Message from the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear King

Dugu Bo froze for a moment.

Then he struck even harder. Since the target was his own people, what was there to hesitate about? He went straight to dismantling them!

Behind him, the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor spewed out poisonous mist frantically. Four Soul Saints and sixteen Soul Emperors shrieked incessantly as their skin began to fester.

The men Yu Luomian brought were like paper in front of a Title Douluo, utterly unable to withstand a single blow.

Yu Luomian himself was pinned down by the faint pressure of Zi Ji, unable to move, forced to watch helplessly as his subordinates were brutalized.

Regret flooded his heart.

Had he known Xuan Qing had such monsters by his side, he wouldn't have dared to come here even if it meant death.

A Title Douluo with two hundred-thousand-year soul rings—what kind of concept was that? You couldn't find a second one in the entire Douluo Continent.

Xuan Qing's slightly mocking voice rang out.

"The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan? A lizard that mutated to have dragon blood dares to call itself the number one beast martial soul under heaven? Who gave you the courage? Fish Leong?"

Yu Luomian didn't understand who Fish Leong was, but he knew he was being mocked. He trembled with rage but dared not lash out.

Dugu Bo finished dismantling the men and walked over.

"Take your people and get lost! If you dare come back, I'll break your legs."

Xuan Qing placed a hand on his shoulder, looking helpless.

"Since when did you become so kind-hearted? Not killing them is one thing, but you're actually planning to let them go?"

"Letting them go is one thing, but you don't even want any compensation? We were threatened; are we just going to let it slide like this?"

Dugu Bo was stunned. That's right!

He had been so angry he'd lost his head. He wasn't usually this easy to talk to; how could he have forgotten to demand compensation today?

He looked at Yu Luomian, his gaze cold enough to kill.

"This kid is right. You scared my granddaughter and threatened us. This matter cannot be settled so easily; you need to give us an explanation."

Yu Luomian gritted his teeth and squeezed out a few words.

"What do you want?"

Xuan Qing began counting on his fingers.

"Let's see. Me, Zi Ji, the Old Poison, and Dugu Yan—that's four people. One hundred million Gold Soul Coin in emotional distress damages each, that's not too much, right?"

"Pay four hundred million Gold Soul Coin and we'll call it even. Otherwise, I'll turn all of you into human sticks and send you back as a gift for Yu Yuanzhen."

Yu Luomian's face turned green upon hearing this.

"You... you are extorting us."

Four hundred million Gold Soul Coin—even if they sold the entire clan, they couldn't come up with that much.

Xuan Qing replied with complete righteousness.

"Isn't that exactly what I'm doing? If you dare to come and threaten us, you should be prepared to be extorted. Or, you could choose the other path."

Zi Ji understood what he meant. She took a hand-drawn map from her storage ring and tossed it in front of Yu Luomian.

"There is a detailed location on this map. There is a bear-type soul beast there with excellent meat quality, exactly seventy thousand years old. You hunt it and bring it back, and we'll call it even."

"Or you can just pay the money. Take your pick, it's very fair, isn't it?"

Yu Luomian picked up the map and examined it carefully; it was drawn in great detail.

He hesitated. He definitely couldn't come up with four hundred million Gold Soul Coin.

Hunting a seventy-thousand-year soul beast was dangerous, but it was doable.

Besides, if the hunt was successful, they would get a soul ring and a soul bone, so it wasn't a total loss.

Yu Luomian gritted his teeth.

"We choose to hunt the soul beast, but we need time to prepare and gather our men."

"No problem. I'll await the good news within a month. If you haven't arrived by then, I will personally go to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan to have a good chat with that old dragon."

He said it lightly, but the threat was heavy. Yu Luomian knew that if it wasn't completed within a month, Xuan Qing would truly come knocking.

"Fine, I will bring the soul beast back within a month."

Yu Luomian put away the map and left in a sorry state, supporting the guards who could still move.

He had arrived with great momentum, but left in disgrace. He had lost all face today.

After they were far away, Dugu Yan finally let out a sigh of relief and threw herself into Dugu Bo's arms.

"Grandpa, you scared me to death. They really wanted to capture me."

Dugu Bo stroked her hair.

"It's alright, Grandpa is here."

Xue Qinghe spoke with a grave expression.

"Brother Xuan Qing, what exactly is that map you gave them? Can a single seventy-thousand-year soul beast really make you let them go?"

Dugu Bo echoed in agreement.

"Indeed, this doesn't sound like your usual style."

Xuan Qing laughed, and his smile was somewhat provocative.

"Of course, the seventy thousand years was a lie to them, but the bear-type spirit beast was no lie; it truly was a bear."

"However, it wasn't seventy thousand years, but a king of the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear clan that had surpassed one hundred thousand years."

"Those two things, the Sky Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape? In front of it, they would be dispatched with a single swipe of a claw."

Dugu Bo's old face twitched uncontrollably as he listened.

"You brat, you're too ruthless! A Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear? That thing can fight slightly weaker ten-thousand-year spirit beasts at only a hundred years old, and at ten thousand years, it can tear giant dragons apart with its bare hands."

"If it exceeds one hundred thousand years, just how strong would it be? I fear only a Peerless Douluo could deal with it, right?"

Xue Qinghe also gasped, a chill running down his spine.

"Even if it were only a ten-thousand-year one, aside from Yu Yuanzhen, no one in the entire Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan would be a match for it."

"One that exceeds one hundred thousand years? If the entire Upper Three Sects went together, they might not even make it back alive."

Xuan Qing shrugged.

"If people offend me, I yield three points. If they offend me again, I cut the weeds and dig up the roots."

"If they can survive, this matter ends here. If they cannot survive, then one can only say their luck was too poor."

The words were spoken lightly, but the content was cruel.

If they really dared to go, nine times out of ten, they certainly wouldn't be coming back.

Xue Qinghe took a deep breath.

"This matter is truly egregious. This Prince needs to report this to the Emperor immediately. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan seizing people within the Royal Academy is simply a slap in the face to the Empire."

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, please do as you wish. However, I must remind you: since the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan dares to lay hands on students of the Royal Academy, they will dare to do so elsewhere."

"This time it was kidnapping; next time it might be murder. The Empire should take some action, otherwise, anyone will dare to come and trample all over us."

Xue Qinghe thanked him solemnly.

"This Prince understands. Farewell."

He left in a hurry to report back.

After he had gone, Dugu Bo looked at Zi Ji.

"Senior, that spirit ring of yours... is it real?"

Zi Ji nodded.

"Is there a problem?"

"No... no, it's just... too shocking. Two one-hundred-thousand-year spirit rings; you couldn't find a second person like that on the entire continent."

Xuan Qing laughed.

"You all know what my spirit rings are like; it's not as if I haven't said it before. Below ten thousand years, as long as your physical constitution is sufficient, you can completely absorb them beyond your rank."

"If your first spirit ring is six hundred years, your second can be a thousand. The gap between the first few rings might look small, but the further you go, the greater the difference becomes."

Dugu Yan looked thoughtful.

"It's like how a person can't become fat in one meal, but if they just eat one extra bite every meal, the difference becomes visible over time."

Xuan Qing gave a very affirmative nod.

"Exactly. The age of a spirit ring is not a fixed system that determines the upper limit. As long as you can endure it, a nine-thousand-year first ring is not a problem."

Dugu Bo listened with surging emotions. If he had known this earlier, he wouldn't have been stuck at his bottleneck for so long back then.

Although it was late now, it was still in time to pave the way for his granddaughter.