The four-academy meeting at Godwind Academy quietly drew to a close.
The four deans went their separate ways, secretly arranging their people and waiting only for dawn the next day.
Meanwhile, at another institution in Heaven Dou City.
Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
The afternoon breeze was gentle and warm, and quite a few students were chatting and playing together on the grounds during their free time.
"I heard a team called Shrek recently appeared over in Suotuo City. Apparently, every member is a monster, and they act without restraint. They even broke the Soul Fighting Arena's winning-streak record."
Beneath the shade of a tree, Yu Tianheng looked toward the distant training grounds and casually struck up a conversation. A hint of competitiveness showed in his eyes as he continued:
"If I get the chance, I'd like to go to Suotuo City and spar with this rising team, to see just how much real ability they have."
Dugu Yan sat quietly beside him, listening absently to the various rumors he recounted about the Shrek Team. Her expression remained calm, and she paid little attention.
Something else occupied her thoughts at that moment.
It was that time of the month again. Her grandfather would always go out alone for three to five days, never telling her where he had gone.
Although she knew her grandfather was a Titled Douluo, Dugu Yan still could not help worrying.
As she sat lost in thought, a gust swept past, stirring the fallen leaves on the ground and blowing a slip of paper to her feet.
Dugu Yan casually picked it up, and her gaze fell upon it. She could not help freezing for a moment.
Several lines were printed on the paper in rather exaggerated language. The gist was that a little shop beside the Star Dou Great Forest could let people acquire twin martial souls...
After reading it, she could not help feeling astonished.
Twin martial souls? You could acquire them later in life just by paying?
This completely overturned the ironclad laws of martial souls she had known since childhood.
But once her astonishment passed, Dugu Yan immediately shook her head, dismissing it as a cheap swindler's trick.
"Yanyan, what are you looking at?"
Yu Tianheng noticed something unusual about her and quickly came over.
Dugu Yan hid nothing, handing him the flyer directly.
Taking the paper, Yu Tianheng read it softly, word for word. The next second, he let out a derisive laugh, his face filled with disdain.
"Absolutely ridiculous! Twin martial souls are a heaven-defying gift bestowed at birth. You'd be hard-pressed to find even one among ten thousand Soul Masters. How could you possibly buy them for a mere Gold Soul Coin?"
"To think such a cheap scam could exist in the grand Heaven Dou Imperial City."
His first impression took hold, and he instinctively assumed the shop was swindling people within Heaven Dou City, never taking a close look at the remote address printed on the paper.
Dugu Yan watched him quietly, neither correcting nor contradicting him.
Only deep within her clear eyes did a faint thought quietly flash past.
What if... what this flyer says is true?
But it was only a thought, and she soon suppressed it.
How could such a heaven-defying opportunity be obtained so easily?
The afternoon quietly slipped away until the sun sank low.
Dugu Yan bid her companions farewell and returned to Dugu Manor in Heaven Dou City.
The moment she stepped into the courtyard, a familiar blue-green figure came into view.
It was Dugu Bo, who had not returned home for days!
Seeing her grandfather back safe and sound swept away every worry in Dugu Yan's heart. A bright smile instantly spread across her face, and she hurried over at a light run.
"Grandpa! You're back!"
At the sight of his granddaughter's lively excitement, Dugu Bo's stern features softened, and he spoke with a faint smile:
"While I was away these past few days, did anyone dare bully my Yanyan?"
Dugu Yan proudly raised her little face, her voice light and confident:
"My grandpa is a mighty Titled Douluo! Who in all of Heaven Dou City would dare bully me?"
After grandfather and granddaughter exchanged a few words about everyday matters, Dugu Yan suddenly remembered the flyer she had picked up during the day. A thought stirred, and she looked up and asked earnestly:
"Grandpa, there's something I want to ask you. Is there really anything in this world, or any method, that can let someone acquire twin martial souls later in life?"
Dugu Bo paused slightly at her words, a trace of surprise flickering in his eyes.
His granddaughter had never asked such questions before. Why had she suddenly brought this up today?
But seeing Dugu Yan's earnest gaze, he still answered patiently:
"When I was young, I traveled far and wide, and I know many of this Douluo Continent's secrets. But creating twin martial souls out of nothing later in life, breaking the ironclad law that martial souls are determined at birth, goes far beyond human capabilities. I'm afraid only a god could perform such a miracle."
Seeing the disappointment that instantly appeared in Dugu Yan's eyes, Dugu Bo felt something stir in his heart and hurriedly asked:
"But why are you suddenly asking about this, Yanyan? Did someone say something to you?"
Dugu Yan gently shook her head and said quietly:
"No one said anything. I just picked up a flyer at the academy today."
Dugu Bo raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"Could that flyer have mentioned some way of letting people acquire twin martial souls?"
Dugu Yan nodded and gave him a rough account of what the flyer said.
After hearing her out, Dugu Bo did not speak immediately.
What his granddaughter had described sounded like something he had heard somewhere before...
Suddenly, his gaze sharpened.
He remembered!
A few days earlier, the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison had faintly flared up, causing a trace of his aura to leak out, and the Dragon Duke and Snake Granny had pursued him.
They had mentioned that little shop. At the time, he had paid it no mind, thinking it was merely some novel trick of the unorthodox arts.
Now that he had heard about it again from his granddaughter, the two accounts corroborated each other and drew his attention.
"Yan'er."
Dugu Bo's expression grew more serious.
"Do you know exactly where that shop is?"
At his question, Dugu Yan thought back for a moment and said:
"The address on the flyer seemed to be in the most remote town beside the Star Dou Great Forest, and then a little farther ahead."
It matched.
Every clue in his memory lined up!
Dugu Bo was shaken to his core, his eyes filled with disbelief.
So what the Dragon Duke and Snake Granny had said that night had not been nonsense! And that unassuming little shop very likely could let people acquire twin martial souls!
Beside him, Dugu Yan clearly noticed the change in her grandfather's expression and could not help asking softly:
"Grandpa, what's wrong? Have you seen that flyer too?"
Dugu Bo suppressed the towering waves surging within him. After coming back to his senses, he shook his head and explained in a low voice.
"I haven't seen the flyer, but a few days ago, I happened to hear rumors about this mysterious shop from others."
"So that's what happened!"
Understanding dawned on Dugu Yan. Intense anticipation instantly flared in her heart, and her eyes shifted slightly as she considered how to ask her grandfather to take her there and investigate.
But before she could speak, Dugu Bo had already leaped up, flicking his sleeves as he said:
"Yanyan, come. I'll take you to have a look at that shop."
"Yes!"
Hearing this, Dugu Yan nodded emphatically, overjoyed. Her little face was filled with excitement and eager anticipation for the shop.
And with Dugu Bo's cultivation as a rank ninety-two Titled Douluo, flying through the air at full speed took only a short three hours!
Grandfather and granddaughter had already appeared outside the Star Dou Great Forest, at the entrance of that mysterious little shop in its secluded location.
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