Meeting Dugu Yan! (Please Follow, Bookmark, and Vote)

The Demon Wolf had no time to react. He only felt a sharp pain beneath his ribs, followed by a tremendous force. His entire body flew sideways as though he had been struck by a charging rhinoceros. He crashed heavily onto the arena floor and slid another seven or eight meters before stopping.

He struggled to get back up, but Xiao Lin appeared before him again.

The flute rested against his throat, and its icy touch made him freeze instantly.

The entire venue fell silent.

Then, deafening cheers erupted!

"He won?! Just like that?!"

"One move! He only used one move!"

"My god, what kind of movement technique was that? How did he vanish in an instant?"

"I couldn't see it clearly! He was too fast!"

The spectator stands erupted.

The referee was stunned for a moment before quickly stepping forward and raising Xiao Lin's arm. "The winner—Xiao Ding!"

Xiao Lin put away the Nine Phoenix Ceremonial Flute without even glancing at the Demon Wolf on the ground, then turned and walked off the arena.

This victory was only the beginning.

Over the following days, Xiao Lin began his winning streak at the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena.

In the second match, he faced a level thirty-five agility-attack Soul Master and defeated him in one move.

In the third match, he faced a level thirty-six defense-type Soul Elder and won in three moves.

The fourth match, the fifth match, the sixth match...

Xiao Lin surged forward without resistance, rapidly climbing from the Iron Soul Fighter rank. He won every match cleanly and decisively, never dragging things out.

His Phoenix Cry Nine Heavens Step, combined with Jade Flute Swordsmanship, made it impossible for his opponents to even touch the corner of his clothes. Most battles ended within a few breaths.

His name—"Xiao Ding"—began to spread throughout the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena.

At the same time, he discovered something interesting. The Soul Arena also ran betting pools, allowing spectators to wager on the outcome of matches.

Before every match, Xiao Lin would quietly place a bet on himself.

At first, they were only small wagers of a few hundred Gold Soul Coins. But as his winning streak grew, the amounts accumulated more and more, just like stocks.

By the time he had won thirty matches in a row, he had earned nearly a million Gold Soul Coins from the Soul Arena.

This news finally caught the attention of the people behind the Soul Arena.

Inside a luxurious private room on the top floor of the Soul Arena, a middle-aged man in extravagant robes sat on a sofa. He held Xiao Lin's information file in his hand, his brows tightly furrowed.

"Level thirty-eight Soul Elder, martial soul: Nine Phoenix Ceremonial Flute, codename Xiao Ding... twenty consecutive victories, no losses... and he has taken nearly a million Gold Soul Coins from us through the betting pools..."

He set the file on the table, rubbed his temples, and looked at the assistant beside him. "We can't let him keep winning."

The assistant cautiously asked, "Then you mean..."

"Send her." The middle-aged man spoke calmly. "Have her test this Xiao Ding."

The assistant froze for a moment before understanding. "You mean... Green Snake?"

"Mm." The middle-aged man nodded, a meaningful smile curling across his lips.

"Poison Douluo Dugu Bo's only granddaughter, the genius girl of Heaven Dou Royal Academy—Dugu Yan. I want to see whether this Xiao Ding can get past her."

"Xiao Ding! Xiao Ding! Xiao Ding!"

Inside the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena, thunderous cries nearly tore the dome apart. Thousands of spectators waved their arms, staring fervently at the blue-robed youth in the center of the arena.

Thirty consecutive victories.

A rookie who had only just emerged had set a record of thirty straight wins at the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena with level thirty-eight Soul Power. Every match had been won cleanly, without the slightest suspense. Such a record was enough to make anyone take notice.

Xiao Lin stood on the arena with a calm expression, as though the cheers around him had nothing to do with him. His gaze passed over the crowd and settled on the entrance to the opposing contestant tunnel.

He was waiting for someone.

At last, the curtain at the tunnel entrance was drawn aside, and a slender figure slowly emerged.

She was a girl who looked seventeen or eighteen, tall and shapely.

She had rare long purple hair draped casually over her shoulders, while her equally purple eyes carried a hint of laziness and cold arrogance. Her features were exquisite, but there was also a heroic sharpness between her brows that made people wary of approaching her.

She wore a dark green fitted combat suit that outlined her graceful curves. A long, thin whip hung from her waist, its surface faintly gleaming with an eerie green light. It was clearly coated in deadly poison.

Dugu Yan.

The only granddaughter of Poison Douluo Dugu Bo, a genius student of Heaven Dou Royal Academy, and a level forty-two control-type battle Soul Ancestor.

The moment she appeared, the cheers from the stands grew even more intense.

"Green Snake! Green Snake! Green Snake!"

"Dugu Yan! Take him down!"

"Show this rookie what it means to know his place!"

Dugu Yan slowly walked onto the arena. Her eyes swept over Xiao Lin, and a trace of surprise flashed through them. But she quickly suppressed it and returned to her usual indifferent expression.

"You're Xiao Ding?" she asked. Her voice was lazily husky, yet unexpectedly pleasant.

"That's me." Xiao Lin smiled faintly, openly looking Dugu Yan over. "You're Green Snake? I've heard much about you."

Xiao Lin had finally gotten his wish and met Dugu Yan.

For some reason, Dugu Yan felt a little uncomfortable beneath his unabashed gaze. She frowned. "What are you looking at?"

"You're pretty." Xiao Lin answered as though it were only natural, his tone sincere and without the slightest hint of glibness. "So I looked a few more times."

Dugu Yan was stunned.

Ever since she was young, countless people had called her "pretty," "beautiful," and "good-looking." But no one had ever said it as frankly and naturally as Xiao Lin, as though he were simply stating an objective fact rather than flattering or trying to please her.

Besides, it had to be said—when a handsome person said something like that, the effect was completely different from when an ugly person said it.

If some sleazy middle-aged man had said that to her, she would have whipped him already. But there were no improper thoughts in Xiao Lin's clear jade-green eyes, only pure appreciation. Before her anger could rise, more than half of it had already faded.

"Smooth talker." Dugu Yan gave a soft snort, though there was no real anger in her voice. "But don't think I'll go easy on you just because you said a few nice things. Once we step onto the arena, we're opponents. I won't hold back."

"Just what I want." Xiao Lin smiled and held the Nine Phoenix Ceremonial Flute horizontally before him. "Please."

The referee stood in the center of the arena, raising his right hand as his gaze swept between them. "Both sides, prepare—"

The atmosphere throughout the Soul Arena instantly grew tense. The spectators held their breath, waiting for the start of this peak showdown.

"Begin!"

At the referee's command, Dugu Yan moved first.

Her figure flashed backward like a green bolt of lightning, instantly retreating seven or eight meters. At the same time, she flicked her right hand, and the soft whip at her waist shot out like a snake leaving its den, lashing toward Xiao Lin's face with a shrill whistle through the air!

The whip glimmered with an eerie green sheen and was clearly coated in poison. If it struck him, even if the toxin did not seep into his body, the barbs on the whip would tear off a chunk of flesh.

Xiao Lin did not take it head-on.

Two blue-gold trails of sound waves appeared beneath his feet. With a crisp note exploding through the air, his body slid to the side like a ghost, easily evading the lethal whip.

Smack!

The whip struck the arena floor, leaving behind a deep gouge as shattered stone flew everywhere.

Dugu Yan's attack missed, but she was not discouraged. With a flick of her wrist, the whip seemed to come alive, curving through the air before winding toward Xiao Lin once more!

At the same time, four Soul Rings rose around her body—two yellow and two purple, a standard top-tier configuration.

"Third Soul Skill—Jade Phosphor Purple Venom!"

With her soft cry, purple mist spread from her body and rapidly expanded in all directions. The mist carried a sickly sweet scent that made one want to vomit. It was clearly highly poisonous.

P.S. The immortal herb redemption code still had to be obtained. There was no helping that.

Later on, the protagonist would establish his own faction. I saw many comments saying people did not like Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and the others... so I would reduce their scenes.

But since this was fanfiction, contact was unavoidable.

The female lead was tentatively set to include Shui Bing'er...