Dugu Bo

"First Soul Skill, Everlasting Life!"

Tang Sanmei stamped her foot, and three Soul Rings—two yellow and one purple—flared to life!

The Soul Power of a Level 33 Battle Soul Elder swept outward. Within twenty meters, the earth split open, and countless strands of Blue Grass burst from cracks in the stone like they had gone mad. They wrapped around the lackeys' ankles and yanked them to the ground.

"A... a Soul Elder! A Thousand-Year Soul Ring!"

Sprawled in the bushes, Xue Beng clutched his swollen cheek and spat blood while drawing sharp breaths. His head rang.

The girl looked barely twelve or thirteen, yet she was a Soul Elder above Level 30!

When had a genius like this appeared around Heaven Dou City?

"If you don't want your tongue, just say so. Next time, I'll pull it out."

Tang Sanmei flicked her hand coldly and stepped back behind Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao walked past Xue Beng and his group without giving them so much as a glance.

Just as the farce ended, a sinister chuckle came from deep within the Tree Shade above the Mountain Road:

"You beat up a prince at the gates of Heaven Dou Imperial Academy? You've got some nerve, kid."

Two figures descended from above.

The elder in front wore a green robe. His short hair was dark green, his cheeks sunken, and most frightening of all, his eyes glowed an eerie green like a venomous snake's.

A Titled Douluo—the Jade Phosphorous Douluo, Dugu Bo!

Beside Dugu Bo stood a tall, striking young woman with the same short, dark-green hair and a cool, beautiful face. She was his granddaughter, Dugu Yan.

"Grandpa! His Highness Xue Beng has been beaten!"

Dugu Yan spotted Xue Beng sprawled in the bushes, spitting blood, and cried out with a frown.

Dugu Bo stood with his hands behind his back, his aged face dark.

No matter how useless Xue Beng was, he was still a member of the imperial family.

Beating a prince until he was left spitting teeth all over the ground, right in front of him at the academy gates, was a slap not only to the imperial family's face but to his own as an Honorary Advisor!

"Youngsters, you've gone a little too far."

A cold glint flashed in Dugu Bo's eyes as the Soul Power of a Level 91 Titled Douluo bore down on them!

Tang Sanmei's face changed. Instinctively, she tried to summon her Internal Force and Hidden Weapons to resist.

But Huo Yuhao had already stepped calmly to the front, shielding her.

A pale golden light flashed deep in Huo Yuhao's eyes. A barrier woven from immense spiritual power spread outward and dissolved Dugu Bo's sinister pressure into nothing!

Hands in his pockets, Huo Yuhao studied Dugu Bo with interest and gave a derisive laugh.

"Jade Phosphorous Douluo Dugu Bo, your own poison is about to kill you, and you still have time to stand up for a spoiled prince?"

Dugu Bo's face stiffened.

"Impudent! You wet-behind-the-ears brat, how dare you spout such nonsense!"

Terrifying killing intent poured from him. The surrounding flowers and grass withered before their eyes.

His poison was his lifelong pride—and the secret buried deepest in his heart.

Before he could strike, Tang Sanmei stepped forward, a hint of purple rising in her eyes.

She had spent over thirty years studying poisons and Hidden Weapons in the Bashu Tang Sect. Now that Huo Yuhao had pointed it out, she could see straight through the Titled Douluo before her.

"Every word my senior brother said was true."

Tang Sanmei spoke without arrogance or fear.

"Your hair is dark green, the whites of your eyes are tinged blue, and even the gaps between your fingers retain a dark-green stain. Those are clear signs that Jade Scale Serpent Poison has been poisoning you for years."

Dugu Bo's heart jolted.

Tang Sanmei continued.

"If I'm right, whenever the rain lingers for days, your sides itch as though ten thousand ants were gnawing at your bones. Every attack torments you for at least half an hour. Am I right?"

"You... you..."

Dugu Bo's pupils contracted, and astonishment flashed through his eyes.

She had gotten everything right.

This little girl had seen through his secret at a glance.

"Grandpa! Is what she said true?"

Dugu Yan jumped in fright and clutched Dugu Bo's sleeve in a panic.

She had always thought her grandfather was simply withdrawn. She had never known he endured such torment.

"I'm not finished."

Tang Sanmei's gaze shifted to Dugu Yan.

"The girl beside you is your granddaughter, isn't she? She inherited the Jade Scale Serpent Martial Soul too?"

"Her fingertips have a faint blue tinge, and a trace of gloom sits between her brows. The poison in her body is still mild, but within three years, she'll suffer the same itching in her sides."

"If you can't find a cure, the poison will kill her within twenty years."

"Enough!"

Dugu Bo trembled and cut Tang Sanmei off.

The Dugu Lineage had only one heir in each generation. His own child had died young because he could not withstand the serpent poison in his body.

Now this girl was saying his granddaughter had only twenty years left to live.

How could he not be shaken?

"Girl, who are you? Who told you all this?"

Dugu Bo's eyes reddened, and his voice turned hoarse.

Tang Sanmei let the purple fade from her eyes and stepped back behind Huo Yuhao.

"No one told me. It's a secret of our Tang Sect."

"The Tang Sect?"

Dugu Bo frowned, his eyes full of doubt.

He was a Titled Douluo who had roamed the continent for decades. He knew the background of every Great Sect, yet he had never heard of a Tang Sect renowned for poison.

But every symptom the girl had named was precisely right!

She had even laid bare details he had kept hidden in his heart for thirty years, too afraid to tell a soul!

Dugu Bo took a deep breath and turned to Huo Yuhao.

"Boy, since you can see what's wrong, let me ask you... does your Tang Sect truly have a cure?"

Dugu Bo had killed countless people in his life. He had long since stopped caring about his own.

But Dugu Yan was the only family he had left in the world!

The sight of his own son being tortured to death by poison was the nightmare that woke him night after night.

If it meant saving his granddaughter, he would do more than humble himself and ask. He would give half his life without hesitation!

"Of course there's a cure. More than one, in fact."

Meeting Dugu Bo's almost feverish gaze, Huo Yuhao spoke at an unhurried pace.

"Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison comes from the Martial Soul your family passes down. The toxin is tangled with your bloodline and Soul Power. The safest way to cure it is to force the poison that's turning against you into an External Soul Bone or a suitable Soul Bone. Move the poison from your meridians into the bone. You'll not only survive, but take your poison arts to another level."

"Force the poison... into a Soul Bone!"

Dugu Bo felt as though lightning had struck him.

He had spent his life mastering poison, and that single sentence pierced the paper-thin barrier he had failed to break through in thirty years of thought!

Soul Bones existed apart from the body's meridians, flesh, and blood. If he could truly draw all the poison into one...

"Brilliant... that's absolutely brilliant!!"

Dugu Bo could not stop trembling. The way he looked at Huo Yuhao had changed.