Douluo Traversal, I Pulled Out a Dou Technique—Why Didn't You Explode?

A dark line appeared across Liu Bai's forehead.

He gently removed Dugu Yan's mischievous hand and spoke seriously.

"Senior Dugu, Sister Yanyan, I'm not joking. I'm serious."

Dugu Bo frowned.

"Kid, do you know the maximum age limit for a Soul Master's second Soul Ring?"

"This junior does."

"And you still dare to ask for a thousand-year Soul Ring? Aren't you afraid of exploding to death?"

Liu Bai smiled.

"Senior Dugu, as far as I know, this so-called maximum absorption age is only a general standard. In my view, what truly restricts the age of Soul Rings a Soul Master can absorb should be the Soul Master's physique."

Dugu Bo thought about it. He knew Liu Bai was right. When Soul Masters absorbed ten-year, hundred-year, or even thousand-year Soul Rings, what truly limited the age they could absorb was indeed their physique.

Many people chose a ten-year Soul Ring for their first ring and a hundred-year Soul Ring for their third ring, not because they could not hunt Soul Beasts of those levels. Most of the time, it was because their physiques could not withstand Soul Rings of that age.

Theoretically, a Soul Master could even absorb a nine-thousand-nine-hundred-year Soul Ring at the Soul Grandmaster stage. But that was ultimately only theory and could not truly be achieved.

"Kid, are you sure your physique meets the standard?"

Liu Bai nodded confidently.

"Rest assured, Senior Dugu. I have trained my physique since I was four years old. I believe my current physique is no weaker than that of an ordinary Soul Elder. Otherwise, I would not dare make this request to absorb a thousand-year Soul Ring."

There was one thing Liu Bai did not say: he still had a second Martial Soul!

The Golden Flame Martial Soul might not have done much to improve his physique, but the Blood Martial Soul was completely different.

Those with Body Martial Souls naturally possessed physiques superior to ordinary Soul Masters. The fact that nearly everyone in the Body Sect ten thousand years later could absorb Soul Rings beyond their limits revealed as much.

Not to mention that Dou Qi was constantly tempering his body.

Since Liu Bai dared ask for a thousand-year Soul Ring, he naturally had absolute confidence!

Seeing that Liu Bai had made up his mind, Dugu Bo recalled that when he had examined Liu Bai's bones earlier, he had confirmed that Liu Bai's physique was indeed far stronger than that of an ordinary Soul Grandmaster.

It seemed this kid really might succeed in absorbing it.

A thousand-year second Soul Ring? It would be unprecedented!

"Fine. Since that is the case, this old man will prepare a thousand-year Fire Earth Dragon for you. If you fail to absorb it and explode to death, don't blame this old man for not warning you."

Seeing that even her grandfather had agreed, Dugu Yan grew anxious and wanted to persuade Liu Bai again.

"Sister Yanyan, don't worry. Don't you know my strength? Since I dared propose absorbing a thousand-year Soul Ring, I have absolute confidence that I can succeed!"

Dugu Yan could no longer say anything.

"All right, but you have to promise that there absolutely won't be any danger."

Liu Bai nodded.

"Fine, I promise."

Chapter 14: A Thousand-Year Second Ring!

Dugu Bo watched his granddaughter and Liu Bai fuss over each other with such tenderness. For some reason, his chest felt a little blocked.

No, if he got the chance in the future, he definitely had to put this brat through a proper training session.

The three entered Sunset Forest. As Dugu Bo's territory, he knew the place extremely well, and in less than half a day, they found the Soul Beast Dugu Yan needed.

It was a thousand-year Purple Nether Snake, and the absorption process went very smoothly.

Naturally, Dugu Bo would not let his granddaughter take any risks. The Soul Beast's age had been chosen perfectly.

After Dugu Yan finished absorbing her Soul Ring, it was naturally Liu Bai's turn next.

It still took only half a day for the three to find the Soul Beast they needed: an eleven-hundred-year Fire Earth Dragon.

With a wave of Dugu Bo's hand, poisonous mist blanketed the area, and every Soul Beast nearby collapsed to the ground from the poison.

Liu Bai took out a dagger and stepped forward to finish it off.

A bright purple Soul Ring rose into the air.

Dugu Bo gave one final warning.

"Kid, think it over. Once you begin, you won't be able to stop. Even if I forcibly interrupt the absorption process, you will still suffer severe injuries."

Without the slightest hesitation, Liu Bai sat cross-legged, summoned his Martial Soul, drew in the Soul Ring, and had it descend upon him.

A surge of violent energy poured into his body.

"Good kid, decisive enough!"

Dugu Bo was already prepared to interrupt Liu Bai at any moment, while Dugu Yan sat to the side with a worried expression.

Clearly, both of their worries were entirely unnecessary. Liu Bai did not even show the slightest sign of discomfort during the absorption process.

Even Dugu Bo found it strange. Was it really this easy? Even if Liu Bai could absorb it, it should not have been this effortless.

Yet that was simply the truth.

Time slowly passed, and this absorption lasted an entire half day.

As the sky gradually darkened, Dugu Bo lit a bonfire. It was normally inadvisable to start fires carelessly in a Soul Beast forest, but with Dugu Bo present, there was no danger even in Sunset Forest.

Finally, the absorption ended.

Liu Bai let out a long breath of stale air.

"Phew..."

He clenched his fist. Not bad. The effects of this absorption were truly gratifying. His Soul Power had officially broken through to level twenty-two, making him a Soul Grandmaster. His Dou Qi cultivation had also accelerated again due to absorbing the Soul Ring, and he had now reached the ninth stage of Dou Qi.

A year ago, he had only been at the fifth stage of Dou Qi. He had gained two stages in a year, then another two stages from absorbing the Soul Ring.

Barring any surprises, he should be able to complete the Dou Qi stage within a year, condense a Dou Qi Cyclone, and break through to become a Dou Zhe.

He had no way to obtain something like Qi Gathering Powder, so he could only rely on himself to condense a Dou Qi Cyclone.

To be safe, though, before condensing the Dou Qi Cyclone at the final step, he planned to consume an Immortal Herb first to improve his chances of success.

Seeing Liu Bai awaken, Dugu Yan hurried over and looked him up and down.

"Xiao Bai, how was it? Did it go smoothly? Are there any aftereffects?"

After all, this was the first time anyone had absorbed a thousand-year Soul Ring as their second Soul Ring.

But Dugu Bo had already seen through it. Liu Bai was completely fine. That physique...

A monster!

"Don't worry, Sister Yanyan. I'm fine. It went very smoothly."

Dugu Yan could not help patting his shoulder.

"You freak, you actually succeeded."

"Sister Yanyan, maybe use a different word to describe me next time."

"Enough nonsense. Hurry up and show me your second Soul Skill. A thousand-year second Soul Ring!"

Liu Bai nodded, and his second purple Soul Ring lit up.

"Second Soul Skill, Flame Dragon Scorching Bite!"

The Golden Flame in his hand suddenly surged in power, and with a wave of Liu Bai's hand, it shot directly toward a large tree in front of him!

Boom!

In an instant, the tree was pierced through by the Golden Flame. The residual Flame above it continued burning, and before long, the entire tree was reduced to ashes.

"Second Soul Skill, Flame Dragon Scorching Bite. It increases Flame attachment by one hundred percent, Flame damage by fifty percent, and Flame temperature by fifty percent."

"Hiss..."

Dugu Yan sucked in a breath. Liu Bai's Golden Flame had already been terrifyingly powerful. Back then, with only his First Soul Skill, he had been able to fight Yu Tianheng, who was about to break through to Soul Elder, on even terms. Now that he could use this second Soul Skill, Yu Tianheng might truly be no match for Liu Bai.

No, Yu Tianheng had also broken through level thirty over the past year. He had gone back to absorb a Soul Ring, and when he returned, he would be a three-ring Soul Elder.

It was truly hard to say who would win between them, but Dugu Yan somehow felt that Liu Bai would be the victor.

"Not a bad Soul Skill. Kid, you still won't admit you're a freak? Look at what you've done. Is that even something a normal person can do?"

Liu Bai rubbed his forehead helplessly.

"All right, it's already late. We'll stay at this old man's Medicine Garden tonight, and I'll take you back to the academy tomorrow."

"Okay."

"Yes, thank you, Senior Dugu."

Liu Bai had not expected that before he even found a chance to mention Dugu Bo's poisoning, Dugu Bo would take the initiative to bring him to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well. It truly came without any effort at all.

That made sense. To the current Dugu Bo, his Medicine Garden was merely a place specifically used to suppress his poison.

He did not recognize the ice and fire spring waters, nor did he recognize the Immortal Herbs growing beside the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

Naturally, he did not understand how precious this place was.

Tang San in the original story had also been fortunate that Dugu Bo did not know the value of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well. Even after Tang San bled Dugu Bo dry, Dugu Bo had never truly gotten angry.

And in the end, Tang San had not even left a single Immortal Herb for Dugu Bo and his granddaughter.

It was truly too miserable to look at.

Ice and Fire Two Heavens was not far from here. Dugu Bo led the two of them into a valley shrouded in poisonous mist in no time.

They only stayed at the outer edge of the valley. Dugu Bo did not bring them into the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well within the valley.

Liu Bai did not think Dugu Bo was deliberately guarding against them. The main reason was likely that, with their strength, neither of them could withstand the extreme ice-and-fire energy of heaven and earth at the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well. A short time would be manageable, but staying too long could easily make them explode to death.

He had to think of a way to make Dugu Bo bring him inside willingly.

What method should he use? Should he say Dugu Bo had been poisoned and needed medicinal herbs?

It seemed that was the only method.

The three followed Dugu Bo and stopped before a small wooden house outside the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.