"Uncle Jin Yang, hand this Enshrined Token over to you. Keep it safe. This was specially given to me by my grandfather, the Great Enshrined, to pass on to you."
With that, Qian Renxue took an Enshrined Token out of her Storage Soul Tool and handed it to Jin Yang.
"To see the Enshrined Token is to see the Great Enshrined?"
Jin Yang took the Enshrined Token and examined it carefully.
"That's right."
Qian Renxue gave a gentle smile and a nod, repeating, "To see the Enshrined Token is to see the Great Enshrined. As long as you display this token, you can exercise the authority of the Great Enshrined within the territory of Spirit Hall."
"Thank you, Saintess, for making a personal trip here to deliver the Enshrined Token to me. Also, please thank my teacher for me."
Jin Yang accepted it calmly, casually putting the Enshrined Token into his own Storage Soul Tool.
Qian Renxue did not stay the night at the Plant Academy, resting instead at the Spirit Hall branch in Plant City.
After Lin Zhen and Jin Yang escorted Qian Renxue and the other Spirit Hall deacons back to Spirit Hall, the two of them headed to the spot where Jin Yang and Qian Renxue had performed their Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
Looking at the sacred power that still had not dissipated amidst the massive destruction caused by the soul power attack, Lin Zhen could not help feeling a pang of emotion.
"I didn't expect the child of a true dragon to still be a true dragon. Her Highness the Saintess's grace is no less than that of the Great Enshrined back then."
Having said that, Lin Zhen's gaze grew much more desolate.
He too had walked alongside the Great Enshrined of that era for a time, and had also been honored by the world with the title of a genius.
It was just a pity that nowadays he was nailed firmly at the peak of the Soul Dourol, forever unable to break through to the realm of a Titled Douluo.
The more one came into contact with true geniuses, the more one would lament one's own mediocrity, and the more unwilling one would be to accept it.
The gap between geniuses and geniuses was even greater than the gap between geniuses and ordinary people.
"Indeed." Jin Yang agreed with Lin Zhen's words.
However, he was also extremely confident in himself.
As long as he was given enough time, the path to godhood lay right beneath his feet.
Speaking of which, the Porcupinefish Douluo and the Snake Lance Douluo should be secretly protecting Qian Renxue by her side right now.
The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well in the Sunset Forest had to be grasped in his own hands; even if it were handed over to Spirit Hall, he could not let Tang San reap the benefits again.
Thinking of this, Jin Yang's gaze flashed as he looked at Lin Zhen.
"Dean, I heard there is a Poison Miasma Zone in the Sunset Forest?"
"That's right." Lin Zhen answered Jin Yang's question without hesitation.
Immediately afterward, Lin Zhen asked in turn, "What is it, curious about that Poison Miasma Zone? It's a pity I've never witnessed what it looks like inside either."
Lin Zhen shook his head. "Before I came to Plant City, poison miasma had already surrounded that place, and no one dared to approach it."
Jin Yang thought to himself that something was amiss. Logically speaking, given the Dean's age, he should be older than Dugu Bo. How could the poisonous mist have existed before the Dean arrived?
"Dean, when did you come to Plant City?" Jin Yang asked.
"Fifteen years ago."
That made sense. Fifteen years ago, Dugu Bo should have already occupied the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and set up the poisonous mist around it.
Even if Dugu Bo was only at the cultivation level of a Soul Douluo back then, it would have been enough for him to run amok unchecked in a place without any Titled Douluos.
As for why no one else discovered it before Dugu Bo arrived at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, there was no way of knowing.
The original work hadn't specified it either.
"Fifteen years ago, huh? Dean, do you think there's something inside the poison miasma?"
Lin Zhen pondered for a moment, seemingly recalling something, and spoke up, "Perhaps there really is. As far as I know, many years ago there was no poison miasma in the Sunset Forest. Perhaps this poison miasma was indeed caused by human hands."
"A few years ago, a poison-wielding Soul Douluo came to Plant City and bought many poisonous herb seeds from the Heaven Dou Trading Company."
"It caused quite a sensation in the entire Plant City at the time. After all, Plant City was only a medium-sized city, and apart from myself and that bishop from Spirit Hall, there wasn't a second powerhouse at the Soul Douluo level in the entire city."
"So when that Soul Douluo powerhouse revealed his identity at the Heaven Dou Trading Company, the bishop of Spirit Hall and I, as the protectors of Plant City, received this intelligence at the very first moment."
"Fortunately, that Soul Douluo did not harm the innocent and simply left after buying his things.
Later on, I heard that that Soul Douluo bought a residence in the Heaven Dou Imperial City and settled down there.
This Soul Douluo's Martial Soul was a Jade Phosphorous Serpent, and judging from his purchase list, I suspect that what he practiced should be poison cultivation."
"Plant City and the Heaven Dou Imperial City are separated by the entire Sunset Forest. The shortest road to the Heaven Dou Imperial City is to cross straight through the Sunset Forest. Therefore, if one were to say that the poison miasma was man-made, it is very likely the handiwork of that Soul Douluo with the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul."
Lin Zhen said a great deal, dredging up everything he could remember.
Jin Yang was naturally playing the fool while knowing the truth. He naturally knew that the true owner of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was Dugu Bo, but right now he was merely borrowing an excuse to give himself a reasonable and logical reason to make another trip to Spirit Hall.
"A Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul? Dean, I have indeed heard that a Titled Douluo with a Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul resides in the Heaven Dou Imperial City, named Dugu Bo, whose title is precisely Poison. Perhaps this person is none other than that Soul Douluo who came to Plant City back then."
"Only a few short years have passed, and he has already become a Titled Douluo. If his talent isn't simply terrifying, then there must be a treasured land of opportunity inside that poison miasma that can allow people to break through to become a Titled Douluo."
Jin Yang spoke in a calm tone, slowly stating his speculation as if it were merely casual chatting and not pointing at anything specific.
Hearing Jin Yang's words, Lin Zhen was inwardly shaken, his expression shifting slightly.
Why hadn't he thought of that?
If there really were an opportunity to break through to a Titled Douluo inside the poison miasma, wouldn't he be able to go and give it a try?
The unwillingness that had lain dormant for many years finally transformed at this moment back into the driving force of a heartbeat, making that long-dormant cultivation heart within Lin Zhen's chest thump anew.
Thump, thump...
Jin Yang turned his ear slightly, hearing Lin Zhen's violent heartbeat, and the corners of his mouth hooked upward slightly.
He spoke up at the opportune moment: "If it really is Dugu Bo, Dean, then we can notify Spirit Hall and ask Spirit Hall to uproot this tumor lurking within the Sunset Forest, to prevent innocent soul masters in Plant City who make their living by soul hunting from suffering poisoning."
"As it happens, isn't our Spirit Hall Saintess resting in the nearby Spirit Hall branch?"
If Lin Zhen still didn't understand what Jin Yang was trying to do at this point, that would truly be strange.
He raised his eyes, his gaze landing on Jin Yang, who met his look with an utterly calm expression.
Beneath the light of Jin Yang's Sunflower Martial Soul, their gazes collided, and then they simultaneously pointed at each other with their fingers and exchanged a mutual smile.
There was no need for further words; the clever maneuvering in each other's hearts was already completely transparent to both.
"Let's go. If we don't hurry over, Her Highness the Saintess will be asleep." Lin Zhen walked toward the direction of Spirit Hall with his hands behind his back.
"Coming, wait for me, Dean."
Lin Zhen seemed truly in a rush. Though his pace looked leisurely, he was actually walking very fast.
Jin Yang was only half a beat slower in his reaction and had already been left behind by Lin Zhen.
"Dean! There's no need to be in too much of a rush. Telling the Spirit Hall deacons is the same thing."
Before you continue