Dugu Yan

A level seventy-nine Soul Sage commanded respect anywhere.

But the man before them was Dugu Bo, a peerless level ninety-one Titled Douluo. The gap between them was vast.

What was more, Dugu Bo served the Heaven Dou Imperial Family.

Huang Fei belonged to Spirit Hall.

Relations between the two powers had never been particularly cordial.

Running into each other in Dragon Valley could spell serious trouble if either side made the wrong move.

Lu Mingfei could tell how serious things were from Huang Fei's reaction.

He stood quietly behind her, head lowered, trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible while stealing glances at Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan from the corner of his eye.

Dugu Bo had clearly noticed Huang Fei and Lu Mingfei too.

His gaze lingered on Huang Fei for a moment, but his emerald eyes gave nothing away.

His attention soon shifted to the Jade Phosphorous Serpent crouched in a hollow beside the valley path, and a faint, satisfied smile touched his lips.

"Yanzi."

Dugu Bo's voice was dry and raspy. "This Jade Phosphorous Serpent suits you. It's over seven hundred years old, and its Jade Phosphor Dragon bloodline is fairly strong. It's just right for your Second Soul Ring. Go take it down."

Dugu Yan nodded and drew a gleaming silver sword from the Soul Tool at her waist. Its blade was long and narrow, thin as a cicada's wing, and its hilt was wrapped in dark green cord. It was plainly a custom-made Soul Tool weapon.

She carried the sword to the edge of the hollow, gripped it in her right hand, and called softly, "Jade Phosphorous Serpent, Martial Soul Possession."

Jade-green light surged from her body, and the phantom of a Jade Phosphorous Serpent more than ten feet long appeared behind her.

Its head rose, cold, bloodthirsty light shining in its green eyes.

A bright Yellow Soul Ring appeared beneath Dugu Yan's feet, pulsing slowly. It was her First Soul Ring.

Once Martial Soul Possession took hold, Dugu Yan's appearance changed dramatically.

Her short, dark purple hair turned fiery red in an instant, as striking as a blaze.

Her body became extraordinarily supple. Her waist swayed gently, and she moved like a snake swimming through water, every motion carrying a dangerous, uncanny grace.

A diamond-shaped green scale appeared on her forehead, crystal-clear and embedded in her skin. It lent her an eerie, almost inhuman allure.

The most startling change was in her lower body...

Her legs fused together amid the green light, becoming a thick serpent's tail.

Dense scales covered its surface, gleaming a deep green in the light.

Lu Mingfei stared in amazement.

So this was what Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul Possession looked like!

It turned her legs straight into a serpent's tail. The transformation went even further than Meng Yiran's Serpent Form. No wonder Dugu Yan seemed to move by slithering on her tail.

"First Soul Skill, Jade Phosphor Red Poison."

Dugu Yan's voice turned noticeably colder, and a red gleam flashed through her green eyes.

Her First Yellow Soul Ring flared, and a faint red glow enveloped her.

Lu Mingfei could clearly feel her aura surge. Her breathing grew eager and strong, and the hand holding her sword steadied.

Jade Phosphor Red Poison stimulated the nerves, heightening her excitement and increasing her attack power and speed by twenty percent.

That was a considerable boost in a real fight.

Dugu Yan flicked her tail and shot forward like an arrow, thrusting her silver sword at the Jade Phosphorous Serpent coiled in the hollow.

Sensing one of its own kind approaching, the serpent raised its head and hissed a warning.

Dugu Bo's presence had cowed it into submission, but it had no intention of showing a young girl the same courtesy.

The serpent sprang up, its enormous head slamming toward Dugu Yan.

Sword light and serpent shadow crossed.

Dugu Yan moved nimbly, her tail gliding swiftly over the ground and carrying her far faster than ordinary legs could.

She circled the serpent at speed, thrusting her silver sword again and again. Each strike targeted the vital point behind its head or a gap between its scales.

But the serpent's scales were exceptionally hard. Her blade left only shallow white marks as it scraped across them, doing no real damage.

The Jade Phosphorous Serpent grew enraged.

It opened its jaws and spewed a thick cloud of blue poison mist.

The mist spread rapidly through the air and swallowed Dugu Yan whole.

She caught its sharp, sickly-sweet smell, and her expression changed. Her movements slowed at once.

The blue mist had a paralyzing effect. It seeped into her body with every breath, leaving her limbs heavy and stiff. Even the fingers gripping her sword began to go numb.

Lu Mingfei watched the fight turn against her, tension rising within him.

Dugu Yan's sword could not pierce the serpent's defenses at all.

Meanwhile, its poison mist kept weakening her.

At this rate, her defeat was only a matter of time.

But Lu Mingfei noticed something.

Dugu Bo stood to one side with his hands behind his back, his expression calm. There was even a hint of detached amusement in his emerald eyes.

He showed no sign of intervening, yet the slight curve of his lips betrayed complete confidence.

As if Dugu Bo would ever let his granddaughter come to real harm!

Sure enough, just as the serpent opened its jaws to press its advantage and bite Dugu Yan, she felt the poison mist around her dissipate rapidly.

The serpent's body went rigid, as though something had pinned it in place.

Its head thrashed desperately in the air, but it could not move an inch, as if bound by invisible chains.

Dugu Yan had no time to wonder why.

She seized the rare opening. With a low cry, she drove her tail against the ground and leaped into the air.

She angled her silver sword upward, aimed at the soft, scaleless patch beneath the serpent's neck, and drove it in with all her might.

The blade pierced its neck and sank in to the hilt.

The serpent's massive body convulsed. A shrill hiss echoed through the valley path, then it slowly went limp.

Green blood gushed from the wound and soaked into the earth, staining the surrounding stones dark green.

A bright Yellow Soul Ring rose from the serpent's corpse and hovered in midair, its glow rich and full.

After landing, Dugu Yan let out a long breath. Sweat covered her forehead.

Without stopping to wipe it away, she sat cross-legged, planted her silver sword in the ground beside her, formed a hand seal, and closed her eyes. With her will, she drew the Yellow Soul Ring into her body.

The ring became a streak of light and entered her. Violent energy surged through her meridians.

Her brows drew together slightly, and her breathing alternated between quick and slow.