Dugu Bo's words crashed into the still lake like a boulder, sending a thousand ripples across its surface.
The first to react was Dugu Yan, who had just recovered from her embarrassment and anger.
"Grandpa, what are you saying?!"
She stamped her foot, splashing water everywhere. Her pretty face flushed bright red, whether from anger or embarrassment, no one could tell.
Dugu Bo found her coy, indignant manner quite telling.
He was no ordinary man. With age, he'd grown shrewd enough to know what his granddaughter was up to just by the way she stuck out her rear.
The girl had been shouting that she wanted to kill the boy, but deep down, she'd probably already started to feel something for him.
She was just beginning to fall in love, and she hadn't even realized it herself.
Dugu Bo's thoughts raced.
If this boy really had such heaven-defying talent, having him marry into the Dugu Family wouldn't be out of the question.
He wasn't making these three moves as a joke.
Forget an eighteen-year-old Soul Master. Even an ordinary Titled Douluo wouldn't dare claim they could escape unscathed!
The boy before him looked to be about eighteen by his bone age.
If he could truly withstand the attacks, then becoming a Titled Douluo one day would be all but certain.
By then, it would be the Dugu Family who'd be marrying up.
On the shore, Ye Lingling's beautiful eyes were filled with worry and disbelief.
She looked at the figure in the air, as divine as a god, then at the lone boy standing by the lake.
How could anyone withstand three attacks from a Titled Douluo?
Even Dugu Yan herself, after her brief flush of shame and anger, felt something stir inside her.
Of course, she didn't believe Lan could withstand her grandfather's three attacks.
But for some reason, there was a faint, unacknowledged... hope in her heart.
What if he could?
The thought had barely surfaced before she quickly stamped it out.
An eerie silence fell over the lakeside.
Everyone's gaze focused on the boy who hadn't even blinked from the beginning.
Lan knew this battle was unavoidable.
The dignity of a Titled Douluo could not be challenged.
Besides...
For once, a hint of battle intent flared in his eyes.
Ever since leaving the Far North, he had never truly let loose in a fight.
"What's wrong with fighting you?"
Lan's voice was calm, yet every person there heard him clearly.
"I want to know just how strong I am now, too."
His composure made Dugu Bo pause, and the amusement in his eyes deepened.
What a gutsy kid!
Yet Lan's next words plunged the atmosphere into an instant chill.
His calm gaze drifted over to Dugu Yan, drenched from head to toe.
"As for your granddaughter..."
"Forget it."
Boom!
Something seemed to explode in Dugu Yan's head.
The anger she'd just managed to suppress flared up hotter than before!
What did he mean... "Forget it"?
Those three words were even more insulting than the slap he'd dealt her earlier!
"You stop right there!"
Dugu Yan didn't care how disheveled she looked. She thrust out her chest. Though her clothes were soaked through and her curves were plainly visible, she was all fire and fury now.
"What do you mean, 'forget it'?"
"This young lady's got looks and a figure. What makes you think you can turn me down?"
Lan couldn't even be bothered to give Dugu Yan a glance in response.
To him, this kind of meaningless shouting was less interesting than ripples on the lake.
He simply raised his head and looked toward the figure in the sky, radiating terrifying pressure.
The next moment—
Vmmm—!
A vast Soul Power, far surpassing that of a Soul Emperor, suddenly erupted from Lan's body!
Terrifying shockwaves swept out from him, blasting a wall of water several meters high across the lake. On the shore, Ye Lingling was forced back several steps by the sheer force of his aura.
Then, under everyone's horrified gaze, Lan's feet slowly lifted off the ground.
He rose into the air!
He was actually flying!
"..."
Dugu Yan, who'd been fuming just a moment earlier, now felt as if someone had clamped a hand around her throat. Every word caught in it.
Her beautiful jade-green eyes were wide with disbelief.
She raised a hand and pointed at the boy facing off against her grandfather in midair.
"Lingling, look... look!"
"He... he can fly?!"
Ye Lingling's beautiful eyes were already filled with shock. She swallowed unconsciously, then managed to utter a few words.
"A Soul Sage... an eighteen-year-old Soul Sage!"
"How is that possible?!"
In midair.
Dugu Bo had been stroking his beard with the air of an eminent master, but his hand suddenly froze.
Snap.
He'd actually yanked out several carefully tended whiskers himself.
"This kid..."
Dugu Bo sucked in a sharp breath.
"He's a Soul Sage!"
The shrewd old man's eyes instantly blazed with fervor!
What a boy! What an astonishing Little Monster!
An eighteen-year-old Soul Sage!
He wasn't merely a genius. He was a monster, a freak!
Dugu Bo looked at Lan as though he were a priceless treasure.
"Hahaha! Good! Excellent!"
Dugu Bo suddenly burst into laughter, all his earlier dignity gone.
"Kid, if you're willing, we can forget about the three attacks!"
"I'll decide right now: I'll marry Yan Yan to you!"
The sudden change left both girls on the shore stunned.
Dugu Yan in particular stood rooted to the spot, forgetting even to protest.
She was still reeling from the revelation that Lan was a Soul Sage.
Eighteen...
He was clearly about the same age as she was.
But what about her? She'd only recently broken through to level forty-one, and she'd been congratulating herself over it, calling herself heaven's favorite.
Compared to the person before her today...
Her paltry talent was nothing but a joke.
There was always someone better, and a mountain beyond every mountain.
In that moment, the pathetic pride in Dugu Yan's heart was shattered to pieces.
Yet when the Titled Douluo offered him an olive branch, Lan merely shook his head calmly.
"No need."
"We still have to fight."
Dugu Bo's smile faltered.
He understood.
Kind words and promises wouldn't work on a freak whose pride was etched into his bones.
Only overwhelming strength could make him submit completely!
He had to show Lan that the gap between a Titled Douluo and a Soul Sage was an unbridgeable chasm!
With that thought, Dugu Bo's admiration gave way to pure fighting spirit.
"Good! You've got spirit!"
"Then take my three attacks!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Dugu Bo stopped holding back!
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black!
Nine Soul Rings rose thunderously from beneath his feet. The true pressure of a Titled Douluo descended like the sky collapsing, blanketing the entire lake!
"Sixth Soul Skill: Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Poison!"
The sixth black Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring on Dugu Bo's body suddenly lit up!
In an instant, dark-green poison poured from him, gathering in midair into the enormous phantom of a Serpent Emperor, a hundred meters long!
The Serpent Emperor opened its jaws wide, bringing poison potent enough to corrode all things as it lunged down at Lan!
Facing this world-shattering attack, Lan's face remained as still as a placid well.
"Submerge."
The instant the words left his mouth—
Lan vanished from midair, just like that!
There wasn't the slightest warning. It was as if space itself had erased him.
Rumble—!
The enormous Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor missed and slammed into the surface of the lake. The entire lake boiled in an instant, and dark-green venom sprayed everywhere, corroding all the grass and trees around it.
The smoke and dust cleared.
Only Dugu Bo remained above the lake.
Lan had vanished.
Before you continue