The moment Dugu Yan arrived at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, several people jogged over from a distance and gathered around her.
"Yanyan, why didn't you tell me you'd broken through?"
"If Ye Lingling hadn't spent a fortune ordering a four-thousand-year-old Earth Dragon Beast from our clan's secret trading post, I wouldn't even have known."
A man in a white tailcoat stepped into Dugu Yan's path.
Beneath his striking chestnut-gold hair was a pair of puppy-dog eyes brimming with eagerness to please.
He was none other than Yu Tianheng, one of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's current "Twin Prodigies."
"Why did Lingling buy a Soul Beast from you?"
Ignoring Yu Tianheng's cute, pitiful act, Dugu Yan muttered to herself. Suddenly, a spark of realization flashed through her mind.
"Wait! She didn't buy it for me, did she?"
She knew Ye Lingling had been like this since childhood.
Even with close friends, she always maintained proper boundaries and returned every favor.
And she had always been exceptionally generous toward her friends.
Dugu Yan admired that about her. It was also why she had accepted Ye Lingling as a true friend when they were children.
"Ah, if I'd known, I wouldn't have shown off to Lingling."
Ye Lingling must have noticed that her Soul Power was stuck at the level-forty bottleneck.
Then there was the Nine-Grade Purple Ganoderma the young master had given her.
That must have been what prompted Ye Lingling to seek out the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and buy a dragon beast.
"How much did she spend? I'll pay you back."
Dugu Yan was touched, but also a little helpless.
Ye Lingling had no idea how much she had changed over the past few years.
As she was now, an Earth Dragon Beast of that age no longer caught her eye.
But it had already been bought. Returning it would be inappropriate and leave both of them unhappy.
"How could I take your money, Yanyan? It's only a thousand-year Soul Beast. If you want it, I'll give it to you."
Yu Tianheng sidled up to her again.
Dugu Yan stepped back, keeping her distance.
Before Chen Zhuo had appeared, she had indeed felt some affection for this star upperclassman of the academy.
But now that she had met someone even more outstanding, her feelings had changed.
Her interest in Yu Tianheng had dwindled to almost nothing.
"It's too young."
To shake off Yu Tianheng's pestering, Dugu Yan spoke bluntly.
"What's so difficult about that?"
"I dare say there isn't anywhere in the world with more dragon Soul Beasts than our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan."
Yu Tianheng said he had also reached the threshold of becoming a Soul Elder.
If she wanted, he could take her into the Thunder Dragon Nest to find a suitable Soul Beast.
"Really?"
Dugu Yan, who had had no intention of paying Yu Tianheng any attention, suddenly brightened.
She had no idea how much progress Crown Prince Xue Qinghe had made through his connections.
But if she could open up this route through Yu Tianheng, the result would be the same.
"I have a younger sister who's at a bottleneck too. I wonder if it would be possible..."
Yu Tianheng, who had just been making confident promises, suddenly wilted.
His earlier confidence vanished.
If he were only bringing Dugu Yan, he could wheedle his grandfather a little.
He could say he was bringing his girlfriend.
Besides, she was Dugu Bo's granddaughter. Even if the clan elders disapproved, they would show her some consideration.
But if more people were involved...
He knew that no matter how favored he was, it would be useless.
The clan was not a place where one or two people had the final say. It was held together not by blood ties, but by rules everyone had followed for centuries upon centuries.
"Thank you, Tian Heng."
"I think I'll try my luck in the Star Dou Great Forest with my sister instead."
Dugu Yan's refusal left Yu Tianheng truly anxious.
He said he would make a trip back to the clan.
He would send her a reply within a week at the latest.
A few days later.
A letter arrived from Xue Qinghe, bringing good news.
It was done.
Inside the envelope were three tokens that granted entry to and exit from the Thunder Dragon Nest.
"Wonderful!"
After holding her Soul Power back for so long, Dugu Yan could hardly wait to break through to a whole new realm.
Meng Yiran was looking forward to it too.
For safety's sake, Dragon Duke and Snake Granny would accompany them on this trip.
The Exotic Beast Academy they managed was, in fact, one of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's properties in Heaven Dou.
Dragon Duke was an honorary guest elder of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
However, the couple did not place themselves entirely under the clan's command. Otherwise, they could have secured Meng Yiran a place in the secret realm.
"Could you count me in too?"
Ye Lingling arrived uninvited and displayed a token identical to those Crown Prince Xue Qinghe had provided.
She also revealed her level-thirty Soul Power, its aura still somewhat unstable and unsteady, clearly the result of a recent breakthrough.
"Lingling, let me introduce you to someone."
Dugu Yan was overjoyed to see Ye Lingling.
She pushed Meng Yiran in front of Ye Lingling and began introducing them.
The three girls chattered away, and before long, their conversation was flowing freely.
Chen Zhuo could not get a word in.
He was happy to enjoy the peace.
And so, the party of six set off for the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
Chen Zhuo was quite curious about this clan, whose legacy stretched back nearly ten thousand years and whose martial soul stood at the pinnacle of all beast martial souls.
In the original timeline, this clan had been destroyed by Spirit Hall.
Its fate had been brushed aside in a single stroke of the pen.
The lack of any further detail only shrouded the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan in mystery.
"Everyone, the secret realm will close in three months."
"Keep track of your time."
"If you miss it, it won't open again until a year later."
Two lines of people stood on the training grounds.
An elder of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was addressing them.
The pungent smell of ozone filled the air, while visible arcs of electricity crackled and snapped.
Nine mountains encircled the area like the petals of a lotus. At the center, where the lotus platform would have been, violent thunder energy formed a spatial rift.
This was the entrance to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's inherited secret realm-the Thunder Dragon Nest.
The elite members of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's direct bloodline stood in two distinctly separate groups.
Even the weakest among them had reached level thirty and stood on the verge of becoming three-ring Soul Elders.
That was the minimum requirement for entering the Thunder Dragon Nest.
Unlike previous years, several new faces had joined the two groups this year.
"You shamelessly pestered me to trade you an entry slot."
"Looks like the girl doesn't need it after all."
At the head of the group opposite Yu Tianheng stood a youth who looked much like him, but carried himself with greater arrogance.
He was Yu Tianheng's younger cousin, Yu Tianxin.
These two were the leading figures of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's current younger generation.
Each had entered the Four-Ring Soul Ancestor realm at around twenty years of age.
Yu Tianxin could not stand his cousin's lovesick lapdog behavior, so he started mocking him the moment they met.
Yu Tianxin also gave Chen Zhuo and the others a once-over, but quickly lost interest.
To him, they were merely people who had gained access through connections, basking in the lingering shade of their families' influence.
Nothing more than suckers lining up to hand money to his clan.
"My business is none of your concern."
"Just don't end up bawling in the Thunder Mist Cavern and needing me to rescue you."
Yu Tianheng gave a cold snort.
Dugu Yan's actions had indeed left a sour taste in his mouth.
However, when he met Dugu Yan and her younger brother, both had already apologized to him.
They had been sincere. How could he still hold it against them?
"Danger lurks everywhere inside the Thunder Dragon Nest. There are not only ferocious Thunder Dragon Beasts, but also thunder restrictions left behind by generations of our ancestors."
"Make sure you stay close to me."
"Just keep walking straight ahead. Don't make any unnecessary movements."
Yu Tianheng crushed a token.
Violent thunder energy instantly surged toward him, making quite a few of the clan's direct descendants instinctively close their eyes.
A blue-and-white lightning barrier appeared around him.
Yu Tianheng's expression remained unchanged as he immediately strode toward the secret realm's spatial rift.
He continued until the plasma swallowed him completely.
"Let's go!"
Chen Zhuo gave a low shout and followed Yu Tianheng's example, stepping into the secret realm first.
The other girls followed in his footsteps.
They filed in one after another.
A true trial of life and death had only just begun.
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