Return to Heaven Dou

Something occurred to Jiang Baiyu. He turned and looked Dugu Bo straight in the eye. "Old Poison, do you want a Soul Bone?"

"What?" Dugu Bo stared at him.

"A Soul Bone. An External Soul Bone. Do you want one? It would be perfect for Sister Yanzi. What do you think?"

"Of course I do!" Dugu Bo said at once. "Do you have a lead?"

"Good." Jiang Baiyu nodded. "Then let's go back to Heaven Dou Royal Academy first. I can make some pills for Sister Yanzi and the others to raise their Soul Power. Once she reaches Soul Ancestor, we can head to Star Dou Forest together. Her fourth Soul Ring might end up a little underpowered, though. I can provide some Dragon Aura, but it definitely won't reach Ten Thousand Year." He sounded regretful. All Dugu Bo heard was that Jiang Baiyu could help Yanzi reach Soul Ancestor soon—and had already found her a suitable Soul Beast and External Soul Bone. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go."

He could barely contain his impatience and hurried them along.

Jiang Baiyu turned to Su Wu. "Old man, don't absorb a Soul Ring yet. Let me look into whether I can get you a hundred-thousand-year one."

Before Su Wu could answer, the impatient Dugu Bo had already dragged both of them away.

Seeing how eager he was, the three did not linger in Sunset Forest. They set off for Heaven Dou City.

Carriage

The carriage crossed the plains outside the city. In the distance, Heaven Dou City's towering walls came into view, with halls and pavilions stretching behind them.

They passed through the city gate and made their way to Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Its imposing entrance still stood before them, its white marble pillars gleaming beneath an elaborately carved gatehouse. The guards recognized the three returning travelers and hurried to salute and let them through. Inside, courtyards and buildings stood among a steady stream of students. The presence of soul masters could be felt everywhere.

The two secluded courtyards where Jiang Baiyu and Zhu Zhuqing had lived still sat quietly deep within the grounds.

They had been gone for many days, and all three had changed beyond recognition.

Jiang Baiyu had drawn in his Dragon Aura, but the profound power within him—the power to command yin and yang and contain a small world—still showed through faintly. He kept the power of the Dragon King Soul Bones in his arms completely hidden. Yet he could not conceal the aura that made all living things submit and drew life itself toward him.

Su Wu had pressed the full weight of his Title Douluo presence deep inside himself, allowing only a rich, steady ripple of Soul Power to escape. To an outsider, he seemed merely a high-level soul master with immense reserves, his true rank impossible to discern. A faint fragrance of herbs and greenery lingered around him.

Dugu Bo walked beside them, his appearance transformed. His hair had turned black, and even his emerald eyes had lost the chilling ferocity of Poison Douluo. He wore fine clothes, though he could not entirely suppress the power of heaven and earth that had come with forming a Soul Core.

Passing students and academy staff turned to stare. Many recognized Dugu Bo and were secretly shocked. As for Su Wu, they took him for a powerful elder traveling with Poison Douluo, at least a Soul Douluo. People stepped aside without thinking. Before long, the three reached their private courtyard.

Zhu Zhuqing was cultivating in the yard. Sensing a familiar presence, she stopped circulating her Soul Power and looked up. Surprise flashed through her dark eyes when she saw Jiang Baiyu. Then she rose and threw her arms around him. Breathing in his comforting scent of fresh greenery, she held him tight, afraid he might leave again.

During the half month she had spent training alone, she had missed Jiang Baiyu every moment. She knew she had long since fallen for her gifted senior disciple. Now that he was here, she could no longer hide how much she had missed him and clung to him tightly.

"All right, I'm back. Don't worry. Your senior disciple made it back safely, and I've gotten stronger too." Jiang Baiyu stopped concealing his presence, revealing the aura of a Soul Ancestor.

Then he whispered, "All right, let go. The old man's watching."

At that, Zhu Zhuqing jerked her head up and saw Su Wu watching them with an amused smile.

With a startled cry, she put her agility-type soul master speed to full use. She became a dark blur, shot toward Jiang Baiyu's room, and vanished inside.

"That child!" Su Wu stopped teasing. "She's worked hard, though. She's already level twenty-four." After Jiang Baiyu left, Zhu Zhuqing's desire to grow stronger had only intensified. She cultivated each day beneath the Blue Silver Emperor's life-giving presence, and her Soul Power kept rising.

Jiang Baiyu walked slowly into the courtyard. A breeze stirred the flowers and plants, and he spoke to the Blue Silver Emperor as she extended her stems and leaves.

"We're back."

Su Wu glanced over the greenery with a smile and said calmly,

"We gained a great deal from our trip to Sunset Forest. Your martial soul is finally complete."

Dugu Bo had already run off to find Dugu Yan. He wanted to show her his new Soul Power level—and tell her Jiang Baiyu had a great opportunity in store for her.

Meanwhile, word quietly reached the Education Committee: Jiang Baiyu had returned from Sunset Forest with Poison Douluo Dugu Bo and an unfamiliar high-level soul master whose presence was exceptionally strong.

That other soul master must be Su Wu, Meng Shenji thought. He's showing himself openly, without worrying anyone will recognize him. Could it be...

A possibility struck him. Excited, he called Bai Baoshan and Zhi Lin, and the three headed for Jiang Baiyu's courtyard.

Jiang Baiyu and Su Wu had barely entered when three steady, powerful waves of Soul Power approached from outside. The Three Education Committee Members had arrived.

Meng Shenji, Bai Baoshan, and Zhi Lin came together, the three veteran Soul Douluo wearing solemn expressions.

They had heard that Jiang Baiyu had returned with Poison Douluo Dugu Bo. The matter was too important to delay, so they had come in person at once. The courtyard's wooden gate stood open. As they walked in, their eyes went straight to Jiang Baiyu. The rich scent of greenery around him was impossible to miss.

Then Su Wu's presence caught their attention.

"Su Wu, you..." Meng Shenji stiffened. Disbelief filled his face, and his voice faltered.

Su Wu had grown young again. That only happened to Titled Douluo!

And Su Wu was still remarkably young. All three men's pupils contracted, their composure vanishing in an instant.

Su Wu had deliberately suppressed every trace of pressure, concealing his Title Douluo aura as best he could. But these veteran experts could not be fooled about the nature and level of his Soul Power.

Within Su Wu's seemingly ordinary body lay a complete, profound, and inexhaustible power. It was the foundation of the Great Dao that came only from breaking through the Level 90 barrier and ascending to Title Douluo!

"This..." Meng Shenji could not find the words. When they had last met, he had joked that he would have to call Su Wu "Your Eminence" next time. He had never expected his joke to come true!