Dugu Bo's thoughts raced as he recalled what had happened in the valley just now.
That Pharmacist wearing the Evil Ghost Mask was indeed unfathomable, and that black giant spider was absurdly enormous.
If he had to face them, he stood no chance at all.
But what about this child before him?
"He's only around ten years old. No matter how strong he is, even if he can shove over a cow, it's nothing but brute strength!"
At that thought, Dugu Bo narrowed his eyes slightly, ready to seize an opportunity at any moment.
"Children are immature and don't know how to guard against others."
"My Soul Power may be sealed right now, and I can't even summon my Martial Soul, but I am Poison Douluo!"
"I've spent my whole life using poison. Every pore and every fingernail on my body has been tempered with lethal Jade Phosphorus Snake Emperor Poison!"
Dugu Bo had thought it through clearly. He could not beat the adults, but could he really not handle a little brat like this?
As long as he caught the boy off guard and scratched his skin with a fingernail, injecting the poison into him, then even if the boy had an iron body, he would die instantly!
Then Dugu Bo might be able to use the chaos to escape this shabby house.
With that thought, the false, kindly smile appeared once more on Dugu Bo's mud-streaked face.
"Little brother."
Dugu Bo deliberately lowered his voice and pretended to be exhausted, coughing weakly twice.
"Since you want these glowing rings beneath Grandpa's feet, Grandpa will give them to you."
Dugu Bo shifted his body with difficulty, quietly extending the right hand hidden in his sleeve.
A faint thread of dark green lethal venom was seeping from beneath the index fingernail of that hand.
"There's a trick to taking these things off."
Dugu Bo looked at Qin Mu with an exceedingly sincere gaze.
"Come a little closer to Grandpa. Grandpa will teach you hand in hand how to take them off from beneath my feet, all right?"
Upon hearing that, Qin Mu blinked his large, clear eyes, seemingly completely unaware that danger was approaching.
He let out a curious "Oh," then actually stood up and took an unguarded step forward, moving close to Dugu Bo.
"Grandpa, how do I take them off? Hurry and teach me."
Qin Mu lowered his head. His face was less than half a foot away from Dugu Bo's poison-laden right hand.
Seeing the prey enter his ideal attack range, all kindness vanished from Dugu Bo's eyes in an instant.
"How do you take them off? Go learn slowly in hell!"
Dugu Bo let out a low roar, then suddenly lunged up and slashed straight at Qin Mu's throat!
The index fingernail holding lethal venom streaked through the dim light with a dark green glimmer.
The distance between them was simply too close.
Coupled with Qin Mu's completely defenseless appearance, this long-planned strike from Dugu Bo was fast, accurate, and ruthless to the extreme.
"Ssst!"
A faint sound of flesh tearing rang out.
Dugu Bo's nail accurately carved a shallow bloody mark across Qin Mu's fair, tender neck.
A drop of dark green Jade Phosphorus Snake Emperor Poison seeped directly through the wound and into Qin Mu's bloodstream.
"I got him!"
Dugu Bo was ecstatic. His entire body collapsed heavily back onto the pile of straw from exhaustion, and he gasped for breath.
Though he had paid no small price, as long as the venom had entered the blood, he had absolute confidence!
This was his pride and joy, his innate lethal poison. Even a Titled Douluo would turn into a puddle of blood in moments after touching just a little of it, if they could not force it out in time.
Much less a little brat without even a trace of Soul Power?
Sure enough, the very next second after the poison seeped into the wound—
Qin Mu, who had been standing there, suddenly scrunched up his little face, covered his neck with both hands, and began to sway.
"Ah..."
"Grandpa, what did you poke me with? My head feels so dizzy..."
Qin Mu cried out twice in a childish voice. Then his legs gave out, and he fell to the dusty dirt floor with a thud.
He rolled around in pain twice, his little face turning bright red as even his breathing grew rapid.
Before long, Qin Mu's movements slowly stopped, and he lay motionless on the ground.
At the sight of this, an overwhelming wave of cheers instantly erupted across Douluo Continent outside the Sky Screen!
"Beautifully done! As expected of Senior Poison Douluo!"
Inside the great hall of Heaven Dou Imperial City, Prince Xue Xing excitedly slapped the thigh beside him, his face flushed red.
Xue Ye also let out a long breath, lifted the newly replaced cup of wine, and drained it in one gulp. The desire for the elixir of immortality reignited in his eyes.
"Good! What a comeback from the brink of death!"
"Guest Dugu remained calm in a crisis and successfully killed this native monster from the Great Ruins with his superb poison arts. He truly is a blessing to our Heaven Dou Empire!"
At the same time, the atmosphere on Shrek Academy's training grounds instantly changed from stifling to relaxed and cheerful.
Oscar was so delighted that he even whistled.
"Haha, I told you. No matter how monstrously strong this little freak is, he's still made of flesh and blood."
"After getting bitten by the deadliest poison on our Douluo Continent, won't he still obediently go meet the King of Hell?"
Tang San stood with his hands behind his back, a faint smile curling at his lips, his eyes filled with approval.
"Senior Dugu's move was indeed exquisite."
"In a desperate situation where his Soul Power was sealed, he exploited a child's immature mind and hid poison in his fingernail to strike unexpectedly. It was a textbook counterkill."
As he said this, Tang San turned to look at Qin Mu's "corpse" on the ground, his tone taking on a touch of lofty superiority.
"Jade Phosphorus Snake Emperor Poison kills upon drawing blood. Even if this boy's body were forged from refined steel, his internal organs could never withstand the corrosion of such poison."
"It seems the people of the Great Ruins only have average poison resistance."
Hearing Tang San's analysis, Yu Xiaogang nodded in satisfaction. The stiffness on his face completely faded, and he regained the confidence of a teacher.
"Little San is right."
Yu Xiaogang cleared his throat and spoke loudly.
"This proves the theory I just put forward!"
"The monsters of the Great Ruins are not invincible."
"They may possess brute strength, but before the ever-changing methods of Soul Masters, they ultimately lack the necessary foundation."
"Senior Dugu Bo has successfully escaped his predicament this time. Once he understands the secrets of this apothecary and absorbs and refines those highly poisonous items, his strength will surely undergo an earth-shaking transformation!"
At that moment, everyone on Douluo Continent felt that victory was assured.
They could practically see Dugu Bo ransacking this miraculous apothecary before returning in triumph, covered in god-level poisons.
And within the Sky Screen, Dugu Bo thought the same.
Lying on the straw pile and looking at Qin Mu, who no longer moved, he could not help letting out a hoarse laugh.
"Hehe... you little bastard."
"You're still too green to contend with this old man."
As Dugu Bo mocked him, he braced himself against the ground with his left hand and struggled to sit up.
His most urgent task now was to search the boy and see whether he had anything that could undo the seal on Dugu Bo's Soul Power.
Once his Soul Power recovered, he could immediately sweep away the treasures in this house and flee.
However, just as Dugu Bo straightened his back and prepared to reach for Qin Mu's clothes—
A crisp burst of laughter suddenly rang out inside the thatched hut.
"Giggle, giggle, giggle..."
The laughter was not loud, but when it reached Dugu Bo's ears, it sounded like a death knell.
Dugu Bo's outstretched hand instantly froze in midair.
He abruptly lowered his head.
Qin Mu, who had supposedly died from the poison, had somehow rolled over and was now lying on the ground with his chin propped on both hands, smiling at him.
There was not the slightest sign of poisoned blackness on Qin Mu's little face.
Those jet-black eyes were full of sly amusement and mockery.
"Grandpa, did you think I died just now?"
Qin Mu blinked, climbed up from the ground, and even carefully patted the dirt from his knees.
He extended one fair, tender finger and touched the spot on his neck that had been scratched just now.
There had originally been a bloody mark there, but now not even a red trace remained.
"Grandpa, that green water under your nail tasted so weird."
Qin Mu smacked his lips, seemingly savoring the taste from just now.
"It was kind of sweet, but not spicy at all."
"The poisonous water Grandpa Pharmacist uses to soak me in is much stronger than yours."
"I thought you had some fun trick to show me, but all you did was poke me with a little needle."
Qin Mu pouted, his voice full of disappointment.
"Your game isn't fun at all."
The moment those words were spoken, the entire Douluo Continent seemed to have been paused.
Everyone's smiles froze on their faces.
In Heaven Dou Imperial City, the mouthful of wine Xue Ye had just poured into his mouth flowed straight down the corner of his lips onto his magnificent dragon robe.
On Shrek Academy's training grounds, Tang San had just been speaking at length. Now, however, he looked like a duck with its throat seized, mouth hanging open without a single sound coming out.
What was going on?
That was Jade Phosphorus Snake Emperor Poison!
The greatest strange poison in the world, killing at the sight of blood!
This boy actually said it tasted a little sweet and complained that it was not spicy enough?!
He compared a Titled Douluo's innate lethal poison to bathwater?
Dugu Bo's reaction at that moment was a hundred times more despairing than that of the audience outside.
He stared blankly at the completely unharmed Qin Mu, his mind buzzing as his entire worldview collapsed in that instant.
The killing move he had always been proud of was merely an unfun game in the eyes of this ten-year-old child.
"You... what kind of monster are you..."
Dugu Bo's lips trembled, and his voice carried a genuine sob.
He was truly afraid.
This time, the fear came from the very depths of his bones.
Qin Mu tilted his head and grinned at the pale-faced Dugu Bo.
"I'm not a monster. I'm the cowherd boy from Crippled Old Village."
As he spoke, Qin Mu slowly walked over to Dugu Bo and looked down at the several Soul Rings still glowing beneath his feet.
"Grandpa, since you won't teach me how to take the rings off."
Qin Mu stretched out a little hand, and a strange grayish aura faintly flowed across his palm.
"Then I'll just do it myself."
As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Mu's little hand pierced directly through Dugu Bo's bodily defenses and grabbed the outermost yellow hundred-year Soul Ring.
As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Mu's seemingly weak little hand pierced straight through Dugu Bo's Soul Power defense and tightly seized the outermost yellow hundred-year Soul Ring.
The moment he touched it, Qin Mu raised his brows in surprise.
"Oh, this ring feels all soft and squishy. It's pretty springy too."
He muttered as he experimentally tugged it outward.
That one pull nearly killed Dugu Bo.
Soul Rings were the manifested products of a Soul Master's soul and Martial Soul, completely bound to their bloodline.
Though Qin Mu did not use much brute force, Dugu Bo felt as if someone had forcibly sliced his soul apart with a dull blade. An indescribable tearing pain instantly swept through his entire body.
"Aah!!"
Dugu Bo threw back his head and let out a bloodcurdling howl.
The veins on his forehead bulged one after another, his eyeballs nearly popped out, and his entire body convulsed violently like a sieve.
Seeing the old man scream so miserably, Qin Mu hurriedly released his hand.
"Snap."
The yellow Soul Ring, stretched into an oval shape, instantly sprang back to Dugu Bo's feet like a rubber band and continued turning slowly.
Dugu Bo, meanwhile, sprawled on the ground as though he had just been dragged out of water, drenched in sweat and without even the strength to roll his eyes.
"What? So this thing grows on you."
Qin Mu curled his lips and wiped his hand on his clothes, looking thoroughly disappointed.
"If I forcibly pull it off, it'll definitely break. That's not fun at all."
"Since I can't take your rings away, I'll go find Grandpa Deaf and have him draw a few for me instead."
"The rings he draws will definitely look much prettier than your yellow and purple ones."
After saying that, Qin Mu did not even spare the half-dead Dugu Bo on the ground another glance. He turned around and skipped out of the shabby, medicine-scented house with light steps.
Only when the wooden door closed with a creak did silence return to the room.
Outside the Sky Screen, the people of Douluo Continent finally drew breath again as if waking from a dream.
The sight of Qin Mu tearing at a Soul Ring with his bare hand had been far too visually shocking.
That was a Soul Ring!
It was a product of the laws of heaven and earth, something others could not even touch, yet this boy had grabbed it and stretched it like a rubber band?
However, when they heard Qin Mu's final words before leaving, many people showed puzzled expressions once more.
On Shrek Academy's training grounds.
Yu Xiaogang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, forcibly suppressing the shock in his heart before letting out a cold laugh.
"This little child is utterly delusional."
"Soul Rings are formed by absorbing the source power of Soul Beasts after killing them. They are genuine crystals of energy."
"He actually said he would find a Painter to draw some Soul Rings? What childish nonsense. It's laughable."
Dai Mubai also shook his head, a trace of mockery at the corner of his mouth.
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