As the waiter placed a large plate of grilled meat in front of him, Huo Yuhao folded up his map, ready to indulge in a much-needed feast.
He'd been out all day and was both exhausted and starving.
Just as he picked up his knife and fork to take the first bite, an old man suddenly sat across from him, casually asked the waiter for another set of utensils, and began eating his grilled meat.
'Old geezer, are you seriously pretending you don't see someone sitting right here?'
The man had long, flowing gray hair, a beard that looked like it hadn't been trimmed in eight hundred years, and yet his features were sharp and his face—despite the ruggedness—was undeniably handsome. He wore a sleek black combat uniform, which sharply contrasted with the way he shamelessly devoured Huo Yuhao's meat.
'This guy... doesn't seem ordinary. Interesting.'
Seeing more and more of the meat disappearing into the old man's mouth, Huo Yuhao calmly snatched the fork and knife from his hands, set them aside, and resumed eating as if the man didn't exist.
Only then did the old man act as if he had just noticed Huo Yuhao, throwing him a surprised glance and smiling slightly as he watched him eat.
But what happened next startled Huo Yuhao.
His hands, moving with the knife and fork, were suddenly weighed down by an invisible force. At first, it was mild, but soon, it became increasingly difficult to move.
'What the hell is this?'
Realization flashed through his mind. He turned to look at the dignified old man across from him—who only smiled meaningfully in return.
In that moment, Huo Yuhao understood. This old man wasn't just some eccentric senior. His mental power surged, frantically scanning his surroundings, combing through memories, analyzing.
A barbecue restaurant. An old man…
Cold sweat trickled down his back.
He tried to speak but found he couldn't even open his mouth. His body was completely frozen. All he could do was stare helplessly at the man's deep, cryptic smile.
The conclusion was clear: the man sitting across from him was none other than Dragon Emperor Douluo—Long Xiaoyao.
He vaguely remembered that in the original story, Long Xiaoyao enjoyed coming to a barbecue place in Mingdu.
'Seriously… I just happened to run into him like this? But worse, what if this wasn't a coincidence?'
'Stay calm. Stay calm.'
Huo Yuhao forced himself to focus. If Long Xiaoyao had any ill intent, there was no way he'd still be sitting here alive and intact.
To confirm something, Huo Yuhao called out to Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Empress in his mind.
The two lazy spirits, who had been asleep, jolted awake the moment they sensed his current situation.
"Whoa, Yuhao! What the hell did you do to provoke this monster?"
"Yuhao, are you okay?"
Hearing their voices, Huo Yuhao exhaled in relief.
'Good. We can still communicate. That means this Ultimate Douluo hasn't severed my spiritual connection. If he had, I'd be completely cut off from you. That means he doesn't mean serious harm—for now.'
'Hide your presence and prepare for the worst, just in case. But I don't think it'll come to that.'
Huo Yuhao cautiously watched Long Xiaoyao, who hadn't said a word and simply continued eating meat, and whispered mentally.
There was no doubt the immobilization was his doing. But... was it just his imagination, or was the restraint not that strong?
Huo Yuhao circulated all of his soul power and began struggling against the invisible pressure. Gradually, he found he could move again.
'Old geezer, you stole my food? I can't beat you, but I won't let you take all the good stuff.'
Forcing his body to move, Huo Yuhao grabbed his utensils again and resumed eating, albeit slowly.
Long Xiaoyao glanced at him with mild surprise, then silently returned to his meat.
But the invisible force pressing down on Huo Yuhao's body suddenly intensified, freezing him again right as he was about to lift another bite into his mouth.
'You've got to be kidding me. You're really doing all this over grilled meat? Fine. I'll order you a hundred plates, happy now?'
And thus began a bizarre, silent war—Long Xiaoyao tightened his restraints, Huo Yuhao broke free; the old man increased the pressure, Huo Yuhao resisted again.
By the time most of the meat was gone, Huo Yuhao had only managed to eat a few pieces.
Now, only one piece of beef remained on the plate.
The old man and the youth stared at it, their eyes locked.
'I swear I'm getting this last piece. No matter what. If I don't, I'll never live this down.'
Long Xiaoyao clearly wasn't going to let him. The suppressive force pressing down on Huo Yuhao surged to its peak.
Paralyzed, Huo Yuhao could only watch as the old man calmly picked up his fork and moved toward the final piece of meat.
'No! I won't let this damn old man win!'
He poured all his soul power into breaking free. Still nothing. The current level of pressure was simply too much.
Watching Long Xiaoyao's smug expression, Huo Yuhao suddenly became eerily calm.
'If soul power alone won't work…'
He realized that in his earlier efforts to break free, his soul power had circulated through all his meridians, washing over his body. It had also activated the first sealed fusion of Destruction Yin and Life Yang. The soul power, stirred to unprecedented levels of activity, had triggered both powers to start naturally expanding outward.
Which meant, Huo Yuhao could now use Destruction and Life directly—without the Blade of Genesis and Annihilation.
His eyes narrowed.
He wove his soul power together with the destructive force, then channeled every ounce of strength into that blend, launching a strike at the invisible restraint.
The moment the destructive soul power collided with the restraint, it obliterated it instantly.
Quick as lightning, Huo Yuhao stabbed his fork into the last piece of beef and stuffed it into his mouth.
Chewing fiercely, he glared triumphantly at the stunned Long Xiaoyao.
(End of Chapter)
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