"Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black."
Eight Soul Rings circled Dugu Bo.
Seeing that such a powerful expert was Yu Tianshuo's family, the old man wished he could slap Xue Beng twice.
Of all the people you could have provoked, you chose someone protected by a Soul Douluo.
But it was too late for regrets now. Xue Beng and the old man were lambs waiting to be slaughtered, awaiting judgment from the powerful.
"Master."
Dugu Bo withdrew his icy gaze and turned to look at his disciple. Seeing that he hadn't suffered any serious injuries, he breathed a sigh of relief.
He had come to the academy today to find those three fellows, Meng Shenji, Bai Baoshan, and Zhi Lin.
He had wanted to ask whether they had any leads on Soul Bones. Though he could go straight to the Heaven Dou Emperor, that would undoubtedly bind him more tightly to the kingdom.
That wasn't what he had in mind.
But halfway through their conversation, he sensed that his disciple seemed to have gotten into a conflict with someone, so he came to see what was going on.
At first, he had seen his disciple handling his opponent with ease, and had even stopped the three men from going to reinforce Xue Beng.
He just hadn't expected that bastard down there would dare use his fifth Soul Skill.
He only wanted to temper his disciple, not leave the boy missing an arm or a leg.
Thinking of this, Dugu Bo asked,
"What did you learn this time?"
Hearing Dugu Bo's question, Yu Tianshuo clearly froze for a moment, but then rubbed his nose and replied,
"I've pretty much mastered the techniques I learned while sparring with you, Master. I'm just still too weak at using my tail."
"In that final clash, I should've used my tail to knock him away, then used the momentum of the swing to rake my dragon claws across his head."
Listening to his disciple's summary, Dugu Bo nodded and added,
"One more thing: when you meet an enemy stronger than yourself, you still have to prioritize your safety. If you can run, run."
"Running away isn't shameful. It's wisdom in battle, too."
Before master and disciple could continue their conversation, Meng Shenji, Bai Baoshan, and Zhi Lin, whom Dugu Bo had stopped earlier, finally arrived.
Meng Shenji, at the head of the group, stepped in front of Fourth Prince Xue Beng and questioned Dugu Bo in a deep voice.
"Dugu Bo! Are you really going to let your disciple run amok here?"
Their conversation had been interrupted, but Dugu Bo wasn't angry. He merely said,
"What? Are you old enough to be senile? You know perfectly well what those boys did."
"And even if I am letting my disciple do as he pleases, so what? What can the likes of you do to stop me?"
As he spoke, his Soul Power surged from within him like a mountain, pressing down on the five men.
"What! How can this aura be? Have you reached the Titled Douluo level?"
Meng Shenji's face was full of disbelief. The three of them had already reached level 79, just one step away from Soul Douluo rank. They shouldn't have been suppressed so badly.
The only explanation was that Dugu Bo had reached the realm of Titled Douluo.
"I was fortunate enough to break through. I have my good disciple to thank for it. Without him, I wouldn't have reached this realm so quickly."
When the others turned to look at him, Yu Tianshuo showed no pride or anything of the sort. He simply clasped his hands toward Dugu Bo and said,
"It's all thanks to Master's regard for me. I only provided a little help, nothing worth mentioning."
As he spoke, his thoughts drifted back to a week ago.
"Good morning, Master!" Yu Tianshuo greeted Dugu Bo with cupped hands.
"Mm. You're a fine lad. If your senior brother had worked as hard as you, he wouldn't still be just a Soul Emperor by now."
"Dad! Can you stop comparing me to Junior Brother? It really hurts."
Though he complained, his face still wore a smile.
But Yu Tianshuo's next words made both of them change their expressions.
"Master, Senior Brother, last night in Back Mountain, were you resisting the poison inside your bodies?"
"Junior Brother! Shut—"
Dugu Bo's Soul Pressure pressed down hard on Dugu Yuan, leaving him unable to utter another word.
Dugu Bo looked at Yu Tianshuo, his eyes filled with complicated emotions.
Shock, confusion, anger...
Suppressing the many questions in his mind, Dugu Bo simply asked,
"How did you know?"
Seeing that Dugu Bo could still speak calmly with him, Yu Tianshuo breathed a sigh of relief.
He had known from the start that this would be risky, but he didn't want the "family" he had only just gained to be torn apart over a mere Martial Soul flaw.
Taking a deep breath, he bowed even lower and said solemnly,
"Master, when I first met you, my Martial Soul sensed that something inside both you and Senior Brother was eating away at you."
"At first, I didn't dare say anything. I was afraid I'd say something I shouldn't and upset you. But when I met Yanyan, I sensed the same thing in her, and that got me thinking."
"Then last night, when I heard you and Senior Brother cry out in agony, I was sure of my guess."
"Master, Senior Brother, if I'm not mistaken, you've been afflicted by the innate poison of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Martial Soul."
Silence.
The air fell into an eerie stillness.
Without letting the silence drag on, Yu Tianshuo continued,
"I once read about a way to deal with it in an ancient text. I hope you'll consider it, Master."
Then he explained the method of forcing the poison into a Soul Bone with Soul Power. He also described the Soul Core method that Huo Yuhao would develop ten thousand years later.
After hearing all this, Dugu Bo withdrew the Soul Power pressing down on Dugu Yuan.
But, just like Dugu Yuan, he only stared blankly at Yu Tianshuo.
Of course he could guess that the ancient text was just an excuse. This boy clearly had secrets of his own.
But so what?
All he knew was that the disciple he had taken in had boldly offered a possible solution for his family's sake.
At the thought, the corners of Dugu Bo's eyes grew damp.
He lifted his head and gazed up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, then said calmly,
"Dugu Yuan, take your junior brother to rest. Also, tell him about the Herb Garden and see if this lad can find some inspiration for another way to detoxify himself."
Then he turned and prepared to head inside to try the Soul Core method his disciple had described.
When Dugu Yuan heard his father call him by his full name, he shuddered and finally came to his senses about what had just happened.
He looked at his junior brother with complicated eyes. Without saying anything, he beckoned for him to follow.
They walked on in silence. Dugu Yuan started to speak several times, but stopped each time.
Seeing his usually talkative senior brother like this, Yu Tianshuo couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Seeing his usually serious junior brother laugh like that, Dugu Yuan started laughing too.
As he laughed, Dugu Yuan suddenly began to cry.
He threw his arms around Yu Tianshuo, sobbing as he wiped his tears and snot all over him.
He kept repeating,
"Thank you, Junior Brother! Thank you! Waaah!"
Yu Tianshuo stopped laughing, too, and simply held his senior brother tightly.
Before you continue