Spirit Ring? I'll Have Grandpa Painter Draw One For Me Too!

Dugu Bo's thoughts raced as he recalled what had happened in the valley earlier.

That Pharmacist wearing the evil ghost mask really was unfathomable, and that black giant spider was absurdly huge too.

If he faced them, he had no chance of winning.

But what about this child in front of him?

"He's only around ten years old. Even if he's incredibly strong, strong enough to push over a bull, that's nothing but brute strength!"

At that thought, Dugu Bo's eyes narrowed slightly, ready to seize any chance to act.

"Children's minds are immature, and they know even less about staying on guard."

"My soul power may be sealed right now, and I can't release my martial soul, but I'm Poison Douluo!"

"I've played with poison my whole life. Every pore on my body, every fingernail, has been tempered with deadly 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 could catch the boy off guard and scratch his skin with a fingernail, injecting the toxin into him, then even if the boy's body were forged from iron, he would die instantly!

When the time came, perhaps he could take advantage of the chaos to escape from this broken-down hut.

At that thought, that false, kindly smile once again appeared on Dugu Bo's dirt-covered face.

"Little brother."

Dugu Bo deliberately softened his voice, putting on an appearance of having no strength left as he coughed weakly twice.

"Since you want these glowing circles under Grandpa's feet, Grandpa will give them to you."

Dugu Bo shifted his body with difficulty and quietly stretched forward the right hand hidden inside his sleeve.

In the nail seam of that right index finger, a faint trace of deadly dark-green venom was seeping out.

"There's a trick to taking this thing off."

Dugu Bo looked at Qin Mu, his gaze extremely sincere.

"Come a little closer to Grandpa. Grandpa will teach you by hand how to take them off from under my feet, all right?"

Hearing that, Qin Mu blinked his clear, wide eyes, as if he had not noticed the approaching danger at all.

He gave a curious "oh," then actually stood up and took a step forward without the slightest guard, moving right up in front of Dugu Bo.

"Old Grandpa, how do you take them off? Hurry and teach me."

Qin Mu lowered his head. His face was now less than half a foot from Dugu Bo's right hand, which was hiding deadly poison.

Seeing his prey enter the ideal attack range, the kindness in Dugu Bo's eyes vanished in an instant.

"How do you take them off? Go learn slowly in hell!"

Dugu Bo let out a low roar, then suddenly erupted upward, slashing straight at Qin Mu's neck!

His index fingernail, hiding deadly venom, drew a dark-green streak through the dim light.

The distance between the two of them was far too close.

And with Qin Mu looking utterly unguarded, Dugu Bo's long-planned strike could be called fast, precise, and ruthless to the extreme.

Hiss!

With a faint sound of flesh tearing.

Dugu Bo's fingernail accurately cut a shallow bloody line across Qin Mu's fair, tender neck.

A drop of dark-green Jade Phosphorus Snake Emperor Poison seeped directly into Qin Mu's blood through the wound.

"Got him!"

Dugu Bo was wild with joy inside. His whole body, drained of strength, fell heavily back onto the pile of dry grass as he gasped for breath.

Although he had paid no small price, as long as the venom touched blood, he had absolute confidence!

This was the innate deadly poison he was so proud of. Normally, even if a Title Douluo got a little of it on them, if they could not force it out of their body in time, they would turn into a puddle of blood in moments.

Let alone this little brat before him, who did not even have soul power?

Sure enough, the very next second after the venom seeped into the wound.

Qin Mu, who was standing in place, suddenly scrunched up his small face, covered his neck with both hands, and began to sway.

"Ow..."

"Old Grandpa, what did you prick me with? My head feels so dizzy..."

Qin Mu cried out twice in his childish voice, then his legs went weak and he fell to the dusty dirt floor with a thud.

He rolled on the ground in pain twice, his little face flushed bright red, and even his breathing grew rapid.

Before long, Qin Mu's movements gradually stopped, and he lay on the ground without moving.

Seeing this scene, Douluo Continent outside the light screen instantly erupted in a mountain-shaking, sea-roaring wave of cheers!

"Beautifully done! As expected of Senior Poison Douluo!"

Inside the great hall of Heaven Dou Imperial City, Prince Xue Xing was so excited that he slapped the thigh beside him, his face flushed red.

Great Emperor Xue Ye also let out a long breath. He picked up the wine cup that had just been replaced, tilted his head back, and drained it in one gulp, the desire for the elixir of immortality rekindling in his eyes.

"Good! What a brilliant counterattack from the brink!"

"Guest Elder Dugu stayed calm in a crisis and, relying on his own formidable poison arts, successfully killed this native monster of the Great Ruins in return. He truly is a lucky star for our Heaven Dou Empire!"

At the same time, on the training field of Shrek Academy, the oppressive atmosphere from moments ago instantly turned relaxed and cheerful.

Oscar was so happy that he even let out a whistle.

"Haha, I told you. No matter how strong this little monster is, in the end, he's still only flesh and blood."

"After taking a bite laced with the top-tier deadly poison of our Douluo Continent, wasn't he bound to go meet King Yama obediently?"

Tang San stood with his hands behind his back, the corners of his mouth curving into a faint smile, his eyes full of appreciation.

"Senior Dugu's move was indeed exquisite."

"In a desperate situation where his soul power was sealed, he exploited the weakness of a child's immature mind and unexpectedly hid poison in his fingernail. It could be called a textbook counterkill."

At this point, Tang San turned his head and looked at Qin Mu's "corpse" on the ground, his tone carrying a hint of lofty superiority.

"The Jade Phosphorus Snake Emperor Poison kills the moment it enters the blood. Even if this boy's body were forged from fine steel, his internal organs absolutely couldn't withstand the corrosion of that toxin."

"It seems the people in this Great Ruins only have average poison resistance after all."

Hearing Tang San's analysis, Yu Xiaogang also nodded in satisfaction. The stiffness on his face completely melted away, and he regained the confidence of a teacher.

"Little San is right."

Yu Xiaogang cleared his throat and said loudly.

"This proves the theory I put forward just now!"

"The monsters in the Great Ruins are not invincible."

"They possess nothing but brute strength. Before the ever-changing methods of soul masters, they still lack depth in the end."

"Senior Dugu Bo has successfully escaped danger this time. Once he figures out the secrets of this pharmacy and absorbs and refines those highly poisonous substances, his strength is bound to undergo an earth-shattering transformation!"

At this moment, all the people of Douluo felt that the situation was secure.

They seemed to have already seen Dugu Bo ransacking this miraculous pharmacy, then returning like a king with a body full of god-level deadly poisons.

And in the image on the sky screen, Dugu Bo had the same idea.

He lay on the haystack, looking at Qin Mu, who no longer moved on the ground, and couldn't help letting out a hoarse laugh.

"Heh heh... you little brat."

"You're still too green to fight this old man."

As Dugu Bo mocked him, he braced his left hand against the ground and struggled to sit up.

His most urgent task now was to search this boy's body quickly and see whether he had anything that could undo the soul power seal on him.

As long as his soul power recovered, he could immediately sweep up the treasures in this room and make his escape.

However, just as Dugu Bo had straightened up and was about to reach out to rummage through Qin Mu's clothes...

A crisp laugh suddenly rang out inside the thatched hut.

"Giggle, giggle, giggle..."

The laugh was not loud, but when it fell into Dugu Bo's ears, it was like a demonic melody urging him to his death.

Dugu Bo's outstretched hand instantly froze in midair.

He abruptly lowered his head.

Qin Mu, who had originally been lying on the ground "dead from poisoning," had at some point turned over and was now propping his chin up with both hands, lying on his stomach and smiling at him.

On Qin Mu's little face, where was there even the slightest sign of blackening from poison?

Those dark, bright eyes were filled with slyness and teasing.

"Grandpa, did you think I was dead just now?"

Qin Mu blinked, climbed up from the ground, and even carefully patted the dirt off his knees.

He stretched out a fair, tender finger and touched the place on his neck that had been cut just now.

There had originally been a streak of blood there, but now not even a red mark could be found.

"Grandpa, that green watery stuff in your fingernail tasted so strange."

Qin Mu smacked his lips, as if savoring the taste from just now.

"It was a little sweet, but not spicy at all."

"The poisonous water Grandpa Pharmacist usually uses for my baths is way stronger than yours."

"I thought you could pull out some fun trick, but it turned out you were just poking me with a tiny needle."

Qin Mu pouted, his tone full of disappointment.

"This game of yours isn't fun at all."

When those words were spoken, the entire Douluo Continent seemed to have had the pause button pressed.

Everyone's smiles froze on their faces.

In Heaven Dou Imperial City, the mouthful of wine Great Emperor Xue Ye had just tipped into his mouth flowed straight down the corner of his lips and onto his magnificent dragon robe.

On the field at Shrek Academy, Tang San had been speaking with easy confidence, but now he looked like a drake seized by the throat, his mouth hanging open, unable to utter even half a syllable.

What was going on?

That was Jade Phosphorus Snake Emperor Poison!

The world's deadliest poison, lethal the instant it touched blood!

Yet this boy actually said it tasted a little sweet, and even complained it was not spicy enough?!

He was comparing a Title Douluo's natal deadly poison to bathwater?

Dugu Bo's reaction at that moment was a hundred times more despairing than the audience outside.

He stared blankly at Qin Mu, who had not suffered even the slightest injury, his mind buzzing, feeling as if his entire worldview had completely collapsed in that instant.

The sure-kill method he had always taken pride in was, in the eyes of this ten-year-old child, nothing more than an unamusing game.

"You... what kind of monster are you...?"

Dugu Bo's lips trembled, and a true sob crept into his voice.

He was genuinely afraid.

This time, the fear came from the depths of his bones.

Qin Mu tilted his head, looked at Dugu Bo's bloodless face, and chuckled.

"I'm not a monster. I'm the little cowherd from Crippled Old Village."

As he spoke, Qin Mu slowly walked up to Dugu Bo and looked down at the glowing soul rings beneath his feet.

"Old grandpa, since you won't teach me how to take off the circles..."

Qin Mu stretched out a small hand, and a faint, strange gray aura swirled indistinctly in his palm.

"Then I'll just have to do it myself."

The moment his words fell, Qin Mu's small hand pierced straight through the protection around Dugu Bo's body and grabbed the outermost yellow century soul ring.

The moment his words fell, Qin Mu's seemingly delicate little hand had already pierced straight through the soul-power defense around Dugu Bo's body and closed around the outermost yellow century soul ring.

The instant he touched it, Qin Mu raised his brows in slight surprise.

"Huh? This circle feels soft and squishy. It's pretty springy, too."

As he muttered, he gave it a tentative tug outward.

That nearly took Dugu Bo's old life on the spot.

Soul rings were the manifested product of a soul master's soul and martial soul, completely bound together with their bloodline.

Although Qin Mu's tug did not use much brute force, Dugu Bo felt as if his soul had been carved open alive with a blunt knife. An indescribable tearing sensation instantly spread through his entire body.

"Ah!!"

Dugu Bo threw back his head and let out a wail of utter agony.

Blue veins bulged all over his forehead, his eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of their sockets, and his whole body convulsed violently like chaff in a sieve.

Seeing the old man scream so miserably, Qin Mu quickly let go.

Snap.

The yellow soul ring, which had been stretched into an oval, instantly sprang back to Dugu Bo's feet like a rubber band and continued turning slowly.

As for Dugu Bo, he lay collapsed on the ground as if he had just been fished out of water, drenched in sweat, without even the strength to roll his eyes.

"What the heck. So this thing's grown onto you."

Qin Mu curled his little lips, wiped his hands on his clothes, and looked extremely disappointed.

"If I yanked it off by force, it'd definitely break. That wouldn't be fun at all."

"Since I can't take your circles, I'll go find Grandpa Deaf and ask him to draw a few for me to play with."

"The circles he draws will definitely look way better than those yellow and purple ones of yours."

After saying that, Qin Mu did not even glance again at the half-dead Dugu Bo on the ground. He turned around directly, stepping lightly, and skipped out of the shabby room filled with the smell of medicine.

Only when the wooden door closed with a creak did the room return to silence.

Outside the light screen, everyone on Douluo Continent finally drew a breath as if waking from a dream.

The scene of Qin Mu tearing at a soul ring with his bare hand just now had dealt them far too great a visual impact.

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 could hold it in his hand and pull it like a rubber band?

However, when they heard the words Qin Mu left behind before departing, many people showed puzzled expressions again.

On the field at Shrek Academy.

Yu Xiaogang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, forcibly suppressed the shock in his heart, and gave a cold laugh.

"This ignorant brat is simply indulging in wild fantasy."

"Soul rings are formed after hunting soul beasts and absorbing their source power. They are genuine crystals of energy."

"Yet he actually said he was going to find some painter to draw a few soul rings? Truly childish nonsense, ridiculous enough to make one laugh."

Dai Mubai also shook his head along with him, a hint of mockery at the corner of his mouth.