Seeing Bibi Dong's confident expression, Aether temporarily set aside the slight unease in his heart.
Whether in terms of influence or martial strength, Spirit Hall was the uncrowned king of the Douluo Continent.
To bring down such a power was no easy feat.
"Alright then, let's head out again after we finish our meal."
With a decision made, Aether voiced his agreement to Bibi Dong's suggestion.
Their meal ended amid their casual conversation, while Paimon and Mao Mao were chatting away happily.
Well—more accurately, Paimon was leading the conversation the whole time, while Maomao mostly kept her head down, responding softly now and then.
Clearly, the little one wasn't very good at socializing.
"Right, Mao Mao said you were injured. How are you doing now?"
After leaving Soto City, Aether turned to Bibi Dong and asked.
Judging by her calm demeanor and the burst of soul power he'd witnessed when they first met, her condition didn't seem all that serious.
"Thank you for your concern, Your Excellency. Just some light wounds—not worth mentioning."
Bibi Dong smiled gratefully. Although her assailants had come with fierce intent, if she hadn't taken a blow while protecting Mao Mao, she likely wouldn't have been injured at all.
If she had gone all-out back then, she might have even managed to take a few of them down.
And so, during her rest in Soto City over the past few days, those minor injuries had mostly healed.
"Good, then let's get moving."
Hearing she was fine, Aether nodded slightly.
As expected of one of the only two known twin martial soul wielders on the continent—her strength was definitely not to be underestimated.
…
Elsewhere, deep in the Star Dou Forest, Dugu Bo had been guiding his granddaughter, along with Yu Keke, Zhu Zhuqing, and their bodyguard Fire Meow Meow, through several days of intense training.
Under his guidance, Yu Keke had successfully located a soul beast nearing seventy thousand years of age.
With Fire Meow Meow's help, she had smoothly acquired the spirit ring and completed its absorption.
Thanks to the feedback from the ring, her soul power had also risen to level forty-seven.
Zhu Zhuqing, too, had broken through the bottleneck to level forty-nine during this period, successfully absorbing her fifth ring and now standing at a formidable level fifty-three.
Such monstrous talent and strength—especially considering their young age—left Dugu Bo utterly dumbfounded.
As for Dugu Yan, she had just completed the absorption of her fourth spirit ring.
The group stood behind her as she proudly announced:
"Fourth Soul Skill: Spirit Jiao Strangle!"
With a sharp shout, her soul power manifested into the illusory form of a mighty flood dragon, bursting forward with overwhelming force.
Wherever it passed, grass and leaves were scattered wildly, and it only came to a stop after smashing down several large trees, its energy finally spent.
"Phew~ Looks pretty good~"
Dugu Yan retracted her soul power and allowed her martial soul to fade.
She clapped her hands and looked at the destruction her new skill had wrought with satisfaction.
"Yan-Yan-jie, you're amazing!"
Yu Keke clapped her small hands in awe, eyes sparkling as she looked at Dugu Yan.
But upon hearing the praise, the pride that had just risen in Dugu Yan's heart instantly vanished.
She turned to face the others, bit her lip, and said,
"Keke, don't tease me like that…"
She even shot a glare at her grandfather, who was stroking his beard off to the side, then added with a sigh,
"I was pretty happy at first, but looking at you two… I can't feel good about it anymore."
Yu Keke blinked, confused by Dugu Yan's words.
"Yan-Yan-jie, we didn't do anything to upset you, did we?"
"You praised me."
Dugu Yan crossed her arms and put on a pouty, indignant look.
"Eh?"
Yu Keke's big watery eyes were full of innocent confusion as she murmured,
"You can be unhappy from getting praised…?"
In her experience, being complimented always made her happy for a long time.
Especially if the praise came from Big Brother—it would make her day!
"Pfft…"
Zhu Zhuqing couldn't help but laugh, covering her mouth as she watched the two completely missing each other's point.
"Aiyaa~"
Dugu Yan broke character at Zhu Zhuqing's chuckle. She made a mock evil face and lunged at Yu Keke, pinching her soft little cheeks gently and growling,
"It's not the praise that upsets me, it's being praised by a little monster like you! It feels like getting smacked in the face over and over! Ughhh~ People comparing people really is the road to madness!"
"Eek~"
Yu Keke wriggled out of her grasp and scurried behind Zhu Zhuqing, clearly frightened.
Yan-Yan-jie was great in many ways, but she always liked to mess with her…
"Hehe~ Yan-Yan, how does it feel?"
Dugu Bo finally stepped forward, chuckling as he asked gently.
He was genuinely happy to see his granddaughter's soul power grow so quickly.
"It feels awful…"
Dugu Yan, still looking for someone to vent to, didn't hesitate to hurl herself into her grandfather's arms and start throwing playful punches at his chest, whining:
"Grandpa, I don't want to cultivate anymore! Keke and Zhuqing are just bullies. Compared to them, I feel like a total idiot!"
"Haha~ In Grandpa's eyes, you're the best!"
Of course Dugu Bo understood how his granddaughter felt.
Yu Keke—with two purple and two black rings—was already a Soul Ancestor at age nine.
Zhu Zhuqing—with two yellow, two purple, and one black ring—was already a Soul King at age twelve and at level fifty-three.
Who wouldn't feel crushed by that comparison?
Not to mention peers—even he, as a Titled Douluo, felt a twinge of envy!
Still, no matter what, Yan-Yan was his precious granddaughter. He'd never say something so discouraging like "I feel the same."
"Liar!"
Dugu Yan pouted and kept flailing in his arms.
"Grandpa's not lying. Keke and Zhuqing are following the Lord, after all."
Dugu Bo leaned in and whispered soothingly in her ear:
"You know how powerful that Lord is. With their talents and the Lord's guidance, their current strength is perfectly natural…"
"Mmm~ You're right."
Dugu Yan thought about it. What Grandpa said… actually made a lot of sense.
"Right?"
Dugu Bo saw her finally calm down and quickly added with a grin,
"If my little Yan-Yan had met that Lord at their age, your achievements definitely wouldn't fall behind theirs!"
"Mmhmm! Exactly!"
Dugu Yan drank down the chicken soup her grandpa had served, stepped away from his embrace, and looked up at Yu Keke and Zhu Zhuqing.
"My dear sisters, do you know if the Lord still needs any handmaidens, attendants… or anything like that?"
"..."
"..."
The three girls were stunned by Dugu Yan's sudden question, even Fire Meow Meow—who had been dozing off nearby—pricked up her ears.
She had just caught a faint scent of danger from this girl.
No way, right?
This dainty-looking girl wants to… compete with her?
Wait, no—she's the exclusive mount. That girl's tiny frame clearly wasn't fit for the job. No way she could do her work…
Fire Meow Meow's cow-like eyes rolled thoughtfully, analyzing the situation.
In the end, she concluded that the girl posed zero threat to her status in front of the Lord.
At most… maybe someone else would be riding along with her.
Crisis averted.
With her worries settled, she sprawled out on the soft bed of dry leaves and resumed her lazy nap.
_
(CAUGHT UP WITH THE RAWS IN MY PATREON)
Please support my patreon, patreon. com/TravelerDouluo
And get early access to my 80 advance chapters.