Dugu Bo froze for a moment.
Then he hit them even harder. They were his own people, after all—what was there to hesitate about? He went straight to taking them apart!
The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor behind him spewed poisonous mist like mad. The four Soul Saints and sixteen Soul Emperors screamed in agony as their skin began to rot.
The men Yu Luomian had brought were like paper dolls before a Titled Douluo, utterly incapable of putting up a fight.
Yu Luomian himself was pinned in place by the faint pressure Zi JI exuded. All he could do was watch helplessly as his men were brutalized.
He was filled with regret.
If he'd known Xue Qinghe had a monster like this by his side, he wouldn't have come even if someone had beaten him to death.
Two Titled Douluos with Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings—what did that even mean? There wasn't a second pair like them anywhere on the entire Douluo Continent.
Xuan Qing's voice rang out, tinged with mockery.
"Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon? A lizard with a bit of dragon blood from a mutation dares to call itself the greatest Beast Martial Soul under heaven? Who gave you that confidence? Liang Jingru?"
Yu Luomian had no idea who Liang Jingru was, but he knew he was being mocked. He shook with rage, yet didn't dare lash out.
Dugu Bo finished taking the men apart and walked over.
"Get out of here with your men! Come back, and I'll break your legs."
Xuan Qing rested a hand on his shoulder, looking exasperated.
"Since when did you get so kind? It's one thing not to kill them, but you're planning to let them go, too?"
"Fine, let them go—but you're not even asking for compensation? We were threatened. Are we just going to let that slide?"
Dugu Bo blinked. Right!
He'd been so furious he'd lost his head. He wasn't usually this easygoing. How had he forgotten to demand compensation today?
He turned to Yu Luomian, his gaze cold enough to kill.
"The kid's right. You frightened my granddaughter and threatened us. We can't just let this slide. You owe us an explanation."
Yu Luomian gritted his teeth and forced out a few words.
"What do you want?"
Xuan Qing began counting on his fingers.
"Let's see. There's me, Zi JI, Old Poison, and Yanzi—four of us in all. One hundred million Gold Soul Coins in damages per person. That's not unreasonable, is it?"
"Four hundred million Gold Soul Coins, and we'll call it even. Otherwise, I'll turn every one of you into a human stump and send you back as a gift for Yu Yuanzhen."
Yu Luomian's face turned green at those words.
"You... You're extorting us!"
Four hundred million Gold Soul Coins—even if they sold their entire clan, they couldn't come up with that much.
Xuan Qing answered with shameless conviction.
"Isn't that exactly what I'm doing? If you dare come here and threaten us, you'd better be prepared to get extorted. Or you can take the other option."
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's a precise location marked on this map. A bear-type Soul Beast lives there, and its meat is excellent. It's exactly seventy thousand years old. Hunt it down and bring it back, and we'll call it even."
"Or you can just pay the money. Pick one. Fair, isn't it?"
Yu Luomian picked up the map and examined it closely. It was drawn in great detail.
He hesitated. There was no way they could come up with four hundred million Gold Soul Coins.
Hunting a seventy-thousand-year-old Soul Beast was dangerous, but it could be done.
And they'd get a Soul Ring and Soul Bone if they succeeded, so it wasn't a bad deal.
Yu Luomian gritted his teeth.
"We choose the hunt. But we'll need time to prepare and gather our people."
"No problem. I'll await good news within a month. If you're not back by then, I'll pay the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan a personal visit and have a nice chat with that old dragon."
He said it casually, but the threat was unmistakable. Yu Luomian knew that if they didn't finish within a month, Xuan Qing really would come knocking.
"Fine. We'll bring back the Soul Beast within a month."
Yu Luomian put away the map and, supporting the guards who could still walk, left in disgrace.
They'd arrived full of swagger, but now they were leaving with their tails between their legs. They'd lost face in a big way today.
Only after they were gone did Dugu Yan finally relax. She threw herself into Dugu Bo's arms.
"Grandpa, I was so scared! They really were going to take me!"
Dugu Bo patted her head.
"It's all right. Grandpa's here."
Xue Qinghe spoke with a grave expression.
"Brother Xuan Qing, what exactly was on that map you gave them? You'd let them off the hook over a single seventy-thousand-year-old Soul Beast?"
Dugu Bo chimed in.
"Yeah, that doesn't sound like you."
Xuan Qing grinned, and there was something obnoxious about that smile.
"Of course I lied about it being seventy thousand years old. But I didn't lie about the bear-type Soul Beast. It really is a bear."
"It just isn't seventy thousand years old. It's the king of the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear clan, and it's lived for more than a hundred thousand years."
"Those two things, the Sky Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape? It could take them both out with a single swipe."
Dugu Bo's old face twitched like mad.
"You're vicious, kid! A Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear? Even a hundred-year-old one can fight a slightly weaker ten-thousand-year Soul Beast, and a ten-thousand-year-old one can tear a dragon apart with its bare claws."
"If it's lived for over a hundred thousand years, how strong must it be? Surely only a Peerless Douluo could handle it?"
Xue Qinghe sucked in a breath, too.
"Even if it were only ten thousand years old, no one in the entire Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan could beat it except Yu Yuanzhen."
"But one over a hundred thousand years old? Even if the entire clan went together, they might not make it back alive."
Xuan Qing shrugged.
"If someone wrongs me, I'll give them three steps' leeway. If they wrong me again, I'll pull them out by the roots."
"If they survive, then this matter ends here. If they don't, well, they were simply out of luck."
He said it lightly, but the meaning was brutal.
If they really dared go, there was a very good chance they wouldn't come back.
Xue Qinghe drew a deep breath.
"This matter is far too serious. I need to report it to my father at once. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan came to seize people inside the Royal Academy. They've practically slapped the empire in the face."
"By all means, Your Highness. But I need to remind you of something: if the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan dares to attack a student at the Royal Academy, they'll dare to do it elsewhere, too."
"This time they came to seize someone. Next time, they might come to kill. The empire needs to take action, or anyone will think they can come and kick us."
Xue Qinghe thanked him solemnly.
"I understand. Farewell."
He hurried off to report what had happened.
After he left, Dugu Bo turned to Zi JI.
"Senior, is that Soul Ring of yours... real?"
Zi JI nodded.
"Is there a problem?"
"N-no. It's just... astonishing. Two Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings—there isn't a second person like that anywhere on the entire continent."
Xuan Qing smiled.
"You already know what my Soul Rings are like. I've told you before: below ten thousand years, you can absorb a Soul Ring beyond your level as long as your body is strong enough."
"The First Soul Ring can be six hundred years, and the Second Soul Ring can be a thousand. The first few Soul Rings only differ by a few dozen or a hundred years, so the gap doesn't look very big. The farther you go, the wider it gets."
Dugu Yan seemed to understand.
"It's like how no one can get fat in a single bite, but if you eat just one extra mouthful at every meal, the difference will show over time."
Xuan Qing gave a firm nod.
"Exactly. The age of a Soul Ring isn't fixed. Your constitution determines the limit. As long as you can bear it, a nine-thousand-year First Soul Ring is no problem."
Dugu Bo's heart surged. If he'd known this earlier, he wouldn't have been stuck at his bottleneck for so long.
It was late for him now, but he could still pave the way for his granddaughter. There was time for that.
Before you continue