Everyone worked for the empire, that was true. But throwing away one's life for such a meager salary from the empire was simply foolish.
The further Soul Masters cultivated, the more they wanted to advance, especially people like them who had already stepped into the Soul Douluo realm and were only a step away from breaking through to Title Douluo.
After the group had completely left, silver light flickered in Duan Yu's eyes. He compressed the power of space and swept it across the surroundings. Only after confirming that there was truly no danger nearby did he withdraw Heaven's Secret. With a flash of silver light, he swiftly departed.
Meanwhile, at the crown prince's palace in the Heaven Dou Empire.
"What did you say?"
Xue Qinghe looked at Pufferfish below him, his eyes blazing with anger. "You mean to say that a perfectly healthy, living person just vanished into thin air?!"
Pufferfish dropped to one knee and forced himself to answer, "Young Master, everything I said is true."
"Heh."
Xue Qinghe sneered, anger rising in his voice. "You mean that a living person vanished into thin air right in front of you, and then you vanished into thin air along with him?!"
Xue Qinghe's words were sharp, aimed directly at Pufferfish, leaving him at a loss for words.
What could he say? Was he supposed to say, yes, yes, that was exactly what happened? That the Young Master's friend had suddenly disappeared, and he had no idea what had happened either?
Pufferfish recalled the scene from back then, and even now, he still could not understand what kind of power it had been.
He had watched helplessly as Duan Yu vanished in a flash of silver light. Even he himself had been carried out of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan by some inexplicable force. By the time he came to his senses and tried to resist, it was already too late.
Xue Qinghe glared at Pufferfish. Pufferfish lowered his head without saying a word.
The two remained locked in a silent standoff. In the end, Snake Lance could no longer stand watching and spoke up to ease the tension.
"Young Master, we follow you under the Great Priest's orders. Your command is our command. Pufferfish would never deceive you."
Xue Qinghe looked at Pufferfish, who was still kneeling on the ground, and waved a hand. "Get up. What happened afterward? After he disappeared, did you go find him?"
Pufferfish said nothing. After a long while, he finally answered, "No."
"No?"
Xue Qinghe grabbed the teacup from the table and smashed it to the floor. "He disappeared, and you didn't even bring him back?"
"When I returned to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, I saw a fierce battle erupting there from afar. By the time I arrived, I saw only the severely injured Yu Yuanzhen and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan on full alert."
At that, Pufferfish hesitated before continuing, "The power that could grievously injure Yu Yuanzhen was anything but ordinary. I feared being discovered, so I withdrew."
Once Pufferfish finished speaking, the room suddenly fell silent. Not only did Xue Qinghe's expression turn strange, but even Snake Lance's face changed.
Yu Yuanzhen was a level ninety-five Super Douluo. With the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan as his home ground, even the two of them would have to think carefully before facing him.
Now Pufferfish was saying that Yu Yuanzhen had been severely injured. How could Snake Lance not be shocked?
"What happened after that?"
Snake Lance pressed, "Did you see who severely injured Yu Yuanzhen?"
"No."
Pufferfish shook his head. "Their battle could be felt within a hundred miles. I was afraid of being discovered, so I didn't dare release my Soul Power too openly."
"By the time I arrived, their battle was already over. I only saw a white figure from behind in the distance. There was nothing else."
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Xue Qinghe suddenly began applauding. He laughed and said, "The two of you really put on quite a performance just to fool me."
"You didn't even bother preparing your lies, did you? You're saying that a dignified Title Douluo sensed a terrifying force from a hundred miles away."
"Then, because you didn't dare make a scene, you sneaked back and found a severely injured Yu Yuanzhen and the missing Duan Yu!"
Pufferfish's expression changed. He dropped to one knee again and said, "Young Master, everything I said is true."
Xue Qinghe's face turned cold upon hearing that. He snapped, "I don't care whether it's true or not. I want you to find him and bring him back right now!"
Just then, outside the palace, a figure dressed in a white robe walked toward them. His pace was unhurried, yet every step was steady.
Space stirred, and the hands of time seemed to sway. As that figure drew closer, the people in the palace could increasingly sense his profound control over the elements.
"This is?!"
Inside the palace.
The people caught in the standoff first felt an aura of space elements that made them uneasy. The next moment, as the distance closed, their hearts trembled.
"It's Duan Yu!"
"That kid?!"
Xue Qinghe, Pufferfish, and Snake Lance reacted one after another, their faces filled with shock.
With a flash of silver light, Duan Yu appeared inside the palace the next second and saw the group locked in a standoff, in silence so complete it could not have been quieter.
Sensing the unbearably awkward atmosphere, Duan Yu asked in confusion, "Qinghe, what is this?"
"It's nothing."
Seeing that Duan Yu was unharmed, Xue Qinghe walked over. "They were reporting to me. Are you finished with your business?"
Duan Yu nodded. "I'm done, and I gained quite a lot."
A cluster of yellow radiance emerged from Duan Yu's body. It was the divine artifact, the Mountain Dragon King's Crown. The distorted halo expanded outward, directly sealing off the palace.
As the Mountain Dragon King's Crown revealed itself, everything around them quietly began to change in some unseen way.
Xue Qinghe possessed only six soul rings and could merely sense the artifact's uniqueness. His perception was far less profound than that of Pufferfish and Snake Lance, both Title Douluo.
The instant the Mountain Dragon King's Crown appeared, the two of them sensed the change in this place.
Rather than being inside a palace, it felt more as though they were standing in an isolated mountain range cut off from the world.
"What is this?!"
Pufferfish and Snake Lance looked at each other, their expressions filled with shock.
Noticing everyone's reactions, Duan Yu smiled faintly and explained, "This is the fated item I obtained from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan—the Mountain Dragon King's Crown."
"The Mountain Dragon King's Crown?!"
Xue Qinghe was startled. "The treasure the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had kept hidden all this time was this thing?!"
"That's right."
Duan Yu nodded. "At first, the Mountain Dragon King's Crown was incomplete. It had been divided into nine parts and scattered among the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's nine mountain ranges."
"Now that I retrieved them and fused them back together, they formed this Mountain Dragon King's Crown."
"The Mountain Dragon King's Crown? What kind of dragon is a Mountain Dragon?" Xue Qinghe asked in confusion.
Duan Yu nodded. "Yes, you could put it that way. Mountain Dragons are a race, while the Mountain Dragon King is the ruler of the Mountain Dragon Clan."
Xue Qinghe froze. "But why does the Mountain Dragon King's aura feel even more powerful than the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon's?"
"Because the Mountain Dragon Clan are true dragons. By nature, they are more powerful than inferior dragons like the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon."
Before you continue