Xue Qinghe's little schemes, Angel versus Golden Crocodile

After lunch at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Tang Shan boarded Xue Qinghe's carriage and sped toward Heaven Dou City.

Inside the carriage, Xue Qinghe unconsciously rubbed the jade pendant at his waist, his gaze resting on the trees flashing past the window as he watched Tang Shan out of the corner of his eye. After a long silence, he finally spoke, his leisurely tone faintly probing. "You and Dugu Yan seem pretty close."

"We get along. We eat together every day, after all." Tang Shan leaned against the carriage wall and answered casually.

Xue Qinghe's brows drew together almost imperceptibly. A flicker of concern flashed through his eyes before he adopted a solicitous expression and lowered his voice. "But she's from the Dugu Family. Her martial soul is inherently venomous."

"You don't need to worry about that," Tang Shan said confidently. "Having her absorb non-poison soul rings isn't just about detoxification. It weakens the poison at its martial soul origin. Her family has absorbed poison soul rings for generations, making the toxins accumulate and grow stronger until they eventually turn against their own bodies. But with my method, even if her rising soul power strengthens the toxins, they'll never reach a life-threatening level."

He paused, then offered a simple explanation. "Dugu Yan is a Soul Grandmaster now. Following her family's old approach, her poison would at least be able to take down Soul Masters of the same rank, and might even threaten a Soul Elder. But now, if her poison can affect a Soul Grandmaster at all, that already makes her exceptionally gifted. Every additional non-poison soul ring will dilute the poison in her martial soul further. When she becomes a Soul Elder, her poison will probably only reach the peak Soul Grandmaster level. When she becomes a Soul