Chapter 6: Dugu Bo: You really did it, turning a pig into a dragon! Ning Fengzhi's cousin.
Dugu Bo ignored his descendants, staring intently at the sky, as if trying to re-imprint the vanished golden characters.
"Yu Jingcheng... the Light Dragon King..."
Dugu Bo repeatedly chewed on the name in a voice only he could hear.
Sixty years is enough to turn the sea into mulberry fields, but it cannot erase the mark this name left deep in his soul.
His thoughts were instantly pulled back to more than sixty years ago.
At that time, he was just a young man in his early twenties, who had just advanced to the Soul Master level, but was tormented by the Azure Phosphorous Serpent venom due to the backlash of his Martial Soul.
He was desperate, violent, and full of resentment towards the whole world.
It was then that he met a boy who was even younger than him, but with a gentle and refined temperament.
That boy was named Yu Jingcheng.
His Martial Soul was an adorable golden pig.
The released soul skill was a joke compared to the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex, and was ridiculed by everyone.
Yet, he never saw a trace of inferiority on the boy's face; his eyes always burned with an inextinguishable flame.
Two young men, both troubled by "spirit defects," became fast friends.
They adventured together, faced numerous challenges, and ultimately discovered the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, protected by poisonous miasma.
Dugu Bo would never forget.
When he was on the verge of death from snake venom, it was Yu Jingcheng who risked his life, venturing deep into a patch of poisonous herbs to gather the top-grade immortal herb—the Eight-Petaled Immortal Orchid—for him.
"Old Poisoner, you won't die!"
The boy, his body scalded and scarred by the ice and fire energy, still smiled as he handed him the immortal herb.
"I said, those of us cursed by fate either refuse to accept it, or we trample it under our feet!"
At that moment, Yu Jingcheng's figure became a light that Dugu Bo could never forget.
The Eight-Petaled Immortal Orchid not only cured his life-threatening poison, but also, in the environment of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, fully unleashed the potential of his Martial Soul, allowing him to soar to new heights.
But just as he was overjoyed, thinking he could create a future with this only confidant, Yu Jingcheng left without saying goodbye, taking a few immortal herbs with him. He
left only one sentence:
"Old Poisoner, this place is yours.
When I find a way to transform a 'pig' into a dragon, I will return and drink three hundred cups with you!"
This wait lasted sixty years!
In those sixty years, Dugu Bo grew from an unknown Soul Master to a level ninety-seven Poison Douluo who struck fear into the hearts of the entire continent!
With the method left by Yu Jingcheng and this treasure land, he completely rewrote the fate of his family.
His son, Dugu Xin, was safe and sound, and is now at the peak of the Soul Douluo realm, while his granddaughter, Dugu Yan, is also exceptionally talented.
He had sent countless people to inquire about Yu Jingcheng's whereabouts, but to no avail, as if the man had vanished from the world.
He thought he would never see him again in this lifetime.
But unexpectedly, he heard news of him again in such a world-shaking way!
"A pig's body... transformed into the Light Dragon King..."
"Haha...hahahaha!"
Dugu Bo suddenly burst into laughter, his laughter filled with boundless ecstasy, relief, and a barely perceptible tear.
"You bastard...you really did it! You really...turned a pig into a dragon!"
"Light Dragon King...good!
What a Light Dragon King!"
Dugu Bo laughed so hard he almost fell over, leaving Dugu Xin and Dugu Yan speechless.
After a long while, Dugu Bo stopped laughing. He turned around, his emerald green eyes gleaming with an unprecedented brilliance.
"Xin'er, Yan'er, listen up!"
"Yes, Father/Grandpa!"
"From today onwards, everyone in the Dugu family will closely monitor all news from Tianmu!"
Dugu Bo's voice was resolute.
"Also, make preparations. Perhaps it won't be long before we visit that... old friend."
Dugu Bo's gaze traversed mountains and rivers, reaching the endless depths of the ocean.
Sixty years have passed.
Yu Jingcheng, my old friend.
Where have you gone?
What great achievements have you made?
But none of that matters anymore.
What matters is that you are still alive!
And you are living a more brilliant life than anyone else in this world!
Tiandou City, South City, a secluded bamboo grove courtyard.
This place is completely different from the magnificent Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.
Green bricks and gray tiles, winding paths leading to secluded spots, filled with an atmosphere of elegance and tranquility, like a paradise isolated from the world.
Ning Fengzhi, dressed in white, stood alone in front of the courtyard gate, his expression complex.
He straightened his clothes before stepping forward and gently knocking on the door knocker.
"Knock, knock, knock."
The crisp knocking sound was particularly clear in the silent courtyard.
After a long while, a clear, cold female voice came from inside the courtyard, carrying a hint of aloofness:
"Didn't I say I don't receive guests?"
"Cousin, it's me, Ning Fengzhi."
Ning Fengzhi's voice was gentle and respectful.
A moment of silence fell over the courtyard. Then, the bamboo door creaked open without any wind.
Ning Fengzhi stepped inside and saw a woman in a plain dress sitting at a stone table.
She looked to be only in her early thirties, with stunning beauty and a cool, aloof demeanor, her long, black hair cascading casually over her shoulders.
If it weren't for the weathered look in her eyes, no one would believe she was Ning Fengzhi's contemporary.
She was Ning Fengzhi's cousin, a level 96 Super Douluo—Ning Yuyan.
"Sect Master, what brings you here?"
Ning Yuyan didn't rise, merely glancing at him indifferently, her tone devoid of any affection.
Ning Fengzhi was already used to her coldness. He walked straight to the opposite side of the stone table and sat down, getting straight to the point:
"Cousin, you must have seen what happened with the Heavenly Curtain."
Ning Yuyan's hand, which was holding a teacup, paused slightly. Involuntarily, the name that had haunted her dreams for sixty years surfaced in her mind.
And the judgment, "Unwavering in his lofty ambitions, he will ultimately transform from a pig into a radiant dragon king,"stirred a storm in Ning Yuyan's heart, but she remained outwardly calm:
"So what if I saw it? What does it have to do with me, or with your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School?"
"It is of great importance to my sect,"
Ning Fengzhi said in a deep voice.
"I have received the blessing of Heaven, and my martial soul has evolved into the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, removing all the shackles on my soul power.
I plan to set off immediately with Uncle Sword and Uncle Bone to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt for my eighth soul ring.
But in doing so, there will be no Title Douluo guarding the sect, and I am worried..."
"Worried that the Spirit Hall will take advantage of the situation?"
Ning Yuyan interjected, a mocking smile playing on her lips.
"That's your business, it's the sect's business.
Since my parents passed away, I have had no further connection with the sect."
Her martial soul, awakened at the age of six, was the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Lizard, an unacknowledged "failure."
(End of this chapter)