Chapter 17

Inside the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, Emperor Xue Ye was reviewing memorials in his study, his brow furrowed. He clearly had something on his mind.

Just then, a eunuch hurried in and knelt to report.

"Your Majesty, the three members of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy's board of education request an audience. They say they have urgent business!"

"Let them in."

Soon, Meng Shenji, Bai Baoshan, and Zhi Lin entered.

The three bowed in unison. "Greetings, Your Majesty."

"Rise. What brings you three here in such a hurry?"

Meng Shenji stepped forward and recounted in detail what had just happened at the academy, from the sudden arrival of Xuan Qing and the others to Zi JI releasing her pressure.

Then he told Xue Ye how Dugu Bo had brought up Tang Hao and asked about Dugu Yan's travel plans. With every sentence Meng Shenji spoke, Xue Ye's expression darkened.

When he heard that a boy of around ten had Soul Power approaching level forty, the pen in Xue Ye's hand slipped and clattered onto the desk.

Xue Ye abruptly rose to his feet.

"My three trusted ministers, are you certain you saw correctly? Tang Hao was forty-four when he broke through to become a Titled Douluo!"

He could hardly believe it. There were almost no ten-year-old Soul Elders, let alone someone nearing the rank of Soul Ancestor. It was utterly fantastical.

Meng Shenji gave a wry smile.

"Your Majesty, I'd stake my head on it. Back then, even the two Douluos of Ju Gui from Spirit Hall, both at level ninety-five, couldn't make Dugu Bo call them seniors."

Bai Baoshan added, "Exactly, Your Majesty. Dugu Bo didn't back down even when Ju Gui Douluo hunted him. That means Demon Dragon Douluo must be at least level ninety-six, possibly even level ninety-seven!"

Zhi Lin, however, was more concerned about Xuan Qing.

"I'm more concerned about that boy named Xuan Qing. Didn't you notice? He was the leader of the three."

"My Martial Soul is the Azure Sky Vine, already one of the finest Plant-type Martial Souls. Yet his Martial Soul naturally suppresses mine."

Xue Ye sat down and tapped his fingers lightly on the desk. "Go on."

Zhi Lin took a deep breath.

"That boy gave me a strange feeling. It wasn't a difference in rank, but a gap in our levels of life."

"Poison Douluo does suppress me, but that's because of the difference in Soul Power Level. But the feeling I got from that boy..."

He paused, searching for a fitting comparison.

"It was more like a subject standing before a king. The awe came from the heart, and I couldn't even summon the will to resist."

"A king meeting a subject?"

The comparison sent a tremor through Xue Ye's heart. What kind of Martial Soul could exert such suppression?

Meng Shenji mused, "A Beast Martial Soul can suppress a Plant Martial Soul. It could be because of an elemental advantage, like fire, or because a plant bathed in dragon's blood has encountered a True Dragon!"

The words "True Dragon" plunged the Imperial Study into complete silence. They carried far too much weight.

Even the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, the strongest Beast Martial Soul under heaven, couldn't simply stand there and make Zhi Lin lose the will to resist.

Meng Shenji voiced the question on his mind.

"That's precisely the problem. The boy's hair was blue-green, and he didn't feel as fierce as a fire-attribute Soul Master. On the contrary, he was remarkably calm."

"The hair color of Soul Masters on the Douluo Continent is generally influenced by their Martial Souls. But no matter how calm a fire-attribute Soul Master may seem, they're still like a sharp sword ready to leave its sheath at any moment. That boy wasn't like that. He was like a deep pool—you couldn't see to the bottom."

Zhi Lin spoke up.

"My Azure Sky Vine hasn't bathed in dragon's blood, either. There are indeed a few Plant Martial Souls with blue-green coloring, but their quality isn't high enough to give someone such cultivation at his age. None of this makes sense."

Xue Ye fell completely silent. His fingers tapped on the desk for a long while before he finally spoke.

"My three trusted ministers, what do you think it would take to recruit them into my service?"

The three exchanged glances, then shook their heads in unison. If they hadn't been in the palace as his subjects, they would have said, "What are you thinking? Dream on!"

In the end, Meng Shenji took the brunt of it.

"Your Majesty, I don't think there's much hope. That boy's origins are clearly mysterious, and the power behind him is unfathomable."

"And Demon Dragon Douluo treats him with such respect, which shows how high his status is. I doubt our Heaven Dou Empire has anything that could move him."

Bai Baoshan also shook his head with a wry smile.

"That's right, Your Majesty. A ten-year-old Soul Ancestor has limitless potential. Becoming a Titled Douluo is all but certain, and he may even break through to an even higher realm."

"Someone like that won't be recruited easily. The only thing we can do is befriend them as best we can and avoid offending them."

Zhi Lin added, "That boy seemed calm, but his gaze was deep. It wasn't the look of a ten-year-old child. He's probably been through more than we can imagine, and someone like that won't be easy to deal with."

Xue Ye sighed and picked up his pen again. He knew the three members of the board were right, but he still couldn't accept it.

The Heaven Dou Empire desperately needed powerful people. If he could recruit those two, its strength would surely soar. But alas, there was little hope.

"I understand. You three may return for now. Keep a close eye on their movements, and report any news immediately. Remember, do your best to befriend them and don't offend them."

After the three members of the board left, Xue Ye leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes in thought.

True Dragon... a ten-year-old Soul Ancestor... a Peak Douluo... The jumble of information gave him a headache.

Meanwhile, a similar scene was unfolding inside the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

When Xue Qinghe arrived at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi and the Sword and Bone Douluos were in the middle of a meeting. They were surprised to see Xue Qinghe arrive in such a hurry.

"Greetings, Teacher, Sword Douluo, Bone Douluo."

Seeing his hurried expression, Ning Fengzhi gave him a warm smile and asked, "Qinghe, what brings you here this time?"

Xue Qinghe didn't waste any words. He recounted everything from beginning to end.

After hearing him out, Gu Rong could no longer sit still.

"Level ninety-seven? Kid! You may be the crown prince, but that doesn't mean you can mess with us like this!"

His tone was harsh. He clearly didn't believe it. As far as anyone knew, there was no one at level ninety-seven anywhere on the continent. (They still knew nothing about the Worship Hall.)

Ning Fengzhi raised a hand. "Uncle Gu, let Qinghe finish first."

Xue Qinghe wasn't offended.

"Please, Bone Douluo, don't be so hasty."

He turned to Chen Xin.

"To be certain, I'd like to ask Sword Douluo to release a trace of his aura."

Chen Xin glanced at him but said nothing. The aura around him gradually began to spread.

It was only a faint trace, but there was no faking the aura of a Titled Douluo. His level-ninety-six strength was laid bare.

"It wasn't enough! Even if he wasn't level ninety-seven, he was definitely stronger than Sword Douluo."

"His aura wasn't just stronger, either. It was far more savage. Unless he had taken countless lives, he couldn't possibly have had an aura like that."

The meeting hall fell deathly silent. Ning Fengzhi, Chen Xin, and Gu Rong all looked shaken.

A super-strong expert at level ninety-seven could overturn the balance of the entire continent. How could someone like that suddenly appear?

Gu Rong murmured, "In his twenties, and level ninety-seven... Could he be a transformed Soul Beast?"

Chen Xin shook his head. "It doesn't seem likely. A Soul Beast undergoing Soul Beast Transformation becomes a six-year-old child and has to cultivate from the beginning. Even the Titan Giant Ape and the Sky Azure Bull Python couldn't do that. They're already the strongest Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Forest."

It wasn't that they were ignorant. If Xuan Qing hadn't appeared, Di Tian and the others wouldn't emerge for several thousand years.

Ning Fengzhi pondered. "Demon Dragon? Is there a Martial Soul—or a Soul Beast—by that name?"

Gu Rong suddenly remembered something. "I once read in an ancient book that a Hell Demon Dragon lived in the Star Dou Forest."

"It had the rare properties of yin water and the ability to devour, but that account was from thousands of years ago. It's hard to know whether it was true."

Chen Xin nodded. "Most Beast Martial Souls have an original form. That could very well be the Hell Demon Dragon."

Gu Rong suddenly realized something, and his expression changed. "Wait! Where did you say they went?"

Xue Qinghe clearly hadn't caught on, but he still answered honestly.

"Suotuo City. Why?"

Chen Xin and Ning Fengzhi realized it at the same time and rose to their feet.

Chen Xin's voice tightened. "Fengzhi, Rongrong is still at Shrek!"

"If Tang Hao really is in Suotuo City..." Chen Xin didn't finish, but his meaning was clear.

Gu Rong picked up where he left off. "That madman Tang Hao even dared to kill the Pope. If he ran into Rongrong, might he attack her and frame Spirit Hall? He could make us and Spirit Hall fight to the death, then sit back and reap the benefits."

Ning Fengzhi made his decision at once. "Uncle Gu, you and I will go to Suotuo City immediately. Uncle Jian, sorry to trouble you with guarding the sect."

Chen Xin said gravely, "If anything happens to Rongrong, neither of you needs to come back."

It was a harsh thing to say, but no one thought it unreasonable. Ning Rongrong was the treasure of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. She couldn't be allowed to come to any harm.

Xue Qinghe said, "I'll go too. If Tang Hao really attacks Rongrong, I'll be a witness as the Heaven Dou Crown Prince."

"With me there, I can at least confirm that Tang Hao struck first. That'll make things easier to explain to Spirit Hall, too."

Ning Fengzhi looked deeply at Xue Qinghe, then nodded. "All right. There's no time to lose. Let's leave now."