Dugu Bo's Box Weapon

In an estate outside Heaven Dou City.

A handsome, eerily alluring man in a black robe stood before a floor-to-ceiling window, a red mark set between his brows.

He gazed at the scenery outside, lost in thought.

Prince Xue Xing had gifted him this estate. It was not far from Heaven Dou City, making it convenient for him to visit his granddaughter whenever he wished, and for her to return and keep him company.

Dugu Yan was Dugu Bo's granddaughter and his only remaining family. She was currently studying at an Intermediate Academy within Heaven Dou City.

Her Soul Power was about to break through to level twenty, and she would soon obtain her second soul ring.

Yet this brought Dugu Bo not the slightest joy, because his son—Dugu Yan's father—had suddenly died while breaking through level fifty and obtaining his fifth soul ring.

Afterward, Dugu Bo examined him and discovered that his son had actually died of poisoning.

The source of that poison was his inheritance.

Dugu Bo had always known that his spirit would poison him. But he was a Title Douluo, immensely powerful. Though the poison often caused him pain, it posed no threat to his life.

But he had never imagined that his son would inherit his poison and ultimately lose his life because of it.

Nor was that all. His daughter-in-law had often been in contact with his son and was affected by the poison as well. After her son's death, she too passed away early.

Now, that poison had been passed down to his granddaughter, Dugu Yan.

From the moment Dugu Yan awakened her spirit, she had been racing against death.

Stopping her cultivation was not an option. The poison had already seeped deep into Dugu Yan's bones, and as time passed, it would steadily grow stronger until death became unavoidable.

Only by continuing to cultivate did she have a sliver of hope. Yet the growth of her Soul Power would also trigger the poison. If Dugu Yan failed to win this race against death, she would follow in her father's footsteps.

Death awaited her either way, so Dugu Bo ultimately chose to let his granddaughter gamble on that faint hope.

But in his eyes, every soul ring Dugu Yan obtained brought her one step closer to death.

There were few Servants in the estate. Dugu Bo preferred peace and quiet, and the poison from his spirit made it difficult for others to live alongside him.

This left the estate bleak and desolate, much like Dugu Bo's mood at that moment.

But a warm smile soon appeared on his face, because a familiar figure entered his sight.

"Grandpa!"

"Ah, Yan Yan, you're back." Dugu Bo opened the floor-to-ceiling window and leaped outside, pulling his granddaughter into his arms.

"School's over, Grandpa." Dugu Yan nuzzled against him, then seemed to recall something. She pulled a newspaper from her pocket and said, "Oh, right, Grandpa, I have something to show you."

"What is it?" Dugu Bo took the newspaper curiously.

"Look here, Grandpa. What it says seems a lot like our family's situation."

Dugu Bo looked where his granddaughter pointed and saw the following passage:

"...The path of Attribute Extremity, as the name suggests, involves purifying the attributes of one's Biological Spirit and developing it toward a single attribute. The Four Great Elemental Academies are typical examples of this.

"However, the cultivation path of the Four Great Elemental Academies still has flaws, because they have overlooked the inherent growth characteristics of Biological Spirits and failed to fully capitalize on their strengths. As a result, few soul masters can achieve Attribute Extremity.

"My proposed solution is to attach, at an early stage, a soul ring that absorbs energy of the corresponding attribute to a Biological Spirit. Through this soul ring, a Biological Spirit soul master can continuously strengthen and purify the attribute energy of their own spirit.

"I call this cultivation method the Foundation Building Method: establishing the foundation of cultivation. This soul ring that allows Biological Spirit soul masters to absorb energy, I call the Foundation Ring.

"However, there is one point to note when pursuing the path of Attribute Extremity: if certain attribute energies exceed the spirit's own capacity, they will instead negatively affect the soul master. The most typical example is the Poison Attribute, which requires particular attention."

Dugu Bo flipped through the newspaper in his hand but found no further content.

Puzzled, he asked, "What comes next?"

"That's all there is," Dugu Yan said.

"He didn't give a solution?" Dugu Bo's eyes widened.

"N-no," Dugu Yan answered honestly.

"That bastard! How could he cut it off right there?" Dugu Bo hurled the newspaper to the ground. He had been about to stomp on it twice, but after thinking it over, he picked it back up.

He said to Dugu Yan, "I'll handle this matter. Yan Yan, stay home and be good. I'll be back soon."

Dugu Bo turned and left the estate. He was going to the Heaven Dou Empire Newspaper Office to find out where the author of this article was.

In the words of another world, he was going to open the author's box.

It was fine to stop updating at a crucial point. Dugu Bo had his ways of making that damned author cough up the rest.

The scene shifted to the Heaven Dou Empire Newspaper Office.

The editor-in-chief was clearing off his desk, about to leave work, when a figure suddenly appeared before him.

The editor-in-chief was so frightened that his legs gave out, and he collapsed into his chair. Looking at the figure before him, he felt his calves cramping.

"P-Poison Douluo."

"Tell me, where did this article come from?" Dugu Bo pointed to a spot in the newspaper, his expression dark.

The editor-in-chief did not even look before answering directly, "I-it came from Nuoding City."

"Do you know which article I'm talking about?" Dugu Bo frowned, deeply dissatisfied with the editor-in-chief's perfunctory answer.

"I-I do. A lot of people have come asking about it today," the editor-in-chief said shakily.

He regretted it now. He regretted it terribly. He should never have published that article.

When the submission had first arrived, the editor-in-chief thought the Thesis seemed to have something to it, so he submitted it to Prince Xue Xing for review.

Prince Xue Xing had then ordered him to suppress the Thesis, and the editor-in-chief had complied.

But not long afterward, another order came from Prince Xue Xing, telling him to publish the Thesis in the newspaper as soon as possible, because the Star Luo Weekly had already published it.

If the Heaven Dou Weekly fell behind, they likely would not earn even a single Copper Soul Coin.

To put it bluntly, they would not even catch shit while it was still warm.

Now it seemed that this Thesis truly had serious implications. It had even drawn out the Poison Douluo, who rarely showed himself.

Having gotten his answer, Dugu Bo immediately turned and left.

He was going to have a little talk with that damned author and let him understand the consequences of casually cutting off a chapter.