"About a year ago, the leader of the White Crane Clan was so poor that he had to use tree leaves as tea to entertain guests. But today, not only is he dressed in fine clothes, but even the banquet setup is using the finest Maojian tea to entertain guests."
As Lin Rong spoke, a teacup on the table floated into the air, and the blue-colored soul power emerged, heating the tea inside.
"My Duke, I'm sure you enjoyed spending the one million gold soul coins!"
"And do you know, once the deal is done, it's like spilled water, it can never be taken back."
"You don't understand that spilled water can't be reclaimed? Truly a waste of all these years!"
Ding~
The teacup floating in the air shattered with a loud sound. The tea inside the cup splashed everywhere, falling toward the ground.
Everyone else from the Tang Sect was shocked by Lin Rong's arrogant words, except for Tang San, who maintained his calm as a killer. At the moment the teacup shattered, Tang San reacted swiftly.
"Spilled water can't be reclaimed? Not necessarily!"
Tang San spoke in an extremely fast manner, and his Xuantian Kung Fu was activated to its limit.
Then, with a ghostly movement, multiple afterimages appeared as he moved forward.
Next, his soul power surged into his hands, and he grabbed the falling tea.
This was one of the Tang Sect's two great skills: Ghost Shadow Misty Steps and Controlling the Crane to Catch the Dragon.
As expected, the falling tea was affected by the Controlling the Crane to Catch the Dragon technique, changing its trajectory and flying toward his palm.
However, when the tea finally flew into his palm, Tang San's expression suddenly changed.
"Ah!"
The tea in his palm, wrapped in soul power, felt as heavy as a mountain.
This sudden weight caused Tang San, who wasn't prepared, to kneel on one knee on the ground.
"Despicable, you left a hidden hand in the tea!"
During this time, Tang San instinctively released his Blue Silver Grass to help alleviate the pressure. Two yellow soul rings appeared under his feet, glowing.
"Master (Little San)!"
The four men and one woman, a total of five voices, shouted almost simultaneously.
As Tang Yuehua and the four Elders of the Tang Sect were about to move forward, a suffocating pressure locked onto them instantly.
At the same time, a cold voice echoed in their ears:
"Anyone who steps forward will die!"
Everyone in the room, except for Lin Rong and Tang San, turned their shocked (and fearful) eyes toward the old butler, Yu Yuan.
The usually gentle smile on Yu Yuan's face had disappeared, replaced by a cold, indifferent expression, and a murderous intent in his eyes.
The suffocating pressure, which even the Title Douluo-level soul masters like Titan, Niu Gao, and Bai He could feel, was emanating from Yu Yuan.
"No, this can't be! This is impossible for a Soul Douluo to release such pressure!"
Among the five, Bai He trembled all over, his face full of disbelief, and he spoke with a stutter:
"Unless... unless you are..."
"Title Douluo!" Beside him, Dugu Bo finished Bai He's sentence for him.
As he spoke, the indifferent look on Dugu Bo's face vanished, and his greenish pupils were filled with apprehension. Almost instinctively, he pulled his granddaughter, Dugu Yan, behind him.
However, among everyone present, the one most shocked was Tang Yuehua.
For so many years, she had navigated the top echelons of power in Heaven Dou City with exquisite tactics.
Regarding Lin Rong's old butler, she couldn't claim to know everything about him, but she had gathered considerable information through various means.
Because she understood him so well, Tang Yuehua was even more shocked by the turn of events.
Based on what she had learned, the old butler of the Lin Clan should have soul power around level 85, but how could he suddenly transform into a Title Douluo in less than a year?
Bai He's gaze shifted back and forth between Lin Rong and the old butler, and he suddenly realized, as though struck by a bolt of lightning, murmuring to himself:
"Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng! It must be the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng!"
Other than that, Bai He couldn't think of anything else that could allow Yu Yuan to break through to Title Douluo in less than a year.
Thinking he had figured it out, Bai He's heart was filled with regret.
If he had known earlier that the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng was a legendary and priceless treasure, no matter how many gold soul coins Lin Rong offered, Bai He would never have traded it away.
Among the five people present:
Tang Yuehua and Lou Gao, due to their weaker strength, couldn't move at all under the pressure from the old butler.
Bai He, although a Soul Douluo, was a pure agility-type soul master. He had lost the sharpness of a battle soul master long ago and wasn't willing to resist the pressure. In his heart, he preferred to remain on the sidelines.
Niu Gao, a battle soul master and a Soul Douluo, could break free from Yu Yuan's pressure. However, his loyalty to the Tang Sect was minimal. He was more concerned with his comfort, benefiting from being under the protection of a powerful figure.
He could not bring himself to risk his life for Tang San.
Moreover, loyal Niu Gao also pulled Titan back, preventing his stubborn old friend from risking his life.
Thus, Tang Yuehua and the four Elders of the Tang Sect all obediently stood in place, none of them taking a step forward.
The revelation that the old butler Yu Yuan was a Title Douluo broke Dugu Bo's original plan.
At first, Dugu Bo's only purpose was to have his granddaughter, Dugu Yan, use her charm to seduce Tang San, to "borrow" some powerful hidden weapons for her self-defense.
But now, from Dugu Bo's point of view, Tang San had offended Lin Rong by standing up for Bai He, effectively making an enemy of Lin Rong's old butler.
A mere hidden weapon wasn't worth Dugu Bo risking a confrontation with a Title Douluo.
Thus, Dugu Bo, without hesitation, pulled his granddaughter, Dugu Yan, and prepared to leave.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.
Just as Dugu Bo got up, a cold voice sounded in his ear:
"Mr. Dugu, did I say you could leave?"
Hearing these words, Dugu Bo spun around instantly, his eyes flashing with cold light.
However, when Dugu Bo turned to face Lin Rong, he also saw the old butler at Lin Rong's side. This made him suppress the anger in his voice, and with a dark expression, he said:
"You little brat, don't think that just because you have a Title Douluo under your command, you can tell me what to do!"
Sitting back in his chair, Lin Rong leisurely leaned against the backrest. While continuing to exert pressure on Tang San, he casually replied:
"I only addressed you as 'Mr.' out of respect for Title Douluos."
"A waste of a Title Douluo, stuck at level 91 for so many years, what right do you have to be disrespectful to this Duke?"
Hearing this, Dugu Bo froze for a moment.
The next second, a wave of uncontrollable fury surged in his chest, and he roared, "You little brat, you are going too far!"
Nine soul rings appeared beneath Dugu Bo's feet:
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black!
Then, a greenish toxic mist exploded from Dugu Bo's palm, rapidly spreading toward Lin Rong.
However, something strange happened: the old butler didn't intervene to block the toxic mist. Instead, he let it pass without action.
Before Dugu Bo could figure out why, something he couldn't believe happened:
The green toxic mist he released, as soon as it came within ten steps of Lin Rong, was instantly dissolved as though it were snow melting under the hot sun.
At that moment, the greenish Dragon Vine on Lin Rong's wrist, partially hidden under his sleeve, revealed one of the jade beads of the Dragon Vine, which emitted a faint pink glow.
This pink glow was the aura of a celestial-grade herb—Yuxiang Qiluo, which possessed a variety of unique effects, one of which was making its bearer immune to poisons within a ten-step radius.
The faint pink light was invisible to outsiders. Since Dugu Bo was unaware of the celestial herb's existence, he had no way of knowing.
Even as a Title Douluo, Dugu Bo's casual attack was effortlessly neutralized by something he couldn't comprehend. The shock to his heart was unimaginable.
As for why the old butler didn't make a move, it was partly because of the existence of the Yuxiang Qiluo, and mostly because Lin Rong had secretly instructed the butler not to act rashly.
"Mr. Dugu, just sit here and be a good observer. Otherwise... hmph!"
Before Lin Rong's cold snort had fully faded, the old butler already locked his pressure on both Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan.
"Mm~" Dugu Yan, a Soul Master at the Soul Sect level, couldn't withstand the pressure from the old butler. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
"Yan Yan!" Dugu Bo hastily released his soul power to protect his granddaughter, his gaze filled with malice as he stared at Lin Rong.
But before Dugu Bo could take any action, he immediately realized that if the situation escalated into a fight between two Title Douluos, he might be able to kill Lin Rong, but his granddaughter wouldn't survive.
Realizing this, Dugu Bo dared not risk his granddaughter's life. He obediently took her back to her seat and sat down, quietly waiting like a spectator.
Seeing this, Lin Rong's gaze returned to Tang San.
At this point, Tang San had already knelt on the ground, desperately holding up the tea in his palm with all his might.
"Good, such powerful spiritual strength!"
Tang San's mind was in turmoil. He never expected that someone of his age could possess spiritual power far superior to his own, which had been honed with the Purple Extreme Magic Eyes.
After this encounter, Tang San realized that the ability to manipulate objects remotely came from spiritual power. He instinctively tried to compete with Lin Rong's spiritual power.
In Tang San's plan, once he neutralized the spiritual force Lin Rong had placed on the tea, he could use Controlling the Crane to Catch the Dragon to turn the tables.
But the reality of the situation was devastating.
Even with all his strength using the Purple Extreme Magic Eyes, Tang San couldn't even touch the slightest bit of Lin Rong's spiritual power placed on the tea.
The overwhelming sensation from the spiritual realm made Tang San realize that the spiritual strength of the person before him was far beyond his own.