Tang San's voice was full of stirring conviction.
Yet deep in his heart, an even bolder voice was echoing.
Merge? No. Absorb them.
When that day comes, Shrek will surely surpass Blue Silver. I'll make this place Shrek's true home ground!
The other six had no idea what Tang San was thinking. Hearing his words, they immediately perked up.
"That's right! San is right!"
"We'll prove with our strength who the continent's number one academy is!"
The crowd grew fired up, their confidence restored.
Zhu Zhuqing's cool voice rang out. "How do we get in? Rongrong... she should be inside now."
Tang San nodded.
"Mm. Let's find Ning Rongrong first."
"I'll go in and find Rongrong. Wait here."
Tang San gave the others a brief instruction, then headed straight for the Blue Silver Academy's gates.
Sunset Forest, central region.
Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.
Chen Xuan's figure appeared without a sound. Beside him stood Poison Douluo, Dugu Bo, his expression complicated.
As he gazed at the spring before him, half of it blazing like magma and half of it frozen like black ice, Dugu Bo's heart was in turmoil.
He could never have imagined that the treasured ground he had occupied for decades—
If his granddaughter Dugu Yan's Martial Soul hadn't evolved because of it, he would have been distressed long ago.
"Senior, what exactly did you bring me here for?"
In the end, Dugu Bo couldn't hold back his curiosity.
Chen Xuan didn't look at him. His gaze rested calmly on the swaying stalk of Blue Silver Grass at the center of the spring.
That was Ah Yin's true form.
"No need to ask."
Chen Xuan's voice was quiet, betraying no emotion.
Dugu Bo's heart tightened.
From that even tone, he sensed an authority that brooked no argument.
This senior's strength was unfathomable, and even his precious granddaughter had willingly taken him as her master.
He was merely an ordinary Titled Douluo. Better to say less and look less.
"Yes. This junior spoke out of turn."
Dugu Bo obediently fell silent and stood respectfully to one side.
Only then did Chen Xuan nod in satisfaction.
He turned his wrist, and light shimmered from his Storage Soul Tool.
In the next moment, a pile of rare treasures appeared out of thin air on the ground, gleaming with colorful light and radiating immense vitality and Soul Power.
Boom!
An aura of incomparably pure energy swept through the entire valley!
The air around the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well grew viscous under the influence of this tremendous energy.
Dugu Bo's eyes widened like bells, and his breath caught in his throat.
His gaze was glued to the pile of treasures, unable to move away.
"This... this is... a hundred-thousand-year Blood Spirit Ginseng?!"
His voice trembled violently with excitement as he pointed at a blood-red ginseng shaped like a baby.
A crimson glow flowed over the ginseng, and its dense life force was almost tangible!
"And that one... that's the Vast Sea Pearl! It's a hundred thousand years old, too!
The legendary treasure that only the overlord of the deep sea could give birth to!"
Dugu Bo's gaze shifted to a fist-sized pearl radiating a deep blue light, and his heart pounded wildly.
His eyes continued to travel over the pile.
"Nine-Rank Purple Ganoderma... Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow... Earth Dragon Golden Melon..."
Each treasure he recognized struck his mind like a hammer blow.
Any one of these would be enough to set the entire continent ablaze with bloodshed. They were peerless treasures that even Titled Douluo would risk their lives for!
Yet now, these legendary treasures were piled carelessly on the ground like cabbages by the roadside.
Dugu Bo felt his entire worldview crumble in that instant.
He had lived for many years and considered himself well-traveled and knowledgeable, but the scene before him was beyond anything he could imagine.
Just who... was this senior?
Even the Spirit Hall treasury probably couldn't match half of this, could it?
As Dugu Bo reeled, his mind completely blank, Chen Xuan casually picked up a translucent leg bone from the pile. It glimmered with an inky green light, and he tossed it toward Dugu Bo.
"Take this."
Dugu Bo instinctively reached out and caught it. It felt warm in his hand, and a surging wave of Soul Power flooded his senses.
A Soul Bone!
And a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone!
Dugu Bo's hand shook in fright. He nearly dropped the Soul Bone.
He held it as if it were a volcano, utterly stunned.
"Se-Senior... this... this is far too precious! I'm unworthy of accepting it!"
Overwhelmed by the unexpected favor, Dugu Bo hurried to return the Soul Bone.
This was the treasure every Soul Master dreamed of. In his entire life, he had only obtained one by chance, and it was the lowest-quality skull.
But this right leg bone was exceptionally high quality. The Soul Power it contained was astonishing!
Chen Xuan glanced at him and said coolly,
"This is just an ordinary item among the things I have."
"Take it. Consider it payment for offering this treasured place."
Dugu Bo froze.
He looked down at the Soul Bone in his hands and examined its aura closely.
The aura clearly came from a poisonous Soul Beast with a cultivation of at least eighty thousand years!
An eighty-thousand-year Soul Bone!
And this... was just ordinary?
Dugu Bo was utterly speechless.
He felt his understanding being ground into the dirt all over again.
Compared to this senior, his prized collection and wealth were nothing but a joke.
"Step aside for a while."
Chen Xuan's voice rang out again.
Dugu Bo came to his senses as if waking from a dream. He carefully put the Soul Bone into his Soul Tool, then bowed deeply to Chen Xuan.
"Yes! This junior will keep watch outside. If you need anything, just call for me!"
With that, he didn't dare linger for another moment. He turned and hurried out of the valley.
Once he was beyond the bounds of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, Dugu Bo stopped and looked back at the valley shrouded in thick mist, his heart still tossed by stormy waves.
Curiosity clawed at him like a cat.
The senior had brought out so many rare treasures and sent him away. What exactly was he planning to do?
Could he be refining some miraculous divine pill that would shake the heavens and earth?
The thought flashed through his mind. Unable to resist, he urged his Soul Power and extended his spiritual perception toward the valley, hoping to find out.
But the moment his mental strength touched the edge of the valley, it was as though he had slammed into an invisible yet indestructible wall. It rebounded instantly!
"Urgh!"
Dugu Bo grunted. A stabbing pain shot through his brain, and his face turned deathly pale.
His eyes filled with shock.
What a powerful barrier!
The mental strength of a dignified Titled Douluo couldn't even get close!
"As expected of Senior... his methods truly reach the heavens."
Dugu Bo abandoned all thought of peeking and obediently sat cross-legged, protecting Chen Xuan while he worked.
Within the valley.
An invisible energy barrier completely cut the place off from the outside world.
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