Deep in Sunset Forest, miasma hung thick in the air.
Guided by Yu Nan's powerful Spiritual Detection, the grandfather and granddaughter soon pinpointed a damp, chilly stone forest.
Jagged rocks jutted everywhere, not a blade of grass grew, and the air reeked of suffocating sulfur and a rank, fishy stench.
"Just ahead."
Yu Nan's voice sounded in Dugu Yan's mind:
"That beast is shedding its skin. This is when it's at its weakest.
Old Poison Freak, finish it quickly. Don't give it a chance to use its Petrification Beam.
I'm not afraid of it, but if we wreck the surrounding terrain, that'll be a nuisance."
"Rest assured, senior. If I can't handle a mere seventy-thousand-year-old beast while it's shedding its skin, then I might as well have wasted all those years reaching level ninety-two!"
Dugu Bo snorted, green light blazing in his eyes.
He flashed forward, his whole body becoming a blur as he charged into the stone forest.
Boom!
The next instant, a earth-shaking roar rang out from deep within the stone forest.
A terrifying giant serpent, over twenty meters long and grayish-brown all over, with a single eye atop its head
and tiny snakes covering its body, burst out of the rubble!
It was Medusa, a Soul Beast with seventy thousand years of cultivation!
A deathly pale beam shot from its single eye. Wherever it passed, solid rock crumbled to dust.
Yet against Dugu Bo, whose strength had surged, this Ferocious Beast that usually lorded over the area seemed to be struggling.
"Wretched beast, get down!"
Dugu Bo roared, and the phantom of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor suddenly appeared behind him.
The terrifying pressure of a Title Douluo crashed down like a mountain, forcing Medusa, which had just raised its head, hard back to the ground!
"Medusa's Gaze?
"Hmph. You think you can play eye games with me? You're still wet behind the ears!"
Dugu Bo clenched his right hand in midair, and poisonous green mist instantly gathered into a gigantic claw.
Ignoring Medusa's petrified skin, it clamped down hard on the serpent's vital spot!
Crack!
The sound of bones breaking rang clear.
Medusa writhed frantically, but under the absolute strength of a level-ninety-two Title Douluo, all resistance was futile.
"Die!"
As Soul Power surged from Dugu Bo's palm, deadly poison instantly struck Medusa's heart.
Its massive body convulsed several times, then crashed to the ground, on the brink of death!
"Yan Yan, finish it!"
Dugu Bo turned and called out.
"Mm!"
Dugu Yan summoned her Poison Dragon Martial Soul and finished it off with ease.
Buzz—
A point of black light, deep beyond measure, slowly rose from Medusa's corpse.
It finally condensed into a black Soul Ring radiating terrifying resentment.
Around the ring, Medusa's hideous soul could just barely be seen roaring in fury, clearly unable to rest in peace.
"That's a lot of resentment..."
Dugu Yan looked at the Soul Ring. Though Yu Nan had assured her, instinct still made her heart skip.
"What are you afraid of? I'm here."
Yu Nan's disdainful voice rang out:
"Go on. Sit down and absorb it.
The stronger the resentment, the higher the Soul Ring's quality—and the greater the benefits for you."
Dugu Yan took a deep breath and nodded, then prepared to step forward and sit cross-legged.
Just then—
Rustle, rustle, rustle!
A rush of footsteps and the swish of clothing suddenly came from the nearby bushes.
Several powerful auras rapidly drew near!
"Who's there?!"
Dugu Bo's face darkened. He spun around and shielded Dugu Yan behind him.
Murderous intent gleamed in his eyes.
Anyone who showed up at such a critical moment might be here to steal the Soul Ring—or kill and rob them.
At any other time, he might have let it pass. But now his granddaughter was about to absorb this perilous Soul Ring, and Dugu Bo would allow no mishap!
"Show yourselves!"
Dugu Bo bellowed, unleashing the terrifying aura of a Title Douluo.
It became a wave of green energy that swept toward the source of the sound!
"Your Eminence, please calm down! Please, Your Eminence!"
Accompanied by a panicked cry, several figures stumbled out of the woods, barely dodging the shockwave of Dugu Bo's aura.
Once he saw who they were, a flicker of surprise crossed Dugu Bo's murderous face.
"Hm? What are you doing here?"
The people who emerged from the woods were dressed in finery.
At their head was an old man in a black robe, his hair and beard completely white.
Though he looked somewhat disheveled, the Soul Power fluctuations around him had reached the Soul Douluo level.
He was Meng Shenji, chief of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy's Education Committee and an eighty-sixth-level Soul Douluo!
Behind Meng Shenji were two other old men: Bai Baoshan, the committee's second-in-command, and Zhilin, its third-in-command.
Several young students stood protected behind the three committee members.
Among them was a slender, handsome young man: Yu Tianheng of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
"Your Eminence, Dugu Bo?!"
Meng Shenji was also taken aback to see Dugu Bo. Then relief spread across his face, and he hurried forward to pay his respects:
"I never expected to meet you here, Your Eminence. What a relief!"
"We sensed intense Soul Power fluctuations over here and thought a powerful Soul Beast was fighting. Worried the students might get hurt, we came to investigate..."
As he spoke, Meng Shenji's gaze passed Dugu Bo and landed on the enormous Medusa corpse and the pitch-black Soul Ring beside it.
His eyes widened in shock!
"This... this is..."
"A seventy-thousand-year-old Medusa?!"
Meng Shenji sucked in a breath, staring at Dugu Bo in disbelief:
"Your Eminence, you..."
Dugu Bo frowned slightly. Though he was an honorary guest of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, these old fellows had barged in without warning.
It still annoyed him.
But he wouldn't strike someone who came bearing a smile, especially not a member of the academy's Education Committee.
"Hmph. I brought my granddaughter to hunt for a Soul Ring. What, is Sunset Forest owned by your family?
"Do I have to report to you wherever I go?"
Dugu Bo's tone was cool, edged with pride.
"Of course not!"
Meng Shenji hurriedly waved his hands and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead:
"It's just... is this seventy-thousand-year-old Medusa for..."
His gaze fell on Dugu Yan, his eyes filled with shock.
How old was Dugu Yan?
Fifty levels?
She was going to absorb a seventy-thousand-year Soul Ring?
Had Dugu Bo gone mad?
"Meng Shenji, don't ask questions you shouldn't."
Dugu Bo cut him off coldly. Green light flickered around him, clearly signaling for them to leave:
"I'm guarding Yan Yan while she absorbs the Soul Ring. I have no time to reminisce with you.
"Take your students and retreat five miles!"
"Otherwise, don't blame my poison for showing no mercy!"
Hearing Dugu Bo's utterly merciless order, laced with a chilling hint of murderous intent, the wrinkles on Meng Shenji's face froze in place.
Behind him, Bai Baoshan and Zhilin exchanged baffled looks, their eyes full of shock and confusion.
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