Xiao Yu, Who Calculates Three Steps Ahead

Qian Renxue appeared incredibly remorseful, yet every word she spoke subtly shifted the blame onto Xue Beng himself.

This only made the already soft-hearted Xue Ye feel even more pained; what a good child she was, clearly suffering because of Xue Beng, yet she blamed herself so deeply.

Xue Ye hurriedly stood up to help Qian Renxue to her feet: "Qinghe, you must not say such things. This matter cannot be blamed on you."

"But, Father Emperor." Qian Renxue continued her performance, maintaining the appearance that it was all her fault.

This caused Xue Ye to lower his guard. It seemed Xue Qinghe truly had no connection to this incident, nor was he the one who instigated it. Thinking about it, that was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast; how could Xue Qinghe dare to face it alone? He had simply been overthinking things.

Xue Ye waved his hand: "Enough. This entire affair is the sin that rebellious son Xue Beng brought upon himself, even implicating the empire. Even if he were not dead, I would not have let him off."

After a pause, Xue Ye let out a long sigh and looked at Xue Qinghe: "Qinghe, you are the only son I have left. You must ensure nothing happens to you."

At this moment, Qian Renxue felt a surge of joy in her heart. Although the situation had been somewhat uncontrollable, the result was favorable for her. Now, there was absolutely no one left to compete with her for the throne.

However, on the surface, Qian Renxue still had to feign a sorrowful expression, nodding toward Xue Ye: "Rest assured, Father Emperor. Your child will never let anything happen again, and I will never leave you alone."

The two appeared to be a picture of fatherly kindness and filial piety, but beneath the surface, who knew what each was truly thinking? Perhaps it was a different kind of "fatherly kindness and filial piety" altogether.

At the summit of the giant tree, upon the platform.

A cyan-white stream of light tore through the night sky as Xiao Yu and the massive figures of Yu Yi and the others landed with a boom, the turbulent airflow whipping up fallen leaves and dust from the platform.

"Wuu~" Yu Yi let out a low, powerful cry. It was no longer the cry of weakness and grievance from before, but one of relief after surviving a disaster, the catharsis of having avenged a great wrong.

It affectionately rubbed its head against Xiao Yu's feathers, its eyes filled with unreserved fanaticism and gratitude.

Yu Er, Yu San, Yu Si, and Yu Wu also gathered around, letting out joyful or low cries. Their auras had stabilized at the ten-thousand-year level. Having experienced the blood and fire of vengeance, their gazes were sharper and their presence more profound.

Xiao Yu's gaze swept over his companions, confirming they were unharmed, and only then did the killing intent in his heart slowly subside.

"Xue Beng beheaded, Xue Xing executed..." Xiao Yu felt no great waves in his heart, only the calm of cause and effect being settled.

He was not a beast that craved slaughter, but those who offended him and his kin must pay in blood.

Dugu Bo's sneak attack had been within his expectations. That old Poison Douluo was petty and vengeful, and he had a personal friendship with Xue Xing, so an attack was inevitable.

He just hadn't expected the opponent to be so ruthless, opening with his ninth soul skill immediately.

If not for his prior precautions, and the fact that his newly acquired water-attribute ability, Water Curtain Heaven Splendor, possessed a natural restraining and purifying effect against toxins—coupled with his mastery over the Wind Force reaching new heights in his Spirit Feather Divine Guard form—that strike might not have been so easily neutralized.

"Dugu Bo... the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor poison truly lives up to its reputation."

Xiao Yu felt the lingering, cold, corrosive aura on the edge of his wings. Although the Storm Eye had forced the opponent back and even left marks on his martial soul avatar, it was still too difficult to kill a Title Douluo who was determined to escape.

However, after this battle, Dugu Bo would surely be severely injured and would never dare to provoke him again in the short term.

More importantly, the name of Xiao Yu and the "Holy Wing King Clan" he represented would be deeply imprinted in the hearts of every living being who witnessed or heard of this night in a truly shocking way—

"Though strong, they must be slaughtered! Though far, they must be punished!" These eight words would become the Sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of all those with ill intent.

However, there were still many hidden dangers, such as the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Xiao Yu pondered. Now that the outside world knew he was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, this fact would attract countless experts like moths to a flame; he feared he would have no more peace.

But he did not regret it. Wasn't everything he did beforehand for the sake of this day?

Moreover, he did not hold those rabble in high regard. The only ones he needed to be wary of were the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, which was adjacent to Heaven Dou City, and... the Martial Soul Hall.

Distant water cannot quench a nearby fire; the Martial Soul Hall was a concern for later, so he didn't need to worry about them for now. But the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was a behemoth.

Two Super Douluo above level 95, the world's strongest support-type soul master Ning Fengzhi, and an unknown number of other support-type soul masters—these combined forces were like a massive mountain standing before Xiao Yu.

They could not ignore a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast; he feared they would come to hunt him within a few days, so he had to prepare early.

However, he was not without countermeasures; after all, he never fought a battle he wasn't prepared for.

A flower emitting a faint glow appeared before Xiao Yu. He said leisurely: "Immortal Herb, Aromatic Silk Beauty."

In the original story, the Aromatic Silk Beauty was of immense importance to the soul masters of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. The breakthrough method that Ning Fengzhi had searched for for countless years was now sitting right in front of Xiao Yu.

Once a Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda soul master absorbed the Aromatic Silk Beauty, they could transcend the mundane, transforming the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda into the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, gaining the potential to become a Title Douluo.

This was one of the ways Xiao Yu would deal with Ning Fengzhi, but before that, he still had some preparations to make.

Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

Thump!

Dugu Bo's figure fell clumsily in front of a building, unable to suppress his churning blood any longer. He spat out a large mouthful of dark green poisonous blood, which contained traces of ice crystals and sparks of fire.

His face was ashen, his aura withered to the extreme. His luxurious robes were torn in many places by wind blades, revealing deep, bone-piercing wounds beneath. The edges of the wounds were still stained with the bizarre energy of intertwined ice and fire, constantly eroding his soul power and vitality.

"Cough, cough... Damn it! Damn it all!" Dugu Bo clutched his chest, looking utterly wretched.

He, the dignified Poison Douluo, had roamed the continent for decades; when had he ever suffered such a humiliating defeat?

Not only did his sneak attack fail, but he was forced to detonate a portion of his martial soul avatar's essence blood just to escape!

But then, he suddenly looked back at the sky, fearing that Xiao Yu had caught up. Seeing the empty night sky behind him, he let out a long sigh of relief.

At this moment, the person inside the room seemed to hear some movement and pushed open the door.

Seeing the familiar figure collapsed on the ground, the person couldn't help but cover her small mouth, her heart filled with shock and sorrow.

"Grandfather, how did you end up like this?" This person was none other than Dugu Bo's granddaughter, Dugu Yan.

"Yan Yan." Seeing Dugu Yan, Dugu Bo felt both embarrassed and anxious. He hurriedly said: "We'll talk about my situation later. You must come with me! Leave this place!"