Douluo: Emerald Poison Emperor [54]

After leaving the Seven Treasures Pavilion, Chen Ming rushed back to the academy without delay. Having publicly beaten Yu Tianheng just the day before, Chen Ming was worried that the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan might take advantage of his absence from the academy to retaliate.

However, Chen Ming was overthinking things. He hadn't taken into account the slow communication speeds typical of a feudal era.

The events of the previous day had only been relayed to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's base in Heaven Dou City late that night by one of Yu Tianheng's lackeys. The person in charge there was merely a Soul Sage-level Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon soul master.

Faced with this situation, the Soul Sage didn't dare make decisions on his own and instead forwarded the report to the clan's main headquarters.

To put it bluntly, news of Yu Tianheng's beating hadn't even reached the core of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan yet. Even when it did, the clan wouldn't be able to openly retaliate against Chen Ming.

A level 23 soul master defeating a level 32 —who had activated both soul skills and dragon transformation—using just one soul skill in retaliation?

If that got out, wouldn't the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's reputation be utterly tarnished? Could the so-called number one beast martial soul still hold its title?

Internal targeting was inevitable, and even assassination attempts weren't out of the question, but those were issues for the future.

Considering the factional infighting typical of major clans, reaching a consensus within half a month would already be remarkably fast. If action could be taken within a month, it would be due to the clan leader's substantial influence.

Cooperation was considered successful as long as they didn't actively sabotage each other. Each faction had its agenda and interests.

Even Title Douluo couldn't always suppress dissenting voices within their clans with ease.

Back at the academy, Chen Ming locked himself in his room and focused on refining the dragon core in the quiet chamber.

Using soul power and spiritual energy to temper the core, occasionally offering his blood to deepen the connection, Chen Ming made slow but steady progress.

Although the dragon core had lost all its attributes and effects after being purified by tribulation lightning, it was still a dragon core, and its grade was undeniable.

If it were in its original state, even maintaining it would have drained Chen Ming to death. The amount of soul power and spiritual energy he infused into it now was negligible to the core—a drop in the ocean, not even enough to fill a corner of it. Let alone fully refining it into an external core using his intended methods.

Over the following days, Chen Ming kept a low profile, rarely exposing himself to the outside world. He focused entirely on tempering his soul power and exploring the functions of the dragon core while awaiting Dugu Bo's arrival.

Five nights after his meeting with Qian Renxue disguised as Xue Qinghe, Chen Ming was channeling his soul power through the dragon core to convert it into vitality and strengthen his body when a surge of furious soul power suddenly erupted in the distance.

To Chen Ming's perception, the source of the soul power felt like a runaway truck barreling toward him at full speed, its charge completely unrestrained.

The intensity of the soul power was beyond anything Chen Ming had ever encountered—it was practically a natural disaster.

Although Chen Ming had noticed Serpent Spear Douluo observing him when he met Qian Renxue, he could only sense that the latter's strength was unfathomable without gauging the exact amount of soul power he possessed.

Now, the strength of this approaching soul power was significantly higher than that of the three academy elders combined, easily twice their total soul power.

There was no doubt—this was a bona fide Title Douluo.

Chen Ming hastily put away the dragon core, but before he could tidy up his somewhat disheveled appearance from training, a loud crash echoed from the courtyard.

A massive shockwave erupted in the yard, causing the tightly shut doors and windows of Chen Ming's quiet chamber to burst open under tremendous force. Fragile components shattered in the impact, and the intact fragments were flung violently into various corners of the room.

Chen Ming unleashed his martial soul, shattering the door and windows that were about to slam into him.

Through the space where the doors and windows used to be, Chen Ming saw the large gate of his courtyard being blown away by a tremendous force, crashing heavily into the center of the courtyard. The impact sent up a cloud of debris, scattering stones and bricks everywhere, causing varying degrees of damage to all the nearby buildings.

"Brat, get out here!"

An elderly, furious voice echoed from the entrance of the courtyard. Accompanied by the fluctuation of Chen Ming's soul power, he sensed the source of the voice honing in on him. A dark green figure darted toward his room like a phantom.

Dugu Bo's heart was in turmoil.

A while back, he had been in a good mood, feeling that his condition was improving and elated that his granddaughter was about to break through to Level 30.

Due to the intensifying family poison that followed the absorption of every new soul ring, he decided to take the opportunity to try breaking through to Level 92, which would allow him to better care for his granddaughter.

Initially, everything was going smoothly. However, just as he was about to break through the bottleneck that had stymied him for over a decade—advancing from a Level 91 Titled Douluo to Level 92—the poison within his body erupted due to the temporary loss of soul power suppression. The poison interrupted his breakthrough, nearly costing him his life.

The backlash caused severe damage to Dugu Bo's meridians and internal organs, leaving his strength at less than a tenth of what it used to be.

It's worth noting that even during his peak, Dugu Bo wasn't particularly powerful; he could hold his own in a one-on-one battle with the teaching committee of Heaven Dou Imperial Academy. Now, with his strength reduced to less than a tenth, he wasn't even a match for a newly advanced Soul Douluo.

Even when it came to the critical matter of his granddaughter Dugu Yan enrolling in Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, Dugu Bo didn't dare show his face publicly, lest others notice his weakened state.

After giving his granddaughter some instructions, Dugu Bo hurried to the treasured grounds of the Sunset Forest, where he suppressed his poison using the dual energies of ice and fire while searching for herbs to heal himself.

Recently, having recovered about 70% of his strength, Dugu Bo emerged from seclusion to check the letters his steward had delivered to a designated location. Finding nothing urgent, he returned to seclusion, intending to stabilize his condition further before visiting his granddaughter.

In Dugu Bo's mind, his granddaughter should have been at Heaven Dou Imperial Academy during this time. So, with his strength restored to around 80%, he stealthily infiltrated the academy, intending to surprise her.

He planned to make a brief appearance before his granddaughter, then return to recuperate. By the time he fully recovered, his granddaughter would likely have reached Level 30, and he could then accompany her to obtain her third soul ring.

But what happened instead?

As soon as he snuck in, Dugu Bo overheard people gossiping about his granddaughter, claiming that Dugu Yan had found herself a man.

Initially, Dugu Bo didn't take it seriously. He casually poisoned the gossips, condemning them to uncontrollable diarrhea for ten days or so.

However, the further he went, the more outrageous the rumors became. Despite his initial disbelief, the sheer volume of gossip and the increasingly scandalous details began to shake his resolve.

Finally, Dugu Bo sought out the three teaching committee members to hold them accountable and demanded to know who had dared spread such rumors about his granddaughter within the academy.

But as soon as he met them, the three elders confirmed the rumors: his granddaughter, Dugu Yan, was indeed involved with some man named Chen Ming—and, to make matters worse, she had supposedly gone home in a fit of rage! (From Dugu Bo's perspective.)

Although Dugu Bo's strength was only at 80%, his fury pushed his body to its limits, unleashing energy beyond his peak state. With speed comparable to an agility-type Titled Douluo, he charged toward the location where the elders said Chen Ming could be found.

The sheer momentum and speed of his outburst left the teaching committee—who had initially prepared to stop him—completely stunned. They could only stand there, watching helplessly as Dugu Bo vanished before their eyes.

Based on the overwhelming aura and speed Dugu Bo displayed, the three elders unanimously concluded that his recent disappearance must have been due to him secretly breaking through to a higher level.