Super Douluo, Xie Biyan

This was a hunched old man with a full head of white hair. He was dressed in simple, plain clothing, and his murky eyes revealed a sense of sinister ruthlessness. He leaned on a black wooden cane topped with a scorpion head, from which a faint, scalp-tingling purple toxic glow emanated.

The old man looked toward Bai Shu, the ruthlessness in his eyes vanishing in an instant, replaced by a fanatical reverence.

He tremblingly lowered his cane, his knees went soft, and he knelt down before Bai Shu in a gesture of utmost respect.

"This old servant, Xie Biyan, pays respects to the Young Master!"

"Young Master? Why do you call me that?" Bai Shu was taken aback by this sudden display of deference and instinctively voiced the doubt in his heart.

"It was the Young Master who gave this old servant a new life, allowing me to see the hope of further advancement and even eternal life. The grace of rebirth is greater than the heavens; naturally, this old servant must acknowledge you as master and offer my humble service!"

Bai Shu nodded. The logic held up, though he was more inclined to believe the system had brainwashed the old man.

It didn't matter, though. At least judging by the man's current demeanor and actions, he seemed sincere. With the system's methods, there was no need to worry about betrayal.

Bai Shu curled his lips into a satisfied arc and waved his hand casually. "Enough, there's no need for such formalities between our own. Get up. Tell me, what is your martial soul, and what is your level of strength?"

"As you command, Young Master."

Xie Biyan slowly rose with his cane; one would think he was just an ordinary, dying old man.

But the next second, a terrifying, viscous pressure that seemed to solidify the very air around them erupted from his hunched body!

Bai Shu felt as if an invisible mountain had pressed down upon him, causing his breathing to hitch.

Immediately following, rings of brilliant light, pulsing with a soul-stirring rhythm, rose one after another from beneath Xie Biyan's feet!

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, red.

Nine soul rings were released in sequence, rising from his feet with a suffocating pressure!

The blood-red hundred-thousand-year soul ring, in particular, filled Bai Shu with pleasant surprise.

Although a Title Douluo was already at the pinnacle of this continent, among Title Douluo, the weak ones like Dugu Bo could only handle low-level skirmishes and would immediately collapse when encountering experts of the same rank.

The strong ones, like Tang Hao, could fight above their level.

And a hundred-thousand-year soul ring was the most intuitive proof distinguishing the mediocre from the prodigies! The difference in combat power with or without such a ring was like heaven and earth!

Under the enhancement of this red soul ring, a phantom of a massive, fierce scorpion—over ten meters long, with a dark-green metallic luster and strange blood-colored patterns covering its carapace—slowly condensed behind Xie Biyan!

Its hideous, giant pincers and flickering venomous stinger were enough to make one's soul tremble just by looking at them.

Xie Biyan bowed slightly, his voice filled with joy.

"Reporting to the Young Master, this old servant's current martial soul is named the 'Blood Demon Scorpion Emperor'."

"As for my current strength, according to the rules of this world, I am a level 96 peak Super Douluo!"

After a moment of hesitation, a flash of pride and ruthlessness crossed Xie Biyan's eyes as he added, "However, if I stake my life to unleash my innate poison, the 'Magic Poison Spot,' even a level 99 Limit Douluo could be poisoned to death by my hand!"

"Magic Poison Spot? You... are from the Dou Qi Continent?"

Bai Shu had been ecstatic over Xie Biyan's strength, but upon hearing the term "Magic Poison Spot," which was incredibly familiar, he immediately thought of the hit fantasy novel from his past life.

He had been wondering where he had heard the name Xie Biyan before; wasn't this the Supreme Elder of the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect who had nearly ended Xiao Huohuo's life in the early stages of the story?

"Returning to the Young Master, this old servant does indeed come from the Dou Qi Continent."

Bai Shu fell into deep thought upon hearing this.

He suddenly felt that his perspective had been too narrow, or rather, he had underestimated the system.

When he completed his first system mission, the martial soul rewarded shouldn't have been a product of this world. Because he didn't know the origin of the martial soul and was preoccupied with the imminent threat of Tang Hao, he hadn't given it much thought.

But the appearance of Xie Biyan made him realize that the system's capabilities exceeded his imagination.

If the system could bring someone from the Dou Qi Continent to the Douluo Continent, did that mean that one day, if he set a mission to travel across the heavens, he could personally visit those vast and magnificent worlds?

While the Douluo Continent had its advantages, such as magical martial souls and the potential for immortality upon becoming a god, its ceiling was ultimately too low. His system required him to reach a higher major realm to generate a new mission, which meant his future path would definitely not end at Douluo!

However, thinking about this was useless for now. He had no mission edit attempts left, so he couldn't even test it, and even if the system could do it, the mission difficulty would surely be outrageous.

Shaking his head, Bai Shu calmed his racing thoughts. For now, finishing the task at hand was more important.

Previously, due to limited strength, he had killed the Blue Silver Emperor Ah Yin, but he hadn't yet retrieved the soul bone she left behind!

"Xie Biyan, since you come from the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect, you shall be known as the Ten Thousand Scorpion Douluo from now on."

"This old servant thanks the Young Master for the title." Xie Biyan replied respectfully.

"Alright, there's no need to be so distant between us, and don't go bowing at every turn."

"This... yes, thank you, Young Master."

Bai Shu was left speechless by the old man. Although he believed in "when in Rome, do as the Romans do," coming from a modern society, he really wasn't used to this.

"Right, help me with something." Bai Shu pointed to the inconspicuous stone hole at his feet and said to Xie Biyan, "Open this cave; I need to go in and retrieve something."

Upon hearing this, Xie Biyan swept his spiritual power over the area like a tide, instantly grasping the full layout of the cave. He nodded and replied, "This is simple. Young Master, please step back."

Bai Shu followed instructions and retreated more than ten meters, watching Xie Biyan with curiosity. He wanted to see the methods of this former Dou Zong, now Douluo, with his own eyes.

Seeing Bai Shu move away, Xie Biyan released his terrifying Blood Demon Scorpion Emperor martial soul once more. He didn't activate any soul rings, but his withered right hand rapidly expanded and deformed amidst the sound of cracking bones, transforming in the blink of an eye into a giant scorpion pincer thicker than a water barrel, shimmering with a cold, metallic luster!

"Hah!"

Xie Biyan let out a low shout, and the massive pincer smashed down toward the small hole with a sharp whistle that tore through the air!

"BOOM!!!"

A deafening roar shook the entire small hill, causing the ground beneath Bai Shu's feet to crack and nearly knocking him off balance. A violent shockwave kicked up a sky full of dust and debris, obscuring his vision.

When the dust settled, a terrifying crater over five meters in diameter had appeared at the center of the explosion, with cracks spreading through the surrounding rocks like a spiderweb.