However, Lin Rong chose to pretend he didn't notice and didn't speak up.
After some pleasantries, the three factions entered the Tang Sect together.
Not long after they entered, another carriage arrived at the scene.
The carriage stopped, and a tall, thin elder stepped out.
The elder had long, dark green hair and emerald green eyes. His stiff face exuded an air of "stay away from me."
Then, a young woman stepped out of the carriage.
She appeared to be about fifteen or sixteen years old, with striking emerald green eyes similar to the elder's. However, her hair was not the same dark green as his, but instead a deep purple.
Her appearance was not particularly stunning, but with her short, deep purple hair and sharp features, she looked quite bold. Yet, her emerald green eyes gave her an air of eeriness.
After getting out of the carriage, the girl fiddled with her emerald-green dyed nails and lazily spoke:
"Grandpa, why did you drag me here to this brat's birthday party?"
"I was supposed to go shopping with Tianheng, and now you've made me break my promise."
"Yan Yan," the tall elder said gently, as he stroked the girl's hair. "The Tang Sect's hidden weapons are quite remarkable. The famous Zhuge Crossbow is said to only be of medium quality within the Tang Sect."
"I thought I'd get you a set of hidden weapons for self-defense."
"However, the Tang Sect only sells low-quality ones, and things like the Zhuge Crossbow rarely show up except in auctions."
"Besides, the Sect Leader of the Tang Sect is rumored to be the nephew of the Moon King. He might even be the Moon King's son, so I can't just force him."
"But, since I can't make a direct request, you, Yan Yan, are different."
"That Tang San is only a nine-year-old child, and in those matters, he is still quite inexperienced. Our Yan Yan is so charming, capturing him should be a piece of cake."
"Once you've got him, Yan Yan, all you need to do is say the word, and you can get any weapon you want, how many you want."
"Grandpa!" The girl blushed furiously, embarrassed. "I already have a boyfriend! And I'm not interested in some kid who hasn't even grown up yet!"
"Hey~" The elder shook his head. "You know what they say, 'A girl three years older can marry a man many times wealthier.'"
"Besides, I don't think Tianheng is that amazing. If that's the case, what's wrong with having a backup?"
After hearing this, the girl's face, which had been resting on her chest, turned bright red, almost like a ripe apple. Unwillingly, she retorted:
"Grandpa, I am very dedicated when it comes to relationships. If you keep saying things like that, I won't talk to you anymore!"
...
At the Tang Sect's banquet hall.
Lin Rong, accompanied by the old steward, found a quiet corner in the VIP section to sit down, waiting for the banquet to begin.
Just after they sat down, they saw Dugu Bo and his granddaughter, Dugu Yan, entering.
Once inside, Dugu Bo quickly spotted Prince Xuexing in the crowd and walked straight over, taking a seat with his granddaughter next to him.
Meanwhile, in another area.
A burly middle-aged man knelt on the floor before six people and reported:
"Patriarch, elders, there is a guest without an invitation who brought a young woman with him. The man's strength is extremely high, and his aura alone was enough to make the guarding disciples unable to even think of resisting."
"My incompetence, I ask for your judgment."
"Who is this person?" Tang Yuehua, who was attending to Tang San, paused momentarily as she spoke, her usually calm voice now betraying a hint of unease.
"We don't know, but the intruder is an elder with green hair and green eyes."
"Green hair and green eyes?" Tang Yuehua breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. She had briefly feared that someone from the Spirit Hall had come to stir trouble, but it seemed her worry was unfounded.
But soon, Tang Yuehua's expression shifted slightly, and she frowned.
"That's the Poison Douluo, Dugu Bo. Why does he not have an invitation? How did you all manage to overlook a Title Douluo?"
"Tang Sect invited all the important forces from Heaven Dou City, but we didn't send him an invitation. Dugu Bo, feeling slighted, must have taken this personally. It's in line with his usual conduct," an elder explained.
"But you don't need to worry. With Dugu Bo's status, it's easy to guess his relationship with Little San. He won't cause too much trouble at the celebration."
The middle-aged man on his knees could say nothing. He wasn't the one who sent the invitations, so how could he have known about this incident?
Had the Tang Sect disciples who delivered the invitations gone to Dugu Bo's residence, they would have found it empty, as Dugu Bo rarely stayed there. His granddaughter, Dugu Yan, spent most of her time at the Royal Soul Master Academy in Heaven Dou.
Thus, the Tang Sect disciples never had the chance to deliver the invitation directly, and so they overlooked Dugu Bo.
Tang Yuehua's words made sense, but only Niu Gao, one of the elders, felt uneasy after hearing them. He grumbled inwardly:
"How unlucky. Tang Sect is an independent sect, but it still relies on the reputation of the Haotian Sect."
The four great elders of the Tang Sect were all tied to their reasons for loyalty: Titan was loyal to Tang Hao, Lou Gao obsessed over hidden weapons, and Bai He had a deep bloodline connection to Tang San.
Only Niu Gao, who had no direct ties to Tang San, still resented the Haotian Sect.
Now, with Tang Yuehua here, Niu Gao already felt a boiling frustration. Unable to hold it in any longer, he used the excuse of needing to go outside to handle matters and left the room.
Titan, who had been friends with Niu Gao for years, could tell exactly what was on his mind. Watching Niu Gao leave, Titan opened his mouth to speak, but ultimately said nothing.
"Aunt," at this moment, Tang San, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke.
"You just mentioned that person was Poison Douluo. Does that mean he is highly skilled in poison?"
"Exactly," Tang Yuehua replied as she combed Tang San's hair. "He's known as the Poison Tyrant of the world. His poison skills are second to none."
"Little San, I know you have profound knowledge of poisons, but you must understand that poison is ultimately something that cannot be publicly acknowledged."
"Against weak opponents, poison is very effective, but against true powerhouses, poison is just a trivial trick."
"Even though Dugu Bo's poison techniques are unparalleled, he is still at the bottom among the Title Douluo."
"Little San, you should avoid focusing too much on poison."
Tang San, however, wasn't swayed by these words.
As a disciple of the Tang Sect, he knew well that poison wasn't something that could stand in the open.
That's why, in the Tang Sect, only outer disciples used poisoned mechanisms, while inner disciples focused on hand-to-hand weaponry.
However, Tang San didn't see things the same way. He believed that the world's understanding of poison was still too shallow.
In all the recorded poison tomes, there was no mention of "mixed poisons."
Of course, this conclusion came after Tang San had encountered the "Breakthrough One" family.
With the Buddhist Rage Lotus as a reference, Tang San had a clear understanding of the power levels of various hidden weapons in this world.
The most potent poisoned hidden weapon was ranked third in the hand-to-hand weapon category: the "Soul-Snatching King's Curse."
Tang San was confident that even a Title Douluo, if struck by the deadly poison of the Soul-Snatching King's Curse, would only have one end: death.
"Unfortunately, the world knows too little about poison, and finding rare poisonous herbs is extremely difficult."
"If this world had the three legendary treasure troves mentioned in the Xuan Tian Bao Lu, I would not doubt that with the herbs from any of them, I could craft the Soul-Snatching King's Curse."
Tang Yuehua noticed Tang San's indifference and sighed. She couldn't help but admire how much he resembled his father in terms of stubbornness—once he had made up his mind about something, he was unshakable.