"B-Brother Su Wen..."
Su Wen and Hu Liena had just sat down when the yellow-haired girl from yesterday walked over.
This time, Liu Ruyan didn't sit on the table again. She stood properly, looking quite ladylike.
She said, "Ji Wuli's going to perform a handstand while eating a chicken in a bit, and apologize to you while he's at it!"
"Eat a chicken upside down?"
Su Wen was puzzled, then saw a man already standing on the stage.
It was Ji Wuli from yesterday.
He had a black eye, and he could barely hide how exhausted he was. He'd probably gone without sleep all night.
"Watch closely. I, Ji Wuli, always keep my word. Today, I'll perform a chicken-swallowing act!"
At the sound of a "cluck, cluck, cluck," a big red chicken appeared.
It was Ji Wuli's Martial Soul, Battle Chicken.
Ji Wuli flipped over, his feet in the air and his hands on the ground.
To everyone's shock and horror, Battle Chicken flapped its wings and burrowed toward Ji Wuli's mouth.
Feathers flew everywhere. Before Battle Chicken could get inside, Ji Wuli passed out first.
When Teacher An Ya walked into the classroom, she saw feathers all over the floor and the students in a panic.
"Teacher, something awful happened! Ji Wuli got knocked out when the chicken shoved into him!"
As time passed, Su Wen and Hu Liena had been at the Soul Master Academy for half a month.
During those two weeks, Su Wen and Hu Liena attended Wuhun Academy in the mornings, while Bibi Dong continued to personally train them in the afternoons.
At night, they meditated and cultivated.
Their lives were quite regular, and their cultivation improved day by day.
The two had never mentioned in front of anyone at the academy that they were Bibi Dong's disciples. Still, their strength had earned them quite a reputation.
That day, Su Wen and Hu Liena were getting ready to return to Spirit Hall as usual when Chrysanthemum Douluo appeared in front of them.
"Su Wen, that Dugu Bo wants to see you. He says he has an agreement with you."
"He brought his granddaughter, too."
"Could that Old Poison really have been won over by you?"
Chrysanthemum Douluo was curious about how Su Wen had managed it.
Back then, he and Ghost Douluo had been ordered to recruit Dugu Bo. Neither threats nor inducements had worked.
They had even made an enemy of him.
Su Wen was only a Soul Grandmaster. Even as the Pope's disciple, he shouldn't have been able to make Dugu Bo show submission, given his temperament.
Su Wen didn't answer. Instead, he asked, "Elder Ju, where is Dugu Bo?"
"Come with me!"
Chrysanthemum Douluo immediately led the way. After winding through the streets, they arrived at a hotel in Spirit City.
In the private room, Dugu Bo was still dressed in green, his aura gloomy.
Beside him stood a girl of about nine with short, dark-purple hair and a spirited air. Her deep-green eyes were very much like Dugu Bo's, but there was something unusual about her: she lacked his gloomy aura.
Su Wen studied her, and Dugu Yan studied him and Hu Liena in turn.
Both Su Wen and Hu Liena left Dugu Yan astonished and curious.
She couldn't understand why her grandfather had traveled so far just to meet a boy younger than she was.
Her grandfather had never taken anyone seriously, let alone someone so young.
"Old Poison, heh. You brought your granddaughter along. Does this mean you're planning to join Spirit Hall?"
### Chrysanthemum Douluo held up his orchid-like fingers and clicked his tongue. "After all this time, you don't seem to have improved at all."
"Heh. Chrysanthemum Guan, you're as disgusting as ever."
Dugu Bo snorted. He had no more fondness for Chrysanthemum Douluo than before.
The memory of Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo hunting him down was still fresh in his mind.
"Chrysanthemum Guan?"
"Old Poison!"
Chrysanthemum Douluo's eyes instantly turned cold, and his fists clenched.
He hated being called Chrysanthemum Guan more than anything!
"Elder Ju!"
Su Wen spoke up, looking at Chrysanthemum Douluo. "Elder Ju, I'd like to speak with them alone. Could you and Nana wait outside for a while?"
Chrysanthemum Douluo exhaled, composed himself, and gave a slight nod. He warned Dugu Bo, "Old Poison, I don't know if you're sincerely joining Spirit Hall, but be careful. If anything happens to Su Wen, neither you nor your granddaughter will make it out of Spirit City."
Dugu Bo didn't answer, only snorted.
"Poison Douluo, this is the antidote I promised you."
After Chrysanthemum Douluo and Hu Liena left, Su Wen took out the antidote he had prepared beforehand.
The medicinal properties of the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot that had merged into his body had made him immune to all poisons.
His blood, mixed with some ordinary antidote, could also neutralize any poison under heaven.
"Grandpa, what are you talking about?"
Dugu Yan looked at Dugu Bo in confusion.
An antidote?
Was Grandpa poisoned?
But he was Poison Douluo!
How could Poison Douluo, who had spent his whole life working with poison, have been poisoned?
"Yanyan, I'll explain in a moment!"
Dugu Bo reassured Dugu Yan. Though she was anxious, she knew it wasn't the time to ask more.
Dugu Bo looked at the small bottles in front of him and picked one up.
He opened it and sniffed.
He didn't take it right away; he was still worried.
"Don't worry. I won't poison it. If I wanted to deal with you, I wouldn't need to resort to something like that. You can take it without worry."
Su Wen saw his hesitation and smiled. "Before you take it, I should warn you: it can neutralize all poisons and free you from the torment of Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison, but it will also weaken your poison cultivation and reduce your strength."
"Th-this..." Dugu Bo had let go of his concerns at the first part, but Su Wen's final words left him stunned.
Poison Douluo was renowned throughout the world for his mastery of poison. If his poison weakened, he'd be a Titled Douluo in name only.
To hold a title without the strength to back it up would be even more humiliating than being the weakest Titled Douluo.
"Grandpa, Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison? What are you talking about?"
Dugu Yan was frantic now.
She could tell something was wrong.
Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison?
How could Grandpa have Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison?
"Alas!"
Dugu Bo looked at his granddaughter and sighed.
After hesitating for a moment, he decided to explain the flaw in their family's Martial Soul that had plagued them for generations.
Dugu Bo knew he couldn't take the antidote.
Otherwise, he might not even be able to defeat a Soul Douluo, and would become a laughingstock across the continent.
As long as he had the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, he could still suppress the poison.
As for Dugu Yan, she was still young and could change her cultivation path.
Dugu Yan's face turned pale as she listened.
The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison she had been so proud of had killed her father and mother.
Even her grandfather was poisoned, barely managing to suppress it with the help of external remedies.
"Yanyan, though Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison makes our Martial Soul extremely powerful, it's also a slow poison to our bodies. If you don't deal with it early and change your cultivation path, the stronger you become, the more poison will build up in your body. It'll eventually erupt when you reach Spirit Emperor or Soul Saint. Yanyan, I can't watch you follow your father's path, so give up Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison..."
Dugu Yan didn't speak. She only lowered her head, tears welling in her eyes.
"Ahem... Um... I wasn't going to interrupt you, but do you want to hear me out first...?"
"I have another solution. You can keep Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison."
Su Wen spoke up.
Dugu Bo froze and instinctively looked at him.
Dugu Yan lifted her head too, her eyes filled with curiosity and a flicker of hope.
"You can transfer your poison elsewhere."
"Find a container to store the poison, such as a Spirit Bone!"
As soon as Su Wen finished speaking,
Dugu Bo eagerly tried it.
Before you continue