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Just as Feng Ming was about to address the atmosphere within the alliance, a knock sounded at the meeting room door. Wind Lie entered excitedly, exclaiming, "Brother, Prince Xue xing and the Elder Dugu Bo have arrived! They're currently in the living room, and Dad is entertaining them. Should we go over and take a look?"
Why was Wind Lie also present in the Transcender Alliance? The answer was simple: the Transcender Alliance was established with the support of Feng Ming, and aside from Hawk and Tang Laoya, the other members were mainly from the Wind family.
In fact, among the Wind family members, Feng Ming was viewed as the true leader of the Transcender Alliance, while the other two were merely powerful elders.
"Xue xing? Dugu Bo?" Feng Ming was taken aback.
"Shh~" Wind Lie quickly placed his index finger to his lips, panic evident in his voice. "That's a Titled Douluo! How can you refer to him by name? You were so polite as a child!"
"······" Feng Ming fell silent for a moment, then pushed Wind Lie out of the room, saying, "Please wait a moment; I need to discuss something with the two elders before we come over."
After closing the door, he noticed Hawk and Tang Laoya looking at him with bemused expressions. Feng Ming's face darkened. "Hawk, you're an orphan, so I'll let that slide, but Tang Laoya, what are you laughing about? Doesn't Haotian Sect have any parents or siblings?"
Tang Laoya was taken aback and stopped laughing, clearing his throat as he said, "I was just reminded of something amusing."
Feng Ming didn't have time for jokes and turned to more serious matters. "Xue xing and Dugu Bo are here to see us. What do you think their purpose is?"
"Don't we have any connections with them?" Hawk and Tang Laoya were puzzled. Finally, Hawk, as the alliance leader, turned his gaze toward Tang Laoya and spoke, "Perhaps they want to discuss something with the Haotian Sect?"
Tang Laoya's expression darkened. "I've never revealed my martial soul in front of anyone from the New Tiandou Federation; they shouldn't know that I'm from the Haotian Sect. Moreover, the Haotian Sect supported the Star Luo Empire before closing its gates, and now that it's re-emerged, it hasn't made a statement. People on the continent still assume we support the Star Luo Empire, so even if the New Tiandou Federation knows my identity, they shouldn't come looking for me because of it."
"That's not necessarily true. I don't trust the mindset of royal nobles," Hawk replied, shaking his head. He stood up from his seat and said to Feng Ming, "Speculating here is pointless. We should go out; after all, Dugu Bo is a Titled Douluo, and we might gain valuable insights from him, or even obtain some precious herbs."
"Are there still precious herbs available?" Feng Ming recalled that during the last Continental Elite Competition, Dugu Bo had been close to Tang San, implying that Tang San had likely acquired the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Even if there were other precious herbs, they had no idea what specific effects they had. Those things could be poisonous if consumed carelessly... And why would Dugu Bo take them to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well?
"Dreams are something to have," Hawk said, walking to the meeting room door. He opened it and waved to the two behind him. "Let's go; it wouldn't be good to keep our guests waiting."
"By the way, if we mention that Tang San's antidote method has issues, do you think he would believe us?" Feng Ming asked as he followed Hawk out of the meeting room.
"Come on, when I said 'exchange,' I didn't mean that," Hawk rolled his eyes.
No matter how one viewed it, Dugu Bo was still a Titled Douluo—one who specialized in poison and had an unpredictable temperament. He could easily poison someone over a minor disagreement. In the original text, Tang San had to first resolve three different poisons to gain Dugu Bo's trust... If they dared to bring it up, they might find themselves poisoned without even realizing it.
What he meant by 'exchange' was to seize this opportunity to get to know each other. Once they were familiar, perhaps there would be a slim chance to visit the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well...
---
Arriving in the Transcender Alliance's living room, Hawk immediately recognized Dugu Bo. After all, he was the only one present with white hair and the oldest among them.
Moreover, there was an invisible sense of pressure emanating from him, enveloping the three like a mountain or a lake, yet it felt terrifyingly cold, as if it could erode their very bones, instilling a primal fear in them.
Feng Ming, Hawk, and Tang Laoya realized that Dugu Bo's poison attack must be exceptionally advanced; otherwise, only the three of them would have sensed it, while Feng Ming's father and brother felt nothing at all.
This was clearly a show of strength directed at the three of them!
"Greetings, Elder Dugu Bo." (X3)
The three bowed respectfully.
Dugu Bo nodded slightly and complimented, "You all seem quite robust. Even in Soul Master City, you'd be considered talented. However, compared to true monsters, you still fall short."
His words lacked emotional sensitivity, but that was typical for Dugu Bo, who didn't need to concern himself with the feelings of these three.
Powerful individuals can afford to be brash.
"Of course, we can't compare to the unparalleled geniuses of Soul Master City," Feng Ming replied. After all, this was supported by his family, and Hawk, as the real leader, wasn't suitable for overshadowing him.
The head of the Wind family said, "I'll go fetch some refreshments for you."
He understood that Prince Xue xing and Elder Dugu Bo were there specifically to speak with Feng Ming, Hawk, and Tang Laoya. Since Prince Xuexing had shown no interest in discussing anything with him and was merely sipping tea, the perceptive head of the Wind family recognized that he was being looked down upon. With his son present, he decided to leave, taking Wind Lie with him out of the living room.
Seeing this, Dugu Bo didn't engage in pleasantries. "We've come to discuss how the New Tiandou Federation hopes you can guide the training of the Federation's students to achieve better results in this Continental Elite Competition. This concerns the dignity of the New Tiandou Federation."
Xue xing continued, "If you are willing, we can provide substantial development funding, and your Transcender Alliance would become the largest sect in New Tiandou. I understand you all are gifted geniuses, no less than the champion team from the last competition, but you lack funds and sufficient cultivation resources."
"With just a word from you, we can provide it immediately!"
"Don't worry, we won't ask you for anything else. We simply hope you can guide the students, nothing more, akin to the three committee members from the Tiandou Royal Academy."
Hawk understood what this meant: It was highly likely that Xue bing and Xue xing had recognized their talents and were prepared to invest in them, intending to make them a crucial asset for the future of the New Tiandou Federation.
But can Xue Beng be trusted?
In the original work, Xue Beng is described as a visionary ruler with great ambition. However, whether that description applies to the current Xue Beng remains uncertain. After all, he has yet to grasp real power in the New Tiandou Federation. During the resistance against the invasion of the Sun-Moon Empire, although he led the charge to gain recognition, that war was more of Tang San's personal showcase, with Xue Beng and others merely acting as cheerleaders, going through the motions.
The Transcender Alliance was established within the New Tiandou Federation. As long as they don't cause any trouble, even if they are later defeated by the Tiandou Empire, they can simply return to working quietly without major consequences.
However, if they were to fully support the New Tiandou Federation, that would change everything.
This would mean a direct confrontation with the Tiandou Empire!
They all knew what kind of person Emperor Qinghe was. Although there was a minor misunderstanding with Bibi Dong of the Spirit Hall, they shared a bloodline. This was a direct challenge against the Spirit Hall and Tang San!
Considering Tang San's performance in that battle, Hawk felt that even if he were to inherit the Sea God in the future, he might not stand a chance against him. To make matters worse, Tang San had even created something akin to the Divine Seat!
This was an overwhelming advantage!
They truly couldn't compete!
But with Dugu Bo present, they couldn't outright refuse. Thus, Hawk could only say, "We're grateful for the prince's kindness, and we certainly wish to help. However, we also need to venture out for our training and can't stay in one place for too long. It's likely we can't fully commit to the Federation Academy."
"Training?" Xue Xing's expression darkened, but he restrained his temper and replied, "That doesn't conflict with joining the Federation, does it?"
Hawk's face fell. He thought, As weaklings, we don't even have the right to refuse. In this world, strength is paramount. I need to think carefully about how to decline...
"If we join the Federation Academy and utilize its resources, but then often fail to show up, wouldn't that just make us freeloaders?"
"That shouldn't be a concern," Xue Xing waved dismissively, indicating that the empire could indeed provide such resources. He became curious, "You mentioned training; where do you plan to train?"
"Devil Island."
After contemplating for a moment, Hawk finally mentioned this name.
"Devil Island!" Compared to Sea God Island, the name Devil Island was much better known on Douluo Continent. Dugu Bo was startled and then solemnly said, "Young man, you're quite bold! Although I haven't been there, I know that even the Spirit Hall can't handle it. Every Soul Master who has ventured to that island, no matter how talented, has never returned alive..."
Despite this, Dugu Bo felt there was one person who might be able to return from that island.
Tang San!
That kid was an extraordinary monster. From the battle against the invasion of the Sun-Moon Empire, he exhibited overwhelming strength; he could likely rival Titled Douluos above level 95 even without using weapons like the Divine Seat. Furthermore, the members of the Tiandou Royal Team who were in the same generation as him were all capable of fighting above their level. Aside from the pure support-type members, they all had formidable combat abilities.
"Where there's a will, there's a way," Hawk said confidently, then continued, "However, precisely because the three of us plan to train there after reaching a certain level, we're hesitant to join the Federation Academy... after all, we need to consider any contingencies."
Dugu Bo nodded and fell silent.
Xue Xing had also heard of Devil Island and didn't understand why these three talented Soul Masters wanted to seek death there, but he no longer insisted. "Alright, if that's the case, then please guide the students of the Federation Academy. Consider it as hiring you as temporary teachers. How does that sound?"
"We're certainly willing," Hawk agreed. If he had refused again, he would probably have had to leverage Tang Laoya's identity to intimidate Dugu Bo.
Even if Dugu Bo wanted to kill them to silence them, he would need to consider his reputation, along with the potential pursuit by the Haotian Sect afterward. After all, with the emergence of soul-guided photography devices, information spreads quickly, and each of the three had a soul-guided photography device on them.
Moreover, there was even a soul-guided camera installed in the beam of the living room!
(End of Chapter)