Brothers' Duel (Part 1)

Another round of baptism by knowledge left the cerebral cortices of Dugu Bo and Dugu Yuan feeling as though they had been smoothed flat.

There was an indescribable sense of comfort, a beauty in the act of abandoning thought.

Dugu Yuan, having been the first to give up on thinking, returned to his normal self and excitedly issued a duel invitation to his junior martial brother.

"Junior brother, didn't you say you could escape even from the hands of a Soul Saint now? It just so happens that I've just absorbed my seventh soul ring and become a Soul Saint myself, so why don't we spar?"

Upon hearing this, Dugu Bo also chose to abandon thought. The 200,000-year soul ring didn't matter, and the news of becoming a god didn't matter either; it was more pragmatic to first see his disciple's current strength.

Thus, Dugu Bo followed up by saying.

"Since you two have just finished absorbing your soul rings, it is the perfect time to spar and familiarize yourselves with your newly mastered powers. I shall act as your referee."

Seeing that their master was not only unopposed but actually appeared quite enthusiastic, Yu Tianshuo did not want to dampen their spirits, so he nodded and said.

"No problem, but before that, I need to restore the environment of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well."

With that, Yu Tianshuo turned and walked toward the spring eye of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

Dugu Bo and Dugu Yuan exchanged glances, unable to fathom what Yu Tianshuo intended to do, so they simply followed silently to watch the show.

Then, to their shock, Yu Tianshuo stepped into the air above the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, walking step by step toward the center of the spring.

Finally, he sat cross-legged above the spring eye. A red and blue Soul Core, engraved with two giant dragons on its surface, emerged from Yu Tianshuo's body and shot straight into the spring.

As the Soul Core entered the spring, it released an unimaginable amount of natural energy centered on the spring eye, carrying the Dragon Might within the core into the lake water and the surrounding Immortal Herb.

The withered Immortal Herb regained their vitality after absorbing this energy. Not only that, but some of the Immortal Herb that absorbed the most began to grow dragon scales, others developed dragon patterns, and some emitted a faint Dragon Might just by being approached.

Looking at the restored Herb Garden, Dugu Bo's expression was numb.

Dugu Yuan had recently been exposed to far too many scenes and knowledge that ordinary people might not encounter in several lifetimes, which had left him equally numb.

Right now, he just wanted to be like his foolish son: stop thinking, and then pridefully accept it all.

However, that wouldn't do, because he was the master—the master who shielded this family from the wind and rain.

So, until his son and disciple grew up, all the storms should be blocked by him.

That was what he thought, and his body followed his thoughts accordingly.

He took out the Jade Phosphor Seven-Absolute Flower from the jade box and, with a few flashes, appeared beside the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

He asked his disciple if absorbing it here would affect him.

After receiving a reply that it would be fine, Dugu Yuan consumed the Jade Phosphor Seven-Absolute Flower and began to sit cross-legged to absorb its medicinal power.

Seeing his master also begin to absorb the Immortal Herb, Yu Tianshuo shifted the energy toward Dugu Bo.

As time ticked by, Dugu Bo's entire body underwent obvious changes.

The snake scales on his Martial Soul gradually began to transform into dragon scales, and two bumps appeared above the snake's head, as if something were about to grow out of them.

Finally, as the color of the snake body shifted from emerald green to ink green, these changes came to a halt.

Dugu Bo exhaled, exited his meditative state, looked at Yu Tianshuo, who had walked from the spring to stand before him, and shook his head with a smile.

"Still a bit off. Something is missing for a true transformation into a dragon."

Yu Tianshuo pondered for a moment, thought of a method, and said to Dugu Bo.

"Master, don't be anxious. It is likely because although your Martial Soul underwent its first Martial Soul Evolution after absorbing the Dragon Might from the Soul Core, the Martial Soul itself has not absorbed a dragon-type soul ring. I estimate that once you absorb a dragon-species soul beast for your ninth soul ring, your Martial Soul will be able to complete its true evolution."

Dugu Bo's eyes grew brighter the more he heard; he couldn't wait to go find a soul beast with a powerful dragon bloodline to absorb right now.

Just then, the voice of his foolish son, Dugu Yuan, interrupted them.

Dugu Bo watched as his foolish son walked up, threw an arm around Yu Tianshuo's shoulder, and said with a laugh.

"Old man, junior brother, stop thinking about those things for now. Come on, let's have a fight; familiarizing ourselves with our newly acquired powers is the top priority."

As he spoke, he winked at his junior brother, signaling him to hurry up and agree, his eyes conveying, 'If I don't remind him, the old man is going to go straight out to find a soul ring, and that's not safe at all.'

Although he didn't know how he could read so much information from a look, Yu Tianshuo nodded, indicating that he also agreed to spar first.

Seeing these two slippery characters, Dugu Bo could guess what they were thinking. He just smiled to himself, then nodded, signaling that the two could find a place to begin their duel.

As for Martial Soul Evolution and absorbing soul rings? He would deal with that after he finished watching this good show.

Seeing Dugu Bo's response, the two martial brothers quickly found a spot that wouldn't affect the Herb Garden and prepared to spar.

Since both sides were ready, it was time for the pre-match trash talk.

"Junior brother, would you like your senior brother to go easy on you? Although my seventh soul ring is only the Martial Soul Possession, the toxins in my Martial Soul and my physical strength after absorbing the ring are not something a Soul Grand Master like you can contend with. If you praise me a couple of times now, I might go easy on you later."

Seeing his senior brother joking again, Yu Tianshuo activated his Martial Soul Possession while smiling.

"You'd better be careful not to get knocked flying by your junior brother, senior brother. I hope you've already digested your breakfast, or it'll be embarrassing if you throw it up later."

Dugu Yuan looked at his junior brother with a smile, and as his Martial Soul Possession took effect, seven soul rings shone with dazzling light behind him.

"Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black."

With the optimal soul ring configuration, looking at Yu Tianshuo, who only had two soul rings, it looked a bit like bullying from an outsider's perspective.

But everyone present knew that even though Yu Tianshuo was only a Soul Grand Master, his physical strength was such that even an ordinary level 70 Battle Soul Saint might not necessarily be able to defeat him without using their sixth or seventh soul rings.

As Dugu Bo shouted the start, the two of them charged toward each other like arrows released from a bowstring.

At this moment, Dugu Yuan lacked any semblance of a senior brother's composure, immediately activating his seventh soul skill.

"Seventh soul skill, Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor Avatar!"

As he spoke, a vast number of snake scales erupted across his skin, encasing his entire body.

Following that, he unleashed his next moves.

"First soul skill: Jade Phosphor Red Poison!"

"Second soul skill: Jade Phosphor Blue Poison!"

"Third soul skill: Jade Phosphor Purple Poison!"