Several days passed in a flash.
"Gu brat, I heard the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect came looking for trouble with you?"
The voice arrived before its owner came into view.
Dugu Bo leaped out of the poison miasma and landed heavily on the blue silver grass.
He had only learned about this after Dugu Yan returned and told him.
"They did come looking for trouble with me, but you were probably their main target."
"Me?" Dugu Bo looked stunned.
"Yes!" Gu Ping'an nodded in confirmation.
"The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect is divided into two major factions.
Each has placed its bets on one of their twin stars, Yu Tianheng and Yu Tianxin.
Yu Tianxin is at Thunder Academy, while Yu Tianheng is at Heaven Dou Royal Academy."
"Thunder Academy belongs to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect. By all rights, it should be a better fit for Yu Tianheng than Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Why do you think he went to Heaven Dou Royal Academy?"
"You're saying he wanted to win me over through Yanyan?" Dugu Bo's expression darkened at once.
Dugu Bo was no fool. Dugu Yan had told him that Yu Tianheng had started pursuing her as soon as he entered the academy.
He had once thought it was because his granddaughter was so charming. It turned out to have been a scheme all along.
"Based on some information, that's my guess.
If you really want to know, you could try Fake Death and see whether Yu Tianheng still pursues Yanyan."
Dugu Bo's features scrunched together. Looking thoroughly constipated, he waved a hand.
"Forget Fake Death!"
He was a Titled Douluo and a guest elder of the Heaven Dou Empire's imperial family.
Fake Death just to test a little brat would be embarrassing even to mention.
"By the way, is that little girl Shui Bing'er about to obtain a Soul Ring?"
Dugu Bo suddenly looked toward Shui Bing'er, who was cultivating nearby.
"Why?" Gu Ping'an raised his head in puzzlement.
The old man Dugu Bo truly cared about those he acknowledged.
But he really was cold and withdrawn, too. Without a reason, he would never take the initiative to ask about Shui Bing'er's Soul Ring.
"I heard there's been an upheaval in the Star Dou Great Forest lately. Some older soul beasts are killing every human they see."
"Killing every human they see?" For no apparent reason, Gu Ping'an's heart lurched.
Could this have something to do with me?
He had sent five clones to the Star Dou Great Forest, and two had been smashed apart so far.
Both had been crushed by a giant bear covered in dark golden fur while sneaking into the depths beneath the Lake of Life.
That probably wasn't what had caused the upheaval in the Star Dou Great Forest.
The memories returned by those two clones showed that neither had even had time to do anything after slipping beneath the Lake of Life.
Only the first clone had nearly been smashed apart by the Titan Giant Ape after being spotted at the edge of the Lake of Life.
Afterward, they had transformed into Soft Bone Rabbits to approach the Lake of Life, then found opportunities to sneak beneath it, only to be smashed apart by Xiong Jun.
That hardly counted as anything major.
As for anything else, he had no idea.
Until a clone dissipated, he couldn't receive its memories.
Perhaps the three remaining clones had done something afterward that caused the soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest to erupt into turmoil.
"Don't worry. We won't be going to the Star Dou Great Forest anytime soon.
I've already sent clones to the Far North to try capturing a soul beast for Shui Bing'er's Soul Ring."
"Don't go looking for trouble with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect over me and Yanyan, either. That old dragon is powerful.
Give me some time. Once I've grown stronger, I'll settle accounts with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect myself." Gu Ping'an looked at Dugu Bo with a hint of concern.
He worried that Dugu Bo might charge straight into the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect and unleash his fury over what had happened to him and Dugu Yan.
"You can rest easy, too. I'm not that impulsive.
I came this time because I wanted to ask you a few things.
Is the current Heaven Dou Crown Prince, Xue Qinghe, actually Spirit Hall's Young Master?"
Dugu Bo's expression gradually turned serious.
Spirit Hall's Young Master replacing the Heaven Dou Crown Prince, Xue Qinghe, was an enormous matter. He needed to understand her intentions so he wouldn't get dragged into it.
He also wanted to hear Gu Ping'an's opinion.
"Yes! The Heaven Dou Crown Prince, Xue Qinghe, is Spirit Hall's Young Master, Qian Renxue.
She infiltrated the Heaven Dou Empire long ago, with the aim of seizing control of its government.
If possible, you should cut ties with the Heaven Dou Imperial Family as soon as you can."
The nobles of the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire were all vermin. Once he reached the pinnacle, he would certainly carry out a sweeping purge.
"Once I've repaid my debt, I'll cut ties with the Heaven Dou Imperial Family."
Already wary of Spirit Hall's power, Dugu Bo had no objection to cutting ties with the Heaven Dou Imperial Family.
The only thing troubling him was his debt of gratitude.
Ah! Gu Ping'an sighed inwardly.
Dugu Bo's moral standards were far too high.
Prince Xue Xing had saved him once. Who knew how many things he had done for the prince since then, yet he still hadn't repaid that debt.
Put some people from his previous life in that situation, and their response would have been:
I never begged him to save me.
He chose to save me himself. What does that have to do with me?
Of course, if Dugu Bo hadn't drawn such clear lines between gratitude and grudges, or valued loyalty and affection so deeply, Gu Ping'an wouldn't have approached him.
"The Heaven Dou Crown Prince, Xue Qinghe, wants to see you. He says he has two resources with extremely strong metal and water attributes. Whether you meet him is up to you.
Yanyan is still at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, so I'll head back first."
Having delivered the message, Dugu Bo planned to knock some sense into Yu Tianheng once he returned.
He couldn't act against the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect for now, but knocking some sense into Yu Tianheng was no problem.
"Hm? They're back!"
Gu Ping'an suddenly raised his head and looked toward the area outside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Three figures crossed the outer poison miasma and appeared out of thin air inside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
"Your clones?" Dugu Bo, who had been about to leave, turned back and looked at Gu Ping'an in confusion.
He wondered whether the one who had been talking to him all this time was the original or a clone.
Until now, Gu Ping'an's clones generally never left the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, except to deduce cultivation methods or escort Dugu Yan back to Heaven Dou.
Now three identical figures had returned from outside, with blue silver grass wrapped in layers around objects beside them. They didn't look as though they had returned from capturing soul beasts in the Far North.
For a moment, he was rather confused.
"The five clones I sent to the Star Dou Great Forest."
After answering Dugu Bo, Gu Ping'an turned to the three clones.
"We raided Xiong Jun's lair. Time was tight, so this was all we could bring out.
Also, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm says he has a way to escape, but he needs help diverting the attention of the ferocious beasts.
With ferocious beasts watching him, he can't escape."
No wonder the soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest were in an uproar. Xiong Jun's lair had been raided.
The three clones dissipated, and their memories returned.
Several Soul Bones lost their blue silver grass wrappings and fell straight to the ground.
"These are... Soul Bones, and very old ones at that."
Dugu Bo's expression froze. He looked at Gu Ping'an, then at the Soul Bones on the ground, his eyes filled with astonishment.
"Who is Xiong Jun?"
Dugu Bo swallowed and asked quietly.
Where did someone this wealthy live? I'd like to raid his lair, too.
He could tell at a glance that these Soul Bones were very old, though he would need to handle them to determine their exact ages.
"What, you want to have a go at Xiong Jun?" Gu Ping'an looked at Dugu Bo in amusement.
"Xiong Jun is a dark gold terrorclaw bear over four hundred thousand years old. In terms of fighting strength, he could probably arm-wrestle a Limit Douluo!"
"Uh..."
Dugu Bo stiffened, and the eager look on his face vanished instantly.
A few strands of blue silver grass curled around the Soul Bones that had fallen to the ground and lifted them.
A hundred thousand years!
A hundred thousand years!
"This one..."
Gu Ping'an's gaze settled on a Head Soul Bone.
Its energy fluctuations felt even stronger to him than those of the Blue Silver Emperor's Soul Bone back then.
"Good stuff!"
Gu Ping'an reached out and grabbed it. With Soul Bones this old, his Soul Power cultivation would soon rise rapidly.
Those he couldn't use himself could still improve the cultivation of the people around him.
Gu Ping'an ran his fingers over the Soul Bones one by one.
There were seven in total. Three surpassed the Blue Silver Emperor's Soul Bone, though he wasn't sure of their exact ages.
The remaining four were all Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones.
"Xiong Jun really is wealthy!" Gu Ping'an marveled.
The names of ferocious beasts such as Da Ming, Er Ming, Zi JI, Bi Ji, and Snow Empress passed through his mind one after another.
If I could take all these ferocious beasts' collections...
Before you continue