Have a pleasant journey

"Pagoda Master Leng, you say the Tyrannosaurus Rex's disappearance was an accident. I hope you can give us a reasonable explanation."

One hour before Gu You obtained the Seven Deadly Sins, inside the Spirit Transmission Council Hall of the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda.

A group of people sat around the room, and an elder spoke up.

Leng Yaozhu folded her arms across her chest. After leaving the East Sea Spirit Transmission Pagoda, she had returned to Shrek City alone.

The distance between East Sea City and Shrek City was, for a Super Douluo like her, only two hours at full speed.

The existence of the Tyrannosaurus Rex was monitored in real time by all eighteen "Heavenly Towers'" Spirit Ascension Platforms. Its disappearance could not possibly be concealed.

So Leng Yaozhu could only face the pressure from the Spirit Pagoda council head-on.

Though rather than saying it was pressure from the council, it would be more accurate to say it was pressure from the Qiangu Family.

Among the council members present, the one who should have come had not. It seemed he really was somewhat displeased with what she had done today.

Leng Yaozhu gave a light snort. She couldn't be bothered to look at Qiangu Dongfeng's expression. Did he think she didn't know what was going through his head? As if he was worthy?

Because of this matter, until the problem was resolved, she would not bring Gu You to the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda.

As for Gu You's safety, she had already arranged for people to protect him.

"An explanation?" Leng Yaozhu smiled. "The explanation is that it disappeared for no reason at all. If you have real-time footage of the Tyrannosaurus Rex, you'll see that its state at the time had already turned illusory. It charged toward my disciple, then vanished."

"Afterward, I conducted a series of checks on my disciple, and there were no abnormalities. Rather than saying this to me, you should take a proper look at the Spirit Ascension Platform. Don't let it fall into disrepair with age and end up with some huge bug."

As Leng Yaozhu's words fell, the council sank into a brief silence.

Several older councilors exchanged glances, the expressions on their faces as if they were weighing something. No one who could sit at this table was a fool. Everyone could tell that this Heaven Phoenix Titled Douluo had no intention of yielding on this matter at all.

"Pagoda Master Leng," a gray-robed person on the left side of the council table broke the silence. "The Tyrannosaurus Rex is one of the Spirit Pagoda's core assets in the Spirit Ascension Platform. Its disappearance cannot be glossed over with a simple claim of old age and disrepair. I hope the child can come to headquarters for another examination, to avoid any aftereffects."

Come to headquarters for an examination, to avoid aftereffects? Sounds so kind. Like hell I believe you!

Leng Yaozhu raised her phoenix eyes slightly and looked at the gray-robed person.

"What kind of beast is a Tyrannosaurus Rex supposed to be? My disciple has already joined the Spirit Pagoda, and his talent could not be exchanged for ten Tyrannosaurus Rexes. I advise you all to behave yourselves. If you're still dissatisfied, feel free to continue holding council tomorrow, and you'd best call Qiangu Dongfeng over."

With a flick of her hand, Leng Yaozhu rose and left, leaving the council members present staring helplessly at one another.

A faint fish-belly white appeared on the horizon, and morning arrived right on schedule.

The energy of heaven and earth slowly gathered in one direction. Gu You's breathing was even, and the energy he drew in was slowly absorbed by him.

Deep within his dantian, in the region of his abdomen, it seemed as though it had eaten its fill at that moment.

It let out a satisfied burp of "Urgh!"

The next moment, Gu You opened his eyes, and the soul power within his body ascended once more.

Breakthrough, rank thirteen!

Awesome!

That was Gu You's first feeling after breaking through in soul power rank. He felt as though his entire body had been washed clean. The grogginess he originally felt after waking up in the morning instantly dispersed, leaving him full of energy.

"Looks like fusing two thousand-year soul spirits at once yesterday gave me too big a boost. My soul power had already broken through two ranks, and after cultivating a little, it broke through again."

Looking at his hands, Gu You rolled out of bed, his gaze falling on the long black case at the head of the bed.

The Seven Deadly Sins. Everything last night really had been real!

He reached out and stroked this treasure. When he had time, he would try opening it and see whether, in his hands, the Seven Deadly Sins could display its true might.

After washing up, Gu You was just about to head out and find a staff member to mention breakfast when the Soul Guidance Communicator in his pocket suddenly rang.

A Soul Guidance Communicator functioned more or less like a phone. He took out the communicator, and the incoming call displayed "Leng Yaozhu."

After giving him this communicator, Leng Yaozhu had saved her own communication number in it.

"Teacher."

Gu You answered. He had not expected Leng Yaozhu to call him so early in the morning. Fortunately, he had gotten up early. If he had slept in and missed it, that would have been awkward.

"How is it? Did you get used to staying at the Spirit Pagoda last night?"

Leng Yaozhu's gentle voice came through the communicator.

"I'm very used to it. I even broke through while cultivating last night."

Having a teacher care about him first thing in the morning really was nice.

The corners of Gu You's mouth rose, and before he knew it, he thought of Gangzi, comparing the difference between Tang San's teacher and his own teacher.

Conclusion: whoever had a teacher like Gangzi was truly blessed!

On the other end of the communicator, when Leng Yaozhu heard that Gu You had broken through while cultivating last night, her face twitched.

If she remembered correctly, Gu You had still been an ordinary person yesterday. With this cultivation speed, if they piled on some resources, reaching Soul Ancestor at nine years old was not just a dream!

It seemed that before long, first place on the Youth Genius Ranking, a sub-ranking of the Continent Wind and Cloud Ranking, would fall into the hands of this disciple of hers.

"Not bad. Keep working hard." Leng Yaozhu's voice continued, "Soul power rises fastest in the early stages. The later stages are where the real test begins."

"This disciple understands."

How could Gu You not understand that? But a young man could not afford to lose his spirit. He believed in himself; even in the later stages, his soul power would rise without obstruction.

"All right, let's talk business." Leng Yaozhu's tone over the communicator turned serious. "Something has come up at the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda for the time being, so it isn't convenient for me to bring you to headquarters."

"But you don't need to stay cooped up in the East Sea Spirit Transmission Pagoda either," she went on. "There's a large auction being held in Tiandou City soon. You can go take a look. I hear it's the biggest event Tiandou Auction House is holding this year. They'll have auction items of every category—soul bones, heavenly treasures, earthly riches. If you're lucky, you might even run into something interesting."

"An auction?"

Gu You's interest was piqued, but going to an auction required money, and right now he did not have a single coin on him. He was so poor his pockets jingled with emptiness.

"You don't need to worry about the funds. I've already arranged for someone to prepare them. You'll be seeing them very soon."

Leng Yaozhu's next words gave Gu You a reassuring pill.

He did not need to worry about the funds!

Look at that. This was what you called domineering.

"Teacher, is the trouble on your end serious?"

He put the matter of the auction aside for the moment. Gu You was somewhat worried about Leng Yaozhu's situation.

She was the vice pagoda master of the Spirit Transmission Pagoda. If the situation she had encountered meant she could not take him along, one could imagine how serious the problem was.

"Not serious, just annoying," Leng Yaozhu replied with a smile. She had not expected her disciple to ask about her affairs. Did this count as concern?

"Treat the trip to Tiandou City as a vacation and broaden your horizons." At this point, Leng Yaozhu paused, then added, "Have a pleasant journey. Remember, you are now my, Leng Yaozhu's, disciple. When you're out in the world, don't embarrass your teacher."

The communication ended there, and Gu You had not even had time to reply.

"A pleasant journey? I hope so..." he murmured to himself.