Black!? How Could It Be Black?

"Whoosh—" Seeing this, Dugu Yan likewise yanked off her fur cloak, treating the winter weather as if it were nothing.

After all, when a Soul Master prepared for battle, the circulation of soul power made the blood and qi throughout the body boil. That bit of cold simply could not be felt.

As a jade-green glow rose, a diamond-shaped green scale appeared between Dugu Yan's brows.

"Jade Phosphor Snake Martial Soul, possess!"

Her legs fused into a thick snake tail. Her supple body swayed as she raised her upper body, and her sharp snake eyes radiated an icy aura, like a venomous snake assuming an attacking stance.

Two yellow and one purple Soul Rings displayed her cultivation as a Soul Elder.

"Sea God Dragon Martial Soul, possess."

As the blue light faded, Ouyang Ling, clad in blue armor, extended his right hand and let snowflakes fall into his palm.

"Dugu, does the current environment favor me?"

Dugu Yan smiled sweetly, showing no courtesy.

"Then let me make the first move."

"Fine."

Before her words had even faded, her first Soul Ring flashed yellow. The next moment, countless black snakes burst from the ground, spreading toward him from the earth like a net.

"You haven't even said start yet." Though Ouyang Ling said so, his hands did not slow down.

With a wave of his hand, clusters of clear water emerged around him, swiftly freezing in the cold into ice spikes that shot out like arrows, pinning every black snake to the ground. "Crack, crack, crack—"

However, the black snakes pinned to the ground instantly exploded. Countless drops of black liquid stained the snow, spreading outward without end.

At the same time, Dugu Yan's second Soul Ring lit up, and a layer of red mist instantly spread forward.

When the diffuse red mist met the black snakes, the already swift snakes became even more excited and frenzied, as if they had all gone mad, surging toward Ouyang Ling like a tide.

The sight made everyone's scalps tingle. Even Ouyang Ling frowned deeply, feeling physically uncomfortable.

And besides...

This was what she called not having many tricks!?

"Dugu, you weren't telling the truth."

"Poison-using Soul Masters have to be like this. Sinister and vicious—that's how you seize the right opportunity to win."

Dugu Yan gave a sly smile, continuously controlling the red mist and the snake net covering the ground. "Let me show you how the Jade Phosphor Snake can serve as a control-type Martial Soul."

Ouyang Ling was not afraid in the slightest.

"Then bring it on."

The ice spikes fell, and the ground rapidly froze!

At that moment, Ouyang Ling had already seen through it. Both the black snakes and the red mist were Poison Arrays Dugu Yan had set up to control the battlefield.

Once trapped within them, without taking a specially made antidote, an opponent would remain poisoned at all times, greatly weakening their physical abilities.

But to him...

All of it was futile!

The ice spikes were carriers of frost. Whenever one landed, the freezing ice spread outward from it. Thus, no matter how the black snakes "died," her Poison Array could not take shape.

Even when another wave of red mist swept in, Ouyang Ling merely extended his right hand and slowly pushed out a condensed, spinning ball of water. It looked utterly ordinary.

Yet the water ball itself was like a massive whirlpool. The moment the red mist approached, it was completely drawn inside. Then ripples spread across the water's surface, and the mist vanished without a trace.

Dugu Yan's eyes widened in shock.

"This—"

"Dugu, it seems I completely counter you."

The corners of Ouyang Ling's mouth lifted. "After all, poisoning is also a negative effect. It seems your Jade Phosphor Snake Martial Soul is completely countered by me."

"Nonsense! I don't believe it!"

It had only been a simple spar, but as a Soul Elder, Dugu Yan was being so thoroughly suppressed by Ouyang Ling, a Great Soul Master.

Provoked like this, and with a little alcohol in her, she instantly got fired up. "You can seal my Shadow-Seeking Snake Net and break my Blood-Boiling Poison. But I refuse to believe you can break my Jade Phosphor Purple Poison too!"

Ouyang Ling merely smiled without speaking. He hooked a finger toward himself with his outstretched hand, the provocation obvious.

—Come on, try it.

"You don't believe me!?"

Dugu Yan's temper flared as well. Like she was throwing a tantrum, she said, "Then take a look at my third soul skill!"

With a sharp screech, her third Soul Ring suddenly shone brightly.

The next second, her originally jade-green eyes turned entirely purple, and even the jade-green scales on her snake tail were covered in a faint violet radiance. Opening her mouth, she spat out a dense purple mist that rapidly spread through the air, sweeping toward Ouyang Ling.

The moment the poison mist appeared, even before it arrived, a pungent stench assaulted their noses, making them nauseous and dizzy. At that instant, Yu Tianheng and the others watching nearby were affected as well, their expressions changing drastically!

"Not good!"

"This poison is vicious!"

"Yanzi! Stop!"

They had initially only been watching the battle, but the potency of the Jade Phosphor Purple Poison had exceeded everyone's expectations. The moment they realized it, they immediately tried to stop her.

Shouted at by everyone and hit by the winter wind, Dugu Yan instantly sobered up from her slightly drunken, heated state.

Just as she was about to stop, Ouyang Ling moved.

He spread his hands as if embracing something, and a layer of Jade Waves rippled out from his chest.

"Deep Blue Purification!"

In an instant, the Jade Waves turned into surging water, engulfing the purple mist.

The moment the Jade Phosphor Purple Poison touched the Jade Waves, it was like grime being washed away by running water, like evil filth purified by blue light. It disappeared without a trace.

"N-No way..." Having sobered up, Dugu Yan was dazed. She stared blankly at Ouyang Ling, her eyes filled with disbelief.

One had to know that this third Soul Ring skill of hers could be considered her most poisonous attack so far.

Its poison acted with extreme speed. As long as someone was tainted by even the slightest bit, they would turn into a puddle of pus and die within moments.

When she had obtained this Soul Ring, her grandfather had even deliberately captured a Soul Beast with similar cultivation for her to test it on. The effect had been absolutely real.

Who could have expected things to turn out like this?

When Dugu Yan finally came back to her senses, her expression was complicated. "You really broke my Jade Phosphor Purple Poison!"

She felt as though only one sentence remained echoing in her mind from that moment onward: Could it really be like this guy said? Does he completely counter me?

And Dugu Yan was not the only one left stunned. Yu Tianheng and the others watching were no exception.

Though it was their first time seeing it, they could feel the terrifying toxicity of the purple mist even as onlookers. Yet Ouyang Ling had truly dealt with it with such ease, as though he completely countered it!

"Holy shit! Ling, you weren't joking!"

Yu Feng's voice exploded beside everyone's ears.

But when everyone turned to look at him, they saw that the shock from his earlier cry was gone. Instead, he wore a thoughtful expression.

Then, less than a second later, "Say..."

Yu Feng spoke again.

Just as everyone thought Yu Feng was about to say something sensible, he unexpectedly said, "Boss lady, did you go easy on him? Or was the poison you used just for show? Looks good but doesn't work?"

Yu Tianheng ╮(╯▽╰)╭: "..."

Sigh—he had brought this upon himself.

The Shi Family brothers, Ye Lingling ＼(〇_ｏ)／: "..."

Yu Feng was courting death!

Oslo ("ﾟﾛﾟ)｣: "..."

Brother, you're brave! Rest in peace...

"Yu Feng! Go die!"

(#｀ﾟд´)ﾉ

Almost no one saw what happened. By the time everyone reacted, Yu Feng, who did not even have time to scream, had already been turned into a star in the sky by Dugu Yan's fist, sent flying who knew where.

Everyone: "..."

What a miserable guy... But he deserved it...

Ouyang Ling: "..."

Were they still going to continue fighting?

At that moment, the atmosphere seemed to freeze.

Until Ouyang Ling spoke.

"Dugu, shall we continue?"

"Continue?"

Dugu Yan, whose temper had cooled, turned around.

But when she saw the enormous water ball condensed between Ouyang Ling's hands, cold sweat immediately poured down her face.

"Y-You, what are you trying to do?"

Getting drenched in icy water in the middle of winter could kill someone!

"Nothing."

Ouyang Ling grinned, a determined gleam flashing in his eyes. "If we continue, it'll be my turn to attack!"

Before Dugu Yan could refuse, Ouyang Ling's voice drowned out everything else.

"Take this! Vortex Water Cannon!"

The water from Deep Blue Purification rapidly spun, transforming into a massive water column that tore through the air with lightning speed. Carrying tremendous impact, it slammed into Dugu Yan.

In a single instant, it wrapped her entire body inside a prison of water.

"Glub glub... I... glub... surrender..."

As Dugu Yan's broken voice came from within the water prison, Yu Tianheng immediately shouted, "Ling! Stop! Stop! Yanzi surrendered!"

Seeing this, Ouyang Ling snapped his fingers. "Snap—"

The imprisoning water prison instantly shattered. Dugu Yan's Martial Soul possession was dispelled as well, and she fell to the ground.

Yu Tianheng immediately stepped forward and helped his girlfriend up. But the moment he touched her, he discovered that Dugu Yan was not wet at all.

But soon, he noticed something was wrong.

Black!?

How could it be black?