Meanwhile, at the Lin Clan's estate.
Lin Rong's public excuse was that he had entered deep meditation, and he was committed to the act.
Naturally, while in deep meditation, he couldn't possibly attend the opening ceremony of the All-Continent Advanced Spirit Master Elite Tournament.
However, even though Lin Rong didn't attend the opening ceremony, he didn't specifically send anyone to gather information.
But the news that the participating team from Blue Tyrant Academy had defeated the second team of Heaven Dou Royal Academy of Spirit Masters still reached the Duke's mansion through the word-of-mouth of the citizens of Heaven Dou City.
"For the esteemed Royal Academy to lose to a small academy that was founded not even a few years ago, during such a grand event as the opening ceremony, the royal family has lost face."
Lin Rong sat at the head of the table and said to Dugu Bo, who was sitting beside him:
"Given the royal family's disposition, they will absolutely not allow today's events to be repeated in the next tournament."
"Dugu Bo, your granddaughter took the Dragon Rhyme Immortal Ganoderma Pill, so her Soul Power cultivation and spiritual cultivation aptitude should have improved significantly. She should be able to help the royal family regain face in the next tournament."
Dugu Bo, not fully understanding his master, pondered his words before replying:
"I must thank you, sir, for the medicine. Those three Dragon Rhyme Immortal Ganoderma Pills have been of great help to Yan Yan."
"The improvement in Soul Power cultivation and spiritual cultivation aptitude are secondary. The most important thing is that Yan Yan's Martial Soul quality has improved considerably."
After speaking, Dugu Bo seemed hesitant to say more, but eventually, he spoke:
"Sir, do you have any of the Dragon Rhyme Immortal Ganoderma Pills remaining?"
Lin Rong leisurely picked up his teacup and took a sip. He listened to Dugu Bo's somewhat embarrassed tone and asked:
"What? Do you regret giving all three pills to your granddaughter?"
"That's not it," Dugu Bo quickly retorted.
"Sir, you also said that the pill's effect on boosting Soul Power is only effective for Spirit Masters below rank fifty, and the effect of improving aptitude is better the younger the age."
"I am already old. For me, this pill only improves my Martial Soul quality, and I cannot fully utilize its value. Naturally, it should be given to Yan Yan to consume."
"However..." Dugu Bo changed the subject.
"If my Martial Soul quality can be improved, I might have a chance to advance further in the Titled Douluo realm. Which Spirit Master could refuse such a temptation?"
"Of course, I know this pill is very precious, so I wanted to ask."
After hearing this, Lin Rong had some suspicions, so he tentatively asked:
"You want this pill so badly, is it because after Dugu Yan took the Dragon Rhyme Immortal Ganoderma Pill, her Martial Soul showed signs of dragonization, and to some extent, it has alleviated the symptoms of your family's inherited Martial Soul's backlash poison?"
Dugu Bo was both shocked and relieved upon hearing this, and finally replied:
"Sir, you truly know the drawbacks of our Dugu family's Martial Soul inheritance."
"So, that day at the Tang Sect, you brought out that medicinal herb precisely to intimidate me, didn't you?"
After Dugu Bo finished speaking, he waited for Lin Rong's answer.
However, Lin Rong calmly replied:
"If you hadn't come to the Tang Sect banquet that day, things wouldn't be like this now."
This unexpected response caused Dugu Bo to fall silent for a long time.
After a long while, Dugu Bo said with some resignation:
"It's fate, destiny plays tricks on people."
"If I hadn't taken Yan Yan to the Tang Sect that day, I wouldn't have received the pill you gifted me, giving Yan Yan a chance to escape the backlash poison of her family's Martial Soul."
"I have no regrets about submitting to your command."
Dugu Bo was expressing his loyalty with these words, and Lin Rong naturally understood.
Therefore, under Dugu Bo's expectant gaze, Lin Rong took out a jade bottle and tossed it to Dugu Bo, saying:
"There are still pills, but you must understand that improving Martial Soul quality can only alleviate the symptoms of the backlash poison. To truly get rid of it from the root, you need Martial Soul evolution."
The Nine-Rank Dragon Ganoderma was a top-tier spiritual ganoderma, second only to Immortal Grade Medicinal Herbs. If Dugu Bo or Dugu Yan consumed it directly, it might even cause the Azure Phosphorus Snake Martial Soul to evolve, completely freeing them from the backlash poison.
However, the Nine-Rank Dragon Ganoderma had been refined by Yang Wudi with other medicinal herbs into twelve pills.
Each person could take a maximum of three pills, and due to the development of resistance, the efficacy would decrease with each additional pill taken.
Even after taking three pills, they would only receive less than fifteen percent of the Nine-Rank Dragon Ganoderma's potency.
This small amount of potency was only enough to improve the quality of the Azure Phosphorus Snake Martial Soul, and it was far from enough for it to evolve.
Dugu Bo hurriedly caught the jade bottle, a smile on his face, and replied with joy:
"Thank you, sir. I understand, but any reduction in this backlash poison is good."
After speaking, Dugu Bo eagerly opened the jade bottle, took out a pill, and was about to consume it.
"Wait," Lin Rong's voice stopped Dugu Bo.
Then, under Dugu Bo's confused gaze, Lin Rong continued:
"This pill is for you, but it's not for you."
"The three Dragon Rhyme Immortal Ganoderma Pills I gave you are quest items. Go to the Barak Kingdom and find the Peerless Dragon Snake couple. No matter what method or means you use."
"In short, I want that couple to submit to me."
"After the mission is completed, if there are any remaining elixirs, they will be yours. If there are none left, then you can only blame your own lack of ability."
"This is the first mission I've assigned you after your allegiance. You'd better complete it flawlessly, don't disappoint me!"
"Ah, ah?" Dugu Bo awkwardly put the elixir he had taken out back into the jade bottle, a flicker of disappointment in his eyes, and replied:
"Yes, this old man accepts the order!"
After hearing this, Lin Rong waved his hand to dismiss him:
"Go quickly and come back quickly. I'm waiting for your good news."
After Dugu Bo left, Lin Rong no longer needed to maintain the pretense of being a superior in front of his subordinates. He comfortably reclined on his chair.
"Stealing half a day's leisure from a fleeting life, this life is truly comfortable!"
In the past, he had to personally handle almost every important matter.
Later, although Grandpa Yu had broken through to Titled Douluo, he needed to protect Lin Rong closely, making it impossible for him to do many things.
Now, with Dugu Bo, a subordinate who was both capable and ruthless, Lin Rong could steal some leisure by assigning him some important but not critically important tasks.
"This is how the master of a faction should be. If I had to personally handle everything, what would be the point of establishing a faction?"
"The original work described Dugu Bo as a capable subordinate, but is one such capable subordinate enough!"
"In a few days, I'll abduct Chrysanthemum and the Kid. The Extreme Forbidden Domain is a good thing, it can't be given to Spirit Hall for free."
"Coincidentally, I still have the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum and the Water Lily Jade Bone, two Immortal Grade Medicinal Herbs. One is yin and the other is yang, perfectly corresponding to their Martial Souls."
"I don't know how loyal the Kid is to Spirit Hall, but Chrysanthemum's loyalty to Spirit Hall isn't much. He's more greedy for the wealth and status that Spirit Hall provides, as Chrysanthemum himself admitted in the original work."
"With the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, taking down Chrysanthemum won't be a problem. Then, by leveraging Chrysanthemum's ambiguous relationship with the Kid, taking down the Kid shouldn't be a big issue either."
"When the time is right, I'll have Dugu Bo lure Chrysanthemum out, and then things will be settled."
"But for now, Grandpa Yu hasn't broken through to level ninety-seven yet, and I've just broken through to Soul Ancestor. There's still plenty of time, no rush, no rush."
"After a few more years, when Grandpa Yu breaks through to level ninety-seven and the time is ripe, it won't be too late to make a move."
-----------
Machine Translation by: https:// beta.randomtranslator.com/
Read 999+ original & fanfic translations in English, Español, Português, Deutsch, Français, or Русский at: https:// beta.randomtranslator.com/
Join our Discord: https:// discord.gg/NSWvfN7vua
-----------