Dugu Yan

Looking at the result of the duel on the Dueling Arena, everyone below was stunned.

The students all wore looks of disbelief.

"Yu Tianheng actually lost! He lost to a junior who's only seven or eight!"

"Exactly—and he was completely overwhelmed the whole time. Wow, is this Su Ze really that strong?"

"Su Ze's Mutated Lightning Attribute Martial Soul looks just like the Thunder God's."

"All that stuff he said about how thunder annihilates everything, and 'I am Heavenly Wrath'—I didn't really understand it, but it sounded incredible."

"The way he talks during a fight is something I could learn from."

"Maybe we're witnessing history. The strongest Lightning Attribute Martial Soul in the future might have a new owner."

The crowd's chatter continued below. The handsome young man stared at the figure on the Dueling Arena, who looked just like the Thunder God, and was completely dumbfounded.

"He actually won!"

"No wonder he went into Thunder Gorge without taking any precautions!"

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he never would have believed that Yu Tianheng, a genius of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, would lose to a junior several years younger than him.

And one with a Lightning Attribute Martial Soul, too.

On the Dueling Arena, Su Ze went straight over to Yu Tianheng.

Looking at Yu Tianheng, who was struggling to stay on his feet, Su Ze spoke slowly.

"Senior, looks like I won this Soul Duel!"

Su Ze wasn't in a hurry to ask for the 10,000 Gold Soul Coins he was owed.

After all, Yu Tianheng represented the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's reputation at Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

If he reneged on the bet—

Su Ze could spread the word far and wide, and it would be the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan that lost face.

The clan's reputation was worth far more than 10,000 Gold Soul Coins.

At Su Ze's words, Yu Tianheng forced himself to endure the pain and stood up.

Though he was deeply unwilling to accept defeat, his body simply couldn't fight any longer.

And after such a crushing loss, Yu Tianheng no longer had the courage to challenge Su Ze again anytime soon.

"This is the 10,000 Gold Soul Coins we agreed on!"

"I lost this time."

"But my loss doesn't mean the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan lost. I was careless this time. I'll challenge you again before long!"

"Su Ze, I'll get my revenge then."

As Yu Tianheng said this, his voice lacked all its former confidence.

It sounded more like he was making excuses to save face after a humiliating loss.

Su Ze paid no attention to Yu Tianheng's threat. Grinning, he accepted the golden card.

Yu Tianheng couldn't beat him now. Once Su Ze used the 10,000 Gold Soul Coins to buy Whale Rubber and strengthen his body, his opponent would have even less of a chance.

To put it bluntly, today was Yu Tianheng's best chance to beat him.

After today, he wouldn't stand a chance.

"Sure, Senior Yu. I welcome you to challenge me again."

"But I'll warn you now: next time you challenge me, it'll cost you 20,000 Gold Soul Coins."

With that, Su Ze made his way off the arena.

Yu Tianheng had been forcing himself to stay conscious as he watched Su Ze disappear.

Now, he could hold on no longer and collapsed to the ground.

Quite a few spectators below cried out in alarm.

Many of the students who knew Yu Tianheng rushed over.

Of course, that had nothing to do with Su Ze.

At the moment, his mind was entirely occupied with how to spend those 10,000 Gold Soul Coins.

This was the first time since his transmigration that he'd gotten his hands on such a large sum.

Su Ze's initial plan was to spend most of it on Whale Rubber to strengthen his body.

Then he'd keep a dozen or so Gold Soul Coins to buy food.

Just then, a figure a little taller than him appeared in front of him and said excitedly, "Boss, my name is Qin Tian! Please let me be your underling!"

Hearing the voice, Su Ze raised his head in puzzlement.

It was the senior he'd asked for directions earlier.

When Qin Tian noticed Su Ze looking at him, he grinned and spoke up.

"Boss, you beat Yu Tianheng at such a young age. Heaven Dou Royal Academy will surely be yours someday."

"Please look after me from now on, Boss."

Qin Tian had thought it through. Li Suze had already become a Level 26 Soul Grandmaster at such a young age.

Now his Mutated Lightning Attribute Martial Soul could even beat the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.

As long as he didn't die young, he had a very good chance of becoming a Titled Douluo in the future.

At the very least, he'd become a Soul Douluo.

He had to build a good relationship with someone like that now.

Maybe one day, having met him early would come in handy.

Soul Masters weren't all about fighting. Social connections mattered, too.

Qin Tian's words amused Su Ze.

From the way Qin Tian had helped him earlier, Su Ze could tell he was a kind-hearted person.

So he saw no harm in getting to know him.

More importantly, Qin Tian was a senior who'd been at Heaven Dou Royal Academy longer than he had.

He surely knew where Dugu Yan was.

Now that Qin Tian had approached him, Su Ze could take the opportunity to ask.

Su Ze and Qin Tian chatted for a while.

From Qin Tian, Su Ze learned all about Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

He also found out where Dugu Yan often went and which class she was in.

Once he'd confirmed the details about Dugu Yan, Su Ze glanced at the sky, already growing dim, and decided to rest for the night.

He'd go find Dugu Yan tomorrow.

Night.

In the infirmary, Yu Tianheng, who'd lost to Su Ze, had finally recovered, thanks to the powerful physique of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.

But the confidence he'd worn earlier was gone from his face.

All that remained was unwillingness to accept defeat.

He kept reliving the moment Su Ze had beaten him on the Dueling Arena.

If Su Ze had been older and stronger than him, then he could have consoled himself about losing like that.

But against Su Ze, Yu Tianheng had been older and had an advantage in Soul Power, too.

Yet he'd lost without being able to fight back.

That defeat had robbed Yu Tianheng not only of his confidence in himself.

Thinking of Su Ze's youthful face, Yu Tianheng slowly let out a breath.

At last, he understood how the other students at the academy had felt before.

Su Ze!

After repeating that name silently to himself, Yu Tianheng sprang to his feet.

Su Ze might be a genius.

But he still had a chance!

The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon's greatest strength was Dragon Transformation. He was only a Soul Grandmaster now, so he couldn't activate it.

Once he reached Soul Elder, he'd be able to use Dragon Transformation.

Then he'd have a chance to get his revenge.

But Yu Tianheng knew he wasn't doing this for himself.

He was doing it to restore the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's honor.

The fight had made it clear to Yu Tianheng that Su Ze's talent far surpassed his own.

He would prove that the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was still the strongest Beast Martial Soul in the world.

The next day.

The first thing Su Ze did after getting up was not go to find Dugu Yan.

The reason was simple: he needed to establish a connection with her.

The easiest way was to tell her he had a way to cure her poison.

But without proof—

Dugu Yan might not even listen to him.

So finding her was likely to lead to a confrontation.

In that case, he'd first go to Thunder Gorge and charge up the thunder he needed to unleash his ultimate move.

Then he could reason things out with Dugu Yan.

Thunder Gorge.

Bolts of lightning fell from the Dark Clouds and struck Su Ze as he sat cross-legged.

Under the influence of the Sikong Zhen Martial Soul, the lightning was absorbed completely and couldn't hurt him at all.

As he charged up his Thunderous Force ultimate move—

Powerful waves of Soul Power rippled through his body.

His physical strength rose from Level 35 to Level 36.

"Coming to Heaven Dou Royal Academy was the right call. After charging the Sikong Zhen Martial Soul twice in Thunder Gorge—"

"It directly helped my body evolve."

After a sigh, Su Ze looked at Yu Tianheng, who was standing behind him.

He took one glance and, seeing that his opponent had no intention of challenging him, turned to leave.

He'd never turn down more Gold Soul Coins.

If Yu Tianheng came looking for another Soul Duel today, Su Ze wouldn't mind earning another 20,000 Gold Soul Coins.

Yu Tianheng watched Su Ze leave, his eyes lighting up.

After their fight the day before, he'd realized his talent was inferior to Su Ze's.

If his talent was inferior, then Yu Tianheng would simply work harder.

Besides, Su Ze seemed to have let up after beating him.

There was still plenty of Lightning Attribute energy in Thunder Gorge, but he'd just left.

It seemed beating Yu Tianheng had made Su Ze believe his talent was far superior.

He'd take advantage of Su Ze's complacency, catch up, and then break through to Soul Elder.

By then, he'd have both the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon's Dragon Transformation and a higher cultivation level than Su Ze.

He was certain to win the duel.

With that, Yu Tianheng began training hard.

He copied Su Ze's approach, drawing down lightning on himself without taking any precautions.

If Su Ze could do it—

Then so could he.

Boom!

A violent bolt of lightning blasted Yu Tianheng.

A moment later, panicked voices rang out through Thunder Gorge.

"Teacher, something's wrong! Yu Tianheng was knocked unconscious by the lightning!"

"Has Yu Tianheng gone crazy? Why didn't he take any precautions?"

Su Ze, of course, had no idea what had happened in Thunder Gorge.

He was waiting by the roadside that Dugu Yan passed every day.

According to Qin Tian, Dugu Yan went along this road at this time every day.

After waiting a little while, Su Ze quickly settled on his plan.

When Dugu Yan appeared—

He'd go up to her and say he had a way to cure her poison.

If Dugu Yan believed him, they could talk things out.

If she didn't—

He'd challenge her to a duel.

He'd make her believe through physical force.

He was determined to get the Immortal Herb.

And as long as he dealt with Dugu Yan, Dugu Bo would be easy to handle.

His personality had been made very clear in the Original Work: he was a man who always kept his promises.

Besides, Tang San had used his method of detoxification to obtain all the Immortal Herbs in Dugu Bo's Medicine Garden.

There was no reason he couldn't do the same.

As Su Ze reviewed his plan,

a group of youthful men and women in Heaven Dou Royal Academy uniforms emerged.

The moment he saw someone coming out, Su Ze immediately straightened up from where he had been lazily leaning against the wall.

His gaze settled on the center of the group.

There stood a green-haired girl, emerging from the academy as if everyone were gathered around her.

The green-haired girl was slender, and her face was both spirited and extraordinarily beautiful.

Most eye-catching of all were her long, slender legs beneath the deep-purple qipao.

Green hair!

A beautiful face!

Long legs!

And such an exceptional status.

There was no one else in all of Heaven Dou Royal Academy who fit the description but Dugu Yan.

After saying goodbye to the people around her who had been showering her with compliments, Dugu Yan headed out of Heaven Dou Royal Academy alone.

As she walked along the roadside, a handsome young boy who looked quite young was staring at her without blinking.

His gaze was heated, and he looked excited.

At first sight of the boy, Dugu Yan naturally assumed he was one of her admirers.

As the granddaughter of Poison Douluo, with a beautiful face to match,

Dugu Yan was extremely popular throughout Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

She had plenty of admirers.

Even Yu Tianheng, once the strongest student at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, had pursued her, more or less openly.

But she had never seen anyone as young as Su Ze.

Am I really that charming now?

Even little kids are coming to confess to me.

At the thought, a smile appeared on Dugu Yan's aloof face.

As the boy walked up to her, Dugu Yan asked gently, "Little guy, is there something you need?"

Hearing Dugu Yan's gentle tone, Su Ze paused in surprise.

According to Qin Tian, Dugu Yan was aloof, and she was almost always cold and unpleasant toward men.

Why was she speaking so gently to him?

But after turning the thought over, Su Ze understood from the way Dugu Yan had addressed him.

It must be because of their age difference.

Dugu Yan was fifteen.

She was almost twice his age.

In her eyes, he was just a handsome little boy, nothing to worry about.

Being young did have its advantages.

With that thought, Su Ze slowly spoke.

"Um, you're Dugu Yan, right?"

"I'd like to meet your grandfather."

"It's about the Martial Soul curse affecting your family."

"I know the Jade Scale Snake Martial Soul in your family has a defect."

"I have a way to fix it."

Su Ze looked at Dugu Yan with utmost seriousness.

To his utter surprise, Dugu Yan burst out laughing.

"Little boy, stop fooling around!"

"If you're not going to confess, then hurry along. Big Sister needs to go home."

"Which guy at the academy told you my Martial Soul has a defect?"

"Tell Big Sister, okay?"

As she spoke, Dugu Yan crouched down and pinched Su Ze's cheek.

Feeling her fingers on his face, Su Ze's expression darkened.

But because he was so young,

Dugu Yan hadn't taken his words seriously at all.

Since that was the case, Su Ze decided to go straight to Plan Two.

His expression changed at once. He knocked Dugu Yan's hand away and said coldly,

"Dugu Yan, right? I think your Jade Scale Snake Martial Soul is a useless Martial Soul, and your Jade Scale Snake Poison is the most worthless poison in the world!"

"I, Su Ze, formally challenge you."

Since he couldn't make himself clear with words, Su Ze decided to use the most direct approach.

He would make Dugu Yan understand that he was serious.