive seen someone ce cooking tools inside a top-tier storage item such as the Starlight Sapphire.


    Huo Yuhao chortled and said, I used to be very poor, and it wasnt easy for me to fill my stomach. Its be a habit for me to bring these things when Ie out, and even non-soul masters wont go hungry.


    These simple sentences embodied his childhood experiences. Everybody else was rtively well off, so everyone grew silent for a moment after listening to his words. Even Wang Qiuer nced at him a few times.


    Huo Yuhao was exining with his mouth, but his hands didnt stop. Heid out two piles with the firewood that everyone had brought back before he lit one pile and nted four thick branches in the ground and hung arge wok over the top. The wok contained clear water that had previously been collected from the small stream.


    He finished setting up the wok on one side, and the grill that he always used, which was supported on both sides, was set up on the other side. He was even more familiar with this thing.


    He applied and stuffed all kinds of seasoning and spices into the fishes stomachs. He opened a hole on both sides of the fishes bodies before he skewered them with a clean wooden stick and began to grill them.


    He began to ther oil on both sides of the fish. This would give the fish a denser taste, and they wouldnt burn so easily.


    The fragrant smell of grilled fish wafted over in no time. Everyone retrieved their rations and were sitting around, but they stared at the dry rations in their hands while they smelled the aroma, and suddenly everyone didnt feel like eating their rations anymore. Only Wang Qiuer was sitting to one side as she nibbled quietly on her rations. She didnt even look at Huo Yuhao.


    Zhang Lexuan was also sitting nearby as she watched Huo Yuhao. Her eyes rotated to the other students, and a subtle smile appeared on her face. She was the team leader, and her task was not only tomand and protect her teammates  more importantly, she had to break the ice between this impromptu group and to glue them together, so that everyone would feel closer to each other, and they would feel more like a team. This was the only way she could enhance their chemistry in the fights that were toe, and this was the only way to make them feel more intimate. Her choice to ask Huo Yuhao to grill fish was partially because of this, as a nice meal would easily pull everyone closer together.


    He was closely monitoring the grilling process with his spiritual power, and the first grilled fish was finished in no time. There was no question that seniors had priority, so Huo Yuhao took this first grilled fish to Cai Meier.


    Thank you. Cai Meier took the fish with a smile on her face as she took a huge bite. The yellowish-golden fish skin was crispy and slightly salty, and there was also a tinge of spiciness. The fish was tender and juicy, and just one bite left a delicious taste behind.