Sunset Forest, Beating Up Dugu Bo

Deep within Sunset Forest.

Four figures descended from the sky, landing in a clearing amid the dense woods.

The moment Shui Bing'er's feet touched the ground, she sensed the thick aura of danger permeating the surroundings.

On instinct, she pressed close against Li Yuan's back.

The large, soft sensation transmitted through their clothes made Li Yuan pause slightly. Then he reached back and gently stroked her head.

"Don't be afraid."

His voice was gentle, yet carried a certainty that put her at ease.

Shui Bing'er pressed her lips together, and the tension on her face eased a little.

"My lord, what are we doing here? Hunting soul beasts?"

"No."

Li Yuan's gaze swept toward the mist-shrouded valley ahead, and a faint curve appeared at the corner of his mouth. "Perfect timing. Bing'er, I'll have a gift for you in a moment."

Shui Bing'er blinked. "A gift?"

Li Yuan did not answer. He turned his head and glanced at Long Yuan.

Long Yuan understood, gave a slight nod, and stepped forward.

He drew in a deep breath, his voice booming like a great bell as it rolled out, wrapped in dense soul power.

"Dugu Bo! Get the hell out here!"

His voice exploded over the forest like a thunderclap, echoing outward in layer after layer.

Soul beasts within several li fled in terror in every direction, birds scattered into the sky, and even the fallen leaves on the ground trembled from the shock.

"Dugu Bo? His Excellency Poison Douluo?" Shui Bing'er's eyes widened.

Silence.

Several breaths passed, but there was no response.

Long Yuan's brows furrowed, and he gave a cold laugh. "Hm? You dare ignore Grandpa Long? Tired of living!"

Before his words had even fallen, the soul power around him burst open.

Nine soul rings appeared, and the first black soul ring lit up.

"First soul skill, Nine Nether Burning Heaven."

A massive, ferocious black dragon phantom shot into the sky from behind him. It was over ten zhang long, its entire body covered in pitch-black scales, its eyes like two dark-red suns as it looked down upon the earth.

The dragon's head opened, and a mouthful of scorching black flame surged from its throat, sweeping forward in a fan shape.

Wherever the black flames passed, trees, rocks, and earth—

Everything turned to ash the instant it made contact.

A charred trench was plowed into the ground, wisps of green smoke rising from it.

Shui Bing'er stood behind Li Yuan, staring at the scene in dumbstruck silence.

Just his first soul skill was already this terrifying?

A rank ninety-eight peak Douluo... what kind of concept was that, exactly?

"How dare you!"

A furious shout exploded from deep within the valley. Immediately after, a dark-green figure shot into the sky and landed a hundred paces away.

Poison Douluo Dugu Bo's hair and beard bristled with rage, his face savage, nine soul rings around him lighting up all at once.

"You dare disturb this old man's cultivation? You lot have already chosen the path to death!"

He shoved both hands forward. Behind him, the Jade Scale Snake Di Jun martial soul rose into the air, its enormous body as thick as a water barrel. Its snake head reared high, fangs glinting coldly, and it opened its bloody maw to tear toward Long Yuan. Venom dripped from the tips of its fangs, corroding blackened pits into the ground wherever it fell.

Long Yuan looked down at the Jade Scale Snake Di Jun lunging straight at him, a contemptuous curve pulling at his lips.

"A mere little snake dares bare its fangs before a true dragon?"

He raised his right arm, his five fingers curling into a claw. Black scales instantly covered his arm, turning it into a ferocious dragon claw.

The second black soul ring lit up.

"Second soul skill, Sky Tearing Claw."

Long Yuan stepped out, his figure moving so fast only an afterimage remained. That pitch-black dragon claw slashed through the air.

Five pitch-black spatial rifts bloomed in midair, shooting straight toward the Jade Scale Snake Di Jun.

There was no suspense at all.

The Jade Scale Snake Di Jun's head was smashed apart by that claw, and its huge serpent body burst into a sky full of jade-green motes of light, exploding like fireworks.

Dugu Bo's body shook violently, and he spat out a mouthful of old blood. His entire body flew backward more than a dozen zhang, his back snapping two large trees before he barely managed to steady himself.

He supported himself against a tree stump and stood, his face deathly pale, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"How is this possible?"

He stared at that slowly withdrawing dragon claw, his lips trembling as the soul power fluctuations of a rank ninety-eight pressed down until he could hardly breathe.

The other party had taken out his Martial Soul True Body in one move?

"Who... who exactly are you, sir?" Dugu Bo wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his voice changing pitch. "I was deeply offensive just now. Please be magnanimous!"

"Hmph!"

Long Yuan gave a cold laugh. His figure flashed, and he appeared in front of Dugu Bo, kicking him in the chest.

The old poisoner grunted and flew out again, smashing into the ground and blasting out a huge pit.

"Old thing, now you know fear? Too late! Your Grandpa Long isn't that easy to talk to. Since you dared attack this old man, you'll take this lesson properly!"

Dugu Bo crawled out of the pit. Before he could speak, Long Yuan slapped him across the face, sending him spinning half a turn on the spot.

"Sir, a misunderstanding! This is truly a misunderstanding!"

"Misunderstanding, my ass!"

Bang! A punch slammed into his stomach.

"This old man... does not know how I offended you, sir..."

Smack!

Another slap.

"Cut the damn nonsense!"

Boom! A kick sent him flying.

Dugu Bo bent like a shrimp as he flew out, crashing into the mountain wall and embedding himself in it.

Before he could fall, Long Yuan appeared above him again and drove an elbow into his back, smashing him back down toward the ground. With a thunderous boom, he left a human-shaped crater in the earth.

"Your Eminence! Your Eminence, stop hitting me! This old man failed to recognize a great person!"

Dugu Bo begged for mercy while coughing up blood, looking utterly wretched.

He was a dignified Titled Douluo, someone who could walk sideways anywhere on the continent, yet today he was actually being beaten like a sandbag, without the slightest ability to fight back.

Shui Bing'er stood in the distance, completely dumbfounded.

Poison Douluo, one of the famous Titled Douluo of the Heaven Dou Empire, was a name she had heard since she was little. Everyone said he was a terrifying existence that must never be provoked.

Yet at this moment, he was being kicked around like a sandbag.

"..."

Her gaze slowly shifted to Li Yuan's profile.

The youth watched the fight over there with a calm expression, and the corner of his mouth even carried a faint, almost imperceptible smile.

Ever since she met this man, her worldview and understanding had been reorganized over and over again.

Li Yuan was actually stunned for a moment too.

He knew there was a gap between a Titled Douluo and a peak Douluo, but he had not expected it to be this huge.

Long Yuan had barely even used any soul skills. Relying on physical strength and basic combat alone, he had already left Dugu Bo with no power to parry.

"My lord," Di Jun said calmly from the side, "if you don't stop Long Yuan, that old man is going to be beaten to death."

Li Yuan came back to himself as well. He had not come here to beat Dugu Bo to death, but to recruit him—and, while he was at it, pick a few immortal herbs to snack on.

Just as he was about to speak, an urgent young girl's voice came from afar.

"Grandpa!"

A figure rushed out of the dense forest, with short purple hair, an enchanting face, and reddened eyes, throwing herself straight toward the dusty old man in the pit.

Dugu Yan.

Li Yuan seemed to know who had come as well and raised his hand.

"Long Yuan, come back."

Long Yuan was just raising his foot, preparing to stomp once more into the pit, but when he heard the order, he immediately stopped. He patted nonexistent dust from his hands, turned, and walked back to Li Yuan's side, standing there respectfully.

In the pit, Dugu Bo crawled up covered in dirt, blood still at the corner of his mouth. Seeing that the young man in white brocade had made Long Yuan stop with just one sentence, his pupils abruptly shrank.

This youth... was the real master?