Just as Expected, Dugu Bo Came Calling
The dust had settled on the arena.
All seven members of the Imperial Fighting Team lay sprawled on the ground.
Meng Shenji, the chief education commissioner, looked toward Qin Yun, who stood calmly at the center of the arena.
He had not expected the battle to end this way either.
Still,
he announced loudly, "Qin Yun wins!"
As soon as he spoke, he cupped his hands toward Qin Yun.
"Young friend Qin, the match is decided."
"Please remove the poison from everyone at once. Do not let it damage their foundations."
Meng Shenji had taught for many years and cared deeply for his students.
Qin Yun nodded slightly and made no trouble for them.
He walked forward at an unhurried pace, observing the courtesy of tending to the women first.
He went first to Dugu Yan, whose face was deathly pale and whose eyes brimmed with resentment, and Ye Lingling, whose bearing was cool and reserved.
His fingertips stirred, releasing a faint trace of elemental Soul Power.
It seeped into their bodies.
It broke down the arsine and helped restore their corroded meridians.
The numbness swiftly faded from both women, and strength returned to their weakened bodies.
Their complexions gradually returned to normal.
Qin Yun then went to Yu Tianheng, the Shi Brothers, and the other three, removing the poison from each of them with swift, clean movements.
Every trace of poison was gone.
One by one, they pushed themselves to their feet.
After the relief of surviving the ordeal came the stifling frustration of defeat. It surged through them again, and the mood within the team grew strained.
The Shi Brothers and Ye Lingling now looked at Qin Yun very differently.
He might have been arrogant, but he truly was strong.
Dugu Yan, however, was a poison-type Soul Master.
She remained thoroughly unconvinced.
Her delicate brows drew tight. With a cold snort, she voiced her resentment.
"Hmph. Winning like that proves nothing."
"You relied on the underhanded trick of secretly poisoning us the entire time. That was no fair fight!"
Unlike the proud, willful Dugu Yan,
Yu Tianheng of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan carried himself with a different breadth of mind.
As a direct-line prodigy of a long-established top sect,
he understood the rules of the strong. He acted honorably and knew how to accept defeat.
He made no excuses and tried to deny nothing.
Yu Tianheng took a deep breath, looked Qin Yun in the eye, and said,
"We were outmatched. A loss is a loss."
"We accept the result of this battle. We have nothing to say."
"From now on, you will be captain of the Imperial Fighting Team. We will all follow your lead."
Those frank words
immediately settled the unrest within the team. Meng Shenji, standing nearby, nodded to himself.
Meng Shenji seized the moment to finalize what came next.
"Since the team roster and captaincy are settled,
"I leave the Imperial Fighting Team's training, trials, and preparations entirely in your hands, Qin Yun."
"The academy and I will give you our full support and direct all available resources your way."
Given full authority, Qin Yun remained composed.
He did not rush to take the team out for trials as originally planned.
Instead, he issued his first order as captain.
"There's no hurry to head out for trials."
"Right now, the team's Soul Power still isn't high enough."
"For the time being, everyone should settle down, strengthen your foundations, and devote yourselves to cultivation. Focus on refining your Soul Power and break through the Level 40 bottleneck as soon as possible."
"We can talk about trials and building teamwork after that."
In the original story, the seven of them had gone to the Soto Great Soul Arena for their trials.
Qin Yun put a stop to that plan.
He still had business here and was in no hurry to go to Suotuo City.
Everyone present paused in surprise.
No one had expected his first act as captain to be telling them to improve their Soul Power, rather than rushing to lead them into trials and establish his authority.
Their Soul Power Levels were already impressive by Heaven Dou Academy's standards.
But there was undeniably a gap between them and Qin Yun, who had reached Level 44.
"Understood. We'll follow the captain's plan!"
Xue Qinghe had watched the entire match without saying a word. Now, thoughts churned beneath her calm gaze.
In her mind, her overall assessment of Qin Yun rose another two levels.
From start to finish,
she had observed him closely, yet still could not see through his Martial Soul.
She had sensed only fluctuations of Soul Power.
She had not detected how Qin Yun had deployed the poison, or even what poison it was.
And according to the information she had gathered,
Qin Yun had once displayed overwhelming lightning power at the Soto Great Soul Arena, suggesting a lightning-attribute Martial Soul;
yet in today's match, he had wielded a strange, invisible poison through methods she could not fathom.
Lightning and poison—two utterly different attributes had appeared in the same person.
Xue Qinghe pondered silently.
The members of the Imperial Fighting Team were already formidable among their peers.
Yet before Qin Yun, they had been helpless to fight back.
Opponents like them could not begin to probe the depths of his strength.
At the same time,
she was considering how to bring this genius into her service.
Countless thoughts ran through Xue Qinghe's mind, but her face retained its gentle smile.
She stepped forward and said to Qin Yun,
"Brother Qin, your talent is unmatched, and your strength extraordinary."
"In this tournament, I'm counting on you to lead the team to a fine result and break Spirit Hall Academy's hold on the championship."
Qin Yun replied, "You can count on me!"
Over the next few days,
Qin Yun made no move to return to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
The reason he gave others was perfectly sound:
as the new captain, he needed to get used to his teammates, learn the team's rhythm, settle on a training plan, and steady everyone's confidence.
In truth, that was only a cover.
His real purpose in staying at Heaven Dou Academy was to wait for one man to come to him.
Poison Douluo Dugu Bo.
Dugu Yan had suffered a crushing defeat at his hands. Dugu Bo would never stand by and do nothing.
If Qin Yun returned to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Sword and Bone, the sect's two Titled Douluo, would be there.
Dugu Bo would never dare come to confront him.
Only by remaining at Heaven Dou Academy, away from the threat of those two Douluo,
could Qin Yun draw Dugu Bo out to demand an explanation on his granddaughter's behalf.
He had deliberately crushed Dugu Yan in public, displayed his superior poison arts, and taunted her with an offer of instruction. Every step had been meant to draw out Poison Douluo.
Qin Yun had never sought a momentary victory.
He wanted to use this chance to meet Dugu Bo
and, through him, gain access to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, a place that held some of the continent's greatest treasures.
Sure enough, Qin Yun's patient wait and careful planning paid off.
Seven days later,
a cold, aloof figure carrying a fearsome aura of poison suddenly arrived at Heaven Dou Academy.
The newcomer wore a green robe. His presence chilled to the bone, and a faint poisonous mist lingered around him.
His gaze was sharp as an eagle's, and his forbidding aura warned everyone to keep their distance.
It was Poison Douluo Dugu Bo.
Dugu Bo looked at Qin Yun a short distance away. An oppressive force burst from him, and his voice turned icy.
He demanded,
"Boy, I heard that a few days ago, you lectured my granddaughter about poison in front of everyone at the arena and even claimed you could teach her to identify and control it?"
"Such big words from someone so young!"
"Do you know that my poison arts are unrivaled on this continent?"
"You dared claim you could instruct my granddaughter? You truly have no idea how high the heavens are or how deep the earth is!"