The Follow-Up Move

During this time, Lu Fan asked, "Since you two were able to join Heaven Dou Royal Academy, you must be quite exceptional. I don't yet know what your Martial Souls are."

His tone carried a hint of curiosity.

Seeing that Lu Fan and Qin Ming were so familiar, the two women did not hide anything. Furthermore, having just heard about Lu Fan's Martial Soul, reciprocating was only a matter of courtesy.

"My Martial Soul is the Jade Phosphor Snake."

Dugu Yan stopped in her tracks, turned around to look at Lu Fan, her eyes filled with a touch of pride.

The quality of her Jade Phosphor Snake Martial Soul was not low; among her peers, very few were her match.

"My Martial Soul is the Nine-Star Begonia."

Ye Lingling also stopped, a gentle smile appearing on her face.

Her Nine-Star Begonia was the world's premier healing Martial Soul, truly peerless. Although it had certain flaws, that did not diminish its power.

Hearing this, Lu Fan feigned surprise as he looked at the two women, his face showing a trace of shock: "These two Martial Souls are truly extraordinary. I know of the Nine-Star Begonia; it is the world's number one healing Martial Soul. And the Jade Phosphor Snake—that is the Martial Soul of a Title Douluo."

Hearing Lu Fan's praise, the two women's faces showed a hint of pride.

Dugu Yan's chin lifted slightly, her eyes carrying a touch of arrogance; she was clearly extremely satisfied with her own Martial Soul.

However, one could only wonder how she would react in the future if she discovered the problems with her Martial Soul.

When she learned that her parents had been killed by the very Martial Soul she took such pride in, what would her reaction be?

Regarding such matters, the group did not delve too deeply, touching upon it only briefly; after all, this belonged to the personal privacy of a Spirit Master.

Lu Fan was not in a rush. He knew that haste makes waste. The most important thing now was to gain their initial trust, as that would provide an opportunity to get closer to Dugu Bo.

Returning to his room, Lu Fan felt a sense of unreality. He had not expected to run into these people on this trip.

He sat on the edge of the bed, his eyes gleaming with excitement: "What a coincidence. I was just worrying about how to meet Dugu Bo. Now that I know Dugu Yan, I at least have a path forward."

His mind had already begun to calculate how to use Dugu Yan to approach Dugu Bo and obtain the Immortal Herb he desired.

Lu Fan lay on the bed, his mind constantly pondering his next plan.

"Developing feelings over time is certainly wonderful, but unfortunately, I can only be out for a month at most, and that includes the time for the return journey."

Lu Fan shook his head and stopped thinking about it.

Often, compared to meticulous planning, Lu Fan preferred to take things one step at a time.

After all, thinking too much would only lead to his own anxiety.

At night, seeing that Lu Fan was lost in thought, neither cultivating nor sleeping, the guard at his side tactfully reminded him: "Young Master Lu Fan, that girl is likely the granddaughter of Poison Douluo, and Poison Douluo and His Excellency Elder Ju do not get along..."

Lu Fan nodded: "I know. You don't need to worry about that; I have my own plans."

He also had the means to keep Dugu Bo in check.

He had long since prepared a contingency.

Those in Martial Soul Hall who were familiar with him knew he would be out for a month at most.

If he didn't return after a month, it might be because he was delayed by a few days of play.

But if the delay became too long, to the point where even the two guards by Lu Fan's side went missing without a trace, the implications would be very clear.

Lu Fan was not stupid; he was well aware of the grudge between Yue Guan and Dugu Bo.

But he also knew what Dugu Bo's weakness was.

It was his last remaining family member, Dugu Yan.

And the contingency he left behind was that letter.

Before leaving, Lu Fan had handed the letter to the maid who always took care of him.

"Keep this letter safe. Return it to me when I come back in a month."

"As you command."

And in his letter, he had written only three words:

[Dugu Bo]

In the event that he did not return after a month.

Yue Guan would certainly interrogate those who served Lu Fan.

And this maidservant would likely produce the letter.

Hmm, regarding this, even Lu Fan could not guarantee that the maidservant wouldn't forget.

Therefore, for the sake of his own safety, he had actually written more than one letter.

He hadn't entrusted them to just one person, either.

By handing them to several people, once one person revealed the letter, it would trigger a chain reaction.

At that point, the others would inevitably produce their letters as well.

Seeing several letters all addressed to Dugu Bo, even if Yue Guan were a fool, he would know this matter concerned Dugu Bo.

Even if he couldn't kill Dugu Bo, killing Dugu Yan would be no problem at all.

After all, strictly speaking, if it truly came to that, it would be Dugu Bo who broke the rules first.

Although doing this made Lu Fan seem quite wicked, there was simply no other way.

When it involved his own life, Lu Fan could not afford to be careless.

The purpose of these letters was not merely to have Yue Guan avenge him should he meet with an accident.

These letters were also a trump card: if Dugu Bo truly hated Yue Guan so much that he intended to kill him, he could use them to save his own life.

As for whether he would encounter other dangers along the way, Lu Fan felt it unlikely.

The timing he had chosen was quite good.

Tang San was still in Nuoding City, and he wouldn't be going near Nuoding City, so there was no reason he would run into Tang Hammer.

With no Title Douluo appearing, he had two Soul Saints by his side, one Power Attack type and one Agility Attack type.

Even if a Soul Douluo were to strike, it would be difficult to guarantee they could kill him.

In a sense, everything was prepared.

The rest would have to be left to fate.

The next day, when they met again, the Imperial Dou Team had four more members.

Qin Ming enthusiastically introduced them to Lu Fan.

"These are the brothers Shi Mo and Shi Mo, our Imperial Dou Team's Defense type Soul Masters. This is Yu Feng, and this one is Osler; they are both Agility Attack type Soul Grand Masters of our Imperial Dou Team."

Lu Fan merely nodded at these people.

However, the brothers Shi Mo and Shi Mo

were definitely talents worth molding.

The two brothers possessed identical Martial Souls and were blood brothers.

If cultivated properly, forming a Martial Soul Fusion Skill would not be difficult.

Qin Ming announced to the group, "Next, we will head to Suotuo City together. Lu Fan is my junior, and he will be traveling with us."

The others had no objections upon hearing this.

They would at least give Qin Ming that much face.

The group rented four carriages.

Lu Fan and his guards took one, Qin Ming, Yu Tianheng, and Yu Feng took one, Shi Mo, Shi Mo, and Osler took one.

Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan, the two girls, shared a carriage.

Qin Ming paid for the carriage.

"Since you gave up your room yesterday, it is only natural for me as your senior to show some appreciation. Rest assured, the academy reimburses all our travel expenses; I am merely covering the costs upfront for now."

Seeing this, Lu Fan said nothing more.

He accepted it with peace of mind.

With two Soul Saints and one Soul Emperor guarding them, and the fact that they traveled exclusively along the main imperial roads, they did not encounter any short-sighted troublemakers along the way.

However, the journey was long, and since the group was in no rush and traveled at a leisurely pace, it took them a full four days to finally reach Suotuo City.

During these four days, in their spare time, the top students of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy had challenged Lu Fan.

Although Lu Fan held back, even Yu Tianheng could only admit defeat.