Since they had only parted a short while ago, She Long soon caught up with Qian Renxue and Ci Xue.
"Old She, why are you back?"
Ci Xue looked at She Long in surprise, his eyes asking, "Didn't you get a new master?"
"Young..."
Out of habit, She Long had started to call her Young Lord, only to remember halfway through that he had a new master now.
"Young Lord, the young master sent me to ask you for help with something."
To distinguish between the two, She Long addressed Gu Ping'an as the young master.
"What is it?" Qian Renxue looked at She Long inquisitively.
They had only just parted, yet he had already sent She Long to find her. What could it be?
"It's about Tang San."
She Long explained Gu Ping'an's assignment, then carefully described Xiao Wu's appearance.
"Interesting! It seems he's very wary of the person behind Tang San."
Qian Renxue murmured after hearing She Long out.
He had remained perfectly composed when facing two Titled Douluos earlier, yet he resorted to schemes to deal with a mere Tang San.
"Go back and tell him I'll do as he said."
Judging by his wariness of Tang San, there really was someone behind Tang San, and that person might indeed be very powerful.
She planned to follow his instructions for now and decide what to do once she had gathered enough information.
"Oh, Young Lord, the young master also gave me this."
She Long took the Basic Cultivation Method Gu Ping'an had given him out of his Storage Soul Tool.
"What's this? Basic Cultivation Method?"
Qian Renxue took it, casually flipped it open, and froze on the spot.
"This... this is a meditation method on par with the Angel Meditation Method?"
The concept of cultivation manuals did not exist on the Douluo Continent, so Qian Renxue naturally considered it a meditation method. Unwilling to say the Angel Meditation Method was inferior, she could only call it its equal.
"Uncle Yu, sorry for the trouble, but please stay close to him and find out more about him."
After memorizing the Basic Cultivation Method, Qian Renxue handed it back to She Long.
In her eyes, Gu Ping'an had become even more mysterious.
After appearing at the Breaking Clan a year ago, he had vanished without a trace. Now he could even produce a meditation method on par with the Angel Meditation Method.
She Long gave a quiet grunt and nodded.
She had already lost me in a wager, and now she still wanted to assign me tasks?
She Long left without a word.
Watching his silently retreating figure, Qian Renxue let out a soft sigh.
She did not think she had done anything wrong. She had merely lost a wager.
"What is it? You look rather down."
Gu Ping'an found She Long's utterly dejected expression a little amusing.
Of course, he could not actually laugh.
"Perfect timing. I have something for you to do.
I want you to go to Nuoding City and keep watch in secret. The Spirit Hall may well make a move against Tang Hao.
After the Spirit Hall and Tang Hao have fought, send me word about Tang Hao's condition afterward.
Remember, don't clash with Tang Hao. You're no match for him."
"All right!" She Long nodded, then asked, "But where should I send word?"
He had no idea where Gu Ping'an lived.
"Dugu Manor, Poison Douluo Dugu Bo's residence."
"Go!"
She Long swiftly departed with his orders. He now felt like a ball being kicked from one person to another.
Besides, he might well run into his former colleagues in Nuoding City. What was he supposed to tell them then?
That his Young Lord had lost him to someone else in a wager?
Just thinking about it made his face burn.
"Tang Hao!" Gu Ping'an murmured.
Now that Qian Renxue knew Tang Hao's location, she might well ask the Super Douluos in the Worship Hall to act.
Tang Hao was already gravely injured. If even one or two Super Douluos made a move, he would be crippled if not killed.
When the time came, whether Tang Hao was crippled or dead, it would be good news for him.
And then there was Shrek.
Since it could become the crossroads where numerous factions united, it could just as easily become the source of their conflicts.
With that thought, Gu Ping'an swiftly left the Star Dou Great Forest.
He had already reached rank forty and needed Dugu Bo's help to obtain his fourth Soul Ring.
She Long could not be trusted yet, so sending him to keep watch in Nuoding City was more suitable.
A day later, Gu Ping'an returned to the Star Dou Great Forest with Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan.
Dugu Bo had come at his invitation, while Dugu Yan had insisted on tagging along.
"Little brother Ping'an, what Soul Beast are you planning to find for your fourth ring?" Dugu Yan asked curiously.
She had noticed that every Soul Beast Gu Ping'an chose excelled in some particular area. After he absorbed its Soul Ring, its ability would very likely become the Soul Ring skill he wanted.
"A Ten Thousand Binding Heavenly Net Vine around twenty-five thousand years old!" Gu Ping'an quietly stated his target.
The abilities of the Ten Thousand Binding Heavenly Net Vine and the Thousand-Leaf Clone Vine were somewhat similar: both split off more vines.
However, the Thousand-Leaf Clone Vine split its main vine into vines much like itself. Apart from their interconnected underground roots, they were almost impossible to tell apart.
The Ten Thousand Binding Heavenly Net Vine, on the other hand, grew offshoot vines from its main vine, which in turn grew further offshoots, branching endlessly.
In the end, the Ten Thousand Binding Heavenly Net Vine would spread out like a net cast across heaven and earth. Without destroying its main vine, one could easily be worn down to death.
"Twenty-five thousand years, for your fourth Soul Ring."
"My third ring is only a little over twenty-three hundred years old. My fourth will probably be six or seven thousand at most."
Dugu Yan counted on her fingers, her voice brimming with envy.
"Don't compare yourself to a monster!" Dugu Bo soothingly rubbed Dugu Yan's head.
In Dugu Bo's eyes, Gu Ping'an was not human at all. For Dugu Yan to reach rank thirty-nine as a Soul Elder at fourteen, nearly fifteen, already made her a heaven-blessed prodigy.
"Found it!"
Before long, the blue silver grass relayed information about a Ten Thousand Binding Heavenly Net Vine to Gu Ping'an.
"You found it already?" Dugu Yan turned her head in surprise.
"I remember it took a whole seven days to find the liquid slime last time."
"Still..." Dugu Yan paused before continuing, "The teachers at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy take even longer to find Soul Beasts. Ten days to half a month is perfectly normal.
Besides, they just take a Soul Ring from whatever Soul Beast they happen to encounter. They're nothing like you, little brother Ping'an.
Whatever Soul Beast you want, you find-and quickly, too."
As she spoke, Dugu Yan walked around Dugu Bo to Gu Ping'an, hugged his arm, and gently rocked it.
"Little brother Ping'an, your Sister Yan is almost rank forty. You'll have to help me hunt for a Soul Ring then!"
Gu Ping'an tried to pull his arm free, but it would not budge. He could only say helplessly,
"Don't worry. Just let me know when the time comes. As long as it isn't some extinct Soul Beast, I can find it for you."
Blue silver grass covered the Star Dou Great Forest. Apart from shape-shifting creatures like liquid slimes, he could locate almost anything.
As they chatted, the three soon reached the Ten Thousand Binding Heavenly Net Vine's territory.
"That's the Ten Thousand Binding Heavenly Net Vine?" Dugu Yan took a small step back in surprise.
Gu Ping'an could not help frowning either.
He knew the Ten Thousand Binding Heavenly Net Vine produced many offshoots and covered a wide area, but he had not expected this many or this much ground.
Countless vines sprawled across an area roughly the size of two basketball courts.
To kill it effectively, they would have to find its main vine among them.
"Senior Dugu, we're counting on you!"
Gu Ping'an pulled Dugu Yan back a few steps, leaving the space to Dugu Bo.
When it came to area attacks on the Douluo Continent, Dugu Bo was still the best.
Dugu Bo waved for Gu Ping'an and Dugu Yan to retreat farther.
Once they had withdrawn to a safe distance, Dugu Bo swept both hands out, sending a sky-blotting cloud of eerie green poison gas over the Ten Thousand Binding Heavenly Net Vine.
Hiss-hiss-hiss-
The Ten Thousand Binding Heavenly Net Vine could not withstand Dugu Bo's poison. Entire swathes of offshoot vines corroded into a murky liquid that flowed over the ground.
In mere moments, all its offshoots had been completely corroded away, leaving only a main vine, more than half destroyed, struggling on the brink of death at the center.
"Gu brat, catch."
Dugu Bo tossed over a porcelain bottle, and Gu Ping'an caught it with a flick of his hand.
"These are Antidote Pills I developed using your blood. They can protect other people from my poison for a certain amount of time."
Gu Ping'an would have to enter the center to absorb the Soul Ring, inevitably coming into contact with some of the poisonous liquid on the ground.
Dugu Bo had given him the Antidote Pills to prevent any lingering poison from affecting him while he absorbed the Soul Ring.
Gu Ping'an nodded slightly, poured out a pill, and swallowed it.
In truth, taking the Antidote Pill or not made little difference. Having undergone tempering through ice and fire, he possessed a degree of immunity to certain poisons.
Taking the Antidote Pill merely added another layer of insurance.
Once he sensed the Antidote Pill taking effect inside him, Gu Ping'an walked straight toward the center, which was covered in murky liquid.
"Blue Silver Devour!"
The Ten Thousand Binding Heavenly Net Vine's already badly damaged main vine rapidly withered under Blue Silver Devour.
Before long, a black Soul Ring slowly rose.
Gu Ping'an immediately used blue silver grass to clear a clean patch of ground, sat cross-legged, and began absorbing the Soul Ring.
With his experience absorbing the ten-thousand-year liquid slime's Soul Ring, things went much more smoothly this time.
In less than four hours, the Soul Ring gradually sank into his body.
He had successfully absorbed his fourth ring!
"How's the Soul Skill? Are you satisfied?"
Before you continue