Fried Scorpion

Since Hu Yan Zhen had guessed that Hu Yanlie was dead, they must have also speculated about the fate of Tuoba Lan, who had been with Hu Yanlie.

The Holy Dragon Sect's conclusion must have been that Tuoba Lan had died as well.

"The Holy Dragon Sect's sphere of influence is near Spirit City. The family mainly relies on the Great Soul Arena to gather information, and there hasn't been anything unusual.

I guess they're worried about being linked to the Elephant Armor Sect. Even now, the Elephant Armor Sect hasn't shown any sign of wanting to submit to Spirit Hall!" Old Scorpion analyzed.

After hearing this, Dugu Feng had new doubts.

During the later Soul Master Competition, everyone knew that the Elephant Armor Sect had submitted to Spirit Hall.

Why were they unwilling to reveal it at this point?

The purpose of secretly pledging allegiance was nothing more than to play a role at a critical moment.

Could it be for the benefits behind the Great Soul Arena?

The share of benefits that had originally belonged to the Clear Sky Sect—there was less than a year until the Six Great Powers' decision.

Could Spirit Hall be planning to take that vacant share?

It was very possible.

After all, they had forced the Clear Sky Sect into seclusion. It was only reasonable for them to swallow that share of the benefits.

But among the Seven Great Powers controlling the Great Soul Arena, the Holy Dragon Sect itself was supported by Spirit Hall. If Spirit Hall took the vacant share, and added the Five Element Alliance that the Elephant Armor Sect belonged to—

Then they would have taken nearly half of the Great Soul Arena.

This must have been Bibi Dong's ambition!

The Great Soul Arena represented endless wealth and the laws of the Spirit Master World. It was incomparably important.

Dugu Feng felt that he had guessed Bibi Dong's intentions.

First, seize financial power. Only with money could she recruit troops and expand Spirit Hall's influence.

Even—

Suddenly, Dugu Feng felt a chill run down his spine.

There had been no news whatsoever of the Dugu Family in the later story.

It seemed that the Dugu Family had only Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan left.

If Bibi Dong was even bolder, she might want to use the Elephant Armor Sect to suddenly turn against its allies and destroy one of the powers.

Thinking of this, Dugu Feng could no longer sit still.

The Holy Dragon Sect had suffered such enormous losses, yet they had not uttered a word.

They were worried about being connected to the Elephant Armor Sect.

For them to endure so quietly, Bibi Dong's ambitions were definitely enormous.

Dugu Feng voiced his speculation, then concluded, "Bibi Dong, the Pope of Spirit Hall, has been in office for six years. Once the internal situation stabilizes, she will begin expanding outward. The Elephant Armor Sect is her tool. The family must be careful!"

Bibi Dong was ruthless and somewhat insane. Nothing she did would be surprising.

Old Scorpion was stunned by Dugu Feng's analysis!

From the Holy Dragon Sect revealing no information at all, he had inferred that the Elephant Armor Sect and Spirit Hall must be plotting something.

The Young Master was fucking monstrous!

His meticulous mind filled Old Scorpion with admiration.

"I'll report this to the Clan Leader. Oh, right, Young Master, this is a snack prepared for you. Try it first!" Old Scorpion said, as if remembering something.

Before Dugu Feng could react—

A plate had appeared before him. The contents of it made his scalp tingle.

He had already eaten serpent meat for two years.

Was he going to have to eat scorpions now?

Would he have to eat spiders, toads, and centipedes in the future too?

Why those three?

Because before he had enrolled, his bargain-bin father, Dugu Shuo, had already told him about the Tyrant Poison spirit ring configuration cultivated by the Clan Leader.

The first five spirit rings needed to be configured with five types of Poison Attribute spirit beasts.

They were called the Azure Phosphorous Five Poisons, the composition of Tyrant Poison that the Dugu Family had developed through countless experiments with poisonous spirit beasts.

They were serpents, Poisonous Scorpions, spiders, centipedes, and toads. Toads were frogs!

His Second Spirit Ring had already been decided: he would absorb a Scorpion Spirit Beast.

Seeing the look of disgust on Dugu Feng's face, Old Scorpion was deeply dissatisfied. "Young Master, the Poisonous Scorpions on this plate are all spirit beasts. Do you know how difficult they were to catch?

After catching them, we starved them for a month, then drowned them in salt water before frying them over high heat.

Look at them. Their shells are puffed up and golden, crisp without being hard, fragrant and delicious. Countless people would love to eat them but never get the chance!"

Dugu Feng was speechless. Of course, he knew Fried Scorpion was a famous dish. Even on Blue Star, plenty of people enjoyed eating it.

When he ate serpent meat, at least it came in chunks, its original shape no longer visible.

But scorpions were swallowed whole, which gave him a bit of a mental hurdle.

Whatever, it was for cultivation too!

Dugu Feng grabbed a small scorpion and tossed it into his mouth.

It really was crunchy.

Since he had started eating, he did not hesitate any longer. He quickly finished an entire plate of scorpions.

"Young Master, how does it feel? After being deep-fried at high temperatures, the scorpion poison has weakened somewhat. It is just right for helping you familiarize yourself with a mixture of serpent venom and scorpion poison!" Old Scorpion asked tentatively.

That was the true purpose of making Dugu Feng eat fried scorpions: to prepare him for absorbing his Second Spirit Ring.

They would select Scorpion Spirit Beasts with varying levels of venom according to Dugu Feng's tolerance.

Dugu Feng carefully sensed his body.

Sure enough, a trace of poison had entered his body. This poison was gray. It first merged with his Soul Power, then part of it fused into his flesh and blood.

In the end, the Pill Bead absorbed part of it as well.

"I don't feel anything," Dugu Feng said, savoring the aftertaste. It really did taste good.

Other than the flavor, he truly felt nothing else.

Old Scorpion immediately grew somewhat excited. Feeling nothing meant his tolerance was strong.

He rubbed his hands together and produced a Leather Pouch. It stood over a person's height tall.

"It's yours. Eat more whenever you have nothing to do. It's filled with all kinds of fried scorpions. Oh, and Young Master, think carefully about what kind of Scorpion Spirit Beast you want for your Second Spirit Ring. When the time comes, I'll take you to hunt one.

"I'm familiar with every type of Scorpion Spirit Beast on the entire continent!" Old Scorpion said smugly.

Dugu Feng opened the Leather Pouch, and sure enough, it was packed full of fried scorpions.

Old Scorpion was truly sinful. How many Spirit Beasts had he killed?

But they really were delicious.

With a sweep of both hands, Dugu Feng stored the entire pouch inside his Storage Belt.

As for Old Scorpion's bragging, Dugu Feng thought, Are you familiar with a scorpion like the Ice Empress? What a braggart.

When the time came, he could choose the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion species. Dugu Feng fell into thought.

A moment later, Old Scorpion left.

Dugu Feng sat down cross-legged and continued cultivating. The Whale Dragon's energy had already settled into his body, and after eating so many fried scorpions, the energy within him was abundant.

Now was the time for the Pill Bead to show its usefulness.

It absorbed energy, then transformed it into a trace of special heat that enhanced his Body Strength.

Dugu Feng entered a state of cultivation once more.

"Thirty-eight. There's still sixty-two percent left before the energy within the Pill Bead is full. The Whale Dragon increased the energy by one point."

Dugu Feng felt delighted. Very good. Keep it coming. I'm going to make Pill Beads like crazy.

I'll make a hundred or so Pill Beads.

When I encounter an enemy, I'll blow up eight or ten of them. If that doesn't blow you to death, I'll— Dugu Feng thought smugly.

And so, Dugu Feng's life as a student began.

It was nothing like what the other students had imagined.

Dugu Feng kept an exceptionally low profile.

Even when it came to classes, he often did not attend.

He only occasionally went to listen to courses that he considered important.

The rest of the time, he was either in his dormitory or at the Simulated Cultivation Field.

He cultivated, cultivating without end.