The Spiritjade Sword Sect, though only emerging onto the continent a single year ago, had already left a deep and indelible mark.
What shocked the world most was that such a massive hidden sect—powerful enough to rival even the Upper Three Sects—hadn't revealed itself to seek fame, wealth, or political influence. Instead, its sole "business" was establishing escort agencies and restaurants?
Of course, the higher circles of the Spirit Master world knew very well just how terrifying the wealth of the Spiritjade Escort Agency truly was.
The Escort Agency even earned the nickname "Godspeed Courier", for whether it was a civilian's parcel or a Spirit Master's contract, no matter how far the distance, delivery never took more than three days. Every courier was a Spirit Master—at minimum, a Spirit Ancestor (over rank 40).
Keep in mind, while the Douluo Continent only had about 100,000 Spirit Masters, its ordinary population exceeded tens of billions. Even if the cheapest "delivery" cost just one copper spirit coin, the accumulated profits would be astronomical.
And many Spirit Masters also required transport for items or messages. With the Escort Agency's flawless reputation, its service was considered entirely trustworthy.
Anyone daring to tarnish their name was invariably annihilated—usually by the next day.
Indeed, many factions that had tried to move against Spiritjade Escort had been wiped out. Stories even spread of powerful enforcers from the Spiritjade Sword Sect itself.
Two names became infamous—Flame Sword and Ice Sword. Supposedly, these were Protector Elders of the sect, tasked specifically with eradicating "outlaws" who targeted the Escort Agency.
In truth, this was none other than Oscar's clones, wielding elemental powers of fire and ice—backed by Dugu Bo's own clones. With no survivors left to tell the tale, the stories grew increasingly exaggerated.
Because of Spiritjade's rise, the Spirit Master world also came to believe that Dugu Bo was not, in fact, alone. Instead, he had a powerful family hidden away—the Jade Scaled Clan—that had emerged alongside the Spiritjade Sword Sect.
This rumor spread after an incident in the Barak Kingdom.
Dugu Bo had been invited by Prince Xue Xing of the Heaven Dou Empire to attend a flower-viewing in the imperial palace. At that same time, a faction in Barak tried to muscle in on the rising Spiritjade Escort Agency.
They were utterly destroyed overnight—by a Titled Douluo wielding what appeared to be a Jade Scaled Serpent martial spirit. This powerhouse left chilling words behind:
"Anyone who dares set their sights on Spiritjade Escort will face me, Dugu Ao, and the entire Jade Scaled Clan."
And yet, when this happened, Dugu Bo was verifiably still in the imperial palace, drinking and viewing flowers with Prince Xue Xing.
Later, when the Prince heard of this and questioned him, Dugu Bo admitted he was indeed originally from the Jade Scaled Clan—but had been cast out in his youth for poor talent. His martial spirit back then was only the Jade Scaled Snake.
The Prince was baffled:
"But Senior, you are now a Titled Douluo! Your Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor has evolved to rival the progenitor of all serpents. How could your clan still scorn you?"
Dugu Bo sighed bitterly:
"Because while my spirit evolved step by step from Jade Scaled Snake into the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor… our clan's true inheritance is the Jade Scaled Dragon Emperor. They are dragons. I… am but a snake."
Rumors such as these—half-true, half-false—spread like wildfire across the continent, quickly solidifying the "backstory" in the minds of the uninformed masses.
From then on, no one dared provoke the Spiritjade Escort Agency. After all, at minimum, they now appeared to have two or three Titled Douluo standing behind them.
Because of this, even the great powers—the Spirit Hall, the Star Luo and Heaven Dou royal families, and the Upper Three Sects such as the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect—all tried to recruit the Spiritjade Sword Sect or at least establish friendly ties.
But the Spiritjade Sword Lord was extremely shrewd. He politely declined every invitation, claiming their emergence was merely to temper disciples in the mortal world and deepen their comprehension of the Way of the Sword.
The excuses were flawless. And even after refusing, they maintained cordial relations with all major factions—extending goodwill even to the Lower Four Sects, as well as countless kingdoms and principalities.
The Spiritjade Sect sought no competition, only running their escort agencies and restaurants. What's more, they even distributed annual dividends to allied factions.
With that, all obstacles vanished. After all, they had overwhelming strength. Any faction dreaming of a slice of Spiritjade's pie first had to ask: Is your fist hard enough?
But if Spiritjade was already offering friendship and free money, why fight? Only fools would resist.
And the few who had resisted were already nothing but overgrown graves.
Thus, within a single year, Spiritjade Sword Sect had spread across the entire continent, with Spiritjade Escort Agencies and Spiritjade Restaurants rising like bamboo shoots after rain.
Inside the Soto Spiritjade Restaurant, Tang San entered confidently with Xiao Wu, walking straight to the counter.
"Please prepare two rooms for us, and also bring up one table of the 'God of Food's Eight Immortals Banquet.'"
Back in Nuoding City, Xiao Wu had frequented the Spiritjade Restaurant regularly. Even here in Soto, the decorations and menu were the same, so Tang San knew precisely what to order.
Thanks to this, the two avoided the "awkward lodging situation" they had faced in the original timeline—no flirtatious waiter telling them only one room was left.
Nor did they encounter Dai Mubai—who, in this altered timeline, had never come to Soto's inns, but was still in Shrek Academy, deep in closed-door cultivation.
The waiter nodded, handing over two small jade plaques:
"Rooms are on the fourth floor, numbers 401 and 402. Will your meal be served upstairs, or in the second-floor dining hall?"
Tang San glanced at Xiao Wu. She replied:
"Please deliver it to 401."
The waiter noted it down:
"That will be one silver spirit coin for the two rooms, and one gold spirit coin for the Eight Immortals Banquet."
Before he even finished, Tang San had already skillfully produced the coins. The waiter smiled warmly:
"It seems the two of you are regular patrons. My apologies for not recognizing you sooner."
Tang San smiled back:
"No problem. It's my first time in this branch, but I used to visit your Nuoding restaurant often."
The waiter bowed politely:
"Then I wish you both a pleasant stay."
Tang San took Xiao Wu upstairs—completely unaware that in the lobby, behind the counter, a masked youth balancing an abacus had quietly glanced at them. His expression was indifferent, as though he hadn't noticed.
But when the pair disappeared upstairs, the corner of the masked youth's mouth lifted.
"So… you've finally arrived."
Not long after, as Tang San and Xiao Wu settled in, another figure entered the restaurant.
It was a young girl in a simple white glazed gown. She stood half a head shorter than Xiao Wu, with long black hair, delicate features, and fair skin, so beautiful she looked like a princess stepped straight out of a storybook.
Just like Tang San and Xiao Wu, she too ordered a room and a meal before heading upstairs.
The masked youth's smile widened slightly.
What a coincidence…