Yue Guan spoke calmly:
"We're in Heaven Dou City on business. Arrange a place for us to rest!"
"Oh, right!"
Yue Guan suddenly looked at Su Chen and instructed Salas:
"This young friend Su Chen is an honored guest of Spirit Hall. Remember not to neglect him. Do your best to meet any requests he might have."
Salas nodded. "Yes, Your Eminence." He then said to Su Chen:
"If you need anything while you're in Heaven Dou City, send someone to Spirit Hall to contact me at any time."
Su Chen nodded in thanks. "Much appreciated. Please have the bishop arrange for someone to take me to Heaven Dou Royal Academy in a little while."
Hu Liena sounded puzzled. "You're leaving so soon?"
Su Chen nodded. "The sooner I finish my business, the sooner I can take you out to have some fun."
"I might be gone for two or three days. Don't worry—wait for me here at Spirit Hall. I'll come back as soon as I'm done."
"Okay!"
Hu Liena nodded and said no more. The group followed Salas into Spirit Hall.
A short while later.
Su Chen chatted with them at Spirit Hall for a little while, then stood up, ready to take care of business.
The Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well—the sooner he got his hands on it, the better. He hated dragging things out, and he still needed to cultivate there and improve his water and fire immunity.
Meanwhile, Shrek would probably be starting classes soon. He couldn't afford to arrive late.
If he did, the catgirl maid might make up with Dai Mubai again. That would be a disastrous loss!
Seeing Su Chen get up, Hu Liena asked, "Are you heading out now?"
Su Chen nodded, then looked at Yue Guan and Gui Mei. "Don't follow me in secret. I have something to take care of, and if Dugu Bo catches you, it'll make negotiating with him harder."
Yue Guan and Gui Mei exchanged glances, their faces tinged with embarrassment. Had Su Chen already guessed?
Hu Liena stepped forward and kissed Su Chen on the cheek. Lowering her head, she whispered:
"I'll wait here for you to come back. Be careful."
Su Chen patted Hu Liena on the head, turned, and headed outside. Salas had already arranged a carriage.
In the main hall.
Seeing that Su Chen had left, Yue Guan turned to Hu Liena and asked:
"Nana, should we keep following him?"
Gui Mei also looked at Hu Liena. Although their mission was to keep an eye on Su Chen, Hu Liena's wishes came first. Bibi Dong had personally instructed them on that.
Hu Liena thought for a moment before answering, "Let's hold off for now. He specifically told us not to follow him. If we do it anyway, he'll definitely be unhappy!"
Xie Yue asked with a curious look:
"Are we still going to Sunset Forest?"
"Heh." Yue Guan turned toward Xie Yue with a smile. "Have you two reached Level 50 yet?"
Xie Yue and Yan both shook their heads. Yue Guan scolded them, "Then what are you going to Sunset Forest for? Spend the next couple of days cultivating!"
"Try to break through to Level 50. That way, this trip won't have been for nothing."
Yan and Xie Yue looked embarrassed. One had only just broken through to Level 48, while the other had just reached Level 49. Reaching Level 50 seemed impossible.
Yan suddenly looked at Hu Liena and asked:
"By the way, Nana, what level are you now? I can't even sense your Soul Power Level anymore."
Xie Yue also stared at his sister with a strange expression. Ever since Hu Liena had started spending time with Su Chen over the past few days, she seemed to have grown much stronger all at once.
Yue Guan and Gui Mei looked at Hu Liena too. They had noticed something strange about her long ago. She had been at Level 49 at first, then Level 50... and after that night, she had jumped straight to Level 60.
It was obvious this had something to do with Su Chen's secret. They also understood that discovering this secret was the purpose of their trip, so neither of them had asked about it.
Hu Liena smiled faintly and said to Yan and Xie Yue, "A Level 60 Soul Emperor. I can beat both of you without breaking a sweat. As for how, that's a secret!"
"What?"
"That's impossible!"
Yan and Xie Yue clearly didn't believe her. The three of them had always been about evenly matched, with little difference between their Soul Power Levels.
They remembered that not long ago, Hu Liena had only just broken through to Level 49. How had she suddenly reached Level 60?
Hu Liena said nothing, pride swelling in her heart:
Should I tell them my Soul Rings are purple, purple, purple, purple, red, and red?
Should I tell them I have two Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones?
Should I tell them how strong I am now, or how terrifying my trump cards are?
Meanwhile.
At Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
Su Chen arrived in a Spirit Hall carriage. After getting out, he stopped a noble girl student who was heading out and asked:
"Could you do me a favor?"
As he spoke, Su Chen pulled out a hundred Gold Soul Coins and gestured that they would all be hers if she helped him.
The girl had seemed impatient at first. A hundred Gold Soul Coins? Was he trying to fob off a beggar? She'd give him two hundred if he'd just get lost. But when she saw Su Chen's tall, straight figure, well over six feet, and his exquisitely handsome face, all her irritation vanished. She offered eagerly:
"I... I can! What do you need me to do? Anything!"
As she spoke, her chubby little face flushed red.
Seeing her reaction, Su Chen realized money was getting in the way of romance. He put the Gold Soul Coins away and, with a handsome face that could make readers swoon, spoke gently:
"Please help me find Dugu Yan from your academy. Tell her someone is waiting at the gate with something very important to discuss."
The round-faced girl's expression dimmed. "You're looking for Senior Dugu? I don't know if she'll come. There are lots of people trying to hit on her. Maybe you could ask me out instead..."
Su Chen added:
"My name is Dugu Qiubai. I'm a distant cousin of her mother's family, her great-uncle by blood. By seniority, she ought to call me Great-Uncle."
"Just tell her her Great-Uncle is here to see her. Surely she won't refuse to come out and meet me?"
The girl: ???
The round-faced girl was completely dumbfounded.
Dugu Qiubai?
A great-uncle? They both had the surname Dugu... It had to be true, right?
"Wait here for a little while. It'll take me some time to find Senior Dugu."
Su Chen nodded with a smile:
"Okay!"
"I'll be waiting!"
The round-faced girl blushed and trotted off.
Su Chen found the whole thing amusing. I've gone so far as to pretend to be your great-uncle. Surely you can't refuse to come out and chop me up, can you?
Meanwhile.
Dugu Yan was growing more and more nervous. Dugu Bo had asked her several times, but it wasn't that she didn't want to tell him—she simply couldn't reveal the contents of those diary entries!
Ye Lingling stood nearby, looking troubled too. She also thought that Su Chen was absolutely awful.
"Senior Dugu, I finally found you."
The round-faced girl had spent ages asking around the academy before finally finding Dugu Yan watching the fountain.
Dugu Yan's heart suddenly tightened. She looked at the girl, unease rising within her.
"J-Junior, what do you want with me?"
The round-faced girl was a little younger than Dugu Yan, and the two weren't close. That only made Dugu Yan more nervous... Could that bastard have come?