A Meeting with Dugu Yan

At dusk two days later, the setting sun dyed the dense forest outside Suotuo City gold and crimson. When Wang Chuan's messenger paper crane landed in Dugu Yan's palm, she was inspecting newly forged Soul Tools with Yu Tianheng at a blacksmith's shop. The crane bore only a simple message: "Urgent matter. Meet at the western corner of the forest." Yet the handwriting carried an unusual gravity.

"Tianheng, I'll be back soon. I don't know what Wang Chuan wants." Dugu Yan put away the paper crane, her fingers unconsciously brushing the student badge issued by Spirit Hall. Seeing the grave look on her face, Yu Tianheng nodded and reminded her, "Be careful. If anything happens, use the Soul Tool to send word immediately."

After passing through layers upon layers of ancient trees, Dugu Yan finally found Wang Chuan in a moss-covered clearing. The young man stood with his back to her beneath an old locust tree, the hem of his black robes stirred by the evening breeze. Even his silhouette carried a certain solemnity.

"What's wrong, Little Chuan?" Dugu Yan hurried over, her tone as forthright as ever. "What could be so serious that we had to come all the way to this godforsaken place? Don't tell me you found some rare soul beast?"

Wang Chuan turned around. There was not a trace of jest in his cool eyes; instead, they reflected the gloom deep within the forest. "Senior Yan, do you know that aside from soul master cultivation, I am also well versed in toxicology and pharmacology?"

Dugu Yan froze for a moment, then laughed. "Of course I do. You even helped me clear the lingering Mandala Snake venom last time. What, did I get poisoned again?"

"It isn't that you were poisoned. Poison has always been inside your body." Wang Chuan's voice sank. "Three days ago, I saw a faint bluish tint on your fingertips while you were cultivating, and I noticed an extremely subtle obstruction in the flow of your Soul Power. That was when I realized something was wrong—your poison originates from your Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor martial soul."

"Me? Poisoned?" Dugu Yan looked as though she had heard the funniest joke in the world. Raising her hand, she summoned her martial soul. A jade-green phantom of the Serpent Emperor coiled behind her, its tongue flickering with dense toxicity. "Little Chuan, don't joke around. My martial soul itself is the most poisonous in the world. How could I poison myself?" Though she said so, the sight of Wang Chuan's utterly humorless expression still stirred a thread of unease in her heart.

"Precisely because the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor is an ultimate poison martial soul, the toxins it carries seep into your meridians along with the circulation of your Soul Power whenever you cultivate." Wang Chuan stepped forward, his gaze falling on her faintly blue fingertips. "You have cultivated for only five years and have just passed Rank 30. Coupled with the natural resistance granted by your martial soul, the poison has been temporarily suppressed, so you never noticed it. But once your Soul Power reaches a higher level, the poison will erupt with the power of your soul rings. When that happens..."

There was no need to say the rest. Dugu Yan understood at once. The smile vanished completely from her face, and her fingers began to tremble slightly. Her mind abruptly flashed to the image of her grandfather, Dugu Bo—her grandfather was already a Titled Douluo and had cultivated the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor for years. Wouldn't that mean...

"Then what about my grandfather?" Dugu Yan seized Wang Chuan's arm, her voice trembling almost imperceptibly. "He's already a Titled Douluo. Is he poisoned even more deeply? Did he know all along and keep it from me?"

Memories surged forth like a tide. Every time her grandfather finished cultivating, he would stay alone in his secret chamber. Sometimes, when he coughed, faint green blood would stain his handkerchief. Last year, when she pestered him to teach her a new ability, he had put her off by saying his Soul Power was unstable, and she had sulked for days... So those strange signs had all been symptoms of the poison's erosion.

"Little Chuan, please." Dugu Yan's eyes reddened instantly, and her voice carried a sob. "You must have a way, don't you? Whether it's me or my grandfather, please help us..."

"You needn't do this, Senior." Wang Chuan gently freed himself from her grasp, his tone softening. "Since I told you, I naturally have a way to deal with it. We're teammates, so helping you is only right—if you keep begging me like this, I really will ignore you."

Before he could finish speaking, a fierce surge of Soul Power struck from behind. Wang Chuan felt the back of his neck go numb, and darkness instantly swallowed his vision. Before losing consciousness, he vaguely saw a green figure land beside Dugu Yan.

After an unknown amount of time, Wang Chuan awoke to the sound of a heated argument. He lay on the cold grass as Dugu Yan's angry, tearful cries reached his ears. "Grandfather! Little Chuan is my classmate. He came here to help us! How could you treat him like this? If he hadn't told me, how long were you planning to hide it from me? Until the poison flared up and you died?"

"Yan Yan, listen to Grandfather's explanation." Dugu Bo's voice held rare helplessness. "Grandfather didn't hide it from you on purpose. I was afraid you would worry and let it affect your cultivation..."

"Worry?" Dugu Yan's voice suddenly rose, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Do you know how much I would regret it if something really happened to you? I don't even know when you were poisoned. What kind of granddaughter does that make me?"

Wang Chuan slowly opened his eyes. Dugu Yan stood before him, her small figure drawn taut and straight. Even under the pressure of a Titled Douluo, she did not retreat in the slightest. Dugu Bo stood some distance away, jade-green Soul Power swirling around him as he looked at his granddaughter with a complicated expression.

"And you actually tried to hurt Little Chuan!" Dugu Yan turned around, shielding Wang Chuan even more firmly. "If you dare lay a hand on him again, then strike me first!"

Supporting himself on the grass, Wang Chuan sat up as the Soul Power within him began circulating rapidly. His katana martial soul, "Nothingness," appeared in an instant. He rose to his feet and met Dugu Bo's gaze. There was not the slightest fear in the young man's eyes, only cold determination—though he faced a Titled Douluo, he would never back down. For he was not only Chen Xin's disciple, but also a wielder of the blade.

"Yan Yan, come back!" Dugu Bo's voice was firm and brooked no argument. His powerful hand directly seized Dugu Yan's wrist and dragged her back to his side.

"Grandfather! Let go of me! Little Chuan came to help us!" Dugu Yan struggled to break free, but before she could finish, a strand of pale green Soul Power coiled around her throat like silk, instantly sealing her voice. The next moment, Dugu Bo flicked his wrist, and his Soul Power pushed her several staggering steps backward. She landed steadily beneath an ancient tree thirty meters away, trapped within an invisible barrier of Soul Power as she gradually lost consciousness.

Having dealt with his granddaughter, Dugu Bo slowly turned around. His hawk-like gaze locked onto Wang Chuan, and his tone revealed neither pleasure nor anger. "Boy, you woke up quickly."

Wang Chuan braced himself against the tree trunk behind him and rose to his feet, his fingers quietly tightening around the long blade named "Nothingness." A faint, cold gleam ran along its edge. He could clearly feel the air around him growing heavy under Dugu Bo's Soul Power—the unique pressure of a Titled Douluo spread like a thin mist, slowing even the circulation of his Soul Power by half a beat.

"Don't blame this old man for being ruthless." Dugu Bo slowly approached. With every step he took, the grass beneath his feet turned faintly green before rapidly withering away. "In principle, you are Sword Douluo Chen Xin's disciple, and at such a young age, you possess this kind of talent. You are a rare genius in all the Douluo Continent, and this old man never intended to harm you. But you happened to uncover the greatest hidden danger of my Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor martial soul. This secret must never get out."

The pressure around him grew even heavier, and the branches and leaves of the ancient trees began to rustle. "Otherwise, this old man would have no desire whatsoever to provoke you. Crown Prince Xue Qinghe is related to you, and that old bastard Chen Xin stands behind you. The forces backing you are ones this old man would rather avoid. But what you discovered is too serious—the poison not only clings to me, but is also slowly eroding Yan Yan. If word gets out and someone with ulterior motives uses this against us, my granddaughter and I will have no safety left to speak of."

Facing that pressure, Wang Chuan slowly raised the hand gripping "Nothingness." The long blade's cold gleam was especially striking in the twilight. He showed no sign of retreat, and his voice was calm yet carried unquestionable certainty. "Your Excellency Poison Douluo, I did indeed discover the hidden danger in your martial soul, but from beginning to end, I have not revealed a single word of it to anyone. And you should know that in this world, perhaps I am the only one who can find a way to cure this Jade Phosphor Serpent Poison."

He paused, staring directly into Dugu Bo's eyes as he spoke each word clearly. "Furthermore, I bear no grudge against you and have no reason to harm you or your granddaughter. But if you truly attack me here—your poison will lose all hope of being cured. Then, the pursuit of Sword Douluo and Gu Rong, the two Douluo, will likely leave you with nowhere to remain from that day onward. Such a losing bargain is far too dangerous for you, isn't it?"