Time flew, and before they knew it, a year had passed.
Over the course of that year, Long Chen and Dugu Bo grew closer.
With Long Chen's help, Dugu Bo gradually brought the poison in his body under control. His Soul Power broke through the bottleneck at Level Ninety-One and reached Level Ninety-Two.
Once a Soul Master reached Level Ninety and became a Titled Douluo, every level thereafter presented a tremendous bottleneck.
Dugu Bo had been stuck at Level Ninety-One for a long time, but at last, he broke through.
He was deeply grateful to Long Chen. Not only had Long Chen helped him control the poison in his body, but he had also helped him increase his Soul Power.
During this time, Dugu Bo had also guided Long Chen in his cultivation.
Dugu Bo must have had something special about him to reach the level of a Titled Douluo.
Long Chen humbly accepted his guidance.
After soaking day after day in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well Water, he absorbed more of the medicinal properties of the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Infernal Delicate Apricot.
Combined with the effects of Dugu Bo's Dan Bead and his cultivation guidance, Long Chen's Soul Power had advanced by leaps and bounds over the past year, increasing by five levels to reach Level Forty-Seven.
Level Forty-Seven before turning fifteen.
Across the entire Douluo Continent, that was unprecedented.
By then, just over a year remained before the Soul Master Competition.
Long Chen felt it was time to return.
He knew that, according to the course of events, the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Team would meet the Shrek Seven Devils at the Suotuo Great Soul Arena and lose to them.
Ye Lingling would be threatened by Tang San during the match.
Long Chen had to stop it from happening. He absolutely couldn't let Tang San get his way.
"Xiao Chen, what are you thinking about?"
Dugu Bo suddenly dropped down from the sky.
Long Chen came back to himself. Seeing Dugu Bo looking full of energy, he smiled and said:
"Brother Bo, you've finally got the poison in your body under control. Although you haven't forced all of it into your Soul Bone, it no longer poses a threat to your life."
"Mm. With your help, my body has adapted to the Severe Poison to some extent. A little poison isn't bad. I wouldn't be used to having none at all."
Long Chen pointed toward the medicinal herbs.
"That Narcissus Jade Skin Bone has grown back, too. It's ready to be picked."
"Really? That's wonderful. We can use it to cure Yanyan's poison."
Long Chen frowned and sighed.
"Once it's picked, the Narcissus Jade Skin Bone needs to be kept alive. Unfortunately, I don't have anything that can store living things for a long time. If all else fails, we'll have to bring Dugu Yan here to cure her. But with only a little over a year until the Soul Master Competition, she's so competitive that she may worry it'll interfere with her training and refuse to come until the competition is over."
Hearing this, Dugu Bo chuckled.
"I was wondering what you were worried about. It's just that? What's so hard about that? I'll give you something."
As he spoke, Dugu Bo pulled a blue Leather Pouch from who knew where and tossed it to Long Chen.
The pouch was only about the size of an adult's two palms and was the kind that hung from a belt.
Long Chen knew this was the Soul Tool that could store living things: the Ruyi Treasure Pouch.
"Brother Bo, this is a Soul Tool, right? You're giving it to me?"
Dugu Bo nodded and explained:
"This isn't an ordinary Soul Tool. It can hold living things—animals and plants. Anything alive can go inside."
"Wonderful. Then we don't have to worry about keeping the Narcissus Jade Skin Bone alive."
"Mm. Now you can take that herb with you and cure Yanyan's poison."
Long Chen grinned, his gaze fixed on the Medicine Garden.
"Brother Bo, besides the Narcissus Jade Skin Bone, I'd like to pick a few more herbs to save for later. Is that all right?"
"How many do you want?"
"Not many. Just seven or eight."
"All right. As long as you have a use for them and don't waste them."
"How could I waste such precious herbs? Thanks!"
Dugu Bo was reasonably generous.
Long Chen wasn't greedy, either.
Besides the Narcissus Jade Skin Bone, for now he only picked the Lovesick Heartbreak Red, Ink Jade Bamboo, Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower, Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, Aromatic Silk Beauty, Aromatic Silk Beauty, Eight-Petaled Immortal Orchid, and Snow-Colored Swan Kiss.
Dugu Bo felt a little pained, but he had no choice but to let Long Chen have his way.
After all, he didn't understand what those herbs were good for.
Once they had picked the Immortal Herbs, it was time to leave the Medicine Garden.
Long Chen gazed at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well with reluctance and joked:
"I've been soaking in this bath for over a year. I'm actually a little reluctant to leave."
"Haha! You're the only brat who could soak in water that's both scorching hot and freezing cold, and filled with Severe Poison. I'll be cultivating in these mountains. If you get bored, come find me anytime."
"Brother Bo, come out with me for a while. The Soul Master Competition is coming up. Don't you want to see how Dugu Yan performs?"
Dugu Bo stroked his beard and said with a smile:
"To tell the truth, I'm more excited to see how you do in the Soul Master Competition than Yanyan. Your Soul Power is at Level Forty-Seven now. At the rate you're improving, you'll break through Level Fifty before the competition and enter as a Battle Soul King. In the three previous Soul Master Competitions, none of the participating students from Spirit Hall Academy or the academies of the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empires were Battle Soul Kings. Your appearance is bound to cause a sensation and draw attention."
"That's why I need you even more. With you watching my back, no one will dare attack me behind my back."
"All right. I'll go with you when the time comes."
"Mm. Then let's go find Dugu Yan first."
Long Chen knew that the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Main Team was one of the three Seed Teams and wouldn't have to compete in the Heaven Dou Division's preliminaries or Advancement Match. They would go straight to the Finals.
That meant his strength wouldn't be revealed too early. He would only get to show it in the Finals.
Long Chen could have left the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well earlier and returned to the academy, but he had deliberately waited until now.
He didn't want to get too close to his teammates.
While at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Long Chen had often taken leave to return to Guang'an Hall and develop medicines.
To deal with this, the team had added a new member: Shi Mo.
As time went on, Shi Mo spent more time training with everyone and grew more in sync with them. Long Chen, by contrast, seemed like an outsider.
Long Chen knew that Qin Ming would take the Imperial Fighting Team to the Great Soul Arena in Heaven Dou City for practical training, where they would earn Silver Soul Badges.
When he returned, his position on the team would be awkward.
Still, to protect Ye Lingling, he would take part in the Soul Master Competition.
He knew that the champion's prize in the Soul Master Competition was three Soul Bones, specially prepared by Pope Bibi Dong for the Martial Soul Hall Three Heroes.
One of them was the Spirit Condensation Wisdom Skull, a Soul Bone at least fifty thousand years old.
If he could absorb that Soul Bone, his spiritual power would increase tremendously.
Long Chen wanted it, too.
But taking a Soul Bone from Spirit Hall would be no easy feat.
First, he would have to win the Soul Master Competition, and he would need powerful backing.
That was why Long Chen wanted Dugu Bo to accompany him.
The two of them first returned to Heaven Dou Royal Academy. When they learned that Qin Ming had taken the team to the Suotuo Great Soul Arena, they hurried to Suotuo City.
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