Following the Grand Elder's finger, Chen Yi also looked at the magnificent city before them. It covered a vast area, surrounded by mountains, and the endless stream of people at the city gates all indicated that this was a prosperous metropolis.
That was... the second largest city in the Osway Kingdom, a military stronghold—Odrich City.
"The first family of Odrich City is the Rich Family. They originally started as merchants, but later, during the rebellion of the current Osway royal family, they poured all their wealth to support them, earning the merit of following the dragon. For centuries, they've lived prosperously on their hereditary marquis title. The current Rich Family patriarch is a Soul Sage."
"Many years ago, that patriarch captured an injured Thunder Spirit in a lightning-struck area. At the time, the Thunder Spirit was less than a thousand years old, but after all these years, that soul spirit should certainly meet your requirements."
In the hotel on the second floor, after Chen Yi stuffed a piece of beast meat into his mouth, he mumbled unclearly, "That doesn't make sense, Fourth Grandpa. Logically speaking, if a top-tier soul beast like the Thunder Spirit appeared, why didn't the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family make a move to seize it? That doesn't match their usual style."
On the way into the city, the Grand Elder had already told Chen Yi that the origin of the soul ring was a Thunder Spirit captured by the Rich Family many years ago.
The Thunder Spirit, a spirit of thunder born from heaven and earth. It possessed extraordinary lightning power. Though it lacked the dominance of ultimate thunder, it was a natural controller of thunder, able to summon and wield lightning with ease.
However, due to their extreme rarity, they had become soul beasts that existed only in records a thousand years ago, even recognized as one of the extinct species.
Similarly, Thunder Spirits held immense temptation for thunder-attribute soul masters because they could only provide one soul skill—"Thunder Attraction to the Heart." This was a domain-type soul skill. Once activated, it would form a thunder-dense field within a certain range, amplifying all aspects of the soul master's abilities in a comprehensive manner. More importantly, the range of this soul skill would expand with increasing cultivation, and the amplification would also improve slightly.
Domain-type soul skills were already top-tier skills that soul masters dreamed of, and a growing domain soul skill was even more madness-inducing.
However, what truly puzzled Chen Yi was that if even the Body Sect knew about this, there was no reason the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family didn't. With their domineering nature, it was simply illogical that they hadn't tried to seize it.
Hearing Chen Yi's confusion, the Grand Elder set down his fragrant tea and extended three fingers.
"Three reasons."
"First, the guys from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect mainly cultivate dragon martial soul power, and their requirements for lightning are far less than the former."
"Second, it's the limitation of the Thunder Spirit soul ring itself. The soul skill it provides has growth potential, but this growth isn't endless. Its range does expand with increasing cultivation, but the growth is limited, at most increasing by five times the age limit. A two-thousand-year Thunder Spirit can at most reach the ten-thousand-year level."
"The last point is that the Rich Family controls the economic lifeline of the Osway Kingdom, monopolizing many sources of livelihood. For the latter, the Rich Family absolutely cannot have any issues; if something happens, the kingdom would immediately teeter on the edge of collapse."
"So the Osway royal family won't allow the Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect to bully the Rich Family. No matter how strong Yu Yuanzhen is, he's just a level 95 Titled Douluo; he can't afford to provoke a national-level war machine."
Chen Yi nodded. This was one of the reasons Douluo Continent was called a low tier fantasy—as the pinnacle of worldly combat power, a Titled Douluo actually had to avoid the edge when facing an army composed of ordinary people.
In Chen Yi's view, this last point was the real reason the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family was unwilling to forcefully seize it. After all, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect had a large family and business; directly confronting a national machine, even if they succeeded in the end, would inevitably lead to decline.
Titled Douluo held a lofty status on Douluo Continent, not below the emperors of the two great empires, but still slightly inferior; otherwise, the emperors of the two great empires would be below Titled Douluo.
"So, are we just going to charge in directly?" Chen Yi asked uncertainly. Since a Titled Douluo's face didn't carry much weight, the only method was to fight their way in.
Upon hearing this, the Grand Elder revealed a mysterious smile. "Kid, today this old man will teach you another trick: the barefoot aren't afraid of those wearing shoes."
With that, he picked up the teacup on the table, drained it in one gulp, stood up, and said, "You stay here and don't move. This old man will be back soon."
He left Chen Yi with a dashing back view.
Seeing this, Chen Yi was stunned, feeling a strange sense of familiarity.
"Why do I feel like I've been taken advantage of? No, it seems like I'm the one taking advantage."
"Hmm, this is a problem worth pondering."
…
Vast Sea City.
As the largest port city on Douluo Continent, its annual cargo throughput started at hundreds of thousands of tons, making it one of the most economically prosperous cities in the Heaven Dou Empire.
In the Body Sect's outpost, the Second Elder was holding a secret letter from Sect Master Chu Shanhe, his expression constantly changing as he murmured, "The Sect Master suddenly summons us back to the sect. Could it be that something major has happened in the sect?"
Setting down the letter, the Second Elder called out, "Go notify Hong Yue, Chen Zhen, and Zhang Tao to come here; this old man has important matters to discuss."
"Yes."
...
At this moment, the Grand Elder was seated high in the main seat, his fingers lightly tapping the table beside him, looking extremely relaxed and at ease.
But the kneeling members of the Rich Family below were trembling with each tap.
Heavens have mercy!
The Rich Family's internal ball was in full swing, with clansmen and relatives chatting and laughing merrily, a scene of harmony. Suddenly, an old man plummeted from the sky, his gaze sweeping over, sending the family's enshrined Soul Sage guest flying. The next moment, the terrifying pressure of a Titled Douluo enveloped the entire hall like a mountain pressing down, instantly choking everyone's breath, making it impossible to even straighten their waists.
"Hasn't it arrived yet?" The Grand Elder casually asked as he accepted a teacup from a servant girl.
"It's almost here, almost here. That Thunder Spirit is locked in another manor; it'll be here soon." The Rich Family patriarch hurriedly replied, then cautiously added, "However, Your Excellency, this Thunder Spirit might have some issues, so when the time comes..."
The Grand Elder waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry, this old man came here only for the Thunder Spirit. As long as it's alive, you don't need to worry about the rest."
The Rich Family patriarch was overjoyed. "Thank you, Your Excellency! Thank you!"
Soon, the Soul Emperor who had gone to fetch the Thunder Spirit returned, handing the tightly gripped soul tool to the Rich Family patriarch. The patriarch immediately passed it to the Grand Elder.
The Grand Elder scanned it with his mental power, a flash of sharpness in his eyes, then slowly narrowed them with a cold laugh:
"Heh, you lot have quite the nerve to do something like this."