But after being tempered by the Dragon Crystals of the Water and Fire Dragon Kings, Shen Feng had long since developed an incredibly powerful constitution, immune to water and fire and impervious to all poisons.
The moment the effects of the poison began to rise, the extreme water and fire elements within him immediately mounted a passive counterattack. They coursed rapidly through his meridians and spread throughout his body, dissolving the toxins wherever they went. In an instant, his body was back to normal.
"Yanyan, you're wasting your effort. Your poison doesn't work on me. My body has long been impervious to all poisons."
Dugu Yan giggled. "Is that so? Then why are your eyes red?"
"Don't forget, I've taken an Immortal Grade Herb too. My poison isn't just any ordinary poison."
Shen Feng furrowed his brows. He could already feel his body growing hot.
His heart pounded rapidly, and the blood in his veins grew viscous as mercury and scorching as fire. A violent urge surged straight into his mind, demanding release.
Even the Soul Power within him seemed to have been stimulated by something. It was as violent as if he'd taken a powerful tonic, surging out of his body.
Clenching his fists, Shen Feng was astonished to discover that his strength had increased considerably, but his control had suddenly diminished.
The skin on his body went numb and his senses dulled, yet it had become several times tougher, making it difficult to break through his defenses.
Shen Feng used his formidable spiritual power to suppress the violence in his mind, only to find another, rather unusual thought springing up.
Was this really poison? Was he sure it wasn't some kind of all-purpose tonic—or one of those that came with a bonus extension?
"Hehehe. Hehehehe."
Dugu Yan's bewitching, succubus-like laughter drifted out of the poisonous fog. "Little brother, can you feel it? Your big sister's power?"
"Become my puppet! Hehehehehe!"
"Mm!" Shen Feng nodded solemnly. His voice remained steady and composed as he said, "You're definitely powerful. I was just a little short—just a little short of completely succumbing."
Dugu Yan's laughter abruptly stopped. "Y-you—you still have your wits about you?"
"That's not right. I've unleashed my Soul Skill with all my strength. No matter how high your poison resistance is, there's no way you should be unaffected!"
When Dugu Yan had been in her forties, she could already affect Qin Ming, who was level sixty-two. Now she'd broken through to level fifty-one, yet her tried-and-true trump card had hit a wall against Shen Feng.
For a moment, Dugu Yan even started doubting her entire existence.
Watching from the sidelines, Dugu Bo wordlessly covered his eyes. Against the weak, she was strong; against the strong, she panicked. When she faced a Soul Master who countered her, she was completely useless.
That silly girl was making quite a fool of herself.
It looked like he'd have to give the silly girl some specialized training when he had the time.
Thinking this, Dugu Bo immediately sent a telepathic message to Shen Feng. "Finish the fight quickly. I've seen enough to know how good Yanyan is."
Shen Feng nodded faintly in the poisonous fog. "Yanyan, since you've run out of other tricks, I'll thank you for the boost."
"Fourth Soul Skill: Thunder Rain!"
His fourth Soul Ring lit up. Shen Feng slowly raised the Leiming Blade in his right hand, its blade blazing with dense lightning. It left several afterimages in the air.
The next moment, countless sparks of lightning appeared out of thin air, forming a glittering curtain of rain before Shen Feng. With one final, forceful swing, the curtain of lightning instantly transformed into thousands of blades of light and shot toward Dugu Yan, who was hidden in the poisonous fog in the distance.
Dugu Yan was shocked. She immediately clutched her head with both hands, curled up her snake tail, and shrank into a ball. "Ah! Xiao Feng, I won't let you get away with this, even as a ghost!"
Boom! Boom! Boom—
The next moment, Dugu Yan's cries were swallowed up by the thunderous explosions of the countless bolts of lightning.
The area within a twenty-meter radius of Dugu Yan was bombarded relentlessly. Dust billowed everywhere, while flashes of lightning and molten sparks flickered within, obscuring the scene.
It turned out that Shen Feng's move had borrowed the Thunder Armor Scorpion's ability to compress electric plasma. By swinging the Leiming Blade, he scattered molten sparks into countless raindrops, which then turned into blades of light and unleashed a barrage of plasma explosions on everything in front of him.
"Holy crap, that was powerful. I hope nothing happened to her."
Shen Feng glanced over and saw that Dugu Bo had already disappeared. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
"Good. With the old man here, she should be fine."
The Thunder Rain barrage continued for a full ten seconds. The surrounding area had become a Thunder Pool, shimmering with lightning. A gust of wind blew through the smoke, and the acrid smell of something burning filled the air.
"Brat, you seem to have gotten carried away too. If that's the case, then this old man will play with you!"
Suddenly, Dugu Bo's voice rang out from within the smoke.
The next moment, Dugu Bo, his hair and beard bristling, shot out of the smoke like lightning and charged straight at Shen Feng.
"Old man, you told me to attack!"
With a shout, Shen Feng instantly spread his Water and Fire Dragon Wings and flapped them to soar into the sky.
At his level, he definitely couldn't beat Dugu Bo on the ground—and he might not even be able to get away.
But aerial combat was Dugu Bo's weakness. Maybe Shen Feng could keep him at bay for a while.
"I told you to attack, not to go easy on her?"
"Seventh Soul Skill: Poison Dragon Avatar!"
Roar—
A resounding dragon's roar rang out as Dugu Bo transformed into a dark green Poison Dragon and soared into the sky.
Shen Feng was dumbfounded. The Jade Phosphorous Serpent might not be able to fly, but the Poison Dragon could.
"Old man, you're a sore loser! You even used your Martial Soul Avatar!"
As he fled in panic, beating his wings, Shen Feng caught sight of Dugu Yan on the ground from the corner of his eye.
She was pitch-black, her face unrecognizable. Her hair stood on end in a wild punk style, and wisps of smoke curled around her like special effects. She'd even spared herself the trouble of using cement.
Shen Feng grimaced, immediately realizing he'd caused trouble.
His Thunder Rain might not have hurt Dugu Yan, but it had definitely humiliated her.
"Old man, I'm heading back. Look after Yanyan. Her body's numb right now, and she can barely defend herself."
Using Dugu Yan to distract Dugu Bo, Shen Feng beat his wings and raced toward the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
"Brat, you can dodge the first day, but you can't dodge the fifteenth! You're going to get a beating, and not even a Titled Douluo will save you. You can take that to the bank!"
After chasing him for several hundred meters and seeing that he couldn't catch Shen Feng, Dugu Bo had no choice but to drop his threat and turn back to look after Dugu Yan.
Shen Feng had already flown several kilometers away. Seeing that Dugu Bo wasn't following him, he wiped the nonexistent sweat from his forehead and chuckled.
"This fourth Soul Skill packs quite a punch. It even managed to hurt the old man."
"A Soul Ancestor fighting a Titled Douluo—it's like an ant gnawing on an elephant. And the ant actually managed to break through the elephant's defenses. That Soul Ring, which is thirty-six thousand years old, really is impressive."
"But the old man's anger is going to be a problem."
Five days later, on the day of Emperor Xue Ye's birthday banquet.
It was a fine, sunny morning.
Dugu Bo led Dugu Yan through the gates of Heaven Dou City. Following behind them was a humanoid figure wearing a strange mask.
One eye was green and the other purple. Half his face was white and half black, with a red dot on the tip of his nose. Strange, multicolored cloud patterns covered his forehead. He looked like a clown—somewhat terrifying, yet also a little comical.
As soon as they entered Heaven Dou City, the clown's appearance drew the attention of passersby. They pointed and whispered among themselves. A few small children were even frightened into tears by his terrifying appearance and clung to their parents, refusing to come out of their arms.
"Old man, Yanyan, maybe I shouldn't go after all. Looking like this, I'll only embarrass you."
Shen Feng's voice came out of the clown's mouth, sounding a little awkward.
Five days earlier, after his duel with Dugu Yan, Shen Feng had escaped for a while, but in the end he hadn't escaped forever. Dugu Bo had still managed to trick him through his meals.
Given Shen Feng's exceptionally high poison resistance, Dugu Bo hadn't poisoned him at all. Instead, he'd added some special substances to his food. They weren't toxic, but they caused severe pigmentation.
After five days of eating it, the effects had finally built up enough. On the morning of Emperor Xue Ye's birthday banquet, Dugu Bo had added the final ingredient to Shen Feng's breakfast, activating all the substances that had accumulated in his body over the preceding days.
By the time they arrived, Shen Feng had visibly transformed into the clown he was now.
Dugu Bo had clearly decided to make him thoroughly embarrass himself in public, all to let his precious granddaughter get revenge.
It was obvious that he'd succeeded.
Dugu Yan turned around and held up a pill in front of Shen Feng. "This is the antidote. It'll help the color on your body fade faster."
"How about it? Do you want it?"
Shen Feng curled his lip. "I don't think you're going to hand it over that easily."
Dugu Yan flashed a cunning smile. "How about a bet?"
"From here to the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, if you can catch up to me without using Soul Power, I'll give you the antidote."
Shen Feng's eyes lit up. "You mean it?"
Dugu Yan nodded. "Of course."
The moment Dugu Yan finished speaking, Shen Feng's expression changed. His muscles bulged, and he stomped hard, striking first as he shot toward her like an arrow released from a bowstring.
Dugu Yan's pupils contracted. She quickly used Martial Soul Possession, her lower body turning into a snake's tail as she slithered along the ground and dodged Shen Feng's sneak attack.
"Little brother, sneaking up on me isn't very nice."
"But it doesn't matter. I'll go first. If you catch up, I'll definitely give you the antidote."
"Just remember, no using Soul Power!"
With that, Dugu Yan moved like a nimble snake and vanished into the crowd.
Shen Feng inwardly cursed himself. His sneak attack had failed.
Without using Soul Power, Shen Feng was naturally at least a step behind in agility. The streets were crowded, and Dugu Yan's serpentine form could easily weave around every obstacle. He couldn't do the same.
If he charged around and caused a disturbance, he could just as well concede the contest right then and there.
Shen Feng knew that Dugu Yan merely wanted to make a fool of him. But in a city as crowded as Heaven Dou City, chasing her all the way to the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace while dressed like a clown would be just like making the front page.
He looked left and right, then quickly jumped onto the rooftops lining the street.
Relying on his powerful physique, he imitated the parkour moves he'd seen in his previous life, vaulting and scrambling with both hands and feet as he chased Dugu Yan without slowing down.
Watching Shen Feng and Dugu Yan dart about so energetically, Dugu Bo shook his head helplessly. Then he vanished from the street and followed close behind them.
Heaven Dou City was the imperial capital, and today was the day of Emperor Xue Ye's birthday banquet. Dugu Yan was using Martial Soul Possession to charge through the streets, while Shen Feng was leaping about and drawing everyone's attention. They were sure to attract plenty of Soul Masters—and might even draw the attention of law enforcement.
So it was his job to watch over them, keep them safe, and make sure no one interrupted their race.
After crossing several streets, Dugu Yan stopped at a quiet street corner and looked behind her. When she didn't see Shen Feng chasing after her, she laughed triumphantly.
"Hahaha, Xiao Feng, you're not all that impressive after all!"
Suddenly, a shadow fell over Dugu Yan, blocking the sun above her.
"Is that so?"
Shen Feng's voice came from overhead. His bizarre black-and-white mask appeared out of nowhere, giving Dugu Yan a fright.
"A ghost!"
"Yanzi, watch out!"
A young man's urgent shout rang out at the same time as Dugu Yan's cry.
The next moment, a huge blue dragon claw made of lightning burst around the street corner and slammed toward Shen Feng in midair. The air twisted violently in its wake, crackling with a sound that made one's heart pound.
Shen Feng's pupils contracted. He thrust both arms forward, violet-black lightning flashing around them as he prepared to take the blow head-on.
The next moment, the Thunder Dragon Claw struck his arms, unleashing a high-voltage current.
Shen Feng furrowed his brows. A flash of black-gold light flickered across his skin, and he used the force of the blow to flip backward.
His feet hit the ground, and the clothes on his upper body were completely shredded. His skin was covered in colorful patterns just like the ones on his face.
At the same time, a young man with black hair and blue clothes darted out from the street corner like lightning and quickly stepped in front of Dugu Yan. His gaze burned like fire as he glared at Shen Feng.
"Who are you, and why did you attack Yanzi?"
Shen Feng frowned as he looked at the young man who had suddenly appeared. He seemed to be in his early twenties, stood well over six feet tall, and had a lean build. His short black hair stood upright like steel needles. He wore a blue outfit with almost no ornamentation, and his cheeks were covered in fine scales that obscured his features.
Most striking of all were his arms. They were unnaturally thick and more than half a foot longer than a normal person's, reaching almost to his knees when hanging at his sides.
They were covered in blue-purple scales, and his sharp, eagle-like fingers bore the same scales. Every joint in his hands was unusually large, and blue-purple Thunder Snakes continually coiled and darted around his strange arms.
At a glance, he rather resembled Shen Feng when his Black Scale Armor had first appeared, before it evolved.
Five Soul Rings—two yellow, two purple, and one black—slowly revolved around his body. Clearly, he was a Soul King with the standard optimal Soul Ring Configuration.
Seeing the young man's appearance, Shen Feng immediately realized who he was. Though his features were hard to make out, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul had given away his identity.
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