Old Poison, Want an External Soul Bone?

Green light shot into the sky, and a medicinal glow blanketed the valley.

As the last line of his poem faded, Su Wu's aura surged. His Jade-Green Nine-Jointed Bamboo martial soul grew joint by joint, its verdant jade light turning dark green. A steady, gentle Title Douluo pressure slowly swept across the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

From that moment on, Douluo Continent had another Title Douluo: Jade Douluo!

Dugu Bo stood to one side, astonishment filling his eyes. In less than ten years, this man he still thought of as a junior had soared to the realm of Title Douluo.

Su Wu closed his eyes and embraced his new power. His mind was clear, the gloom that had weighed on him for years swept away. He carried himself with calm ease. Nourished by Soul Power, he had even regained his youth: his white hair turned black, his back straightened, and he became strikingly handsome.

"How was that?" Buoyed by his breakthrough, he flew toward the two by the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, ready to show off.

But then he sensed an aura, gentle yet vast, as though it could embrace all things. Within it lay an irresistible draconic might. He traced it to its source: Jiang Baiyu!

That aura had once been as warm as fertile earth and as boundless as heaven and earth. Now, beneath it lurked a draconic might that made his heart tremble.

Su Wu had just become a Title Douluo and felt utterly transformed, his state of mind elevated. His heart suddenly sank.

The next instant, embarrassment flooded him.

He had recited poetry in a blaze of light and unleashed his full aura, certain he had taken everyone by surprise. He had broken free of his cocoon and become a Title Douluo. How dashing he must have looked.

Yet before Jiang Baiyu, who held the world within the cauldron, commanded two Dragon Kings, and wielded the power of yin, yang, and creation...

The breakthrough he had been so proud of, the triumph of half a lifetime, suddenly seemed small and childish. He felt like a frog at the bottom of a well.

The jade-green light blazing around Su Wu abruptly faded. He drew his immense Title Douluo pressure back into himself, and every trace of his earlier brilliance vanished with it.

His ears grew warm. He lowered his gaze, the joy and swagger of his breakthrough giving way to a faint blush.

Su Wu exhaled softly, pushed down his embarrassment, and let out a quiet laugh. His expression returned to its usual gentle calm.

With Jiang Baiyu here, his own achievement was hardly worth flaunting. He looked at his grandson and asked, "Xiaoyu, how is your martial soul now?"

Jiang Baiyu grinned. "Grandpa, look!" Four Soul Rings slowly appeared around the Shennong Cauldron. At the sight of the fourth, which shone with five colors, Su Wu exclaimed, "You—you're already a Soul Ancestor!"

How could he not be shocked? Jiang Baiyu was only ten years old!

"Relax. This is nothing special," Jiang Baiyu said, though he could not hide the pride on his face. "Actually, this is perfect timing. Come see my fourth soul skill!" The bond between him and Su Wu could not be summed up in a sentence. Su Wu had been at his side for every advancement he had made, and this time was no exception.

The unusual white Soul Ring, suffused with red and blue dragon markings, slowly revolved before settling gently around Jiang Baiyu. Yin-yang patterns flowed across it as the vitality of the farming path and ancient draconic might poured into him. The Shennong Cauldron trembled. Within its new world, the seeds left by the Five-Colored Spirit Rice glimmered with five-colored light. Jiang Baiyu closed his eyes. The knowledge of two new soul skills was imprinted on his soul—skills born from the Five-Colored Spirit Rice's sacrifice and nurtured by the essence of the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings.

A moment later, he opened his eyes and raised a hand. Five-colored light streamed from his palm. Grains of multicolored rice seed floated in the air, their awns glimmering, faint red and blue dragon markings twining around them.

"This Soul Ring gave me two soul skills," he said. "I call the first Breath Soil."

Jiang Baiyu moved his fingers and demonstrated the first skill.

With a hum, the Shennong Cauldron shook and the Hundred Herbs Domain spread outward. The ground beneath his feet changed at once. Five-colored light rippled across it, turning the earth for hundreds of meters into wondrous, fertile soil. Faint images of tiny rice shoots appeared on its surface.

"This skill extends the Hundred Herbs Domain. It replenishes the Life Essence of living things within it while drawing life force from anyone marked as an enemy. Countless rice stalks also sprout from the ground and wrap around opponents like chains. The more they struggle, the tighter the stalks bind them. They absorb Soul Power to nourish living things and spur plants to grow, greatly amplifying the Hundred Herbs Domain. And then there's the second soul skill."

Jiang Baiyu raised his palm. Five-colored rice seeds soared into the sky, bursting with brilliant light.

Phantoms of countless rice ears spread across the heavens. Red, green, yellow, white, and blue rays flowed down between them, vast divine lights capable of sweeping up anything.

"It evolved from the essence of the five grains and incorporates the might of the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings. Weapons, manifestations of soul skills, poisons, flames, ice—anything tangible or intangible caught in its sweep can be gathered up by the five-colored rice light.

"If an enemy attacks with a soul skill, the Five-Colored Divine Light sweeps its power into the Shennong Cauldron, where it is dissolved and turned into nourishment for the spirit fields and herbs. If it strikes someone's body, the light wraps around them and strips away their Soul Power and the power of their soul skills. All that power returns to the cauldron's world as motes of light."

"I call it... Five-Colored Divine Light."

Jiang Baiyu gave the second soul skill's name as he watched the two Title Douluo's expressions turn grim.

Every Title Douluo had powerful soul skills. Dugu Bo had his Petrifying Light, for instance, and even his Yin Yang Stasis Domain. But Jiang Baiyu's ability to turn an opponent's power to his own use was terrifying.

Dugu Bo looked at the bare cliffs around them, then turned to Su Wu. "Come on. I have time, so I'll help you find a good Soul Ring. What do you say?"

Su Wu's face lit up. "Thank you, Your Eminence Dugu."

"Then let's go to Heaven Dou Great Forest together," Dugu Bo said.

Jiang Baiyu was already wondering which Soul Beast there would suit Su Wu best. After some thought, he settled on the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast that occupied the Lake of Life: the Sky Azure Bull Python. But killing it would be difficult, and persuading it to sacrifice itself willingly seemed no easier. He was stumped.

Still, the mention of Star Dou Great Forest reminded him of an early advantage Tang San had enjoyed. Perhaps he could make a move for it.

He looked at Dugu Bo and asked earnestly, "Old Poison, do you want a Soul Bone?"

Dugu Bo stared at him. "What did you say?"