Invitation to Yu Tianheng and the Others to Join Thunder Academy, Proof from Dugu Bo

Upon hearing the invitation, Yu Tianheng fell silent for a moment. His gaze swept over the Withered Wood Mask on Yu Tianlin's face, then over Yu Tianxin standing among the Ji Ni Tai Mei Team, before he nodded.

"Alright."

He turned and gave Shi Mo and Shi Mo a few instructions, telling them to take the others back to Teacher Qin Ming first. Shi Mo clutched his still-numb hand and glanced at Yu Tianheng. Without asking questions, he left with Shi Mo, leading Yu Feng, Osler, and Ye Lingling toward the exit.

Dugu Yan remained where she was, her arms folded across her chest. Her gaze passed back and forth between Yu Tianlin and Yu Tianxin. She tilted her head slightly, as though waiting for an explanation.

"Yanyan, come with me," Yu Tianheng said.

Dugu Yan did not answer, but she had already followed him.

The lounge was in the VIP section on the eastern side of the Soul Fighting Arena. The room was not large and was simply furnished: a round table, several high-backed chairs, and a waist-high green plant in the corner.

Yu Tianlin pushed open the door and waited until everyone had entered before raising a hand to signal them to sit. He sat on one side of the round table, with Qing Luo and Yu Tianxin seated to either side of him. Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan sat opposite them. Dugu Yan leaned against the back of her chair, a faintly scrutinizing curve on her lips, in no hurry to speak.

"You called us here for something?" Yu Tianheng was the first to break the silence.

Yu Tianlin did not answer. He merely raised his right hand and slowly removed the Withered Wood Mask.

It revealed a young face. His features were not particularly sharp, but his eyes held a calmness and depth far beyond his age. His skin was fair, and his bearing was clean and composed, but none of that was the point. The point was that his face was too young—far younger than Yu Tianheng had expected.

"Yu Tianlin of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. Clan Master Yu Yuanzhen is my master."

Yu Tianheng abruptly rose to his feet, the chair legs scraping across the stone floor with a brief, piercing screech.

"Yu Tianlin? You're the one who awakened a mutated martial soul during the clan's martial soul awakening ceremony? You awakened at six years old, possessed Innate Full Soul Power, and your martial soul was the Prison-Suppressing Azure Dragon. Even my grandfather was alerted. I'd heard about you. Back then, I wondered when I might meet you. I never thought I'd see you here."

Yu Tianlin nodded once.

Yu Tianheng turned to Yu Tianxin. "Then that means the captain of this team isn't my cousin. It's you."

Yu Tianxin met his gaze and nodded calmly. "It had been him from the beginning. I was only his deputy. Our team's current strength, our combat experience, our use of soul skills, and our grasp of battle timing—all of it had reached its current level because of Tian Lin."

Yu Tianheng sat back down and remained silent for a long while. When he finally looked up, the excitement on his face had turned into a complicated sense of acceptance.

"Then we didn't lose unfairly. Even my cousin willingly serves as your deputy, so your strength truly qualifies you to be this team's core. But I still want to ask, Cousin, why has your Soul Power Level risen so quickly? During the last clan memorial ceremony, you were only level thirty-nine. How long had it been? Yet you've already broken through to Soul Ancestor."

Yu Tianxin did not answer. His gaze naturally shifted to Yu Tianlin.

Yu Tianlin placed the Withered Wood Mask on the table and lightly tapped the tabletop with his fingers. "That is why I called you here. I want the seven of you to leave Heaven Dou Royal Academy and join Thunder Academy."

The lounge fell silent for a moment. Before Yu Tianheng could speak, Dugu Yan spoke first.

Leaning back in her chair, she lightly tapped her arm with her fingertips. She did not speak quickly, but every word carried an innate bluntness.

"Wait. Why should we leave Heaven Dou Royal Academy and transfer to your Thunder Academy? As far as I know, Thunder Academy's teachers and cultivation resources cannot compare to Heaven Dou Royal Academy's. Heaven Dou Royal Academy has three Soul Douluo overseeing its teaching staff. Its cultivation rooms are equipped with the highest-grade simulated environments, and its library contains the most books in the entire Heaven Dou Empire. What does Thunder Academy have? Other than the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's name, it doesn't seem to have much worth showing."

She paused, her gaze landing on Yu Tianlin's face.

"There's one more thing. On the arena just now, you never made a move from start to finish. I admit your command was outstanding, and your teammates were indeed strong, but you yourself never even released your martial soul. You want the seven of us to leave Heaven Dou Royal Academy and follow you, so at the very least, you need to let us know whether you, as the captain, have the strength to convince the six of us besides Tianheng."

"In other words, can you represent Thunder Academy?"

Yu Tianxin was about to speak when the lounge door was pushed open from outside.

A dark green figure walked in at an unhurried pace. He was tall and thin, his dark green robe giving off a cold, ghostly sheen beneath the dim corridor lights of the Soul Fighting Arena. His hands were clasped behind his back. Under the candlelight in the room, his serpent-like eyes glimmered with a faint blue light.

Dugu Yan shot to her feet, her chair scraping loudly as it toppled onto the floor.

"Grandfather?!"

Dugu Bo did not look at his granddaughter. He walked to the round table, pulled out a chair, and sat down. His posture was casual, but when those eyes swept over the room, everyone present unconsciously straightened their backs.

"Yanyan, appearances can be deceiving." There was a hint of sternness in Dugu Bo's tone.

"You said he hadn't displayed his strength on the arena. Then did you know that two months ago, Ron, a viscount of the Balak Kingdom, sent two Soul Kings to kill him, and he slaughtered both of them alone?"

Dugu Yan's expression froze. Dugu Bo ignored the look that had stiffened on his granddaughter's face and continued.

"Do you know that his first soul ring was a thousand-year ring, his second was a five-thousand-year ring, and his third was a ten-thousand-year ring? Looking across the entire history of Douluo Continent, who else had ever accomplished that? Do you know why I joined the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan?"

Dugu Bo raised a hand and vaguely pointed toward Yu Tianlin. "He traded his detoxification method for my allegiance. He saved both my life and yours. And if the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had not extended a hand, this old man would have died at Spirit Hall's hands. Based on those two matters alone, half of this old man's life—and yours—belongs to him."

Dugu Bo leaned back in his chair, his eyes sweeping across Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan.

"As for whether he can represent Thunder Academy, he does not need to represent Thunder Academy. He represents the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. Yu Yuanzhen personally said that whatever resources he wants, he will be given; whatever people he wants, he will be given. Yanyan, do you think he has the strength to convince the six of you?"

"This old man can tell you clearly: alone, he can defeat all seven of you."