Douluo: One Man Returns, Heaven-Defying Seal Smashes Tang San to Death

Lu Yu added, "From beginning to end, Senior Dugu was following us in secret. Is that not the truth?"

Dugu Yan frowned but still nodded.

Lu Yu raised his head and looked Dugu Bo straight in the eye, neither servile nor overbearing as he said,

"May I ask, if it were Senior Dugu or Senior Sister who had been toyed with like this, how would you feel?"

The moment he said this, both of them froze.

Thinking it over carefully, it did seem to make sense!

Lu Yu had first stepped in to help, then risked himself to purge the poison. Yet Dugu Bo had been secretly following all along, watching everything unfold with folded arms.

Anyone would feel terrible about that!

After all, from the grandfather and granddaughter's perspective, Lu Yu did not know that Dugu Bo was unable to purge Dugu Yan's poison and had therefore stood by without helping.

To any ordinary Soul Master, Dugu Bo was a mighty Title Douluo and an expert in poison. How could he possibly be helpless against the poison afflicting his own granddaughter?

Looking at it from that perspective, Lu Yu's resentment was perfectly understandable.

After understanding everything, Dugu Yan's eyes gradually regained their spark. She blinked her large eyes, looking somewhat embarrassed.

Lu Yu, meanwhile, remained neither servile nor overbearing. His expression was cold, as though his resentment had yet to fade.

After a long while, Dugu Bo suddenly coughed lightly and said, "Uh... kid... back then, it wasn't that I stood by and did nothing. Yan Yan's condition is a hereditary hidden danger of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul. There was nothing I could do either!"

"I could only treat a dead horse as if it were alive!"

Hearing that, Lu Yu deliberately looked stunned. Dugu Yan glared at her grandfather irritably, clearly dissatisfied with his metaphor.

At that moment, Dugu Bo said something else shocking enough to never stop, "You're right. This was all a misunderstanding. Since the misunderstanding has been cleared up, the two of you should pick a date and settle the matter!"

"What?!?" Lu Yu was dumbfounded on the spot.

Dugu Yan was equally bewildered. Then her pretty face instantly turned red.

Wasn't Dugu Bo's train of thought a little too abrupt?

"Senior Dugu, this..." Lu Yu did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Dugu Bo glared at him. "What? You're unwilling?"

"Grandpa!" Dugu Yan suddenly stamped her foot, glaring at Dugu Bo with embarrassment and anger.

Only then did he let it go, waving a hand. "Alright, alright! I won't meddle in you young people's affairs!"

With that, he smiled and turned to leave.

Only then did Lu Yu let out a sigh of relief. Dugu Yan turned to him, lowered her head, and said softly, "Lu Yu, I'm sorry... I..."

Lu Yu waved a hand, interrupting her. "Senior Dugu was right. Since the misunderstanding has been cleared up, let this matter end here!"

After thinking for a moment, he tentatively asked, "Senior Sister, those things from last time..."

Hearing that, the blush that had only just faded from Dugu Yan's face surged back. She glared at him irritably. "Keep them yourself!"

With that, she turned and ran out of the courtyard.

Lu Yu curled his lips. He had lived three lives. Could he not handle a little girl?

In high spirits, Lu Yu walked straight out of the courtyard and headed down the mountain. When he reached the lake at its foot, he saw the familiar girl in a black dress sitting by the water from afar.

Lu Yu walked over and sat beside her. Before he could speak, Ye Lingling asked first,

"Why are you in the mood to come here instead of keeping Dugu Yan company?"

Lu Yu froze when he heard that.

What was with the sourness in those words?

It seemed that, without realizing it... he had accumulated some inexplicable romantic debts!

Lu Yu feigned confusion. "Senior Sister Dugu and I have only met a handful of times. Why would Miss Ye say that?"

Ye Lingling glanced at him but said nothing more.

Only the corners of her lips curved into a breathtaking smile, though hidden beneath the black veil, no one could appreciate the sight.

The two sat quietly like that. After a long while, Lu Yu suddenly asked, "Will Miss Ye be participating in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament?"

Ye Lingling did not answer. Instead, she asked, "Are you going?"

Lu Yu replied, "I am! His Highness the Crown Prince met with me. He wants me to serve as captain and lead Heaven Dou Royal Academy in the tournament!"

At this point, he added with a smile,

"But I don't intend to advance directly as a seeded team. I'm planning to form a second team and fight our way all the way to the finals!"

His purpose in joining the Soul Master Competition was to temper himself through battle. If he advanced directly as a seeded team, there would be no point.

Ye Lingling turned to look at him. Her eyes flickered as she nodded. "I agree."

"Huh?" Lu Yu looked utterly confused.

What did she mean, she agreed?

He had not even invited her to join yet!

But seeing that Ye Lingling had already turned back to gaze at the water, Lu Yu said nothing more.

This girl... was quite the tsundere...

After sitting there for nearly half an hour, Lu Yu was the first to leave. When he returned to his dormitory, however, he found Meng Shenji already waiting outside.

He hurried over and said, "Chief Meng, this is...?"

Meng Shenji smiled. "I came today to tell you something."

"In one month, the empire will send an exchange delegation to the Star Luo Empire to discuss matters concerning the Soul Master Competition."

"This imperial exchange delegation will be led by teachers from the major advanced Soul Master Academies. Each academy will also send student representatives to exchange with the Soul Master Academies of the Star Luo Empire."

"The academy hopes that you can serve as Heaven Dou Royal Academy's student representative. We believe that you alone are enough to represent all the students of our academy!"

Hearing this, Lu Yu's brows furrowed slightly.

He had originally planned to go out and obtain his fourth soul ring. However, Heaven Dou City was far from the Star Dou Great Forest. A round trip would take him nearly ten days, and finding a soul beast would take time as well.

If he encountered any unexpected complications, it would take even longer.

If he joined this imperial exchange delegation, he would have no choice but to postpone obtaining his fourth soul ring.

But on second thought, the Star Luo Empire also had places where soul beasts gathered!

He could obtain his fourth soul ring there just the same.

With that thought, Lu Yu nodded directly. "Chief Meng, I understand."

Meng Shenji smiled in satisfaction, then turned and left.

Early the next morning, Lu Yu did not continue his secluded cultivation. Instead, he left Heaven Dou Royal Academy and headed out of the city.

He wanted to visit Sunset Forest and try his luck, to see whether he could find a soul beast suitable for his fourth soul ring!

Just as Lu Yu left Heaven Dou Royal Academy and headed toward Sunset Forest, two groups who had long been waiting outside the academy simultaneously set their sights on him.

The two groups were strangely in sync. Both sent one person back to report while the rest continued following Lu Yu.

Sunset Forest was a gathering place for soul beasts within the Heavenly Dou Empire.

Although it was far inferior to the Star Dou Great Forest, the soul beasts within were of higher quality than those in Soul Hunting Forest.

Sunset Forest was not far from Heaven Dou City. There were countless ten-year and hundred-year soul beasts inside, along with many thousand-year soul beasts. There were even some ten-thousand-year soul beasts, though their numbers were relatively small.

After wandering through Sunset Forest for an entire morning, he encountered only two ten-thousand-year soul beasts, neither of which was suitable as the Heaven-Defying Seal's fourth soul ring.

Trying his luck to find a fourth soul ring was only one of Lu Yu's purposes for this trip.

There were too few ten-thousand-year soul beasts in Sunset Forest, and finding one suitable for him would be even harder. Lu Yu had not held much hope to begin with.

His other goal was the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well!

This treasure land nurtured many rare heavenly treasures.

If he could claim it for himself and use those heavenly treasures to aid his cultivation, Lu Yu's cultivation speed would certainly increase dramatically.

The Spirit Nurturing Orchid he had bought at the Heavenly Dou Auction was practically no different from trash compared to the heavenly treasures in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well!

Having found nothing all morning, Lu Yu stopped searching and left Sunset Forest along the path he had taken in.

When he had first set out that morning, Lu Yu had already noticed people secretly following him.

There were two groups in total. One consisted of several Soul Masters ranging from three to five rings in cultivation.

The other, however, was led by a Soul Emperor!

Lu Yu knew that now that he stood out from the crowd, it was inevitable for people to watch him in secret.

Thus, before confirming their identities and intentions, he did not act rashly.

After all, in everyone's eyes, no matter how monstrous his talent was, he was still only a Three-Ring Soul Master.

If word got out that a Three-Ring Soul Master could easily detect the tracking of Soul Kings and even Soul Emperors, it would only make him stand out even more.