On the main seat, Yu Yuanzhen frowned deeply.
"Dugu Yan also belongs to Heavenly Path Academy. Could it be that this academy is behind it, capable of helping soul masters evolve their martial souls?"
He pointed straight to the heart of the issue and, at the same time, became even more attentive toward Heavenly Path Academy.
If the first time was a coincidence, then what about the second?
"Luomian, send people to investigate Heavenly Path Academy. Also, contact Dugu Bo in my name. Tell him that I wish to invite him to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan as a guest."
For some reason, an absurd thought arose in Yu Yuanzhen's heart.
Could it be that the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul could not even make it into the top twenty?
The moment this thought appeared, even someone of his stature felt his Dao heart waver slightly.
If that were truly the case, then how monstrous must the top eighteen be?
"Big Brother, I understand the urgency and importance of this matter!"
...
At the Spirit Hall, the atmosphere was icy cold.
Looking at the Poison Dragon martial soul and its affiliation with Heavenly Path Academy, no one dared to even breathe loudly.
What kind of force could secretly cultivate two ranked geniuses in succession without the Spirit Hall noticing at all?
"Dugu Yan? What is her relationship with Dugu Bo?"
"Reporting to Your Holiness the Pope, Dugu Yan is Dugu Bo's only granddaughter."
Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan replied. He was an old acquaintance of Dugu Bo and naturally knew of Dugu Yan's existence.
"Heavenly Path Academy again, and it can repeatedly evolve the Azure Phosphor Serpent into a Poison Dragon martial soul. Truly unfathomable."
"Send more people to search for Heavenly Path Academy's location. Do not offend anyone from the academy."
"Gui Mei, Yue Guan, the two of you depart immediately to find Dugu Bo. You must get to the bottom of this matter and its cause."
Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo accepted the order and left. In any case, with the heavenly curtain covering the continent, they could see it anywhere. Staying here at the Spirit Hall meant enduring Bibi Dong's oppressive aura.
Why not leave?
...
At the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Ning Fengzhi looked at the Golden Rankings and let out another long sigh.
"I never imagined that the old poison freak's granddaughter would receive such an opportunity. She really struck incredible luck."
"Exactly. Rongrong is blessed by heaven itself. Why should that old poison freak's granddaughter also be favored by Heavenly Path Academy?"
Bone Douluo Gu Rong muttered, as if no one else in the world mattered except Ning Rongrong.
"That's enough, Bone Uncle. If that old fellow hears this, he will be displeased again."
"So what if he's displeased? I have the Bone Dragon martial soul. Dealing with him would be effortless."
While Gu Rong was complaining, the text on the heavenly curtain changed once again without any warning.
[Martial Soul Rankings, Eighteenth Place: Bone Dragon]
[Bearer: Gu Rong (Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect)]
[Evaluation: Bone Dragon martial soul. A top-tier offense and defense martial soul. Its defensive power is regarded as the strongest on the continent. It possesses extremely strange spatial abilities, unfathomable even to gods and ghosts.]
[Reward: Soul power level increased by one rank, all soul ring year limits increased by seven hundred years, spatial attribute increased by ten percent.]
As the Heavenly Rankings text formed, Gu Rong, who had just been mocking Dugu Bo, was instantly forced into martial soul possession. Behind him, the Bone Dragon martial soul radiated eerie spatial power.
His soul power, which had been stuck at the ninety-five–rank peak for many years, surged like a breached dam, smashing through the bottleneck and reaching the ninety-six–rank peak.
His original optimal soul ring configuration of two yellow, two purple, and five black also transformed at this moment into four purple and five black.
The Bone Dragon martial soul behind him underwent a shocking transformation under the power descending from the golden Heavenly Rankings.
"Hahahaha! What did I say? Now beating that old poison freak will be even easier."
"Old sword bastard, my strength has greatly increased. Dare to fight me now?"
Bone Douluo's laughter echoed throughout the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Seeing their Guardian Douluo make the rankings, the disciples of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect were equally exhilarated.
"Congratulations to Elder Bone on his great increase in strength!"
"Congratulations to Elder Bone on breaking through his shackles!"
"Celebrate for the sect, celebrate for Elder Bone!"
The voices of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect disciples flowed into Gu Rong's ears like the most beautiful music in the world.
"Old bones, look at yourself. Do you think I'm afraid of you?"
Sword Douluo summoned his martial soul, the Seven Kill Sword, and immediately engaged Bone Douluo in battle amid the disciples' cheers.
"Sword Uncle and Bone Uncle are still the same as ever."
Watching the two fighting fiercely in the sky, Ning Fengzhi could only smile helplessly.
They had fought their entire lives and still did not feel tired.
...
At Heavenly Path Academy, Ning Rongrong jumped three feet into the air, sincerely celebrating for Bone Douluo.
"Grandpa Bone made the rankings too! Yay!"
However, compared to the lively atmosphere of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and Heavenly Path Academy, other forces and soul masters across the continent had their established perceptions shattered once again.
Who was Bone Douluo Gu Rong?
A ninety-five–rank peak Titled Douluo, one of the two great pillars of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
His prestige was far-reaching. Calling him an idol to countless soul masters on the continent would not be an exaggeration.
Yet… their idol had only ranked eighteenth.
Then what kind of monsters occupied the spots above him?
At Shrek Academy, Yu Xiaogang stared at the Heavenly Rankings for a long time without saying a word. According to his calculations, the renowned Bone Douluo Gu Rong should have been at least in the top ten.
Tang San and Ma Hongjun were even more confused. In the soul master world, who did not know Bone Douluo's name?
Only eighteenth place?
Was this a joke?
...
At the Hall of Elders, several old men remained utterly unperturbed and instead showed interest in discussing the Martial Soul Rankings.
"At last, a familiar junior appears. Gu Rong, if I remember correctly, he is a guardian enshrined elder of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."
"The Bone Dragon martial soul is not weak at all. It should almost be our turn, these old fellows."
The elders all nodded in agreement, giving very high evaluations to the Bone Dragon martial soul.
At the Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong stared at the rankings and let out a long breath.
The situation she feared most had fortunately not appeared again. It was no longer that unknown Heavenly Path Academy.
"Perhaps it really is just a coincidence. For a single academy to have two people on the rankings is already extremely rare."
...
At the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, Yu Luomian was ecstatic.
"Big Brother, did you see that? Bone Douluo's martial soul is inferior to our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. Hahaha!"
Yu Yuanzhen could not laugh at all, because he was completely panicked.
He had fought Gu Rong before, and the two were evenly matched.
Since Gu Rong ranked eighteenth, his own ranking might not be far behind.
He might even fail to make the rankings.
This thought grew stronger with every ranking revealed.
"Impossible. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon is the number one beast-type martial soul on the continent. It is impossible for it not to make the top twenty."
Yu Yuanzhen could only comfort himself.
The rankings paused for a moment, then began to change again.
"Who do you think seventeenth will be?"
"The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon? Or something else?"
"Is there a possibility that the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul cannot even make the top twenty?"
"Hiss… Don't say it like that. The more you say it, the more it sounds possible!"
Across the continent, people everywhere discussed their guesses about the seventeenth-ranked martial soul.
Before long, golden text formed once again, revealing the name of the seventeenth martial soul.
"What? How is that possible!"
"What? It's only seventeenth!"
[Martial Soul Rankings, Seventeenth Place: …]
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