Douluo Continent: Azure Dragon Slays Evil, Qilin Suppresses the World

Dugu Bo flew ahead like a rabbit fleeing for its life, at full speed, his soul power surging out without restraint.

He was really anxious, his heart was burning with worry. His granddaughter was still in Soto City, and Tang Hao might be there too. This was terrible!

Zi Ji followed beside Xuan Qing at a moderate pace. Seeing Dugu Bo's demeanor, Zi Ji couldn't help but shake her head.

Xuanqing couldn't stand it anymore either.

"Old Poisoner, don't fly so fast. If you keep flying like this, your soul power will be depleted before you even reach Soto City."

Dugu Bo didn't even turn his head, and roared directly.

"Don't talk like that, it's easy for you to say! If it were your wife, you'd be even more anxious than I am!"

Upon hearing this, Zi Ji blushed and turned her face away, not daring to look at Xuan Qing at all.

Xuanqing didn't notice Ziji's unusual behavior at all.

"I have some news for you. Tang Hao's son, Tang San, is at Shrek Academy in Soto City."

Dugu Bo slowed down.

"Shrek, what place is that?"

Seeing that he had slowed down, Xuanqing also spoke up to explain.

"The Flying Horn of the Golden Triangle, the academy founded by Flanders, but they are not officially registered."

"To be fair, it's an academy built by a bunch of unemployed vagrants and thugs, and the quality of its teaching staff is quite disappointing."

Dugu Bo stared wide-eyed, looking as if he had seen a ghost.

"What? An academy built by thugs? Can you explain yourself clearly?"

Xuanqing didn't hide it from him.

"It means exactly what it says. You should know Zhao Wuji, the Immovable King, right? He's the wanted criminal from the Spirit Hall. Don't worry about how he was wanted, but he is indeed a wanted criminal. He's the vice dean of Shrek Academy."

Dugu Bo was even more bewildered.

"Has Tang Hao lost his mind? Why would he send his son to a place like that?"

Xuan Qing shrugged.

"They're all in cahoots. The master Tang San kowtowed to was that fame-seeking, wise-minded Yu Xiaogang, the son of that old dragon Yu Yuanzhen who was expelled from the family."

Dugu Bo frowned.

"I know all of that. Can you tell me something I don't know?"

Xuanqing thought for a moment.

"Simply put, Tang Hao is just a brute who only knows how to swing a hammer. Their Clear Sky Sect has put all their muscle into their brains."

"To put it another way, their brains are full of holes; all they can do is swing a hammer and nothing else."

Dugu Bo's old face twitched violently. What he said was... too harsh, but it also seemed to make some sense.

Xuan Qing continued his analysis: "In addition, Tang Hao wanted to destroy the Spirit Hall, and his son became Yu Xiaogang's disciple, making him Yu Yuanzhen's grand-disciple."

"Even if Yu Yuanzhen expels this son from the family, he can't possibly disown him. This connection can be used."

"So, as long as they haven't faced off yet, everything is fine. Besides, Shrek Academy is going to fight at night, so there are still two hours left."

Xuanqing glanced at the sky: "Two hours, we'll be there no matter what. Don't rush, there's no use in rushing."

Dugu Bo took a few deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down. He slowed down again, as his soul power was indeed being consumed too much.

But still feeling uneasy, he asked again, "Is the Haotian Sect really that brainless? Impossible, right? Tang Chen was such a brilliant and talented person back then."

"To reach the Peerless Douluo level in one's fifties and create ultimate techniques like the Ring Explosion and the Great Sumeru Hammer—how could that be someone without brains?"

Xuan Qing shook his head.

"You've only seen the surface. I told you before that the Haotian Twin Stars hunt soul beasts for soul bones, right? Then guess whether Tang Chen has been hunting large numbers of 100,000-year-old soul beasts?"

"Even if he has the best talent and no bottlenecks, it still takes time to accumulate soul power, right? You know very well how long it takes for a Title Douluo to accumulate soul power for each level up."

Dugu Bo was stunned. As a titled Douluo, he naturally knew how long it would take to level up.

Even with his current soul core, he has only barely broken through to level 93, while the total amount of soul power required for a Title Douluo to advance one level is an astronomical figure.

Xuanqing saw that he was stunned and did not stop.

"At Tang Chen's age, if he doesn't have a complete set of soul bones over 80,000 years old supporting him, he can only be a Fallen One. Otherwise, it would violate the common sense of cultivation. Which one do you think Tang Chen is?"

Dugu Bo fell completely silent. After thinking about it carefully, he realized that what Xuan Qing said... made perfect sense!

"As for ultimate techniques like the Ring Explosion and the Great Sumeru Hammer? They're just techniques, and their effects are actually similar to amplification-type soul skills."

"You know that after attribute amplification, all attributes do indeed increase, but it also puts a lot of pressure on the body. Otherwise, why would they hunt down soul beasts on such a large scale to obtain soul bones?"

"It was also stipulated that unless one is the heir to the sect leader, one is not allowed to learn the art of ring explosion."

"Isn't it because they're worried that once they learn everything, all the high-quality soul beasts will be wiped out? Even if they don't become the public enemy of the entire soul master world, how many generations do you think they can pass on their skills to?"

"The growth of soul beasts is measured in thousands or tens of thousands of years, while a soul master can grow to the fourth, fifth, or even sixth generation in a hundred years. No matter how fast a soul beast grows, it can't keep up with the growth rate of a soul master."

Dugu Bo was completely convinced. He had never thought about this before, but now this little bit of insight made everything clear.

His gaze toward Xuanqing was complex.

How do you know so much?

Xuan Qing looked at him with an expression as if he were an idiot, without saying a word, but his eyes clearly said: Is there any need to ask?

Dugu Bo was a little annoyed by the stares.

"What kind of look is that? Let me tell you, if you don't explain yourself clearly, even if I can't beat you, I'll fight you to the death!"

Xuan Qing sighed deeply this time, a sigh that sounded utterly helpless.

"The intelligence level of the entire Soul World is worrying right now. Let me give you two examples, and you'll understand why I say this."

"First, when you fought against the Clear Sky Hammer Soul Masters, did you all just run into the hammer?"

Dugu Bo thought for a moment: "Isn't that wrong? If not attacking the weapon, are you going to attack the person?"

Xuan Qing was completely speechless.

"Why do you say the intelligence of Soul Masters is worrying? Can't you just avoid the hammer and hit someone directly? Why do you have to bang your head against it and see who's harder, your head or his hammer?"

Dugu Bo blushed, because almost all the recorded battles with the Clear Sky Hammer were fought in this way, including when he was young.

"Secondly, we might run into Ning Fengzhi on this trip."

Dugu Bo swayed and almost fell from the sky.

"What is it? Ning Fengzhi? What's he doing there?"

His mind was completely blank; his CPU was overloaded. What was going on at all?

"Ning Fengzhi's daughter, Ning Rongrong, is also in that academy. The little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School is studying at Shrek Academy."

"Do you think we can keep our trip to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy a secret from him?"

This time, Dugu Bo really lost his balance and fell from the sky, but quickly flew back up.

His eyes widened, his face saying, "Are you kidding me?"

"Leaving aside the fact that Tang Hao is brainless, isn't Ning Fengzhi, as the sect leader of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, particularly shrewd?"

Xuan Qing shook his head.

"Remember, old poison master. Being cunning doesn't necessarily mean you're smart. You know Qian Daoliu and Qian Xunji, right? Why do you think they lost to Tang Chen and Tang Hao?"

Dugu Bo shook his head; he genuinely didn't know.

"Never mind their character, in battle they are absolutely idiots, they don't even understand the principle of using their strengths to attack the enemy's weaknesses."

"A six-winged angel with the three attributes of light, fire, and holiness, and he wields a sword. Instead of using his wings to fly further away and wear down the enemy, he insists on using that broken sword to hack at the hammer."

"Go ask the blacksmith if he'll hit you on the head with his hammer."

Dugu Bo imagined the scene, and it was indeed so. What kind of good person would take a forged sword and hack it at a hammer? Wouldn't that be foolish?

The more he thought about it, the more he realized it made sense. Although the kid was young and a bit talkative, he really saw things clearly.

As the sun set, the sky turned a deep orange-red. The three of them finally arrived above Soto.

Just as Dugu Bo was about to rush down, Xuan Qing stopped him. "Don't rush. Right now, the enemy is in the shadows, while we are in the open. Just make sure your granddaughter is alright."

"We'll follow them secretly and see how things go. Showing ourselves rashly might alert them."

Although Dugu Bo was anxious, he knew Xuan Qing was right. He suppressed his impulse and nodded, "I'll listen to you."