On the other side, Dugu Bo carried Lin Yang at high speed and soon arrived at a quiet manor outside Heaven Dou City.
The manor was vast, with elegantly arranged scenery.
Pavilions and towers were scattered artistically. Exotic flowers and rare plants competed in beauty. Even the air was filled with a faint floral fragrance that refreshed the mind.
However, given Dugu Bo's nature, whether that fragrance contained hidden poison was another matter.
Judging solely by the manor's layout, it didn't look at all like the residence of an old poison expert.
Dugu Bo set Lin Yang down, flicked his sleeve, and was already seated inside the pavilion.
Lin Yang did not act rashly. He stood quietly in place, eyes lowered and mind focused.
Although he had declared in front of the three Education Committee members that he wished to take Dugu Bo as his master—thus preserving the Title Douluo's dignity—this old poisoner had a perverse and unpredictable temperament. Who knew what he was thinking?
Moreover, Lin Yang had only expressed his desire to become a disciple. From beginning to end, the old poisoner had not said a single word about whether he agreed.
It was entirely possible that the old man had only acted on a whim to spite the three Education Committee members.
Now that the fight was over, he might flip his attitude and deny everything.
At this moment, Dugu Bo acted as if Lin Yang didn't exist, drinking alone in the pavilion.
For a time, the large courtyard was deathly silent, broken only by the occasional soft clink of a teacup against the stone table.
The time it took to drink a cup of tea passed quietly.
Dugu Bo set down his cup and glanced at Lin Yang, who still stood motionless in the same spot. He couldn't help stroking his chin.
This kid was interesting.
Despite his young age, he was as steady as an old dog—nothing like how someone his age should behave.
After a pause, Dugu Bo poured himself another cup of tea, took a slow sip, and finally spoke.
"Kid, what are you standing there for? Come over."
Lin Yang said nothing more. He walked into the pavilion and stopped a short distance from Dugu Bo.
"Sit!"
Lin Yang sat down.
Dugu Bo looked him up and down. His eerie green eyes carried scrutiny and amusement.
"When you said earlier that you wanted to take me as your master, was it sincere? Or were you simply giving me a way out?"
Lin Yang answered without hesitation, truthfully, "Both!"
"Oh?"
Dugu Bo raised an eyebrow. "Continue."
"Giving Title Douluo a way out was necessary because of the situation at the time. If things had escalated, no matter the outcome, I would have been held responsible."
"Not only would I have offended Title Douluo, but the three Education Committee members would also have disliked me—because I was the one who brought them trouble."
Lin Yang's voice was calm and measured as he slowly laid out his analysis.
"As for becoming your disciple, that is also genuine."
Lin Yang raised his head and looked directly into Dugu Bo's eyes.
"Title Douluo is one of the small handful of people standing at the pinnacle of the continent. If this junior can enter senior's sect, it would naturally be an enormous fortune."
"That's all?"
Dugu Bo smiled ambiguously. "I thought you would say something nice like 'I've admired you for a long time' or 'I've longed for this.'"
Lin Yang shook his head. "Those words are too fake. Title Douluo wouldn't believe them."
Dugu Bo was momentarily stunned, then burst into loud laughter.
The laughter echoed resoundingly in the quiet courtyard, startling a butterfly resting on a flower petal.
"Interesting! Truly interesting!"
Dugu Bo stopped laughing. A complex emotion that was hard to describe flickered in his eyes.
"Everyone knows that I, Dugu Bo, have a strange temperament and unpredictable moods. Even those who fear or dislike me don't dare show their true feelings in front of me. Yet you, kid—you're so honest that it's endearing!"
Lin Yang said, "This junior is simply speaking the truth."
Dugu Bo set down his teacup and lightly tapped the stone table with his fingers, producing intermittent "tok tok" sounds.
"Do you know that I, Dugu Bo, have never taken any disciples in my life?"
"This junior knows."
"Do you know why?"
Lin Yang thought for a moment. "Title Douluo is a man of character who looks down on mediocrity, while geniuses… may not necessarily catch Title Douluo's eye."
Dugu Bo's tapping finger paused slightly. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.
"You really know how to talk."
Lin Yang smiled faintly. "Speaking the truth!"
"Good—speaking the truth!"
Dugu Bo suddenly stood up, walked to the edge of the pavilion with his hands behind his back, and turned away from Lin Yang.
"Since you're so honest, I'll be honest too. I will not take you as my disciple, because I cannot teach you."
Lin Yang frowned slightly.
"All of my poison arts were learned through my own struggles and experience," Dugu Bo said, looking at his own palm with a trace of pain in his eyes.
"The path of poison is extremely dangerous. The slightest carelessness can lead to eternal damnation and harm future generations."
"Moreover, your Martial Soul is a blade, which does not match my inheritance. Therefore… I cannot teach you."
Hearing these words, Lin Yang's brows instead relaxed. He hesitated for a few seconds, then asked tentatively,
"Is Title Douluo referring to the poison on Senior Sister Dugu's body…?"
Boom!
The moment his words fell, a terrifying soul power pressure instantly enveloped Lin Yang.
Dugu Bo spun around sharply. His face was terrifyingly dark, and his voice seemed squeezed out from between his teeth, overflowing with killing intent.
"How do you know about that?"
Lin Yang's face flushed red. His entire skeleton creaked as if bearing ten thousand pounds of weight.
A black light flashed, and "Scarlet Space" automatically appeared in his hand.
An External Attached Soul Bone?
A strange look flashed in Dugu Bo's eyes.
At that moment, soul rings also rose one by one from beneath Lin Yang's feet.
Yellow, yellow, purple!
But then Dugu Bo's vision blurred, and the three soul rings changed into yellow, purple, and black.
Especially that massive black soul ring—it was incomparably deep, floating around Lin Yang and resisting the pressure.
By now, Dugu Bo was completely stunned.
"This… how is this possible?"
Three rings—a ten-thousand-year soul ring?
The scene before him completely overturned decades of Dugu Bo's cultivation common sense.
If a thousand-year second soul ring was like tossing a bomb into a swimming pool—shocking but temporary—then the appearance of a ten-thousand-year third soul ring was like detonating a nuclear bomb at the bottom of the ocean, enough to overturn all previous Martial Soul theories on the Douluo Continent.
Having recovered, Dugu Bo withdrew his pressure. His green eyes stared fixedly at Lin Yang, his voice hoarse.
"Kid, who exactly are you?"
Lin Yang did not speak. He had been pressed too hard just now and was still struggling to catch his breath.
He cursed inwardly: This old poisoner really is like a chameleon—flipping out at the drop of a hat!
After taking a few deep breaths, Lin Yang finally raised his head and looked at the Title Douluo.
"Title Douluo, I am simply an ordinary soul master from a farming family. I have no special background."
"Bullshit." Dugu Bo flicked his sleeve.
"External Attached Soul Bone, thousand-year second ring, ten-thousand-year third ring, and you could tell at a glance that there's poison on Yan'er. You're telling me you're an ordinary soul master?"
Lin Yang looked helpless, his tone calm.
"Title Douluo, everything I said is true. I simply have had more opportunities than ordinary people."
More opportunities?
Who are you trying to humblebrag to?
Dugu Bo was so angry he wanted to curse, but at this moment he instead calmed down.
In the face of a ten-thousand-year soul ring, the fact that this kid could see the poison on Yan'er suddenly seemed like the most normal thing.
Moreover, having lived so many years and seen all kinds of storms, a freak carrying secrets wasn't enough to make him lose composure.
That's right—not a monster, but a freak!
He turned and sat back down at the stone table, pouring himself another cup of tea.
"Kid, I have plenty of time. I'll wait for your explanation."