"Why did you come back so quickly? Have you finished what you needed to do in the Central Plains?"
Liu Bai smiled and nodded, letting Hai Bodong take his hand and look him over from top to bottom.
"Mm, I came back to handle something. I thought I'd visit Elder Hai first."
His gaze swept over Hai Bodong, and a trace of surprise flashed through his eyes.
"Elder Hai, it seems you haven't slacked off these past two years. Your cultivation has actually reached the Peak Dou Emperor."
Hai Bodong laughed heartily at that, stroking his beard as he spoke.
"Isn't it all thanks to the pills you gave me? That Spirit Recovery Purple Pill made up for all the losses I suffered before, and the Imperial Pole Pill directly allowed me to break through to the Seven-Star Dou Emperor. I haven't been idle these past two years either. With the auxiliary pills you left behind, I barely managed to reach the Peak Dou Emperor."
He paused, then shook his head with a smile.
"Still, this speed is already considered slow. Compared to you, boy, it isn't worth mentioning."
Liu Bai smiled.
"Elder Hai need not be modest. Your foundation is deep and your accumulation substantial. Now that your reserves have finally borne fruit, it may not be long before you become a Dou Zong. At that point, you'll be the Jia Ma Empire's third Dou Zong."
Hai Bodong froze.
"The third? Who are the other two?"
Liu Bai merely smiled without answering.
The first two he referred to were naturally Yun Shan and Jia Xingtian.
Just then, his Soul Power had clearly detected Jia Xingtian's aura. It was at the Dou Zong level. Jia Xingtian was currently in secluded cultivation deep within the Imperial Palace, his aura calm and