'No choice but to have one!'
Yang Yunhai's heart gave a jolt.
This old fellow Dugu Bo really had guts. His granddaughter hadn't even broken up yet, and he already dared to pull this kind of stunt. Wasn't he afraid of setting himself on fire? Yunhai didn't even need to think to know what Dugu Bo was plotting. Of course, at this moment, it was also possible that the man was being sincere.
But he didn't dare bet on it. Absolutely not.
From an investment-return perspective, pretending not to know and letting himself be dragged along, making the rice cooked into a meal, was indeed the best way to tie this Titled Douluo to his war chariot. Whether the rice was really cooked didn't matter. But emotionally, he couldn't betray Zhu Zhuqing. Yiner was already a special case—one he had no choice in.
She was literally attached to him. Accepting or not, he had no say.
Dugu Yan, however, was different.
In his mind, it was enough to follow Tang San's example from the original story—form a bond with Dugu Bo as a life-saving friend, a cross-generation connection.
Besides, his backyard was already on fire with two flames. To add another would burn the whole house down.
He shook his head slightly and said helplessly, "I plan to stay home to study some things, I'm afraid I won't have time."
"Sorry, Yan Yan."
"Then forget it," Dugu Yan replied softly, not overthinking it.
Her lips parted slightly, but in the end she didn't dare voice another request hidden in her heart.
Soon, Yang Yunhai waved goodbye to his teammates and jogged back to the valley with Zhu Zhuqing.
Watching the two figures disappear, Dugu Yan bit her lip, then turned back with her teammates toward the dorms.
Truthfully, she had really wanted to join Yunhai and Zhu Zhuqing's training that afternoon. After training with Zhu Zhuqing before, she had to admit the saying "birds of a feather flock together" made sense. Having someone as diligent as Zhu Zhuqing beside her made her more motivated too.
Not to mention, Yunhai's training methods were far more effective than traditional ones.
She wanted to keep up with them, endure more of that grinding practice, and improve her strength.
But she just couldn't bring herself to say it. And now that Yunhai had returned, with the couple training side by side, tagging along as an outsider felt even less appropriate.
So she had no choice but to give up.
That afternoon, Yang Yunhai trained as usual, while also exploring the spiritual sea with his spiritual power.
But whether his spiritual strength was lacking or for some other reason, he couldn't transfer Yiner into it. It was frustrating.
So he settled for second-best, having Yiner help him disguise his soul power level.
At the Great Spirit Arena, registering required not just filling forms but also testing soul power. He had no intention of exposing his true level.
He clearly remembered Tang San's Blue Silver Domain could disguise soul power, even change soul ring colors at will, hide them entirely, and make his aura seem like ordinary Blue Silver Grass.
Compared to that, disguising soul power level didn't seem too difficult.
For testing, he even found an excuse to borrow a crystal sphere from the school board.
The result? Success.
Suppressing his soul power with his spiritual force, while Yiner blocked external probes, worked like a charm. After repeated trials, he got the crystal sphere to show level 32.
That night, he trained as usual. Yiner amused herself by chatting with the Blue Silver Grass outside.
To her surprise, some of them had grown even stronger than the night before, eager to share their life energy with him.
So, Yang Yunhai ended up absorbing another wave. Not as much as yesterday, but still good.
'After all, I reaped a whole lot last night,' he thought with a grin. 'This must be how a capitalist feels cutting leeks. Beautiful.'
A few hours later, training done, he glanced at Zhu Zhuqing, then at Yiner, deep in thought.
Moments later, Zhu Zhuqing opened her eyes, stood, and said softly, "It's alright, I'll sleep alone tonight."
Yiner's mind was still childlike, acting on instinct. She knew it, too—there was no way Yunhai could shake her off for now.
Yang Yunhai shook his head slightly. He didn't want Zhu Zhuqing to feel neglected.
'Fine, I'll just live like a sage for a while,' he told himself.
"..." After being together for so long, even if not telepathic, they could read each other well. Seeing his determination not to let her feel left out, Zhu Zhuqing felt sweetness in her heart, but her face still turned red.
Yunhai didn't give her time to dwell on it. He pulled her into his arms, bent slightly, and scooped her up in a princess carry.
"Don't move later," Zhu Zhuqing whispered shyly, sensing his firmness.
Not long after, Yang Yunhai lay flat, sage-like, and went to sleep.
The next morning, he woke from the warmth of soft fragrance, silently pulled his hand back, and shook a slender shoulder.
Yiner rubbed her eyes naturally and woke, innocent as ever, as if nothing unusual had happened.
Zhu Zhuqing blushed, straightened her collar, and quietly dressed.
"After breakfast, let's walk around the academy," Yang Yunhai said. "Yiner should get familiar with the surroundings."
He had no plan of leaving the academy, wary of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. After all, he was the one who had proposed the soul bone cure, and their marriage proposal had fallen through. Add to that how he had humiliated Yu Tianheng before—it was a slap to the clan's face. It wouldn't be strange if some held grudges.
"Alright," Zhu Zhuqing nodded.
After breakfast, Yang Yunhai took them around the whole academy.
Relaxation ended quickly, followed by relentless training.
"Perhaps this is what sets Xiao Hai apart from others," Dugu Bo whispered from the treetop, watching.
After his granddaughter mentioned Yunhai refusing his invitation, Dugu Bo guessed he might have suspected something and used an excuse to decline. He had even come today planning to confirm it. If Yunhai had lied, he might have seized the chance to scold him for being ungrateful.
But seeing him sweating away at training, Dugu Bo dismissed the thought.
A dinner invitation was just an interruption in disguise.
"Hmph. You won't escape my palm. This grandson-in-law is already set." Raising his brow, he turned away.
Three days later, Heaven Dou Team assembled and set out for Heaven Dou City.
After checking into a hotel, Yunhai and Zhu Zhuqing tidied up their room and headed straight to the Great Spirit Arena by dusk.
He filled out forms, passed the soul power test at level 32, and began fighting.
With no record yet, his first matches were against weak opponents.
His victories came easily.
In team battles too, there was no pressure. Heaven Dou Team hadn't done many team fights before, and didn't even have a silver badge. Their opponents were equally weak, so wins came easily.
It was all about binding, output, and sweeping the floor.
In just a few days, Yunhai racked up nothing but wins in solo, duo, and team fights alike.
By betting on himself, he also made a fortune in gold soul coins—now a little rich man.
Meanwhile, outside Spirit Hall, a flying-type soul master landed quietly.
"Reporting, Your Holiness. Bishop Salas of Heaven Dou City has sent a letter."
Ghost Douluo, together with Chrysanthemum Douluo, entered the Pope's Hall and bowed.
"Mhm." Bibi Dong nodded, drawing the letter into her hand. She calmly opened it.
Her posture shifted slightly as she read, eyes glinting.
After a moment's thought, she raised her head toward Chrysanthemum Douluo, flicking the letter over.
"Elder Chrysanthemum, take a look."
"???" Chrysanthemum Douluo blinked. 'What does this have to do with me? Could it be about my disciple?'
"Yes, Your Holiness." He bowed and respectfully read.
'Yang Yunhai was taken by Dugu Bo away from the academy, absent for many days.' His face changed at once.
'It was confirmed to be for refining medicine to treat Dugu Yan's old ailment. This matter involves the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.'
'Reportedly, Yunhai proposed using a 5,000-year-old poison or strength-type soul bone to transfer the residual poison from Dugu Yan's Jade Phosphorus Serpent Martial Soul.'
'As expected of my disciple—able to think of such a method. Not like that useless Dugu Bo, who's played with poison his whole life yet couldn't cleanse his own granddaughter. What a disgrace.' Chrysanthemum Douluo felt proud, even as he scorned Dugu Bo.
'Dugu Bo used this to test Yu Tianheng. Tianheng reported to his clan elders. The clan replied, proposing marriage with Dugu Yan in exchange for a 10,000-year strength-type soul bone.'
'Idiots! The whole Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan are fools!' Chrysanthemum Douluo swore inwardly.
'The matter ended poorly. Dugu Bo found a suitable soul bone himself, refused the clan's offer, and broke off the proposed marriage.'
'Currently, Yang Yunhai has been brought back to the academy. The medicine should already be finished.'
'Also, Yunhai calls Dugu Yan "Sister Yan" and Dugu Bo "Grandpa Dugu." Their relationship is very close.'
"???" Chrysanthemum Douluo's face twitched, veins bulging.
'My disciple calling that old poison Grandpa? Then what am I supposed to be? That decrepit bastard must've forced him. My poor disciple had no choice but to go along!' His mind fumed.
"Elder Chrysanthemum, what are your thoughts on this matter?" Bibi Dong's voice cut through.
Chrysanthemum Douluo jolted and quickly bowed. "Your Holiness, my disciple would never betray Spirit Hall."
Bibi Dong nodded slightly, then said, "Chrysanthemum Douluo, I want you to reconcile with Dugu Bo."
Chrysanthemum Douluo: "???"
(End of Chapter)
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