"Patriarch Hu Yan flatters me," Dugu Shuo replied lightly.
"Haha, you're always like this…dull and no fun at all!"
Hu Yanzhen chuckled twice more, then turned away from the Dugu family's carriage and went to greet the Ge Clan's carriage instead.
Moments later, another carriage rolled out from Heaven Dou City, but this one painted a striking blue. The people from Thunderclap Academy had finally arrived.
But the Thunderclap contingent carried themselves with restraint. They merely sent a Soul King to exchange polite words, and then the convoy moved out.
Four giant carriages, rolling mightily toward Soto City.
Thunderclap Academy's backer was the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
Dugu Feng already knew that the so-called Five Elements Alliance was essentially propped up by the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragons.
The five academies shared one portion of the Arena's profits, and always followed the Tyrant Dragons' lead.
That clan didn't lean toward the Heaven Dou royal family, nor the Star Luo royal family. They preferred to stand apart, and their independence attracted smaller forces to orbit around them.
Yet within the Alliance, aside from Thunderclap, the other four—Godwind, Sky Water, Elephant Armored, and Blazing Academy—had all been wooed by Spirit Hall.
Did the Blue Lightning Clan truly not know?
If they didn't, then their eventual extermination was well deserved!
Dugu Feng shook his head and stopped thinking about it, closing his eyes in meditation inside the carriage.
Half a month passed in silence.
Dugu Feng let out a long breath, eyes flashing with excitement.
On his wrist, the twin Nine-Segment Emerald Snakes flicked their tongues, licking at his skin.
Just now, both snakes had broken through to the thousand-year level.
It seemed impossible, but the truth was before his eyes.
The Pearl's effect on them was simply too great. Since being linked into the cycle, their cultivation rose by more than a hundred years each month.
And the pace was only accelerating!
A thousand-year beast's strength was comparable to a Soul Grandmaster or even a Soul Elder. To reach this in less than a year from hatching…it was a miracle!
If this continued, their strength would soon far surpass his own soul power. They would then become his greatest helpers.
Meanwhile, his Pearl's energy had risen another point, reaching fifty-five.
It was a positive cycle: his and the snakes' strength boosted the Pearls, which in turn boosted them.
Dugu Feng grinned. A stroke of genius, bringing the snakes into the loop.
The progress had doubled, at least.
His mood soared.
By now, they were less than a hundred kilometers from Soto City.
He had been wary at first, but after so long without incident, a dangerous thought crept in…could it be that the Elephant Sect and Spirit Hall had no plans to move against them?
Just then, Old Scorpion slipped into the carriage.
No one had noticed him leave, not even Dugu Feng.
"Patriarch, ten li ahead—the Sacred Dragon Clan's carriages appear to be waiting for us." Old Scorpion's face was grave. (T/N : 1 li is around 0.5 km)
"The Sacred Dragon Clan? That's no coincidence," Dugu Feng muttered.
"They're about to move," Dugu Shuo said coldly.
At the side, Old Snake looked ashamed. "Old Scorpion and I have taken turns scouting, but we found no trace of any poison masters."
Old Scorpion stayed silent. Discovering the Sacred Dragon Clan was one thing. But without identifying their true backing, they were at a disadvantage.
"No need to panic." Dugu Shuo's face was calm.
For it wasn't just Old Snake and Old Scorpion scouting. Old Nine was also in play.
None of them had found anything.
Dugu Shuo already had his own suspicions, but there was no need to say them aloud yet.
His composure steadied the others.
The carriages rolled on.
Soon, the Ge family's carriage at the front also spotted the Sacred Dragon Clan's entourage.
Old Snake, Hu Yanzhen, and Ge Long stepped forward to meet them. Dugu Shuo stayed aloof, not even bothering to disembark. Thunderclap's carriage likewise stayed put.
"I guessed you'd be along, so I came to wait here. Why not travel to Soto together?"
The man at the fore of the Sacred Dragon group wore a silver leather robe, two dragon horns jutting from his shoulders, a great yellow dragon embroidered across his chest.
He radiated power, domineering and strong. The Sacred Dragon Clan's master, Tuoba Xi.
He was still only a Soul Douluo, not yet a Title Douluo.
Behind him stood more than ten Sacred Dragon soul masters, making a formidable sight.
"Haha, of course. We're all old acquaintances anyway. We'll all be meeting in Soto, after all."
Hu Yanzhen's booming laughter carried, though in his eyes a flicker of excitement could be seen.
"Patriarch Ge, allow me to lead the way," Tuoba Xi said smoothly when Ge Long responded with cool indifference.
He climbed back into his carriage.
The convoy moved again.
But the atmosphere had shifted, it was now tense and uneasy.
The Ge family, the Five Elements Alliance, and the Dugu Clan all had decent relations, no hostility.
But the Sacred Dragon Clan was different. They were not of the same camp.
Night fell.
The sun was gone, the last of its glow fading from the horizon.
And just as everyone thought the day would pass without incident—
A scream tore through the convoy.
Dugu Feng jolted upright. That voice! It was too familiar.
"Teacher Ge?! What happened?!"
Dugu Shuo, Old Snake, and Old Scorpion leapt from the carriage without hesitation.
Dugu Feng, Little Snake, and the five poison soul masters followed.
The Ge family's carriage was just ahead.
"Clear the way! Let Patriarch Dugu take a look!" came a barked command, and the Ge Clan soul masters quickly descended.
But Dugu Feng felt the tension immediately.
Those wary gazes were aimed squarely at them.
A chill ran through his heart.
He and his father entered the carriage.
And what they saw inside made Dugu Feng's pupils contract.
Ge Ying's body was mottled with a ghastly black-green. Bulging veins writhed under his skin like squirming earthworms.
His entire form glowed with alternating gold and black, straining to resist some unknown energy surging through him.
"Just now, Ying'er suddenly gasped for breath, and then became like this. He must be poisoned!"
The silver-armored middle-aged man beside him spoke in anguish, though his voice was steady.
It was Patriarch Ge Long himself.
Ge Ying—his son, his heir, a genius nearing Soul Emperor at barely thirty, groomed to succeed him.
To be struck with such a deadly poison here, of all places…
Ge Long's face twisted with pain, but his eyes still burned with hope as he turned to Dugu Shuo.
"Patriarch, please!"
Dugu Shuo acted without hesitation. His martial spirit flared, the green diamond scale upon his brow glowing as four-colored light shone forth, enveloping Ge Ying.