"Your Excellency, Teacher Lin Mu is not currently here. If you need to see him, I can convey a message on your behalf," Qin Ming said, quickly stepping forward and bowing respectfully.
Dugu Bo snorted coldly, his voice carrying an unquestionable weight. "Go and tell him that I, Dugu Bo, have important business to discuss. If he dares to refuse..." He paused, his eyes narrowing. "He will bear the consequences!"
As the words left his lips, the overwhelming pressure of a Title Douluo crashed down. Qin Ming's body trembled under the sheer force of the aura.
"Yes... I will go immediately," Qin Ming stammered. He dared not delay, turning instantly to sprint toward the faculty lodgings.
With Qin Ming gone, Dugu Bo's gaze shifted to Yu Tianheng. He had never been particularly satisfied with the boyfriend his granddaughter had chosen. Although the boy possessed the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, a top-tier Beast Martial Soul, his talent was not exceptionally rare in the eyes of a Title Douluo. Furthermore, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was currently facing a drought of true geniuses. Dugu Bo suspected Yu Tianheng was only pursuing Dugu Yan to tie a Title Douluo to his clan's interests.
Feeling the piercing scrutiny of the Poison Douluo, Yu Tianheng felt a cold sweat break out. He stepped forward, forcing himself to remain steady. "Junior Yu Tianheng greets Your Excellency, Poison Douluo."
Dugu Bo noted that the boy's Soul Power was approaching Level 40. His expression softened ever so slightly. "If it weren't for your new team leader, it would have taken you at least another half-year to reach Level 40 at your previous rate."
Yu Tianheng looked embarrassed but could not offer a rebuttal.
"Grandpa!" Dugu Yan interjected, grabbing his arm and pulling playfully. "Tianheng has been working incredibly hard. Once he obtains his fourth Soul Ring, his strength will skyrocket."
Dugu Bo doted on his granddaughter above all else. He snorted, momentarily letting the boy off the hook, and turned his attention to the rest of the team. "Which one of you is Tang San?"
Hearing his name, Tang San prepared to step forward, but Xiao Wu gripped his arm with terrifying intensity. Tang San, focused on the Title Douluo, didn't notice the fear in her eyes. He stepped out and bowed. "Junior Tang San greets the Poison Douluo."
Dugu Bo sized him up. The youth was remarkably young, much younger than Yu Tianheng. "Not bad. Reaching Level 34 at such an age is truly a remarkable talent..."
Suddenly, Dugu Bo's pupils contracted. In that split second, he had detected something shocking, a faint, distinct aura of a Soul Beast. His gaze swept past Tang San, locking onto the girl hiding at the very back of the group.
'A hundred-thousand-year-old transformed Soul Beast!'
Dugu Bo's eyes gleamed with predatory greed. He hadn't expected to find such a treasure while making a routine visit. Although he was already a Title Douluo and could no longer absorb Soul Rings, he could keep her captive until Dugu Yan was ready. Or, more simply, he could kill her now to harvest a hundred-thousand-year-old Soul Bone.
Caught in that murderous gaze, Xiao Wu felt her blood turn to ice. Her face went deathly pale, and her delicate frame began to shake uncontrollably.
In the blink of an eye, Dugu Bo vanished. Before anyone could blink, he reappeared in front of Xiao Wu, his hand clamped firmly around her throat.
"Xiao Wu!!" Tang San roared. Without hesitation, he unleashed his Soul Skills. Countless Blue Silver Grass vines erupted like venomous snakes, coiling toward the Poison Douluo.
"A mere Soul Elder dares to attack a Title Douluo?" Dugu Bo sneered. He shifted slightly, his movements a blur that no one in the room could follow. Tang San was sent flying back like a cannonball, crashing into the dirt and coughing up a mouthful of blood.
"Boy, for your Master's sake, I'll spare your life. Don't be ungrateful!" Dugu Bo had held back intentionally. He didn't want to kill Lin Mu's primary disciple and ruin his chances of getting help with his own poison. As for this transformed Soul Beast, Soul Masters and Soul Beasts were mortal enemies. Since he found her, she was his.
"Brother... run..." Xiao Wu tried to gasp out, but Dugu Bo's grip was like an iron vice. He knew that if a transformed Soul Beast were exposed, every Title Douluo on the continent would descend upon the academy.
"She is the descendant of an old enemy," Dugu Bo lied smoothly to the stunned students. "I didn't expect to stumble upon her here."
Yu Tianheng and the others hesitated. They had built a bond with Xiao Wu over the past month, but challenging a Title Douluo was suicide.
"Let her go!" Tang San struggled to his feet, his eyes bloodshot with rage. Dugu Bo frowned. The bond between this boy and the beast was too deep; if left alive, Tang San would become a vengeful nightmare in the future. 'I should take them both,' he thought.
Just as Dugu Bo prepared to strike Tang San, a cold, thunderous shout echoed across the training ground.
"How dare you touch what belongs to me!"
Before the sound could even fade, a massive blade of flame, tens of meters long, tore through the sky. It carried an incinerating heat that threatened to turn the very air into ash. The blade was formed of ghostly green flames that distorted the space around it.
It was Lin Mu's Fifth Soul Skill! Derived from a ten-thousand-year-old Hellfire Dragon, and bolstered by the passive effects of his Sixth Soul Skill, the attack carried the destructive power of a Title Douluo's Eighth Soul Skill.
Dugu Bo's face changed drastically. He felt a genuine chill of mortal danger. He decisively ignited his Seventh Soul Ring.
"Seventh Soul Skill: Azure Phosphorous Serpent Emperor True Body!"
A gargantuan phantom of the Serpent Emperor coiled upward, slamming into the flaming blade. A deafening roar followed, and the resulting shockwave sent the students flying. Even the agile Yu Feng was tossed back like a leaf in a storm.
Before Dugu Bo could recover his footing, an oppressive, divine pressure descended from the heavens. A magnificent beast appeared in the sky, its hooves treading on celestial fire and its body covered in burning, golden scales.
The mere presence of the Fire Qilin made Dugu Bo feel as though his lungs were being crushed. Even a top-tier Beast Martial Soul like the Azure Phosphorous Serpent had to bow before the sovereign of fire.
"Is this person also a Title Douluo?" Dugu Bo's heart hammered. He felt his own Soul Power being suppressed by at least 30% by the sheer quality of Lin Mu's Martial Soul.
"Stop!" Dugu Bo shouted, hoisting Xiao Wu into the air as a shield. "Move again, and I'll kill her!"
Lin Mu, standing atop the Fire Qilin's back, looked down with icy indifference. "Ridiculous. You've already captured her; why should I stop? Do you think a hostage can protect you from me?"