The news spread like wildfire through Tiandou Royal Academy.
"Did you hear? Lu Yuan challenged a Title Douluo!"
"Huh?! He's crazy!"
"It has to be the wine again. He's fearless when drunk!"
"Our day of vengeance finally arrived. Don't you see? This is our chance!"
"Chance? Are you stupid? What do you want to do, run up and get kicked into the dirt?"
"Maybe we can, uh, cheer from the sidelines? Throw rocks at Dugu Bo?"
"Yeah right. You want to make 'assists' against a Titled Douluo? Do you want to be the first person vaporized by poison mist in Academy history?"
The students muttered nervously while still pressing closer for a better view. When else would they see someone drunk enough—or dumb enough—to provoke the Poison Douluo, Dugu Bo, into a public fight?
On the top floor of the teaching building, Meng Shenji stood with his hands clasped behind him, peering through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Beside him were Bai Baoshan and Zhi Lin, all watching the commotion building below.
"Chief," Bai Baoshan rumbled with concern, "shouldn't we intervene? Dugu Bo is unpredictable. If things go too far, our academy's greatest treasure could be crippled."
Meng Shenji calmly stroked his beard, undisturbed. "You two beg too much. If Dugu Bo truly meant to destroy Lu Yuan, he would not come onto campus. He's here for an excuse—what herbs, what debts—nonsense. What matters in his heart is that goose of his. And as long as Lu Yuan treats her as his treasure, Dugu Bo cannot truly harm him."
His lips curved slightly. "Besides… even I want to see this farce."
The square inside Tiandou Royal Academy was already overflowing. Students pressed together shoulder-to-shoulder, though none dared come close to the battlefield.
On one side, Dugu Bo stood wreathed in poisonous green light, his presence suffocating. On the other side… Lu Yuan swayed on his feet, wine jar dangling in his grip, a sloppy grin on his face.
Two terrifying figures, equally dangerous in completely different ways.
The crowd could feel the danger thrum through their bones. One mistake, one missed dodge—and they'd be corpses.
"Sister Yanyan!"
Ning Rongrong, Ye Lingling, and Meng Yiran pushed forward in a rush, hearts pounding.
"Lu Yuan is… actually fighting a Titled Douluo?"
"This is insane. He's strong, yes, but against someone like Dugu Bo…" Lingling bit her lip, worry written all over her face.
Ning Rongrong tugged urgently on Dugu Yan's sleeve. "Yanyan, stop him! Talk to your grandfather!"
Dugu Yan shook her head helplessly. "Do you think I haven't tried? He provoked this himself. He won't back down. Besides…" She lifted her chin. "I already swore to Grandfather: if he dares hurt Lu Yuan, then he'll lose his granddaughter forever. That's enough to make even him hesitate."
The three girls exchanged wide-eyed glances. They couldn't calm down. But the battle had already begun.
"Boy," Dugu Bo said quietly, his voice enough to silence the murmurs of thousands, "you still have time to beg for mercy."
Lu Yuan snorted, openly disdainful. "Beg mercy? When you're the one bullying Yanyan? Old Poison, is there such reason?"
Dugu Bo wanted to laugh, but couldn't. This brat twisted words faster than a snake's coil. And yet… a flicker of approval glinted in his eyes. At least the boy defended his granddaughter fiercely.
"Very well. I'll test if you can withstand a few attacks."
Green light erupted like an emerald sun. Behind Dugu Bo rose the colossal phantom of the Jade Phosphorus Snake Emperor, filling the square with pressure. His nine dazzling spirit rings lit the air—gold, black, purple, glowing one after another.
The crowd gasped. Title Douluo. For many, this was the first—and perhaps only—time they would see such overwhelming power.
"This is my first ability." His voice was low and heavy. "Green Phosphorus Snake King Ball."
A condensed sphere of viridescent light shot from his palm, hissing with deadly energy. Poison radiated from it with such concentration that the air itself sizzled.
For just an instant, Dugu Bo's eyes caught Lu Yuan's rings. One, two, three, four, five—and the fifth was black.
Soul King. Already?!
His pupils shrank. This level of growth… outrageous.
Lu Yuan roared, pulling the long sword from his back. With a single mighty swing, he cleaved the orb apart. Poison scattered like rain, vaporizing harmlessly against his blade aura.
Gulp. Gulp.
"Haah! Old Poison, get ready to be beaten!"
With drunken speed, he launched forward in a blur, blade humming.
"The Jade Snake Emperor Formation!" Dugu Bo snapped his fingers. A wall of poisonous green fog spread across the square. But before it could envelop, Lu Yuan's figure vanished.
His fifth skill—Sword Qi ignited with black flame, cutting through space itself.
Sword intent shrieked, streaking straight for Dugu Bo's chest.
Can't lock it? Dugu Bo realized after trying to track him twice. He narrowed his eyes with appreciation. This ability… it suppresses tracking and sealing. Interesting.
He did not block—he wanted to test its limit. But when the black Sword Qi passed along his skin, his eyes widened ever so slightly. For one instant, he had felt it.
Fear.
Not of Lu Yuan's cultivation, but of that inky-black Sword Qi, chilling as if it came from the abyss itself. If this brat reached Soul Sage one day… such a strike would terrify even Titled Douluo.
"Boy, still too tender." Dugu Bo dodged, snapping poison flame to his fingertips.
The green light compressed this time into a smaller sphere, and its power spiked tenfold.
From the sidelines, Dugu Yan's voice trembled. "Grandfather's fifth spirit ability! He won't actually hurt him, will he?"
The girls were pale, desperate.
But before the poison sphere could land, a sudden second voice echoed across the square.
"Sword Wings—Fly! Guardian Spirit Sword!"
A streak of dazzling sword light landed, forming twin arcs behind Lu Yuan, shielding him.
When the curtain of light dispersed, Chen Xin stood, Seven Kill Sword gleaming in his hand, his figure straight as a blade.
"Dugu Bo," he called lightly, "have you asked the sword in my hand before striking him?"
The square burst into gasps.
Another Titled Douluo had arrived.
"You again, Chen Xin?" Dugu Bo frowned, his mood darkening. "Why meddle in my affairs?"
Chen Xin raised his chin proudly. "Meddle? Lu Yuan is part of my Seven Treasure Glazed Sect. He's close with my little princess, Rongrong. He is destined to be my grandson-in-law."
The question was spoken calmly, but the claim rang loud and clear.
Dugu Bo instantly shot back, enraged. "Pah! He's already pulling my granddaughter Yan Yan's hand four years ago. She's long since laid claim. Your Rongrong was barely out of the sect's nursery at the time!"
"Fool!" Chen Xin spat. "Lu Yuan grew up in our sect, side by side with Rongrong. Childhood sweethearts! Your claims are empty."
The onlookers froze in open disbelief. Two Titled Douluos—arguing, not about strategy, not about cultivation, but about whose grandson-in-law Lu Yuan would be?!
Yu Tianheng, hidden in the crowd, clenched his fists so hard veins popped. His teeth itched in rage. That perverted luck of yours, Lu Yuan! Four girls already throwing themselves at you, and now even two Titled Douluos fight to claim you as family?
"This world… is unfair. Utterly unfair!"
Meanwhile, at the heart of the storm, Lu Yuan tipped back his jar.
Tons… Tons… Hic!
He let out a happy hiccup and waved his free hand. "Oi! Stop arguing, both of you. I'm not a kid you can pass around."
Both Titled Douluos turned together. "Then say it! Who do you choose? Yanyan, or the girl from Seven Treasure Glazed?"
Lu Yuan blinked dully. His grin spread wide. "Choose? I want it all."
The square fell silent.
Dugu Bo and Chen Xin both stood frozen, dumbstruck.
This brat dared… to say that aloud?!
For one long beat, they could only seethe. They wanted to crush him beneath their palms immediately—but there he was, swaying.
Then with a soft snore, Lu Yuan flopped onto the ground. Out cold.
"…"
The four girls scrambled to his side instantly, lifting him gently in their arms.
The crowd, meanwhile, bristled with envy. Their eyes all but shot daggers into Lu Yuan's unconscious form.
This bastard really is a modern-day Cao thief. Meat in his arms, soup all to himself, none left behind for others.
Later, in Lu Yuan's residence within Tiandou City—
"Mm. Where's the water?" Lu Yuan murmured, blinking blearily. Usually, Lingling, Rongrong, or Yanyan always left water on his bedside table. Today—nothing.
"Never mind. Wine will do."
A calm voice answered him from the other room.
"The four girls went back to class. As for the girl named Meng Yiran…" Ning Fengzhi sat elegantly on the sofa, eyes amused. "I've already secured her noble status personally."
"Uncle Ning!" Lu Yuan strode forward, swept by sudden warmth.
"No need to thank me," Ning Fengzhi said gently.
Lu Yuan shook his head quickly. "Oh, I wasn't about to thank you, Uncle Ning. What I wanted to ask—do you have any more of that wine Rongrong brought last time?"
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