Dugu Bo Breaks the Square

Dugu Yan sat up straight and listened intently, while Dugu Bo, who had been wearing a deadpan expression, slowly revealed a faint smile.

"Your Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul is inherently flawed; it lacks an organ or vessel to store its toxins."

"There are several ways to solve this."

"First, simply stop cultivating the toxins. If the toxins are gone, the problem naturally resolves itself."

"Second, find a Soul Bone to store the toxins." Upon hearing this, Dugu Bo slapped his thigh, his face full of regret as he muttered:

"That's right, why didn't I think of that? If I had known this method back then, Yan Yan's parents wouldn't have had to die."

"Senior Dugu, don't be happy too soon. While using a Soul Bone to store toxins is feasible, this method has limitations. The space within a Soul Bone to store toxins is finite, so it can only serve as a backup plan."

A bucket of cold water was poured over his head, instantly forcing Dugu Bo to calm down.

"Little friend, I apologize for my earlier offense."

"Judging by your tone, are there other methods?"

Su Ming felt quite satisfied hearing Dugu Bo's apology; after all, this old guy was truly capable when it came to getting things done.

"Fine, I forgive you, Senior Dugu. We can consider this a case of not knowing each other until we fought."

"Beyond wanting to warn Dugu Yan after seeing she was poisoned, the more important reason is that I see this Martial Soul has flaws, but also immense room and direction for evolution."

Hearing that a Martial Soul could evolve, Dugu Yan looked shocked, while Dugu Bo was not surprised, as his own Martial Soul had evolved before.

Seeing the two of them looking somewhat stunned, Su Ming began to explain.

"Martial Souls can indeed evolve. I have experimented with this, and according to my results, the weaker the quality of the Martial Soul, the better the effect of absorbing a corresponding high-quality Soul Ring, making evolution easier."

"Take Senior Dugu, for example. Your Jade Phosphorous Serpent evolved into a Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor at your ninth Soul Ring! You must have hunted a high-quality Soul Beast that matched the Jade Phosphorous Serpent, which allowed your Martial Soul to evolve."

Su Ming continued: "Senior Dugu's Martial Soul evolved, but it didn't evolve completely. If it had fully evolved, the toxin problem would certainly have been solved. Therefore, unless the Martial Soul evolves again, or you complete the evolution that was left unfinished, I have no way to help."

Dugu Bo quickly retorted: "Things that can make a Martial Soul evolve are even rarer than Soul Bones; that is even more impossible."

"So, I don't have much confidence regarding Senior Dugu's Martial Soul, but if Dugu Yan follows my guidance for her future cultivation plans, as well as what kind of Soul Beasts to hunt and what kind of Soul Rings to absorb, there is a very high probability of solving it."

Dugu Bo pondered for a moment and said: "If my problem cannot be solved, then so be it. As long as Yan Yan's Martial Soul toxin problem is resolved and it doesn't harm her, that is enough."

Su Ming looked at the contemplative Dugu Bo and chuckled:

"Senior Dugu, you may have misunderstood. The 'solution' I am talking about is different from yours. I mean helping Dugu Yan completely rid herself of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul's toxin problem. Once solved, even if her future descendants awaken the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul, they will not die young due to hereditary toxins."

"This is why I warned Dugu Yan. The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul usually awakens with an Innate Soul Power between six and nine levels; it is definitely a high-tier, near-top-tier Martial Soul."

"Moreover, when the Martial Soul is first awakened, the toxins are relatively scarce. This means the toxin attribute accounts for a very small portion of your origin, while your own origin is powerful. As long as it is utilized reasonably, evolution can be easily achieved. Am I right, Senior Dugu?"

After listening to Su Ming's explanation, Dugu Bo thought about it and realized it was true. Whether it was his own Innate 9th level or his son's Innate 7th level, the toxins were indeed not that strong or abundant when the Martial Soul was first awakened. He said:

"That is indeed the case. When I awakened Yan Yan's Martial Soul, she had Innate 8th level Soul Power, and the toxins were indeed very few, yet her Innate Soul Power was very high."

At this point, Dugu Bo suddenly recalled Su Ming saying it was "easily achieved," and his expression changed. Clearly intending to intimidate Su Ming, he said fiercely:

"Are you planning to use Yan Yan as a test subject? Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"

Su Ming saw Dugu Bo's expression and knew he was just trying to scare him, so he said:

"Yes, so shall we start now? Also, I cannot cure the toxins in Senior Dugu's body right now, but if you can find some rare medicinal herbs, I have several ways to help you suppress the toxins and alleviate the damage and pain they cause to your body."

Having said this, Su Ming chuckled again.

"To be honest, if I hadn't observed Senior Dugu at close range and combined that with Dugu Yan's situation, knowing that your poison has reached your marrow and every corner of your body, anyone else with deep cultivation would have assumed it was caused by practicing poison arts. After all, you are the only Titled Douluo who cultivates the poison attribute."

Hearing the first half of Su Ming's words, Dugu Bo felt his ears buzzing.

What did he mean by "hard to cure," and what did he mean by "several ways to barely suppress it if there are suitable herbs"?

Following that, hearing the second half of Su Ming's words, blood rushed to Dugu Bo's face, and he turned bright red; the toxins in his body were becoming difficult to suppress.

What did he mean by "anyone can tell I'm poisoned at a glance"?

Poet?! I'll eat you, poet!

After Su Ming finished speaking, he quietly watched Dugu Bo, waiting for him to lose his composure. Who knew he wouldn't get a breakdown, but instead saw him turn bright red.

Seeing this, Su Ming knew something was wrong. He thought, Damn it, I just wanted to rattle you because you scared me, I didn't tell you to overheat! If you can't control the toxins now and they fully erupt, damn it! The whole academy will suffer, no, the entire Heaven Dou City will suffer.

Su Ming hurriedly said: "Senior Dugu, calm down, calm down! You cannot let the toxins erupt, think of Dugu Yan."

As he spoke, Su Ming quickly nudged Dugu Yan, signaling her to help comfort Dugu Bo.

"That's right, Grandfather, think of my parents; they all died because of this Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul. Now that there is a solution, you cannot collapse now."

Under their constant comfort, and with Su Ming's promise that he could make Dugu Yan's Martial Soul evolve completely, Dugu Bo's complexion finally returned to normal.

Seeing Dugu Bo's face return to normal, Su Ming finally breathed a sigh of relief, thinking: Finally suppressed. I'm not a good person, but if the toxins really couldn't be suppressed and died because of my influence, how many people would perish? Besides, there are many important figures in Heaven Dou City; I would definitely be hunted by all the major forces on the continent. Just thinking about it is terrifying.

On the other side, Dugu Bo suppressed the toxins in his body and calmed his mood before saying to Su Ming:

"Didn't you say you needed medicinal herbs to suppress my toxins? That is easy to handle. I have a herb garden in the Sunset Forest where many herbs grow. I believe there must be what you need there."

The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well—he finally mentioned the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.