In the blink of an eye, by the time Qin Yao arrived in Heaven Dou City, dusk was drawing near.
He casually found a restaurant and ate something, but he didn't head straight for the famous Great Soul Arena in Heaven Dou City.
There simply wasn't much point.
At the Soul Ancestor level, Qin Yao didn't think anyone could pose a threat to him. Going to a place like that would be a pure waste of time.
What he was turning over in his mind was something else, something far more important.
Holy Soul Village, the cave in the mountain behind it, the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone.
At this point in time, Tang San should have already started his school life at Shrek Academy.
Since they stood on opposite sides, he would accept all of Tang San's future opportunities without reservation.
Tang Hao was also protecting Tang San in Suotuo City, but Qin Yao wasn't in a hurry to hunt him down.
Rather than scour the world for a Titled Douluo, it would be much easier to wait for him to come knocking.
He might as well follow the original story and wait for Tang Hao in Spirit City. It would be far easier than trying to surround and kill him out in the open.
Then he could catch the turtle in the jar. Tang Hao wouldn't be able to fly away even if he grew wings!
Having made up his mind, Qin Yao didn't linger. He paid the bill, and with a flash, vanished into the night in Heaven Dou City.
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
On the outskirts of Sunset Forest, Dugu Bo was searching for a suitable Soul Beast with Dugu Yan.
"Yan Yan." Dugu Bo suddenly spoke, his voice rather stern. "From now on, you can't have anything more to do with that Yu Tianheng."
Dugu Yan stopped in her tracks.
Yu Tianheng was her teammate at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, as well as the heir to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. He was an upright person, and he had a favorable impression of her.
"Grandpa?" Dugu Yan asked, confused. "Do I not even have the right to make friends anymore?"
"Friends?"
Dugu Bo let out a cold snort.
"You fool! We've joined Spirit Hall and sworn loyalty to His Highness the Holy Son. We have to draw a clear line between ourselves and the other sects, especially the Upper Three Sects!"
"If you keep things ambiguous with that boy from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, you'll be two-faced, pleasing neither side! What will His Highness the Holy Son think of us? And what will the Worship Hall think of us?"
"Do you understand the stakes?"
Dugu Bo's voice wasn't loud, but every word struck straight to the heart.
Dugu Yan fell silent.
She understood what her grandfather meant.
Judging by Spirit Hall's conduct over the years and the power it had been steadily building, a great battle between it and the Upper Three Sects was bound to happen sooner or later.
Since she and her grandfather had chosen to stand with Spirit Hall, they had to remain steadfast.
In truth, she and Yu Tianheng weren't yet at the point of pledging themselves to one another, but they did have mutual affection.
If nothing unexpected happened, Dugu Yan would have chosen Yu Tianheng as her partner, just as she had in the original story.
But now, Dugu Bo's words had completely brought her to her senses.
Once you chose a side, there could be no wavering.
Her grandfather, Dugu Bo, had kept his word all his life. And she, Dugu Yan, was no different.
A moment later, Dugu Yan raised her head. There was no hesitation left in her beautiful, pale violet eyes.
"Grandpa, I understand."
Her voice was cool and resolute.
"I'm going to withdraw from Heaven Dou Royal Academy!"
Hearing this, Dugu Bo smiled in relief and nodded.
"Good!"
Several days later, in Nuoding City.
Qin Yao casually found a restaurant and sat down by a window.
After making a few inquiries, he learned that the previous year's students had already graduated.
The information checked out.
The timing was just right, too.
Tang San had already left, and Tang Hao had naturally followed him to Suotuo City.
Holy Soul Village was now an unguarded treasure trove.
He left some money for the tea, and with a flicker, vanished from the restaurant.
The waiter only saw a blur before him. When he looked again, the seat was empty, with nothing left on the table but a pot of steaming tea.
Outside Nuoding City, in Holy Soul Village.
It was a simple little village, plain as could be.
Qin Yao didn't disturb anyone. Relying on his memories, he went straight to the mountain behind the village.
The mountain wasn't high, but its trees were thick and dense.
Before long, he found the cave hidden behind a waterfall.
The water roared, and mist surged toward him.
A faint layer of Purple Fire appeared over Qin Yao's body, keeping all the moisture at bay as he walked through the waterfall.
The cave was dim and damp, but that didn't affect Qin Yao in the slightest.
He headed straight for the depths of the cave.
A small Blue Silver Grass plant was growing there in silence.
It was blue all over, with golden patterns on every leaf. It looked splendid, yet somehow seemed short on vitality.
Qin Yao immediately searched the cave. After a thorough search, he found the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone, tucked inside a wooden box on the cave wall.
Qin Yao reached out and took it.
The next moment, a warm current surged up his arm and into his body. The immense vitality contained in the Soul Bone left him feeling wonderfully refreshed.
"Spring breezes blow, and it grows again. It can fly, too."
Qin Yao turned the Soul Bone over in his hands, thoroughly pleased.
Its life-saving ability was among the best on the entire Douluo Continent.
However, he didn't absorb it right away.
He wasn't done yet.
Qin Yao put the Soul Bone into his Storage Soul Tool, then turned his attention to the Blue Silver Emperor herself.
That is, Tang San's mother, Ah Yin.
Qin Yao walked up to the Blue Silver Emperor and crouched down. His fingertips gently brushed a leaf.
At that moment, a thought flashed through his mind.
What if there really were gods pulling the strings behind the scenes in this world? What if, at the very last moment, someone tried to pull a "deus ex machina" to help Tang San...
Then he needed to have some leverage in his hands to bargain with Tang San.
In this life, Tang San's greatest weakness was his family.
Nothing would make him more wary than having his mother's true body in Qin Yao's hands.
Of course, if the gods didn't interfere with the mortal world, Qin Yao would be even happier. Then Tang San would be even easier to keep in check.
So, sorry.
We're on opposite sides!
He got to work. After moving the entire Blue Silver Emperor, along with the soil beneath her, into his Storage Soul Tool, Qin Yao didn't stop for a moment. He spread his wings and flew straight away from Holy Soul Village.
By the time he had made the round trip, another half a month had passed.
Meanwhile, at Dugu Manor in Heaven Dou City.
Dugu Bo paced irritably back and forth around his room. He had nearly tangled his dark green hair into a bird's nest by now.
"It's been so long. Why hasn't he come back?"
He kept muttering to himself, unable to hide the worry on his face.
His Highness the Holy Son had gone out alone and had been missing for a full half-month.
Although he knew Qin Yao was powerful and meticulous, far beyond what you'd expect of an ordinary young man, he was still only a Soul Ancestor!
What if something had happened?
Dugu Bo shivered and didn't dare think any further.
"No, no. His Highness the Holy Son is blessed by fortune. He'll be fine."
He tried to reassure himself, but the panic in his heart didn't lessen in the slightest.
If something really happened to Qin Yao, how would he explain it to the Fourth Worship, who had just broken through to Level 98?
At the thought of Qin Xiong's fiery temper—the kind that could smash a mountain peak with one punch—Dugu Bo felt a chill creep up the back of his neck.
His own Level 92 cultivation probably amounted to nothing more than something the man could swat away with a single slap.
"My life is tied to His Highness the Holy Son now!"
Dugu Bo let out a long sigh, feeling that the road ahead was shrouded in darkness.
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