Great Sun Divine Light! Shattering Dugu Yan's Pride!

Dugu Yan lay on the bed, her consciousness drifting amid waves of pain.

Find him?

Find that arrogant bastard?

He had said he could cure her poison, and she had thought it was the biggest joke in the world.

But now...

Her body convulsed violently again, as though every bone were being shattered inch by inch.

"Ah—"

A suppressed cry of pain escaped her throat.

Tang Shuo's calm face surfaced in her mind once more.

"Your poison—I can cure it."

"However, that depends on my mood, and on your sincerity."

Those confident words now sounded like her only hope.

Dignity? Pride?

Before this endless hellish torment, they were so fragile as to be worthless.

"...Fine."

She used every ounce of strength she had.

"Take... me... there..."

Ye Lingling pounded roughly on Tang Shuo's dormitory door.

The moment the door opened, she barged in while supporting Dugu Yan, who was drenched in fragrant sweat and on the verge of collapse.

"Tang Shuo!"

Ye Lingling's voice was filled with urgency.

"Yan Yan... her serpent poison is acting up!"

"Help her, quickly!"

Tang Shuo sat at the table, holding a cup of tea that was still warm, his expression leisurely.

He lifted his eyes and casually swept his gaze over the two of them.

Finally, his eyes settled on Dugu Yan, whose face was deathly pale and whose entire body was soaked through.

He did not move. He merely took an unhurried sip of tea.

"Last time, I seem to recall that I was going to help."

Tang Shuo set down his teacup.

"But someone thought I was boasting, thought I didn't have what it took, and proudly refused."

He did not even glance at Dugu Yan again.

"I have a rule."

"If someone wants my help, they have to ask for it themselves."

That single sentence left Ye Lingling frozen where she stood.

It was also like a sharp thorn piercing Dugu Yan's heart.

Humiliation.

An unprecedented sense of humiliation instantly flooded her entire body.

He wanted her to beg a boy younger than herself?

With her status as Poison Douluo's granddaughter? With the pride of Heaven Dou Royal Academy's favored daughter?

Under normal circumstances, she would rather die in pain than lower her head.

But now...

Another wave of heart-rending agony swept over her!

"Urgh, ah!"

Her body suddenly arched like a fish out of water, convulsing violently beyond her control.

Her vision repeatedly darkened, and it felt as though her mind would be completely swallowed by the boundless pain at any moment.

What pride, what self-respect...

Before the shadow of death and inhuman torment, they vanished into ashes.

She did not want to die.

Even less did she want to endure this pain any longer.

Driven by the instinct to survive, Dugu Yan stretched out a trembling hand and clutched Tang Shuo's hem tightly.

"Please..."

Her lips trembled, every word seeming to be squeezed through clenched teeth.

"Help... help me..."

Her jade-green eyes, usually filled with pride, now held only helplessness and pleading.

"I... can't... take the pain anymore..."

Those words slipped out almost unconsciously, draining the last of her strength.

Ye Lingling watched from the side, her feelings conflicted.

This Tang Shuo...

He looked young, but he was so calculating.

He was practically a little black-hearted.

However, seeing that Dugu Yan had already yielded, she had no time to think about that.

"Tang Shuo! Look at Yan Yan!"

She was so anxious that she was nearly crying.

"Hurry and do something! It'll be too late if you wait any longer!"

Tang Shuo's gaze finally shifted from Dugu Yan's hand clutching his clothes to her pained face.

He nodded.

"Fine."

One word, concise and direct.

The moment he spoke, he slowly raised his right hand, palm facing upward.

Buzz—

A soft hum sounded.

A warm yet majestic golden radiance suddenly lit up in his palm.

An ancient bronze mirror quietly floated into view.

Mysterious patterns of the sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers, plants, and trees were engraved across its surface. An immense, desolate ancient aura instantly filled the room.

It was the Eastern Emperor Mirror!

The moment the Eastern Emperor Mirror appeared, the air throughout the dormitory seemed to freeze.

The next instant, the patterns of the sun, moon, and stars on its surface suddenly lit up.

Buzz—!

An incomparably brilliant golden beam shot forth.

Unlike the gentle nature of Soul Power, this light was filled with the majesty and scorching heat of a blazing sun, as if it could burn away all evil and darkness in the world.

Great Sun Divine Light!

The radiance precisely enveloped Dugu Yan.

"Sizzle... sizzle sizzle..."

A strange sound rang out.

Visible strands of dark green poison mist rose from Dugu Yan's skin, like ice and snow meeting their nemesis, instantly evaporating and dissolving.

The cold, sinister aura that had seeped into her bones and made her wish for death was completely driven away by the tyrannical golden light.

In its place came an unprecedented warmth, spreading from her limbs and bones throughout her body.

Comfortable.

So comfortable.

Dugu Yan's tense, convulsing body slowly relaxed.

A trace of color miraculously returned to her paper-pale face.

The heart-rending pain was gone.

"Yan Yan!"

Ye Lingling was the first to react. She hurriedly supported her, her voice full of delighted surprise.

"Are... are you feeling better? Are you all right now?"

Dugu Yan let out a long breath.

Feeling the long-lost calm within her body, she nodded gently.

"I... I'm fine for now."

The relief of surviving the ordeal lasted only a brief moment.

The next second, Dugu Yan abruptly raised her head. Her jade-green eyes, now restored with vitality, glared at Tang Shuo.

This man!

This man was truly awful!

He clearly had the ability to save her with ease, yet he had deliberately watched her suffer in pain, even forcing her to cast aside all her pride and beg him humbly.

It was all for revenge!

Revenge for her earlier contempt and rejection!

Dugu Yan wished she could rush over right now and bite him hard with her serpent poison, letting him taste this feeling too!

But...

The moment she recalled that terrifying sensation of being in hell, unable to live and unable to die, she forcefully suppressed the thought.

Young as she was, she did not want to endure it a second time.

That pain would become the nightmare of her life.

Tang Shuo withdrew the Eastern Emperor Mirror. The golden radiance faded, and the room returned to normal.

As though he had not noticed Dugu Yan's nearly fire-spitting glare, he merely spoke calmly.

"I only used my power to temporarily suppress the serpent poison in your body."

"It treats the symptoms, not the root cause."

Dugu Yan froze.

Tang Shuo continued.

"The reason is simple."

"Your cultivation has advanced too quickly recently. Your strength has increased greatly, and your Jade-Scale Serpent Poison has become more potent as well, already seeping deep into your body."

"However, your body's own resistance to serpent poison has not improved by the same degree."

"As one rises and the other falls, the serpent poison has gone out of control and erupted violently."