: The Capture of Dugu Bo

Unconsciously, Qian Renxue's fingertips traced the warm teacup again and again. With her eyes lowered, her thoughts drifted back to the list of names that Bibi Dong had given her not long ago.

Five from the Star Luo Empire and six from the Heaven Dou Empire, spanning ages and genders, eight of whom are ordinary people with useless martial souls and no innate soul power, unable to even embark on the most basic path of a soul master.

Bibi Dong used the power of the Spirit Hall to search secretly, but even so, four people on the list could not be found.

The first one, Fang Yuan, is a man in his thirties. He was originally a commoner Soul Master who went to the far north ice plains to train many years ago. Since then, he has disappeared without a trace, as if he had vanished into thin air. No one knows whether he buried himself in the icy wilderness or changed his name and never showed his face again.

The second square...

Thinking of this, Qian Renxue's fingers paused slightly, a complex and indescribable emotion surging within her. She was a girl, her martial spirit awakened at six—a black cat, not top-tier, but certainly not useless. Yet her heartless parents, for a pittance, sold her to slave traders at such a young age. Through an auction, she fell into the hands of a nobleman, becoming his maid, but secretly enduring his lewdness and abuse. Later, she was tortured by the nobleman's wife, ultimately dying a tragic death, perhaps without even a complete skeleton remaining.

The third one is a boy, only ten years old. His hometown village was massacred and plundered by a fallen soul master, and after the catastrophe, the boy disappeared without a trace.

The fourth one, Fang Yuan, was also a child, only seven years old. When his martial soul awakened, it was recognized as a useless martial soul, lacking any innate soul power, destined for a mediocre life. But this child was proud and arrogant, unwilling to be mediocre, so at a young age he left home alone to make his way in the world, and disappeared into the crowd, his fate unknown.

Qian Renxue personally met all seven Fang Yuans on the list who were found by the Spirit Hall.

She tried again and again, but each time the result was only disappointment.

None of them were A Yuan, the one she longed for and desperately wanted to find.

The emptiness and anxiety in her heart piled up layer by layer, and Qian Renxue could only comfort herself again and again: A Yuan is still alive, she must still be alive, she is just hiding in some corner that the Spirit Hall cannot find, it's just that the time is not right, she has not met her yet.

Only through such repeated psychological suggestion could she barely stabilize her mind, which was on the verge of losing control, and forcibly suppress the mutation of her martial soul caused by emotional turmoil.

This time, she will never lose A Yuan again; she will do everything in her power to protect him.

As for Bibi Dong...

The mere thought of this woman caused an intense, dark, and malevolent aura to surge in Qian Renxue's eyes, and her aura plummeted.

The sudden change startled the Serpent Spear Douluo and the Porcupine Douluo, who were hiding in the shadows protecting her. The two appeared almost instantly, their expressions solemn.

"Young Master!"

"Young Master, please calm your anger!"

The two titled Douluo hurriedly spoke up to reassure him, their tone urgent: "Have you forgotten your promise to the Grand Elder to calm down and steady your mind? Aren't you still searching for that important person? You absolutely mustn't lose control at this moment!"

Thinking of A Yuan, Qian Renxue's dark aura subsided slightly. She slowly closed her eyes, forcibly suppressing her surging emotions back into her heart.

When she opened her eyes again, she had regained some of her usual aloofness. She looked at the two elders, whose faces were full of worry, and said softly, "I'm sorry, I lost my composure just now."

But then, changing her tone, she immediately adopted the identity of the young master of the Spirit Hall, her voice leaving no room for doubt: "You are not allowed to tell Grandpa about what happened today."

She knew Qian Daoliu's personality all too well. If her grandfather found out that her so-called "recovery" was all a pretense of composure and that the hidden dangers in her body had never been eradicated, but had instead become more severe due to her obsession, the old man would definitely forcibly take her back to the Hall of Worship and place her under house arrest, never letting her out to look for A Yuan again.

The Porcupine Douluo and the Serpent Spear Douluo exchanged a glance, both showing a troubled, wry smile.

Young Master is clearly making things difficult for them.

If they keep it from the Grand Elder, and something really happens to the young master, who among them can bear the consequences?

Qian Renxue saw through their hesitation at a glance. Her brows turned slightly cold, and the dark aura around her, which had not yet completely dissipated, began to churn again, making the two Title Douluos' hearts tighten.

The young master's condition is currently unstable, and we must not provoke him further.

The two could only nod helplessly and agree for the time being to calm Qian Renxue down.

However, he had already secretly made up his mind that when the time was right, he would secretly report to Grand Master Qian Daoliu the truth about the young master's loss of control today.

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The anxiety and obsession in Qian Renxue's eyes gradually subsided, transforming back into the calmness and sharpness befitting an angel's inheritor.

She knew very well that frantically searching at this moment would not lead to finding A Yuan.

A Yuan's appearance and identity in this life are all unknown, and even her name may not be Fang Yuan anymore. Searching for her like this is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Her return to Tiandou City this time was not a spur-of-the-moment decision.

First, she needs to find Dugu Bo and enter the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

In her fragmented memories, it was A Yuan who told her the secret of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Eye, where countless peerless immortal herbs grow.

In reality, A Yuan might also be drawn to that treasure land and go there to seek opportunities. That's one of the key clues she currently has that connects her to A Yuan.

Secondly, she wants to use Xue Qinghe's identity to eliminate Emperor Xue Ye ahead of time and ascend the throne as the new emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire. Only by holding supreme power and unifying the continent can she mobilize the entire continent's resources to search for people and find A Yuan more quickly.

Third, she simply could not stay in Wuhun City any longer.

Bibi Dong was her mother, but also the enemy who killed her beloved.

Day after day, they faced each other, yet she couldn't even take revenge. She could only watch helplessly as he sat high on the throne of the Spirit Hall Pope, the oppression and hatred almost tearing her apart. If she stayed any longer, she feared she would be driven mad by this endless torment first.

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Qian Renxue's voice had regained its usual cold and authoritative tone. She raised her eyes to look down and asked calmly, "How is the search for Dugu Bo progressing?"

Upon hearing this, Serpent Spear Douluo secretly breathed a sigh of relief—the young master had finally returned to his usual self, no longer in that obsessive, dark, and emotionally unstable state.

He quickly bowed and replied, "Young Master, as you instructed, we have discovered that Dugu Bo has returned to Tiandou City and met with Prince Xuexing."

Qian Renxue nodded slightly, her eyes cold: "Bring him to me."

The Serpent Spear Douluo and the Porcupine Douluo exchanged a glance, both feeling somewhat puzzled.

They simply couldn't understand why their young master, who always had such high standards, would suddenly care so much about Dugu Bo, who was known as the weakest Title Douluo.

But the two dared not disobey in the slightest, fearing they might further provoke their emotionally unstable young master. They immediately bowed and respectfully replied, "Yes, young master!"