"Your Jade Scale Snake Poison backlash has been resolved, but your descendants won't be so fortunate. They'll still suffer from the backlash of the Jade Scale Snake Poison. Immortal Herbs that can detoxify won't grow back in just a few decades or a century, and Soul Bones aren't that easy to obtain either. So I ask that the Dugu Family give up inheriting the Jade Phosphor Snake and choose another Martial Soul to pass down!"
Li Pu offered his advice in good faith.
"Your Dugu family's constitution truly isn't suited to inheriting a Martial Soul like the Jade Phosphor Snake. There's no need for you to suffer like this."
Among other top-tier Martial Souls, few had such a severe negative effect on their users as the Jade Scale Snake Poison backlash.
Even Ultimate Attributes, whose purpose was to strengthen the body's ability to withstand them, caused no physical discomfort.
And according to the theory of environmental adaptation, after all these years of inheriting the Jade Phosphor Snake, the Dugu Family should have adapted to its poison. Yet the problem remained unresolved even after all this time. It was just like the later Evil Fire Phoenix inheritance: even after ten thousand years, its users were still affected by Evil Fire, and even cultivating to become a Titled Douluo didn't help.
So, in a situation like this, switching to a different Martial Soul was the best choice.
"Switch to a different Martial Soul?" Dugu Bo murmured.
A Martial Soul represented a family. Replacing its inherited Martial Soul wasn't an easy thing to do.
Of course, it wasn't unheard of. Some noble families held little standing, and their Martial Souls were poor, so they needed to replace them with a powerful inheritance.
They only needed to make the Martial Soul their own, and have it bear their family name.
A powerful Martial Soul could raise a family to new heights.
Powerful Martial Souls usually came from powerful families. Those without such an opportunity could only set their sights on commoners lucky enough to be born with one.
After all, commoners made up a huge population, so one or two heaven-defying talents were bound to appear. That was when their opportunity would come.
Such Spirit Masters were either targeted by a noble family, their Soul Power crippled, and the women married to the family's men to become excellent mothers for passing down that Martial Soul, while the men were crippled and brought into the family as husbands, replacing its Martial Soul.
Or they rose to prominence within Spirit Hall.
It wasn't just nobles. Sometimes, even sects made this choice. Even if they didn't need to replace their Martial Soul, they would develop such people into affiliated members to serve their sect!
When Dugu Bo heard that the final solution was for his family to replace its Martial Soul, he found himself unable to decide.
The Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well had already been handed over. Even if it hadn't, his descendants would still suffer the pain of the Jade Scale Snake Poison backlash.
He couldn't let the family's tragedy play out again.
"You don't want your descendants to keep suffering from the backlash of the Jade Scale Snake Poison, do you?"
Those words made Dugu Bo decide.
"Fine. I'll carefully choose a suitable Martial Soul to replace it. There's no need for the Dugu Family's tragedy to happen again."
"From now on, the Dugu Family is willing to join Spirit Hall!"
The plan to bring the Dugu Family into Spirit Hall was complete.
Anyone would be wary of an organization that had City-Slaughtering Poison on its side.
Few could defeat it at the same level, but it could make weaker forces disappear in the blink of an eye.
"For now, you don't need to join Spirit Hall. In the future, we'll arrange for someone to enter the Heaven Dou Empire and carry out the Nation-Stealing Plan. You'll assist him then," Li Pu said, laying out the plan directly.
Dugu Bo's eyes widened. He knew Spirit Hall had ambitions to unify the continent, but he hadn't expected them to have such a carefully laid plan.
"How did you learn about this plan? And why would you just tell him?" Guangling Douluo's expression stiffened.
"Dugu Bo is one of us now. And with such an enormous debt of gratitude, he won't reveal it. Besides, we need him here as a trump card," Li Pu said.
Dugu Bo was a man who took things to heart. If you offended him, even a small grudge could stay with him for life. But the reverse was true as well: even a small kindness could stay with him forever.
Especially a kindness that could resolve the Jade Scale Snake Poison backlash afflicting his family.
He would be even less likely to betray them.
"The Young Mistress has shown my Dugu Family a tremendous kindness. I, Dugu Bo, would never betray her. I'm willing to swear it on my Martial Soul."
Dugu Bo didn't know who Li Pu was. Seeing that even the Saintess seemed to defer to him, he assumed Li Pu might be the son of Pope Qian Xunji.
"You wouldn't dare!"
Guangling Douluo thought it over carefully. Dugu Bo might genuinely prove useful as a trump card when the time came.
Li Pu continued, "Once you reach Level 90 in a few years, go to Spirit Hall and register as a Titled Douluo. Then refuse Spirit Hall's invitation, and they'll hunt you down. Someone will meet you afterward, and you can join the Heaven Dou Empire under the pretext of being rescued."
That was exactly how it had happened in the original story. Dugu Bo's prejudice against Spirit Hall stemmed from them hunting him down, and Prince Xue Xing had saved him, earning a Titled Douluo's gratitude in return.
Now Li Pu would follow the original plan and let events play out as scripted, except that Dugu Bo was one of their own.
Guangling Douluo was stunned. He hadn't expected everything to have been arranged already.
"Yes, Young Mistress!" Dugu Bo replied.
Li Pu added, "One more thing: I'm only an Elder, not what you think I am."
An Elder? Dugu Bo was at a loss. Did Spirit Hall have an Elder this young?
"All right, Chrysanthemum Douluo. Now pick suitable herbs for the Dugu Family."
"Yes, Elder Li."
Chrysanthemum Douluo immediately got up to look for suitable herbs.
Dugu Bo said, "Just prepare them for my son and granddaughter. I don't need any."
"You don't need any?" Bibi Dong asked.
Dugu Bo explained, "The family records say that only when someone reaches the Titled Douluo level might they stop suffering from the Jade Scale Snake Poison backlash."
In reality, even after reaching the Titled Douluo level, he would still suffer severely from the Jade Scale Snake Poison backlash.
The important thing was the precious Immortal Herbs they'd mentioned. They couldn't possibly give him three of them.
Li Pu thought for a moment and said, "If you manage to condense a Poison Core by then, that might be another way to solve the problem."
"That's a fourth method?"
Dugu Bo was astonished. Could he force the poison into a Poison Core?
He no longer knew what to make of Li Pu. The four proposed methods had completely bowled him over.
Li Pu wasn't sure either. "It's only a guess. I can't say for certain."
If becoming a Titled Douluo really did offer a solution, perhaps the core formed upon reaching that rank was the true answer.
"It's fine. As long as my son and granddaughter's problems can be solved, that's enough. As for me, I can just look for a few Soul Bones."
Dugu Bo understood that these Immortal Herbs would probably end up being used to nurture Spirit Hall's younger generation. At their age, their talent had more or less reached its limit. Without some great stroke of fortune, it was impossible for them to make further breakthroughs.
He had only recently reached Level 89. Though he was just one level away from Level 90, countless people got stuck at that stage for years without making any progress. And with the poison backlash tormenting him, it was even harder for him. Otherwise, he would have broken through to Level 90 long ago.
Before you continue