Chapter 53: Heaven Dou City, Dugu Bo's Tragic Life, No Regrets for His Decision!
When a Soul Master possesses multiple soul rings from the same Soul Beast, the later acquired soul rings will enhance the power of the previously obtained ones and grant a new Soul Skill.
The Soul Skills granted by the soul rings from the Three-Eyed Demon Fox on Hu Leyao are either mental shock or illusion control, which are not easy to display.
After Hu Leyao finished explaining her Soul Skills and Soul Bone skills, Yue Guan said, "It has been many days since we left. We should set off for Heaven Dou City now. I'm afraid there's no time left for you to rest."
Hu Bai and the others nodded, and Ling Yuan said, "Since we're in a hurry, I'll fly you there."
With that, Ling Yuan unleashed her Martial Soul True Body, transforming into a Blazing Spirit Kite. However, the flames on Ling Yuan's body retracted, leaving only her crimson feathers.
Xie Tian quickly waved his hand. "Elder Ling Yuan, wouldn't this be inappropriate…?"
Ling Yuan was an Elder of Spirit Hall, holding a high position and great power. For her to act as their mount was truly…
Ling Yuan smiled. "There's nothing inappropriate. And Elder Ju is right— we've been out for too long this time. If we don't hurry, His Holiness the Supreme Pontiff might get worried."
Since Ling Yuan had spoken, Hu Bai and the others naturally stepped onto her back.
Although Yue Guan and Dugu Bo could also fly, their speed was certainly far inferior to Ling Yuan, who possessed a bird-type Martial Soul.
Sunset Forest was not very far from Heaven Dou City. With Ling Yuan flying at full speed, they arrived at the outskirts of the city in less than an few hours.
When they landed, Hu Bai scratched his head. "Did we forget something?"
"Ah, right—the two carriages are still waiting for us outside Sunset Forest…" Hu Bai suddenly remembered. He just knew something felt off.
Yue Guan said, "It's fine—let them wait. We'll go back after we've dealt with things here."
After entering Heaven Dou City, the group first found a hotel to rest for the night. The news of their arrival was quickly relayed to the Imperial Palace.
Heaven Dou Royal Palace, Imperial Study.
"Your Majesty, we received a report from the city guards that people from Spirit Hall have taken residence in the Heaven Dou Hotel," a guard in white armor respectfully reported.
Emperor Xue Ye nodded. "Go invite Sect Master Ning over, and also send someone to the Prince's Mansion to have Prince Xue Xing tell Dugu Bo to come tomorrow as well."
Hu Bai and his group did not enter the city together but in staggered batches. Dugu Bo walking with them now was not appropriate.
The guard responded with a "Yes" and then left.
Emperor Xue Ye muttered to himself, "I didn't expect Spirit Hall to arrive so late this time. It's already been many days past the usual time in previous years…"
Ning Fengzhi had his own Sect. Although he supported the Heaven Dou Royal Family, he couldn't stay in Heaven Dou City all day.
However, the distance between Heaven Dou City and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was not too far. Sending someone to inform them wouldn't take more than a few hours.
Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
After receiving the guard's notification, Ning Fengzhi did not leave immediately. Instead, he told the guard to go ahead, saying they would arrive shortly.
After the guard left, Chen Xin, who was at his side, spoke. "Ning Fengzhi, are you sure you want to do this for the Heaven Dou Royal Family? If only Chrysanthemum Douluo had come this time, it would be fine, but he even brought three others. This is not right."
"Also, if we don't consider our position, I think Spirit Hall's practice of providing subsidies to commoner Soul Masters isn't inherently problematic."
Ning Fengzhi smiled. "Of course, I know that Spirit Hall's approach benefits commoners, and my Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect currently doesn't wish to oppose Spirit Hall."
"Then why?"
"Emperor Xue Ye hopes that there will be no Soul Master subsidies in the future, but that's impossible. This time, Chrysanthemum Douluo came, and we rejected him. What if other experts from Spirit Hall come next time? So, we can only negotiate to reduce the amount given. If that doesn't work, then we can only let Emperor Xue Ye make this matter public, stating that one-third of the Soul Master subsidies provided by Spirit Hall are funded by their Heaven Dou Empire," Ning Fengzhi said calmly.
Chen Xin shook his head. "Ning Fengzhi, Spirit Hall has never said that the Two Great Empires are forbidden from speaking about this. But why haven't they said anything? A large part of the reason might be that nobles inherently look down on commoners. They believe that commoners have lowly bloodlines and should be enslaved by them."
"To call them commoners—that status is only slightly higher than slaves. Forget the Two Great Empires; even in our Sect, talented commoner Soul Masters with good talent still face prejudice because we also belong to the noble faction."
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect supporting the Heaven Dou Royal Family was no secret on the continent. The Empire itself was not a good thing, so how could a Sect that supported the Empire be considered good?
Over the years, even if Ning Fengzhi lowered himself and eagerly sought talent, talented commoner Soul Masters would rather join Spirit Hall or enroll in the top Soul Master academies than join his Sect.
Of course, the probability of highly talented commoner Soul Masters appearing is very low—instances like Ma Hongjun transforming from a common chicken to a Phoenix are even rarer, like finding a needle in a haystack. It's not easy to find one or two with the Innate soul power of eight or nine levels.
Their Sect does not lack mid-to-low-level combat power; what it lacks are promising talents who can grow into Titled Douluo.
Figures like Gu Rong and Chen Xin within the Sect were recruited with great difficulty, which allowed the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's status on the continent to undergo earth-shattering changes.
That night, Dugu Bo also returned to his residence in Heaven Dou City. The academy happened to be on holiday, so Dugu Yan had returned from the academy.
"Grandpa! You're back! I missed you so much!" a petite figure ran over quickly and embraced Dugu Bo.
The moment he saw Dugu Yan's smiling face, Dugu Bo felt more and more that his decision to join Spirit Hall was correct.
In the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, he had concealed part of what he told Hu Bai—that although he was the first in his Dugu family to evolve the Jade Phosphor Serpent Martial Soul into the Jade Phosphor Serpent King/Emperor, it did not mean they had not suffered from Martial Soul poison backlash before this.
{T/N: I believe there can only be one Emperor in each type of martial soul, and the rest can only be a king at the same time.}
His father died due to the Martial Soul poison backlash, and his son Dugu Xin, perhaps because of his greater strength, died even earlier. Even before Yan Yan's Martial Soul awakened, he had already…
And at the moment before Dugu Xin's death, he had just broken through to level 89! He thought that after reaching Titled Douluo, everything would be resolved, but he still had to endure severe backlash. This couldn't help but fill him with despair and helplessness; Yan Yan was still so young.
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