You Xing smirked and said, "If my clone hasn't made a mistake, your precious granddaughter is probably about to have a conflict with her boyfriend."
Dugu Bo immediately puffed up his cheeks and glared, "What do you mean by boyfriend? They haven't even established anything yet; call that kid her male classmate! Wait, what did you say? Conflict!?"
Dugu Bo was initially furious, but suddenly snapped back to reality and urged You Xing to hurry to the scene.
...
"What? You mean the person you want to apprentice under isn't a strong fighter, but a theoretical scholar?"
In the first training ground, Yu Tianheng looked at Dugu Yan with a shocked expression that was hard to describe.
"Yes, a theoretical scholar with rich theoretical knowledge. Isn't that better for teaching me about Martial Souls? If he can cultivate a talent like You Xing, he must be able to guide me to become stronger as well."
"No, maybe that theoretical scholar just happened to meet a disciple with such good aptitude like You Xing, and he himself might not have any real ability? Or perhaps the field he studies just happens to help You Xing; it's all uncertain. Speaking of theoretical scholars, I actually know someone who can definitely be called a master! If you just want to learn about Martial Soul theory, Yanyan, you don't need to leave us and go so far away!"
At this moment, after Qin Ming had deliberately given the team members time to leave, Dugu Yan was saying goodbye to her friends. However, unable to resist Yu Tianheng's intense curiosity about her apprenticeship, she eventually revealed the "truth," thinking that she probably wouldn't see everyone for a long time.
Of course, she couldn't reveal that You Chen was just helping her detoxify. Although she hadn't truly become an apprentice, she indeed intended to learn the inherited knowledge from that master. Explaining it this way posed no problem. This was also what Dugu Bo meant when he expressed that even if Dugu Yan hadn't formally apprenticed, she should still treat You Chen with the respect due to a teacher.
However... Dugu Bo probably didn't expect that despite his specific instructions to Dugu Yan not to disclose You Chen's existence to outsiders, she would break that rule just the next day.
Although You Chen hadn't intended to keep the name You Xing a secret, at least Dugu Bo, who had just arrived, did not look pleased.
"Sorry, Brother Chen, I clearly instructed Yanyan, but she easily revealed your matters. I'll go teach her a lesson right now!"
As he spoke, he was about to stop suppressing his aura and walk to the front of the stage.
But You Xing raised his hand to stop him: "Hey, don't be in such a hurry. First of all, I didn't specifically ask you to keep this matter a secret, which shows that I don't care that much about it. After all, she's just a junior; education should be done properly, but if you act like this, aren't you directly embarrassing the child? That hurts her self-esteem! I think you're just overreacting out of concern."
You Xing smiled slightly: "I have a higher tolerance for the juniors of my friends than for others. I won't go as far as to beat up your Yanyan like I would with you, so don't worry. In any case, I can be considered one of their peers, so I'll handle the follow-up matters."
Seeing through his thoughts, Dugu Bo was not angry at all. He only had this precious granddaughter; who else could he care about? No matter how much he loved and cherished her, it was never too much.
But...
"Then I'll leave it to Brother Chen to educate Yanyan." Dugu Bo still bowed his head in acknowledgment.
At this moment, the argument between Dugu Yan and Yu Tianheng was reaching a boiling point.
"Alright, I don't need you to introduce me to some theoretical master who popped out of nowhere. My teacher is someone even my grandfather recognizes; do you really think he could be worse than the random people you know?"
Although Dugu Yan had revealed that her teacher was a "theoretical scholar," she still knew to keep the most critical details to herself and wasn't planning to speak carelessly.
Moreover, due to Yu Tianheng's performance yesterday, Dugu Yan had already become somewhat disappointed in him.
Yufeng tried to mediate, saying, "Alright, alright, we won't see each other for a long time, so let's all be cheerful and say goodbye nicely, okay?"
Yu Tianheng turned his head away and said hoarsely, "I just don't understand. Yanyan already has the best resources here; isn't Teacher Qin good enough? Why does she have to leave us to apprentice under someone else?"
Hearing this, emotional Dugu Yan's eyes turned slightly red, moved.
"That's just because you haven't seen a broader sky, you frog at the bottom of a well."
At that moment, a cold voice inappropriately interrupted this farewell scene among friends.
Yu Tianheng suddenly looked up, and even though he forced himself to control his expression, he couldn't hide the hint of redness and ferocity in his eyes: "You... Xing!"
He shouted, "Take back your words! I won't allow you to insult Teacher Qin Ming!"
Perhaps due to his jealousy of You Xing, Yu Tianheng had unearthed a talent similar to that of his uncle, learning to set up a moral high ground to attack others.
As expected, once those words were spoken, several members of the Royal Fight Team felt a sense of shared indignation.
Although You Xing hadn't directly insulted Qin Ming, the implication of his words was, unlike yesterday, that their academy was too narrow-minded. Wasn't that indirectly criticizing their teacher's capabilities?
"You Xing..."
Dugu Yan asked in a deep voice, "Today, you shouldn't have anything special to perform, right?"
You Xing, however, completely ignored this nonsensical little girl and looked at Yu Tianheng, coldly saying, "No need to rush to label me, Yu Tianheng from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon family of the top three sects."
For Soul Masters from the top three sects, family pride and taboos were undoubtedly significant, but there were degrees to it.
Hearing You Xing specifically mention the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon family, Yu Tianheng's expression grew even colder: "You specifically mentioned my family; what do you want to say?"
You Xing replied indifferently, "Perhaps being from a top family makes you feel that your perspective is already broad enough. That's why you are so full of doubt about things outside your understanding. I will prove that my words are facts; there's no need to debate with you, just—"
In an instant, his Martial Soul manifested, transforming into a small dragon person clad in sky blue and white dragon scales, with two purple and one black soul rings swirling around him.
Through the focused state of the Soul Ring Convergence Technique, You Xing could suppress the power of the soul rings, adjusting the visible age and color of the rings.
From three black to two purple and one black, it was an epic reduction, but for the members of the Royal Fight Team, it was still a world-shaking shock.
"Ten-thousand-year soul ring...?"
"Monster!"
"A true monster!"
All members of the Royal Fight Team were left in a daze.
Even Dugu Yan, who had previously known that You Xing's teacher was just a theoretical master You Chen and had lost some of the initial awe, now wore an expression of disbelief.
Normally, a Soul Master could only absorb the best age soul ring if their various qualities met the standards and their Martial Soul was also decent.
Although the academy's teachers had taught that due to the discovery of new effects of whale glue, the optimal age for strengthening the physique of Soul Masters had significantly increased compared to the old era, from what they had seen, the vast majority of family elders still only managed to attach a black ten-thousand-year soul ring at the fifth ring.
You Xing calmly stated, "Reaching a ten-thousand-year limit at the third ring is the theoretical limit of soul rings that my teacher calculated for a normal Soul Master. Although it's not as powerful as I am, being able to achieve a ten-thousand-year soul ring at the fourth ring under my teacher's guidance is quite common."
He did not hide his disdain for Yu Tianheng: "Yu Tianheng, the times have changed. From my observations over the past two days, as representatives of the Tiandou Royal Academy, you are still living in the shadows of the old era, with no progress whatsoever. As a fellow owner of a Dragon Martial Soul, I will soar in the skies, while you will spend your life crawling on the ground, gazing up at my brilliance."
Yu Tianheng's body trembled.
Not out of anger, but... from the suppression of bloodline.
His eyes were filled with confusion, shock, and fear, as he incredulously muttered, "N-no way! What kind of Martial Soul is this? Why, why does it have the power to suppress me!?"
You Xing couldn't be bothered to explain; Yu Tianheng wasn't worthy of hearing it.
He glanced around at the others, his gaze landing on the Shishi brothers, Ye Lingling, Yufeng, Osro, and Dugu Yan in turn.
Then he spoke, "In my opinion, if we only talk about talent, you are indeed at the top level of this era. Even that Yu Tianheng over there can be considered a child of destiny. It's purely unavoidable that you are weaker than me."
You Xing's words were not false.
The comprehensive abilities of Soul Masters in the Douluo Continent had been continuously improving with the times, and the strength and level of Martial Souls were no exception.
In this era, there were basically no Martial Souls that reached quasi-super level at birth and later naturally reached super level as their soul rings stabilized.
People of this era, in fact, believed that since almost every super Martial Soul was achieved postnatally, it was considered the strength of those top Soul Saints or Titled Douluo themselves, rather than a qualitative change brought about by the Martial Soul level.
Super Martial Souls, in the eyes of most people, were also classified among the top Martial Souls.
Because at the initial stage, top quality was the ceiling. High quality was absolutely a person who could be called a genius.
Among the people present, there were varying levels of talent, but the weakest still had high-level Martial Souls.
If we only consider the initial foundational talent, the best among them could even rival the rare gem Ignis.
However, considering that the members of the Royal Fight Team were all selected from the nobility, it was only natural that their foundational talent was high.
And after You Xing revealed that terrifying soul ring configuration and suppressed Yu Tianheng with his Dragon Martial Soul, his words of "recognition" brought a strong shock to everyone present.
"Unfortunately. Your background indeed gives you a higher starting point, but it also becomes a shackle on your vision."
You Xing shook his head: "In the end, you can only become the green leaves of this era."
After saying this, he finally looked at Dugu Yan, and this time, his voice turned completely cold: "Uncle Dugu should have warned you, why are you still saying things you shouldn't say? Letting these outsiders freely comment on you and my teacher?"
Dugu Yan, glaring at You Xing, retorted angrily, "Y-you just said a bunch of nonsense, and that's fine?"
"Fool!"
You Xing's figure flashed, and he leaped into the air. Before anyone could react, he stepped on Dugu Yan's shoulder, forcing her body to the ground.
He coldly said, "Everything I did was with my teacher's prior permission. And you? Even though your grandfather warned you, you still openly defied him? Didn't you consider that your actions would bring trouble to your grandfather? I even deliberately put on a poor act yesterday to educate you, yet you still show no signs of repentance!? As expected, I shouldn't have learned any social etiquette to give you the title of 'sister,' making you think you're someone important and say such nonsensical things."
"Y-you! Ahhh!!! Get off! Get your foot off me! You Xing, I want my grandfather to teach you a lesson! A harsh lesson! So you won't dare treat me like this again!"
Dugu Yan struggled to push You Xing away, but each attempt ended in failure, and instead, she was pressed down harder, eating a mouthful of dirt from the training ground.
"Let your grandfather teach me? Didn't you consider that I have people behind me too? If your grandfather wants to teach me a lesson, he might just end up getting a good lesson from my teacher." You Xing said calmly, applying more pressure with his foot.
The scene of the usually dominant big sister, recognized as the flower of the academy, being casually trampled by a boy clearly younger than them was surreal, leaving the other members of the Royal Fight Team in shock.
'Isn't this kid worried about bullying Yanyan and provoking Uncle Dugu's wrath?'
As Yufeng and a few other boys thought this, they just happened to hear You Xing's harsh words about "letting his teacher teach Dugu Yan's grandfather a lesson," causing them to shiver.
Yu Tianheng's expression darkened, and just as he was about to make a move, a terrifying pressure enveloped him. He turned to see Dugu Bo standing there, looking at his granddaughter being trampled by You Xing with a complex expression.
Yu Tianheng's pupils constricted: 'Could it be that what You Xing said is true?'
He instantly lost the courage to resist.
Dugu Yan, however, was filled with rage: "Ha!? Your teacher is going to teach my grandfather a lesson!? Do you know my grandfather is a Titled Douluo? A theoretical scholar, but—pfft!"
Just as Dugu Yan was about to speak carelessly again, You Xing didn't hesitate to apply more force, making her eat another mouthful of dirt, and then he stopped moving.
You Xing lifted the unconscious Dugu Yan by the nape of her neck and said to the others, "Although it's a pity that I couldn't let you all say goodbye smoothly, the situation is what it is. If fate allows, you will still have the chance to see my niece Yanyan again in the future. So—"
With a swoosh, You Xing brought Dugu Yan to Dugu Bo's side.
Only then did everyone, after Yu Tianheng, shockingly realize that Dugu Bo seemed to have been present all along.
Clearly there, yet allowing his granddaughter to be trampled like this...
The truth behind this left them even more shocked and horrified.
However, what they didn't know was that this educational scene was something Dugu Bo, as a grandfather, had requested himself, which was somewhat different from their imaginations.
If it weren't for the need to align with Dugu Bo's thoughts, You Xing would indeed have taken steps to correct Dugu Yan's personality issues, but he still preferred to change her gradually through the environment of the Soul Arena Beasts, rather than in such a simple and crude manner as now.
You Xing handed Dugu Yan over to Dugu Bo and said, "Let's go, Uncle Dugu."
Dugu Bo took Dugu Yan, nodding expressionlessly.
Just as the two were about to leave...
"Wait!"
A rare ethereal voice filled with urgency rang out.
You Xing turned to look, and who else could it be but Ye Lingling, the owner of the top-tier Martial Soul, Nine Heart Sea Butterfly?
Ye Lingling's reaction meant that his earlier performance hadn't been in vain.
But even though it aligned with his intentions, You Xing remained silent, merely watching Ye Lingling, waiting for her to speak.
Under You Xing's cold gaze, Ye Lingling's small mouth opened slightly, and she began to sweat.
Deep down, she hadn't fully made up her mind.
However, Ye Lingling was acutely aware that with the speed of these two, once they took a step to leave, she would absolutely have no chance to catch up. So, in a moment of urgency, even without being fully prepared, she called out to them.
At this moment, the immense psychological pressure made Ye Lingling's fair skin flush slightly, and her nervousness only increased, making it even harder for her to speak.
Fortunately... You Xing did not urge her.
Eventually, Ye Lingling calmed down, took a deep breath, and looked at You Xing with earnest eyes, summoning her courage to say, "Could... could you take me along too?"
Ye Lingling was the owner of the top-tier plant-type Martial Soul, Nine Heart Sea Butterfly.
The uniqueness of this Martial Soul ranked among the best on the continent; each generation could only have one inheritor, and there could only be two Nine Heart Sea Butterfly Soul Masters alive at the same time. Only when one died could a descendant possibly appear.
Like many so-called Soul Master families, while they called themselves a family, there were hardly any members, and the Nine Heart Sea Butterfly had always been passed down in a single line. If it weren't for being a top healing Martial Soul, everyone would have thought that one day they might seek out the Nine Heart Sea Butterfly Soul Master, and this Martial Soul, which had no combat power, would have long been extinct.
Unfortunately... the current Nine Heart Sea Butterfly family had only Ye Lingling left.
Ye Lingling's request to follow was simple; she sought the protection of a strong person.
Dugu Yan was her friend, and comparatively, Dugu Bo's attitude towards her was also quite good.
Although Dugu Bo couldn't be considered a righteous person, Dugu Yan's character did somewhat mimic her grandfather's style, being both righteous and wicked.
But he was deeply emotional and would at least normally give respect and personality to his granddaughter's friends.
Moreover...
'He recognized my talent, and from what he just described, many people have received his full support. His teacher probably doesn't hesitate to impart knowledge to those with talent.'
If she could become a disciple of a Titled Douluo, she would surely gain true freedom.
Ye Lingling thought to herself.
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