Chapter 48: Dugu Bo Joins the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect

"This..."

Dugu Bo frowned, lowering his head into deep thought.

He had not expected the Spirit Hall to be so formidable, and his mind was now in utter turmoil.

The Titled Douluo alone were powerful enough to single-handedly crush an entire empire; he could not fathom what else might be able to halt the advance of the Spirit Hall.

"However..."

Seeing Dugu Bo's distressed expression, Li Xun could not help but be amused.

He found the Old Poison to be quite entertaining. Every time he witnessed the man's shocked expression, his own mood would instantly improve.

"However what?"

A thought struck Dugu Bo, and he abruptly raised his head, rolling up his sleeves as he stepped closer to Li Xun. "Kid, don't think I didn't notice you secretly wiping your spit on me earlier. If you can't give me a good reason today, hmph..."

"Ahem, however, despite its strength, the Spirit Hall is divided into two factions: the Pontiff's Palace and the Elder Palace."

Li Xun pursed his lips. "The grievances between these two factions run deep. Aside from matters concerning the grand trend of the world or life-and-death crises, it is nearly impossible for them to unite."

"We only need to maintain good relations with one of the factions to ensure our own safety."

Gazing at Dugu Bo with sincere eyes, Li Xun asked, "Grandpa Dugu, I once heard my teacher mention your feud with the Spirit Hall. I wonder, do you hold a grudge against the entire Spirit Hall, or just Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo?"

Dugu Bo frowned, carefully sorting through his past grievances. "I wouldn't say I hate the Spirit Hall itself, but Chrysanthemum Guan and that little ghost nearly forced me into an early grave back then. It's hard to let go of this hatred without taking revenge..."

A smile surfaced on Li Xun's face. "Since you harbor no deep malice toward the Spirit Hall as a whole, why not endure it for a little while longer? When the time is ripe, I can guarantee you that there will come a day when you can exact your revenge."

"When that time comes, the lives of Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo will rest entirely upon your will."

Dugu Bo raised an eyebrow, looking at Li Xun with a half-smile. "Kid, now that you've broken through to become a Spirit Elder, are you starting to get a little full of yourself?"

"Do you even know the gap between a Spirit Elder and a Titled Douluo?"

"Hehe, of course this junior knows." Li Xun offered a shy smile. "However, this junior has the confidence to catch up to your footsteps and fight side by side with you."

"If you don't believe me, you can keep a constant eye on me right here within the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan."

"My goodness, so you were laying a trap for me all along, you little scoundrel!" Seeing Li Xun's affected expression, Dugu Bo laughed in exasperation. "You want me to join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan just like that?"

"Still, this isn't something you can make the decisions on. Ning Fengzhi will have to negotiate with me."

With that, Dugu Bo tilted his head back to gaze at the sky, assuming the posture of an otherworldly expert.

Ever since Li Xun cured him of his poison, he had already stopped feeling resistant to the idea of joining the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.

Firstly, he saw that Li Xun was genuinely reliable and a fine sapling to nurture; secondly, there was Dugu Yan to consider.

Now, knowing the true strength of the Spirit Hall, it was indeed unwise for him to continue fighting alone. What if Chrysanthemum Guan decided to bring several Titled Douluo to hunt him down one day?

Li Xun's eyes lit up. "Grandpa Dugu, since neither of us has anything pressing to do right now, let's head back to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan immediately."

"..."

"Since you're in such a rush to return, I suppose I'll give you a ride." Dugu Bo glanced sideways at Li Xun.

Without another word, he scooped Li Xun up by the ribs, pressed him against his chest, and shot straight up into the heavens.

......

With a rather unsightly expression, Li Xun sat upon a chair in the grand hall of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.

He watched as Ning Fengzhi and the others conversed.

"I must offer my thanks to Senior Dugu for taking care of Xiaoxun." Sitting in the primary seat with a warm smile, Ning Fengzhi slightly cupped his hands.

"Clan Master Ning is too polite. Xiaoxun also helped me a great deal this time; such minor care is hardly worth mentioning."

Dugu Bo stroked his short beard.

A thought flashed through Ning Fengzhi's mind, and he chuckled. "Xiaoxun is always talking about you. It was just a small favor, nothing more than what should be done."

Dugu Bo smiled and shook his head.

At this point, the toxins within his body were no longer a threat. However, the matter was hardly glorious, so it was best not to broadcast it widely.

"Teacher, I wish to invite Grandpa Dugu to join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. I wonder if that is permissible?"

Having recovered his composure by now, Li Xun hurriedly spoke up upon seeing that the two men had run out of topics.

At the same time, he shot a subtle glance toward Ning Fengzhi.

Ning Fengzhi's eyes brightened, and his smile widened even further. "Xiaoxun, stop talking nonsense. How could we treat Senior Dugu with such discourtesy?"

"Please do not take offense, Senior Dugu. Xiaoxun is still young and lacks proper etiquette in these matters. It is only fitting that I, his teacher, personally come to invite you to join our clan."

Ning Fengzhi rose from his seat and cupped his hands toward Dugu Bo.

Upon hearing this, Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo also smiled and cupped their hands in greeting to Dugu Bo.

It was a customary greeting among those about to become colleagues.

"Haha, Clan Master Ning shouldn't underestimate this disciple of yours!"

Dugu Bo stood up with a hearty laugh. "For the two of us to meet under such circumstances, this kid played a major role in it."

Once everyone had retaken their seats, Ning Fengzhi had servants bring in fresh tea.

"I wonder what requirements Senior Dugu might have for joining the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan?"

Naturally, a Titled Douluo could not be expected to work for free. Fortunately, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan possessed abundant wealth and could easily afford it.

"Due to our unique physical conditions, my granddaughter and I are in need of a few poison-attribute spirit bones. Before we came here, Xiaoxun mentioned that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan would be willing to lend a helping hand. I wonder if those words still hold true?"

Dugu Bo pondered for a moment.

At his age and level of cultivation, the allure of money had diminished greatly.

Bringing up spirit bones was not an attempt to make things difficult for Ning Fengzhi, but rather because they genuinely needed them. After all, spirit bones were exceedingly rare, and finding ones that suited them perfectly was even more difficult.

Given the massive scale of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, they would certainly gather them much faster than he could on his own.

Moreover, he possessed the strength to make such demands regarding his compensation.

"Of course they hold true. Xiaoxun is the future pillar of our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, so naturally, his words are never empty promises."

Ning Fengzhi smiled as he glanced at Li Xun. "If it were any other type of spirit bone, I might have to put in some effort, but our clan does happen to possess poison-attribute spirit bones."

"I won't even mention the low-thousand-year ones; we have two pieces that happen to be perfectly suited for Senior Dugu and Miss Dugu."

With a slight burden lifted from his heart, Ning Fengzhi immediately disclosed the details of the spirit bones to Dugu Bo.

They were a twenty-thousand-year left leg bone and a thirty-thousand-year skull bone, respectively.

Within the clan, these two spirit bones had long been treated like ancient antiques—they looked valuable, yet served little practical purpose.

Aside from those reaching the hundred-thousand-year threshold, spirit bones placed the utmost importance on compatibility.

The pool of poison-attribute users was simply too small, so the bones had remained in the clan's inventory all this time.

"Then I shall accept them without modesty." Dugu Bo smiled and nodded, extremely satisfied with the sincerity Ning Fengzhi had displayed.

Seeing Dugu Bo's reaction, Ning Fengzhi immediately instructed someone to fetch the spirit bones.

Once Dugu Bo accepted them, the atmosphere among the group grew even more enthusiastic.

"With Senior Dugu joining the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, our strength will undoubtedly rise to a whole new level."

Ning Fengzhi was in exceptionally high spirits now. "Such a momentous occasion calls for celebration. In the coming days, I shall widely distribute invitations to hold an initiation ceremony for Senior Dugu."

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan already possessed the ultimate offensive power of Sword Douluo, the supreme defense of Bone Douluo, and the formidable mid-tier strength of the Clear Sky School's affiliate clan, the Breaking Clan.

Now, they had added Dugu Bo, whose prowess in mass combat was unrivaled.

When Li Xun's generation grew up, Ning Fengzhi could hardly imagine just how powerful the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan would become.

"Teacher, you mustn't..."