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Hearing Senior Dugu Bo's words, a cold glint flashed in Tang Chen's eyes. He looked at Yu Tianheng with slight displeasure and slowly said, "Yu Tianheng, I thought you'd have better perspective than your uncle, Yu Xiaogang, but I didn't expect you to be birds of a feather! Such a lack of discernment will only lead to self-humiliation."
His tone suddenly shifted, laced with mockery. "Your uncle Yu Xiaogang plagiarized Spirit Hall's data to publish his own work back then. What was the result? He was publicly shamed by Spirit Hall and became a laughingstock. Looking at you now, it's truly a hereditary trait."
"You constantly claim to love Yan Zi, yet now you're using your marriage to her as a bargaining chip to threaten us? I can only say... you're thinking too much," Tang Chen asserted firmly. "Senior Dugu Bo and I will never be threatened by anyone!"
As soon as these words left his mouth, Yu Tianheng's face instantly flushed red, his eyes filled with shame and indignation. Yet, he was firmly suppressed by Tang Chen's indifferent gaze, unable to utter a single word of rebuttal.
"Senior Dugu, since that's the case, let's go. Whether the Academy has him or not, it's all the same. He's just a young master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan; does he really think he's that important?" Tang Chen didn't bother to look at Yu Tianheng again. He immediately turned and cupped his hands to Dugu Bo, his tone indifferent yet resolute.
"Hmph! Kid, you're right!" Dugu Bo's beard bristled when he heard this. He nodded and mocked, "Yu Tianheng, Yu Tianheng, do you really think this old man is blind and can't see through your schemes? You say you like Yan Yan, but in reality, you just want to use Yan Yan to curry favor with this old man."
"Threaten? Do you think having a big family behind you means you can walk all over this old man?" Dugu Bo scoffed. "Hmph! This old man has walked the Douluo Continent his entire life; what kind of Genius hasn't he seen? As for juniors like you who throw their weight around, this old man could swat a pile of you to death with one palm!"
Tang Chen looked at Yu Tianheng's face, which was crimson but dared not make a sound. A cold glint flashed in his eyes, and a faint smile played on his lips as he continued, "Senior Dugu Bo, you're still being too polite."
"His uncle, Yu Xiaogang, relied on plagiarizing others' Spirit theories, insisting they were his own achievements. He was exposed, his reputation ruined, and became the world's laughingstock. Now, this kid, relying on the so-called family name, has learned to use marriage as a threat. Tsk tsk..." Tang Chen shook his head. "Truly worthy of being uncle and nephew; one greedy for fame, the other chasing profit. Quite a match, indeed!"
Hearing this, Yu Tianheng's face instantly turned from red to ashen, his eyes almost spitting fire, his chest heaving violently, almost on the verge of cursing out loud. But under the suppression of Dugu Bo's stern gaze, he could only grit his teeth and remain silent, clenching his fists repeatedly until his knuckles turned slightly white from the exertion.
Dugu Bo snorted, flicked his sleeve, and said with disdain, "Let's go! Why waste words with such an insensible person? This old man finds it dirtying his ears."
As he spoke, he raised his hand and heavily patted Tang Chen's shoulder, his tone suddenly shifting, carrying a hint of slyness and playfulness. "Besides, my Yan Yan isn't worried about getting married. How could this old man be threatened by Yu Tianheng? Isn't there still you, kid? I'll ask Yan Yan later to see if she's willing to marry you."
"If I had to choose the most suitable grandson-in-law in my heart, it would be you! Among all these juniors, you're the only one I've taken a liking to; you seem a bit more agreeable."
Tang Chen, whose expression had been stern, suddenly changed when he heard this. He was stunned for a moment, then quickly waved his hand, taking a half-step back, and hastily refused, "That won't do! Senior Dugu, please don't joke with me. I really can't stand your granddaughter's personality, and besides, there's no emotional foundation between us!"
Hearing this, Dugu Bo glared at him, his beard bristling, and he snorted irritably, "What do you mean, you can't stand it? Won't you get used to it? As for feelings? Hmph, how many couples have feelings from the start? Just Cultivate them slowly after marriage, won't you?"
"Senior, let's just drop this joke... I really can't do it," Tang Chen was speechless for a moment, his forehead faintly sweating, only able to give a dry laugh.
Dugu Bo looked at Tang Chen's embarrassed expression and threw his head back, laughing heartily. "Hahaha, aren't you fearless, kid? What? Are you afraid of my Yan Yan? I think you just like her, otherwise why would you be afraid of her?" His laughter echoed in the corridor for a long time.
The two of them bickered and teased each other as they walked out of the room side by side.
Inside the room, only Yu Tianheng remained. His face was now so gloomy it looked like it could drip water, his fists clenched, breathing heavily like an ox, like a clown publicly ridiculed, rooted to the spot...
At Shrek Academy
"Teacher, my Spirit Power has reached Rank 40!" The moment Tang San pushed open the door, his face was filled with unconcealed excitement, and he spoke with great agitation.
Hearing this, Yu Xiaogang, who was organizing Spirit data inside the room, paused his movements. A look of deep surprise flashed in his eyes, and he then abruptly looked up, almost incredulously standing up.
"Little San, what did you say? Your Spirit Power has reached Rank 40?! I remember, a few months ago, your Spirit Power was only Rank 36. How could you have Breakthrough to Rank 40 in such a short time?" At this moment, his expression was somewhat complex, containing both surprise and a hint of doubt.
"Teacher, I've been Cultivating almost day and night for the past two months, which is why my improvement was a bit faster," Tang San replied. A faint, hard-to-detect sinister red glow flashed deep in Tang San's eyes. He lowered his head slightly, avoiding Yu Xiaogang's gaze that was directed at him.
Yu Xiaogang stared at Tang San, his gaze slightly narrowed, as if trying to catch something on his face. But Tang San's expression was calm, his breathing steady, as if everything was perfectly reasonable. Finally, Yu Xiaogang slowly nodded, sighing with a mix of belief and doubt, "You child... So be it. Geniuses always have extraordinary qualities."
Tang San then seized the opportunity to speak, his tone carrying a hint of urgency, "Teacher, since that's the case, let's quickly go find Dean Flender. Let him take me to Sunset Forest to hunt Spirit Beasts and obtain my fourth Spirit Ring."
Yu Xiaogang pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly and said in a deep voice, "Good! The Continental Advanced Spirit Master Elite Tournament will begin in just over three months. Since your Spirit Power has reached Rank 40, we'll go to the Sunset Forest near Heaven Dou City to hunt Spirit Beasts and obtain a Spirit Ring. Let's go, I'll take you to Flender now."
Deep within the Sunset Forest
...The next day, deep within the Sunset Forest, four figures slowly advanced: Flender, Liu Erlong, Yu Xiaogang, and Tang San. Fearing that Yu Xiaogang might encounter an accident in the forest, Liu Erlong had also come along.
They had been in the Sunset Forest for half a day now. The number of Spirit Beasts they encountered along the way was similar to that in the Star Dou Great Forest, but their cultivation years were generally lower. Although they had encountered a few thousand-year-level Spirit Beasts, most were just barely over a thousand years, which was clearly not what Tang San needed.
"Should we rest a bit and look again tomorrow?" Flender looked at the darkening sky and immediately stopped Liu Erlong and Yu Xiaogang, who were searching for Spirit Beasts.
Hearing this, Yu Xiaogang immediately frowned, his tone carrying a hint of urgency, "If we keep searching like this, who knows how long it will take? The Continental Advanced Spirit Master Elite Tournament is about to begin! Little San's Cultivation time is precious; we must split up to search."
Liu Erlong was slightly stunned, then said in a deep voice, "Split up to search? That works... How about this, Xiaogang, you come with me? Boss Flender, you go with Tang San."
Hearing this, Yu Xiaogang's face changed slightly. He dared not look directly into Liu Erlong's eyes and repeatedly waved his hand in refusal. "No, splitting into two groups will probably still make it hard to find. How about this, Erlong, Little San and I will go together, and you and Flender will split into two more groups. With three groups, we should be able to find a suitable Spirit Beast for Little San very quickly."
Liu Erlong frowned upon hearing this, and said with slight worry, "Xiaogang, no! With your strength, how can you search for Spirit Beasts in the Sunset Forest with Little San? What if there's an accident..."
"Why not?" Yu Xiaogang quickly retorted. "Although my Spirit Power is not yet Rank 30, Little San's Spirit Power is already Rank 40! As long as we don't encounter a ten-thousand-year Spirit Beast, our master and disciple duo can completely handle it. Back then, Little San's first Spirit Ring was even obtained with my help!"
At the same time, on the outskirts of the Sunset Forest, an emerald green stream of light flashed past rapidlyâit was Dugu Bo!