Chapter 84: I Am Thinking of You

Facing Dugu Bo's belittlement, the three family heads gave a bitter smile, their gazes simultaneously turning toward Wu Qi.

"Three family heads, this young one will now make a fool of himself."

Wu Qi spoke calmly: "If your three families band together and integrate into a single major force, with three Spirit Douluo powerhouses holding the fort, ordinary people wouldn't dare to stir up trouble on your turf."

Although the three families were closely linked, it was limited to mere contact; when it came to their respective practical interests, they each harbored their own agendas.

This was also normal; even biological brothers settle accounts clearly.

Feng Zhanglin shook his head, "It's useless. Our three families have jointly resisted the Elephant Armored Sect before, but Huyan Zhen is a Peak Spirit Douluo; we are no match for him."

Wu Qi added: "I haven't finished yet."

"Your three families integrating into one force is only a prerequisite. Most importantly, you have no backing."

Wu Qi did not understand how the three families had developed over the last hundred years, but from what he learned from Xue Qinghe, they seemed to be very unfavored by the Heaven Dou Imperial Family.

A noble's backing is the imperial family, and since they were loathed by the imperial family, it was equivalent to having no backing, despite holding noble titles.

If you don't pull in a powerful backer at a time like this, wouldn't you just become fish on a chopping block?

Element City is one-tenth the size of Tiandou City; with such a large piece of land, it's no wonder the Elephant Armored Sect would covet it.

The outside world might not know, but Wu Qi was very clear that with Bibi Dong as their backer, the Elephant Armored Sect naturally acted without any scruples.

It could not even be ruled out that it was Bibi Dong who had taken a fancy to this piece of land.

Speaking of a backer undoubtedly awakened the three family heads.

Their gazes could not help but turn toward Dugu Bo.

If Dugu Bo could stand up for their three families, petty characters would certainly not dare to show their faces.

Moreover, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family also had intentions to win over Dugu Bo; with him holding the fort, the former would not harbor any crooked thoughts.

Wu Qi's earnest heart was truly thinking for them.

Whether Dugu Bo could shield them was something only Wu Qi could decide at this moment.

Thinking of this, Huo Lie said with a smile: "Young Friend Wu, what do you think?"

Wu Qi did not reveal his true purpose.

At this moment, the three family heads were lost in the situation; if he were to take advantage of the momentum to propose absorbing them, once they reacted later, they would inevitably harbor resentment.

The best method was to let them take the initiative to ask to join his ranks.

Today, Wu Qi's goal was to win over Feng Xiaotian and the others, and since that goal had been achieved, there was no need to be rash.

After all, if you take too big a step, you're liable to pull a muscle.

Besides, Xue Qinghe was on the same front as him and would not come to poach the Wind, Water, and Fire families.

"Three family heads, this young one has said what he needed to say, so I won't stay any longer. Farewell."

Huo Lie wanted to speak to stop him, but seeing Dugu Bo's unpleasant expression, he had to shut his mouth in frustration.

After the two left, the three family heads could not calm down for a long time.

Shui Ningbing sighed: "Young Friend Wu is right. In times of chaos, one must choose a side; continuing to remain neutral will inevitably make us a thorn in the side of both parties."

After careful consideration, Feng Zhanglin warned: "I have a premonition that the Elephant Armored Sect's move is not accidental; we have already been targeted. Furthermore, there will surely be a bloodbath on the continent in the future."

But then again, who should they look for as a backer?

The Spirit Hall is definitely out; they are already loathed by the imperial family, and if they joined the Spirit Hall, their ancestral fiefs would likely be reclaimed by the empire.

The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family is already failing to bridge the gap between generations; their performance when handling the rumors earlier was enough to see a glimpse of it.

As for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect...

A Support System sect itself lacks the protection of battle-type Spirit Masters, so how could they have the energy to protect them?

Unless they were willing to completely abandon their family fiefs and merge entirely into the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

After thinking it over, they seemed to only be able to consider Dugu Bo.

Everyone is a free Spirit Master; forming a sect together is not impossible.

But the performance just now made it clear that Dugu Bo held his attitude toward Wu Qi in high regard; they could only look for a breakthrough through Wu Qi.

Huo Wushuang and the others still had to pack their luggage, so Wu Qi did not stay long and returned to the academy first.

On the way, Dugu Bo expressed his appreciation for his behavior: "Little guy, you did very well."

"Just now, you could have indeed taken them in one go. But the consequence would be that they would only treat you as a sucker, and in the future, they would inevitably follow your orders in public but defy them in private."

He knew that Wu Qi had listened to his advice.

Building one's own force does not conflict with one's own identity.

Just like the Crown Prince of the empire; if he doesn't cultivate his own team, when he ascends to the throne in the future, with a hall full of ministers, who is treacherous and who is loyal—without trusted people to help, who could distinguish them?

In the future, if Wu Qi were to lose in the power struggle within the Spirit Hall, he could still be the master of a sect.

Holding a force in one's hands at least allows for self-preservation; otherwise, like the Sword and Bone Douluo, one can only obey the orders of those in power.

Ning Fengzhi treats the two Title Douluo with the courtesy of an uncle and nephew, but in the Spirit Hall where powerhouses are everywhere, wanting to be valued after losing power is a luxury.

"Old man, you alone can't suppress them. Are you really willing to form a sect with me?"

Dugu Bo said half-jokingly: "Seventy-eight is just the age for adventuring. I'll work hard with you for a few years, and in the future, Yan Yan and even the younger generation of the Dugu Family—I'll leave them all to you to look after."

Wu Qi smiled: "Old man, work hard, I'll provide for your retirement."

Dugu Bo said huffily: "Get lost, I'm not old enough to have my teeth fall out yet."

A private room in the Silves Great Spirit Arena.

Yu Tianheng had his legs propped up on the tea table, his arrogance undisguised: "Why is it that the further we get from Tiandou City, the weaker the opponents' strength becomes? Fighting these trash teams is simply a waste of time. I don't know what Teacher Qin is thinking."

Qin Ming's original plan was to let them train in Tiandou City for one or two months to grind down their sharp edges before going out for Spirit Fighting.

But things went against his wishes; although the rumors in Tiandou City had dissipated, the Imperial Fighting Team appearing so openly would inevitably lead to gossip.

To "avoid trouble," he had no choice but to bring the team out early.

Yet the result was that the arrogance of Yu Tianheng and the others grew even worse, reaching the point of being insufferable.

Outside the lounge, Qin Ming watched their performance with his own eyes.

Their arrogance was too great; he even wanted to take the team to Wuhun Cheng to properly dampen the spirit of Yu Tianheng and the others.

However, his top priority was still to gather information on Shrek Academy.

He set the destination of this trip to Suotuo City, the city where Shrek Academy was located.

Having graduated over a dozen years ago, he had long wanted to return to his alma mater to take a look, and bringing the team for Spirit Fighting was just something he did while he was at it.

As he gained a deeper understanding of the empire's education system, he was very clear that, given Shrek Academy's conditions, it did not possess the qualifications to participate in the Spirit Master Tournament at all, and it was even impossible for it to pass the Ministry of Education's audit.

He did not want the regrets he had left behind back then to be repeated by his juniors.

If Shrek Academy had recruited enough students to form a team, he would help them no matter what.

Tiandou Huangjia Xueyuan possessed two team slots, and gradually, he set his sights on Imperial Fighting Team Two.

As for Wu Qi, in his eyes, it was nothing more than a child playing house; he would never amount to anything!

(End of this chapter)