The next morning, in an open clearing, Yu Hengqing and Dugu Yan faced each other, poised to attack.
"I'll count to three, and then you can begin today's match! Remember, keep it friendly. Don't aim for vital spots, and don't let this hurt your relationship!"
Yu Hezai stood to one side, reminding them both to stay safe. An injury would be one thing, but damaging their relationship would be a real headache!
"One, two, three!"
As Yu Hezai swept his left hand down, Yu Hengqing raised his right fist, wrapped it in golden lightning, and charged at Dugu Yan.
As Yu Hengqing's fist closed in, Dugu Yan didn't dodge either. She unleashed a Soul Skill and attacked him with all her strength.
"Bang!"
Their fists collided. Yu Hengqing took a step back, while Dugu Yan took three.
"Looks like you've been training hard lately, Senior!"
"You're not half bad yourself, Junior! You've clearly improved a lot!"
As she spoke, Dugu Yan used her Soul Skill again. Red mist swirled around her, and her eyes flashed red as she charged at Yu Hengqing once more.
Fist met fist, leg met leg, and Yu Hengqing and Dugu Yan clashed.
But Dugu Yan's physical strength still couldn't match Yu Hengqing's body, strengthened by Whale Rubber.
After their third exchange, Dugu Yan ran out of stamina. She dispelled Martial Soul Possession and stood there, panting heavily.
"I'm done. Let me rest a bit, and we can go again once I've recovered!"
"Sure. I'm tired too!"
Yu Hengqing wiped the sweat from his forehead and turned toward the chairs nearby.
"Xiao Qing, with your strength, isn't going to Heaven Dou Royal Academy to 'play house' a bit pointless?"
Dugu Bo toyed with the Nine-Section Jade crawling over his hand and asked Yu Hengqing, who had just sat down, with some curiosity.
For someone born into a top family like Yu Hengqing, attending an academy set up for spoiled young nobles was already a waste of time. And his strength had already surpassed that of his peers.
"My dad said I should see whether Heaven Dou Royal Academy has any training programs that suit me."
"Training programs? A Titled Douluo can't train you? I bet he just wants you to make more friends at the academy!"
Hearing this, Dugu Bo laughed outright as he fed dried mice to the Nine-Section Jade.
If Yu Yuanzhen wanted to, he could go to Heaven Dou Academy for the materials and teach Yu Hengqing himself. Xue Ye would be more than happy to have Yu Yuanzhen owe him a favor.
"That's not so bad. Otherwise, I wouldn't have met you, Senior Dugu Yan."
Yu Hengqing picked up a piece of dried mouse too and fed it to the Nine-Section Jade curled around Dugu Bo's hand.
"Do you like it?"
Watching Yu Hengqing feed the Nine-Section Jade, a thought struck Dugu Bo.
"It wouldn't be much use to me. My fighting style doesn't suit using poison."
Yu Hengqing watched the Nine-Section Jade gobble down the dried mouse in a few bites and shook his head, declining Dugu Bo's offer.
"Don't be so quick to refuse. Take these poisons for now. You never know when they might come in handy."
Dugu Bo took the blue pouch from his waist and tossed it to Yu Hengqing.
"This is the Ruyi Treasure Bag. It can hold living creatures. I hardly use it myself. Better for you to put it to use than let it gather dust with me."
Inside the Ruyi Treasure Bag were piles of sealed poisons, but the most eye-catching items were several jade boxes filled with medicinal herbs.
Yu Hengqing understood that Dugu Bo was ready to stake everything on him.
Since that was the case, Yu Hengqing could hardly refuse. A Titled Douluo's wholehearted allegiance was a rare opportunity.
"Then I thank you for your trust, Senior Poison Douluo!"
Yu Hengqing bowed respectfully to Dugu Bo, then hung the Ruyi Treasure Bag from his waist.
"Get out of here! You've suddenly started talking all fancy and disturbing my peace!"
Dugu Bo glared at Yu Hengqing, then lay back in his chair and continued working through the Soul Core method Yu Hengqing had taught him the previous night.
For the next few days, Yu Hengqing spent his mornings sparring with Dugu Yan, his afternoons learning how to use poison from Dugu Bo, and his evenings cultivating at a snail's pace.
"Judging by the weather, there should be thunder today. Xiao Qing, are you ready to draw lightning?"
After escorting Dugu Yan out of the Star Dou Forest, Dugu Bo returned to Thunder Valley to accompany Yu Hengqing as he completed his God Trial.
"I'm ready. Second Uncle brought all the medicine I'll need for my injuries, so there's no need to worry, Senior!"
Yu Hengqing, busy sorting through his things, raised a hand and gave Dugu Bo the "OK" sign.
Sure enough, a little over an hour later, the sky suddenly darkened.
When Yu Hezai returned from hunting and saw the sky, he hurriedly dropped his catch and rushed to find Yu Hengqing.
"Xiao Qing, today's Thunderstorm might be much stronger than the last one. Are you sure you want to draw lightning? If the Thunderstorm gets out of control, those medicines won't be enough to heal all your injuries."
Yu Hezai knew how powerful a Thunderstorm could be, and he knew exactly how effective the medicines he'd brought were.
"Second Uncle, don't worry! I'll draw just three bolts. As soon as they strike, I'll retreat. I won't do anything extra."
As he spoke, Yu Hengqing took Yu Hezai's hand off his shoulder and walked out of the tent.
"Relax. Yu Hengqing knows his limits. We just need to make sure he has a safety net."
Dugu Bo's voice came at just the right moment. Yu Hezai watched Yu Hengqing walk into the clearing and could only nod in agreement.
"Leiyi, start circulating your Cangming Lightning. If I can't defend against the strike later, I'll need you to use your Cangming Lightning to take over."
As he spoke to Leiyi in his mental space, Yu Hengqing circulated his own Cangming Lightning, forming Thunder Armor over his body.
"All right. Now increase the concentration of lightning in your body!"
In the mental space, Leiyi's arms were wrapped in Cangming Lightning as he fully opened his senses, searching for weak spots in Yu Hengqing's Thunder Armor.
Martial Soul Possession!
Yu Hengqing opened his eyes. Golden lightning coursed through his pupils as the power of lightning within him grew denser.
The thunderclouds above seemed to sense it. They gathered at a startling pace, and within seconds, clear flashes of lightning rolled through the clouds.
"Leiyi, get ready. I'm going to draw lightning!"
The lightning within Yu Hengqing seemed to reach some kind of limit, spilling out across his skin. Golden bolts danced through his upright hair.
From a distance, Yu Hengqing now bore a hint of the Super Saiyan about him.
In an instant, a bolt of lightning shot down from the thunderclouds and struck Yu Hengqing, as if he had drawn it to himself.
Fortunately, the armor formed from Cangming Lightning cushioned the blow, so the strike didn't give Yu Hengqing much trouble.
The first bolt felt like a mild electric shock, leaving his body tingling for an instant.
"Again!"
Yu Hengqing circulated the lightning within him once more, making its power far greater than that of his surroundings and turning himself into a human "lightning rod."
The thunderclouds had finished building up their charge and gave Yu Hengqing no time to catch his breath. The second bolt struck him in the blink of an eye.
"Boom!"
Maybe the thunderclouds had secretly amped it up, because this bolt was clearly thirty percent stronger than the last!
Yu Hengqing's Thunder Armor was no longer as pristine as before. Several spots were torn apart in an instant.
Fortunately, Leiyi was backing him up. The moment those spots were damaged, they were repaired.
"Leiyi, you were right. As long as I keep my injuries under control, taking three lightning strikes is my best option."
"But now I've got a pile of medicinal herbs for treating injuries. I can definitely take more strikes."
After several days of instruction from Dugu Bo, Yu Hengqing had already learned how to prepare medicine for injuries. He could easily take it while enduring the lightning!
"All right. If you can't hold on, I'll disperse the lightning within your body."
Before you continue