Teacher, be careful! Dodge quickly! I only believe that great strength creates miracles! Is this still human?

"This is the creation of heaven and earth, a wondrous realm of the world!"

Ling Xiao spoke slowly, his tone laced with a hint of mockery.

"Since when did it become your herb garden?"

"Just because you planted a few weeds inside? Just because you are short-sighted, possessing a mountain of treasure yet failing to recognize it?"

"If you are sensible, leave on your own, and I shall not hold this against you."

"Otherwise—"

He paused, his voice turning abruptly cold.

"Don't say I didn't warn you; even your granddaughter will be scattered to the winds along with you!"

Within the sea of consciousness, Qian Renxue's small mouth hung open.

Although the original intention of seizing this precious land was to help her restore her cultivation, she was still thoroughly stunned by her own teacher's maneuvers.

It was simply...

Too shameless, too arrogant, too brazen...

Without the slightest demeanor of an expert, it was truly too embarrassing to watch!

If Ling Xiao knew her thoughts, he would surely hold them in great contempt—

He had worked painstakingly, enduring nine deaths and one life to reach his current realm.

In the end, he still had to look at others' faces, worrying about this and fretting about that?

Wouldn't that mean his cultivation was all for nothing?

If even Qian Renxue couldn't stand it, let alone the person involved.

"You—are courting death!!"

Dugu Bo's triangular eyes narrowed into slits, his withered palms like iron claws, suddenly lunging toward Ling Xiao.

He was naturally extreme and biased in character; just because the recruitment method of the Martial Soul Hall didn't suit his tastes, he had clashed with them directly.

Not to mention someone as arrogant as Ling Xiao, who threatened his life and his granddaughter's?

Although Ling Xiao was mysterious, leaving him unable to discern his background, he didn't even fear the Martial Soul Hall, so why would he fear him?

However, as those sharp claw blades descended, Ling Xiao's figure swayed like a ghost, dodging lightly and effortlessly, not even touching the corner of his clothes.

"Today, if you don't give this old man an explanation, don't even think about taking a single step out of this place!"

Ling Xiao's behavior only added fuel to the fire for Dugu Bo.

He instantly activated his Martial Soul.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black, nine soul rings pulsed around his body.

A translucent giant snake phantom coiled up behind him, standing several zhang tall.

Its entire body was ink-green, with three bone spurs atop its head, resembling a crown.

A cold, bone-chilling aura shrouded the entire valley.

Hiss-hiss-hiss—

It sounded like the mountain wind, and yet also like the roar of that giant snake.

Immediately following, the sixth soul ring on his body lit up, and the ink-green poisonous mist rising all around merged with the poison formation originally laid outside the valley, sealing off the entire area.

Under the poisonous mist, the ordinary flowers, plants, and trees withered at a speed visible to the naked eye, and even the ground hissed as it emitted green smoke.

With two experts battling, the one who suffered most was Tang San.

Although he carried many memories from his past life and possessed numerous trump cards, Yet, starting from zero, he was far inferior to a Titled Douluo.

One careless mistake, and the result would be severe injury at best, or death at worst.

Taking advantage of the fact that those two had not yet turned their attention toward him, Tang San performed a roll and hid behind a massive boulder.

Facing this poisonous mist, he remained relatively calm, waving his hand to scatter a cloud of realgar powder.

The two substances gradually neutralized each other.

However, this soul skill of Dugu Bo was clearly not that simple; he could feel his soul power draining away rapidly.

"Teacher, this Poison Douluo's strength isn't considered outstanding among Titled Douluos, but he possesses a precious soul bone that can instantly petrify a person—it is impossible to guard against."

Although she was still angry at Ling Xiao, Qian Renxue still shared the intelligence she possessed with him, fearing that he might suffer a setback in the gutter due to a single moment of carelessness.

"Rest assured when your teacher handles matters. A mere long worm cannot turn the heavens."

This Dugu Bo only had his poison to show for himself.

Unfortunately, below the level of Titled Douluo, no one could beat him; above the level of Titled Douluo, he could beat no one.

Ling Xiao did not take him seriously at all.

He gave his body a light shake.

The poisonous mist surging toward him instantly dissipated into nothingness.

Dugu Bo was not at all surprised by this.

He had never expected this bit of poison to take down his opponent.

His true intention was to use this poisonous mist as his eyes.

Wherever the poisonous mist reached, the opponent's bizarre movement techniques would have nowhere to hide.

He let out a cold snort, and the eighth soul ring on his body suddenly flashed.

A strange spatial fluctuation enveloped a radius of several hundred meters, as if even the flow of time had slowed down.

Then, the three bone spurs on the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor behind him suddenly shimmered, and a third eye on its forehead abruptly snapped open.

A purple light radiated outward, shooting straight toward Ling Xiao.

And between those three bone spurs, a strand of soul power, poised and ready, flickered faintly.

Dugu Bo knew his opponent's movement techniques were bizarre, so he had preemptively notched his second strike on the string.

Even if it meant paying the price of being unable to use his soul bone skill for a year, he had to ensure that even if the opponent dodged the first strike, they would not be able to dodge the second.

However, contrary to Dugu Bo's expectations—

Ling Xiao did not employ that bizarre movement technique, but instead stood where he was, not moving an inch.

Dugu Bo sneered in his heart.

His soul bone skill was a powerful control move; even Chrysanthemum Douluo, whose cultivation was significantly higher than his own, would be locked down tight if hit by this move.

If it weren't for Ghost Douluo providing interference from the side back then, and the fact that he could only "scrape" his opponents, Chrysanthemum Douluo would have been dead or severely injured.

This brat was all alone, yet he dared to be so arrogant!

"Teacher, be careful! Quickly, dodge!"

Seeing this scene, Qian Renxue grew anxious.

She had warned him just a moment ago!

How could her teacher be so foolish as to walk straight into the line of fire?

"A petty trick, and you think it's worthy of making me retreat?"

Ling Xiao said with disdain.

Qian Renxue was stunned.

"What has come over Teacher?"

"Could it be... that in order to save her earlier, he damaged his soul, and now the injury has flared up, leaving him delirious?"

At this thought, an overwhelming sense of self-reproach surged within her.

"Teacher has sacrificed so much for me, and now he is in grave danger, yet I actually harbored such thoughts against him?"

"I truly deserve to die!"

The sea of consciousness suddenly fell silent. Ling Xiao assumed his little disciple had been stunned by his domineering words, and he felt a touch of pride in his heart.

However, he did not act this way merely to show off.

More importantly, it was to teach by example, allowing her to understand the fundamental rules of the Douluo World sooner!

Thus, he continued:

"Control soul skills, attack soul skills—those are merely because your cultivation realm is too low to see the essence."

"When it comes down to it, it is all about the mastery of soul power."

"Just like water; it turns into steam when heated and into ice when cooled."

"The form may change, but the substance remains the same!"

"So, as for these so-called control or attack soul skills—"

Ling Xiao raised his palm, shaping his hand into a blade, "I only believe that brute force creates miracles!"

As his voice fell, he slashed through the empty air.

Soul power condensed into a blade—

The enveloping purple light was sliced cleanly down the middle like a thin veil, and without even a whisper of sound, it dissipated into streaks of light.

Dugu Bo had been poised and ready, waiting for Ling Xiao to be restrained so he could launch a decisive, lethal strike!

Yet, he never imagined that the other party would actually slice through his soul bone skill!

He had... sliced through the light!

His eternally stoic, sinister, and terrifying face was now filled with shock.

For a moment, he stood frozen in place.

It was a mix of disbelief and sheer terror.

His soul skill was formless and intangible; had it been dodged or reflected, he could have accepted it.

But to have it simply sliced apart—

That was something he absolutely could not accept!

Is this even human?