Azure light wove together, and energy surged like a tide.
The seventy-thousand-year-old Azure-Scaled Giant Python Torso Bone churned wildly before She Long's chest.
It soon transformed into wisps of the purest azure marrow essence, which rushed eagerly into his body.
She Long sat cross-legged, his blood and qi surging until even his beard trembled slightly.
About half an incense stick later.
An aura far more powerful than before erupted without warning, whipping up the ice shards on the ground and a howling gale.
She Long snapped open his eyes, and two beams of purplish-green light shot into the sky.
"Hahaha! This old man has broken through again!"
He sprang to his feet and roared at the heavens, his laughter brimming with uncontrollable delight and fervor.
From level ninety-three to level ninety-four—though it seemed like a mere single level,
it was a natural chasm that countless Titled Douluo spent decades trying and failing to cross.
A top-tier seventy-thousand-year Torso Bone, an extreme compatibility with his snake-type Martial Soul, and the lingering effects of the Immortal Herb had together saved She Long at least ten years of arduous cultivation!
"N-ninety-fourth level?!"
Ci Xue's eyes reddened with envy. His teeth ground together, and he was practically bruising his own thigh from pounding it.
Dugu Bo, standing nearby, was even more shaken and envious.
Today, She Long had broken through two levels and gained a Soul Bone Skill to boot.
She Long's luck was simply heaven-defying!
"Congratulations on breaking through your bottleneck, Elder She Long," Qian Renxue offered.
With another level-ninety-four Titled Douluo's combat strength at her disposal, she felt more confident still.
"You flatter me, Young Master!" She Long hurriedly clasped his hands and bowed slightly to Qian Renxue. "This is all thanks to Xian'er!"
Then he pulled the boy, who had been watching the commotion nearby, into his arms and ruffled his hair, laughing heartily.
"If it weren't for my precious grandson, I don't know how many years it would've taken me to break through to level ninety-three!"
Watching this, Elder Ci Xue could no longer hold back.
He squeezed his way over like a cannonball.
His old face was plastered with an exceedingly fawning smile, and he even eagerly began massaging She Xian's shoulders.
"Um... Xian'er, my good god-grandson!"
"Look, your grandpa's already level ninety-four. He's quite the big shot now."
"Your god-grandpa and I have worked alongside your grandpa for ages, but I'm only level ninety-three."
"How about we make a deal? Could you arrange next year's 'guaranteed Soul Bone' for your god-grandpa?"
"Whatever tasty treats or fun things you want, your god-grandpa will scour the whole continent to get them for you!"
The moment She Long heard this, his face darkened like the bottom of a pot.
He kicked Ci Xue in the rear and glared at him, cursing, "Ci Xue, you shameless old coot! Have you no dignity?"
"You're old enough to know better, yet you're begging a child for a treasure. If word gets out, you'll bring shame on all the Spirit Hall elders!"
Ci Xue wasn't even angry after getting kicked.
He rubbed his backside and chuckled, his face thicker than Heaven Dou City's walls.
"Old Snake, easy for you to say when you're not the one missing out."
"If you're so displeased, spit out that Torso Bone you just got!"
"I'm only trying to help pave the way for the Young Master's great ambitions. Xian'er, isn't that right?"
Watching two old codgers who were nearly two hundred years old combined bicker in front of him, She Xian helplessly rubbed his temples.
At that moment, it was Qian Renxue who had to step in and rescue She Xian.
"That's enough. You two, stop fooling around."
Qian Renxue turned to look at She Xian. "Xian'er's talent can only be used once a year."
"What Soul Beast we hunt and what Soul Bone it drops are both unknown."
"We can't force this. Everything will be up to Xian'er's own wishes and arrangements."
Her words made it clear that she indulged She Xian.
She Xian blinked, then followed Qian Renxue's lead and patted his chest, grinning. "Don't worry, Grandpas!"
"Now that everyone's seen the results, let's set the rules today."
"From now on, this day every year will be our Heaven Dou Squad's Annual Soul Bone Hunting Day!"
"We'll specifically target top-tier Soul Beasts over fifty thousand years old!"
"As for any Soul Bones they drop, they'll go to whoever they're most compatible with."
"What do you think of those rules?"
"Good! Excellent!"
Ci Xue clapped his hands in approval, his eyes shining like two giant light bulbs.
"Fair! Open! Transparent!"
"Your god-grandpa wholeheartedly approves!"
She Long was also beaming with pride. He stroked his chin, grinning from ear to ear. "That's my family's boy, all right. He knows how to handle things!"
Dugu Bo, standing at the very back, swallowed hard.
A guaranteed Soul Bone over fifty thousand years old!
If he could get one, he'd be grinning in his sleep!
But alas...
Dugu Bo gave a wry smile to himself and very sensibly took a step back.
She Long was the young master's biological grandfather, Ci Xue was his god-grandfather, and Qian Renxue was his own teacher.
He was merely a subordinate who had just been forcibly subdued and was atoning through service. How could he compete with these core figures for resources?
Still, if he wholeheartedly served the Young Master and the Young Master's little grandson, surely there'd be no shortage of benefits for him in the future?
At that thought, Dugu Bo's loyalty rose another notch.
"Dugu Bo."
Qian Renxue turned around, her voice instantly shifting back to the authority and coldness of a superior. "Effective today, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well is designated a forbidden site of Spirit Hall."
"You'll remain here to guard this treasured land. If anything goes wrong, or even a whisper of this place gets out..."
Qian Renxue's phoenix eyes narrowed, murder gleaming in them.
Dugu Bo shuddered in fright and crashed down onto one knee. He pressed his forehead firmly to the ice. "I swear to defend this forbidden site to the death! If I fail in the slightest, I'll come before you with my head in my hands!"
"Good."
Qian Renxue swept her sleeve and said no more. "Elder She Long, Elder Ci Xue, let's return to Heaven Dou City!"
Heaven Dou City.
The setting sun's afterglow bathed the magnificent city walls, draping this ancient and bustling metropolis in a golden veil.
After returning to Heaven Dou City, Qian Renxue didn't hurry to take She Xian back to the Crown Prince's Residence.
Instead, Qian Renxue walked alongside him through the bustling streets.
She Xian had assumed Qian Renxue would take him straight to a feast.
But as they walked, he noticed the buildings growing ever taller and the din growing deafening.
A massive circular structure, rugged and imposing, stood before them, as if a giant beast had coiled itself at the city's center!
The Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena!
She Xian froze when he saw the enormous blood-red emblem above the building.
He scratched his head in bewilderment. "Teacher, aren't we going back to the residence for dinner? Why come to this bloodthirsty place?"
Qian Renxue turned her face slightly, a hint of playful sternness flashing through her golden eyes.
"Xian'er, do you think that just because you've reached level twenty-four and possess an Immortal Herb Soul Ring and divine talent, you can rest easy?"
Qian Renxue stopped and looked down at the boy.
"Shut yourself away and train, and you'll accomplish nothing."
"True power isn't forged in a hothouse. It's won through slaughter at the edge of life and death!"
She pointed at the Great Soul Arena before them, its atmosphere reeking of blood and fervor, and declared firmly, "Starting today, I'll register you under an alias."
"Other than meditation and cultivation at the Crown Prince's Residence, you must fight at least one match here every day."
"But you must not reveal your Twin Martial Souls."
"This will be your most important training for the next few years."
Hearing Qian Renxue's demands, She Xian wasn't the least bit reluctant. Instead, his eyes lit up and the corners of his mouth curled wildly upward!
Heaven knew how bored he'd been cooped up in the strictly regulated Crown Prince's Residence, facing a bunch of etiquette tutors and hidden sentries every day. He was bored enough to feel his bones rusting.
Meditating in seclusion every day? How could that compare to thrashing all those so-called "geniuses"?
"Fighting every day?"
She Xian rubbed his hands together, excitement and mischief glimmering in his eyes.
"Teacher, you said it!"
"You'll have to cover for those two Thousand-Year Soul Rings of mine."
Seeing that the boy wasn't afraid at all and was instead itching to get started, Qian Renxue was rather pleased.
"Cover for you?"
She elegantly flicked her robe, parted her lips, and delivered an utterly domineering line:
"Here in Heaven Dou City, as long as you don't bring the heavens crashing down, I'll stand behind you no matter what happens!"
Before you continue