Dugu Bo stood there, gritting his teeth in hatred.
His heart was filled with anger, unwillingness, and an indescribable humiliation.
He had lived for so many years. When had anyone ever forced him into a corner like this?
And now he was being forced to submit by a brat of twelve or thirteen?
If word got out, how could Poison Douluo ever show his face in the Soul Master World again?
Dugu Bo clenched his fists until his knuckles cracked, his nails digging into his palms. The pain helped him calm down a little.
He took a deep breath and forcibly swallowed the rage rising in his throat, then forced a smile onto his face that looked worse than crying.
"Fine... fine. You really do have guts, kid. I... agree."
Demon Subduing Douluo stood off to the side. He glanced at Dugu Bo's twisted face, the corner of his mouth twitching, but didn't call him out.
He could tell at a glance that the old poisoner was only agreeing out loud. Deep down, he had no good intentions.
Ji Ye looked at Dugu Bo, a faint smile still playing at the corners of his mouth.
Dugu Bo stepped forward twice and stopped in front of Ji Ye. He reached into his robes and pulled out a fist-sized, emerald-green bottle.
The bottle was translucent, and the thick liquid inside glowed faintly green in the sunlight.
"Since I've chosen to submit, I should show some sincerity. Take this. Consider it my token of surrender." Dugu Bo held out the emerald-green bottle in his palm, his face wreathed in smiles.
"Inside is a Jade Phosphorous Pill I refined over ten years using the venom of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor. Take it, and you'll be immune to all poisons. It'll also greatly benefit your Soul Power cultivation. Come and take it, kid."
Ji Ye looked at the emerald-green bottle in Dugu Bo's palm, then at his pair of eerie green eyes.
The smile at the corners of Ji Ye's mouth deepened.
Without hesitation, he strode toward Dugu Bo.
"Fine."
"Little Ye!" Demon Subduing Douluo called from behind him, his voice carrying a note of warning.
He didn't believe Dugu Bo would hand over something valuable so readily. Was Ji Ye being too careless?
Ji Ye didn't look back. He waved a hand over his shoulder and kept walking.
Dugu Bo watched him approach step by step, the bottle of Jade Phosphorous Pills resting in his palm. His smile grew wider and wider until Ji Ye stood before him and reached out to take the pill—
Dugu Bo suddenly twisted his wrist!
He didn't hand over the emerald-green bottle. Instead, he crushed it in his palm. A thick stream of emerald-green venom burst from the shattered glass, slithering like a living snake straight toward Ji Ye's face!
"Kid, remember this in your next life—don't get too full of yourself!"
The emerald-green venom was less than half a foot from Ji Ye's face.
A sharp, sickly-sweet stench filled the air. Just smelling it was enough to make one dizzy.
It was clearly the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor's deadly venom. Even a Titled Douluo would be in for a world of hurt if it touched them.
Demon Subduing Douluo's pupils contracted sharply.
"Little Ye!"
He had already stepped forward, but he was too far away. He wouldn't make it in time.
Ji Ye stood still, watching the emerald-green venom rush toward him. The faint smile on his lips didn't change in the slightest.
His lips moved softly, and a glint of blue flashed in his eyes.
"Time Halt."
His Second Martial Soul, "Time," activated!
In the next instant, everything within a twenty-zhang radius of Ji Ye abruptly froze.
The emerald-green venom hung suspended in midair, every drop frozen in place as it rushed toward Ji Ye's face.
The smile on Dugu Bo's face froze halfway through. The smugness and malice in his eyes were locked in place, too.
Demon Subduing Douluo's raised foot hung in midair, his body leaning forward, the alarm on his face frozen in that instant.
The wind in the valley stopped. The fragrance of the herbs froze. Even the ripples on the surface of the pond fell still.
The entire world was as if it had been paused.
Ji Ye walked calmly through the frozen world, passing the suspended mass of emerald-green venom and stopping in front of Dugu Bo.
He reached his right hand into the void and drew out the Void Sword. Its translucent blade gleamed with a cold light.
He laid the blade across Dugu Bo's neck, its edge pressed against his Adam's apple. Even through the skin, its sharpness could be felt.
His Second Martial Soul deactivated.
Time resumed.
With a splat—
The emerald-green venom, having lost its target, missed and splashed onto the dirt behind the spot where Ji Ye had stood. White smoke hissed up, and the ground was instantly corroded into a fist-sized hole.
Before Dugu Bo's smile could turn to shock, he felt a chill and a sharp sting at his throat.
He looked down and saw a translucent longsword at his neck.
Ji Ye stood before him, gripping the hilt, his gaze so calm it sent a chill down the spine.
Dugu Bo's eyes widened.
"You... how..."
"Senior, did you really think I was just a child you could fool?" Ji Ye's voice was soft, his tone even.
"I already gave you a chance."
Dugu Bo's lips trembled, but he didn't know what to say.
"Senior, since you don't want to submit—" Ji Ye's grip on the Void Sword tightened slightly.
"Then so be it."
In the next instant—
The blade swept across his throat.
Clean and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.
Dugu Bo's body stiffened for a moment, then toppled backward, crashing to the ground.
His eyes were still open, shock and resentment lingering in his pupils. He couldn't believe Ji Ye would actually kill him.
He had been completely unprepared.
Clearly, he had underestimated Ji Ye's ruthlessness.
Demon Subduing Douluo stood where he was, looking somewhat stunned.
"You just killed a Titled Douluo like that?"
Ji Ye shook the blood from the Void Sword. The droplets were sent flying by the power of space, leaving not a single one behind.
He returned the sword to the spatial rift, then turned around and looked at the corpse on the ground. His expression was so calm that it was as if nothing had happened.
"He was the weakest Titled Douluo. There was no point keeping him around," Ji Ye said.
"He refused to submit and was already planning to bite back. Keeping him would only bring trouble."
Demon Subduing Douluo finally closed his mouth. He walked over to Ji Ye and looked down at Dugu Bo's body, silent for several seconds.
Then he patted Ji Ye on the shoulder, his voice a little lower than usual.
"You brat... you really dared to kill him. Even I'm a little afraid of you now."
Ji Ye turned his head to look at him, his gaze as still as a deep pool.
"If I didn't kill him, he'd kill me. Even if he can't kill me now, he will someday."
"Why keep a hidden threat like that around?"
Demon Subduing Douluo looked at him and opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, he merely nodded.
"...You're right."
"But you acted so fast, brat. I didn't even have time to react."
Ji Ye smiled, looking very well-behaved.
"Senior, I'm going to cultivate in seclusion here for a while. You can look around nearby for somewhere to stay. Dugu Bo ran this place as a medicine garden for twenty years. He must have left somewhere to live."
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