Xue Ye's Gift: The Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud

Since Gan Lin had made up his mind, Xue Qinghe said no more. He closed the treasury and led Gan Lin back.

Gan Lin had not chosen these three treasures at random.

There was no need to dwell on the first. Presumably, most people could guess what it was for.

The Immortal Herbs at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well were an indispensable opportunity on Tang San and the other Shrek Seven Devils' path to godhood.

It was no exaggeration to call them a cornerstone. Without the Immortal Herbs, the others aside from Tang San could forget about becoming gods-even their talents would not have been considered top-tier on the Douluo Continent.

Tang San, too, had gained enormous benefits at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, and many of his later opportunities were inextricably linked to it.

As Dugu Bo's adopted grandson, Gan Lin had naturally visited the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well under Dugu Bo's guidance. At the time, however, Gan Lin had not dared to use the Immortal Herbs there rashly.

After all, with very few exceptions, the Immortal Herbs there were highly poisonous. Some could even kill Dugu Bo outright, let alone Gan Lin as he had been then.

Gan Lin had no intention of letting someone else have such a great opportunity, especially not that sanctimonious, two-faced Tang San.

That was why Gan Lin had been collecting books about Immortal Herbs all these years.

Unfortunately, families with an established heritage placed great importance on their collections of such books, and Gan Lin had never had a chance to obtain them.

This time, he had obtained what he wanted without any effort at all.

As an empire with a thousand-year history, the Heaven Dou Empire surely had deeper foundations than either Chrysanthemum Douluo or the Breaking Clan.

Sure enough, Gan Lin had found this in the treasury.

Perhaps because they thought the Immortal Herbs recorded in it were merely legends, even though Gan Lin considered it such a precious book, it had been stored... rather carelessly in the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace's treasury.

As for the Condensed Arrow Ice Box...

This ancient Soul Tool and Gan Lin were a perfect match.

According to the Heaven Dou Empire's description of the Condensed Arrow Ice Box, it needed only a small input of Soul Power to draw Soul Power from the air and condense explosive ice-attribute arrows on its own. Their power depended on the user's Soul Power Level, and they also had a certain control effect.

Although Gan Lin could currently condense Geo arrows himself, they consumed too much Soul Power, and his means of attack were too limited.

The Condensed Arrow Ice Box made up for that shortcoming perfectly.

As for the last item, the ten-thousand-year-old Left Arm Soul Bone, he had not chosen it for himself, but for Dugu Bo.

Although the method Tang San had offered in the original story treated the symptoms rather than the root cause, Gan Lin was not yet capable of curing the Dugu family's Martial Soul defect, so he could only make do with it for now.

Injecting the toxins into a Soul Bone for storage was risky in itself, and the only Soul Bone Dugu Bo possessed was a Medusa Spirit Skull. The slightest mistake could have dire consequences, but a Soul Bone in one of the limbs would be much easier to deal with.

Even if something went wrong, it would not be beyond remedy.

Ever since Gan Lin had come to the Douluo Continent, Dugu Bo had treated him like his own grandson. A human heart was made of flesh, after all; Gan Lin had to show some gratitude, or wouldn't he be an ungrateful wretch like Tang San?

Before long, Gan Lin and Xue Qinghe arrived at the side hall with the three treasures.

An attendant gently pushed open the hall doors. Xue Qinghe stepped aside and led Gan Lin slowly into the side hall.

The previously stagnant atmosphere in the hall eased slightly at the sound of their footsteps. Emperor Xue Ye sat upright in a sandalwood chair at the head of the hall, his fingertips tapping idly on the armrest. Dugu Bo sat to one side, his green robes holding a chill as he sipped his tea, several paces separating the two men. After a few perfunctory pleasantries, neither had spoken again. Beside a small table, however, the two young girls, Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, had their heads together, chattering quietly about a pot of deep-blue grass on the windowsill. Their crisp voices rang through the empty hall, providing its only spark of life.

When they saw the two enter, the girls immediately fell silent and turned in unison to look at them, their eyes sparkling.

Xue Qinghe stepped forward first and bowed toward the head of the hall. "Father, young friend Gan Lin has finished choosing."

Xue Ye raised his eyes, looking first at Gan Lin and then at Xue Qinghe. Taking the hint, Xue Qinghe bent slightly and leaned close to Xue Ye, quietly naming the three treasures one by one: the Compendium of a Hundred Herbs, the Condensed Arrow Ice Box, and the ten-thousand-year-old Left Arm Soul Bone.

When he finished, Xue Ye's brow lifted almost imperceptibly.

He had expected that a six-year-old child, faced with a treasury full of rare treasures, would most likely choose the most dazzling Soul Tool or the oldest Soul Bone. He had not expected all three of Gan Lin's choices to be practical items, possessing neither ostentatious might nor ferocious offensive and defensive power.

At such a young age, he did not covet splendor, taking only what he needed. This temperament was even more surprising than the peerless talent favored by an unknown god.

Understanding dawned on Xue Ye. He stroked his beard and smiled, beckoning to Gan Lin. His tone was exceedingly kind. "Young friend Gan Lin, come, sit over here."

He meant the empty seat beside Dugu Bo.

Gan Lin stepped forward as asked and gave a proper bow before sitting down next to Dugu Bo.

Dugu Bo turned to glance at him, his aged eyes betraying little. He neither asked what Gan Lin had chosen nor offered a word of judgment. He merely gave a slight nod and tapped the armrest once with his fingertip—his own particular way of saying, Well done. Complete trust and support lay in that silent gesture.

Dugu Yan, beside them, was not nearly so composed. She leaned toward Gan Lin, her gaze sweeping over him, curiosity written all over her face. With the emperor and her grandfather present, however, she did not dare ask questions as she pleased. Ye Lingling, too, clutched the hem of her clothes and peered up discreetly, her eyes full of inquiry.

Xue Ye watched the children's behavior and could not help smiling. He took the opportunity to exchange pleasantries, first praising Gan Lin's astonishing performance at his Martial Soul Awakening that day—the sight of an entire hall stunned into silence was one rarely seen in a century. He then praised Gan Lin's steady temperament at such a young age, saying that he had remained clearheaded and composed before the treasury's rare treasures, making him a rare genius. His words conveyed his regard throughout, and his courteous remarks came smoothly and naturally, easing much of the stiffness in the hall.

At that point, however, Xue Ye paused.

His fingertips rubbed the armrest for a moment, and a trace of hesitation crossed his brow. The three supreme treasures were already a generous gift of apology and, by rights, should have been enough. But having seen Gan Lin's talent and temperament today, he knew that a peerless prodigy like him could never be tied down with three treasures alone. Building a little more goodwill today meant gaining a little more support in the future.

After a brief moment's thought, Xue Ye reached a decision. He raised a hand and ordered someone outside the hall, "Go, bring the item I prepared earlier."

The attendant bowed and obeyed. Before long, he hurried back in, carrying a wooden box engraved with intricate sea patterns.

The moment the wooden box entered the hall, the air seemed to grow heavier. Faint fluctuations of Soul Power, vast as the sea, seeped endlessly from the box, extraordinarily weighty.

Dugu Bo's lowered eyes suddenly flew open. His aged eyes narrowed, and his gaze grew more solemn as he looked at the wooden box—he recognized it.

Xue Ye motioned for the attendant to bring the wooden box closer, then gently placed his hand on its lid. Looking down at Gan Lin, he spoke in a more solemn tone. "Young friend Gan Lin, these three treasures were meant as my gift of apology. But your talent is peerless, and your temperament rarer still. I have one more item here; accept it as a token of my regard."

"This is—the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud."