Dugu Yan stepped onto the field and immediately released her Martial Soul, the Jade Phosphorous Serpent. Her Spirit Rings were two yellow and one purple.
"First Spirit Skill: Jade Phosphorous Red Poison: Frenzy Poison." Dugu Yan activated her first Spirit Skill, and her entire body grew feverishly excited.
She urged the Jade Phosphorous Serpent to open its gaping maw at Qian Yu.
Qian Yu's face remained frosty. He simply activated his Second Spirit Skill—Sky Full of Dancing Bullets—and his purple Spirit Ring lit up.
The whole crowd was shocked once more. "His second Spirit Ring is actually purple? Is he even human?"
The Heaven Dou Second Team members all gaped, too astonished to speak.
Dugu Yan was also taken aback by Qian Yu's move.
"Hmph, putting on a show." Dugu Yan steeled herself and activated her Second Spirit Skill: Jade Phosphorous Blue Poison: Paralysis Poison. It dulled her pain and increased her defense by 30 percent. Then she charged at Qian Yu, ready to fight him at close range.
Qian Yu used Spirit Detection to lock onto Dugu Yan. He activated his Second Spirit Skill: 98k Fire Dragon Barrage.
The two clashed, and neither gained the upper hand.
"Again." Dugu Yan refused to give up so easily.
The Jade Phosphorous Serpent swung around, trying to coil around Qian Yu.
Qian Yu used his 98K to create a blast of air and nimbly dodged Dugu Yan's Entanglement.
Dugu Yan flew into a rage.
She countered with her Third Spirit Skill. "Boy, you forced me to do this. Jade Phosphorous Purple Poison!" Her purple Spirit Ring lit up, and purple smoke filled the field. Qin Ming hurriedly told the spectators to retreat.
Dugu Yan thought she had won. As the team's control-type Soul Master, she had absolute confidence in her serpent venom. After all, her Martial Soul had been inherited from Dugu Bo, the Titled Douluo widely recognized as the continent's foremost poison Soul Master.
"Teacher Qin Ming, you can announce the result now, can't you? Otherwise, I can't guarantee that kid will survive."
Dugu Yan stood atop the Jade Phosphorous Serpent's head. As it slowly rose, she surveyed the entire field.
The Heaven Dou Royal Second Team members cheered excitedly. "We won! Sister Yanzi won! You're the best, Sister Yanzi!"
"You..." Ning Rongrong, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing had all seen how potent Dugu Yan's serpent venom was.
Wherever the venom passed, it ate through anything it touched, corroding flesh and turning bone to pus.
"Qian Yu!" They couldn't help worrying about his safety.
"Dugu Yan..." Qin Ming deliberately drew out her name, hoping to sentence Qian Yu to death.
But before Qin Ming could finish, Qian Yu had already used his Second Spirit Skill to blow away the poisonous smoke.
"You? How can you be unharmed?" Now it was Dugu Yan's turn to be shocked.
Of course, Qian Yu wasn't about to tell her that he had a Devouring Eye that could consume everything in the world.
He answered Dugu Yan with the explosive air blasts from the 98K bullets of his AK47.
The bullets exploded repeatedly around Dugu Yan.
He had no intention of taking her life, but Dugu Yan still refused to admit defeat.
Qian Yu frowned. "This girl really is stubborn. Even this won't make her give up."
Qian Yu glanced at Qin Ming, but the other man turned his head away, clearly taking Dugu Yan's side.
Qian Yu had no intention of dragging things out with Dugu Yan, nor did he want to offend her. After all, he was after something that belonged to her family.
Qian Yu fired several bullets with delayed explosions, then put away his Martial Soul and walked back to Xiao Wu and the others.
"Qian Yu, what do you mean by this?" Dugu Yan glared at him, nearly screaming.
Then she spat out another mouthful of blood and collapsed unconscious.
"Yanzi?" The Heaven Dou Royal Second Team members cried out to Dugu Yan one after another.
Qin Ming panicked, rushing over to examine her. Only then did he realize that Dugu Yan's old ailment had struck again.
The poison had attacked her heart—an old affliction of the Dugu Family. Whenever they used the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul, they had to endure the serpent's venom ravaging their bodies. It flared up every so often, and the more they used their Martial Soul, the more frequently it struck.
Dugu Yan's parents had both died from this. Dugu Bo had survived until now because reaching the Titled Douluo rank had improved his resistance to poison, but he still often suffered the agonizing pain of poison gnawing at his heart and bones.
"Ye Lingling, quickly contact Senior Dugu Bo. Everyone else, disperse."
"Shi Mo, take Qian Yu and the others to their dormitories."
Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing shared a dormitory, while Qian Yu had one to himself.
As it happened, Dugu Bo was in Heaven Dou Imperial City that day. He arrived in less than half an hour.
Ignoring Heaven Dou Royal Academy's no-fly zone, Dugu Bo forced his way straight into the academy.
"Qin Ming, give me an explanation! Who did this to Yanzi?"
Dugu Bo amplified his voice with Soul Power.
The Heaven Dou Second Team members, Qian Yu, Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing had all gathered around Qin Ming. Meng Shenji, Bai Baoshan, and the Three Education Committee Members were there as well.
Qin Ming stepped up to Dugu Bo and bowed respectfully. "Your Excellency Poison Douluo, Dugu Yan was sparring with Qian Yu. The poison in her body flared up."
Qin Ming made it sound as though he were being fair.
In truth, he hoped to use Dugu Bo to kill Qian Yu.
"Again, you lot?" Dugu Bo fixed his gaze on Qian Yu and the others.
He had a vivid impression of Qian Yu—the boy who had withstood his Soul Pressure at level 50.
But now that Qin Ming had told him Qian Yu had caused his granddaughter's poison to flare up, Dugu Bo couldn't help getting angry. "Boy, do you know your crime?"
As he spoke, the Titled Douluo's Soul Pressure locked onto Qian Yu.
Just as Qian Yu was about to bear Dugu Bo's Soul Pressure, the three Education Committee Members, led by Meng Shenji, stepped forward. "Dugu Bo, this has happened once already. You're a Titled Douluo—why quarrel with a child?"
The three Education Committee Members were furious, too.
Dugu Bo only laughed. Apart from his granddaughter, Old Poison had no one. Outsiders criticized him for being withdrawn and lacking the bearing of a Titled Douluo, but who knew that his granddaughter was the apple of his eye?
For his granddaughter, he wouldn't just abandon his pride—he'd even slaughter Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
Dugu Bo waved his hand and pulled Qian Yu over. With a single palm strike, he knocked Qian Yu unconscious. Then, moving at the speed of a Titled Douluo, he went straight to Dugu Yan's dormitory and took her away.
The three Education Committee Members tried to stop him, but they couldn't keep up with Dugu Bo. All they could do was watch helplessly as he took Qian Yu and Dugu Yan away.
Qin Ming looked reluctant, but inwardly he was overjoyed. "Qian Yu, you humiliated my alma mater, Shrek. And Ning Rongrong, you lot—without Qian Yu, I'll make sure you experience the heights of pleasure and pain!"
Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu were frantic. "It's over. Brother Qian Yu is done for."
Ning Rongrong was panicking, too. She grabbed Meng Shenji by the sleeve. "Grandpa Meng, hurry and take me back to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. I'll ask Sword Grandpa and Bone Grandpa to save Qian Yu."
Meng Shenji's eyes lit up.
"That's right! The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has two Super Douluos. They're not afraid of Dugu Bo."
"Stay at the academy. We'll take Rongrong, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect," Meng Shenji told Qin Ming and the Second Team members.
Then he took the girls and flew off at top speed.
At Dugu Bo's place.
If Qian Yu could have woken up, he would have found himself in a deep valley thick with vegetation and rich with spiritual energy, filled with birdsong and the fragrance of flowers. At the bottom of its shadowy ravine lay a spring, surrounded by ancient, gnarled trees that blotted out the sky. A thin layer of ice clung to the cliffs, yet scorching white mist rose from them. The central pool was divided into two distinct halves: one roiled with icy waves, its surface covered in ice shards, while bone-piercing cold penetrated straight into the soul meridians; the other seethed with boiling waves and blistering heat, the air itself shimmering and warping. Strange flowers and rare herbs grew all around the pool. Poisonous aura and vitality intertwined, while mist swirled where the two waters met. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged there, but the opposing forces of ice and fire made it a deadly place that ordinary Soul Masters wouldn't dare approach.
This was none other than the Douluo Continent's greatest forbidden ground—the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
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