Ultimate Attribute

Having decided how to handle the Soul Bone, Dugu Bo chose to wait until Dugu Chen had finished absorbing the Immortal Herbs and helped them hunt their second Soul Ring before going to trade with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Dugu Chen had wanted him to go at once, but Dugu Bo said there was no rush for these two days, so Dugu Chen could only let him have his way.

Looking over the Immortal Herbs, Dugu Chen pondered for a moment before picking the Crested Phoenix Sunflower and the Earth Dragon Golden Gourd.

The Crested Phoenix Sunflower consisted of red blades of grass, their very tips shaped like a rooster's comb. A closer look revealed what made it extraordinary: its leaf veins were actually crimson gold, capable of purifying flames.

Earth Dragon Golden Gourd: An earth-element Immortal Herb, possessing the power to turn the earth like a dragon rolling over and the ability to control the land.

Dugu Chen had chosen these two Immortal Herbs only after careful consideration. His Kirin Martial Soul already possessed fire and earth attributes. Taking just one of them might disrupt the balance of attributes in his body. Besides, one was named after a dragon and the other after a phoenix—he wanted to see whether there might be some additional benefit.

Giving Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan, who were watching nearby, a reassuring look, he swallowed the Immortal Herbs and sat cross-legged to refine them.

The instant the Immortal Herbs entered his stomach, the power throughout his body seemed to ignite without warning and became wildly active. Vast medicinal energy spread from his throat, chest, and lower abdomen. The moment it touched the flesh around it, it spread like fire, igniting, scorching, refining, and merging into it.

He felt as though he had been split in two. One half was engulfed in intense burning pain, while the other felt faintly swollen and aching. The two forces clashed within his body.

Normally, an Immortal Herb's power would lie dormant in the body and be absorbed gradually. But he had taken two at once, and unlike the mutually reinforcing yet opposing Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot, these two herbs had erupted with all their power, seemingly treating his body as a battlefield to determine a victor.

Sensing the situation inside himself, Dugu Chen's heart sank. If this continued, he would either be burned alive or burst to death from the enormous energy. It seemed his decision had indeed been rash. Ever since awakening his Martial Soul, everything had gone too smoothly. He had become somewhat arrogant!

His most urgent task was to resolve the problem inside his body. Otherwise, if all that immense energy—enough to cultivate someone to Soul Saint—erupted completely, a little Soul Master like him would be finished.

"Roar!!!"

Just as Dugu Chen fretted inwardly, his Martial Soul emerged on its own and let out an angry roar, temporarily suppressing the energy within him.

Dugu Chen looked at his Martial Soul and suddenly noticed subtle changes from before. Its eyes had turned golden, and its body gave off a faint golden glow. The moment it appeared, it released a powerful suction force that drew the energy within Dugu Chen toward it.

Seeing this, Dugu Chen had no time to consider why his Martial Soul had changed this way. He immediately guided part of the medicinal power toward the meridians in his body that had yet to be opened. Although he could see the meridians within himself, he unfortunately did not recognize them, so he could only choose the thickest few to open first.

Opening his meridians, strengthening his body, improving his physical aptitude, and reinforcing his foundation were the highest priorities. The earlier they were opened, the greater the benefits for future cultivation.

Increasing Soul Power was secondary. As long as his body could keep up and his foundation was solid, his cultivation speed would not be slow. Moreover, absorbing Soul Rings beyond his level would grant even more Soul Power.

Outside, when Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan saw Dugu Chen's swelling body return to normal after his Martial Soul appeared, they both breathed a sigh of relief. Dugu Bo laughed and scolded him.

"This brat always keeps people on edge."

As waves of warmth swept through his entire body, Dugu Chen sensed carefully and found that part of the medicinal power had already flowed into the countless fine meridians throughout his body.

When the energy he was guiding within himself began to run short, he knew the medicinal power had almost been fully refined.

Before long, a series of crackling, grinding sounds came from Dugu Chen's body, while the muscles and skin on his limbs visibly swelled.

Time passed bit by bit. Three hours quickly went by.

Dugu Chen opened his eyes. They had completely changed, one red and one yellow. Looking closely, one could see flashes of gold and purple at the depths of his pupils.

He got to his feet and sensed himself for a while. His Soul Power had already reached level twenty. Though most of the medicinal power had been absorbed by his Martial Soul or used to open his meridians, the remaining power had still raised him four levels in a row. Immortal Herbs truly lived up to their name!

After his own experience, Dugu Chen roughly understood how Immortal Herbs worked. Using them to improve one's aptitude also depended on compatibility.

In the original story, among Shrek's Seven Monsters, Zhu Zhuqing's Soul Power had increased the most after taking an Immortal Herb because the Hell Spirit Cat and the Narcissus Jade Bone were incompatible. The Narcissus Jade Bone had originally been prepared by Tang San for Xiao Wu, but because Xiao Wu already had the Lovesick Heartbreak Red, it was given to Zhu Zhuqing instead.

After absorbing it, her Martial Soul had not evolved much, and her foundation was not as deep as the others'. Since she already had the poorest aptitude, it became even worse, and she received one fewer trial than the others in the Sea God Island assessment.

"Brat, hurry up and put on some clothes! Who are you showing off to?"

Dugu Bo's furious roar sounded beside his ear, followed by a piece of clothing flying over.

Dugu Chen caught the clothes and looked down at his own outfit, which had been burned down to nothing but strips of cloth. He gave an embarrassed smile and hurriedly changed.

He had no habit of exposing himself in front of men. If it were only him and his senior sister, that would be another matter entirely. Yes, Dugu Yan, I mean you—couldn't you spread your fingers any wider?

After changing, Dugu Chen walked over to Dugu Bo and scratched his head.

"I made Teacher and Senior Sister worry."

"Can't you be a little more prudent next time and save this old man some worry?"

"Hehe."

Hearing Dugu Bo's words of reproach that were really concern, Dugu Chen could only give a foolish laugh and muddle through.

Still, he really had been rash this time. Even now, lingering fear remained in his heart!

Seeing his disciple act like a rascal, Dugu Bo was helpless as well.

"Fine, I won't hold it against you this time. So, you gained quite a bit, didn't you?"

Dugu Chen nodded and released his Martial Soul. The Kirin Martial Soul appeared once more.

As Dugu Chen released his Martial Soul, Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan felt the temperature around them steadily rise. At the same time, a heavy pressure filled the area, slowing even the circulation of their Soul Power. Dugu Bo felt the suppression.

"What is going on? Why does it feel like my Soul Power isn't circulating smoothly?"

Dugu Bo asked in surprise. Dugu Yan nodded her little head in agreement beside him, clearly feeling the suppression as well.

Dugu Chen looked at his Martial Soul. This time, its eyes were no longer golden, having returned to one red and one yellow. If he had not seen it so clearly just now, he would have thought it an illusion. It seemed his Martial Soul was not so simple after all!

After carefully sensing the changes in his Martial Soul, he said to Dugu Bo, "It should be Attribute Suppression."

"Attribute Suppression?"

Dugu Bo was deeply puzzled. He knew about Martial Soul suppression, but he had never heard of Attribute Suppression. Good grief—ever since taking in this disciple, he kept feeling as though he had lived more than seventy years for nothing. All sorts of things he had never known kept appearing.

"Mm. When a Martial Soul possesses an Ultimate Attribute, it causes Attribute Suppression against Martial Souls without Ultimate Attributes. My Martial Soul should have evolved this time, gaining the attributes of Ultimate Fire and Ultimate Earth."

Dugu Bo's eye twitched when he heard this. His disciple already had a domain that could suppress opponents, and now there was Attribute Suppression too. He might as well just say he was practically invincible.

After learning that his Martial Soul had evolved into an Ultimate Attribute, Dugu Chen immediately released his Innate Domain.

An earth-yellow domain spread out, enveloping a fifty-meter radius. He could feel that it enhanced him by nearly twenty percent—more precisely, it should have been fifteen percent. In that case, it could likewise suppress an opponent by fifteen percent. That added up to a thirty-percent difference, though the actual gap would be even greater. Soul Masters of the same rank without a domain were nothing but easy prey before him.

Within his domain, his recovery speed was faster, and he could also mobilize the surrounding fire and Earth Elements as methods of attack.

He had taken another step toward becoming a humanoid artillery platform. Dugu Chen felt that his domain had not been developed nearly enough, and he had yet to comprehend any Domain Skills. It seemed he would need to study it properly in the future.

Looking at his disciple's domain, Dugu Bo was so envious that tears nearly streamed from the corners of his mouth. He said irritably, "Brat, stop showing off your domain. Get a good rest tonight. Tomorrow, your teacher will take you and Yanyan to obtain your second Soul Rings."

"Teacher, let Senior Sister and me handle obtaining the Soul Rings ourselves this time! It'll also help us get familiar with our new abilities."

Dugu Chen did not further provoke his teacher, whose defenses had already been thoroughly shattered today. He retracted his Martial Soul and made the suggestion.

Dugu Yan also looked expectant upon hearing this and turned to her grandfather. Clearly, she was very interested in hunting a Soul Ring herself, and her confidence was overflowing.

"No. You can familiarize yourselves with your abilities anytime. This time, both you and Yanyan need Thousand-Year Soul Rings. Although your Martial Souls are powerful and your foundations are deep, you each only have one Soul Ring, and both are enhancement skills. You have no powerful offensive methods, so it's far too dangerous."

Dugu Bo shook his head and rejected the proposal. Hundred-Year Soul Rings would have been one thing, but he was not at ease with Thousand-Year ones. Dugu Chen and Dugu Yan simply had too few offensive methods.

Hearing this, Dugu Chen had no choice but to give up. Seeing that Dugu Chen had also failed to convince her grandfather to let them do it themselves, Dugu Yan could only drop the matter as well.

After being remade by the Immortal Herb and strengthened by Whale Rubber, Dugu Chen estimated that he could attach any Soul Ring below four thousand years without issue this time. Dugu Yan's physical condition should already be comparable to that of a Power Attack System battle Soul Elder, so adding a two-thousand-year Soul Ring should not be a problem either.

Still, it would depend on the specific circumstances. If they encountered a suitable one, there was no need to pursue the Soul Ring limit too rigidly.

It was already evening, so obtaining Soul Rings had to wait until tomorrow. Dugu Bo immediately took out a large tent from his Soul Tool and set it up.

After eating dry rations, Dugu Chen and Dugu Yan went into the tent to rest, while Dugu Bo kept watch outside.

Inside the tent, Dugu Chen and Dugu Yan lay in their sleeping bags, staring wide-eyed at each other.

Seeing that the atmosphere was a little strange, Dugu Chen was the first to break the silence.

"Senior Sister, what kind of Soul Ring do you want?"

Dugu Yan did not answer him. Instead, she reached out, wrapped her arms around one of his, and said softly, "Junior Brother, we'll always be together, right?"

"Of course. I'll always be with Senior Sister and Teacher."

Dugu Chen answered without hesitation. Dugu Yan and Dugu Bo were the most important people in his heart now.

"Junior Brother is so outstanding. There'll definitely be lots of girls who like you in the future. By then, Junior Brother will probably forget all about Senior Sister."

As though she had not heard his answer, Dugu Yan continued.

The past few months had left a deeper impression on her than any part of her previous life. Although her grandfather had always been with her before, she had never had friends her own age. With Dugu Chen by her side during this time, she had been very happy. Now, seeing him become more and more outstanding, she could not help but feel insecure.

Dugu Chen heard the uncertainty in Dugu Yan's voice. He raised a hand to stroke her head and whispered into her ear, "Of course I won't forget Senior Sister. After all, Senior Sister is my one and only Senior Sister!"

Hearing Dugu Chen's soft whisper by her ear, ripples spread through Dugu Yan's heart. She quietly fell asleep, and seeing this, Dugu Chen closed his eyes to rest as well.

At the tent entrance, how could the sounds inside possibly escape the ears of a Titled Douluo? Veins throbbed on Dugu Bo's forehead in fury.

Dugu Yan might not know what Dugu Chen's words had meant, but how could an old hand like him not understand? Had this old man become too weak to wield a blade, or had this brat simply grown too bold?!

He silently added another mark against Dugu Chen in his heart.