Getting a Shield, Part 1

"Fine. I, Dugu Bo, swear here upon my Martial Soul: as long as you can solve the Martial Soul problem afflicting my son and me, I will serve as the Honorary Dean of Heavenly Path Academy and protect the academy. My son will also acknowledge you as his master." Dugu Bo spoke earnestly.

Ye Wen had not expected Dugu Bo to be so straightforward. As expected of the number-one honest man in Douluo.

Ye Wen then brought the two of them into the Blue Silver Forest. As the rich aura of life washed over them, both father and son felt utterly refreshed.

Years of unwavering, grueling cultivation had given Dugu Bo an exceptionally firm will. He quickly shook off the numbing pleasure and spoke seriously to Ye Wen.

"Kid, this life energy can indeed alleviate the symptoms my son and I suffer from, but it cannot cure the problem with our Martial Souls. If this is all you have, then I can only go back on my word."

"Don't rush, Senior. You have to eat one bite at a time and handle matters one at a time. The reason I brought you here was to let you see what I have to offer. What I'm about to tell you is the real solution to your Martial Soul problem." Ye Wen said with a smile, then led them deeper into the Blue Silver Forest.

Father and son fell silent as they looked at the enormous Blue Silver King. As a Soul Saint, they possessed the necessary discernment. The tree before them was unquestionably a plant-type Soul Beast of at least ten thousand years. Moreover, it looked so much like the surrounding thousand-year Blue Silver Trees that this ancient tree was most likely the ten-thousand-year form of Blue Silver Grass.

"Senior Dugu Bo, allow me to introduce you. This is the guardian spirit beast of Heavenly Path Academy, Senior Blue Silver King, with a cultivation of eighty-five thousand years."

The Blue Silver King also obligingly condensed an aged face and spoke in a dull, muffled voice.

"Greetings, human Soul Saint."

In the understanding of ordinary Soul Masters, Soul Beasts could not speak, not even 100,000 Year Soul Beasts. Yet this Soul Beast before them, with only eighty-five thousand years of cultivation, could actually speak human language. Dugu Bo's mind crashed on the spot.

"S-Soul Beasts can talk?!" Dugu Xin blurted out before his father could.

Ye Wen kindly explained.

"It isn't particularly strange for Soul Beasts to speak. Once Soul Beasts reach the hundred-thousand-year level, they possess intelligence comparable to that of ordinary humans.

"As for whether they speak, it simply depends on whether they are willing to learn.

"According to an ancient tome I once read, at the very center of the Great Star Dou Forest lives a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast with the body of a snake and the head of a bull that can speak."

With that explanation, father and son more or less accepted it. However, Dugu Xin was still young and quick-witted, and he immediately spotted a problem.

"Teacher Ye, didn't you say only 100,000 Year Soul Beasts can speak? But Senior Blue Silver King only has eighty-five thousand years of cultivation."

Hearing such a basic question, Ye Wen helplessly shook his head and continued explaining.

"A 100,000 Year Soul Beast does not necessarily need to have lived for one hundred thousand years to possess such cultivation. Rather, its innate power has reached that level, allowing it to live that long. That is why it is called a 100,000 Year Soul Beast.

"Although Senior Blue Silver King has only eighty-five thousand years of cultivation, its racial traits make its growth extremely slow. It may even have lived longer than some 100,000 Year Soul Beasts. At its core, speech is merely the transmission of vibrations. With a little dedicated practice, it is nothing surprising for Senior Blue Silver King to be able to speak.

"It's like having ten thousand years to learn a language. No matter how clumsy you are, a hundred years would be enough."

After Ye Wen explained it like that, Dugu Xin still did not understand what the transmission of vibrations meant, but he grasped the general idea.

Dugu Bo, on the other hand, was quite interested in such secret knowledge. His usual cultivation had been too arduous, and he truly had never looked into such matters. Subconsciously, he had always assumed that Soul Beasts possessed such cultivation simply because they had lived for so many years.

"I have learned much."

"As long as you do not violate the rules and fight within the academy, you may move freely throughout this Blue Silver Forest."

After saying that, the Blue Silver King fell asleep again. Ye Wen had told it that the more it did, the more likely it was to make mistakes; the less it did, the fewer mistakes it would make. It should avoid exposing its and Ah Yin's identities as much as possible.

Dugu Bo now began to take the Blue Silver King's strength seriously. Though Blue Silver Grass was weak by nature, a Soul Beast that had grown to eighty-five thousand years was certainly no ordinary creature.

Then Ye Wen said,

"Next, I will explain the method for solving your Martial Soul problem."

Father and son immediately focused their full attention. At last, they had reached the important part, since this concerned their lives.

"First, let me ask you this: all of your Soul Skills should be projection-type skills, right? Such as spraying venom or poisonous mist. In short, you are Control System Soul Masters who use poison to control the battlefield."

Dugu Bo nodded. "Is there a problem? Our family has added Soul Rings this way for generations, and it is precisely because of this that we have secured a place in the Soul Master world."

Ye Wen revealed an expression of knowing it. He had imagined many possible reasons why the Jade Phosphor Serpent Martial Soul poisoned its own wielders, but he had not expected it to be the simplest one.

"There is nothing wrong with your Martial Souls. The problem is that you chose the wrong Soul Rings and the wrong cultivation path."

"What?! Impossible!"

Dugu Bo spoke with absolute certainty. This was the method his family had passed down for generations to acquire Soul Rings. How could it possibly be wrong?

It was a traditional belief deeply rooted in his heart.

Ye Wen was not surprised by Dugu Bo's intense reaction. There was a saying in his Previous Life: you could take the money of those at the bottom, or even their lives, but you must never shake their beliefs.

And as a Soul Master family that had once been glorious, no matter how far it had declined, they could not possibly admit that their ancestors had failed. That would be betraying their heritage.

"Please calm down, Senior Dugu Bo. Let me explain."

Only after soothing Dugu Bo for a while did Ye Wen continue.

"Senior Dugu Bo, if someone is bitten by a venomous snake and there are no suitable medicinal herbs or tools nearby, what is the best way to minimize the poison in their body?"

A trace of disdain appeared on Dugu Bo's face. He was, after all, an expert with snakes. How could he not know such common knowledge? He immediately answered,

"First, restrict the blood flow in that area, then suck out the venom. This can greatly reduce the snake venom's toxicity and buy as much time as possible for the poisoned person to receive treatment."

In a feudal era, such a method was already considered quite thorough. Unfortunately for Dugu Bo, he was facing Ye Wen's overwhelming advantage in knowledge.

"Senior Dugu Bo, do you suck snake venom out with your mouth?"

"Of course. Generally, Soul Power from different Soul Masters cannot be transferred between them, or it may damage the meridians. If the victim is a Soul Master, they can directly force it out with their own Soul Power. And you said there were no tools. If not with the mouth, then what else would you use?" Dugu Bo replied righteously.