With just a few days left before Heaven Dou Imperial Academy started classes—
Lin Xiao went off to visit Dugu Bo.
The Sunset Forest had long been Dugu Bo's domain. In the remote wilderness where he'd laid his poison formations, not even beasts wandered near—let alone people.
Nestled deep in the mountains, hidden within a secluded valley, the two of them—one old, one young—sat together like two kindred spirits, united by their oddities.
Dugu Bo clicked his tongue regretfully.
"So the Ye family head is forcing you to go to school? Bah. What a waste."
"You're one of the few kids who gets me. Wouldn't it be better to just stay here with me? We could train, collect poisonous creatures, and research toxicology. Sounds far more useful."
"Besides, Heaven Dou Imperial Academy's full of useless good-for-nothings. Yan-yan has a classmate, Yu Tianheng or something? Supposedly the most talented prodigy of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. In my eyes? Just another mediocrity."
"And those so-called teachers there—who among them is even qualified to instruct someone like you?"
Dugu Bo was always blunt.
He said what he thought, unfiltered.
Ye Qingxian might worry Lin Xiao was growing arrogant too soon, but Dugu Bo was of the opposite mindset.
"If a youth isn't bold, what's the point of being young?"
He himself, even in old age, remained proudly defiant!
Lin Xiao, such a rare genius, being handed over to a bunch of halfwits at an academy? What could they possibly teach him?
Lin Xiao's eyes lit up. He looked at Dugu Bo with hopeful admiration.
"Senior Dugu, you speak absolute truth! But you can't just say this stuff to me—you should come explain it to Auntie Ye directly. How about that?"
In Lin Xiao's eyes, Dugu Bo had never looked cooler.
That lone-wolf aura? So high-level.
That wild beard? Clearly the mark of a grandmaster!
But—
Faced with Lin Xiao's eager gaze…
Dugu Bo awkwardly changed the subject.
"Ah, right! About that Toxic Explosion Technique you mentioned—"
"I've been studying it. If I compress the poison long enough, it does explode. But the power's weak. It's not even close to your Flame Explosion Technique."
"Which means, in actual combat, it's not very useful. The blast is too small, and even the poison can be dodged. Any ideas on how to improve it?"
Lin Xiao's expression went blank.
So it's all just talk with this old man, huh?
Badmouthing the academy in front of him—but if he were talking to Ye Qingxian, he'd probably switch sides and say:
"What kind of kid skips school these days?"
Two-faced.
Smooth talker.
So this is the real Dugu Bo, huh?
Seeing Lin Xiao fall silent, Dugu Bo scratched his head awkwardly.
But what could he do?
After all, his own spirit—the Emerald Phosphor Serpent—had evolved into the Gold-Horned Jade Serpent Dragon thanks in part to Ye Qingxian's help. Not to mention Yan-yan had received a great deal of her care as well.
Even if he disagreed with Ye Qingxian, he wasn't going to argue with her over it.
Besides, the Ye family was clearly treating Lin Xiao like one of their own.
She just wanted the best for him. That much was clear.
After thinking it over, Dugu Bo settled on a compromise.
"How about this? I'll have a word with the academy."
"Tell them to stay out of your business."
"Once you're in Heaven Dou Imperial, you'll be free to do whatever you like—just don't go around bullying people or anything. That, I won't cover for."
Lin Xiao's expression changed instantly.
His blank stare lit up like wildfire.
"Senior Dugu, you are a true hero!"
"But… what if the academy ignores you and still tries to control me?"
Dugu Bo puffed out his chest.
"I'm a royal guest elder of the Heaven Dou imperial family. That academy only exists thanks to its royal ties. When it comes to status, I outrank all of them combined."
Not to mention—he was a Title Douluo.
And that was what truly mattered.
Even Emperor Xue Ye had to listen when a Title Douluo spoke.
What made Heaven Dou Imperial Academy think they were special?
Lin Xiao didn't hesitate.
He raised a big thumbs-up.
"Senior Dugu, you are magnificent!"
Then he launched into a long explanation.
"The key to Toxic Explosion lies in two things: poison… and explosion."
"Obviously, the poison must be extremely toxic—and there's no one on this continent whose toxins rival yours."
"As for the explosion, it comes down to accumulation and trigger."
"The reason your technique lacks power is because you're triggering it too early—before the toxins are sufficiently compressed."
"But if you could wait until they're built up to a critical mass—then set them off?"
"Boom."
"Catastrophic."
Dugu Bo frowned thoughtfully. His snake-green eyes shimmered.
Everything Lin Xiao said was simple—but it got straight to the core.
Wait a second.
Didn't this kid not go to school?
Where was he learning all this deep insight?
Dugu Bo pondered for a while and finally came to a conclusion:
"Ugh, teachers these days really are useless."
"All they care about is rote memorization—no real understanding."
"They worship textbooks like sacred texts.
They should be encouraging self-discovery instead!"
"Kid, just don't let them corrupt you."
Classic Dugu Bo. Always the rebel.
But Lin Xiao was thinking of someone else entirely.
A man who called himself "Grandmaster," who was stuck at level 29 for life.
A man who built his theories purely from books, without a shred of practical experimentation. He'd never written a single proper paper.
Lin Xiao could only sigh:
"The academic scene on Douluo Continent is awful."
No research. No peer review. No standards.
Some guy reads a few books and dares call himself a master?
Did he even know the basic methods of scientific experimentation?
Control groups, variable isolation, hypothesis testing, reverse logic—
Nope.
He was just good at summarizing from other people's work and calling it his own.
Now, Dugu Bo?
Sure, he had a temper.
But at least he could admit when he didn't know something. He could swallow his pride and learn—even from someone younger.
That, Lin Xiao respected.
"Kid," Dugu Bo said, "how would you solve the toxin accumulation problem?"
Lin Xiao's eyes lit with thought.
The reason the toxin detonated prematurely was due to instability in its structure.
It was the same principle behind Flame Explosion and Ice Explosion.
The key was a stable soul power structure.
"Senior Dugu, among all the toxins you've worked with—are there any that are extremely potent, but stable? Ones that don't evaporate easily, but kill instantly on contact?"
Dugu Bo thought for a while.
"Actually, yeah. There are quite a few like that."
"…I get it."
"You want me to imitate the internal structure of those plants or animals—to stabilize the toxin before triggering it?"
"Hmm…"
"The Sevenfold Emerald Phosphor Flower!" he exclaimed.
"That one fits me perfectly!"
Dugu Bo's eyes gleamed with admiration as he looked at Lin Xiao.
"This new brain of yours?
Actually kinda useful."