Poison Douluo Dugu Bo

"Who was that?" Yan froze slightly. He instinctively looked at Jiang Mian, only to find that Jiang Mian and Xie Yue had already rushed out.

Jiang Mian's flying kick struck the man squarely in the face, sending him flying backward. Xie Yue followed close behind, rushing behind the man and kicking him hard in the lower back, knocking him to the ground face-first.

"How dare you! I am Xue Beng, the Fourth Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire!" His cheek scraped across the ground until it looked like a pig's head. He spat out a mouthful of blood and slurred, "Do you believe I can have you killed?"

"Xue Beng? Never heard of him." Xie Yue revealed his martial soul, the Moon Blade, and a fierce killing aura swept through the area. Through days of life-risking training, Xie Yue's strength had undergone a qualitative leap. He could now be said to be invincible beneath the Soul King rank.

"If you're unhappy, go find someone. We'll wait right here." Jiang Mian said calmly, "Xue Beng, you're just an unfavored prince."

"You!" Xue Beng's face flushed red. Pointing at Jiang Mian's group, he snarled, "Just you wait!"

"You'd better hurry." Jiang Mian sneered. "I'd like to see who an unfavored prince like you can call over."

"Fine." Xue Beng spat on the ground and turned to run off for help. Jiang Mian did not take him seriously at all. He would merely go find Prince Xue Xing, who would then bring Dugu Bo over to deal with them.

Dugu Bo was merely a level 92 Titled Douluo. Jiang Mian had more than ten level 99 powerhouses behind him!

Jiang Mian stopped paying attention to the fleeing Xue Beng. Looking at the magnificently decorated gates before him, he clicked his tongue in wonder. "So this is Heaven Dou Royal Academy?"

"It can't compare to Spirit Hall." Yan chuckled. "Damn it, I didn't get to make a move earlier."

"It's a small matter. There'll be plenty of chances to fight later." Jiang Mian patted Yan on the shoulder. "Xue Beng is a prince, after all. Since he lost face, he'll definitely try to get it back."

"Don't worry." Xie Yue patted his chest and vowed, "If he calls for help next, you two just stand back and watch me handle it."

"Sure." Jiang Mian grinned, his smile carrying the sly delight of a plan succeeding.

"Heaven Dou Royal Academy?" Hu Liena stepped down from the carriage while holding Zhu Zhuqing's hand. Zhu Zhuqing's gaze was icy as she looked at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, unsure what she felt.

After all, her older sister attended Star Luo Royal Academy. Logically, Heaven Dou Royal Academy's strength should not have differed much from Star Luo Royal Academy's.

There was still one year until the Spirit Master Tournament. Yu Tianheng should have already broken through Soul Elder and reached the Soul Ancestor rank, while Dugu Yan was likely not far behind him, though she probably had not yet broken through to Soul Ancestor.

"Halt! Who are you? How dare you trespass into Heaven Dou Royal Academy!" The guards raised their long halberds and blocked Jiang Mian's group outside.

"Go report that the Spirit Hall team has come to exchange and learn with Heaven Dou Royal Academy's team." Xie Yue tossed out a token. It was actually an Elder Token possessed only by Spirit Hall's honorary elders.

All holders of Elder Tokens were honorary elders of Spirit Hall. The Upper Three Sects each possessed one, while Chrysanthemum Ghost Douluo possessed two. They were exceptionally rare.

Unexpectedly, Xie Yue also had one.

The guard accepted the token with both hands. Once he saw the pattern on it, his legs began to shake, and he scrambled into Heaven Dou Royal Academy to report the news.

"Where did you get an Elder Token?" Jiang Mian asked in surprise. "Did Bibi Dong even give you something like that?"

"Chrysanthemum Douluo left it for me." Xie Yue smiled. "He departed ahead of us and was worried we might encounter obstacles on the road, so he left this Elder Token behind."

"So that was it."

Jiang Mian suddenly understood. He could not help thinking, Good thing Chrysanthemum Douluo left it behind. If Bibi Dong gave Xie Yue a token but not me, I'd have to make a fuss with her when I got back.

"Look at the bearing of these little ones. They really do have some style." Bear Lord said approvingly. "After living so many years, we still can't pull off moves like theirs."

"You live and learn." Scarlet King folded his arms and sighed. "That saying really is true."

"Even a dog's mouth can spit out ivory now." Bear Lord chuckled. "You've truly made me see you in a new light."

"Black Bear, can you stop picking fights?" Scarlet King shook his fist and laughed angrily. "Why didn't I realize your mouth was this foul before?"

"Because you weren't strong enough back then." Bear Lord patted Scarlet King on the shoulder and laughed heartily. "Back then, even two of you wouldn't have been enough for me. Now that you've grown stronger, even your words have more backbone."

"Heh." Scarlet King smacked Bear Lord's paw away and smiled. "That's why I'm grateful to Jiang Mian. Without him, I would never have reached this height."

"Don't tell me you want to offer yourself to him?" Bear Lord clutched his stomach and laughed. "That would be something. Jiang Mian is surrounded by beauties—you probably can't squeeze your way in."

"Get lost."

"Look, the chairmen of Heaven Dou Royal Academy's Education Committee have come out to welcome us." Standing in the center, Jiang Mian looked warmly at the three elderly men approaching them.

"Welcome, honored guests from afar. We failed to greet you properly." The dean in the center spoke first. "I am Meng Shenji, chief of Heaven Dou Royal Academy's Education Committee."

The plump, white-bearded old man on the left rubbed his belly and smiled. "I am Bai Baoshan, second chair of Heaven Dou Royal Academy's Education Committee."

The tall, thin old man said calmly, "I am Zhi Lin, third chair of Heaven Dou Royal Academy's Education Committee."

"Three Soul Douluos." Scarlet King saw through the three old men at a glance. "The one in the middle is an agility-attack type, the one on the left is a defense type, and the one on the right is a control type."

"Can they take one slap from me?" Bear Lord asked.

"No." Scarlet King said, "They're only three Soul Douluos. They probably couldn't even take half a slap."

"How boring." Bear Lord chuckled, his eyes full of disdain.

"Greetings, Chairmen." Jiang Mian and the younger members were still quite polite. They all clasped their fists in salute to show their respect.

"Spirit Hall's generation of prodigies, what brings you here today for an exchange and learning session?" Meng Shenji stroked his beard and asked with a smile.

"Some time ago, your student Yu Tianheng stopped my carriage and invited me to visit." Jiang Mian chuckled. "We came at his invitation."

"Please." Meng Shenji gestured with one hand, neither servile nor overbearing as he welcomed them inside. Jiang Mian and the others entered first. Bear Lord drove the carriage past the three chairmen without even looking at them, quietly releasing a powerful burst of Soul Power in an attempt to intimidate the three Soul Douluos.

Naturally, the effect was immediately apparent.

Meng Shenji and the other two all changed expressions. After watching the group enter the academy, Meng Shenji said to Bai Baoshan and Zhi Lin, "Titled Douluos?"

"And extremely powerful Titled Douluos at that." Zhi Lin's face darkened. "The two experts on that carriage are absolutely no lower than level 95."

"This is meant to give us a show of force." Bai Baoshan frowned deeply. "What is Spirit Hall trying to do? We have always stayed out of each other's affairs."

"I don't know. We'll take things one step at a time." Meng Shenji patted Zhi Lin's shoulder. "Should we report this to His Majesty?"

"Let's observe for now." Zhi Lin said, "They even possess the highest-grade Elder Token. Spirit Hall clearly values them greatly. We should treat them well first and not give them anything to hold against us."

"Alright." Zhi Lin and Bai Baoshan answered together, and the three followed behind into Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

"This academy is pretty impressive." Yan leaned close to the other two and said softly, "Look, it even has fountains."

"Don't be so ignorant." Xie Yue said helplessly. "Our Spirit Hall even has an Angel God statue. They don't have one here."

"They will soon." Jiang Mian chuckled.

Zhu Zhuqing and Hu Liena walked behind the three of them. The two girls were simply too beautiful, causing many students to stop and gather around, shooting them strange looks.

Hu Liena lifted her chin, completely disdaining such people. Zhu Zhuqing remained as cold as ever and did not care about such things at all.

"Jiang Mian, do you really plan to spar with Heaven Dou Royal Academy's team?" Xie Yue asked curiously.

Jiang Mian nodded. "Since we're here, we might as well test their strength. They're just a rabble."

"Sounds interesting." Xie Yue smiled. "It'll be a good chance to practice Nana and my Martial Soul Fusion Skill."

"That would be bullying them too much." Jiang Mian secretly patted Xie Yue on the shoulder and smiled. "Let's not make them lose too badly. That would be rude."

As for how powerful Xie Yue and Hu Liena's Martial Soul Fusion Skill was, Jiang Mian might have had the most authority to speak on the matter. He had sparred with the two before, and the final result had been a narrow victory for Jiang Mian.

Although Jiang Mian was around ten levels higher than them, a Martial Soul Fusion Skill was not a simple one-plus-one attribute boost. Though Xie Yue and Hu Liena were only level forty now, their Martial Soul Fusion Skill could already contend with a level seventy Soul Saint. Jiang Mian had needed to exert tremendous effort to defeat them back then.

Of course, after that, Xie Yue trained even more tirelessly day and night, hoping that one day he could surpass Jiang Mian. Of course, he also knew that was not very likely.

"Zhi Lin, call the team members over." Walking behind them, Meng Shenji instructed, "Tell them to give it their all. These visitors have come with ill intent."

"Alright." Zhi Lin said, "It will also teach these youngsters that there is always someone stronger."

"The Shrek students they encountered last time already taught them a lesson. Let's see whether they've improved this time." Bai Baoshan said. "This is also a good opportunity to see what strength Spirit Hall's Golden Generation possesses."

"Exactly." Meng Shenji said, "The Spirit Master Tournament, held once every five years, is about to begin. Know yourself and your enemy, and you will never be defeated."

"Later, let's try not to reveal too much of our strength. Xie Yue and Sister Nana shouldn't use your Martial Soul Fusion Skill. I'll see if I can take on all seven of them alone." Jiang Mian boasted.

"You're exaggerating a little." Xie Yue said. "We can't lose. If we pick a fight and still lose, teacher will punish us severely when we return."

"Don't worry." Jiang Mian was very confident in his own strength. Though he only had level 57 Soul Power, in terms of true combat strength, even an level eighty Soul Douluo might not be his match. He still could not fight a Titled Douluo, but after growing stronger for a while longer, even Titled Douluos would not be beyond his reach.

Heaven Dou Royal Academy's team had only seen its captain, Yu Tianheng, reach Soul Ancestor. The others were surely still Soul Elders. What was there to fear from a group of children in their thirties?

Jiang Mian planned to hurry up and cultivate his Soul Power after returning to Spirit Hall, reaching level sixty as soon as possible.

Di Tian planned for him to subdue the Evil Eye Tyrant Overlord in Evil Eye Forest once he reached level sixty. Jiang Mian was rather looking forward to it.

"What? You said Spirit Hall's Golden Generation wants to spar and exchange with us?" In the room, Yu Tianheng listened to Zhi Lin's instructions, shot to his feet, and asked in surprise, "What are they trying to do?"

"Establish dominance?" Dugu Yan said calmly. "Or does Spirit Hall want to extend its hand into our territory?"

"I'm not sure." Zhi Lin said. "Regardless of what they intend, pull yourselves together. Even if you can't win, you must not lose too quickly."

"Spirit Hall's Golden Generation... just how strong are they?" Yu Tianheng clenched his fists, intense battle intent bursting from his eyes. "I just advanced to Soul Ancestor, and they arrived right away? Perfect. I can see the gap between us."

A green figure suddenly appeared, like an uninvited guest in the corridor.

Meng Shenji had just led Jiang Mian's group into the reception hall and seated them when laughter from that green figure sounded outside the door.

"Who is it?" Meng Shenji asked warily. "Who could infiltrate Heaven Dou Royal Academy?"

With a creak, the reception hall doors were suddenly pushed open by a powerful surge of Soul Power. Dugu Bo, dressed entirely in dark green with graying hair, slowly walked in.

With every step he took, a soul ring descended from the air. Two yellow, two purple, and five black rings made Meng Shenji and Bai Baoshan gasp in shock at the same time.

Spirit Hall's younger members remained utterly calm upon seeing him. Bear Lord and Scarlet King did not even spare Dugu Bo a glance, merely drinking their tea.

"Poison Douluo Dugu Bo?" Meng Shenji assumed a fighting stance and demanded, "Poison Douluo, what brings you here?"

"I merely wanted to see who dared to act so arrogantly in Heaven Dou Royal Academy!" Dugu Bo clasped his hands behind his back, his gaze sweeping over them as he sneered. "These little trash?"

"Poison Douluo?" Jiang Mian scoffed. "You mean the guy who can't even beat Chrysanthemum Douluo?"

Dugu Bo's expression changed abruptly upon hearing that. He instantly appeared before Jiang Mian and asked coldly, "Brat, what do you mean by that?"

"If Senior wants to attack me, you should first ask those two behind me." Jiang Mian's expression remained unchanged as Scarlet King and Bear Lord released their Soul Power together.

In an instant, the Soul Power Dugu Bo had released seemed like the light of a firefly compared to the moon before the two of them. Dugu Bo raised his arms in front of himself, repeatedly forced backward by the two surges of Soul Power.

Bai Baoshan and Meng Shenji released their martial souls at the same time, barely managing to withstand the pressure of the two fierce beasts with all their strength.

"May I ask for your honored names, Seniors?" Dugu Bo was completely suppressed. His expression shifted as he asked respectfully, "I have offended you."

"If you have something to say, say it properly. Why show off your strength?" Scarlet King complained. "You can't even compare to us. What a joke."

"Bullying the weak while fearing the strong." Bear Lord said disdainfully. "Do you think someone like you deserves to know our names?"

Dugu Bo looked embarrassed. Then, a clear voice suddenly rang out from outside.

"Grandfather, why are you here?"