Dugu Bo nodded, his expression grave.
"The situation in Heaven Dou City is a little strange lately. Emperor Xue Ye's health is getting worse and worse. Prince Xue Xing came to me once, suspecting he'd been poisoned."
"I examined him too, but didn't find anything unusual. Could you..."
"No!"
Su Chen refused outright.
Dugu Bo had thought he was agreeing, then suddenly realized otherwise. He stared in bafflement.
"Didn't you just say I could ask you for anything?"
Su Chen casually held Ye Lingling close.
"I remember telling you before that I'm a prophet. I can see a thousand years into the past and future, so nothing is a secret to me."
"I naturally know what's happening in Heaven Dou City."
Dugu Bo hurriedly asked, "Who did it? Was it him?"
Su Chen looked at Dugu Bo calmly and asked, "Have you had enough of living? Or do you think Yanzi has?"
Dugu Bo's expression darkened as he frowned. "Prince Xue Xing saved my life. I can't just stand by and do nothing."
Su Chen looked at Dugu Bo, his expression serious.
"I won't meddle in other people's business, but I came from the lowest rung of society. Naturally, I'm more fond of how the Spirit Hall serves the common people, and resentful of the empire's noble class."
"If you're determined to serve the Heaven Dou Royal Family, I'm afraid your end will be miserable."
Dugu Bo fell silent.
Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling were quiet, too.
Su Chen continued, "There's no such thing as right and wrong, or justice. Everyone just sees things from a different perspective. To you, the Spirit Hall is a wolf with wild ambitions. By helping commoners awaken their Martial Souls, it threatens the status of noble clans like yours."
"But from the perspective of someone in my position, the Spirit Hall is a great benefactor. Without its help awakening our Martial Souls, we'd be ordinary people our whole lives."
Dugu Bo glanced at Su Chen and shook his head. "There aren't many ordinary people in my family. I just can't stand the Spirit Hall's domineering ways."
"Heh!"
Su Chen gave him a meaningful smile and asked, "Then think carefully. Which is more domineering, the Spirit Hall or the empire's noble clans?"
"The nobles' exploitation of the common people is far more domineering than anything the Spirit Hall does. The reason they can't stand the Spirit Hall is that it really can threaten them!"
Dugu Yan looked at Su Chen strangely and asked, puzzled, "But the empire's greatest strength is its army. The Spirit Hall may have many Soul Masters, but it still can't threaten the empire, can it?"
Su Chen smiled as he asked, "Do you know Bibi Dong?"
"She has Twin Martial Souls and is a Level 99 Limit Douluo. She's an orphan. The Golden Generation in the Spirit Hall today are all at least Soul Power Level 40, but every one of them is an orphan or a commoner."
"The Martial Souls passed down through the various clans are impressive, but they can't compare with the Spirit Hall's one-in-ten-thousand talents. What a pity! Some of the people the Spirit Hall raises end up being bought off."
Dugu Bo looked utterly shocked.
"What did you just say? Bibi Dong has Twin Martial Souls and is a Level 99 Limit Douluo?"
Su Chen remained calm.
"Don't panic. She is indeed Level 99, but because of the Rakshasa God Trial, she has to conserve her strength to resist the backlash of the evil thoughts. She probably only dares to use power around Level 97."
Dugu Bo was troubled. Back then, Peerless Douluo Qian Daoliu had struck such terror into the whole continent that everyone had lived in fear. Now there was another Bibi Dong.
The Spirit Hall.
How terrifying!
Ye Lingling looked at Dugu Bo, her expression earnest. "Grandpa Dugu, could you keep my Martial Soul Evolution a secret?"
Dugu Bo nodded. "Of course. This is far too important for me to tell anyone."
Su Chen rubbed Ye Lingling's head and said calmly, "Even if your Martial Soul has mutated, you still pose no threat at all to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's position."
"The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect didn't get where it is today by relying on support alone. They're mainly rich! Their Martial Soul's special properties let them find treasures, and they've made so much money they don't even care about money anymore."
Ye Lingling hesitated. "I'm worried that if people find out my Martial Soul has evolved, and everyone starts calling our Nine Heart Begonia the best support Martial Soul, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect will definitely come after us."
Su Chen considered this. "We won't be able to keep it secret forever. Your family could move from Heaven Dou City to Spirit City. That way, you can avoid the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and have a better chance to thrive."
At that, Ye Lingling began to form a plan. Su Chen favored the Spirit Hall; he probably wouldn't just watch it be destroyed.
Dugu Bo sighed and spoke. "Kid, we've known each other for a while, and I can see that Yanyan likes you. If something really happens to me someday, could I entrust her to your care?"
"Grandpa!"
Dugu Yan blushed and glared at Dugu Bo. "Su Chen already said that if you insist on serving the Heaven Dou Royal Family, you'll die in the future."
"Then you could just stop serving them, couldn't you?"
Su Chen nodded and said nothing more.
Dugu Bo saw that his granddaughter's eyes were reddening and sighed softly. "I won't act recklessly. Xue Xing saved my life. After I repay him this time, I'll resign as a guest elder of the Heaven Dou Royal Family."
Dugu Yan bit her lip and lowered her head without a word, tears shimmering at the corners of her eyes.
Su Chen reached out and flicked Dugu Yan on the forehead, then said with a smile to Dugu Bo, "You old geezer, there's something I need to make clear to you. Dugu Yan's been spoiled rotten by you, a Titled Douluo, since she was little. If you really die, she'll be done for."
After speaking, Su Chen leaned down and lay his head in Ye Lingling's lap. Her silver-white stockings were cool against his cheek, a uniquely pleasant sensation.
There wasn't as much softness in her legs as in Hu Liena's. They felt about the same as a pillow, but they were wonderfully smooth to the touch!
```
[Today's diary entry is a little late. Mainly because Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan both broke through Level 40, and I spent ages looking for Soul Beasts. Good thing the Immortal Herb drew the snakes out; otherwise, I'd have needed another whole day.]
[Ah! I've just realized this world isn't the way I thought it was. In the original plot, Dugu Yan had a few more Soul Power levels than Ye Lingling. Now Ye Lingling, a support Soul Master, is actually several levels above Dugu Yan?]
[The key thing is that all of Dugu Yan's Soul Rings are purple. Her First Soul Ring is a thousand years old! How are you even more powerful than the Pure and Clean Tang Buddha? As my Tang Buddha would say—you've already earned your death.]
[Dugu Yan, Dugu Yan, looks like you're hiding a huge secret in your heart!]
Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling both looked alarmed, but when they saw Su Chen's eyes were closed, they secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
[Just to clarify, Pure and Clean God King Tang, Tang Buddha, are both what I've been calling Tang San. If my calculations are right, he should be on his way to Shrek by now, shouldn't he?]
[Now that I've written this much, I really can't wait to meet him. And that scumbag Yu Xiaogang, too. I'll make them see the charm of a top-tier villain with their own eyes. Heh heh heh!]
[Ah, wait. What was I supposed to write about in today's diary? Huo Wu???]
[Huo Wu is proud, competitive, fiery, domineering, and very strong-willed, but she's a genuine girl. She also has a simp following her around, and she once liked Tang San.]
[This Love Continent really is full of hopeless romantics and simps at every turn!]