Dugu Bo Returns

Inside Skywater Academy's Mimicry Training Ground.

"Next, we'll begin sparring. Tianshuang, Lingling, Yue'er, the three of you will be one team."

"Bing'er, Hairou, Xue Wu, the three of you will be the other."

"Yue'er, I'll lead the attack from the front, while you circle around the flank. Lingling, you provide support from the rear."

"Got it."

"Okay."

Seeing the three opposite them standing ready, Yu Tianshuang charged out at the head of the group, with Shui Yue'er close behind.

"Ice Heaven Frost Sword, Ice Heaven Concentrated Spirit - Greedy Wolf!"

Almost instantly, a streak of ice-blue sword Qi flew toward Shui Bing'er.

"Second Soul Skill, Ice Ring Armor!"

Knowing that the sword Qi imbued with Greedy Wolf Sword Intent was far too fast to dodge, Shui Bing'er had no choice but to use her Second Soul Skill to take it head-on.

Crack! Her Ice Ring Armor shattered as it blocked the strike. Shui Bing'er immediately waved her hand, sending an Ice Seal toward Yu Tianshuang.

Meanwhile, Shui Yue'er, who was charging toward Xue Wu and Yu Hairou from the flank, saw Xue Wu performing Winter Snow Sacrificial Dance and flashed a nimble smile.

"Third Soul Skill, Gale Sweeping Rain!"

Shui Yue'er turned into a gust of wind and charged at the dancing Xue Wu.

"Yue'er, you're too naive. Did you think you could interrupt me that easily? Hairou, stop her!"

"Got it. Hard Coral Thicket!"

Walls of coral thickets rose around Xue Wu, blocking Shui Yue'er's charge.

"It's done, Bing'er."

As a six-pointed snowflake formation rose beneath Xue Wu's feet, Shui Bing'er watched Yu Tianshuang swing out streak after streak of sword Qi, a wicked smile curling her lips.

"You show-off, watch me freeze you into a block of ice."

"Third Soul Skill, Extreme Freezing Ray!"

The Ice Phoenix soaring through the sky spread its wings and spat an Extreme Freezing Ray at Yu Tianshuang.

Yu Tianshuang didn't even have time to use his Third Soul Skill.

How did Winter Snow Sacrificial Dance finish so quickly? Looks like everyone's made rapid progress this past year.

Yu Tianshuang could only hurriedly summon an ice wall, but he was promptly frozen into an ice sculpture.

"Spring returns and may be found, withering ends and flourishing begins. Second Soul Skill, Spring Splendor, Withering and Flourishing!"

A beam of emerald-green light shone on Yu Tianshuang's frozen form.

The solid ice around Yu Tianshuang then vanished at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"What a pain. Wasn't the Nine Heart Begonia supposed to have only one ability, healing? How can it remove abnormal statuses too? Forget it, I'll just freeze him again."

"Thanks, Lingling!"

Once he could move again, Yu Tianshuang prepared to use his Third Soul Skill to shatter Shui Bing'er's Ice Phoenix and prevent her from unleashing another Extreme Freezing Ray.

Shui Bing'er, meanwhile, was eager to freeze that show-off again.

"All right, today's sparring ends here. Tianshuang and Lingling just got back. This match was only meant to let you see how everyone has changed during the year you've been apart."

At Shui Xinrou's call to stop, everyone put away their Martial Souls and looked at her.

"Junior, you didn't expect my Winter Snow Sacrificial Dance to be so much faster to cast now, did you?"

"That's right, Senior Xue Wu. If I hadn't misjudged how long your Winter Snow Sacrificial Dance would take, I wouldn't have been frozen."

Yu Tianshuang nodded as he admitted it.

"Hmph, what are you so proud of? If Ye Lingling couldn't remove abnormal statuses, you would have lost already," Shui Bing'er said with a cold snort.

"Tianshuang and Lingling only returned to the academy yesterday, and Ye Lingling and the rest of you have only briefly introduced yourselves. You did very well to get this far without knowing one another's abilities. All right, that's enough for today. Go back and rest."

"Hey, dummy, you got back too late yesterday, so I didn't even get to see you. Then you came straight to the training ground to spar early this morning. Where are the pastries you brought me? I've been looking forward to them for a whole year."

"I'll have Lingling bring them to you in a bit."

Shui Yue'er's expression was a little strained. Then she forced a smile and said, "Okay."

"Mm, Lingling, come back to the dorm with me and get the pastries for Yue'er."

With that, the two walked out of the training ground. As everyone watched them leave, Xue Wu patted Shui Yue'er on the shoulder and shook her head helplessly.

That night, as Yu Tianshuang sat meditating in his dorm, he sensed a familiar presence. Then a booming voice came from outside the window: "Little one, I'm back."

Yu Tianshuang opened his eyes and looked at Dugu Bo outside the window.

He opened the window, and upon seeing Dugu Bo floating in the air, Yu Tianshuang cried in delight, "Senior!"

"Mm... it's all thanks to you that I got rid of that poison, haha."

With that, he stepped in through the window.

"This time, I went to Spirit City and not only gave that Chrysanthemum Freak a beating, but also found out something important about your parents."

Yu Tianshuang's heart jolted at those words.

"Alas, after investigating for a year and sounding out the Chrysanthemum Freak during our final fight, I can say for certain that the mastermind behind what happened to the Lower Three Sects all those years ago-the one responsible for the disappearance of your parents and Ye Hanhan's mother-was the pope of Spirit Hall at the time, Qian Xunji."