The Heaven Dou Empire.
Inside the crown prince's chambers in the imperial palace.
All the servants had been dismissed, leaving only two people in the luxurious room.
Tang San and the crown prince, Xue Qinghe.
A false smile hung on Xue Qinghe's face as he looked at Tang San with smiling eyes.
"You're Tang San?"
Tang San lowered his head. "Your Highness, I am indeed Tang San."
At that, Xue Qinghe smiled and waved a hand. "There's no one else here. You don't need to be so formal."
"You're the Pope's disciple, so you should know quite a bit. I won't say much more."
"I heard Dugu Bo mention once that you know something about poison too?"
When he mentioned Pope Bibi Dong, an unusual glint flashed through Xue Qinghe's-or rather, Qian Renxue's-eyes. She had always held a deeply complicated attitude toward her birth mother.
Tang San froze for a moment at those words. He certainly hadn't expected that old monster Dugu Bo to mention him.
"I know a little."
Tang San wasn't lying. He had inherited all of God King Tang's abilities, and that included using poison. It could be said that, across the entire Douluo Continent, no one understood poisoning better than he did.
Qian Renxue gazed at Tang San's handsome face and asked in a solemn voice.
"Good. Then I need you to prepare a poison for me. There should be no symptoms at first, but as time passes, the poisoned person should die naturally. This could take several years. Can you do it?"
Tang San immediately nodded. "Yes."
He did feel rather struck by how much this worldline had changed. God King Tang had originally been the one to cure Emperor Xue Ye's poisoning, yet when it came to him, he had become the one administering the poison instead.
But that didn't matter. Xue Ye was someone who was going to die anyway, and Tang San had no friendship with him, so naturally, he had no intention of sparing his life. It was something he could do in passing.
Seeing Tang San agree, Qian Renxue grew somewhat listless. She withdrew her gaze and stopped looking at him.
"Since you can, get to it. Give me the poison once you've prepared it. Stay in Heaven Dou City for now, and come to my residence again after some time. Understood?"
"Oh, right. You once used a Spirit Hall Elder Token to meet Dugu Bo. Although I don't know what you did, you'd best not make an enemy of him. Dugu Bo is a Titled Douluo and an expert in poison. He's very useful to us."
"Judging by his attitude, Dugu Bo is very interested in you. If you can win him over, that would be a great achievement."
After saying that, Qian Renxue showed no intention of keeping Tang San any longer and waved a hand, signaling for him to leave.
Once Tang San walked out the door, Dugu Bo's appearance surfaced in his mind. Qian Renxue really had reminded him: that old monster Dugu Bo was still in the Heaven Dou Empire. That fellow still owed him two requests.
"It's about time I went to see Dugu Bo."
Muttering to himself, Tang San found a reasonably suitable place to stay in Heaven Dou City and settled in on his own.
Qian Renxue's meaning was perfectly clear. Although Bibi Dong had sent Tang San over, she didn't want him attracting too much attention either, so she wanted him to conceal himself for now.
That worked out nicely. With no one paying him any attention now, Tang San could let loose and tackle plenty of things.
The next day, at the Heaven Dou Empire's imperial academy.
Dugu Bo sprawled casually in a chair and looked at Tang San before him.
"Well, Little Monster, you actually remembered to come looking for me?"
"I haven't heard a thing from you these past few years. I thought you'd forgotten this old fellow. Tsk, tsk, tsk. I knew you weren't the sort to eat my things, pat your backside, and run off."
Tang San had long since grown used to Dugu Bo's venomous tongue and rolled his eyes.
"Listen to you. Even if I gave you those immortal herbs, you wouldn't dare eat them."
"Old monster, I happened to come because I need your help with something. There are a few poisons I can't find the ingredients for. You're Old Poison. Surely you have plenty of that sort of thing?"
At those words, a cold glint flashed in Dugu Bo's eyes, and his interest was piqued.
"Poisons? Interesting. Which short-lived wretch offended you?"
"I can give you the poisons, sure, but you have to agree to do something for me first. Once you agree, I'll give you what you want, and it won't count as one of those three conditions. How about it?"
Tang San raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected Dugu Bo to still need his help with something at this point.
"Tell me what it is first."
At that, Dugu Bo sat up straight, anger rising on his face. Every time he thought about this matter, he ground his teeth with hatred.
"It's all because of that damned fellow called... Yu Xiao-something. Oh, right, Yu Xiaogang."
"Somehow, that fellow managed to lure my granddaughter over to his side. Now he's a special instructor at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, teaching her bad things every day."
"The path I'd originally arranged for my granddaughter has been completely ruined! She's now absorbed the toxins of two other kinds of Soul Beasts, causing her own toxicity to weaken. I've thought it over every which way, and you're the only one who can help me solve this problem."
"That bullshit Grandmaster said mixed poison could solve the problem and even strengthen her toxicity. But I looked into him long ago. He doesn't understand poison at all! Across the entire continent, no one understands poison better than you and me."
Hearing those familiar names, Tang San was instantly amused.
It seemed that even after being reborn, Gangzi was still hard at work.
He understood what Dugu Bo meant. Something must have gone wrong with Dugu Yan's Martial Soul cultivation, and the only solution was mixed poison. Unfortunately, Gangzi only knew the name, not its essence, and couldn't do a thing.
"That's easy. I agree."
Wasn't it just mixed poison? For Tang San, that was a piece of cake, so naturally, he readily agreed.
Seeing Tang San agree, Dugu Bo immediately let out a great sigh of relief. His precious granddaughter was the pearl in his palm. For Dugu Yan, Dugu Bo would do anything.
"Good. Then I'll take you to see my granddaughter first. Once that's done, I'll find whatever poisons you want!"
As he spoke, Dugu Bo immediately rose and hurriedly led Tang San toward a classroom in the academy.
Inside the classroom.
Gangzi stood at the front, explaining things to those below him with words pouring out like a surging river.
"Have you all understood my Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul? As long as you understand these, your future development will be limitless!"
However, as soon as he finished speaking, a student below immediately raised a hand with a question.
"Teacher, it's not that we doubt you, but you still haven't passed rank thirty. How do you know so much about Martial Soul cultivation beyond that?"
Hearing this, Gangzi's face immediately darkened. This could be called the pain of his lifetime. Without immortal herbs, he would never break through rank thirty in this life.
"Theory! Do you understand theory? Theory has nothing to do with Soul Power. Even if I had no Soul Power, I could still teach the strongest Soul Master!"
As he spoke, Gangzi grew particularly worked up and let out a fart that resounded throughout the classroom.
His expression instantly changed. Clutching his backside, he ran out of the classroom, so embarrassed that he wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
Once Gangzi left, the classroom immediately filled with merriment.
"Hahahaha! I'm dying of laughter! What Grandmaster? More like a fart master!"
"Don't you know that his Martial Soul's ability is farting too? Now even the person himself can use Soul Skills. How terrifying!"
Outside the window, Dugu Bo gave a sinister chuckle. Seeing this, Tang San immediately understood. This had to be that rotten old man Dugu Bo's doing.
Sensing Tang San's gaze, Dugu Bo snorted. "What are you looking at me for? He's screwed my granddaughter over so badly. Isn't it perfectly normal for me to make him lose a little face?"
"I can't poison him to death, but giving him diarrhea and a fever is still child's play, isn't it?"
Before you continue