At the training grounds of Blazing Fire Academy.
Huo Lie stood with his hands behind his back, his expression solemn. He had summoned Huo Wu, Huo Wushuang, and every core member of the Blazing Fire Team.
The team members exchanged glances, their faces full of confusion.
Apart from Huo Wu and Huo Wushuang, who had already heard what Feng Xiaotian had said and had some vague suspicions, none of them had any idea why the dean had suddenly gathered them.
"Dean, we still have training scheduled today. Have you gathered us for something important?"
One team member could not help asking.
Huo Lie swept his gaze over them, his voice steady and deep:
"There is no need to ask why. Get ready and follow me to the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest."
"What are we going to the Star Dou Great Forest for? The closest place there is only Suotuo City. Is there some kind of exchange tournament there?"
Another member pressed in confusion.
Huo Lie shook his head and said evenly:
"No need to speculate. Once we arrive, you will naturally understand the purpose of this trip."
Seeing the dean's stern expression and his unwillingness to say more, the Blazing Fire students did not dare ask any further. They could only suppress their curiosity and bow together in acknowledgment.
"Yes!"
Before long, everyone was ready. They set off with Huo Lie toward the Star Dou Great Forest.
Outside the gates of Heaven Dou City.
The Blazing Fire Academy group had just arrived when they saw a team of women standing ahead, all carrying a cool, aloof air.
It was the group from Skywater Academy.
The dean of Skywater Academy stood at the front, with Shui Bing'er, Shui Yue'er, Xue Wu, and the other core Skywater team members beside her.
"Shui Qinglan, dean of Skywater Academy. I thought Godwind Academy would make the same choice as me and go. I never expected it to be your Skywater Academy."
Hearing this, Shui Qinglan smiled faintly. Her gaze passed over the talented Blazing Fire students behind Huo Lie as she said softly:
"Dean Huo Lie, although our Skywater Academy usually keeps a low profile and appears to stand apart from worldly competition, that does not mean we have no desire to compete and win."
"With the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament approaching, our Skywater Academy naturally wants good results too. So of course we must take a chance on this opportunity."
At her words, Huo Lie immediately burst into hearty laughter:
"Hahaha! Dean Shui, you are far braver than those two old fellows."
Shui Qinglan said:
"Since we happened to meet, why don't our academies travel together? We can look out for each other."
"Just what I had in mind!"
Huo Lie readily agreed.
The two academy groups joined together. The deans walked side by side at the front, with the talented students following closely behind as they headed toward the Mysterious Shop.
At the rear of the group, Huo Wushuang looked toward Shui Bing'er, the captain of the other team beside him, and spoke first:
"Shui Bing'er, has your dean told you the purpose of this trip?"
Shui Bing'er shook her head lightly.
"The dean only asked me to lead the team along and didn't say anything else. From the looks of it, our teams must be heading to the same place."
With that, she looked at Huo Wushuang and asked in return:
"What about you? Has your dean told you the purpose of this trip?"
Huo Wu and Huo Wushuang exchanged a glance, then lowered their voices and told Shui Bing'er how Feng Xiaotian had received a flyer, obtained twin martial souls, and then caused a sensation at Blazing Fire Academy.
Shui Bing'er froze at their words and murmured instinctively:
"So... the purpose of this trip is to visit that rumored Mysterious Shop and seek a chance to awaken twin martial souls?"
Absurd. Bizarre.
Although her heart was full of shock and doubt, and she could scarcely believe that such a heaven-defying opportunity existed in this world, she sensibly kept all her questions to herself.
Seeing her reaction, Huo Wu and Huo Wushuang understood.
Even after witnessing Feng Xiaotian's second martial soul themselves, they still found it somewhat unbelievable, let alone Shui Bing'er, who had never encountered any of this.
Afterward, they continued their journey, chatting intermittently and sharing their everyday training experiences, gradually becoming more familiar with one another.
Time passed. By nightfall, they finally found the Mysterious Shop.
Just as they were about to enter, a streak of emerald light suddenly swooped down from the sky and landed steadily before them.
It was Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan, who had made a special trip here after classes at Heaven Dou Royal Academy had just ended.
At the rear of the group, Huo Wushuang's pupils contracted slightly. He recognized the girl at a glance and instinctively blurted out:
"Dugu Yan!"
Dugu Yan turned at the sound. Seeing that it was Huo Wushuang from Blazing Fire Academy, she paid him no further attention.
"Oh? People from Blazing Fire and Skywater. I didn't expect you to find this place too."
Dugu Bo swept his gaze over the group before settling on the two deans. Neither pleasure nor anger could clearly be heard in his words.
Seeing this, Huo Lie and Shui Qinglan stepped forward together and lightly cupped their hands:
"Greetings, Your Excellency Dugu."
Dugu Bo nodded slightly, his expression calm and composed, without putting on the airs of a Titled Douluo.
"No need for formalities. Since you're here, come inside."
With that, he stepped forward first and led Dugu Yan into the shop.
Close behind, everyone from Blazing Fire Academy and Skywater Academy filed inside.
As soon as he entered, Dugu Bo headed straight to the counter and called out:
"Hello, Boss Lin."
Behind the counter, Lin Yue leisurely propped his chin on one hand, engrossed in AI short dramas.
At the greeting, however, he slowly raised his head. Seeing such a large crowd streaming through the entrance, he could not help raising an eyebrow in puzzlement.
Could these all be customers Dugu Bo brought here?
Before Lin Yue could ask, Dugu Bo took the initiative to explain why he had come:
"Boss Lin, Yanyan learned today that Tang San is in Suotuo City. She has already applied to the principal of Heaven Dou Royal Academy for permission to leave for practical training, and she will depart for Suotuo City in a few days."
"So I brought her here mainly to ask whether you have any treasures or opportunities that could quickly improve her strength."
Lin Yue chuckled at this and patiently replied:
"Didn't you find out yesterday? The shop's prize machines contain everything under the sun: soul rings, soul bones, talent, martial souls, and every kind of opportunity you could want. As long as you're lucky enough, you have a chance to obtain all of them."
Dugu Bo laughed heartily, with a touch of self-mockery:
"Haha, perhaps Tang San's actions yesterday made me so furious that I became muddleheaded and forgot. Please don't hold it against me, Boss Lin."
"No problem."
Lin Yue waved a hand, his tone casual.
"Go ahead. Even if your luck isn't good, as long as you have enough gold soul coins, you'll eventually get something good of high quality if you draw enough times."
"Thank you, Boss Lin."
Dugu Bo thanked him and led Dugu Yan back toward the prize machines inside the shop.
Meanwhile, the two deans, Huo Lie and Shui Qinglan, strode forward and stopped beside the counter.
"We heard Senior Dugu address you as Boss Lin earlier, so we hope you won't mind us doing the same."
"May we ask, Boss Lin, can the twin martial souls mentioned on your flyer truly be obtained here?"
Hearing this, Lin Yue raised a hand and pointed at the neatly arranged game pods nearby:
"Of course."
"See those game pods over there? Lie inside, choose a martial soul to bind, and it will take effect when you exit. Prices start at just one gold soul coin."
Hearing this, and recalling Dugu Bo's behavior they had witnessed earlier, the great stone hanging over the two deans' hearts finally settled to the ground. Not a trace of doubt remained.
Without another word, they immediately paid the required fees for every student on their teams, then turned together and instructed:
"You all heard him, didn't you? Do as Boss Lin said. All of you, go over to the game pods and obtain your second martial souls."
Afterward, rather than accompanying the students, the two deans, Huo Lie and Shui Qinglan, approached Dugu Bo.
"Your Excellency Dugu, sorry for the interruption, but may we ask you a few questions?"
Dugu Bo stared at the prize machine before him without raising his head, his tone casual and indifferent:
"If you have something to ask, just say it. I don't like listening to rambling nonsense."
As he spoke, the gold soul coins he had inserted finished registering.
The prize machine's screen lit up, displaying Dugu Bo's name at the top, along with a full fifty draws.
Without the slightest hesitation, Dugu Bo tapped his finger down and immediately started his first ten-draw.
Seeing this, Huo Lie spoke directly from beside him.
"Your Excellency Dugu, does anyone else at Heaven Dou Royal Academy know about this Mysterious Shop?"
Before Dugu Bo could answer, Dugu Yan spoke first:
"No one at Heaven Dou Royal Academy knows. For now, only Grandpa and I know about it."
As she finished speaking, Dugu Bo looked at the draw results and sighed softly.
Seeing this, Shui Qinglan asked in confusion, "What is so special about this prize machine that it would make Your Excellency Dugu sigh like that?"
Dugu Bo did not answer. He merely pressed the button again.
Beside him, Dugu Yan continued explaining:
"Boss Lin already mentioned the things you can get from this prize machine, but in fact, there are even more good things in it than he said!"
"It's just that Grandpa's luck is a little bad. Everything he just drew was either a relatively low-tier white item or something of green quality."
Hearing this, Huo Lie and Shui Qinglan looked at the electronic screen of the prize machine. Seeing the color markers beside the item icons, they immediately gained an understanding of its quality rankings.
In the brief span of their conversation, Dugu Bo had already made three consecutive ten-draws. His best reward was a ten thousand year soul ring with adaptive origin.
Its description stated that it required level forty soul power to use.
Considering that his granddaughter was currently level thirty-eight, it was a fairly decent result.
Next, he pressed for his fourth ten-draw.
This time, the ten-draw guarantee successfully triggered.
A cold electronic announcement rang out:
"Congratulations, customer. You have obtained: One-Word Battle Armor (blue quality)!"
All four froze at the announcement, thinking some extraordinary treasure had appeared. But upon closer inspection, this so-called One-Word Battle Armor seemed to be nothing more than a suit of metal armor.
Full of questions, Dugu Bo picked up the battle armor scroll and returned to the counter to ask:
"Boss Lin, what exactly does this One-Word Battle Armor do?"
Lin Yue glanced at the scroll and explained casually:
"Didn't you want something that could improve your granddaughter's strength? This suit of One-Word Battle Armor can increase its wearer's overall strength by roughly twenty levels."
"However, the minimum requirement to use it is level fifty soul power. For now, your granddaughter can try activating just one or two parts during combat."
All four sucked in a breath of cold air. A twenty-level increase in overall strength-what a terrifying enhancement was that?
Dugu Bo's pupils contracted slightly. After a moment of silence, he asked in a low voice:
"May I ask whether a Titled Douluo like me can also use this One-Word Battle Armor?"
Lin Yue nodded. "You can."
"But when a high-level soul master wears low-level battle armor like this, it is at most a decent piece of high-level protective equipment. It provides a basic boost to attack, defense, and martial soul power, increasing overall combat strength by roughly ten to twenty percent."
At his words, everyone nodded, feeling that this was indeed reasonable.
If it also gave a heaven-defying enhancement to a Titled Douluo, that would be far too outrageous.
Dugu Bo said no more. He turned and used his final ten-draw.
The results were much the same as before: either recovery potions or miscellaneous items such as ordinary hundred-year soul beast materials.
Standing beside him, Huo Lie felt a stir in his heart. He stepped forward and said, "Then let me try my luck too."
With that, following Dugu Bo's instructions, he inserted gold soul coins into the slot and pressed the button.
The ten-draw guarantee successfully triggered.
The cold electronic announcement rang out again:
"Congratulations, customer. You have obtained one Soul Power Breakthrough Ticket! (blue quality)"
Dugu Bo, Shui Qinglan, and Dugu Yan all looked surprised. None had expected his luck to be so good!
Afterward, they likewise learned the details after asking Lin Yue.
Using a Soul Power Breakthrough Ticket allowed soul masters below level fifty soul power to break through ten levels. Soul masters below level ninety could break through five levels. Soul masters above level ninety could break through one level.
Yet none of them expected what followed.
The next moment, without hesitation, Huo Lie held the Soul Power Breakthrough Ticket out to Dugu Yan.
"Take this as a gift, young Yan."
Dugu Yan froze, then hurriedly waved her hands in polite refusal:
"Dean Huo Lie, this is too precious. I can't accept it."
Huo Lie merely laughed heartily. Looking toward Dugu Bo beside him, he said frankly:
"It's fine. Go ahead and take it."
"Consider it a token of our Blazing Fire Academy's wish to befriend His Excellency Dugu, or a first-meeting gift from an elder to a junior."
Seeing his sincerity, and with her grandfather making no move to stop her, Dugu Yan finally stopped declining. She accepted the Soul Power Breakthrough Ticket and used it on the spot.
Vast, pure soul power instantly swept through her entire body. Her aura surged sharply, and her soul power level soared in succession: 38, 39, 40... it kept climbing!
In just a few breaths, her soul power truly surged by ten whole levels, settling firmly at the peak of level forty-eight Soul Ancestor!
The ten thousand year soul ring with adaptive origin that Dugu Bo had drawn earlier happened to require level forty soul power, making this the perfect time to use it.
With this thought, Dugu Bo gave her the ten thousand year soul ring with adaptive origin to absorb, undisguised joy appearing on his face.
Now his granddaughter could draw on part of the enhancement from the One-Word Battle Armor, and her fourth soul ring, which should have been a thousand-year one, was instead a ten thousand year soul ring.
It was easy to imagine what would happen when she headed to Suotuo City in a few days, faced the Shrek Team, and fought Tang San...
The outcome of this match, which had yet to begin, seemed to have been decided long ago!
[Thanks again to reader Fried Octopus for the recommendation vote. You are my god!]
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