Dugu Yan Learns the Truth

Seeing Dugu Yan's departing back, Jin Hao smiled in satisfaction. His goal had finally been achieved. Now he only had to wait for Dugu Yan to go back and find Dugu Bo herself. Jin Hao believed that Dugu Bo would come looking for him then.

After doing all that, Jin Hao returned to the Martial Arts Arena and came over to the referee's stand, where he saw Ning Rongrong still watching the Soul Duel over there.

As Jin Hao approached, Ning Rongrong said to him,

"Senior Brother, you're finally back. Rongrong is tired of watching these Soul Duels. Let's go somewhere else and have fun."

Hearing that, Jin Hao said,

"Then let's go. I'll take you to dinner first, then we can check out the Night Market in Heaven Dou City."

Ning Rongrong happily laughed at that, grabbed Jin Hao's hand, and headed outside with him.

Nothing else happened for the rest of the time. Following Jin Hao's arrangements, they had dinner together first, then Jin Hao and Ning Rongrong strolled through the Night Market in Heaven Dou City. Finally, Jin Hao sent Ning Rongrong home.

While Jin Hao and Ning Rongrong were still visiting the Night Market in Heaven Dou City, Dugu Yan returned home.

Having exhausted all her Soul Power and rushed back in a panic, Dugu Yan was already drenched in sweat.

When Dugu Bo saw her like this at home, he immediately asked,

"Yanyan, what happened? Why did you come home today? And you ran yourself ragged. Did someone bully you?"

"Tell Grandpa. Grandpa will teach him a lesson. Who dares bully Dugu Bo's Granddaughter?"

As he spoke, Dugu Bo stood up, looking ready to head out and settle the score the moment Dugu Yan told him who had bullied her.

After resting briefly, Dugu Yan recovered somewhat. Seeing Dugu Bo's reaction, she explained,

"Grandpa, no one bullied me. Someone told me something, and after hearing it, I hurried back because I wanted to confirm it with you."

"Oh! What was it?"

Once he knew Dugu Yan had not been bullied, Dugu Bo relaxed. Dugu Bo only had this one Granddaughter now. As long as nothing happened to her, that was all that mattered.

Dugu Yan walked up to Dugu Bo and solemnly asked,

"Grandpa, tell me, did my father die because the Jade Phosphorus Snake's poison backlashed against him?"

As soon as those words were spoken, Dugu Bo, who had just sat back down and relaxed, became agitated again.

"Yanyan, that's not true. Where did you hear such a thing? Your parents both died at the hands of Grandpa's enemies back then, and Grandpa already avenged them."

"Our Jade Phosphorus Snake is such a powerful poison-type Martial Soul. How could its poison possibly backlash against its wielder?"

"By the way, Yanyan, tell Grandpa. Who told you this?"

Though Dugu Bo made that final question sound casual, as though it were nothing more than an ordinary question,

the anger in Dugu Bo's heart was already nearly impossible to suppress. The reason was simple: he had intended to hide the fact that their Martial Soul was poisonous from Dugu Yan forever, while he searched for a way to solve the problem. If he could not find one, then when Dugu Yan reached level fifty, Dugu Bo would not let her obtain her Fifth Soul Ring.

At that point, he would tell Dugu Yan about the Martial Soul's problem, then personally cripple all of her Poison Skill. She would no longer be able to cultivate afterward, but at least her life would be saved.

He would not let Dugu Yan end up like his son, dying in the end from the backlash of her own Martial Soul's poison.

Even now, Dugu Bo still remembered when his son had cultivated to the rank of Soul Saint. The appearance of his Martial Soul True Body had made his Jade Phosphorus Snake Martial Soul even stronger, and naturally, its poison had become stronger as well. The suddenly intensified poison had exceeded what his son's Soul Power could suppress. In the end, Dugu Bo could only watch helplessly as his son died from his own Martial Soul's poison, his entire body corroded beyond recognition, his face completely disfigured.

Just thinking of it still caused Dugu Bo unbearable pain. At the same time, he recalled the last words his son had said to him.

"Father, if you can't solve the Martial Soul's problem, don't... don't let Yanyan cultivate her Martial Soul. Let her grow up safely!"

Because of his son's words, Dugu Bo had originally planned not to awaken Dugu Yan's Martial Soul at all. But in the end, when he saw the stubborn look in his Granddaughter's eyes, he had no choice but to awaken it for her, while also setting aside that plan for level fifty.

Dugu Bo had hidden this from Dugu Yan for so long because he feared that if she learned too early that the end of her cultivation path was either death from poison or the loss of all her Poison Skill, she would be heartbroken.

But after he had concealed it for so long, some unknown bastard had actually exposed it. Dugu Bo now wanted nothing more than to kill that person.

Hearing this, Dugu Yan saw the unconscious motion Dugu Bo always made when he was angry—rubbing his fingers together.

At that moment, Dugu Yan already believed most of what Jin Hao had told her.

But she still wanted to hear the truth from her grandfather himself.

"Grandpa, just tell me. There's already something wrong with my Martial Soul, and someone else has noticed it. I also know that you feel pain whenever it rains. Even though you tried your best to hide it from me, I still noticed."

"Grandpa, please tell me!"

Seeing Dugu Yan's tears and hearing what she had said, Dugu Bo sighed. He could no longer hide it.

"Yanyan, since things have come to this, Grandpa won't hide it from you anymore."

"What you said is true. Our family's Jade Phosphorus Snake Martial Soul really does have a problem. The further we cultivate, the stronger its poison becomes. But what it brings our family is not strength, but disaster. Stronger poison means that stronger Soul Power is needed to suppress it. Your father died when the strengthened poison of his Martial Soul backlashed against him. Although Grandpa is now a Title Douluo, I can only barely suppress the poison with my powerful Soul Power. Whenever it rains, the accumulated poison makes my body ache terribly."

"Originally, following your father's wishes, if there was no solution, we did not want you to cultivate your Martial Soul. But when Grandpa saw how stubborn you were back then, he had no choice but to let you cultivate it."

Dugu Bo then told Dugu Yan what he had planned to do if he still had no way to solve the problem by the time her Soul Power reached level fifty. Only then did he say,

"Grandpa knew how strong-willed you were, so I planned to keep hiding it from you for a few more years. But I never expected you to find out so soon."