Dugu Bo Returns, and His Soul Rings Finally Had a Lead

The moment Dugu Yan and Yu Tianxin faced off from a distance.

Yu Tianxin made the first move.

The dragon wing on his right side suddenly spread wide behind him.

This was his Dragon Transformation.

Blue-violet arcs of electricity burst across the wing membrane as he turned into a streak of lightning and lunged straight at Dugu Yan's face.

His transformed right arm carried blinding lightning as he brought down a claw.

This was the most standard opening move of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

First Soul Skill: Thunder Fall!

He suppressed his opponent with the force of thunder, leaving no chance to catch their breath.

Dugu Yan did not even lift an eyelid.

"Green Phosphorus Flood Dragon Armor."

The instant her fourth Soul Ring lit up, dark green scale armor emerged over her body.

The edges of every scale glinted with a cold dark-gold sheen, layer upon layer covering her arms and torso.

Yu Tianxin's dragon claw smashed against the scales,

and lightning arcs leaped wildly, yet failed to leave even a white mark.

The rebound force surged back through his dragon arm. Yu Tianxin let out a muffled grunt and staggered back three steps, half his arm so numb and sore that he could barely raise it.

"That's it?"

A cold sneer curled across Dugu Yan's lips.

A chill flashed through her emerald eyes as she opened her mouth and spat out a cloud of purple-red poison mist.

Jade Phosphorous Purple Poison!

This was currently her strongest poison mist.

Its toxicity was fierce enough to make a Soul Ancestor-level opponent struggle to breathe within three breaths and paralyze their limbs within five.

Yu Tianxin's pupils contracted sharply.

The dragon wings behind him flapped hard,

and as he retreated rapidly, he sent out a bolt of lightning in an attempt to disperse the poison mist.

But the poison mist clung like gangrene to bone, spreading up along the lightning's path and wrapping around his arm in the blink of an eye.

Yu Tianxin's expression changed drastically.

The skin on his right arm, where the poison mist had touched, had already begun to take on a faint purple hue.

He gritted his teeth as his third Soul Ring suddenly lit up—"Light Defense!"

Golden protective lightning exploded around his body, forcibly driving the poison mist back several paces.

But the Jade Phosphorous Purple Poison was far too tyrannical.

Even with Light Defense protecting him, his right arm still trembled faintly beyond his control.

Dugu Yan looked down at Yu Tianxin, who was kneeling on one knee, her gaze as cold as if she were looking at a stone.

She did not continue her attack, merely raising her right hand slowly.

The phantom of the Green Phosphorus Flood Dragon bared its fangs, poised to strike.

"Since there's no such word as 'fear' in your dictionary,"

her voice was not loud, yet it reached every person present with perfect clarity.

"Then I'll carve it into there for you now."

The battle lost all suspense within three breaths.

When Yu Tianxin staggered out of the training grounds clutching his right arm,

his back overlapped with that of Yu Tianheng from yesterday.

Both were Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragons whose pride had been utterly crushed.

The training ground fell silent for a moment.

Then Yu Feng's voice exploded. "Yanzi, when did you get this fierce?!"

He rushed over and circled Dugu Yan once, his eyes practically falling out of their sockets.

"Level forty-five! Four rings! Your Martial Soul even mutated! What exactly happened to you?!"

Osler added in a deep voice, "A few months ago, when you sparred with the captain, you still weren't his match."

"But just now, against Yu Tianxin... that wasn't a battle at all. It was a crushing defeat."

There was clear wariness in his tone.

Qin Ming also asked solemnly, "Yanzi, what happened to your Martial Soul?"

Dugu Yan withdrew the poison mist around her body.

The coldness in her emerald eyes had yet to fade, but her tone returned to its usual lazy drawl.

"I accidentally ate an unknown herb. My Martial Soul mutated from the Jade Phosphorous Serpent into the Green Phosphorus Flood Dragon, and my Soul Power rose along with it."

She spread her hands and gave a calm yet perfunctory explanation.

At her words, everyone's expressions looked as though someone had taken a hammer to their worldview.

The Shi Mo brothers both lost their voices at once.

"There's actually such a divine treasure?" Qin Ming found it equally unbelievable.

He did not doubt the truth of it in the slightest.

After all, Dugu Yan's grandfather was a Title Douluo.

Ning Rongrong, who had been cracking sunflower seeds, suddenly froze.

Light flickered intensely in her beautiful eyes, and her heartbeat accelerated in her chest like a drumbeat.

An unknown herb?

One that could cause Martial Soul Evolution!

Her Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda was the number one support-type Martial Soul on the continent.

But it was also a cursed Martial Soul.

A seven-tier pagoda could never allow a Soul Master to break through level eighty.

This was the fate passed down through every generation of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, a ceiling even her father could not cross.

If that herb could evolve the Jade Phosphorous Serpent into the Green Phosphorus Flood Dragon,

could it evolve the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda into the Nine Treasures Glazed Pagoda?

At that thought, her fingers trembled slightly. She looked up at Dugu Yan. "Sister Yanzi, is there... any of that herb left?"

Dugu Yan instinctively looked toward Ye Qing.

Ye Qing shook his head. "There was only one such herb. It's gone now."

"Its rarity is far beyond what you can imagine. It isn't something you can find just because you want to."

He could not tell the truth.

The matter of immortal herbs involved too much, and saying outright that he had more in stock would only bring endless trouble.

Ning Rongrong pursed her lips, unable to hide the flash of disappointment on her face.

But she did not press further. She only made a silent decision that she had to tell her father about this.

Even if that herb had been one of a kind.

With the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's resources and intelligence network, they might be able to find some relevant clues.

Even if there was only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, she had to try.

Yu Tianxin's defeat at Dugu Yan's hands was merely a small episode in the Imperial Fighting Team's daily life.

In the days of training that followed,

Ye Qing did not focus on meditating to raise his Soul Power.

He knew his own situation best.

His Soul Power required Soul Rings to break through its bottlenecks.

Before he obtained his sixth and seventh Soul Rings, meditation was almost useless to him.

Rather than sit around spacing out in the training room, he might as well devote his energy to another area more worthy of refinement.

Chaos Green Flame.

Chaos Green Flame was his true trump card.

Its dual ultimate attributes were unique across the Douluo Continent.

His control over Chaos Green Flame still remained at a relatively basic level.

If he could raise its precision and power by another level,

then even without new Soul Rings, his combat strength could continue to improve.

Thus, Yu Feng and the others became his best sparring partners.

The training grounds echoed every day with wave after wave of miserable screams.

The high temperature of Chaos Green Flame scorched Shi Mo's tortoise shell until steam rose from it.

Its extreme cold froze cracks into Shi Mo's defensive barrier.

For the first time, the two brothers discovered that even defense-type Soul Masters had to kneel before Ye Qing.

Whenever Ye Qing looked for someone to spar with,

Yu Feng hid the farthest away and muttered quietly to Osler, "The acting captain is definitely abusing his authority for personal revenge."

Osler replied expressionlessly, "He doesn't have a personal grudge. He simply wants punching bags."

As for the title of acting captain, it was also a helpless measure on Qin Ming's part.

When Qin Ming announced that Ye Qing would officially serve as the Imperial Fighting Team's acting captain, everyone wore expressions that said, Just as expected.

Yu Feng was the first to raise his hand. "I support Boss Ye! Whoever dares object will have to answer to me!"

After saying that, he turned to Osler with a threatening look.

Osler said blandly, "No one objects."

The Shi Mo brothers nodded in unison.

Ning Rongrong added with a cheerful smile, "With Brother Ye Qing as captain, I'll lock my support onto him from now on. You all take care of yourselves."

The corner of Ye Lingling's lips lifted into an exceedingly faint smile, but she said nothing.

Yet her silence itself was an attitude.

Qin Ming looked at this group of students who had been thoroughly won over by Ye Qing. The gaze behind his glasses was too complicated for words.

A month ago, the Imperial Fighting Team had still been Yu Tianheng's one-man domain.

Now, even the captain in everyone's hearts had changed.

Yet he could not find a single reason to object.

Ye Qing's strength, talent, and the invisible cohesion that made everyone want to follow him made him a natural-born captain.

Of course, this was also related to Yu Tianheng.

Ever since losing to Ye Qing, Yu Tianheng had not appeared in the Imperial Fighting Team. He had not even returned to Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

As his teacher, Qin Ming had gone to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan to look for him, but he had only been turned away.

Helplessly, the team could not be without a leader.

Ye Qing was the most suitable choice.

Until one day.

A green figure descended from the sky and smashed a huge crater into the bluestone floor of the training grounds.

The phantom of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor coiled and hissed behind the newcomer, while the pressure of a Title Douluo swept across the area.

Yu Feng froze completely in place, forgetting even to flap his wings as he dropped straight from the sky.

Osler unconsciously took half a step back, a fine layer of cold sweat forming on his forehead.

The Shi Mo brothers both shrank their necks and cried out together, "His Excellency Green Phosphorus!"

Qin Ming looked nervously at Dugu Bo.

Dugu Bo did not spare them even a glance.

He strode up to Ye Qing and grabbed him by the shoulder.

On that old face, usually cold and arrogant, there was a rare expression mixed with weariness and excitement.

"Kid, there's finally a lead on your Soul Rings."