Plundering Early, Immunity to Ice and Fire

A prince's retainers were, in essence, his private power base.

Once a prince ascended the throne, his retainers would generally become central figures in the new reign.

However, retainers like Dugu Bo, who had reached the rank of Titled Douluo, were relatively rare.

Titled Douluo generally did not participate directly in the struggle for the Throne.

They only needed to wait for the dust to settle. With their strength, whichever emperor succeeded to the throne would make good use of them.

That was the difference between Titled Douluo and ordinary Soul Masters.

After speaking at length with Dugu Bo, Dai Chengqian felt that this old fellow really was just like his counterpart in the original story.

Although he appeared ruthless on the surface, he was actually an old man who valued affection and kept his word.

Looking at the medicinal herbs surrounding the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Dai Chengqian said,

"I'm going to take some of these herbs."

Dugu Bo waved a hand and said indifferently,

"Take whatever you like, but remember that some of them are poisonous. If there's anything you don't understand, ask me."

"No worries. I won't stand on ceremony, then."

With that, Dai Chengqian got to work.

Aromatic silk beauty, singular velvet sky chrysanthemum, eight-petal immortal orchid...

Sorry, Tang San.

I'll be taking these treasures first.

Although the Storage Space the system had rewarded Dai Chengqian with was not large, it was of the highest quality.

Dai Chengqian had tested it before. Plants sealed inside retained one hundred percent of their vitality.

He could safely store the immortal medicinal herbs inside without worrying about them spoiling.

Watching the herbs disappear one after another in front of Dai Chengqian, Dugu Bo wondered,

A Space Soul Tool?

It's hardly surprising for a prince to have one, but why can't I see where this brat's Soul Tool is?

Although he was curious, Dugu Bo did not ask.

For a Titled Douluo to need to ask because he could not even figure that out would be rather embarrassing.

After storing away all the precious medicinal herbs, Dai Chengqian's gaze settled on the only two immortal herbs remaining.

Octagonal mysterious ice grass and infernal delicate apricot.

These two immortal herbs, one bitterly cold and the other fiercely hot, both complemented and counteracted each other.

In the original story, Tang San's constitution had improved enormously after consuming them, granting him immunity to both ice and fire.

Now, Dai Chengqian intended to plunder Tang San's fortune ahead of time.

Purple Sky Divine Thunder Tiger Martial Soul possession.

Dai Chengqian unleashed two bolts of lightning, severing the two immortal herbs.

Immediately afterward, he swiftly stuffed the octagonal mysterious ice grass and infernal delicate apricot into his mouth and swallowed them.

The next second, icy blue and red light alternated within his abdomen.

Two extreme forces began battering his body.

Dai Chengqian's brows knitted, and he let out a muffled groan of pain.

"Sixth Prince, are you all right?"

"Boy, have you gone mad?"

"Many of these herbs are poisonous, and you dare stuff them into your mouth!"

At the sight of Dai Chengqian's actions, Dugu Bo's hair stood on end. He hurried to his side to examine him.

Dai Chengqian opened his eyes and smiled. "Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."

After the transformation wrought by the Purple Sky Divine Thunder Tiger Martial Soul and the Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring, Dai Chengqian's body already far surpassed those of other geniuses at his level.

Enduring the assault of those two extreme energies, he leaped into the center of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

"Sixth Prince!" Zhu Zhuqing cried out anxiously as she stared at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

"What a reckless fool."

Dugu Bo cursed, then said to Zhu Zhuqing,

"Judging by how confident he looked just now, he should be fine. Just wait here calmly."

With that, he sat down quietly nearby.

Although Zhu Zhuqing was worried, there was nothing she could do. She could only sit cross-legged and begin cultivating through meditation.

One day later.

Having successfully absorbed all the herbs' medicinal properties inside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Dai Chengqian leaped out.

A close inspection would have revealed a new pattern of alternating red and blue on his Purple Sky Divine Thunder Tiger Martial Soul.

Dai Chengqian had successfully absorbed the two immortal herbs and gained Water and Fire Immunity.

Dugu Bo looked Dai Chengqian up and down.

Although he could not sense any increase in Dai Chengqian's Soul Power,

he had a vague feeling that the brat seemed stronger than before.

Dai Chengqian looked at Dugu Bo and said,

"All right. Next, you'll need to return to the Star Luo Empire with me."

Dugu Bo nodded.

"No problem. Since I've become your retainer, naturally I'll follow you back to the Star Luo Empire."

"But I need to bring Yanyan along."

"How about you two head back first? Once I've picked Yanyan up from Heaven Dou Royal Academy, I'll go find you in the Star Luo Empire."

Dai Chengqian smiled. "It's fine. Coming along won't hurt. I happen to want to look around Heaven Dou Royal Academy, too."

"All right, then we'll go together. It'll be faster if I carry you. Don't resist."

With that, Dugu Bo waved a hand toward Dai Chengqian. A cloud of green mist appeared, wrapping around Dai Chengqian and Zhu Zhuqing and carrying them into the sky.

Dugu Bo took the two of them toward Heaven Dou City.

With a Titled Douluo carrying them, they soon arrived in Heaven Dou City.

Heaven Dou City was the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire.

As the highest-ranked academy, Heaven Dou Royal Academy occupied the finest mountain in Heaven Dou City. The entire mountain belonged to the academy.

With Dugu Bo leading the way, Dai Chengqian entered the academy without any trouble despite having no academy identification.

After arriving at the Reception Hall, Dugu Bo sent someone to fetch Dugu Yan.

Before long, a girl with short, dark-purple hair jogged into the Reception Hall.

The girl was none other than Dugu Yan.

The moment she saw Dugu Bo, she threw herself into his arms.

"Grandpa, why did you take so long to come see me? If you hadn't come soon, I would've gotten angry."

Dugu Bo stroked her head and said dotingly,

"Aren't I here now? I missed my darling granddaughter, too."

"Hmph, liar. If you missed me, why did you wait so long to visit? I'm going to tug your beard."

"Be good, no more playing around. Let me introduce you to a friend."

With that, Dugu Bo walked over to Dai Chengqian and said,

"This is His Highness the Sixth Prince of the Star Luo Empire."

Dai Chengqian smiled at Dugu Yan and said,

"My name is Dai Chengqian. Just call me by my name."

Dugu Yan looked at Dai Chengqian, raised her eyebrows slightly, and extended her right hand.

"Hello, handsome. I'm Dugu Yan. You can call me Yanzi."

At that moment, the system panel appeared.

[Dugu Yan's Affection toward you has increased by 5 points]

[Candidate Red Luan identified: Dugu Yan]

[Affection: 5 points (binding unavailable)]

Affection right after meeting me? Maybe it's because I unlocked charm...

Looks like this charm isn't completely useless after all.

Closing the panel, Dai Chengqian reached out and gently shook Dugu Yan's hand, smiling as he said,

"I've long heard that the Poison Douluo has an exceptionally beautiful granddaughter. Now that I've met you, I can see the rumors were true."

Dugu Yan smiled.

"Of course they were. You're very handsome too, Sixth Prince."

"I don't know why, but I feel especially close to you. You must be a really nice person."

"If I didn't already have someone in mind, I might even pursue you."

Close?

Hearing Dugu Yan say she felt close to him, Dai Chengqian was certain that charm was the reason she had gained Affection for him at their very first meeting.

The panel showed that his charm was level 1, with its passive influence in the "Slight Sensation" range.

The system's description of "Slight Sensation" was that, during interactions, he would passively make people feel comfortable and subconsciously want to grow closer to him.

When Dugu Bo heard Dugu Yan mention "Target Person," his brows furrowed slightly.

He pulled Dugu Yan over and hurriedly asked,

"Yanyan, what do you mean, Target Person?!"

"Oh, it's Yu Tianheng, the captain of our Imperial Fighting Team. He's from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. He's pretty nice, and we've really hit it off lately."

Hearing Dugu Yan's answer, Dugu Bo's brows relaxed a little.

It seemed Dugu Yan merely liked that Yu Tianheng and had not gotten together with him yet.

He glanced at Dai Chengqian, then pulled Dugu Yan aside and quietly explained that he intended to take her to the Star Luo Empire,

and that she would withdraw from Heaven Dou Royal Academy and enroll in Star Luo Royal Academy instead.

"I don't want to!"

The moment she heard Dugu Bo's words, Dugu Yan exploded.

She turned and pointed at Dai Chengqian, demanding indignantly,

"My grandpa wouldn't go to the Star Luo Empire for no reason."

"Tell me! Is this because of you?"

"What did you say to my grandpa?"