"All right, we'll have plenty of time from here on out. I hope everyone can get along and cultivate together!"
Teacher Yu checked the time and said, "Next, there's a Martial Arts Class. Dugu Yan, go with them to the Martial Arts Class classroom. Um... Dugu Xiaoxuan, take your older sister with you."
"My older sister?" Dugu Xiaoxuan's eyes widened. "So you really are my sister?"
Beside her, Dugu Xiaoxuan's younger brother, Dugu Xiaobai, also stared wide-eyed. "No way! Sis, why did you come to our school? You even enrolled? Are you messing with us?"
"Big sister, are you really their older sister?"
"Whoa! That legendary genius!"
The students were instantly full of curiosity. They all looked over, puzzled, and began whispering about the once peerless prodigy, Dugu Yan.
Dugu Yan looked a little awkward and gave an embarrassed smile.
Teacher Yu said, "Let Dugu Yan explain this to you herself."
A moment later, just before Martial Arts Class began, everyone gathered around Dugu Yan as if she were the moon surrounded by stars.
Dugu Xiaobai studied her for a long while, then asked suspiciously, "You're not my sister, are you?"
"Ha... haha... you figured it out?" Dugu Yan laughed awkwardly.
"So you really aren't my sister!" Dugu Xiaobai looked as if he'd known it all along.
Beside him, Dugu Xiaoxuan looped her arm through Dugu Yan's and stared at her in utter shock. "What? You're not my sister? That can't be right!"
Dugu Xiaobai explained confidently, "I couldn't feel that bloodline suppression! Besides, she feels like she has a very low Soul Power Level!"
"Heh, you've got some nerve saying that." Dugu Xiaoxuan rolled her eyes at Dugu Xiaobai, then looked at Dugu Yan. "Then who are you? Why do you look exactly like my sister? It's just your hairstyle and eye color that are a little different!"
Dugu Yan explained, "Actually... there's no reason to hide it. You know about the Immortal Court building the World-Crossing Gate and the Otherworld Expedition Project, right?"
"I... I know!" Dugu Xiaoxuan was startled, and a flood of information quickly clicked into place in her mind. Her grandfather had even taken part in the Otherworld Expedition Project. How could she not know about it?
"Actually, I come from another world. The Immortal Court named the world I'm from Douluo World No. 1! I'm the doppelganger of your older sister, Dugu Yan!"
"Hiss..."
"That's amazing!"
The curious students all drew in sharp breaths. They were looking at a living person from another world!
Dugu Yan smiled. "You're the amazing ones. At the Immortal Court, you're thirteen or fourteen, yet you're much stronger than I was at twenty!"
Dugu Xiaoxuan asked, "Did Grandpa send you to this world? Do my parents know? And why didn't they tell us beforehand?"
"Ah, I asked your parents not to tell you. I wanted to surprise you!"
"Oh, I see."
Just then, a tiny soul spirit suddenly appeared on one student's shoulder.
"A Soul Spirit!" Dugu Yan cried out.
The student smiled. "That's right, this is my Soul Spirit, a White Armored Earth Dragon! My Martial Soul is a White Armored Earth Dragon, too."
After the White Armored Earth Dragon popped out, it tilted its little head and stared curiously at Dugu Yan.
At that moment, Dugu Yan's Earth Dragon Soul Spirit emerged from her sea of consciousness, too. Perched on her shoulder, it propped its little chin on its tiny dragon claw and spoke in the tone of an elder addressing a youngster. "Not bad! Your bloodline concentration is decent, but your intelligence is a little lacking. You can't even talk."
"Hiss! A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Spirit!"
"Let me introduce him. He's my Earth Dragon Soul Spirit, and he really does have a hundred thousand years of cultivation!"
Earth Dragon added, "I'm a pure-blooded dragon!"
His bloodline rank wasn't particularly high, but he really was a pure-blooded dragon.
"Hiss..." Everyone was still in shock when someone exclaimed, "Doesn't that mean you have a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone?"
Dugu Yan answered openly, "That's right! My fourth Soul Ring is a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, and I also have a hundred-thousand-year trunk bone."
In Douluo World No. 1, even an eight-thousand-year-old Head Soul Bone had to be kept under wraps! Without a powerful background, anyone who revealed a Soul Bone would be coveted by others. They could die in some deserted corner one day without anyone ever finding out.
But this was the Immortal Court. Dugu Yan had already learned some basic customs and laws these past few days! There was no need to hide any Soul Bone or other asset. She could speak openly about them without worrying that anyone would covet them, because the law protected everyone's private property!
This place wasn't a land of dreams, but to Dugu Yan, it was every bit as good as one!
At that moment, Dugu Yan had just one wish: to wait!
To wait for the World-Crossing Gate to be built in Douluo World No. 1, and for her biological grandfather to come to the Immortal Court! Every night, Dugu Yan dreamed of that moment! And she missed her grandfather.
Douluo World No. 1.
Qian Pingchuan found a pair of God Tier External Soul Bones at the bottom of the thousand-meter-deep pool: the Ice and Fire Wings! After absorbing the two Soul Bones, his Soul Power successfully broke through from level 68 to level 70!
The Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor right leg bone had raised his Soul Power by two levels, and the External Soul Bone had raised it again to level 70!
Then he condensed a Seventh Soul Ring with a limit of 150,000 years, breaking through to level 71!
Ozka exclaimed, "Damn! Your Soul Power is increasing way too fast!"
"It's all thanks to the Soul Bones," Qian Pingchuan said with a smile. "But my Soul Power is rising too quickly, and my foundation's a little unstable. I'll have to suppress my Soul Power Level for a while. Then, once my Martial Path and Immortal Path cultivation catch up, I can slowly resume cultivating."
Beside him, Zhu Zhuqing had refined a Creation Pill and condensed a ten-thousand-year third Soul Ring, bringing her Soul Power to level 36! She appeared calm, but inside she was just as envious. At the same time, her longing for self-condensed Soul Rings grew even stronger!
"All right, does anyone have anything else to take care of? We should head back," Qian Pingchuan asked.
The medicinal fields had been planted, Dugu Bo's Martial Soul Evolution and Soul Core condensation were complete, Zhu Zhuqing had her Creation Pill and ten-thousand-year fourth Soul Ring, Feng Xiaodi had his 220,000-year ninth Soul Ring, and the External Soul Bones from the bottom of the pool and Qian Pingchuan's Seventh Soul Ring had all been dealt with!
Dugu Xue spoke up. "Xiong Jun, I'll leave His Highness's safety in your hands for the time being. Now that the Soul Bones in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well have been taken, its energy will run dry before long. This old man needs to stay here to stabilize its energy and set up a high-level Spirit Gathering Array."
"Don't worry. With me here, no one can hurt the Third Prince."
An hour later, the group returned to Dugu Manor.
Qian Pingchuan made a plan and began assigning tasks. "Everyone, Senior Dugu has told me about the latest arrangements and intelligence. Our most important task right now is still gathering all kinds of rare metals to build the World-Crossing Gate! But this isn't something we can accomplish in a day or two!"
"In the meantime, I've decided to bring some geniuses from Douluo World No. 1 into the Immortal Court! That'll not only expand the Immortal Court's influence but also speed up the collection of rare metals."
Bringing people from other worlds into the Immortal Court was a policy that had to be carried through from the very beginning.
"At the same time, funding is crucial. The Soul Tools and cultivation techniques you auctioned off earlier were just a drop in the bucket! So I've decided to refine pills! My Soul Power has risen too quickly, and I need to let it settle. I might as well use this opportunity to refine some pills!"
Hearing this, Feng Xiaodi asked, "Then what kind of pills should we refine? I visited the medicinal market recently. The herbs there are decent quality, but there aren't many of them—not enough for large-scale pill refining. Raising funds by refining pills will be difficult!"
Qian Pingchuan smiled. "Have you forgotten a crucial body-strengthening medicinal ingredient? It hasn't been discovered for what it truly is in this world, and there's a whole lot of it!"
"What ingredient?"
"Whale Rubber!"
"Whale Rubber?" Zhu Zhuqing frowned at once, thoroughly disgusted. She hadn't known about this medicinal ingredient to begin with, but she had a lecherous fiancé, so she'd been forced to learn about its effects: it boosted virility!
Yu Tianshu suddenly understood and laughed. "Hahaha! Third Prince, how do you know there's so much Whale Rubber in this world? Tell everyone!"
"Uh..."
Qian Pingchuan's smug smile froze on his face. He shot Yu Tianshu a speechless sidelong glance.
Beside them, Hu Lieni thought it over, then agreed. "If the people in this world really haven't discovered Whale Rubber's true use, then there should indeed be plenty of it here! If we refine all of it into pills, it'll cover half the funding needed to build the World-Crossing Gate!"
"Um... what exactly does Whale Rubber do?" Xiao Wu asked innocently.
Hu Lieni explained, "Whale Rubber can improve a Soul Master's physical fitness, allowing them to absorb Soul Rings beyond their usual limit! It's an excellent ingredient for refining Body Refining Pills!"
After hearing this, Zhu Zhuqing's disgust toward Whale Rubber slowly faded. So Whale Rubber has an effect like that? Just as I thought! In a lecher's eyes, it's something to boost virility! But in the hands of someone with skill, it's the finest ingredient for refining pills!
Qian Pingchuan spoke up. "All right, for the time being, everyone can stay in Heaven Dou City. While buying up Whale Rubber, we'll also need to purchase some supporting medicinal ingredients. As for the other cities farther away, Senior Dugu, I'll leave that to you."
"Very well. I'll make the arrangements and won't hold everyone back."
Feng Xiaodi suddenly said, "And Soul Bones! Douluo World No. 1 has Soul Bones everywhere. The great sects have many inherited Soul Bones, too. They're an opportunity for us."
"Do you mean these?" Xiong Jun spread his hand, and six Soul Bones appeared before everyone.
"Hiss! Let me see..." Feng Xiaodi examined them closely and exclaimed, "A thirty-thousand-year Head Soul Bone! An eighty-thousand-year trunk bone! A fifty-thousand-year right arm bone, a seventy-thousand-year left leg bone, a thirty-thousand-year right leg bone, and a twenty-thousand-year left arm bone! Gulp... So many high-year Soul Bones! Bear Venerable, where did you get these? Would you sell them?"
As he spoke, Feng Xiaodi couldn't help drawing in a sharp breath.
Xiong Jun waved his hand dismissively and explained, "That Clear Sky Douluo—I killed him! I hadn't planned to kill him at first, but when I saw the Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor right leg bone, I suddenly remembered that Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts always produce Soul Bones! Tang Hao hadn't managed to absorb the Soul Bone from the Blue Silver Emperor's sacrifice! Didn't that mean he had all six Soul Bones on him? So I killed him while I was at it. He got what he deserved!"
Before you continue