Dugu Yan: I Don't Acknowledge You as My Grandfather!

On the other side.

Dugu Yan had also found Dugu Bo, who was currently in the imperial palace, at the very first opportunity.

"Grandfather, you must protect Lin Yan!"

"This whole affair started because of me. If you just stand by and do nothing, how am I supposed to stay at the academy after this?"

The young girl clung to Dugu Bo's arm, shaking it incessantly. Her tone was a mix of pouting and pleading, a sight that would stir compassion in anyone who saw her.

However...

Dugu Bo, who had always doted on his granddaughter most, acted completely out of character today, wearing a troubled expression.

"Yanyan~"

"That is the youngest genius of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon family! How do you expect me to protect him?"

"Do you have any idea how much a genius means to the legacy of an entire sect?"

Dugu Bo had already learned the full story from the girl.

At this moment, his brows were knitted so tightly they looked like a tangled mess, and his expression was as grim as it could possibly be.

Who could have imagined that Yu Tianheng would be crippled by a child who had just awakened his martial soul?

He had originally intended for his granddaughter to marry the boy, so that after he passed away, Dugu Yan would have a backer by marrying into the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon family.

And yet... Sigh.

"I don't care! Wuu wuu wuu~"

Seeing that Dugu Bo refused to agree, Dugu Yan immediately wiped away tears and complained.

"I told you already that I don't like Yu Tianheng, but you insisted that I try to get to know him."

"If you had listened to me and I had rejected him from the start, none of this would have happened."

"Anyway, you must stand up for Lin Yan, or I won't acknowledge you as my grandfather anymore."

What? She wouldn't acknowledge him as her grandfather?

Throughout history, it had always been the elders saying such things to the younger generation; yet today, it had somehow reversed on him, Dugu Bo.

Dugu Bo stared at the girl with wide eyes, only to find her gaze filled with indignation and her expression serious. Seeing her act so determined, he actually felt a bit panicked.

What kind of background did this Lin Yan have? He had only been at the academy for one day, yet he had already stolen his precious granddaughter's heart.

Dugu Bo felt increasingly agitated. Just then, a gentle male voice suddenly drifted in from outside the door.

"Senior Poison Douluo!"

The grandfather and granddaughter, who were currently at odds, both looked up toward the source of the voice and discovered that the visitor was none other than the Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, Xue Qinghe.

Dugu Bo raised his eyes in confusion.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince?"

Xue Qinghe smiled faintly and, without caring whether he was welcome or not, walked straight into the room.

"Senior, I heard that Yu Tianheng of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon family has been injured. Since I happened to be passing by, I wanted to invite you to go and visit him with me."

As soon as these words were spoken, Dugu Bo instantly smelled the scent of a scheme.

The reason he had refused Dugu Yan's request earlier was precisely because he did not want to get involved in this mess.

That was the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon family—one of the Upper Three Sects, a force that ranked among the top in the entire continent.

With their genius crippled, there was no telling how furious Yu Yuanzhen might be. Whoever got dragged into this now would be in for a world of trouble.

Dugu Bo was just a lone wolf; he had no desire to deal with this disaster.

He immediately retorted.

"That boy is injured, so why are you coming to find this old man instead of going to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon family?"

Dugu Bo's attitude was icy.

But Xue Qinghe did not mind at all and continued to explain.

"That's not the right way to look at it. This matter was primarily caused by the conflict between Yu Tianheng and Miss Dugu Yan."

"As Dugu Yan's grandfather and a guest of the imperial court, you cannot simply let the relationship between the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon family and the imperial family deteriorate."

As he spoke, Xue Qinghe looked at Dugu Yan.

"Miss Dugu Yan, wouldn't you agree?"

Xue Qinghe's gaze was piercing; his expression seemed to be asking a question, but it also seemed to be telling Dugu Yan: You cannot wash your hands of this.

But in truth, even if he hadn't looked at her that way, Dugu Yan would still have supported Lin Yan.

The young girl grabbed Dugu Bo's arm once more and began to shake it, pleading.

"Grandfather~"

Not long after, at the Ye Family in Heaven Dou City.

Xue Qinghe and Dugu Bo, along with his granddaughter, hurried over. As soon as they stepped through the gates of the Ye Mansion, they saw the three committee members gathered in the courtyard, along with the head of the Ye Family and the others.

Xue Qinghe stepped forward first to offer a greeting.

"Three committee members, Head of the Ye Family."

"How is the situation?"

The group looked toward the voice, and upon discovering it was Xue Qinghe, they bowed. Ye Rou'er, the head of the Ye Family, explained.

"It is not very optimistic."

"The child's meridians were forcibly destroyed by high-temperature flames, and his dantian has also suffered damage."

"I can save his life, but I cannot guarantee his cultivation foundation."

As soon as these words were spoken, Dugu Bo and Xue Qinghe exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of trouble in the other's eyes.

Neither of them spoke first, so Ye Rou'er continued her explanation.

"Simply put, his talent has been ruined."

"He was once a genius with innate soul power of level 9, but now... perhaps his talent is only equivalent to innate soul power of level 5, or even lower."

Hearing this, Xue Qinghe let out a slight sigh of relief.

Was it just that his cultivation speed would be somewhat affected? That was not particularly serious; it was still better than him becoming completely crippled.

He then asked a symbolic question.

"Is there no way to remedy this?"

Ye Rou'er shook her head slightly.

"Perhaps there is, but this concubine is already powerless to do so."

With that, the matter was settled.

Xue Qinghe and Dugu Bo realized that things were not as serious as they had imagined. Although Yu Tianheng was severely injured, fortunately, his meridians had not been completely destroyed.

It stood to reason that this was certainly related to Bai Baoshan's timely intervention.

Since that was the case, there was nothing to worry about.

Injuries were inevitable during sparring matches between soul masters. On this continent, no family could guarantee that their descendants would have a smooth path, cultivating to their limits according to the talent they possessed at the time of their martial soul awakening before serving their sect.

Even a genius with innate full soul power risked falling before they could grow up.

This point was beyond reproach.

It was true that Yu Tianheng was injured, and it was true that the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon family held a transcendent status.

However, Lin Yan had been sparring normally, and the Imperial Family and Dugu Bo were not without a say in the matter.

With the two sides at odds, Xue Qinghe at least held the moral high ground!

After all, this incident had been instigated by Yu Tianheng.

Thinking this to himself, the furrow in Xue Qinghe's brow relaxed slightly.

He looked toward the three committee members.

"Where is Lin Yan?"

The three committee members looked at each other for a long while before Bai Baoshan finally looked up at Xue Qinghe and said.

"He is in another room."

"He seems to know he has caused trouble; ever since I brought him here, he has refused to come out no matter how much we call him."

"So..."

Xue Qinghe waved his hand.

"Take me there first."

Before long, the group arrived at the room where Lin Yan was staying.

Xue Qinghe dismissed the others, saying.

"You should go take care of Yu Tianheng first; leave this to me."

Fearing they might be held jointly responsible, the three committee members hurriedly retreated and left.

However, Dugu Bo remained standing where he was.

Xue Qinghe looked up in confusion.

"Senior Poison Douluo, are you not going?"

"He has already been crippled, what is the use of going?"

Dugu Bo let out a cold snort.

"I am actually more curious now about what kind of ability your future personal guard has that he could actually cripple a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul user like Yu Tianheng."