Dugu Bo: I Beg You

Boom!

The Jade Phosphorous Emperor Serpent Martial Soul opened its blood-filled maw, unleashing a green beam of light that shot into the sky.

Flender showed no fear whatsoever. Following the instructions in the Chat Group, he opened the red packets one by one.

Samuel Oak's Red Packet · Hyper Beam ×n!

Boom boom boom boom...

Dozens of energy beams brimming with the purest, most basic energy blasted toward the Jade Phosphorous Emperor Serpent's attack. Each beam was nearly powerful enough to destroy a coastal city's harbor and the surrounding buildings.

One beam was still something the Jade Phosphorous Emperor Serpent could contend with, but dozens of them made even Dugu Bo, standing atop the serpent's head, feel his mind go blank.

What was this? A Spirit Bone skill? Why couldn't he sense even a trace of Soul Power?

Several Hyper Beams streaked through the air, gradually merging into a thicker ray as they flew like meteors.

When it collided with the Jade Phosphorous Emperor Serpent Martial Soul's breath, it forcefully shoved the Soul Power breath attack back in an instant.

Dugu Bo's pupils shifted as the Jade Phosphorous Emperor Serpent Martial Soul twisted nimbly, immediately dodging the Hyper Beam.

Watching silently, Flender gave Professor Oak a mental thumbs-up.

After the fusion of multiple Pokémon worldviews, Professor Oak's world was most likely the one with the most terrifying upper limit among the four of them. Its lower limit had also risen dramatically as a result.

Flender vaguely remembered that in the special manga, when Kanto's Elite Four leader Lance first appeared, he had destroyed Vermilion City's harbor with a single Hyper Beam.

Now that Professor Oak was gradually recovering his peak strength, reaching Lance's level would not be a problem.

Dugu Bo did not understand what was happening, but he could roughly guess that this was the inherited power of that brat.

"Hahahaha..."

A crazed laugh rang out as Dugu Bo grew even more excited. Wonderful, this was exactly it.

The stronger you are, the better your inheritance proves to be, and the more likely you are to save everything I have!

"I will break your wings and make you obediently become a bird in a cage!"

The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Martial Soul began to writhe madly. With every step it took forward, Sunset Forest seemed to tremble. Countless Soul Beasts, pressured by its aura, fled with all their might from the battlefield.

"I refuse." Flender's tone was calm. "My dream will not end here!"

Wind Domain!

A violent gale rose, and the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Martial Soul's movements seemed to have suddenly been glued down, visibly slowing.

Yet Flender's Wind Eagle beat its broad wings against the wind, growing faster and faster as it flew directly toward Dugu Bo.

That ultimate wind brushed gently across the Jade Phosphorous Emperor Serpent's surface, blowing away every trace of poison-laced Soul Power.

Dugu Bo could feel himself slowing down, yet it was not the slowing of time.

As Flender drew closer and closer, the chill in his snake-like eyes grew increasingly frigid.

At last, Flender entered range. Dugu Bo's Soul Power suddenly surged, and a third eye abruptly opened on the Jade Phosphorous Emperor Serpent's forehead.

Head Spirit Bone Skill · Medusa's Gaze!

Sixth Soul Skill · Soaring Ten Thousand Miles Body!

Within the field of vision affected by that Soul Power, Flender likewise erupted with Soul Power. The whirlwind surrounding the Wind Eagle spun at high speed.

His speed doubled. With the Wind Domain activated alongside it, Dugu Bo excelled at poison, but speed was absolutely not his strength.

As far as the eye could see, there was only a faint breeze drifting in—and then nothing else.

"On rainy days... numbness in the ribs..."

Flender kept the intelligence from the worldline firmly in mind as the Wind Eagle reached the Jade Phosphorous Emperor Serpent Martial Soul's chest and abdomen.

Zephyr's Red Packet · Advanced Conqueror's Haki!

An invisible pressure formed lightning-like black streaks that raced wildly about before concentrating into an unseen fist and smashing into the Jade Phosphorous Emperor Serpent Martial Soul.

Boom!

The Soul Power instinctively protecting its surface was pierced by Haki from another world—Internal Destruction.

The Martial Soul Avatar shared everything with its user, including the damage it suffered. Dugu Bo's ribs were his weak point, the place most severely corroded by his own poison.

Even a Title Douluo's body could crush any Spirit Master or Soul Beast below his level, but a weakness was still a weakness.

The certainty in Dugu Bo's heart had long been buried in dust after he became a Title Douluo yet still failed to change anything.

"Cough!"

As though struck by a heavy blow, Dugu Bo immediately spat out a mouthful of old blood. The blood was black as ink, and the moment it was exposed to the air, it reacted violently.

The Jade Phosphorous Emperor Serpent's poison had long seeped into Dugu Bo's organs and meridians. Naturally, his blood was no exception.

His aura began to turn chaotic, and Dugu Bo vaguely felt the poison inside him erupting again, sending bone-piercing pain through his entire body.

But Dugu Bo did not care in the slightest. He had long grown accustomed to it. He merely continued staring fixedly at Flender, too lazy even to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Good, very good..."

"You saw through my weakness. You know I am suffering poison backlash. In your mind... there is knowledge!"

Rather than becoming angry, he laughed. Combined with his teeth stained blackish-red by blood, Dugu Bo looked as ferocious as an evil ghost. After a brief adjustment of his breathing, all the rampaging poison was suppressed.

But Flender had already seized the opening to fly high into the sky, looking down at Dugu Bo.

"Senior, you have overlooked one thing. Perhaps I cannot defeat you right now, since those powers were never mine to begin with. But... if I want to leave now, you cannot stop me."

Flender once again realized the might of a Title Douluo. This worldline seemed far too strengthened. Even after his weak point was struck by a killing move, Dugu Bo merely spat out some blood.

But strength depended on the situation. As a Title Douluo, Dugu Bo could walk through the air, but... he could not fly!

The wind had already gathered behind the Wind Eagle Martial Soul. From the Griffin earlier, Flender had learned an important lesson in life.

This time, Dugu Bo suddenly froze, his evil ghost-like smile stiffening.

Wait, when did that brat get into the sky? If he possessed the speed he had used to approach me earlier...

A thought flashed through his mind, and the Wind Eagle Martial Soul had already carried Flender a thousand meters away.

Dugu Bo's breathing caught, and he shouted without a second thought.

"Wait!"

Flender turned a deaf ear. He had already proven his value; now it was Dugu Bo's turn to prove his sincerity.

"I, no, I... I, Dugu Bo, ask you, no... beg you to stop!"

His tongue tied itself several times, but Dugu Bo finally forced out those words.

Whoosh...

The Wind Eagle Martial Soul came to a halt. Yet Flender was already several thousand meters away, and he was certain that even if Dugu Bo suddenly attacked, he could leave at once.

"Then, Senior, why exactly were you looking for me?"

Seeing that Flender was willing to talk, Dugu Bo almost wanted to cry. He did not know how to describe his feelings at this moment. He only knew one thing.

His child could be saved.

"You should have seen my condition."

"Poison backlash, deep into the marrow. Anyone below a Title Douluo would certainly die from it. It has even... fused with the bloodline and been passed down through the generations."

Dugu Bo gave a smile that looked like crying and tears that looked like laughter. "Therefore, I, Dugu Bo, have something to ask of you."

"You want to save yourself, or..." Flender knowingly asked, "your child?"

"I beg you, save my son. He is already at death's door, barely clinging to life. If you can save him, I, Dugu Bo, swear to the heavens that you may use this life of mine three times."

Dugu Bo withdrew the Jade Phosphorous Emperor Serpent Martial Soul and descended to the ground. Recalling all the unheard-of mysteries surrounding Flender, he lowered himself.

"Right now, you are only a father." Looking at Dugu Bo, who had "shrunk a notch," Flender stroked his chin, feeling slightly moved inside.

"I doubt anyone would refuse the temptation of commanding a Title Douluo. But can I trust you, Poison Douluo?"

"I, Dugu Bo, swear to the heavens that if I ever again harbor the intent to harm you, may I die a horrible death and find no peace even in the underworld."

Dugu Bo did not hesitate in the slightest.

The Wind Eagle flapped its wings, carrying Flender back before Dugu Bo.

"Then that is enough, Senior Dugu Bo. A gentleman's word is as good as gold."

Flender smiled as he politely extended his hand to Dugu Bo. The plan had succeeded.

Dugu Bo was speechless for a moment. He almost instantly seized Flender's hand, only slowly releasing it after coming to his senses, then gently shaking it.

"You... really can do it?"

"Trying is better than having no hope at all."

"You're right."