The Pope's disciple

"Old Poison, I admit that neither Old Ghost nor I can beat you one-on-one, but aren't you being far too arrogant? Do you know who's in there? He's His Holiness the Pope's disciple. You'd better not draw fire upon yourself. Spirit Hall's wrath isn't something you can withstand."

Yue Guan spoke coldly.

"The Pope's disciple?"

Dugu Bo froze. He was about to say something when Dugu Jue, standing beside him, spoke up. "How old is he?"

"Twelve."

Although the question made Yue Guan extremely uncomfortable, his wariness of Dugu Bo beside him still made him answer.

Dugu Jue said, "Perfect. Let us juniors settle matters between juniors. Let me in to fight him. Whoever loses, everything inside goes to the winner."

Dugu Jue's Soul Power had already reached rank forty-three, and his Soul Rings, absorbed beyond the normal age limits, were yellow, purple, purple, and black.

In his view, apart from those two bastards from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, who had also taken immortal herbs,

no one his age could threaten him.

Dealing with the person inside should be no problem either.

At the same time, he finally understood why Yue Guan and Gui Mei had come to steal immortal herbs back then. As it turned out, a Transmigrator had appeared in Spirit Hall too.

"A duel?"

At Dugu Jue's words, Yue Guan and Gui Mei both froze, strange expressions crossing their faces.

The person inside was named Xuan Jian. He had once been a homeless orphan.

The Pope had happened upon him during a Soul Ring hunt. Because he was the child of Soul Masters, she had him sent to Spirit Hall's orphanage.

He then spent two whole years in Spirit Hall's orphanage.

Only when he awakened his Martial Souls did he see the Pope again.

Admittedly, a large part of why the Pope had accepted him as her disciple was his discovery of Whale Rubber's marvelous uses, as well as her consideration of keeping the Enshrined faction from winning him over.

She was not particularly close to him, and the preferential treatment he received fell far short of that given to her other disciple, Hu Liena.

From beginning to end, the Pope had barely taught him at all, merely providing him with the corresponding resources and status.

More than anything, she treated him as a chess piece to consolidate and strengthen her own rule.

But his own talent and strength were absolutely terrifying.

Not only had he awakened Twin Martial Souls like the Pope-the Black and White Twin Swords-and Innate Full Soul Power,

he also possessed extraordinarily fearsome combat ability and cultivation talent.

At just twelve, he had cultivated to rank forty-two.

With both swords drawn, his combat power multiplied. Fighting opponents two or three Soul Rings above him was as easy as eating and drinking. He could truly be called the strongest beneath Soul Sage.

Precisely because of this, when he told the Pope he wanted a wisdom Head Soul Bone to attempt a ten-thousand-year fourth ring,

the Pope proposed at a meeting that the Wisdom Skull of Mental Concentration, obtained by the previous Pope after killing a Soul Beast, be bestowed upon this disciple of hers.

Not one of the seven Enshrined had objected.

Sending Dugu Bo's grandson to fight the Pope's disciple-wasn't that courting death?

"Old Ghost, what should we do?" Chrysanthemum Pass asked Gui Mei through voice transmission.

"Since this brat is courting death, let him die. But we should warn Old Poison first, lest he go berserk later and kill Xuan Jian at any cost. If that happens, we won't be able to answer to His Holiness the Pope when we return."

Gui Mei voiced his concerns.

Chrysanthemum Pass nodded, then looked at Dugu Bo and said,

"Old Poison, are you sure you want your grandson to fight a wagered duel against His Holiness the Pope's disciple? Don't say I didn't warn you. The one inside is a peerless genius of this era, and he has an extremely murderous disposition. Be careful your grandson doesn't throw his life away."

"Haha, you two old fellows needn't worry about that. Since my grandson proposed it, I have faith in him." Dugu Bo paid no heed whatsoever to Chrysanthemum Pass and Gui Mei's words, assuming they were merely stalling for time.

After all, once a Soul Bone was absorbed, removing it required cutting off a hand or foot, and in serious cases could cost a life.

However arrogant Dugu Bo might be, he was not bold enough to do such a thing to the Spirit Hall Pope's disciple.

Otherwise, it truly would become a fight to the death.

So he had to interrupt the other party before he absorbed the Soul Bone.

Still, out of concern for his grandson, Dugu Bo repeatedly sought confirmation through voice transmission.

"Jue, I sensed that the boy inside has Soul Power fluctuations not much weaker than yours. Since he could become the Pope's disciple, he must have something exceptional about him. Are you truly completely confident?"

"If you really can't manage it, at worst I'll fight Chrysanthemum Pass and Gui Mei myself. I refuse to believe Spirit Hall would tear all pretense of civility apart with me over a single Soul Bone."

"Grandfather, don't worry." Dugu Jue was brimming with confidence. His First Martial Soul, the Poison Flood Dragon, possessed venom surpassing even the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor's. No matter what sort of genius someone was, as long as they were a Soul Master of the same level, contact meant certain death.

Even Soul Masters one or two Soul Rings above him would suffer if touched by it. Without timely detoxification, their lives would be in danger.

Beyond that, it also possessed a flood dragon transformation ability similar to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon's.

His pair of flood dragon claws were not only incredibly venomous but also possessed immense strength, their might not the slightest bit inferior to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon's claws.

In the cramped confines of the cave behind this waterfall, his flood dragon venom could exert its greatest effect.

Never mind a Transmigrator who had never taken an immortal herb-even if Long Aotian and Yu Tianlong attacked together,

they could not possibly be his match.

Besides, as a fellow Transmigrator, he had much he wanted to say to the other party.

Just as when he, Long Aotian, and Yu Tianlong had agreed on their choices of partners.

Long Aotian had chosen his fiancée, Ning Rongrong.

Yu Tianlong had chosen Zhu Zhuqing.

And he had chosen Qian Renxue.

Over the past two years, he had already become friends with Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, whom she was impersonating. To pursue her, he had even given away the immortal herb Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower.

He believed that, once he distinguished himself in the Soul Master Tournament in the future and defeated Spirit Hall Academy, as well as Shrek Academy, which Shrek's Yu Tianlong was about to join,

and seized the throne for her in the future Heaven Dou Palace Coup,

with his own looks added to the mix, he would win Qian Renxue over sooner or later.

But now that a new Transmigrator had appeared, and one who was the Spirit Hall Pope's disciple at that, he had to be careful.

Naturally, it would be best if the other party had no designs on Qian Renxue.

If he did have designs on Qian Renxue,

then Dugu Jue would have to find a way to stop him.

Before that, however, he still needed to defeat him.

After all, strength was the foundation of every negotiation.

As for killing him?

That was completely unrealistic. Leaving aside whether Qian Renxue would start having doubts about him,

Spirit Hall behind the boy alone was not something he and his grandfather could afford to offend.

Otherwise, he would have slaughtered those two bastards, Yu Tianlong and Long Aotian, long ago.

Moreover, it was not that he had never considered Dugu Bo's suggestion, but leaving aside whether Dugu Bo could handle the pair's Martial Soul Fusion Skill,

even if he really did drive them off and seize the Soul Bone,

there was no guarantee this Transmigrator would not return and fan the flames with that madwoman Bibi Dong.