The return of Dugu Bo came not with thunder or fanfare, but with quiet, unstoppable gravity—like a storm that had already passed but left behind a changed world.
He stepped into the Dugu Estate not alone, but with five figures walking behind him, each emanating a unique presence strong enough to shake the heavens.
Yue Guan, dressed in flowing robes of gold and silver, eyes cold yet elegant, his long silver hair trailing like threads of moonlight.
Yue Meiying, tall and graceful, her expression aloof, her aura crisp with discipline—the scent of blooming poison clung to her like perfume.
Chen Xin, calm and unmoving as a mountain, with eyes like blades and an unseen pressure behind every breath.
Gu Rong, exuding silent dominance, his very gait carrying the weight of the dead, his Bone Dragon Spirit a whisper beneath his skin.
Ning Cheng, robed in scholarly white and soft blue, gentle but alert, his gaze scanning everything with refined calculation.
These were not just powerful individuals.
They were titans.
And they now walked beneath the banner of the Dugu Clan.
In the Central Courtyard, beneath the bright afternoon sun, Dugu Bo sat upon the Seat of Power—his smile wide, honest, and blinding like the first sun after a long, bitter drought.
Before him knelt the new generation of his family.
Xin, Alix, Xue, Mei, Gho, and Hoi—each of them clothed in the ceremonial robes of the Dugu Clan, their hair now streaked with vivid green, their eyes burning with golden light. The Jade Phosphor Serpent had bloomed within each of them.
As the children rose and bowed deeply in unison, showing their dual Spirits, Dugu Bo's heart clenched—not from grief or fear, but from joy so sharp it nearly brought tears to his eyes.
They were his now. Truly his. Not just in name or duty—but in blood, power, and destiny.
And then came Dugu Xin, stepping calmly into the courtyard, his every movement exuding the poise of a ruler far beyond his years. As he approached, he dipped his head respectfully to his father, and then quietly took the smaller chair beside the Seat of Power.
"I can't believe you actually brought them all," Xin whispered, his tone filled with restrained awe.
Dugu Bo smiled but said nothing. His silence spoke volumes.
Instead, he turned to address everyone present.
"Xin, Alix, Xue, Mei, Gho, and Hoi," he began, his voice clear and powerful. "These will be your instructors moving forward. But more than that—they are now Elders of the Dugu Clan."
One by one, he gestured to the five newly arrived figures:
"Yue Guan. Tool Spirit: Chrysanthemum. Rank 76, Spirit Saint."
"Yue Meiying. Tool Spirit: Spider Bloom Chrysanthemum. Rank 80, Spirit Saint."
"Chen Xin. Tool Spirit: Seven Kill Sword. Rank 86, Spirit Douluo."
"Gu Rong. Beast Spirit: Bone Dragon. Rank 85, Spirit Douluo."
"Ning Cheng. Tool Spirit: Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. Rank 79, Spirit Saint."
Xin blinked once. Then again.
He turned slowly to look at his father, eyes wide with quiet disbelief. How?
This wasn't just unexpected. It was impossible. These weren't wandering talents. These were some of the most powerful Spirit Masters in the entire continent—legendary figures who, in the original timeline, would never have gathered under one roof, much less one flag.
And now they were here.
And they were theirs.
Dugu Bo stood again, his aura heavy with authority.
"Now," he said firmly, "besides the Elders and Xin'er, I ask everyone else to leave for now. I will summon you again shortly."
The children bowed once more and left in respectful silence, followed by the household servants. Soon, the courtyard returned to quiet, save for the rustle of wind and the distant hum of spirit energy that never seemed to sleep on Dugu lands anymore.
Bo turned, gesturing for the Elders and Xin to follow.
They passed through a side gate and into the inner courtyard, where a large meeting hall awaited—its doors carved with serpents, chrysanthemums, swords, and bones. Inside, a grand table sat at its center, shaped like a circle to symbolize unity, yet with ten seats to suggest room for growth.
Dugu Bo took the central seat, and one by one, the others sat beside him.
Dugu Xin took the seat to his father's right—the position of the heir.
For a few seconds, silence reigned.
"So, Father..." Dugu Xin began, leaning forward slightly, golden and platinum eyes narrowing in sheer confusion.
"How... exactly did this happen?"
Around the table, the newly gathered Elders shifted slightly. An invisible ripple of tension passed through the room—until one voice broke the silence.
"It was because your father killed a Titled Douluo," said Yue Meiying calmly.
The simple sentence struck the room like a lightning bolt.
Even Chen Xin, Gu Rong, and Ning Cheng, all seasoned and powerful Spirit Masters in their own right, visibly stiffened. Their eyes sharpened in shock as they turned toward Dugu Bo in silent demand for confirmation.
Dugu Xin blinked slowly, trying to process the magnitude of what he'd just heard.
Father... killed a Titled Douluo?
He turned to Dugu Bo, silently asking for clarification.
The elder Dugu chuckled lightly, scratching the back of his head in an almost sheepish gesture, before settling back in his chair with a relaxed smile. "Well," he began casually, as if explaining something as mundane as a trip to the market, "when I went to find Miss Yue, I started hearing all sorts of rumors."
His voice took on a more serious tone.
"Turns out, when Miss Yue was studying immortal herbs to deepen her understanding of her Spirit's essence, she incurred debts. Significant ones. These so-called 'clans' she borrowed from got impatient. She was strong enough to fend off their lesser enforcers... but they eventually hired a Titled Douluo to settle the score."
He paused, letting the weight of his words settle in.
"This 'Demon Douluo' they sent was an Evil Spirit Master. Dangerous. Ruthless."
Dugu Xin leaned in further, hanging onto every word.
"The battle... was anti-climatic," Dugu Bo said, his grin widening. "I simply activated my Skull Spirit Bone—the Eyes of Medusa—and turned him into stone. Rings, bones, soul, and all."
The room fell into stunned silence.
Chen Xin's hand twitched slightly over the table, Gu Rong's eyes darkened in thought, and Ning Cheng let out a slow, low breath, his face unreadable.
Only the Yue Siblings remained calm, having already borne witness to the event.
"As simple as that," Dugu Bo said, shrugging. "One moment he was boasting... the next, he was a statue."
Xin shook his head slightly in disbelief, marveling at the sheer nonchalance his father displayed while recounting something that would send entire nations into uproar.
Dugu Bo continued as if recounting an evening stroll.
"After that, I helped Meiying sort out her troubles, and Guan tagged along. We made our way toward Heaven Dou City. It was there I ran into Chen Xin and Gu Rong, who were desperately seeking herbs to help their friend, Ning Cheng."
He cast a glance at Cheng, who remained respectfully silent.
"Due to his... shall we say, advanced years," Dugu Bo smiled slyly, "Cheng needed a breakthrough to survive. Without advancement, he would have died within the next few years. I located a compatible Spirit Beast and—after some persuasion—convinced it to willingly sacrifice its cultivation."
Xin's mouth parted slightly in astonishment.
Father didn't just find a Spirit Beast—he forced a willing sacrifice...
The level of control and understanding that implied over Spirit Beasts was staggering.
"Thanks to that, Cheng was promoted from Rank 71 to Rank 79," Dugu Bo said. "Bought him plenty more years. I made no empty promises. I told them, plainly: Help me, and I will help you reach Titled Douluo."
He smiled warmly at the men across the table.
"Cheng said he owed me a life debt and would follow even if no further help came. Chen Xin and Gu Rong... decided they would rather seize opportunity than wait for death."
Dugu Xin sat back slowly in his chair, stunned at his father's sheer resourcefulness and charisma. He had gathered a force that could rival principal sects—and he had done it with pure action, not empty words.
A soft grin spread across Xin's face.
"Father," he said softly, his voice carrying the flicker of mischief, "why don't you show them Manchineel?"
Dugu Bo's smile sharpened at the suggestion.
Xin understood perfectly: When the gap between people is small, jealousy arises. Ambition brews.
But when the gap is insurmountable, there is only respect. Only awe.
Dugu Bo rose from his chair slowly.
In the next instant—
—Boom.
He released his Spirit Power.
The room seemed to shrink under the weight of it. Space itself felt heavier, thicker, as if the atmosphere were suffocating. The ground quivered as a full array of eight black Spirit Rings and one blood-red Spirit Ring appeared behind him in a breathtaking cascade.
The five powerful Spirit Masters—people who could lay waste to armies—felt themselves being crushed under that force.
It was like being stepped on by a mountain.
Gu Rong clenched his fists to steady himself. Chen Xin's pupils contracted sharply. Ning Cheng wiped a bead of sweat from his brow with a steady hand, but his palm trembled slightly. Yue Guan and Yue Meiying simply bowed their heads in silent reverence.
"You've advanced again, Father?!" Xin said, his voice breaking the silence.
Dugu Bo laughed, a deep and satisfying sound.
"I have," he said proudly. "I'm Rank 83 now."
As he spoke, a tiny figure appeared atop his shoulder—a playful, almost mischievous little Spirit Soul perched lightly on his head.
Manchineel.
The Spirit Soul tapped Dugu Bo's forehead with one delicate finger, then cast a slow, lazy glance across the gathered Elders.
To Dugu Bo and Xin, Manchineel's look was playful, almost childlike.
But to everyone else... it was dread incarnate.
A gaze that seemed to strip their spirit power down to the marrow and remind them:
No matter your power, before us—you kneel.
The silence of the grand meeting hall was broken by a playful, almost sing-song voice:
"You finally let me out to talk to your companions, huh, Bo Bo?"
The spirit Manchineel swung her legs lazily atop Dugu Bo's shoulder, flashing a mischievous smile at the gathered Elders.
The sight, so bizarre and casual, left everyone momentarily dumbfounded—these titanic Spirit Masters were being addressed so lightly by a spirit soul.
Across the table, Dugu Xin couldn't help himself. A snicker escaped his lips.
It was a small sound—but in the heavy, tension-filled atmosphere, it was deafening.
Dugu Bo's sharp gaze immediately snapped toward him, golden-green eyes narrowing in warning.
Xin straightened his back and looked innocently away, doing his best to suppress his laughter.
Bo Bo, indeed.
But the tension was not to be dispelled so easily.
As everyone's eyes returned to the overwhelming figure of Dugu Bo, the true weight of his displayed spirit rings finally began to settle into their minds.
Seven 100,000-year-old spirit rings...
It was a collective, unspoken thought.
But only Chen Xin, whose sharp mind had recovered fastest from the shock, found the strength to say it aloud, his voice low and almost reverent:
"Seven... one-hundred-thousand-year spirit rings…"
A level of existence beyond comprehension.
Before the shock could fully fade, Dugu Xin rose to his feet.
Without hesitation, he released his own spirit rings.
Two deep crimson rings materialized behind him—two 100,000-year-old spirit rings.
From a six-year-old child.
If Dugu Bo's reveal was like a mountain crashing down, then Dugu Xin's spirit rings were a celestial phenomenon—a divine thunderclap that shattered the natural order.
The Elders stared, their worldviews crumbling.
Xin's voice, though young, carried a steadiness that demanded attention.
"Earlier," he said calmly, "you may have wondered why a child was brought into this meeting."
He let his spirit rings hover a moment longer, making sure the image was burned into their minds.
"The reason is simple," he said, folding his hands neatly behind his back.
"Father and I... we have lost too much to trust others easily."
He paused then, glancing toward Dugu Bo.
What needed to be said next... wasn't his to say.
Dugu Bo stood, his expression softening—though the fire behind his eyes never dimmed.
"Xin'er, and the rest of the children you saw earlier," he began, his voice low but full of weight, "are all I have left in this world."
He allowed the words to hang in the air, heavy and sacred.
"I am not a complicated man," he continued. "I don't care about fame, or fortune, or domination. I care about my family. About my children."
His gaze swept across the table, pinning each Elder in place like insects on a display board.
"That is why I let Xin'er run the show. Make no mistake—he is still a child. He requires guidance. Correction. Protection. And I will give him all of those things, as any father should."
He placed a hand on Xin's shoulder, an act of both affection and declaration.
"But Xin'er... is not my possession. He is not my weapon to wield. He is my son. My pride. My hope."
The hall seemed to darken, the torches flickering under the sheer gravity of his next words.
"If he needs guidance, I will guide him. If he needs strength, I will lend him mine. If he falls, I will catch him. If he calls, I will answer."
He leaned forward slightly, his voice dropping to a tone so deadly calm it made the air itself tremble.
"And if anyone dares to betray him, to harm my children—"
A smile tugged at Dugu Bo's lips.
But it was not a kind smile.
"—then there will not be a hole deep enough for them to hide in."
No shouting. No threats.
Just cold, certain fact.
The five Elders—Yue Guan, Yue Meiying, Chen Xin, Gu Rong, and Ning Cheng—were seasoned enough to understand what wasn't being said.
Earn the Dugu Clan's trust, and you would be treated as true family.
Betray it, and death would be a mercy.
They bowed their heads as one, acknowledging the unspoken pact that now bound them.
Respect.
Loyalty.
Survival.