I, Dugu Bo, Am Willing to Brave Fire and Water for His Holiness the Pope!
Clad in jade-scaled armor, his head full of black hair, Dugu Bo stood atop the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor's head with his hands behind his back, looking every bit the imposing figure.
"Zhao Wuji, you're a figure of some standing in the Soul Master World.
So why couldn't you think straight and had to covet the Soul Bone our Spirit Hall had its eye on?
If you'd had the money to buy the Soul Bone instead of killing someone to steal it after the auction, I wouldn't have come to hunt you down today!"
Dugu Bo looked down at the battered Zhao Wuji and spoke cheerfully.
"Hmph!
Poison Douluo, you're a respected senior in the Soul Master World, yet you insist on working for Spirit Hall and serving as a tiger's accomplice. Aren't you afraid people will despise you for it?"
Zhao Wuji clutched the wound on his arm and glared resentfully at Dugu Bo, whose face wore a mocking expression.
"Hmph!
What do you know?"
Dugu Bo immediately grew angry when he heard that.
"If His Holiness the Pope hadn't done everything he could and given everything he had all those years ago, how could I, Dugu Bo, be where I am today?
"Back then, my Soul Power had hit a bottleneck. I was stuck at the peak of level 89 and couldn't break through to level 90.
To make matters worse, the jade-scaled serpent venom in my body was on the verge of erupting. If His Holiness the Pope hadn't found me like a god descending from heaven, helped me eliminate the risk of the venom erupting, and helped me break through to level 90,
how could I, Dugu Bo, have become who I am today?
And then there's my son, my daughter-in-law, and my granddaughter.
If His Holiness the Pope hadn't eliminated the possibility of the jade-scaled serpent venom erupting, my son, daughter-in-law, and even my granddaughter might all have fallen victim to it by now."
At that, Dugu Bo let out a long breath, then looked back at Zhao Wuji with a mocking expression.
"Of course, how could a solitary soul like you understand my pain?
You only need to understand that everything I have was given to me by His Holiness the Pope. I'm willing to brave fire and water for him, and I'll be loyal to him alone.
A stray dog like you dared to offend our Spirit Hall, so be a good boy and get yourself off to Slaughter City!"
In this life,
Qian Xunji had reached the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well before Dugu Bo.
At the time, Dugu Bo had yet to discover the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Only a few Soul Beasts roamed its outskirts, so it was effectively unclaimed land.
Qian Xunji had used the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to forge his Ice and Fire Golden Body, then greatly increased his spiritual power with the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew.
That was also the key to how Qian Xunji had consistently absorbed Soul Rings above his rank.
As for distributing the Immortal Herbs, that had been even simpler.
He had used the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum and a top-grade medicinal herb to win over Yue Guan and Gui Mei.
As a result, Yue Guan was moved to tears with gratitude toward Qian Xunji, and his loyalty was maxed out.
Yue Guan now had level 97 Soul Power, while Gui Mei had level 96.
Their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Two Extremes Stillness Domain, could restrain even Tang Chen and Bo Saixi for a time!
On a real battlefield, that was enough to decide victory or defeat!
He had given the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower to Ling Yuan, his childhood friend and devoted little fangirl, helping her complete her Martial Soul Evolution.
The Lovesick Heartbreak Red, the "king of Immortal Herbs," had gone to Bibi Dong, who was devoted to him and had room in her heart for Qian Xunji alone.
It had greatly increased Bibi Dong's Soul Power Level and aptitude.
In the original story, Bibi Dong had only been a Soul Douluo at this point in the timeline.
But in this alternate spacetime, Bibi Dong's Soul Power had now broken through to level 95.
She had been second only to Qian Xunji in how young she was when she broke through to Titled Douluo!
Because her twin Martial Souls were both Spider Emperors, Bibi Dong had chosen "Spider Emperor" as her title.
Of course, Qian Xunji's intervention had brought disadvantages as well as benefits.
For instance, the Rakshasa God had not sought Bibi Dong out and bestowed a God's Trial upon her.
Qian Xunji wasn't worried about that in the slightest.
With Bibi Dong's aptitude, plenty of gods would take a liking to her and bestow a God's Trial upon her.
As for the rest, such as the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid, Narcissus Jade Muscle Bone, Aromatic Silk Beauty, and Aromatic Silk Beauty,
he had given the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid to his daughter, little Qian Renxue.
The other Immortal Herbs were still in Qian Xunji's hands for the time being.
Of those Immortal Herbs, the most crucial was perhaps the Aromatic Silk Beauty.
The Aromatic Silk Beauty could help the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul break through its limitations and evolve into the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.
Although the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda performed poorly in many fanfics, it was unquestionably the number one support-type Martial Soul.
If Spirit Hall had Soul Masters with the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul, its foundation could reach an even higher level.
Qian Xunji had set his sights on precisely that.
He had not considered using the Aromatic Silk Beauty Martial Soul to exchange for resources with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Instead, he had sent spies to select suitable targets among the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's Soul Masters.
He intended to use the Aromatic Silk Beauty Immortal Herb to win over some of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's direct-line Soul Masters and bring them into Spirit Hall.
As for Dugu Bo, Qian Xunji had helped him in passing.
Dugu Bo had been in a truly miserable state at the time.
Qian Xunji had first helped Dugu Bo, his son, and his daughter-in-law eliminate the risk of the jade-scaled serpent venom erupting.
Then, after Dugu Bo joined Spirit Hall and broke through to Titled Douluo, Qian Xunji passed the Soul Core method on to him, finally curing the jade-scaled serpent venom at its root.
Now, Dugu Bo's son, Dugu Xin, had also cultivated to the rank of a high-level Soul Saint.
His daughter, Dugu Yan, had grown up in Spirit City and enrolled in Spirit Hall Academy.
After hearing Dugu Bo out, Zhao Wuji didn't know what to say.
After all, the whole affair really had been his fault from beginning to end.
Now that he had fallen into Dugu Bo's hands, there was nothing he could do.
"Heh, the victor becomes king, the loser a bandit. I have nothing to say!
But don't think you can make me submit with your pressure alone!"
A fierce look appeared on Zhao Wuji's face as he spoke, but just as he was about to act, his vision blurred.
When he looked down, he found a little snake already biting into his thigh.
"This snake... when did it..."
Before Zhao Wuji could finish, he toppled straight to the ground.
"My darling Nine-Section Jade's venom—is that something a mere Soul Emperor like you can resist?"
The corners of Dugu Bo's mouth rose slightly. He caught the venomous Nine-Section Jade as it sprang back into his right hand and chuckled cheerfully.
"Men, take this man to Slaughter City.
Our Spirit Hall upholds order across the entire continent. We can't let a menace like this continue roaming the Soul Master World!"
Dugu Bo raised his right index finger slightly and pointed at the unconscious Zhao Wuji.
"Yes, Elder!"
A bishop released his Martial Soul, a long whip, and bound Zhao Wuji from head to toe.
Dugu Bo beckoned with his right hand. A strand of Soul Power reached Zhao Wuji's right hand and drew out his Storage Soul Tool.
Watching from a distance, Qian Renxue fell completely silent!
What was all this?!
Why had Poison Douluo Dugu Bo, Tang San's older friend who by rights should have been an independent cultivator at this point in the timeline, joined Spirit Hall and become a Titled Elder?
His Soul Power Level had also broken through to level 93.
And he was even this loyal to her father?
Was that right?
This Douluo Continent was way too messed up!