Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan? What Did This Old Man Have to Fear? Wiping Out the Whole Clan, Anyone?

Yu Feng still wanted to ask about the Soul Rings.

Dugu Yan, meanwhile, dragged Ye Qing away.

"Come on, I'll show you around the academy."

Qin Ming watched Ye Qing get pulled away by Dugu Yan. He adjusted his glasses, then turned and headed toward the Education Committee.

The Education Committee of Heaven Dou Royal Academy was located on the top floor of the main castle.

As he pushed open the oak doors,

three elderly men were seated around a rosewood table, drinking tea.

Qin Ming skillfully reported the day's events to them.

The chief was Meng Shenji.

The owner of the Black Demon Martial Soul, an eighty-sixth-rank control-type battle Soul Douluo.

He had seen countless geniuses and madmen in his lifetime.

Yet Qin Ming's report still made him set his teacup back onto the table.

"First and second Soul Rings were Thousand-Year Spirit Rings?"

Bai Baoshan, the second seat, set down his teapot.

This eighty-fifth-rank defense-type battle Soul Douluo's Heaven Star Furnace Martial Soul was renowned for its steadiness.

At that moment, clear surprise appeared on his usually unflappable round face. "Qin Ming, are you sure you didn't see wrong?"

"I saw it with my own eyes."

Qin Ming's tone was firm. "His first and second Soul Rings were both Thousand-Year Spirit Rings."

After a moment of silence, Zhilin, the third seat, asked, "Who else knows about this?"

"For now, only the Imperial Fighting Team members who were present."

Qin Ming paused before adding, "There is one more thing. Ye Qing and Dugu Yan are engaged."

The three committee members fell silent at once.

Jade Phosphorus Douluo Dugu Bo.

A ninety-first-rank Titled Douluo, the greatest poison user on the continent, infamous for his eccentric temper.

His precious granddaughter actually had a fiancé?

And it was this person Prince Xue Xing had forced into the academy?

Bai Baoshan was the first to recover. He slowly let out a breath. "Our worries were unnecessary... I thought the person Prince Xue Xing recommended would be some spoiled young master."

Zhilin stroked his beard and nodded. "He's a genius, not trouble. We came out ahead on this one."

Meng Shenji, however, frowned slightly. "Qin Ming, how is Yu Tianheng doing?"

Qin Ming briefly recounted the battle.

When he reached the part where Yu Tianheng had been trapped by the Green Lotus Sword Formation and forced to admit defeat, the expressions of the three committee members became rather subtle.

The young clan leader of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, an heir of one of the Upper Three Sects, had been beaten by an unknown newcomer until he had no ability to fight back.

"Everyone in the academy knows Yu Tianheng likes Dugu Yan."

Bai Baoshan sighed. "Now the girl he loves has been taken away, and he was defeated too... Given the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's prideful nature, this may not end well."

Zhilin continued, "Neither side can be offended."

On one side was the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, one of the Upper Three Sects.

On the other was Dugu Bo, the most troublesome Titled Douluo.

He looked at Meng Shenji. "Chief, what do you think?"

Meng Shenji remained silent for a long time.

Only after lifting his teacup for a sip did he slowly say, "Let the young people handle young people's affairs themselves."

"If old men like us interfere too much, people will only find fault with us."

He looked at Qin Ming. "Keep a closer eye on Yu Tianheng. Don't let him brood himself into a corner."

Qin Ming nodded in agreement.

He knew perfectly well that this was essentially a tactful way of saying, "We can't afford to offend either side, so we'll smooth things over."

Sure enough, the adult world had no right or wrong, only positions.

Meanwhile,

Ye Qing stood on the main road of Heaven Dou Royal Academy and let out a heartfelt sigh.

"How is this an academy? Isn't this a palace?"

The main teaching building before him was constructed entirely from white granite.

It stood seven stories tall.

The side buildings stretching out on both sides resembled a pair of spread wings.

A relief carving on the front of the structure depicted a soaring giant dragon.

Two fist-sized crystals were embedded in the dragon's eyes, refracting rainbow-colored halos beneath the sunlight.

Dugu Yan crossed her arms, a trace of pride flashing through her jade-green eyes.

"Heaven Dou Royal Academy answers directly to the Heaven Dou Empire's royal family. Across the whole continent, only Spirit Hall Academy and Star Luo Royal Academy can compare to it."

Ye Lingling softly added from the side, "The academy covers more than three thousand mu. It has teaching buildings, training grounds, simulated cultivation zones, a library, dormitories, and separate residences specially built for noble students."

She paused. "Yanzi and I live in the residences. Ye Qing, would you like to take a look?"

"Lingling."

The tips of Dugu Yan's ears reddened. "Why bring that up?"

Ye Lingling gave a slight bow, her voice gentle as a spring breeze. "I thought Ye Qing should know."

Dugu Yan turned her face away, but the grip around Ye Qing's arm tightened a little further.

The three continued onward.

As they passed the simulated cultivation area,

Ye Qing looked through the crystal walls and saw all kinds of terrain reproduced within,

lava, ice fields, dense forests, swamps... He could not help clicking his tongue in private amazement.

Ordinary academies did not have so many simulated cultivation grounds.

As they crossed the plaza before the main teaching building,

several students in uniforms were sparring beneath the enormous swan statue at the plaza's center.

One Soul Ancestor possessed a Two-Headed Wolf Martial Soul, while the other Soul Elder wielded a Flame Blade. The two were evenly matched.

Ye Qing stopped to watch for a while.

Then he turned to Dugu Yan and said something that nearly made her laugh aloud. "They're fighting pretty seriously."

"But why do their moves look like they're in slow motion?"

Dugu Yan rolled her eyes, though her jade-green eyes were full of amusement. "Do you think everyone is as freakish as you?"

Ye Qing rubbed his nose.

Ye Lingling quietly listened to their conversation from the side, a faint smile appearing on her lips.

She realized that Ye Qing behaved completely differently when speaking with Yanzi than he did around everyone else.

That ease was not an act. He truly treated Yanzi as one of his own.

By the time the three had finished touring the campus, dusk was approaching.

The setting sun dyed the white granite buildings gold and crimson.

Ye Qing was just about to make some remark about how enormous the academy was.

When Dugu Yan suddenly remembered something and stopped.

"Oh, right. Teacher Qin Ming told me something earlier."

"What was it?"

Dugu Yan said, "I'm taking you to the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena."

"Huh?"

Ye Lingling answered for her. "The Imperial Fighting Team's training assignments include Soul Fighting-related tasks."

"New members must register for a personal Soul Fighting Badge at the Great Soul Arena. Their results will be included in the team's assessment."

Ye Qing's eyes lit up.

The Great Soul Arena!

The site of countless famous scenes he had read about in the original story.

Tang San's Thousand-Hand Asura had made his name here.

Now it was his turn?

"Then let's go."

Dugu Yan was about to nod when a green figure suddenly descended from the sky.

The figure landed in an outrageously flashy pose.

Robes fluttering, beard and hair flowing in the wind.

An eerie green afterglow unique to the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor's Soul Power still lingered around him.

He looked exactly like a fantasy-version superhero making a grand entrance.

Dugu Bo stood with his hands behind his back, his jade-green eyes sweeping over the three of them.

Dugu Yan's eyes brightened, and she rushed over to hug her grandfather's arm.

"Grandpa!"

Ye Lingling, meanwhile, took a step back.

She folded her hands before her and gave a slight bow.

"Greetings, His Excellency Green Phosphorus."

Her tone was flawlessly respectful.

Dugu Bo nodded faintly.

His gaze settled on Ye Qing.

"..."

After waiting for a moment,

he found that the brat merely stood there and nodded at him, without offering even a proper salute.

Old Poison frowned. "Brat, don't you know the etiquette for greeting a Titled Douluo?"

Ye Qing tugged at the corner of his mouth and cupped his hands in greeting. "Greetings, Senior."

His tone could not have been more perfunctory.

Dugu Bo's beard trembled.

Annoyed!

Extremely annoyed!

The little bastard had at least known to kneel when they were at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

Now that they were in Heaven Dou City, his wings had hardened, had they?

"Tch."

Dugu Bo clicked his tongue. A dangerous glint flashed through his jade-green eyes, but he did not lash out.

Dugu Yan keenly sensed her grandfather's displeasure and hurriedly changed the subject. "Grandpa, why are you back again?"

Dugu Bo withdrew his gaze from Ye Qing, his tone returning to its usual cold arrogance. "Your grandfather never left Heaven Dou City."

His tone suddenly shifted. "I heard you brat beat up Yu Tianheng?"

Dugu Yan corrected him, "Grandpa, it was a spar. An official Soul Fighting spar."

"It's all the same."

Dugu Bo waved a hand.

Dugu Yan looked a little worried. "Grandpa, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan won't cause trouble for Ye Qing, will they?"

"A brat who doesn't even have a Martial Soul Avatar, and he still has the nerve to call himself a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon?"

Dugu Bo snorted.

He looked toward Ye Qing and asked, "Are you scared, brat?"

To his surprise, Ye Qing remained utterly calm. "Didn't you say you would protect me? What is there to fear?"

"Oh?"

Dugu Bo was somewhat surprised.

But then he let out a sinister chuckle.

"Well said. A mere Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan—what is there to fear?"

Dugu Bo knew very well that he was no match for that old dragon Yu Yuanzhen.

After all, that old dragon was a ninety-fifth-rank Titled Douluo, far stronger than himself, a ninety-first-rank Titled Douluo.

But Dugu Bo's confidence lay in his poison.

If he truly risked his life, he could wipe out that entire clan.