At this moment, the Spirit Fighting Arena was nearly empty.
Most of the contestants and spectators had gone to Sotou City.
The Arena was unusually quiet.
Dugu Bo was enjoying the peace, spending his time lounging around the arena and occasionally visiting the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
This was his daily life.
"Lord Dugu, Prince Xue Xing requests an audience!"
Just then, a staff member approached Dugu Bo, cupping his hands in salute, and spoke.
Prince Xue Xing seemed to be in a hurry, but the staff member had asked him to wait, explaining that he needed to report first.
Whether the prince was received or not depended on Dugu Bo's mood.
"Xue Xing?"
Dugu Bo was taken aback, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes.
What did Xue Xing want with him?
Years ago, Xue Xing had saved his life, and in return, he had promised to fulfill three requests for him.
Over the years, those three favors had long been repaid, and he owed Xue Xing nothing now.
Remembering their past ties, Dugu Bo finally decided to see him.
Times had changed, and as a member of the Dou Soul Arena, he couldn't get involved in the conflicts of the Douluo Continent. If Xue Xing's matter was related to such disputes, Dugu Bo would refuse without hesitation.
"Let him in."
"Yes, sir!"
In a short while, Xue Xing rushed in, his face filled with urgency as if something extremely serious had happened.
It was worth noting that, as a notorious "playboy" prince, Xue Xing usually had a carefree expression on his face, only occasionally showing signs of anger.
This kind of expression was unprecedented.
"Prince Xue Xing, what's the matter...?"
"Lord, save me!"
"???"
Before Dugu Bo could finish speaking, Xue Xing, in a panic, cut him off.
"Save you from what?"
"Who wants to kill you?"
Dugu Bo was puzzled as he fully extended his senses.
"???"
There was no murderous intent around, only familiar faces...
"No, no, no..."
Xue Xing shook his head vigorously like a rattle drum, hurriedly saying, "It doesn't matter if I live or die, please save the Crown Prince!"
Hearing this, Dugu Bo's whole body stiffened, and his gaze at Xue Xing became strange.
When it came to the relationship between Xue Xing, Xue Beng, and Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, no one knew better than Dugu Bo.
But now, Xue Xing was saying that it didn't matter if he lived or died, and begging him to save the Crown Prince?
Dugu Bo took a sharp breath, feeling a bit speechless as he said, "You must mean the Fourth Prince, right?"
"No, I'm talking about Crown Prince Xue Qinghe!"
"It's all my fault!"
"I wronged Qinghe!"
"There was never anything wrong with him, but I constantly targeted him!"
"And this last test caused my poor nephew to lose his life!"
"What did you say? Crown Prince Xue Qinghe is dead?"
"Yes, Lord, please, for the sake of our past friendship, help me ask the God of Judgment and the Water Goddess for their assistance!"
"Only they might have the power to bring Qinghe back to life!"
Hearing this, Dugu Bo's expression became solemn, and he hesitated.
This was about bringing someone back to life!
With a loud "thud," Xue Xing dropped to his knees.
"Thud... thud..."
He kowtowed several times in a row, his mouth pleading, "Lord, I'm begging you!"
"The entire Heaven Dou City, only you are the fastest, and only you are closest to the two deities!"
Dugu Bo pulled Xue Xing up with a serious expression and said, "I can help you make the trip."
"…"
Xue Xing's face lit up with joy, but before he could say anything, Dugu Bo continued, "But let me make this clear first!"
"I can't guarantee they'll be willing to help."
"And whether he can be brought back, I don't know either."
"The Water Goddess, Focalors, can save someone who's still hanging on by a thread because they're still alive, not dead."
"But as for someone who's already dead, that's uncertain."
Hearing this, Xue Xing nodded. Both he and Emperor Xue Ye knew that at this point, they were just grasping at straws.
What if it worked?
"Yes!"
"Thank you, Lord!"
Dugu Bo sighed, then disappeared.
The world called him cold-blooded, but who knew how loyal and righteous he was?
Seeing this, Xue Xing didn't linger either. He returned to the Heaven Dou Palace to relay the news to Emperor Xue Ye.
Run away?
He hadn't even considered that.
If Emperor Xue Ye allowed him to leave the palace, he wasn't worried that Xue Xing would flee!
Besides, his conscience told him that running wasn't an option!
If he ran, the title of prince would no longer exist in the future!
No emperor wanted a ticking time bomb by their side.
The Heaven Dou Empire would quickly turn into the kind of place the Star Luo Empire had become.
Where only one prince survived.
That was something Xue Xing couldn't bear to see.
He, Xue Xing, could die, but he would never let the empire become like that.
The scene shifted to Spirit City.
Bibi Dong and her entourage had secretly left the city.
Besides Bibi Dong and the two Worship and two other Title Douluo were present: the Demon Bear Douluo and the Ghost Leopard Douluo.
A total of ten Spirit Douluo-level experts had been mobilized for this mission!
The rest were Spirit Saint-level elites, who might not pose a significant threat to a 100,000-year soul beast, but they were responsible for locating one.
With such a group of Spirit Saints and above, their traveling speed was naturally swift. In just half a day, they had reached the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Spirit Hall was located at the border of the two empires, not far from the Star Dou Great Forest.
With a group like this, they could walk arrogantly even in the outer regions, and the same would hold true in the inner regions or even the core area.
But everyone was cautious, especially after entering the core area, as they didn't want to alert the enemy.
When Bibi Dong and her group reached the core area and walked a bit further, they were bewildered.
"What's going on?"
Something was very wrong!
After circling the core area of the Star Dou Great Forest for so long, they hadn't encountered a single ten-thousand-year soul beast!
It didn't make sense!
Had all the ten-thousand-year soul beasts been hunted down by spirit masters?
But this was the Star Dou Great Forest!
The group started examining themselves, wondering if their own aura had leaked, causing the soul beasts to flee.
But after investigating for a while, they found that wasn't the case.
They hadn't even released their martial spirits!
Nor had they used any soul power!
So, the possibility of leaking their aura was out of the question.
Bibi Dong's expression darkened. Was there something wrong with the Star Dou Great Forest?
It hadn't been like this last time.
"Conceal your aura, and let's go deeper."
After a moment, Bibi Dong finally spoke.
The group solemnly nodded and began a new round of investigation.
As they moved deeper, their frowns grew more pronounced.
Hadn't they almost reached the center of the Star Dou Great Forest by now?
And still, not a single ten-thousand-year soul beast had appeared!
This was genuinely frightening!
Yes, frightening!
A fear of the unknown.
Suddenly, Bibi Dong and her group froze, all of them coming to a halt, staring blankly at the scene before them. They couldn't believe their eyes and rubbed them in disbelief.