"Hahahaha! I was wondering what sort of difficult matter it was!"
Xue Ye threw back his head and laughed, agreeing without a moment's hesitation:
"Forget three items—even ten would be no problem!
Since you're choosing for your granddaughter, naturally you should pick the very best!
Qinghe!"
"Your son is here."
Xue Qinghe hurried forward and bowed in response.
"Take my decree at once and accompany Senior Dugu and Miss Dugu to the imperial treasury."
Xue Ye spoke with grand confidence:
"From the first floor to the third, let Senior choose whatever he likes. No one is to interfere!"
"Your son obeys."
Xue Qinghe lowered her head to accept the order, but a trace of disdain flickered deep in her eyes.
She had long since turned the Heaven Dou Treasury upside down under the pretext of acting as regent.
Aside from that one somewhat unusual item, she considered everything inside to be junk.
That Old Poison Freak had such shallow tastes.
Still, this was for the best. Someone greedy and grasping was easier to control than a stubborn old bone who wouldn't bend for anything.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Dugu Bo gave a slight cupped-hand salute, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.
Meanwhile, within his Sea of Consciousness, Yu Nan's enormous Dragon Soul was tumbling about in excitement:
"Good! Well done!
The Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud is an item that carries the Sea God's Godhood Inheritance!
Keeping that thing in the hands of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family is sheer waste. Only in Yan Yan's hands can it show its true worth!"
"Old Poison Freak, once we're inside, follow my instructions.
That thing has a spirit. Ordinary people can't detect what makes it special; they'll only think it's a slightly harder, beat-up shroud."
Dugu Bo silently sneered.
Xue Ye, oh, Xue Ye. You think you've come out ahead?
When this old man carries off your nation's treasure, don't come crying when it's too late!
"Yan Yan, come with Grandpa."
Dugu Bo called to her, then strode along behind Xue Qinghe with Dugu Yan, swaggering toward the imperial treasury.
At that moment, Dugu Yan's heart couldn't help beating a little faster.
If they really found the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud—
They'd hit the jackpot!
On the way to the imperial treasury, towering palace walls rose on either side, and guards stood watch everywhere.
Xue Qinghe walked at the front, her steps steady and her back straight.
Dugu Bo and his granddaughter followed behind. They appeared to be admiring the palace scenery, but in truth, they were having a secret conversation that concerned their future.
Dugu Yan watched Xue Qinghe's confident back, but unease still lingered in her heart.
After all, this was a legendary divine artifact. The Heaven Dou Imperial Family had possessed it for so many years without discovering anything unusual. Could it really be such an astonishing treasure?
"Senior..."
Unable to hold back any longer, Dugu Yan asked in her Sea of Consciousness, her voice tinged with nervous uncertainty:
"Is the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud really a divine artifact?
Could it just be a slightly more powerful Soul Tool?
Even an enormous power like the Heaven Dou Imperial Family only thinks it's a hard shroud..."
"Hmph. They're just blind."
Yu Nan's lazy voice answered at once, brimming with unshakable confidence:
"I'll stake my Dragon Soul on it: that is an absolutely genuine divine artifact!
And within it dwells a wisp of the Sea God's Divine Sense."
At this, Yu Nan's tone grew more serious, and his words took on an enticing weight:
"Yan Yan, you need to understand that divine artifacts have spirits and choose their own masters.
As long as your aptitude is good enough and you earn the recognition of that wisp of the Sea God's Divine Sense, the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud will willingly accept you as its master.
Then you'll have the chance to go to Sea God Island and begin the Nine Trials of the Sea God!"
"The Nine Trials of the Sea God?"
Dugu Yan's heart skipped a beat.
"That's right."
Yu Nan assured her with absolute confidence:
"Once you pass the trials, the Sea God's First-Level Godhood will be yours for the taking!
Then you'll be a new god on this continent, standing above all living things!"
Hearing Yu Nan's firm assurance, Dugu Yan's anxious heart finally settled.
The excitement ebbed like a receding tide, replaced by a resolve she had never felt before.
To become a god!
It was the ultimate goal that countless Soul Masters didn't even dare dream of, and now it was suddenly within her reach!
Yet just as her elation began to subside, Dugu Yan's gaze fell on the slightly stooped, dark green figure ahead.
That was her grandfather, Dugu Bo.
For her, Grandpa had been willing to set aside his pride and agree to become a guest elder of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family;
For her, Grandpa had dared to provoke the infamous Clear Sky Douluo;
And for her, at his age, Grandpa was still laboring tirelessly for the future of their family.
A faint light flickered in Dugu Yan's eyes—gratitude, and worry.
If she became a god one day and gained endless life, what about Grandpa?
Though Grandpa was a Titled Douluo, his lifespan was limited. Without a Godhood Inheritance, in a hundred years he would still end as a handful of yellow earth.
At that thought, the calm she had just regained grew heavy once more.
"Senior..."
Dugu Yan asked carefully in her heart, her tone carrying a glimmer of hope:
"Since you know about the Sea God's inheritance item...
Do you know of any others?
A treasure like the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud, or some other way...
Could my grandpa inherit a godhood too?"
In her Sea of Consciousness, Yu Nan fell silent for a moment.
Perhaps he was thinking, or perhaps he was searching through his vast memories.
After a long while, he finally spoke, his voice touched with a wry smile:
"I do know of a few.
Besides the Sea God, there are hidden opportunities on this continent connected to the Asura God, the Rakshasa God, the Angel God, and others..."
Dugu Yan's eyes brightened at this.
But Yu Nan immediately doused her hopes with a bucket of cold water:
"But Yan Yan, you need to understand one thing.
When gods choose successors, what they value most is talent and potential.
Your grandfather may be a Titled Douluo, but among Titled Douluos, his aptitude... to be frank, isn't exceptional."
"In fact, if I hadn't appeared, he would still be one of the weakest Titled Douluos around."
Yu Nan's words were harsh, but they were true.
If not for his poison skills, Dugu Bo's strength in a head-on fight really would have fallen short of that of other Titled Douluos.
"To get those lofty gods to choose Old Poison Freak and open a divine trial for him...
That'd be like asking a rooster to lay an egg. Difficult—far too difficult."
The light in Dugu Yan's eyes dimmed at once, and a deep sense of disappointment welled up inside her.
Was Grandpa destined to go no further?
After she became a god, would she have to watch helplessly as Grandpa grew old and passed away?
The pain of achieving immortality only to suffer the loss of a loved one—it was suffocating just to imagine.
"Is there really... nothing we can do?"
Dugu Yan's voice caught in her throat, thick with unwillingness:
"Senior, you have such incredible powers. There must be a way, right?
Even if the trials are impossibly difficult, as long as there's a chance, I'll help Grandpa fight for it!"
Before you continue