"Father."
Only then did Xue Qinghe realize he had lost his composure. He hurriedly lowered his head and said, "I simply felt that Dugu Yan's behavior was an affront to public decency."
Utterly shameless!
Qian Renxue inwardly cursed Dugu Yan for actually doing such a thing in full view of everyone.
"Er... it's not that bad, really." Xue Ye suddenly remembered that his First Prince was already eighteen. At that age, he ought to take an Imperial Consort.
Xue Qinghe had never been involved with a woman. After studying the sages' teachings for over a decade, he had actually become this "prudish."
Yes, in Xue Ye's view, there were plenty of people who indulged themselves without restraint and flouted public decency.
Dugu Yan's behavior was a little bold, but it was hardly beyond the pale.
There were people who truly crossed the line. His younger brother, Prince Xue Xing, for instance, had peculiar tastes, with a fondness for catwomen and the like.
Whenever the Auction House offered slaves of that sort, Prince Xue Xing would invariably attend and purchase them.
If Xue Qinghe could not even tolerate Dugu Yan's behavior, how would he tolerate Prince Xue Xing's secret indulgence in his peculiar tastes after Xue Ye passed away?
"How vicious." Ning Fengzhi suddenly spoke. He alone had seen through Dugu Yan's true intentions. "With Long Yue's defenses, Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison probably wouldn't do much from the outside. Even if it could poison him through his breathing, he would be fine as long as he held his breath."
Huyan Zhen, the sect master of the Elephant Armor Sect, sneered, as though he could already see Long Yue collapsing miserably from the poison. "So she used this method to deliver it straight into Long Yue's mouth."
Two juniors of Yu Yuanzhen, the clan leader of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, had just suffered crushing defeats at Long Yue's hands. He was in a foul mood and had little concern for Long Yue, but he still warned Sima Lanxiao:
"If I'm not mistaken, that is Jade Phosphor Purple Poison. It acts extremely quickly. In Dugu Bo's hands, even the slightest contact with that toxin would turn anyone below Soul Emperor cultivation into a puddle of pus within half a minute."
The Jade Phosphorous Serpent's Third Soul Skill: Jade Phosphor Purple Poison, Dugu Yan's most poisonous attack.
In Dugu Yan's hands, this toxin was not as terrifying as it was in Dugu Bo's, but it still worked extremely quickly. A Soul Master at the same cultivation level would dissolve into pus and die in no time after even the slightest contact with the purple mist.
"Heh, he'll be fine." Sima Lanxiao had a confidence in Long Yue that even he could not explain.
Although Long Yue was very good at causing trouble for him, he still had faith in Long Yue's strength.
This was Imperial Preceptor En Ci's final disciple, after all!
On the stage, Long Yue showed no reaction and stood without moving an inch. Only when Dugu Yan had almost emptied the poison from her mouth and needed to breathe did he slowly push her away.
"It's a little hot. Keep your distance."
"..." Dugu Yan's breathing was a little ragged, whether from anger at Long Yue or from needing air after such a long kiss.
"Want to hear my verdict?" Long Yue smacked his lips, a smile on his face. "Not bad. Very sweet, very soft. But I suggest you rinse your mouth more often. There's a bit of a fishy taste."
"Y-you... why are you all right?"
After hearing Long Yue's verdict, Dugu Yan stared in disbelief. She examined his face, then his body. There was not the slightest sign of poisoning.
"Because I am Long Yue. Mountain Dragon King Long Yue." A thick cloud of purple mist poured from Long Yue's mouth as he puffed out clouds like an old chain-smoker.
Dugu Yan stood frozen in place, as though she had suffered a tremendous blow. "You really are strong."
Long Yue grabbed Dugu Yan by the collar and flung her out of the arena, showing not the slightest tenderness toward a woman. "I'm strong. I don't need you to prove it for me."
With that, the friendly exchange match came to a successful conclusion. Long Yue had swept through all seven opponents.
At Xue Ye's signal, the Referee prepared to step onto the stage and announce Long Yue's victory.
Although the Divine Realm Empire's representative had won, Long Yue was so much stronger than Yu Tianheng that his victory was hardly surprising.
Who could have expected that, at that moment, Long Yue would suddenly point at Meng Shenji, the Heaven Dou Royal Academy's Chief Education Commissioner, in the VIP seats? "Commissioner Meng! Please enlighten me."
Long Yue's dark red eyes brimmed with battle lust he could no longer contain. The Mountain Dragon Martial Soul behind him roared, like a raging earthquake poised to destroy the entire world.
"Long Yue!" Sima Lanxiao's expression changed dramatically. The foreign minister had just been rejoicing that Long Yue had completed the friendly exchange match without incident, only to feel another headache coming on. "What are you trying to do?"
Huyan Zhen, who had already left his seat, sat down again, looking ready to enjoy the show. "Heh heh, our young friend from the Divine Realm Empire truly has courage. Challenging a Soul Douluo with Soul Ancestor cultivation-I've never seen anything like it anywhere on the Douluo Continent."
Yu Yuanzhen looked at Long Yue and offered only one comment: "A farce."
Ning Fengzhi, meanwhile, watched Long Yue in the center of the arena with considerable interest, but said nothing.
It was good for young people to have pride, but not when that pride became arrogant conceit.
Long Yue's sudden declaration that he wanted to challenge the Black Demon Soul Douluo, Meng Shenji, undoubtedly meant that his earlier victories over Yu Tianheng and the others-sweeping through them like an autumn wind scattering fallen leaves-had gone to his head.
Could Long Yue really believe he could defeat a Soul Douluo?
Remembering Sword Douluo Chen Xin's assessment of Long Yue, Ning Fengzhi sighed softly.
Uncle Jian, you may have misjudged him. With such an arrogant, frivolous disposition, Long Yue is certainly no suitable match for Rongrong.
"Feng Xiaotian proposed changing the rules and selecting seven outstanding students to spar with me. I don't really agree with that."
Although Long Yue was itching to destroy something, he still retained a measure of intelligence:
"If the rules hadn't been changed, I could have fought the outstanding students from every academy."
Long Yue was blaming Meng Shenji for agreeing to Feng Xiaotian's request and changing the rules on his own authority.
"If you sparred with all the outstanding students, you would be facing challenges from six Advanced Soul Master Academies!
If every outstanding student wanted to spar with you, I'm afraid even you wouldn't be able to withstand it."
Meng Shenji was a man of considerable restraint. He endured the provocation from a junior like Long Yue and explained:
"I do not believe changing the rules was a mistake."
Long Yue swept his gaze over the academy students around him. Those so-called six Advanced Soul Master Academies were the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, the Four Element Academies, and the Elephant Armor Academy.
Long Yue smiled, barely bothering to conceal his mockery. Sima Lanxiao inwardly cried out in alarm.
"I'm not singling anyone out. I just want to say that every student here is trash."
Long Yue raised his eyebrows, his dark red eyes filled with disdain and contempt. He paid no attention to the curses coming from below. "Or rather, Commissioner Meng, I simply want to challenge you."
Xue Ye finally deigned to speak. "Long Yue, why is that?"
Long Yue regained a trace of courtesy and respect:
"Your Majesty, I feel that exchanges with people my age carry no weight. Even if I win, the people of the Douluo Continent won't think I'm particularly strong. They'll only say..."
Long Yue raised his head and adopted a disdainful tone. "You have one more Soul Ring than Yu Tianheng and his group. Of course you could beat them. There's nothing to be proud of."
"But challenging a Soul Douluo is different."
Long Yue fixed his gaze on Meng Shenji like a wolf catching sight of meat.
"As long as I defeat a Soul Douluo, I'll definitely make a name for myself across the continent."
"Long Yue, fighting for a moment's supremacy brings no benefit. That holds true for both the empire and yourself."
Sima Lanxiao had no idea what madness had seized Long Yue, though Mad Dragon had certainly set precedents.
"I refuse," Long Yue said.
"Then I'll fight you."
A tall, thin figure, straight as a javelin, emerged from the crowd. His hair and beard were dark green, and his eerie eyes gleamed like emeralds.
Poison Douluo, Dugu Bo.
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