Douluo Xu Xian

Heaven Dou City, the imperial capital of the Heaven Dou Empire. Located in the north-northeast of the central Heaven Dou Empire, it was the core of political power for the entire Heaven Dou Empire and one of the two largest cities on the entire continent. On the Douluo Continent, only the imperial capital of the Star Luo Empire could compare with it, and even Spirit City, the holy land of soul masters across the entire continent, could not match it purely in terms of scale.

Although the kingdoms and duchies of the two great empires were somewhat lacking in supervision nowadays, the imperial foundations still remained. Centered on Heaven Dou City, the three major military regions controlled by the Heaven Dou Empire were all nearby, with a total force exceeding one million and a formidable military strength.

Had it not been for this, the Heaven Dou Empire in the original text would have long been trampled flat by the Spirit Hall soul master legions.

In a sense, the Heaven Dou Empire did not forcefully constrain its subordinate kingdoms for its own logical reasons. Whether Heaven Dou or Star Luo, the kingdoms and duchies under both great empires were situated along each other's borders, and once war broke out, these duchies and kingdoms would undoubtedly be the ones to take the brunt of it.

Of course, this was also a helpless move. Which monarch did not hope to use imperial authority to control everything?

It was simply that the current situation on the continent fundamentally did not allow for unification.

Aside from Spirit Hall, several major soul master clans also interfered behind the scenes. Just like why the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect in the original text fully supported the Heaven Dou Empire—was Ning Fengzhi truly foolish enough to be willing to work as a laborer for the Heaven Dou Empire?

Was the main reason not to take advantage of this chaotic era to rely on the Heaven Dou Empire and develop his own sect's influence? The more chaotic the situation, the more the Heaven Dou Empire would rely on his Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and the greater the benefits he would reap from it.

Unfortunately, however, Ning Fengzhi played himself into a collapse, underestimating Spirit Hall's foundation. Not to mention that the sect was more than half destroyed, two Titled Douluo were even blasted into dust directly by Bibi Dong in order to save Tang San.

From the location where Dugu Chen and his companion were, the master and apprentice needed to traverse the entire territory of the Silves Kingdom in the north before entering the imperial capital circle of the Heaven Dou Empire, and then head further east to reach where the Heaven Dou Empire's imperial capital lay.

The entire journey approached two thousand miles, which showed the massive land area of the Heaven Dou Empire.

At a carriage's traveling speed, it would take several days to reach Heaven Dou City, with rest stops in between.

Of course, if Dugu Bo carried him while flying, it would be faster than a carriage. Although given his soul power, he might not be able to fly the whole way in one go, a few more trips would get them there, but doing so would practically exhaust Dugu Bo to death.

Although Dugu Bo felt an urgent desire to see his granddaughter, a few days more or less did not matter.

As the imperial capital of the Heaven Dou Empire, Heaven Dou City was naturally quite prosperous and lively. Heaven Dou City's streets were wide and clean, lined with countless shops, and the bustling streams of people on the streets were endless.

On this day, a carriage stopped in front of a massive mansion in the eastern district of Heaven Dou City.

That mansion's gigantic five-meter-high, eight-meter-wide main gates stood wide open, with over a dozen servants standing on both sides waiting under the leadership of a man in his fifties. Above the gates hung a plaque inscribed with the two characters: Dugu.

Today was precisely the day Dugu Bo and his companion arrived home. Dugu Bo had long since sent someone ahead to report, which was why so many people had come out to welcome them under the stewardship of the head butler.

Dugu Bo led Dugu Chen into the estate while waving his hand to dismiss the servants, leaving only the leading old man to wait upon them.

Chen'er, this will be your home from now on. This is the estate's butler, named Guan Shan. You can just address him as Uncle Guan. He is a level-fifty-seven Battle Soul King, so you can simply give him instructions whenever you have matters to attend to.

Butler, this is the disciple I took in on my travels this time, Dugu Chen. Make sure you brief the staff below properly. Oh, and where is Yanyan? Why didn't she come out to greet me?

While walking inward, Dugu Bo also introduced their identities to one another.

"The young miss happens to be at the crucial juncture of a breakthrough, so she wasn't notified this time."

The butler bowed with cupped hands toward Dugu Chen and smiled to show friendliness while answering Dugu Bo's question.

"Oh, breaking through? A breakthrough is most important after all. Go down and prepare bathwater and food."

Upon hearing that Dugu Yan was undergoing a breakthrough, the smile on Dugu Bo's face could simply not be contained. After instructing the butler, he led Dugu Chen straight toward Dugu Yan's courtyard.

At this moment, Dugu Chen and Dugu Bo had finished eating and changed their clothes, and were chatting leisurely in the courtyard in front of Dugu Yan's room, primarily with Dugu Bo imparting soul master realm experience to Dugu Chen.

It had to be said that Dugu Yan's courtyard was quite lovely. The yard was filled with colorful blooming flowers. Looking at the scenery before him and listening to Dugu Bo boast, this was truly a form of enjoyment.

At that moment, Dugu Bo suddenly looked toward the doorway. Seeing this and already guessing something, Dugu Chen also turned his head to look.

The door slowly opened, and a girl wearing a purple martial outfit, with short purple hair and baby fat on her face, emerged from the room.

Seeing the two people seated not far away, the girl's face lit up with joy. Her large eyes instantly curved into crescent moons as she sprinted rapidly toward Dugu Bo.

"Grandpa, Yanyan missed you so much! Why did you stay away for so long this time? Yanyan has never been separated from Grandpa for this long before."

Dugu Yan plunged into Dugu Bo's arms, her small head shaking vigorously as she nuzzled inward.

Hearing these words, the doting expression in Dugu Bo's eyes grew even more intense. Ever since his son's death, his granddaughter had been his everything, and Dugu Bo wished he could spoil his granddaughter to the heavens.

Dugu Bo stroked Dugu Yan's head to soothe her, saying, "Grandpa went out and took on a disciple this time, which is why it delayed my return."

His gaze shifted toward Dugu Chen, evidently reluctant to let Dugu Yan know about the injuries he sustained. Dugu Chen naturally understood the tacit cue.

Dugu Bo pulled Dugu Yan out from his arms, had her sit opposite Dugu Chen, and introduced them to each other.

"Wah! Junior apprentice-brother, you have Innate Full Soul Power! You're much stronger than me."

Hearing that Dugu Chen possessed Innate Full Soul Power, Dugu Yan immediately let out an exclamation of amazement, her watery, large eyes blinking as she stared at Dugu Chen.

When Dugu Bo heard Dugu Yan address his apprentice as junior apprentice-brother, he was on the verge of objecting on the spot. Later, remembering that Dugu Yan had grown up without playmates, having a junior apprentice-brother wasn't bad either; at worst, they could keep separate accounts of their seniority.

Hearing no objection from Dugu Bo, Dugu Chen also remained silent—after all, how could a junior fellow-apprentice compare to the intimacy of a senior sister?

Liking beautiful things was a common trait of life.

Stared at admiringly by such a pretty little loli, Dugu Chen could not help but blush slightly. He felt immensely smug inside; previously, Dugu Chen had found little lolis quite troublesome, but now he could only continuously warn himself in his heart.

Three-year sentence, maximum death penalty...

Seeing this scene, Dugu Bo felt somewhat displeased. In the past, such looks from Yanyan had always belonged exclusively to him, and this brat had snatched away his privilege the moment he arrived.

The gaze Dugu Bo cast toward Dugu Chen gradually turned somewhat unkind. He cleared his throat and interrupted, "Ahem, since Yanyan just broke through today, it's also time to decide the future developmental paths for the two of you."

"Now that both of you have broken through to become soul masters, establishing this now will make it easier to prepare early."

Interrupted by Dugu Bo's voice, the two little ones looked over at him, though doubt was etched across both their eyes.

Hadn't their developmental paths already been decided long ago? Why did they still need to choose?

Seeing the confusion in the two youngsters, Dugu Bo patiently explained.

The soul master world had two major schools of thought. One represented the balanced school, while the other represented the extreme school.

The extreme school believed that a soul master's abilities should follow a pure route as much as possible, allowing one's capabilities to develop in a single direction and making that singular ability as prominent as they could.

Meanwhile, the balanced school held that a soul master's abilities should develop in a balanced manner, achieving parity between offense and defense. These two schools had been locked in a constant struggle.

The soul master world of the Heaven Dou Empire largely supported the extreme school, the four subordinate sects of the Clear Sky Sect followed the limit school, while the soul masters of the Star Luo Empire mostly walked the balanced route. Their explosive power might be slightly inferior, but their flaws were far smaller, and their subsequent potential was even more exceptional.

The direction Dugu Bo spoke of actually referred to the balanced school and the limit school.

Over these past few days, Dugu Chen had also been pondering this concept, combining it with the knowledge from his past life to form some perspectives of his own.

The limit school possessed formidable explosive force, but its methods were too few, making it easy to counter. The balanced school was relatively well-rounded, lacking absolute advantages and fatal weaknesses, rendering it quite versatile.

In Dugu Chen's view, however, being versatile meant being good at nothing; in top-tier clashes, without an overwhelming advantage, it was extremely difficult to determine victory or defeat.

It was simply that no one could achieve perfection. If one tried to compensate for the shortcomings brought by the limit school by using self-created soul skills, they would end up exposing their weaknesses to opponents and getting countered to death. In this regard, the Clear Sky Sect still performed the best—or rather, Tang Chen did it best.

The Clear Sky Hammer was immensely heavy and powerful. Combining it with their martial soul's traits, they only added strength-type soul beasts to themselves, walking the path where brute force broke all techniques. Meanwhile, Tang Chen, one of the three Limit Douluo of the soul master world, had himself created numerous self-created soul skills to make up for his own shortcomings.

This was what forged an invincible Clear Sky Douluo of the land and established the illustrious reputation of the Clear Sky Hammer.

The Clear Sky Sect had also firmly secured its throne as the number-one tool martial soul under heaven thanks to Tang Chen's legacy.

After sorting through his thoughts, Dugu Chen formed a preliminary idea regarding his future development.

"Alright, Yanyan, Chen'er, this matter doesn't need to be rushed. You can think about it slowly."

Seeing his disciple lower his head with a pensive expression while Dugu Yan propped up her small head with a confused look, Dugu Bo couldn't help but speak up to interrupt.

Hearing this, Dugu Yan immediately swept away her confusion, her large eyes darting around cleverly as a cunning glint flashed through her purple pupils. She trotted over to stand right in front of Dugu Chen and took the initiative to speak.

"Junior apprentice-brother, come and have a match with senior sister! I want to see what makes Innate Full Soul Power different."

Dugu Yan also possessed her own pride. As the granddaughter of a Titled Douluo, she had been the pampered little princess of the family since childhood. Although she had just been shocked by Dugu Chen's talent, she would not yield easily. Besides, bullying a junior apprentice-brother was best done early—in a few years, she might not even be able to beat him anymore.

Hearing Dugu Yan's challenge, Dugu Chen turned his gaze toward Dugu Bo.

"Alright! Grandpa also wants to see how Yanyan's strength has progressed."

After saying this, Dugu Bo turned his head and covertly shot Dugu Chen a look brimming with warning.

Seeing this, Dugu Chen curled his lips. This granddaughter-slave, I'm the one at a lower rank, yet he isn't even worried that I might get hurt.

On the open ground, Dugu Chen and Dugu Yan stood facing each other.

A streak of emerald light lit up from the center of her brow, gradually transforming into a diamond-shaped green scale. A pair of green eyes turned exceptionally sharp, and the icy aura lacked the slightest trace of human emotion. Dugu Yan's body at this moment appeared extremely flexible, her legs fusing together to become a vibrant green serpent tail, with a ring of bright yellow soul ring circling the snake tail as well.

"Dugu Yan, level fifteen, one-ring control system battle soul master."

Looking at Dugu Yan who had completed her possession, Dugu Chen suddenly understood Xu Xian somewhat, continuously chanting silently in his heart, I am not a loli-con.

Calming his emotions, a gold-red radiance surged abruptly, and Dugu Chen completed his martial soul possession in an instant.

"Dugu Chen, level thirteen, one-ring power attack system battle soul master."

Once Dugu Chen finished his possession, he bolted straight toward Dugu Yan.

Without time to dwell on why Dugu Chen was already at level thirteen upon breaking through, and watching her junior apprentice-brother rush toward her, she released her first soul skill, Jade Phosphor Red Poison—Excitement Poison (stimulates nerves, increases attack power and speed by twenty percent).

She added a buff to herself and met Dugu Chen, who had closed the distance.

Looking at the small fist coming straight at him, Dugu Chen opened his dragon claws and easily intercepted it in his palm. Feeling the force within his grasp—as a control system soul master, Dugu Yan's physical attributes naturally could not compare to Dugu Chen of the power attack system; even with her first soul skill active, it only amounted to roughly thirty percent of his own strength.

The Jade Phosphorous Serpent was not known for raw strength, but rather renowned across the world for its venom. However, this was merely a spar, so Dugu Yan did not use poison, nor did Dugu Chen employ the power of his attributes.

As thoughts swirled in his mind, Dugu Chen's broad dragon claws immobilized one of Dugu Yan's hands. Dugu Yan reacted swiftly, her other fist immediately attacking straight toward his handsome face. To protect his good looks, Dugu Chen hurried to control her with his other hand.

Seeing that Dugu Yan showed no courtesy and aimed both attacks at his face, Dugu Chen could not help but increase the force in his hands.

This time, Dugu Yan found it even harder to break free.

Realizing she could not shake him off, Dugu Yan used her purple serpent tail to lash out and entangle Dugu Chen's legs in an attempt to trip him.

With Dugu Chen's current level of strength, how could he be easily tripped? The scene instantly locked into a stalemate.

Beneath the warm sunlight, the boy used his hands to pin the girl's chest while the girl's serpent tail wrapped around the boy's legs, her fair, tender cheeks flushed red from exertion. Observing this tableau, Dugu Bo's eyes narrowed into slits as he stared fixedly at Dugu Chen.

Feeling the delicate skin of the girl and the icy sensation around his legs, Dugu Chen suddenly felt a chill sweep through him, as if he had been locked onto by a venomous snake.

He turned his head and saw Dugu Bo with a gloomy expression, his eyes glowing with a green light as he stared intently at him.

Dugu Chen's heart turned cold, feeling that his life had grown dim. The strength in his hands and under his feet slackened slightly, and Dugu Yan seized the opportunity to sweep him off his feet, pinning him beneath her.

At this moment, Dugu Yan wore an excited expression, her hands pressing against Dugu Chen's shoulders while her legs—having already ended their possession—pressed down against Dugu Chen's waist.

"I won! Junior apprentice-brother, how about it? Do you submit? From now on, senior sister will look after you." Dugu Yan looked down at Dugu Chen with a triumphant, beaming face.

"Alright, Yanyan, get up already. Wrestling and tangling like this, what system of manners is this?"

Dugu Bo's voice rang out, snapping Dugu Yan back to her senses. Looking at her current posture and recalling the process just moments ago, her face—which was already flushed red from overexerting herself—turned even redder.

"Ah!!!"

With a startled shriek, she immediately scrambled up, sprinted back to her room, and buried her head inside the covers.

Dugu Bo looked at Dugu Chen, who was getting up, and said through clenched teeth.

"Brat, good! Very good!"

With that, he let out a cold snort and turned to leave.

Hearing Dugu Bo's words, Dugu Chen instantly felt as though his life had lost its luster and his future was pitch black.

Senior sister was too enthusiastic, yet he had been forced into it entirely of his own accord.

Dugu Chen did not dare say such words to Dugu Bo, fearing he would be tossed into the lake. It seemed he would have to steer clear of this hot-tempered old man for the next few days.