In an instant, a jet of black venom even more potent than Dugu Bo's poison gas shot straight toward his face.
Facing that black venom, Dugu Bo's pupils instantly shrank to pinpoints.
As a grandmaster who had spent his entire life handling poison, he knew better than anyone.
The corrosive power contained in that black venom could absolutely turn him into a puddle of bloody liquid in an instant!
"Ninth Soul Skill! Jade Phosphorous Divine Light!"
With his life hanging in the balance, Dugu Bo could no longer afford to hold anything back.
He roared, and the last of his Soul Rings, a black Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring, instantly lit up.
A beam of ghastly green light burst from his mouth, carrying all the Soul Power of a rank ninety-one Titled Douluo as it slammed into the oncoming black venom.
Boom!
The two deadly poisons met in midair.
Yet the instant Dugu Bo's Jade Phosphorous Divine Light, powerful enough to poison ten thousand people to death, touched the black venom, it actually began dissolving with a sizzling sound.
Like ice meeting scorching magma, it rapidly broke apart!
"What?!"
Dugu Bo's face drained of color.
The black venom was about to engulf him.
Without hesitation, he bit the tip of his tongue and immediately activated his Martial Soul's lifesaving ultimate technique, Snake Shedding!
A layer of green snakeskin instantly peeled away from the surface of his body.
His true body turned into a streak of green light, barely managing to dodge to the side.
Hiss!
The instant the shed snakeskin touched the black venom, it turned into a puff of black smoke without lasting even a second.
Although Dugu Bo had dodged the fatal blow, a single drop of splashing black venom still accidentally landed on his left arm.
"Aaargh!!!"
His entire left arm began rotting at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Even the white bones inside were corroded black!
When it came to saving his own life, Dugu Bo was ruthless enough.
He pressed his fingers together like a blade and brought his hand down, forcibly severing his own rotting left arm!
Blood sprayed wildly, and Dugu Bo collapsed into the mire as though utterly drained, gasping for breath.
At this sight.
On the Douluo Continent, the Heaven Dou Empire's ministers, who had been cheering loudly just moments before, all fell mute.
Xue Ye was so frightened that he slumped back onto his dragon throne, his face filled with terror.
Meanwhile, at Shrek Academy.
Tang San stared at the sky screen, his eyes filled with horror.
"How could this happen..."
"Senior Dugu Bo's Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor poison was actually overpowered by that toad's venom?"
Tang San had always taken pride in his knowledge of poisons.
But now, he discovered that the poisons of that world seemed completely different from the poisons he knew.
Beside him, Yu Xiaogang gaped for a long while before swallowing and forcing out an excuse to save face.
"Th-this must only be because that world's Demonic Beasts are so large and have so much venom!"
"Senior Dugu was merely careless. As long as he puts some distance between them, a Titled Douluo's mobility will absolutely let him escape!"
Meanwhile, in the Martial Universe footage.
Seeing that Dugu Bo was still alive, the Jade Poison Demon Toad immediately let out a furious, strange cry.
Its enormous body suddenly leaped up, crashing down toward Dugu Bo again like a small mountain, with the crushing force of Mount Tai.
Dugu Bo was about to become a meal in the toad's belly.
At that hair's-breadth moment.
A sudden, urgent whistle cut through the air from within the distant poisonous fog.
Immediately afterward, a streak of crimson light tore across the sky like a meteor.
It was a crimson spear radiating waves of heat!
With a wet squelch, the spear pierced straight through the Jade Poison Demon Toad's hard skull.
It pinned its enormous body into the mire!
"Croak..."
The Jade Poison Demon Toad, which had been so overbearing just moments before, only managed a brief, miserable cry before dying on the spot.
Everyone on the Douluo Continent was dumbfounded once again.
That poisonous creature, capable of crushing even a Titled Douluo, had actually been killed instantly with a single spear strike?
Immediately afterward, in the footage on the sky screen.
Several young men and women in matching attire slowly emerged from the poisonous fog.
Leading them was a young man holding a spear.
He walked over to the Jade Poison Demon Toad's corpse and casually pulled out his spear.
A Demon Crystal radiating a dark green glow rested on its tip.
"Good luck. It was actually a Jade Poison Demon Toad that had absorbed earth fiend qi."
The young man weighed the Demon Crystal in his hand, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.
"You're amazing, senior brother!"
"The yin fiend qi in this Demon Crystal is extremely concentrated. It's just right for tempering your Origin Pill."
A young junior sister beside him hurried forward and flattered him with a face full of admiration.
Upon hearing their conversation.
To help the people of the Douluo Continent understand, the sky screen thoughtfully displayed a passage of golden explanatory text.
[Basic setting of the Martial Universe: Origin Pill Realm.] [After breaking through the Heavenly Origin Realm, cultivators must absorb the yin fiend qi and yang gang qi between heaven and earth to condense an Origin Pill within their bodies.] [The purer these two energies of yin and yang, the higher the quality of the condensed Origin Pill, and the stronger the cultivator.]
Seeing these subtitles and listening to the conversation in the footage.
The Soul Masters of the Douluo Continent finally understood.
Inside Shrek Academy.
A flicker of understanding passed through Tang San's eyes, but it was followed by a deep sense of helplessness.
"So that's how it is..."
"The yin fiend qi they mentioned is a kind of natural energy born between heaven and earth."
"Senior Dugu Bo's poison, on the other hand, is merely an ordinary biological toxin produced by his Martial Soul."
"How could a biological toxin possibly contend with pure energy nurtured between heaven and earth?"
Tang San gritted his teeth, his heart filled with bitterness.
It was like taking an ordinary iron sword to hack at black iron. The two were not even on the same plane!
It was not just Tang San.
Inside Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong also sighed.
"Yin fiend qi, yang gang qi..."
"Not only does this world have no need for Martial Souls, even the energy drifting through its air possesses such terrifying destructive power."
"The physiques and foundations of cultivators raised in such an environment are simply beyond our imagination."
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
In the Martial Universe.
After putting away the Demon Crystal, the young man shifted his gaze, finally looking at Dugu Bo, who had lost an arm.
As he watched the Soul Rings slowly fading around Dugu Bo, a trace of puzzlement flashed through his eyes.
"You old man, you don't have even a trace of Yuan Power, yet you dared to come to this Poison Gas Swamp?"
"And there seems to be a very low-grade toxin inside your body."
Hearing the young man's questions.
Dugu Bo gritted his teeth, enduring the intense pain of his severed arm as he asked, "Who are you?"
"You don't even recognize us?"
The junior sister beside him could not help giving a derisive laugh.
"Listen closely, old man. We're disciples of the Great Demon Gate, one of the three major powers of Great Desolation Commandery!"
The Great Demon Gate!
Hearing that name, Dugu Bo's heart jolted.
Although he did not know how powerful the Great Demon Gate was, this young man had killed that toad with a single spear strike, so his strength absolutely far exceeded Dugu Bo's own.
"Senior brother, what should we do with this old man? Kill him outright?" the junior sister asked casually.
The young man looked Dugu Bo over a few times, then shook his head.
"No need."
"Although this old man has no Yuan Power, that low-grade toxin inside him is somewhat interesting."
"We happen to be heading out to explore the ancient tomb ruins of a Nirvana Realm expert."
"It's riddled with traps and densely packed with poison arrays."
"Bring him along. We can use him as cannon fodder to scout ahead, and he can test the poisons for us too."
The young man's tone was flat, as though he were assigning a use to some insignificant tool.
Upon hearing this.
Dugu Bo's face instantly turned deathly pale.
A distinguished imperial retainer of the Heaven Dou Empire, the rank ninety-one Poison Douluo.
In this world, he could actually only be reduced to cannon fodder for others to scout an ancient tomb and test its poisons?!
Before Dugu Bo could voice any resistance.
The young man casually waved his hand, and a powerful surge of Yuan Power turned into a rope, binding Dugu Bo tightly.
Then he dragged him straight into the depths of the poisonous fog like a sack.
The footage on the sky screen slowly froze.
[Number Two Explorer, Dugu Bo.] [Encountered disciples of the Great Demon Gate, one of the three major powers of Great Desolation Commandery.] [Status: arm severed, severely injured.] [Current identity: reduced to poison-testing cannon fodder for Great Demon Gate disciples exploring a Nirvana Realm ancient tomb.] [Live footage temporarily paused.]
At this sight, the entire Douluo Continent once again sank beneath a pall of gloom.
Even a grand master of poison had been captured and made to test poisons there.
This world was simply a nightmare for Soul Masters!
Yet the sky screen gave them no chance to catch their breath.
As that emotionless voice rang out.
[Switching to the perspective of Number Three Explorer...]
Ripples flowed across the screen.
The third explorer's figure gradually appeared in the center of the light screen.
The Star Luo Empire, the Hell Spirit Cat Clan.
Rank fifty-three agility-attack Battle Soul King, Zhu Zhuyun!
In the footage.
Zhu Zhuyun's voluptuous, alluring figure was half-crouched at the edge of a spacious arena platform.
The place roared with voices, and the surrounding seats were filled with spectators cheering and shouting.
It was clearly an arena in some vast city.
The moment Zhu Zhuyun landed, the keen perception granted by her Nether Civet Martial Soul allowed her to notice the pairs of eyes surrounding her, each like those of a hungry wolf.
"Where is this?"
Zhu Zhuyun's delicate brows furrowed slightly. Feeling the heavy pressure coming from this world, her expression grew somewhat graver.
But as a direct descendant of a great clan of the Star Luo Empire, her mental fortitude was far better than that of an ordinary person.
Just then.
At the other end of the platform, a frivolous-looking young man in a fitted gray outfit slowly walked up.
He toyed with a dagger in his hand, his eyes brazenly sweeping over Zhu Zhuyun's full curves.
"Oh? The arena actually arranged such an exquisite beauty today?"
"Little beauty, you don't have even a trace of Yuan Power. Are you here to warm this young master's bed?"
Hearing these lewd words.
A trace of killing intent flashed through Zhu Zhuyun's eyes.
"Lecher, you're courting death!"
She wasted no words.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black.
Five Soul Rings instantly rose from beneath her feet.
"Martial Soul Possession!"
With a cat's cry, sharp claws instantly sprang from Zhu Zhuyun's fingers.
Her entire body became a bolt of black lightning, trailing afterimages as she charged straight at the frivolous man to kill him.
As a level fifty-three agility-type Soul King.
Her speed was unquestionably among the best at her level.
Seeing Zhu Zhuyun strike decisively.
At Shrek Academy, Yu Xiaogang hurried to seize the opportunity.
"Everyone, look!"
"Zhu Zhuyun's approach is very clever!"
"Since the people of that world don't understand our Martial Souls, we should use the speed advantage of agility-type Soul Masters to catch them off guard!"
"Among all martial arts under heaven, only speed is unbreakable!"
"As long as her claws can slash that fellow's throat, we can win this round!"
Beside him, although both of Dai Mubai's arms were crippled, he couldn't help nodding as he watched his former elder sister-in-law attack.
"Exactly. Even I wouldn't dare underestimate Zhu Yun's speed."
"That little thug hasn't even put up a defense. He's dead for sure!"
Yet, faced with Zhu Zhuyun charging toward him as a black afterimage, the frivolous man merely yawned.
"Decent speed. Too bad there's so much empty flash."
As his words fell, the man's body also became a wisp of clear wind, effortlessly slipping past Zhu Zhuyun's sharp claws.
And that wasn't all.
He even had the leisure to reach out as they passed each other and run a hand over Zhu Zhuyun's slender waist.
"What?!"
Zhu Zhuyun's expression changed drastically in shock.
That had been an all-out strike enhanced by a Soul Skill!
Yet her opponent had dodged it so casually?
Not only her-even Yu Xiaogang, outside the light screen, was so stunned that his jaw nearly dropped.
"That's impossible!"
"That fellow didn't use any powerful force at all. How could he be so fast?!"
In the image, the man landed steadily behind Zhu Zhuyun, toying with the dagger in his hand as he gave a mocking laugh.
"Little beauty, you think that crude, straight-line approach of yours can even touch the hem of my clothes?"
"Today, I'll show you."
"What a third-grade movement Martial Art is-Clear Wind Step!"
The instant his words fell, the man's figure vanished from the spot.
A second later, Zhu Zhuyun felt a chill at the back of her neck.
Because that dagger was already pressed steadily against her throat.
Feeling the pain coming from her throat, Zhu Zhuyun's delicate body instantly stiffened.
The speed she took such pride in as an agility-type Soul King was as laughable as a toddler learning to walk before her opponent.
"You... what sorcery did you use?"
Zhu Zhuyun bit her red lip, her eyes filled with unwillingness to accept this.
The frivolous man sneered and casually put away his dagger.
He reached out and unceremoniously pinched Zhu Zhuyun's fair chin.
"What sorcery?"
"What a bumpkin who's never seen the world."
"In our Great Yan Dynasty, aside from Yuan Power cultivation, Martial Arts are also an important measure of strength."
"From first grade to ninth grade, and above those, there are even higher-tier Creation Martial Arts!"
"What I just used was nothing more than a third-grade movement Martial Art so common you could find it anywhere."
"With that crude approach of yours, relying entirely on bursts of muscle power, you think you can touch me?"
Martial Arts?!
When those words traveled through the sky screen to the Douluo Continent.
Tang San's pupils abruptly contracted.
"So that's how it is..."
"That world not only has Yuan Power, which is higher-tier than Soul Power, but even a Martial Arts system specifically designed to work with it!"
Tang San drew a deep breath, towering waves surging through his heart.
He had been a Tang Sect disciple in his previous life, so he naturally knew the importance of cultivation methods and techniques.
But the Soul Masters of the Douluo Continent all relied on hunting Soul Beasts to obtain those few rigid Soul Skills.
They had no techniques for exerting force or movement arts to speak of!
Before a higher-dimensional world with a complete Martial Arts system, the Douluo Continent's way of fighting was as primitive as savages brawling!
Beside him, Yu Xiaogang's mouth gaped even wider, feeling as though his entire worldview had once again been pinned to the ground and ground against it.
"What Martial Arts... how is this possible!"
Before you continue