The Young One Was Beaten, So the Old One Came (Please Follow)

Zhu Zhuqing furrowed her delicate brows and glared angrily toward the door. She rose decisively and yanked it open with an imposing air.

Outside stood a pretty woman with a trace of anger on her face. It was Dugu Yan, whom they had fought before.

"What do you want?!" Zhu Zhuqing asked coldly.

"I..." Dugu Yan was momentarily choked by Zhu Zhuqing's icy tone. After a brief pause, she found her voice again. "Where's Ling Qianyue? I need to talk to him."

Zhu Zhuqing glanced at her, her tone as cold as ever, carrying the displeasure of having something good interrupted before it had even begun. "Come in."

She stepped aside, and Dugu Yan entered through the space she had made, her gaze involuntarily flicking toward Zhu Zhuqing's side.

I'm not jealous. I'm absolutely not jealous. Damn it, I'm jealous.

Ling Qianyue and Zhu Zhuqing sat together, facing Dugu Yan across the table.

Ling Qianyue smiled. "We fought in the Soul Fighting Arena not long ago. You didn't come knocking just to make us fight you again, did you? My martial soul completely counters your poison. You'd better not humiliate yourself."

Dugu Yan raised her brows at that and snorted. "Who wants to fight you again?! I came here this time to discuss something important. Don't make me sound so boring."

Ling Qianyue's smile remained, with a hint more amusement. "Oh? Let's hear it."

Dugu Yan slapped both hands onto the table, her eyes blazing. "How did you get your Thousand-Year Second Soul Ring?"

Zhu Zhuqing rolled her eyes at Dugu Yan. "Are you stupid? Forget the fact that we aren't even classmates—would you casually ask someone else about something like that even if we were?

"Besides, you barged in here and spoke as if you were interrogating us. Why should we tell you?"

Dugu Yan was left speechless by Zhu Zhuqing's words, and her expression shifted slightly. However, she quickly composed herself, took a deep breath, and made her voice sound calm. "Sorry, Zhu Zhuqing. Don't misunderstand. I wasn't trying to interrogate you, and I know this isn't something one can casually ask about.

"But I'm just too curious. You're both so young, yet you already have Thousand-Year Second Soul Rings. No one has ever done something like this before. I only want to know how to increase a soul ring's age.

"Don't worry. I already stopped all those people who wanted to come ask you about your thousand-year soul rings. Hmph, including Yu Tianheng."

As she finished, she gritted her teeth and cursed inwardly, My injuries haven't even healed, yet I came running over to strike up a conversation with Ling Qianyue, the guy who kicked me out of the Soul Fighting Arena. This is infuriating.

Ling Qianyue shook his head. "Trust me, you'll learn the answer to that question soon enough. The Imperial Family will send someone."

Dugu Yan froze. "You're going to tell the Heaven Dou Imperial Family first?"

Ling Qianyue smiled and shook his head. "The method is actually simple. What's lacking is resources. But no matter who learns of it first, it will upset the balance.

"I don't want to cause a series of unnecessary troubles and disputes. Miss Dugu Yan, you can go back now. Within a month, you'll have your answer."

Ling Qianyue had already made his plans. He had never intended to keep the matter of Whale Rubber hidden.

He could disguise his martial soul's soul rings with the Star Concealment skill, but Zhu Zhuqing could not. Rather than letting others constantly covet the secret behind their increased soul ring ages, it was better to reveal it in exchange for cultivation resources and status.

Moreover, he intended to "leak" the secret to Star Luo, Heaven Dou, and Spirit Hall at the same time to maintain the balance.

Other than Sister Zhu Zhuyun, whose new faction had gained some early advantage by gathering a portion of the Whale Rubber in advance under Ling Qianyue's instructions, the other factions were largely clueless and could not open much of a gap.

Besides, so what if they learned of Whale Rubber's effects? The raw materials still needed time to collect. Unlike Ling Qianyue, who had secretly purchased more than a dozen pieces of thousand-year Whale Rubber over the past few years and had even spent tens of thousands of Gold Soul Coins, with Zhu Zhuyun's help, to acquire a rare piece of ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber.

When the major factions received the news, Ling Qianyue would already have ready supplies on hand and could put them to use as needed.

Dugu Yan was somewhat dazed by his words and nodded instinctively.

"Fine."

"Oh, right!"

She smacked her forehead. "There's one more thing. How old are you two? You're so strong, but you look so young."

Ling Qianyue pondered for a moment. "There's nothing worth hiding. Zhu Qing and I are the same age. We'll turn ten in a few months."

"H-How old?"

Dugu Yan's eyes widened. They were eight years younger than her? Eight whole years, yet their Soul Power Levels were only nine levels below hers?

Dugu Yan suddenly understood how those Heavenly Micro Level soul masters at the academy felt. Sometimes, the gap between people was simply unreasonable.

"You two freaks..." Dugu Yan said gloomily.

Just then, a strange laugh came from outside. "Who made my Yan Yan angry?"

As the words fell, a tall, thin old man suddenly appeared in the hall. He wore a gray robe, yet was dark green from head to toe. His face was stiff, his cheeks deeply sunken, and he looked half-dead.

"Grandpa?"

Dugu Yan stared blankly at the newcomer for a moment before smiling and rushing to Dugu Bo's side. "Why are you here?"

Dugu Bo burst into laughter, revealing a smile uglier than a cry. "I came to see my Yan Yan, of course."

His gaze shifted toward Ling Qianyue and Zhu Zhuqing. "I heard two geniuses arrived at Heaven Dou Royal Academy today and kicked my precious granddaughter out of the Soul Fighting Arena. Hmph, boy, do you know whose granddaughter she is?!"

Dugu Bo's expression changed, and his tone became threatening. "You dared to hit my Yan Yan. Are you ready to be taught a lesson?"

As he spoke, the entire space trembled. A tremendous pressure erupted from Dugu Bo and bore down on Ling Qianyue and Zhu Zhuqing.

Zhu Zhuqing fared somewhat better,

but Ling Qianyue's feet sank. The ground beneath him seemed to bear the weight of a thousand jun, and two shallow cracks spread beneath his feet.

His eyes were resolute as he fearlessly met Dugu Bo's threatening gaze. Gritting his teeth, he said, "In the Soul Fighting Arena, competition is fair. For a senior to use his power to bully others is rather beneath your status."

"Hmph!"

Dugu Bo snorted. "I, Dugu Bo, have always acted according to my own preferences. What status or dignity do I—"

"Grandpa!" Seeing the scene before her, Dugu Yan turned her head away and called out with a frown, "Stop it now, or Yan Yan won't speak to you anymore."

"I..." Dugu Bo's expression changed again in an instant, returning to that smiling face as he withdrew the pressure he had placed on Ling Qianyue and Zhu Zhuqing. "All right, all right, Grandpa will stop. Don't be angry, Yan Yan. Grandpa was only standing up for you."

Even Ling Qianyue could not help clicking his tongue. That speed at changing faces was absurd.

Dugu Yan gave a light snort. "Grandpa, honestly. A loss is a loss. What is there to stand up for? If you keep doing this, how am I supposed to hold my head up at the academy?"

Hearing this, Dugu Bo lovingly rubbed Dugu Yan's head and laughed. "All right, all right. Grandpa had the wrong idea. My Yan Yan is so magnanimous—how could she get angry over such a trivial matter? Grandpa promises not to casually attack people again in the future. Is that enough?"

Only then did Dugu Yan nod in satisfaction. She turned to Ling Qianyue and Zhu Zhuqing and said somewhat awkwardly, "Ling Qianyue, Zhu Zhuqing, I'm sorry. My grandpa is just like this. He looks a little strange, and his temper is a little strange too. Don't take it to heart."

Dugu Bo's mouth twitched.

"Ahem, well... you boy called Ling Qianyue, were you the one who broke my Yan Yan's poison?"