Jade Phosphorous Serpent

The stronger one became, the more one could feel the warmth of this world. Ye Wen now understood those words deeply. Although once he left Nuoding City, the strength of a Soul Ancestor was nothing remarkable, within this region, he was indeed someone who could throw his weight around.

By now, forces bearing the name Heavenly Path could truly be considered a dominant presence around Nuoding City.

Perhaps influenced by Ye Wen's breakthrough to Soul Emperor, Ah Yin had become increasingly diligent in her cultivation recently. She was only two levels away from breaking through to the mature stage at level sixty, after which she would no longer need to fear the scrutiny of Titled Douluo.

Having cast off his burdens, Ye Wen had finally begun to enjoy his life in the Douluo World.

Though this was a feudal era, as a member of the quasi-noble class, Ye Wen lived an exceptionally comfortable life.

Aside from researching Soul Tools and tinkering with little inventions, Ye Wen was beginning to show signs of simply giving up and taking it easy.

One day, just as Ye Wen was planning to visit a pleasure house to listen to music and indulge himself, he suddenly spotted an eleven- or twelve-year-old boy with light green hair lying on the ground, seemingly in great distress.

Ye Wen did not have any sort of doctor's occupational habit, but he could not bring himself to ignore a little boy who had collapsed like this.

"Little one, what's wrong?"

As he asked softly, Ye Wen straightened the boy's body.

Seeing the boy's complexion, Ye Wen's expression grew solemn. His face was pale, his features haggard, and he even had faint dark circles beneath his eyes. No matter how one looked at him, he seemed like someone suffering from kidney deficiency.

Ye Wen's sharp nose also caught a faint fishy odor coming from the boy. Such an odor often appeared on creatures like snakes and insects, and Ye Wen could not possibly mistake it.

Suddenly, a flash of insight struck Ye Wen's mind, as though he had remembered something.

At that moment, a tall shadow appeared behind Ye Wen.

"Could I trouble you to hand that child over to me? I'm his father."

Hearing the weathered tone of that voice, Ye Wen glanced behind him. A middle-aged man with green hair and green eyes stood there. His build was somewhat slender, giving him a slightly feminine air.

"Of course. Please take over."

The man silently took the boy from him and used Soul Power, seemingly helping the boy suppress something.

The boy's pain immediately lessened considerably. His expression calmed, and he slowly opened his eyes.

The boy and the man then thanked Ye Wen and prepared to leave. Watching their retreating backs, Ye Wen had a sudden idea.

"Mr. Dugu, if you wish to resolve the problems plaguing you and your son, come find me at Heavenly Path Academy."

The man froze mid-step and turned back in surprise, only to find that Ye Wen had already vanished.

He was Dugu Bo, the Poison Douluo who would later become famous throughout the continent as the city-slaughtering Titled Douluo.

The father and son had set out on a journey because Dugu Xin had graduated from a soul master Primary Academy. However, affected by the poison, he had been somewhat depressed, so Dugu Bo had decided to take him traveling, broadening his horizons while helping him relax.

"Heavenly Path Academy? They can solve the problem affecting my son and me? That youngster from before doesn't seem simple." Dugu Bo muttered to himself.

At that moment, Dugu Xin asked, "Father, should we go there?"

Dugu Bo pondered for a moment before nodding.

"Let's go take a look. Since he said he has a solution, he should not be so bored as to deceive us. Otherwise, I'll let him learn the price of deceiving my son and me."

As he spoke, a trace of killing intent flashed through Dugu Bo's narrow phoenix eyes.

After all, although he was only fifty years old, he was already a level-seventy-five Soul Saint. No one of the same rank dared provoke him, because once they were poisoned by the Dugu Family's secret Jade Scale Snake Venom, they would either die or be grievously wounded.

What was more, his martial soul had undergone an evolution when he broke through to Soul Saint. It had already become the superior species of the Jade Scale Snake, the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor.

Its toxicity was even greater, and that was why his hair and eyes had been dyed green.

(PS: This was calculated from the original novel and the comic side stories. It definitely wasn't made up out of thin air. In 2645, seventy-eight-year-old Dugu Bo met Tang San in the original novel. In 2630, he broke through to Titled Douluo at the age of sixty-three; in the side story, Dugu Xin died when his poison flared up, while Dugu Yan was around five or six years old. In 2605, he was thirty-seven and a level-sixty-five Soul Emperor. In 2618, he was fifty and level seventy-five, which is the current point in time. As for Dugu Bo's son, Dugu Xin did indeed exist, but his exact age was never stated, so I took the liberty of making him twelve or thirteen years old, freshly graduated.)

The name Heavenly Path was renowned throughout the Nuoding City region. After making a few inquiries, Dugu Bo and his son headed to Holy Soul Village.

Seeing the clean, orderly campus and the mist-shrouded mountain behind it that looked like a fairyland, Dugu Bo nodded approvingly. Although the Dugu Family was not particularly famous in the Heaven Dou Empire these days, their ancestors had once made something of themselves.

"Not bad. Fine scenery. That place also appears to be a Mimic Cultivation Environment. I never expected such a backwater to hide a place like this."

At that moment, Ye Wen also came over and invited the father and son into the academy. In this place where Blue Silver Grass grew everywhere, no movement could escape Ah Yin's surveillance.

In the headmaster's office, he poured them each a cup of fragrant tea.

"It seems Mr. Dugu has some faith in me," Ye Wen said with a smile.

However, the shrewd Dugu Bo did not immediately agree. Instead, he asked, "You said you have a way to resolve the problems affecting my son and me. What method would that be? If it works, my son and I will certainly offer a generous reward in gratitude."

Ye Wen merely shook his head with a smile. "What I seek in helping you two is not a generous reward. Rather, I have something I wish to discuss with you."

Dugu Bo frowned. If the problem could simply be settled with money, that would naturally be best. Even if he had to sell everything he owned, Dugu Bo would find a way to gather it.

But the young man before him was clearly not so superficial.

"Go on. As long as it isn't excessive, I agree."

A brilliant smile appeared on Ye Wen's lips. He had not expected things to go so smoothly.

Dugu Bo had a major role in the original work. Some called him Old Poison, an old scoundrel, but only those who truly understood Douluo Continent knew that Dugu Bo was merely an honest man. Otherwise, he would not have ended up helping Tang San count the money after being sold out by him, and even had his Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well base stripped clean.

"Straightforward. What I seek is nothing particularly demanding. I only ask that your son acknowledge me as his master, and that you become the Honorary Dean of our academy."

Dugu Bo raised a brow. He had not expected Ye Wen's requests to be these two things. Becoming an Honorary Dean was, at most, a nominal position, so he did not particularly care.

As for having his son acknowledge Ye Wen as his master, if Ye Wen truly had a way to resolve the problem with the family's inherited martial soul, then so be it. After all, those who excel can be teachers. If Ye Wen truly had real ability, then the father and son would be the ones benefiting.