Yang Wudi's eyes went wide when he heard the name Bibi Dong.
"I say, Little Monster, how are you so good with words? Are you trying to disgust me on purpose?"
Su Yuntao smiled. "Old Yang, you can't deny that what I said is true."
Yang Wudi was instantly left speechless. Su Yuntao wasn't wrong: Bibi Dong's Death Spider Emperor Martial Soul was indeed a cut above Dugu Bo's Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor.
Night fell, and Dugu Bo held a grand banquet to celebrate the successful refinement of the Detoxification Pill.
The estate bestowed by the Heaven Dou Emperor was ablaze with light. Servants carried in all sorts of exquisite dishes and set the banquet tables in orderly fashion.
After sending the servants away, the three old friends—Dugu Bo, Su Yuntao, and Yang Wudi—drank all kinds of fine wine and feasted on an array of dishes, enjoying themselves immensely.
"Little Monster, what is your Soul Power Level, exactly? That wondrous artifact of yours conceals your aura so well that even I, a Titled Douluo, can't see through it!" Dugu Bo asked curiously.
"Oh? Old Poison, do you really want to know?"
"Of course. I want to see just how strange you, Little Monster, really are."
"Exactly!" Yang Wudi chimed in. "Little Monster, you revealed a Soul Power Level of fifty-one at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, but I've always felt you were hiding something. You've got a top-grade artifact that conceals your Soul Power fluctuations, so I'd guess you're around level fifty-three or fifty-four."
Su Yuntao smiled faintly. "Old Poison, Old Yang, take a guess at my actual Soul Power Level."
Yang Wudi furrowed his brow. "Little Monster, I think you're level fifty-four."
Dugu Bo spoke up. "I think he's higher than that. I'd say level fifty-five or fifty-six."
A hint of a smile appeared at the corner of Su Yuntao's mouth. Then a surge of Soul Power emerged, no weaker than Yang Wudi's or Dugu Bo's.
In an instant, the room fell silent. In the brightly lit hall, Dugu Bo and Yang Wudi's expressions froze completely. Their eyes went vacant, their chests heaved, their mouths gaped wide enough to fit several eggs, and even their bodies trembled slightly.
After a long while, Dugu Bo stood and grabbed Su Yuntao's wrist. The moment he did, his pupils contracted sharply.
"Level sixty! Level sixty at fourteen!" Dugu Bo gasped, struggling to steady himself.
Yang Wudi trembled and rose to his feet as well. Once he confirmed this unbelievable truth, his mind went blank, and he nearly collapsed to the floor.
Su Yuntao smiled. "Old Poison, Old Yang, given your strength and experience, surely this isn't enough to shock you like this?"
Dugu Bo and Yang Wudi looked at each other, exchanging helpless glances, on the verge of tears.
"Little Monster!" Dugu Bo said with a bitter smile. "Do you know what level sixty at fourteen means? In the ten thousand years of Douluo Continent's history, no monster like you has ever appeared. I don't even know how to describe you. 'Prodigy' doesn't do you justice!"
Yang Wudi sighed. "Little Monster, when I was your age, I'd only just broken through level thirty. If word got out that you were level sixty at fourteen, the entire continent would go mad!"
Su Yuntao said calmly, "Actually, I don't have much talent. I had help from an outside force, which is how I made it this far."
Dugu Bo and Yang Wudi nearly spat up blood.
"Little Monster, if you call that a lack of talent, then what does that make us? One of us is a Titled Douluo and the other a Soul Douluo, but compared to you, our talent is worthless."
Su Yuntao sighed. "Old Poison, Old Yang, honestly, my talent really is far inferior to yours."
"Hmph! Little Monster, you're rubbing salt in the wound. You're fourteen with level sixty Soul Power, and you're sitting here pretending to be modest. Are you trying to disgust the two of us on purpose?"
"All right, Old Poison, Old Yang. Let's keep drinking. We'll drop the subject."
"Alas!" Dugu Bo sighed, questioning his life. "With a monster like Little Monster around, the current younger generation on Douluo Continent is going to be crushed."
Yang Wudi nodded. "The previous generation of young people had already made our lot feel ashamed of ourselves. And now a monster like Little Monster has appeared. The waves of the Yangtze truly drive the waves ahead!"
Su Yuntao smiled. "Tang Hao and Bibi Dong from the previous generation were indeed formidable, but I'm now somewhat confident I can surpass them."
Dugu Bo smiled bitterly. "Little Monster, there's no need to be modest. With your talent, even Pope Bibi Dong can't compare to you. I imagine all the young Soul Masters in this edition of the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Elite Tournament will become stepping-stones beneath your feet."
"No matter how outstanding, how powerful, or how hard they work, they're destined to serve as your foil!"
Su Yuntao smiled. "Old Poison, taking part in the Soul Master Elite Tournament doesn't really mean much to me. I'm not interested in becoming famous."
Dugu Bo nodded. "That's fine too. The tournament's rewards are certainly generous, but keeping a low profile is a good choice as well. Those who stand out too much are bound to draw unwanted attention."
Wait! Su Yuntao remembered the Soul Master Elite Tournament four years from now. The prizes for this edition seemed to be three Ten Thousand Year Soul Bones. The best one was even a rare Mental-type Head Wisdom Soul Bone, over fifty thousand years old.
"Old Poison, actually, I think I'd better take part in this edition of the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Elite Tournament."
Dugu Bo looked at him doubtfully. "Little Monster, didn't you just say you didn't want to compete and weren't interested in becoming famous?"
Su Yuntao replied calmly, "I've changed my mind."
"Pfft!" Yang Wudi's face flushed red as he coughed repeatedly, clearly choking on his drink.
"Little Monster, you're way too blunt," Dugu Bo said, his face twitching.
Over the past three months, Dugu Bo and Yang Wudi had been repeatedly blindsided by Su Yuntao's way of speaking, which came from another time and place.
Su Yuntao said easily, "Old Poison, you know what I'm like. Aren't you and Old Yang having a good time?"
"That's true." Dugu Bo and Yang Wudi had to admit that Su Yuntao could be pretty amusing at times.
"In that case, why not pick a top-tier Soul Master Academy to enroll in, Little Monster? Four years from now, you can crush that so-called Golden Generation from Spirit Hall and get me some payback."
Su Yuntao nodded. "Old Poison, that's exactly what I had in mind. Since you're a guest elder of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, having you act as the go-between will make things much easier."
"Then what do you think of Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Little Monster?"
Su Yuntao shook his head. "I'm not interested."
Dugu Bo continued, "Heaven Dou Royal Academy really is in decline. Though it claims to be the number one Soul Master Academy in the Heaven Dou Empire, it became a laughingstock at the last tournament."
Before you continue