"Flender, I do have a few ideas about your disciple's Evil Fire backlash, but every solution I can think of would be incredibly difficult."
At those words, Flender's eyes instantly lit up. He and Ma Hongjun were, after all, master and disciple. He might be stingy in his daily life, but when it came to his own student—his successor—he was willing to give it a try.
"Xiao Gang, tell me what the solutions are!"
Gangzi was back in his element: the realm of theory. Even though all of this was pure speculation, he still had to put on the airs of a Grandmaster.
He adopted an appropriately inscrutable expression and said in an unhurried tone, "Flender, I have three strategies—one superior, one intermediate, and one inferior—that might solve the Evil Fire problem in your disciple's body."
At that, Flender's eyes lit up again. "That's my Xiao Gang! You came up with three solutions in such a short time. Explain them to me."
"Ahem. The superior strategy is to have Ma Hongjun remove the source of his troubles. Without that thing, the so-called Evil Fire would cease to exist."
Flender: ...
Well, that would certainly treat both the symptoms and the root cause, but...
"Xiao Gang, what are the other two solutions?"
Flender hurriedly asked.
"The intermediate strategy is for your disciple to choose Soul Rings that clash with the Origin of his Martial Soul when he selects his next ones—for instance, a Soul Ring from an ice-attribute Soul Beast. That would damage the Origin of his Martial Soul, causing it to regress. The evil within him would then disappear of its own accord."
Flender: ...
He felt that this solution was even worse than the first. Hadn't he taken Ma Hongjun on as a disciple precisely because of his talent?
If his Martial Soul was downgraded, why would he still keep him as a student?
Don't forget, Shrek Academy was an academy that cultivated only monsters. If that happened, wouldn't it ruin Shrek Academy's reputation?
"The third solution is the inferior strategy I mentioned earlier: have your disciple achieve Martial Soul Evolution. The Evil Fire in his body would naturally disappear, and his talent might even improve further."
Yu Xiaogang paused, then continued, "But this solution exists only in theory. Even I, the continent's foremost master of theory, have spent most of my life searching without success. Even if a treasure capable of promoting Martial Soul Evolution exists, Flender, do you think you could get your hands on it?"
Gangzi's words left Flender utterly silent. His lips kept moving, but he couldn't force out a single word.
Alas, so be it. Hongjun's Evil Fire can be discharged using that method until he reaches Soul Ancestor or Soul King. As for what comes after, I'll let him decide for himself when the time comes.
Meanwhile.
The streets of Heaven Dou City remained bustling, with waves of noise rising and falling.
Yu Tianheng strolled through the crowd, his mind replaying Jiang Li's earlier theory about absorbing Soul Rings beyond one's rank. He felt both frustrated and lost.
Suddenly, a wave of dizziness struck without warning, as if a cold viper had instantly paralyzed his nerves.
Yu Tianheng couldn't even manage a muffled groan. The world spun before his eyes, and then he plunged into endless darkness.
After an unknown length of time...
When Yu Tianheng slowly opened his heavy eyelids, he found himself in a secluded room. The silence all around was terrifying.
Standing directly in front of him was a dark green figure.
It was a thin, middle-aged man, standing with his hands behind his back and facing away from him.
Even from behind, the chill that seemed to seep from his very bones made the air feel frozen solid.
Recognizing the familiar dark green hair and clothes, Yu Tianheng's heart clenched...
Who else could this be but Dugu Bo, Dugu Yan's grandfather?
"Awake, boy?"
His low, hoarse voice revealed nothing of his mood.
Dugu Bo slowly turned around. His snake-like eyes fixed on Yu Tianheng, making him feel as though all the blood in his body was about to freeze. Cold sweat instantly soaked through his clothes and trickled down his back.
Yu Tianheng was terrified. Facing a Titled Douluo whose mood could change at any moment, he felt his throat go dry, and his voice trembled uncontrollably.
"Senior D-Dugu Bo, may I ask why you brought me here? Is there something you need to tell me?"
Yu Tianheng frantically went over everything he had done in recent days. He couldn't think of anything that should have offended Poison Douluo.
He had even put on hold the sect's assignment to pursue Dugu Yan, so there shouldn't have been any trouble.
But Dugu Bo's first words struck him like a blow to the head.
"Boy, I know your Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan sent you to study at Heaven Dou Royal Academy so you could get close to my granddaughter and bind me, a Titled Douluo, to your clan's cause. And you were the one who reported the matter of my and Yan Yan's Martial Soul Evolution back to the clan, weren't you?"
Though phrased as a question, Dugu Bo's words were utterly certain.
"Senior... I... I..."
"Boy, I brought you here today just to teach you a lesson. If you dare try to get close to Yan Yan again, I'll make you wish you were dead, yet keep you from dying!"
"Go back and tell that old dragon: I've already broken through to level 95. If he dares entertain any more improper thoughts, I'll make good on my words and leave your Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan with only him, its Titled Douluo, remaining."
"Also, I don't want you continuing your studies by Yan Yan's side. I think you understand what I mean."
Boom—
A clap of thunder exploded in Yu Tianheng's mind.
The sect's assignment for him had failed completely. That practically meant he was out of the running in the struggle with Yu Tianxin for the position of young sect master.
His branch had almost no elders backing it, aside from Sect Master Yu Yuanzhen, because his second uncle was such an eccentric. Now, when the current Sect Master Yu Yuanzhen passed away a century from now, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan would naturally fall into the hands of the branch led by the current vice sect master, Yu Luomian...
At that moment, Yu Tianheng felt like a sinner against his family!
Dugu Bo, meanwhile, hadn't given any thought to these tangled family affairs. Seeing Yu Tianheng look utterly dejected, he found it rather dull.
He spat in contempt, then turned and left with a carefree air.
"I wonder if that Jiang boy's Soul Hunting went smoothly. If he weren't so much older than Yan Yan, he really would be a suitable grandson-in-law."
"Alas..."
Before you continue