Dugu Yan's poison flared, forging needles from fire

Clap, clap...

Sensing the subtle shift in the atmosphere, Qin Ming clapped twice, drawing everyone's attention back to him.

"All right, everyone knows the basics now. Let's get back to class. Today's physical training will proceed as usual! Ye Han, you've just joined us, but you should take part too."

At the words "physical training," Dugu Yan and the others' faces fell.

Teacher Qin Ming's physical training always came down to the same few things.

Weighted distance runs, obstacle shuttle runs, impact-resistance training where they took a beating... without using so much as a trace of soul power along the way.

It had Dugu Yan and the others complaining endlessly.

Watching their reactions, Ye Han's lips twitched slightly, and an ominous feeling rose in his heart.

He turned to Qin Ming and ventured a question:

"Teacher Qin, the Heaven Dou Royal Academy's physical training... isn't just distance running, is it?"

Qin Ming nodded as though it were only natural. "That's right. Running."

Ye Han instinctively pressed a hand to his forehead, inwardly speechless.

Sure enough, Qin Ming really did come from Shrek. He'd even brought their training routine over unchanged...

A month passed in the blink of an eye.

Soon, the Heaven Dou Royal Academy's monthly day off arrived.

Dugu Yan gathered her belongings, left the academy, and returned to the residence she shared with her grandfather, Dugu Bo, in Heaven Dou City.

This month of campus life had been considerably more interesting than usual.

The newcomer, Ye Han, had brought plenty of fresh excitement to the class, even breathing some life into their normally dull training sessions.

But of everyone in the class, Yu Tianheng had endured the most frustration that month.

It all traced back to the day of the entrance assessment.

When Yu Tianheng first lost to Ye Han in their one-on-one fight, he had not truly accepted his defeat.

He remained convinced that his carelessness at the start had led him into his opponent's trap and ultimately cost him the match.

After resting for two days and feeling fully back in form, he sought out Ye Han and challenged him to a sparring match.

Unsurprisingly, he lost again.

After his second defeat, Yu Tianheng had more or less faced reality: with his current strength, he truly was no match for Ye Han, who was much younger than him.

Yet before he could recover from that frustration, Ye Han began seeking him out instead, repeatedly inviting him to spar.

At first, Yu Tianheng refused outright.

Knowing he could not win, why would he keep volunteering for a beating? He was not someone who went looking for suffering.

To persuade him, Ye Han offered a restriction: during their sparring matches, he would only use the Fire Qilin's second soul skill—the ability that greatly enhanced its strength—once.

Yu Tianheng quickly weighed the pros and cons.

With only one enhancement, the Fire Qilin would still be formidable, but if he activated his third soul skill, Thunderclap Fury, he might be able to fight it on equal footing, or even gain a slight advantage.

And so, Yu Tianheng agreed.

As a result,

For the next twenty-odd days, whenever training ended early or they had a little free time, Ye Han would unfailingly appear and drag Yu Tianheng off to the sparring grounds.

It was not that Yu Tianheng had never considered refusing.

For one thing, he had been the one to seek Ye Han out for a rematch in the first place, and Ye Han had readily accepted;

For another, whenever he showed any reluctance to fight, Ye Han's gaze seemed to carry an unspoken question... Are you scared?

That look left Yu Tianheng swallowing his misery, the words of refusal stuck on his lips.

Of course, the most important reason was that Yu Tianheng could clearly feel how these intense, all-out fights made his daily soul power cultivation progress a little faster than usual.

That tangible improvement made him reluctant, and unwilling, to refuse altogether.

And so, over those twenty-odd days, half willing and half coaxed, he became Ye Han's regular sparring partner.

On this day,

After returning from their day off,

Ye Han and Ye Lingling walked side by side, intending to cultivate in the mimicry cultivation area.

As they passed a small path beside the Poison Attribute Mimicry Area, they unexpectedly spotted someone.

It was Dugu Yan.

She had just emerged from the Cold Mimicry Environment suited to her jade phosphorous serpent martial soul, but she was in a terrible state.

She knelt on one knee, one hand clamped tightly over her chest and the other braced against the ground, her body trembling uncontrollably.

Her striking face had lost all its color. A fine sheen of cold sweat covered it, and veins even bulged at her temples and along her neck.

She bit her lip, fighting with all her strength against the excruciating pain, her body almost curled into a ball.

Most serpent-type soul masters preferred cold environments, but Dugu Yan was different.

Spending too long in such environments brought on an inexplicable discomfort, though the dull aches she had felt before had never been anywhere near this severe.

Beside Ye Han, Ye Lingling froze at the sight.

She turned to him, her purple eyes filled with astonishment.

She had never expected his earlier offhand remark that "she has a chronic ailment" to be true.

The next instant, both quickened their pace without a word and hurried to Dugu Yan's side.

Without the slightest hesitation, Ye Lingling slowly raised her hands. Gentle white light swirled, and a pink-and-white nine heart begonia appeared in her palms.

Two yellow soul rings slowly rose from beneath her feet, ready for her to release her healing soul skill at any moment.

Despite the agonizing pain and her labored breathing, Dugu Yan remained conscious.

She saw Ye Han and Ye Lingling approach, and she saw the nine heart begonia Ye Lingling had summoned.

She wanted to stop her, or say something.

She knew that ordinary healing soul skills could not cure her condition, and she did not want anyone to see her in such a wretched state.

But the heart-rending pain had drained her of the strength to speak, leaving her no choice but to let the warm healing radiance fall over her.

At that moment, the lingering doubts in Dugu Yan's heart suddenly cleared.

She finally understood why her grandfather had devoted so much effort to nurturing her body year after year. He must have long since noticed the hidden danger within her.

But she also knew that Ye Lingling's treatment would likely be in vain.

If the nine heart begonia could resolve her condition, her grandfather would have taken her to visit the Ye family long ago.

Ye Han slowly crouched beside her, holding an oil-paper umbrella in one hand to shelter the two girls from the rain.

With his other hand, he carefully supported Dugu Yan's arm, letting her lean against him so she would not collapse onto the ground and making it easier for Ye Lingling to treat her.

Before long, Ye Lingling's brows drew tightly together.

She could clearly sense the nine heart begonia's healing soul power flowing into Dugu Yan's body, its abundant life energy soaking into her meridians.

Yet Dugu Yan's condition did not improve at all!

Her face still bore an expression of unbearable agony, and her trembling did not subside in the slightest.

Ye Lingling clenched her teeth and drove her soul power at full speed, pushing her output to its limit.

The nine heart begonia shone even more brightly, its healing power reaching the greatest height she could currently achieve.

But it still had no effect.

Dugu Yan showed no improvement, and despite her desperate efforts to endure, stifled sobs escaped her throat.

Seeing this, Ye Lingling withdrew her martial soul and looked helplessly at Ye Han, shaking her head slightly.

This was the first time her nine heart begonia had ever failed. She could only watch someone suffer excruciating pain, powerless to help.

What could possibly be causing this?

Looking at Dugu Yan's agony, then at the confusion in Ye Lingling's eyes, Ye Han already understood.

The jade phosphorous serpent poison was rooted in her martial soul origin, hidden in her bloodline from birth. How could ordinary healing methods possibly dispel it?

The nine heart begonia was unrivaled at healing injuries and nourishing vitality, but it had no ability to neutralize poison.

Looking at Ye Lingling's helpless expression, Ye Han sighed softly.

He handed her the oil-paper umbrella. "Lingling, take the umbrella and help me hold her steady."

His voice was calm. "Let me try."

Ye Lingling visibly paused, puzzlement in her purple eyes.

She could not guess what Ye Han intended to do, but out of trust, she accepted the umbrella and supported Dugu Yan firmly with both hands.

Watching Dugu Yan suffer, Ye Han inwardly shook his head and sighed to himself.

I just hope Poison Douluo Dugu Bo won't let what I'm about to try go to waste.

He took a deep breath and slowly extended his right index finger.

Beneath the skin of his fingertip, a glimmer of red slowly flowed. Green lotus core flame gradually emerged over his hand, condensing into a crimson needle as fine as an ox's hair.

The red needle looked insubstantial, yet it held its shape without dispersing.

Then the red needle formed from green lotus core flame darted toward several acupuncture points on Dugu Yan's arm and neck.

Ye Han's movements were swift and precise. Blood-red needles formed one after another, piercing multiple crucial points on Dugu Yan's body with unerring accuracy.

Beside him, Ye Lingling stared in stunned silence, her eyes widening slightly.

Was... was this... medicine?

Ye Han actually knew medicine?