Yang Yuan settled Xiao Wu in; when Dugu Yan and the others heard he was back, they all came looking.
They should have been holding a victory banquet right now.
After all, the first battle had been won, proving their strength and giving them a dazzling showcase before nearly a hundred thousand spectators—something worth celebrating.
But how could a victory feast be complete without Yang Yuan, the key figure?
In the end, the banquet was held at Heaven Dou City's most luxurious hotel—property of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School … the Crown Prince's Mansion.
Qian Renxue set down the scroll in her hands and looked calmly at the subordinate who had come to report.
"Any information uncovered?"
The subordinate answered in a low voice, "Reporting to the Young Lord, according to our intelligence network, School Master Ning left the Great Spirit Arena and returned to the Sect."
"However, there is also word that after the Shrek Team match, someone saw Your Excellency Poison Douluo and Chief Yang Yuan leaving the arena together."
"In addition, not long ago, Heaven Dou Academy sent word that Chief Yang Yuan brought one member of the Shrek Team back to the academy."
Qian Renxue's knuckles tapped the desk in a steady rhythm; the moment her subordinate finished, she latched onto the key detail and asked,
"Which member of the Shrek Team did Xiao Yuan bring to Heaven Dou Academy?"
Anyone Xiao Yuan personally escorted there was definitely no ordinary person.
Could it be Tang San?
A figure flashed through Qian Renxue's mind.
She had heard of Tang San: though his Spirit was only Blue Silver Grass, he possessed Innate Full Spirit Power and had already reached Rank 38 at a young age. His combat strength far exceeded Spirit Masters of the same level—his future limitless.
The subordinate replied respectfully, "Reporting to the Young Lord, the person Chief Yang Yuan brought back is named Xiao Wu, SpiritSoft Bones Rabbit, fourteen years old, Rank 38 Spirit Elder."
"Xiao Wu?"
Hearing the name, surprise flickered in Qian Renxue's eyes.
She knew of Xiao Wu; purely in terms of spirit power the girl was no weaker than Tang San, but her displayed combat strength was far less outstanding.
Why would Xiao Yuan bring her to Heaven Dou Academy?
A question rose in Qian Renxue's heart, but then Xiao Wu's appearance surfaced in her mind and she froze.
Could Xiao Yuan actually like this type of girl?
But wasn't that Xiao Wu said to be fond of Tang San?
…Several more days passed.
Two guests arrived at the Dugu Mansion.
In the reception hall, Ning Fengzhi smiled with refined courtesy, his tone carrying a trace of flattery.
"Senior Dugu, you truly grow younger with age—enviable indeed."
"You overpraise me; it's all thanks to that child Xiao Yuan. Without him, how could I be where I am today?"
Dugu Bo laughed heartily and waved a hand.
Though he was long accustomed to flattery at his status, Ning Fengzhi was different.
Although merely a Rank 79 Spirit Saint, as Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School his influence on the continent ranked in the top five.
His compliments carried weight, and Dugu Bo secretly reveled in them.
Beside them, Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo thought Dugu Bo was referring to Yang Yuan's gift of three Spirit Bones and sighed in admiration,
"Indeed, throughout history only Xiao Yuan could hand over three Spirit Bones without batting an eye."
Dugu Bo merely smiled and did not elaborate; instead he asked, "You two didn't come all this way just to flatter an old man, did you?"
"Senior Dugu's Wisdom Eye is keen. Today, besides congratulating you on your great advancement, I also wish to request a Spirit Medicine for Rongrong."
"Of course, I haven't come empty-handed."
As he spoke, Ning Fengzhi raised his hand; four jade boxes and an iron chest nine feet to a side appeared on the floor.
"These are…?"
Dugu Bo glanced at the boxes and chest, eyes narrowing slightly.
A confident smile showed on Ning Fengzhi's face. "Knowing Senior Dugu loves studying poisons, I mobilized the School's network and managed to gather four fairly rare toxic herbs."
"In addition, we stumbled upon a mutant venomous serpent whose toxicity rivals your Jadeite Nine-Segment Snake."
"Oh?" Dugu Bo's expression shifted with interest.
Swish!
In the next instant one of the jade boxes flew into his hand.
He opened it to see a five-colored flower resting within.
"This is … the Five-Poison Blossom!"
As a Grandmaster of the poison Dao, Dugu Bo recognized the herb at once, eyes brightening.
While the Five-Poison Blossom's value was far below an Immortal Herb, to him it was still a rare treasure, worth a fortune.
He then opened the other three jade boxes in turn.
As expected, each contained herbs no less valuable than the Five-Poison Blossom.
Clearly the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School had spared no effort to obtain a Spirit Medicine.
Besides the four poisonous herbs, the mutant serpent also delighted Dugu Bo; though bulky and not as pretty as the Jadeite Nine-Segment, making it an awkward pet,
if steeped in secret medicines to brew wine, it might create a world-class tipple.
"Haha, Sect Master Ning, with such sincerity your School has given me no reason to refuse."
"To tell you the truth, I do still have Spirit Medicines, though I'm not sure they'll work on the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. You'd best ask Xiao Yuan to analyze them for you."
Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo's eyes lit up at his words.
The trip had been worthwhile—Dugu Bo truly still had Spirit Medicines.
Ning Fengzhi cupped his hands. "Then it's settled; we'll ask Yang Yuan for help."
With the deal concluded, host and guests were all smiles.
After staying a while longer, Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo took their leave and headed straight for Heaven Dou Academy.
In recent days the Heaven Dou Vice Team had fought several more matches, winning every time; often Zhu Zhuqing and Meng Yiran alone easily defeated their opponents.
Still, the team did not grow complacent.
After the first victory banquet, they had continued Cultivating frantically every spare moment between matches.
From the preliminaries to the finals there remained three or four months—plenty of time to advance another Rank.
So when Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo arrived, everyone was immersed in Cultivation.
Hearing this, Ning Fengzhi was deeply moved.
"I never imagined Heaven Dou Academy could develop such an intense Cultivation atmosphere; perhaps we should send more direct Disciples here in the future."
Sword Douluo nodded in agreement.
Formerly, Heaven Dou Academy could hardly be called a hotbed of diligence; if not for establishing ties with Yang Yuan early on, they would never have sent Ning Rongrong here.
Yet ever since Yang Yuan joined, the academy's atmosphere had improved by the day, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School had to adjust its strategy accordingly.
Soon Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo found Yang Yuan.
Learning they had struck a bargain with Dugu Bo, Yang Yuan showed little surprise.
And from Yang Yuan they obtained the information they sought: Dugu Bo did indeed possess a Spirit Medicine capable of evolving the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.
(End of Chapter)
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