Chapter 38: Heading to Heaven Dou City, Hu Bai's Plan!
In this past month, Hu Liena also advanced from level 13 soul power to level 14.
Although Hu Bai's soul power had not yet increased, his Physique, tempered through heavenly lightning and the consumption of ten-thousand-year whale rubber (in batches) over the past month, had improved by approximately three hundred years.
And just today, Hu Bai finally had an opportunity to go to Sunset Forest.
Today was the day Bibi Dong was sending Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo to the Heaven Dou Empire and Star Luo Empire, respectively, to negotiate Soul Master subsidies.
Chrysanthemum Douluo was responsible for the Heaven Dou Royal Family, and Ghost Douluo for the Star Luo Royal Family.
Regarding Soul Master subsidies, Hu Bai also learned a bit: the Two Great Empires each contributed one-third of the funds, and Spirit Hall was responsible for the remaining one-third, as well as dispatching Soul Masters to various villages to help commoners awaken their Martial Souls for free.
Perhaps some might say, isn't Spirit Hall taking all the advantages?
After all, Spirit Hall uses the subsidies from the Two Great Empires to win over the hearts of the common people.
But if they can see this point, couldn't the emperors and high-ranking nobles of the Two Great Empires also see it?
Yet why do they tolerate Spirit Hall doing this? Isn't it because they look down on these so-called Soul Masters?
The reason they contribute funds is because Spirit Hall sends people every year to "negotiate."
"Teacher, I want to go with Uncle Yue. Can I? I'm so bored staying in Spirit Hall all the time." Hu Bai shook Bibi Dong's arm, trying to act spoiled.
This behavior directly shattered Chrysanthemum Douluo's stereotype of Bibi Dong; after that incident, Bibi Dong developed a dislike for men, so how could she allow a man to touch her?
But Bibi Dong had a smile on her face, without any hint of disgust: "Give me a reason? You've only been studying in Spirit Hall for just over a month, and you already want to go out?"
Hu Bai didn't hide anything: "Mainly, I want to go out and see the world, to see the difference between the Heaven Dou Empire and my Spirit City. I have a faint feeling that there should be a lot of good things over in the Heaven Dou Empire. This feeling is very strange."
He wasn't lying; aside from the plot he knew, he indeed had a vague feeling. Hu Bai also found it strange. Could this also be an ability given to him by his Martial Soul?
Nine-tailed Sky Fox—it's just strong!
However, to be fair, at the current timeline, the opportunities contained within the Heaven Dou Empire are indeed more numerous than those in Spirit Hall and the Star Luo Empire, but the overall combat power of the Heaven Dou Royal Family is not as strong as that of the Star Luo Royal Family, which makes them seem a bit less useful.
In the original work, the Upper Three Sects were within the Heaven Dou Empire; the Immortal Herb was in Sunset Forest, and Dugu Bo initially sided with the Heaven Dou Empire due to a favor.
Hu Bai's words instantly drew the attention of Yue Guan and Bibi Dong. Bibi Dong pondered for a moment before saying, "Alright, then I'll let you go with Yue Guan to see the world. Bring your parents along too, for safety."
"Yue Guan, Ling Yuan, when you go out this time, you must protect him well. If Hu Bai gets hurt, I will hold both of you accountable!"
Bibi Dong's voice transmission reached Yue Guan and Ling Yuan.
"Little fellow, you go back and prepare today. I'll get the carriage ready and come find you tomorrow." Yue Guan smiled at Hu Bai.
He was truly looking forward to this trip to the Heaven Dou Royal Family. He wondered if it would bring him any surprises.
---
Xie Mansion.
"Second Brother, you're going to Heaven Dou City with Elder Ju and Mom and Dad tomorrow. Can I come along too?" Hu Liena also wanted to go.
But Hu Bai refused: "No, Na Na, you and Big Brother just stay here and cultivate properly. Strive to raise your soul power to level 20 as soon as possible."
Seeing Hu Bai's firm stance, Hu Liena immediately turned to try and charm Xie Tian and Hu Leyao, hoping to sneak along, but they also refused.
If they only brought Hu Bai, they could protect him in time if they encountered danger along the way. But if they brought Hu Liena as well, that might not be the case.
"Alright, Na Na, if you're bored, how about I take you to Spirit Hall Academy sometime? You haven't been there yet, and you can get to know some talented students. Maybe they'll be your companions in the future," Xie Yue consoled.
Xie Yue's idea was that, with Hu Bai's current strength, he would become a Titled Douluo in the future, possibly reaching level 95 or higher. But in this growth process, he also needed companions.
Currently, the only peers around Hu Bai were the two of them, which was not enough. At least four more people were needed to make a group of seven.
Coincidentally, when he was at the Academy, he had met several talented peers, and it had been several months since he last saw them.
---
The next day.
Early in the morning, Hu Bai and his group set off for Heaven Dou City in Yue Guan's carriage.
In the past, he always traveled alone to save time, but now, with Hu Bai, they needed to hire two carriages.
Xie Tian and Hu Leyao in one, Hu Bai and Yue Guan in the other.
Bored on the road, Yue Guan also tested Hu Bai: "Little fellow, how's that book I gave you last time? Have you read it?"
Hu Bai chuckled: "I've finished it all. I didn't expect Uncle Yue to have recorded so much knowledge about Immortal Herbs; it opened my eyes."
Yue Guan no longer cared about Hu Bai switching between calling him 'Uncle Ju' and 'Uncle Yue.'
"Many of those are rough records. After all, I haven't seen a real Immortal Herb myself, nor have I heard of anyone gaining specific improvements after eating an Immortal Herb. It can only be considered basic information," Yue Guan explained.
"Uncle Yue, you see how familiar we are now, can you tell me the origin of your 'Chrysanthemum Douluo' title?"
Yue Guan: ...
Looking at Hu Bai's expectant eyes, Yue Guan's initial thought of refusing was immediately suppressed. He really couldn't bear to refuse such a handsome young man.
He could only sigh helplessly: "I can, but you can't tell anyone else, okay? Your Uncle Yue still wants to save some face."
Hu Bai nodded heavily, assuring him!
He knew the origin of the Chrysanthemum Douluo title—wasn't it given by Dugu Bo?
However, he still asked this mainly to test the relationship between Yue Guan and Dugu Bo. If it wasn't a deep-seated hatred, then Dugu Bo could be fully recruited at that time.
Although Dugu Bo was known as the weakest Titled Douluo, if Spirit Hall and the Two Great Empires went to war in the future, the role Dugu Bo could play would be enormous!
What if the Empire had a million-strong army? It still couldn't withstand Dugu Bo's large-scale poisonous fog!
And perhaps he could also use this opportunity to lure Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling to Spirit Hall—especially Ye Lingling. Her healing ability would be a waste if left to the Heaven Dou Empire.
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End of Chapter