Douluo: From Rusted Spear to Emperor-Slaying Spear

Chapter 172 Kid, how much more are you hiding?
As long as Qian Daoliu of the Spirit Hall, Tang Chen of the City of Slaughter, and Poseidon of Seagod Island do not appear, no one in this world can threaten Dugu Bo. Even the level 98 Golden Crocodile would have to go all out when dealing with Dugu Bo.

Who could possibly withstand the poisonous skills unleashed by a level 97 Poison Douluo?

"OK then!"

Dugu Bo put the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng back into his soul tool, and then continued,

"Kid, your soul power has now reached level 60. What kind of soul beast are you planning to acquire? When we return to Heaven Dou City, we'll be passing through the Star Dou Great Forest. We can definitely help you hunt down a high-age soul beast."

Upon hearing Dugu Bo's question, Yang Wudi and Niu Gao, who were chatting nearby, both turned their heads and stared curiously at Ji Wuming.
"I already have an idea for this. It is the Demon Orca King, but it is not in the Star Dou Great Forest, but in the deep sea west of Han Hai City."

"This……"

The three elderly people exchanged glances, all with expressions of disbelief.

"100,000 years? The sixth spirit ring can be attached to a 100,000-year spirit ring? Can your body withstand a 100,000-year spirit ring?"

The three were not afraid to hunt 100,000-year-old soul beasts for Ji Wuming. Even if it was a 100,000-year-old sea soul beast, with the help of Dugu Bo and Yang Wudi, they still had a high chance of successfully hunting it.

"To be honest, my fifth spirit ring was obtained by hunting a Nine Heavens Dragon Centipede that was over 4 years old. In addition, I absorbed three spirit bones, two of which were 10 years old."

Inside the carriage, Ji Wuming directly displayed his external soul bone, the Thunder Fish Dragon Crown, and patted his right leg bone.

The three of them were incredulous upon hearing this.

"What? Not only is your third spirit ring a ten-thousand-year spirit ring, but you also have three top-grade spirit bones in your body! You're a walking treasure trove!"

"Tell me, how much are you still hiding from us?"

At this moment, Dugu Bo looked at Ji Wuming. His son-in-law could no longer be called a genius; he was a true dragon among men. Leaving aside his monstrous ability to absorb spirit rings,
The three soul bones he obtained are one in a million. If outsiders knew about them, the number of people who wanted to kill him would increase exponentially, and even titled Douluo would come after him.

"I've told you all my secrets. I'm completely transparent to you now."

The three, especially Dugu Bo and Yang Wudi, continued to stare at him curiously. This wasn't the first time this kid had deliberately concealed his strength from them.

They believed that this kid must be hiding other secrets.

"No wonder you tried to absorb a 10-year spirit ring when you were only your sixth spirit ring. So that's the reason!"

They had no doubts about Ji Wuming absorbing 10-year-old spirit rings for his sixth spirit ring. In fact, they all felt that Ji Wuming was fully capable of hunting a 10-year-old spirit beast on his own.

"Kid, when are you planning to go?"

"It should be soon, probably in a month or two."

After absorbing Xiao Wu's soul bone, Ji Wuming gained at least two extra levels of soul power. Because he had reached a bottleneck in soul power, this was not immediately apparent. Slightly extending the time required to acquire a soul ring was not a major problem.

On their way back to Tiandou City, they stopped in a small town to provide Dugu Bo with a quiet environment to absorb the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng.

The moonlight was still bright that night, but the atmosphere inside the guest room was extremely tense. Ji Wuming and the other two were all expecting something.
Suddenly, "bang"

A crisp fluctuation of soul power rang out, and Dugu Bo walked out of the room, his smile widening.

"I never imagined that I, Dugu Bo, would one day become a level 97 Title Douluo." "Congratulations, Brother Du."

"Congratulations, Grandpa."

The three were particularly envious and pleased by Dugu Bo's improved soul power, because the stronger Dugu Bo was, the more beneficial it would be to their newly formed alliance.

Three months later, Ji Wuming and his group led the entire Yu Clan back to the Heaven Dou Empire, whereupon the Yu Clan merged with the Po Clan.
After Ji Wuming returned to Tiandou City, since they had already graduated, he temporarily stayed at the Dugu family's residence.
However, he had barely returned to the Dugu Manor and hadn't even settled in when he received a summons from Emperor Xueye. He had no choice but to go.

Passing through the inner city and entering the palace, Ji Wuming bowed respectfully to Emperor Xue Ye, who sat upon the throne.
"I wonder why Your Majesty has summoned me here?"

Xue Ye was quite pleased to see that Ji Wuming was not arrogant or complacent because of the championship, but instead maintained the attitude of a subject meeting his monarch.
"Ji Wuming, you are now a viscount of my Heavenly Dou Empire, and your fief is Falling Star City, west of the Heavenly Dou Plain. I have summoned you here today to personally bestow upon you the title of Commander of the Crown Prince's Guard. What do you think?"

Xue Ye had no choice but to consult Ji Wuming's opinion before granting him real power. If Ji Wuming didn't have Dugu Bo backing him, even with his exceptional talent, Xue Ye would never have sought his opinion.
However, the commander of the Crown Prince's Imperial Guards holds real power over the 500-strong royal guard regiment of the Heaven Dou Empire, and these 500 royal guards are all Soul Kings, representing five percent of the empire's elite Soul Masters.

Appointing Ji Wuming to this position is not a bad thing for him.

Ji Wuming quickly realized that the position of Commander of the Crown Prince's Imperial Guards was, in essence, a trap set by Crown Prince Xue Qinghe. He wanted to completely bind Ji Wuming to his cause, ensuring that even if Xue Qinghe later assumed the identity of Qian Renxue, Ji Wuming would still be labeled as part of the Spirit Hall's faction.
"Your Majesty, you know me. My ambition is not in the battlefield or the army, but in the entire Soul Master world. Becoming a Title Douluo is my ultimate goal."

"Therefore, the position of Commander of the Crown Prince's Guard should be given to someone else!"

Ji Wuming thought that once he became the commander of the Crown Prince's guards, he would be under the constant surveillance of Qian Renxue and her subordinates. At that time, not only would he be unable to escape, but the nascent sect he had painstakingly built would also fall apart.

Xueye wasn't too surprised by Ji Wuming's reply.

"It's alright. The position of Commander of the Crown Prince's Palace Guards does not fundamentally conflict with the cultivation of soul power. You can still cultivate while in office."

Seeing that Xue Ye's attitude remained as resolute as ever, Ji Wuming was speechless and could only continue to refuse.

"This matter may be different. In a few days, I will begin to travel across the continent. While broadening my horizons, I will also be able to enhance my soul power. As for the Crown Prince's Imperial Guard Commander, that is really not something I have in mind."

Xue Ye propped his head up, looking down at Xue Qinghe with a pained expression. Xue Qinghe then stepped forward with a smile, bowed respectfully, and said…

"Your Majesty, he may temporarily assume the position of Commander of the Crown Prince's Guards. He need not perform any duties on a daily basis; he only needs to come to my side promptly when I call him and obey my orders!"

Then, Xue Qinghe turned around again and looked at Ji Wuming with a probing gaze.

"If that's the case, then let His Highness make the arrangements."

Although he now has the backing of Dugu Bo and the Po Yu clan, he can completely disregard Xue Qinghe's appointment from the Heaven Dou Empire.

But he was, after all, a citizen of the Heaven Dou Empire, and given Xue Qinghe's background, Ji Wuming should have kept a low profile when necessary.
Don't think that having a level 97 Dugu Bo makes you invincible.

Since Xue Qinghe did not force him to submit to him or become a pawn in his hands, Ji Wuming did not need to engage with him further.

"Alright, the appropriate uniforms will be delivered to the Dugu Manor shortly."

"You can go now."

Although Emperor Xueye was somewhat dissatisfied with Ji Wuming's two rejections, the final result was still quite good. At least for now, it seems that he has firmly tied Ji Wuming to the great ship of the Heaven Dou Empire.
As long as the Heavenly Dou Empire survives, Ji Wuming and even Dugu Bo behind him will have to serve the Heavenly Dou Empire.

Not long after returning to his residence, Emperor Xueye sent someone to deliver clothes and a waist token. Meanwhile, Ji Wuming, wanting to reduce his time with Xue Qinghe, planned to move his residence to his fiefdom, Falling Star City.
In order to extricate themselves from their relationship with Xue Qinghe as much as possible, the four women quickly gathered at Dugu Manor at Ji Wuming's summons.
(End of this chapter)