The atmosphere in the dean's office at Blue Tyrant Academy was tense.
"Aunt, I really can protect myself."
Yu Tiancheng looked at Liu Erlong's tightly furrowed brows and tried to explain again.
"Being able to protect yourself doesn't make it okay!" Liu Erlong cut him off firmly, raising her voice.
"Do you know what lies deep in Sunset Forest? It isn't just home to thousand-year and Ten Thousand Year Spirit Beasts. The place is also shrouded year-round in poisonous miasma that corrodes flesh and soul! Even I, a Soul Saint, have to be on full alert in there. One careless mistake, and I could wind up in serious trouble!"
She walked up to Yu Tiancheng and met his gaze. "I promised your father, and I gave my word to the family, that I would take good care of you. If anything happens to you in a place like that, how could I answer to them? How could I answer to myself?"
Yu Tiancheng felt a warm rush in his heart, but he couldn't change his plan.
"Aunt, I'll be careful. Besides, this training is really important to me."
"What training could be more important than your life?"
"You need practical experience? Fine. Starting this afternoon, come to my courtyard every day. I'll train with you myself. I guarantee you'll get much better experience than wandering aimlessly around the forest on your own!"
She clenched her fists and delivered her final ultimatum:
"That's final. I won't approve you leaving the academy. For now, stay here and behave yourself. You're not going anywhere."
Yu Tiancheng opened his mouth, ready to say more, but when he saw Liu Erlong's unyielding expression, he swallowed his words.
"I understand, Aunt."
"Good. Go back and cultivate. Don't forget to come by this afternoon." Seeing that he'd relented, Liu Erlong softened her tone slightly and waved him away.
Yu Tiancheng quietly left the dean's office and closed the door behind him.
Standing in the corridor, he let out a soft breath.
There was no way he could force the issue. He knew his aunt's temperament. If he really made her angry, she might lock him up.
Sneak out? Given how worried Liu Erlong was about him, she would probably mobilize the entire academy, perhaps even Heaven Dou City, and turn over every stone looking for him. That would cause far too much of a commotion.
As he pondered how to convince Liu Erlong, a thought suddenly struck him.
The diary appeared of its own accord, its cover shimmering with light.
[This week's theme has been decided: Huo Wu]
[Please write your diary around this theme]
Yu Tiancheng raised an eyebrow.
Huo Wu? That girl from Blazing Fire Academy?
Huo Wu didn't get that much screen time in the original story. She had a distinct personality, but was far too much of a plot device.
Still, the diary's prompt had come at just the right time! His eyes lit up as a plan quickly took shape in his mind.
"My aunt can see the diary. If I casually mention in it why I'm really going to Sunset Forest, along with my confidence in succeeding—and even stress how urgent it is..."
"Given her personality, even if she's still worried, she probably won't be able to stop me by force, will she?"
With that thought, he immediately focused, turned his consciousness toward the diary, and began to write.
[This morning, I flipped through Myriad Poisons True Solution. The various deadly poisons and methods of neutralizing them described inside really opened my eyes. As I read, I thought of Dugu Yan and her grandfather, that famous Poison Douluo, Dugu Bo]
At Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Dugu Yan was cultivating when she suddenly felt the Diary Copy she carried grow slightly warm.
Her heart stirred, and she quickly took it out to check. When she saw her name mentioned, she felt a small surge of happiness.
[Dugu Yan probably doesn't know yet that when someone cultivates with their martial soul, the poison actually builds up inside their body as their cultivation improves, without being properly expelled. Over time, it seeps into their bones and organs, and eventually... it will inevitably turn on them, attacking their heart and killing them]
[Dugu Yan's father died that way. Senior Dugu Bo has much higher cultivation, so the poison accumulated in his body must be even worse. If he doesn't find a way to cure it, he may only have a few years left]
"What?" Dugu Yan's face went deathly pale. She nearly dropped the diary in her hands. A bone-chilling cold shot from the soles of her feet to the top of her head!
No wonder! No wonder her grandfather sometimes secluded himself, his face tinged with a dark green hue!
No wonder she'd recently felt occasional aches in her joints, and at night, a bone-deep chill, as if ants were gnawing at her!
She'd always thought it was because cultivation was tiring, or just part of her martial soul's nature. She'd never dared to consider this possibility!
The shadow of her father's early death had always hung over her and her grandfather. Could the truth really be this cruel?
Panic and overwhelming grief engulfed her. Her eyes immediately reddened, and her body began to tremble.
"Yanzi, don't panic! Look, Yu Tiancheng made a point of bringing this up in the diary, and he got a copy of Myriad Poisons True Solution this morning. If he can tell what's wrong, maybe he can fix it, too?"
Ye Lingling, who had been quietly reading the diary beside her, noticed Dugu Yan's distress at once and quickly took her cold hand.
As if to confirm what Ye Lingling had said, the writing in the diary continued to flow:
"Fortunately, there's always a way out. Myriad Poisons True Solution happens to describe a method for neutralizing the poison accumulated by this kind of martial soul. It uses poison to fight poison, together with specific natural treasures, to draw out and transform the accumulated toxins. It can even turn harm into a blessing and nourish the body in return."
"I have the method, but several of the key ingredients it requires are rare. According to the records, some grow only in the depths of Sunset Forest, in places of extreme cold or heat, nourished by unusual poisonous miasma. For ordinary people, finding them would be as difficult as gathering them."
"If those herbs can be obtained, there may be hope yet for Senior Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan."
"He can cure us! He really can!"
As if she'd grabbed hold of a lifeline, Dugu Yan looked up sharply. Tears streamed down her face, but a fierce hope had kindled in her eyes.
"Lingling! I have to find him! I'm going to Blue Tyrant Academy to see Yu Tiancheng right now! No matter what herbs he wants, no matter the cost, as long as he can save Grandpa and me..."
She started to rush out.
"Yanzi, calm down!" Ye Lingling grabbed her firmly. "You're too emotional right now, and this concerns Poison Douluo. We can't act recklessly. Yu Tiancheng may have had a reason for revealing all this in the diary. We need to think it through carefully. At the very least, we should contact him in a safer way."
She was perceptive enough to suspect that Yu Tiancheng hadn't brought up the matter in his diary without a reason.
Blue Tyrant Academy, the dean's office.
Liu Erlong had naturally "seen" the diary update, too.
At first, when Yu Tiancheng mentioned Sunset Forest again, she'd frowned, thinking the boy still hadn't given up.
But as she read on, her displeasure gradually gave way to a grave expression, then to deep concern and a hint of understanding.
"So that's it... This boy doesn't simply want to go there for training. He's after Dugu Bo?"
"Or rather, those rare herbs in Sunset Forest that Dugu Bo knows about?" Liu Erlong murmured, pacing around the office.
"Helping Dugu Bo and his granddaughter cure their poison? That would be a good deed."
"Although that old monster Dugu Bo has an odd temper, if you really saved his life, you'd owe him a huge favor."
As a Soul Saint from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, she knew just how much a favor from a Titled Douluo was worth.
"But... it's too dangerous!"
"Never mind the danger deep in Sunset Forest. Dugu Bo himself is an extremely unpredictable factor! That old poisoner is moody and does whatever he pleases. If Tiancheng rashly approached him and said he could cure his poison, Dugu Bo might mistake him for someone with ulterior motives and poison him on the spot!"
In her eyes, Yu Tiancheng's plan was like dancing on the edge of a blade. It wasn't worth gambling his life for a potential opportunity and a favor!
"No. I still can't let him go."
Liu Erlong made up her mind. Even if he was going to save Dugu Bo, she couldn't let Yu Tiancheng take such a risk.
She'd rather go speak to Dugu Bo herself or find some other way.
Before you continue