Qian Renxue Deduced the Truth

Dugu Bo withdrew his spirit bone and slowly descended to the ground. He walked over to the statue and nudged the petrified Pufferfish with his toe. Only after confirming that no trace of life remained did he finally relax. The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor martial soul turned into a streak of dark green light and returned to his body. Then he turned and walked toward Yu Tianlin.

"How are you? Are you hurt?"

Yu Tianlin put away the Azure Dragon Halberd as the blue-gold glow around his right leg gradually faded. He lowered his head and looked himself over. His robe had been torn in several places by the poisonous spikes, but his flesh was unharmed. "I'm fine. Luckily, you arrived in time. If you'd been any later, I might not have held on."

Dugu Bo stopped before him and looked him over from head to toe. Only after confirming that he showed no signs of poisoning did he continue, "How did you provoke people from Spirit Hall? Pufferfish is an elder of Spirit Hall, a level ninety-two Title Douluo. He isn't just some nobody."

Yu Tianlin briefly explained how he had been forced to expose his ten-thousand-year third spirit ring during his battle against the Shrek Seven Devils at the Soul Fighting Arena. He also mentioned that Spirit Hall's intelligence network covered the entire continent, so Pufferfish had most likely come to investigate under someone's orders.

After hearing this, Dugu Bo fell silent for a long while. His expression grew unusually grave.

"So that's how it is. Then it makes sense. A ten-thousand-year third spirit ring is simply too shocking. Once it was exposed, Spirit Hall could never ignore it."

Dugu Bo looked toward Suotuo City. "We can't stay here any longer. The Title Douluo Spirit Hall sent hasn't reported back, so they'll send more people sooner or later. Next time, there may be more than one Title Douluo. Let's dispose of the body first, then return to the clan immediately."

Yu Tianlin nodded. His thoughts were much the same as Dugu Bo's. Their training in Suotuo City was over.

The two walked over to She Long's stone statue. Dugu Bo raised a hand and struck with his palm. Jade Phosphorous poison corroded both the statue and the corpse within into powder. When the wind blew, the dust scattered across the wilderness and mixed into the soil.

By the time they returned to the inn, it was already Ling Chen. The corridor was completely silent. Yu Tianlin knocked on every door in turn and gathered everyone in his room.

Yu Tianlin stood in the middle of the room and only spoke after everyone had arrived. "Training is over. Pack your things. We return to the clan at dawn."

Everyone voiced their acknowledgment.

That very morning, the group arrived at the gates of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

Meanwhile, at the Crown Prince's Residence in the Heaven Dou Empire, Qian Renxue had just returned from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. After removing Xue Qinghe's mask, her expression was far from pleasant.

That old fox Ning Fengzhi had been flawlessly guarded in every word. She had probed him indirectly for over half an hour about the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, but he only said that he had previously sent Sword Douluo Chen Xin to inquire about the situation. However, the other side had been unwilling to reveal anything, so there was nothing he could do except assume they might have obtained some major opportunity.

Qian Renxue did not believe a single word of that. With the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's intelligence network, it was impossible for them to have found nothing. Ning Fengzhi did not not know; he simply did not want to say.

She paced around the secret chamber for several steps before stopping. Without turning her head, she asked, "Elder Snake Lance, still no news from Elder Chi Xue? It's been so many days already." In the corner of the chamber, a burly figure bowed slightly. He was Snake Lance Douluo, whose martial soul was the Snake Lance, a level ninety-two Title Douluo.

"Reporting to the Young Master, there is no news on my end either. The people I sent to Suotuo City reported that they saw no trace of Elder Chi Xue in the city. There are no records at the Soul Fighting Arena either. Elder Chi Xue's last contact with our covert agents was several days ago. There has been no word since."

Qian Renxue's pupils contracted slightly. A Title Douluo would not vanish into thin air. She Long had gone to Suotuo City to investigate that boy with the ten-thousand-year third spirit ring, and then no information had returned. What did that mean? A very bad premonition had already formed in her heart. She turned around, her tone turning cold.

"You will personally go to Suotuo City and investigate Elder Chi Xue's whereabouts. I refuse to believe that a Title Douluo could simply disappear into thin air."

After accepting the order, Snake Lance Douluo immediately set off for Suotuo City.

Upon reaching Suotuo City, he flew into the air. The senses of a level ninety-two Title Douluo spread outward, bringing every inch of land within several miles into his perception.

The lingering Soul Power fluctuations in the air, the barely noticeable traces of battle on the ground, the poisonous aura that had seeped into the soil—these clues, entirely imperceptible to ordinary people, were as clear to a Title Douluo as a bonfire in the night.

Before long, he found a place in the wilderness north of Suotuo City that had clearly seen a fierce battle. The ground had caved in, forming a shallow pit dozens of paces wide.

Snake Lance landed at the edge of the pit, closed his eyes, and carefully distinguished the lingering Soul Power fluctuations in the air.

The first aura of Soul Power was familiar: Pufferfish's unique poisonous aura, indicating that he had fought here for quite some time. The second caused Snake Lance to furrow his brow. It was a dark green poison attribute, cold and tyrannical, its quality no lower than Pufferfish's poison. Across the entire Douluo Continent, only one Title Douluo could release poison-attributed Soul Power of this level: Dugu Bo.

Snake Lance shifted his gaze from the air to the ground. At the bottom of the shallow pit, a patch of grayish-white ashes was mixed with the dirt. The surrounding vegetation had all withered, and the soil had been corroded black by poison. He crouched down, dipped a little ash with his finger, and rubbed it between his fingertips.

An extremely faint trace of Pufferfish's poison lingered in the ashes. Combined with the two entwined Soul Power fluctuations in the air, even the stupidest person should have been able to guess what had happened. Chi Xue had been killed by Dugu Bo. His corpse had been disposed of, leaving not even a single bone behind.

Snake Lance stood up and remained silent for a long time. As fellow elders of Spirit Hall, he had known Chi Xue for many years. Though they were not particularly close, witnessing a colleague reduced to ashes still shook him deeply. He did not linger in the wilderness. With a flash, he vanished from where he stood.

In the secret chamber of the Crown Prince's Residence, Qian Renxue sat at the back. The candlelight before her cast shifting shadows across her face. Snake Lance stood before her and gave a detailed report of what he had discovered outside Suotuo City.

The residual Soul Power of Chi Xue, Dugu Bo's poisonous aura, and the ashes on the ground—all of it matched. Chi Xue was already dead, killed by Dugu Bo.

Qian Renxue remained silent for a long time. Dugu Bo had killed Chi Xue, which meant Dugu Bo had been in Suotuo City at the time. And Dugu Bo was now part of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. The masked boy he had protected had to be from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan as well.

The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had recently gained a new Title Douluo. Together with Dugu Bo, that made three. And now, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had produced another monstrous genius with a ten-thousand-year third spirit ring.

All the clues linked together in Qian Renxue's mind, forming a complete chain. She had been investigating the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's hidden trump cards and trying to uncover the identity of that genius with the ten-thousand-year third spirit ring. Now, every fragment had fallen into place.

The person she had sent Chi Xue to recruit was from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, and was very likely the crucial core behind the clan's recent explosive growth in strength. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had actually nurtured such a monster.

She raised her head, and an icy glint flashed through her eyes. They absolutely could not allow this person to keep growing. At his current rate of progress, it would only take a few years before the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan produced a supreme expert capable of threatening Spirit Hall's position. He had to be strangled before he truly matured.