Douluo: Martial Soul Iron-Eating Beast, Never a Slave — Chapter 24

Level fifty!

That was Zhao Mu's current Soul Power Level.

This meant that Zhao Mu only needed to obtain one more Soul Ring to officially step into the Soul King realm.

After obtaining his fourth Soul Ring, his Soul Power Level had maxed out directly?! It had shot straight to level fifty?!

How many times had this happened already?

How old was Zhao Mu?

And he was already a Quasi-Soul King?

Zhao Mu had only been cultivating for a little over a year since his Awakening.

He was about to catch up to the results of his old man's entire lifetime of cultivation?

Sure enough, cultivation was just like studying. Hard work alone was useless; you needed cheats too!

It was just that this cheat had gotten a little too overpowered by accident.

The main reason was still the Soul Rings Zhao Mu had obtained and the Dan Pearl he had absorbed from Dugu Bo.

His third Soul Ring had come from absorbing the Infernal Delicate Apricot and the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass. The Soul Ring condensed from those two Immortal Herbs already possessed enormous energy, and with the energy of Dugu Bo's Dan Pearl added in, it was no surprise that his Soul Power Level had maxed out.

His fourth Soul Ring had come from absorbing three Earth Dragon Golden Melons and the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum. The energy of those two Immortal Herbs was equally extraordinary, and together with Dugu Bo's Dan Pearl, there was simply more energy than he could use! His Soul Power Level had maxed out directly!

Perhaps after Zhao Mu obtained his fifth Soul Ring, his Soul Power Level would max out again.

After learning Zhao Mu's Soul Power Level, Dugu Yan was green with envy. She had cultivated for over a decade, yet she could not compare to Zhao Mu, who had cultivated for less than two years. That was far too discouraging!

Zhao Mu continued, "Please do not worry, Senior. I am not planning to treat you only after I obtain my fifth Soul Ring. Before the treatment, I need you to choose a treatment plan."

"A treatment plan?" Dugu Bo exclaimed. He had been unable to solve this problem his entire life. Could this little fellow possibly have more than one solution? That was far too inconceivable.

"You have more than one treatment method?" Dugu Bo asked for confirmation.

Zhao Mu nodded, then pointed at Heibai. "Heibai's Fourth Soul Skill form is one treatment plan, while its Third Soul Skill form is another. The key is what you choose: treating the symptoms, or treating the root cause..."

"What does that mean? What is treating the symptoms? What is treating the root cause? Brat, stop keeping me in suspense and say it!" Dugu Bo said with mixed emotions.

Zhao Mu indeed did not keep him in suspense and spoke directly.

"Senior, the toxins of your Martial Soul are caused by a flaw in your Martial Soul. Treating the root cause means starting with your Martial Soul and stimulating it to undergo Martial Soul Evolution, changing it fundamentally. Once the Martial Soul Evolution changes it, the flaw in your Martial Soul will naturally cease to exist."

"Treating the symptoms means starting with your Martial Soul toxins, suppressing and forcing them out before driving them into your Soul Bones, using the Soul Bones as storage for the toxins. That way, the toxins will no longer endanger you, and you can still continue using them."

"Both methods require several Immortal Herbs here. Martial Soul Evolution requires those three golden melons, while suppressing the toxins requires the two Ice-Fire Immortal Herbs."

Upon hearing this, Dugu Bo subconsciously asked, "Whether it is the golden melons or those two Ice-Fire Immortal Herbs, this little... big fellow has eaten them all. What do we do now?"

Zhao Mu chuckled. "That is simple. Although Heibai ate the Immortal Herbs, its blood contains their medicinal effects precisely because of that. In different forms, the potency of the Immortal Herbs in Heibai's blood varies."

"In its Third Soul Skill form, the medicinal effects of the two Ice-Fire Immortal Herbs in its blood will be more abundant. In its Fourth Soul Skill form, the medicinal effects of the golden melons will be stronger. When the time comes, we only need to draw some of Heibai's blood."

Heibai: (ω)

"My body cannot withstand the impact of an Immortal Herb's energy at all, so I cannot consume one directly. Therefore, we need this big fellow to consume the Immortal Herbs, then use its blood to treat me. That way, we can avoid the violent impact of the Immortal Herbs' energy?" Dugu Bo continued.

Dugu Bo was very familiar with those two Ice-Fire Immortal Herbs. He absolutely would not dare swallow them directly.

Zhao Mu liked Dugu Bo's forward-thinking mind. It saved him the trouble of explaining everything bit by bit.

However, Dugu Bo truly did not dare try the Infernal Delicate Apricot and Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass. Having Heibai consume them first and then using its blood for treatment would work.

But the Earth Dragon Golden Melon seemed safe to consume directly, without much danger.

It was just that Zhao Mu also wanted Heibai to consume the Earth Dragon Golden Melon to obtain a Soul Ring. He was not even sure whether Heibai's blood would retain the medicinal effects of the Earth Dragon Golden Melon after consuming it.

"By the sound of it, the first Martial Soul Evolution plan is clearly better. Why did you propose the second plan as well?"

"Could it be... could it be that both plans have other drawbacks?" Dugu Bo suddenly realized.

"Drawbacks... I suppose so." Zhao Mu nodded. "Evolution is full of uncertainty and danger. If you want to resolve your Martial Soul toxins through Martial Soul Evolution, the success rate is not one hundred percent. But with the second plan, the success rate is close to one hundred percent."

After hearing this, Dugu Bo nodded thoughtfully before asking again, "What happens if the evolution fails?"

Zhao Mu spread his hands. "How would I know?"

"You might die. Your Martial Soul might be damaged, turning you into a cripple. You might even become an idiot..."

Dugu Yan had also been listening to Zhao Mu's treatment plans. At that moment, she wrapped her arm around Dugu Bo's and said almost coquettishly, "Grandpa, let's use the second plan. I don't want you taking any risks."

Dugu Bo gently patted the back of Dugu Yan's hand and forced out a relatively soft smile.

Yet he did not immediately agree to Dugu Yan's request. Instead, he asked again, "If I use the second plan, does that mean I cannot recover the half of my strength I previously lost? But if I use the first, I may even have a chance to go further?"

Zhao Mu merely shook his head slowly. "Sorry, I do not know."

Dugu Bo snorted with a laugh. "You brat are honest, at least."

After saying that, Dugu Bo fell into deep thought.

Faced with such a choice, anyone else would likely be unable to decide immediately.

Zhao Mu did not disturb or influence Dugu Bo's deliberation further. Instead, he turned to Heibai and had it prepare blood samples from its different forms.

Heibai was naturally unwilling at first. It already could not beat that green old man, and now it had to use its own blood to help him? Wouldn't that make it even less able to beat him? That was aiding the enemy!

An Iron-Eating Beast would never aid the enemy!

Seeing that Heibai still had not moved, Zhao Mu said directly, "If you do it yourself, just bite your paw and squeeze out a little blood. But if you refuse to do it yourself and he does it instead, it may not be as simple as biting your paw. He might cut open your stomach and take your blood..."

Upon hearing Zhao Mu's words, Heibai instinctively covered its stomach.

After all, it still could not beat that green old man.

Seeing Heibai cover its stomach, Zhao Mu continued, "It does not have to be your stomach. He might cut open your head to take blood."

Heibai immediately hugged its head.

"He might cut open your thigh to take blood."

Heibai promptly protected its thigh.

"Or perhaps he might give your precious bits a cut and let some blood."

Heibai: (○Д○)

Heibai hurriedly covered its precious bits. Losing its balance, it fell straight to the ground.

Awoo, awoo, awoo~

I'll give it! I'll give it, okay?!

Once Heibai agreed, Zhao Mu rummaged through the Soul Tools in his two rings and finally managed to scrape together four bottles of varying sizes.

"Squeeze your blood into these four bottles. You're so big; squeezing out a little will be enough!"

Heibai twitched, then placed its forepaw by its mouth. Its sharp teeth closed, biting a small wound into its black forepaw.

Then it squeezed out a drop of blood into one bottle, followed by another drop into another bottle.

In its giant form, Heibai could grow five or six meters long. A single drop of blood was enough to fill a small bottle.

"Alright, switch to your Third Soul Skill form."

Hearing Zhao Mu's words, Heibai released its giant Fourth Form and returned to the Ice-Fire Form of its Third Soul Skill.

After returning to the Ice-Fire Form, Heibai discovered that the small wound from earlier had healed. That was not a good thing.

The little fellow had no choice but to endure the pain and bite open its forepaw again, drawing two more bottles of blood.

Throughout the entire process, tears welled up in Heibai's eyes. Zhao Mu was speechless at the sight. Was it really that painful?

Fortunately, the blood collection was complete.

Just as Zhao Mu finished on this side, a burst of laughter suddenly erupted from Dugu Bo's side.

It startled Zhao Mu and Heibai.

"I have always prided myself on acting only according to my own desires, living freely and uninhibited, unafraid of life or death. Yet now I hesitate and bind myself with concerns."

"Since I have a chance to go further, why should I shrink back and make myself a laughingstock?"

"Brat, I can tell you now. I choose the first treatment plan!"

"Let this old man see just what splendor the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor will possess after evolving!"

Thank you to all the readers for following along and supporting me!

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"Are you sure you want to choose the first treatment plan and break through the limits of your Martial Soul?" Zhao Mu asked once more.

Having made up his mind, Dugu Bo seemed to have achieved a breakthrough in his state of mind as well, appearing especially open-minded.

"I have always meant what I said. Since I have chosen the first treatment plan, I will not go back on my word or change my mind at the last moment."

Zhao Mu nodded and added, "Then have you considered the consequences? If it fails, perhaps there will no longer be anyone called the Poison Douluo on this continent."