Dugu Bo's heart was full of regret. Level 99! The true summit of the Soul Master's path. He had only ever heard of two people reaching it.
They were known as the Two Peaks, meaning that they were two heights in the Soul Master World that no one could surpass.
One was Tang Chen, the first Sect Master of the Clear Sky Sect, who had vanished without a trace. The other was Qian Daoliu of Spirit Hall, who had shown himself six years ago.
Although Dugu Bo no longer suffered from the backlash of poison, he knew that without some great opportunity, even reaching Level 96 would be wishful thinking in this lifetime.
"What are you sighing for?"
"Is it really that big a deal? I just won't take you as my master. Why do you look so mournful?"
Ling Yun waved his hand in front of Dugu Bo's face. Dugu Bo brushed it aside and said, "Don't flatter yourself!"
"It has a little to do with you, but not much!"
"I was just lamenting that I'll never get the chance to see the scenery from up high!"
Ling Yun understood at once. It was the helplessness that came from comparing one's self-image with reality—the regret of knowing that no matter how hard one worked, even if one never slept, one still couldn't reach the goal.
"You're a Titled Douluo. Have some confidence! Show the spirit of daring to stand shoulder to shoulder with the heavens!"
"This old man knows his limits. I don't need you to comfort me!"
"You'll have to go see that scenery for me! And my Yanyan, too! I'll support the two of you with everything I have."
"I'm getting old. That makes it easy to grow sentimental!"
Dugu Bo settled his emotions and brightened up again. At that moment, the saying that contentment brings happiness became a living truth.
"You should go see it yourself!"
Ling Yun took out a Heaven-Seizing Creation Pill and put it in Dugu Bo's hand.
Dugu Bo wasn't stupid. Ling Yun's last words, together with the pill gleaming with precious light in his hand, gave him an unreal feeling.
"Can this little pill give me a chance to glimpse the scenery of a Limit Douluo?"
Dugu Bo was full of disbelief. Ling Yun had once again shattered everything he thought he knew. How could this be possible?
If Ling Yun himself weren't so mysterious, Dugu Bo would never have even considered it.
Sometimes, he even wondered if Ling Yun had come from beyond the Douluo Continent.
Perhaps from the legendary Divine Realm!
"You've wasted this treasured land you're sitting on! If you knew even a little about those herbs, you wouldn't ask something like that."
"You know the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, right?"
Dugu Bo nodded. It was Chrysanthemum Guan's Martial Soul, so he knew it well. They had fought before, and Dugu Bo had lost.
"Herbs of the same quality as the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum are what I call Immortal Grade Herbs. Any one of them can defy heaven and change a person's fate."
"Even an ordinary person with no Soul Power can gain Innate Full Soul Power after eating an Immortal Grade Herb, laying the foundation for becoming a Titled Douluo."
"Improving talent and rebuilding one's foundation are only the basic functions of Immortal Grade Herbs. They improve every aspect of a person without any side effects. There's even a certain chance they can trigger Martial Soul Evolution."
"The herbs in your garden could easily create several Titled Douluo. It's an unparalleled treasure land for building a great power."
"And for this Heaven-Seizing Creation Pill, I used six Immortal Grade Herbs, along with many other herbs, to balance the medicinal powers!"
"What?" Dugu Bo was truly stunned this time. His heart ached so much he could barely breathe.
Before he knew what those herbs could do, he hadn't cared at all.
But now Dugu Bo wished he could go back a month and slap his past self. How could he have not asked about the herbs?
"Ah!"
"You brat, that's not honest!"
"Give me eight or ten more pills. Come on, don't make me take them by force."
"Get lost! Go cool off somewhere else. I didn't even make that many!" Ling Yun turned his head aside, looking as if he didn't want Dugu Bo anywhere near him.
Right now, he felt like Taishang Laojun facing Sun Wukong. Dugu Bo had asked for an amount Ling Yun could never hand over.
There were only nine Heaven-Seizing Creation Pills in total. If he really gave them to Dugu Bo, wouldn't he have worked for nothing?
Even though they got along well now, no way.
"If you don't have that many, then you still have some. Give me three more!"
"Ha! Keep dreaming!"
"Two! Just two more! I'll trade you my Ruyi Treasure Pouch."
"A gentleman doesn't take what others treasure! Keep your Ruyi Treasure Pouch and use it to raise snakes. Don't you still have a Nine-Section Jade to take care of?"
"Just give me one more. Surely that's all right! You know I only have one granddaughter. That girl Yanyan lost her mother as soon as she was born, and her father not long after. I'm just an old man, and it hurts my heart."
"My wife died young. My son died, and my daughter-in-law died, too. I want to die as well, but I can't. I still have a granddaughter to care for."
"The little girl was born with the poison of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul. To keep the tragedy from happening again, I've been looking for a solution all this time..."
Dugu Bo set aside the dignity of a Titled Douluo, without the least concern for his image, and poured out the heartache of an old man raising a baby.
As he spoke, he grew more and more caught up in the story. When he reached the saddest part, tears streamed down his face.
Ling Yun didn't interrupt him. He listened in silence. After a long while, the story ended, but Dugu Bo remained lost in his emotions, unable to come back to himself.
Ling Yun thought of his own father, and the mother he had never met. His heart was struck hard.
He patted Dugu Bo on the shoulder and said, "Why get so emotional? Here, take it!"
"Once this pill is taken, it'll push your Soul Power straight to the current major bottleneck. Since you won't have a Soul Ring, the remaining medicinal power will first strengthen your Martial Soul, then strengthen your body. After that, it'll all lie dormant in your dantian."
"The medicinal power hidden in your dantian will gradually be released as you cultivate, accelerating the growth of your Soul Power until it's completely used up!"
"I suggest Dugu Yan wait until she breaks through Level 30 and obtains a Soul Ring before taking it. That way, her Soul Power will shoot straight to Level 40."
Dugu Bo took the pill, his emotions returning to how they'd been at first.
"What happened just now stays between you and me. Only heaven, earth, you, and I will know!"
"What happened? You, a grown man, crying?"
"You little brat, you did that on purpose, didn't you? I'll show you what a Titled Douluo can do!"
Ling Yun's deliberate feigned ignorance made Dugu Bo both embarrassed and angry. He attacked at once, Soul Power Pressure enveloping the area around Ling Yun as he swung a palm at his head.
They were too close, and Dugu Bo's Titled Douluo speed was too fast. He was beyond Ling Yun's reflexes.
"Thwack!"
At some point, Dugu Bo's palm had turned into a flick of his finger. A crisp sound rang out.
"Ow! That hurts like hell!"
Ling Yun covered his head and rubbed it over and over. Dugu Bo had hit him so hard that his ears were still ringing.
"Serves you right! That mouth of yours is always asking for trouble."
"That flick on the head was partly because you needed a good lesson. But it was also a reminder: without the Ice and Fire Spring Water, you're nothing in front of a Titled Douluo."
"Only a genius who grows up is a true genius. Once you leave this place, don't get too full of yourself."
Dugu Bo had met many geniuses. Most of them looked down on everyone else, and only a handful of the lucky ones managed to grow up. To be safe, he gave Ling Yun a warning first.
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