"Haotian Douluo, my business is now settled, and I've done what I promised you. However, there's something I need to remind you of."
"Oh? What is it?"
"This Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye was first discovered by Poison Douluo, Dugu Bo. If you ever come into conflict with him, I hope you'll act with restraint and not push him too far."
Tang Hao's expression turned serious. He was clearly weighing the matter. Reviving Ah Yin was of the utmost importance, and to avoid future trouble, he felt the best course of action was to kill Dugu Bo and silence him.
"Douluo, I need to remind you that this Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye is Dugu Bo's territory. In truth, both of us owe him a very great debt."
Tang Hao replied, "I know that, of course. I'll weigh things carefully when I meet him."
"I understand how you feel, Douluo. You don't want to entrust the fate of the woman you love to someone else. But I need to remind you that this choice is the best one, both for Dugu Bo and for your wife."
"Dugu Bo isn't your enemy. At the very least, he has no particular fondness for Spirit Hall!"
Tang Hao said gravely, "I understand that, of course. But I'll put Ah Yin's safety first. If things really come to that, I'll kill him to keep him quiet! You know that if Spirit Hall gets wind of this, I'll never be able to set foot here again. For my wife, I can do anything!"
"I can't change your mind, Douluo, but I believe my advice is best for you, your wife, me, and Dugu Bo."
Tang Hao furrowed his brow. "Oh? Should I take that as a threat?"
Su Yuntao smiled. "I'm not threatening you. I'm just saying that if you push Dugu Bo too far, you'll be the one who suffers, Douluo."
"Oh?" Tang Hao chuckled. "Young friend Su, I'll be frank with you. Although we're both Titled Douluos, I wouldn't need many moves to kill Dugu Bo."
"That's certainly true. Your strength naturally overwhelms Dugu Bo's. But I need to remind you that the Sunset Forest is the battlefield best suited to him."
"His Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor Martial Soul is indeed suited to this place. But so what? Even here in the Sunset Forest, he's still nowhere near my match!"
Su Yuntao spoke slowly. "You're right, Douluo. But I need to remind you that if Dugu Bo releases the poison of his Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor, this entire region will become a poisonous swamp stretching a thousand li!"
"Is that really what you want to see? Even if you don't fear his serpent poison, what about your wife? What about this region? Douluo, the truth is, you often don't have many choices. What you do next is up to you."
In truth, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye had formed when the bodies of the two Ice and Fire Dragon Kings fell here. Dugu Bo's Serpent Emperor poison couldn't utterly destroy this region.
Su Yuntao was doing this only because he didn't want Dugu Bo to die for nothing. In the original story, Dugu Bo was a pretty good man. Su Yuntao had taken his Immortal Herbs, and already owed him a great debt. If he then stood by and watched him die for nothing, he would feel truly guilty!
"Perhaps at this moment you're thinking you could track down Dugu Bo and kill him somewhere outside the forest. But Dugu Bo isn't just a retainer of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family; apart from here at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye, he spends the rest of his time in Heaven Dou City. You may be able to kill him easily, but I'm certain you couldn't do it without a sound or leaving a trace!"
"So please think it through. Once this matter blows up, it'll be beyond your control. The fall of a Titled Douluo would send shock waves through the Soul Master World across the entire continent!"
Tang Hao's expression shifted. It was clear that dealing with Dugu Bo had left him in an extremely difficult position.
"Douluo, please believe me. I'm absolutely certain I can ensure that Dugu Bo won't leak this to Spirit Hall."
Tang Hao said gravely, "What assurance do you have?"
"Douluo, when you see Dugu Bo, you can tell him he's already been poisoned."
"Poisoned?" A smile tugged at the corner of Tang Hao's mouth, as though he'd just heard a joke.
"Douluo, tell him that whenever the weather turns damp, he'll feel an itch beneath his ribs, and that it will grow stronger day by day. It'll happen once at noon and once at midnight, lasting at least half an hour each time."
"Every night, around the third watch, he'll feel a needle-like pain at the crown of his head and the soles of his feet. His whole body will spasm for at least half an hour. The pain will be so unbearable that even he, a Titled Douluo, won't be able to stand it."
"He's already terminally ill. He's just been enduring it with his own body and forcibly suppressing it with his Soul Power. Even his hair and eyes have turned green—that's a sign that the poison has taken deep root."
A trace of seriousness appeared in Tang Hao's eyes. Though he found it incredible and had trouble believing it, this young man before him had done things like this more than once. Each time, in the end, he'd left Tang Hao stunned.
"Douluo, tell him that within five years, someone destined to cure the poison of his Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor will come. I believe he'll wait patiently for the sake of the Jade Scale Serpent clan's future. You can rest easy too, Douluo. There's no need to worry that he'll do anything rash."
Spirit Hall, Nuoding City
Su Yuntao walked slowly into this landmark building of Nuoding City, then made his way with practiced ease to the office of Ma Xiunuo, the steward of the Spirit Hall Branch in Nuoding City.
"Yuntao, you're back," said an alert, vigorous old man.
The old man was still in fairly good health. Though he was already eighty-one, being a Soul Master meant he wasn't quite at the age of frailty.
"Yes, Master Ma Xiunuo. This is this year's awakening report for the outlying areas around Nuoding City. Three of the children can become Soul Masters."
Although Su Yuntao hadn't stayed on to work for Spirit Hall after graduating from the Spirit Hall Junior Soul Master Academy ten years ago, instead setting off for Shrek with reverent awe in his heart, he had never lost the bond he shared with the old man, Ma Xiunuo.
"Ah! Yuntao, you were doing so well back then. Why did you have to leave Spirit Hall?"
Su Yuntao waved a hand. "Master, please don't bring that up again."
Ma Xiunuo shook his head, picked up the report, and read as he spoke. "I don't understand the way young people think, but Yuntao, you really shouldn't have done that. You left Spirit Hall without a word ten years ago. Now there's no chance you'll ever be able to rejoin!"
Su Yuntao understood exactly what the old man meant. Ma Xiunuo was simply regretting what had happened to him. For a common-born Soul Master with talent like his, Spirit Hall could be called their only way forward.
Ma Xiunuo was only Level 29. He'd undergone Martial Soul Awakening at six, and after graduating from the Spirit Hall Junior Soul Master Academy at twelve, he'd worked at the Spirit Hall Branch in Nuoding City. For decades, he'd never had to worry about food or clothing. As a member of Spirit Hall, he didn't have to fear too much, either. For him, this had already been a very satisfying life.
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