Chapter 3: Suicidal Plan

The Father and Son duo sat in silence for a bit as they enjoyed the ambiance of the courtyard while they sipped on their tea, "Father, one thing I have been thinking about is how to expand the Dugu clan. You and I are the last masters that the Dugu clan has unless you remarry, and I have children in the future, so for now, I was thinking about how to expand. What if we adopt orphans who were said not to be able to become spirit masters?" Dugu Bo looked at his son with wide eyes.

"What is the purpose of adopting people who cannot be spirit masters? They are just a waste of resources. They have no potential to help the clan. Also, I thought about remarrying, but I do not want the same thing that happened to your mother to happen again. Just being around me kills people…" Dugu Bo looked at his son and couldn't understand his thinking.

Xin was momentarily stunned as he looked at the man across from him, 'In my last world, while his hair and eyes naturally being the color they are would be odd, I can admit that he is a good-looking individual. Along with his status, strength, and demeanor, there is no doubt it will be easy for him to find another bride. The weight father has carried on his heart must have been far beyond what he showed.' Recollecting his thoughts, Xin continued.

"In a world where spirit masters reign supreme, that is the normal way of thinking, but for a second, just think about those people. All their lives, they will struggle, and all they want is an opportunity to prove they aren't worthless so that they can live a better life." Pausing, Dugu Xin stood up and walked to the railing. The small boy crouched down and looked at the fish swimming in the clear lake below. "After you get the Spirit ring of the 100,000-year-old Spirit beast, the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor will undergo another evolution, causing its bloodline power to be enhanced. Infusing the bloodline power into these orphans may allow us to create Spirit masters. This is just a theory, but it would change how we look at people without spirit power."

Dugu Bo looked at his son's small back in shock but said nothing. This information was too shocking.

"In theory, if this works, their original spirit will evolve, and they will gain the Jade Phosphor Serpent, creating twin spirits," Xin said as he put his finger in the water. The ripples in the water broke the mirror-like surface, scattering the fish. "At age 6, we all undergo spirit awakening; however, Once someone is found to have no Spirit power, there is clear disdain on the awakener's face; it is not hard to imagine how much Spirit masters look down on the normal people. What spirit Master would waste their time on trash?"

"Father, my goal is to change the world one step at a time, but before I can focus on external factors, we must grow our strength first; slowly and steadily, we will build a solid foundation. Once we come back from the swamp, we will try this out. If it works, the Dugu Clan gains new masters, solidifying our strength. Since they will have your Bloodline power, they will, in essence, be family, so there is nothing wrong with them having the Dugu surname." Dugu Xin looked at his father with eyes that looked as if the world was right in the palm of his hands.

Dugu Bo looked into those eyes, 'Right now, he is nothing more than a spirit Trainee, but when his strength reaches the Titled Douluo stage, nothing will be able to stop him.' Dugu Bo stood up, "When we return, it will be easy to adopt orphans. Also, I will invite tutors that will teach you what is necessary. That would be more to your liking and save us the trouble your spirit ring will bring about when exposed. When it comes to the ideas you have for the Dugu clan, I will support you fully." Leaving his son alone, Dugu Bo gathered everything necessary for their journey, and three days later, they arrived.

A significant barrier was erected to keep the poisonous fog and the various spirit beasts from leaving the swamp area. Spirit Masters could enter and exit freely after passing through a small checkpoint. Upon entering the duo were immediately surrounded by a thick haze that prevented them from seeing anything beyond 100 meters in front of them. The ground was muddy, and the trees that grew there were covered in thick mosses as many insects swarmed. 

"Years ago, my Father took me here to get my first spirit ring," Dugu bo smiled as he looked at the familiar surroundings. "As soon as we crossed the barrier, there was a 10,000-year-old Poison Grass Snake that moved in front of us. I froze. Your Grandfather looked at me and said 'Grass Snakes are usually pretty harmless, and not many grow to this cultivation age; this one must have found something good to reach such strength.' We let the grass snake pass then made our way around the outer area." Releasing his spirit rings, Dugu Xin looked closely as the rings moved around until one yellow ring was in front of Dugu Bo's chest.

"My first spirit ring, a 357-year-old Psycho Toad. When we first saw it, father immediately said it would be perfect for me. Its ability is relatively simple: I expel poison from my mouth that causes mass confusion, reducing the enemy's will to fight. At first, I thought that it was stupid, but when fighting against the Toad, there were many times I wondered what I was even doing in this place. At the lower levels, this ability kept me in many fights, but at this level, too many people have protection against such low-level poison."

The melancholy in his father's voice wasn't missed by Dugu Xin, who stayed silent as the seconds passed. "This swamp is divided into 4 areas: Outer, Inner, core, and Sanctuary. The outer area is where most low-level spirit beasts are located and also the smallest area where their cultivation ages are usually between 0 and 3,000. The Inner area is larger than the outer and this is where spirit beasts 3,000 to 60,000 are located, the core area is larger than the inner and has spirit beasts 60,000 to 100,000 years old, and lastly is Sanctuary where the highest cultivation age is well over 100,000. The spirit hall's last Supreme pontiff erected a barrier to keep those spirit beasts locked within. There is even a rumored Great Spirit beast beyond that barrier."

Dugu Xin's heart started to race when he heard that last bit of information, "Currently, it is far too dangerous to go to Sanctuary, I can handle most of the beasts that we encounter up until the core area." After saying that the duo walked deeper into the swamp. Dripping trees with black trunks, rotting vegetation, scummy water, reeds, frogs, slugs, leeches, catfish, crawfish, beetles, spiders, snakes, flies, mosquitoes, gnats clouds, lizards, bats, algae, dead trees, quicksand, crocodiles, worms, rippling water, curling mist, moss hanging from tree branches, rotten deadfall, trees leaning over the water, perfectly describes a swamp on earth. However, on the Douluo continent, each living creature has a cultivation age. Sensing the power of Dugu Bo they avoid the two humans for now, but as they advance, things don't remain so smooth.

Thick, stagnant air caused Xin's breath to become labored as his spirit power was being used to fight off the poison that was constantly invading his body. dirt and mud mixed with sweat running into his mouth, as he drank the stale water from a leather skin canteen, "Where are we now, father?"

"The Edge of the Inner area where it meets the core area," As he said that a large Emerald Tyrant Crocodile appeared from the brush. Opening its mouth it let out a low hiss which alerted the two of its presence, Dugu bo grabbed his son and held him under his arm like a sack of potatoes as he released his spirit rings. 2 Yellow, 2 Purple, and 3 Black spirit rings moved around him displaying the might of a Spirit Saint. His fifth spirit ring shined, "Blood Jade Mist," Opening his mouth a spray of red mist quickly surrounded them as if alive.

Spirit Beasts gain more intelligence the higher their cultivation age; at a young age, they are not that intelligent compared to humans. It's only when they reach 100,000 years old they gain the same intelligence on par with a human, and they can talk as well. Before then, they slowly mature. The Emerald Tyrant Crocodile is around 50,000 or so years old, it's intellect is on par with a 10 to 12-year-old child. Immediately it notices that it is cornered, but it's too late The 7th Ring Shines and the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor materializes behind Dugu Bo.

Overlooking the croc like the royal he is the Serpent strikes at a quick speed, *Crack* There was a small boom that rustled the leaves in the trees and cleared the area around them. The croc was caught at the neck firmly in the serpent's mouth as it injected it's venom while the poison aura of its body invaded the croc as well.

Dugu Xin studied the battle closely then his father spoke, "100,000-year-old spirit beasts are not just dangerous due to their power but also their intellect. It is much harder to face a 100,000-year-old spirit beast face to face because, unlike the others, they will employ tactics, not just use their raw power to overwhelm you. When we step into the core area, we must keep a low profile and not be as brazen as before."

Slowly, the croc succumbed to its injuries and died, leaving behind a deep black spirit ring that hovered above its carcass. Releasing it from its clutches, the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor disappeared. Keeping Xin under his arm, Dugu Bo continued to walk deeper into the Swamp.

There is no distinct boundary between the inner and core areas, but the overall ambiance of the swamp changed; there was less rot and decay, far more mundane things had cultivation compared to the last area, and some insects, while not incredibly powerful, had cultivation ages of 1,000 at minimum. The trees were taller and stretched high into the sky, blocking out the sun, but the ground wasn't dark as there were many bioluminescent plants and insects.

Yet they could not enjoy the sights for too long, just as they noticed the change the more powerful Spirit Beast noticed as well. "Humans…" the creature slammed its tail down in annoyance; it looked at its sleeping spawn and decided against making any drastic moves, "As long as they don't invade my territory, I shall leave them be."

"Oh? Humans?" This creature was a large tree near the barrier to the sanctuary; in fact the trees in the core area were just an extension of its roots. "It's been so long since humans that can withstand the poison of THAT one came here. Things seem like they will get interesting."