The Old Monster Who Shielded His Own (Part Two)
The pale green poison mist furiously corroded the gray barrier with an ear-splitting hiss. White frost spread across the barrier, but failed to penetrate it in the slightest.
Ripples spread across the surface of the Chaos Shield, but it stood as steady as Mount Tai, without so much as a crack.
One breath, two breaths, three breaths.
The poison mist gradually dissipated, leaving the Chaos Shield intact.
The entire auditorium fell silent, not even a bird making a sound.
The students stared wide-eyed, their faces full of disbelief.
The poison mist unleashed with thirty percent of the Poison Douluo's strength had been blocked just like that? A Soul Elder above level thirty had blocked a Titled Douluo's attack?
The three education committee members also breathed a sigh of relief, their eyes full of astonishment. Meng Shenji stroked his beard and nodded repeatedly. "Good lad, you didn't disappoint me after all."
The smug look froze on Dugu Yan's face. Her little mouth hung open in a perfect circle, and for a long while she couldn't close it. She knew better than anyone how potent her grandfather's poison was. Let alone thirty percent of his strength, an ordinary Soul Elder couldn't withstand even ten percent.
Dugu Bo sat on the stage, his thin fingers tapping lightly on the tabletop. A flicker of surprise passed through his dark green eyes.
He had thought that Jade Phosphor Cold Mist unleashed with thirty percent of his strength would be enough to leave the boy flustered, perhaps even make a fool of him on the spot. He hadn't expected his opponent's shield to be so strange: it could block not only physical attacks, but poison as well, keeping it out entirely.
"You've got some tricks." Dugu Bo slowly rose to his feet, the pressure radiating from him gradually increasing. "But thirty percent of my strength was only a warm-up. Boy, try taking forty percent."
As his words fell, the poison mist at his fingertip abruptly deepened in color, changing from pale green to dark jade. Fine grains of golden poison sand were mixed into it-the Jade Phosphor Sand of the Jade Phosphor Seven Absolutes Poison.
The deadly poison came with a bone-piercing chill. Before it even drew near, the students in the front row felt cold all over, their skin breaking out in fine goosebumps.
The three committee members' expressions changed slightly. Bai Baoshan couldn't help speaking up. "Senior Dugu, isn't forty percent..."
"Don't worry. I know my limits. He won't die," Dugu Bo said mildly, flicking a finger.
The dark jade poison mist formed a poison arrow and shot straight at Lin Chen with a piercing whistle.
This time, it was more than twice as powerful as before.
Lin Chen's gaze sharpened. He didn't dare be careless.
He could clearly sense that the terrifying toxicity contained in the poison mist had exceeded the upper limit of the Chaos Pearl's innate immunity.
"Condense!"
He shouted under his breath, driving his Chaos Soul Power with all his strength. The gray barrier instantly grew several times more solid, and the Chaos halo on its surface swirled twice as fast.
Bang-
The poison arrow slammed into the shield with a muffled thud.
A violent corrosive hiss erupted. Dark jade venom flowed over the barrier's surface, furiously eating away at the gray film of light.
The Chaos Shield shook violently, and fine cracks appeared on its surface for the first time. Wisps of poison gas seeped in through the cracks. Lin Chen felt a slight numbness in his arm, and a chill burrowed into his body along his meridians.
His heart tightened.
As expected, forty percent of a Titled Douluo's strength was no easy thing to withstand. The absolute gap in Soul Power Level couldn't be completely bridged by the properties of a Martial Soul alone.
Cracks spread across the Chaos Shield like a spiderweb.
The dark jade poison sand battered the barrier relentlessly, each impact knocking loose a shower of gray Soul Power fragments.
Lin Chen stood at the center of the shield, his teeth clenched. The Chaos Pearl spun rapidly in his dantian, releasing an endless stream of gray currents that desperately mended the cracks in the shield. But the poison corroded it so quickly that the repairs were barely keeping pace with the damage.
The bone-piercing chill grew stronger, burrowing through his skin and into his marrow. Lin Chen's lips took on a faint bluish-purple tinge, and the veins on his arms turned dark green. He could feel the toxicity of the Jade Phosphor Seven Absolutes Poison breaking through the Chaos Pearl's suppression and seeping into his meridians bit by bit.
This won't do. If I keep forcing myself to hold out, the poison will invade my internal organs the moment the shield breaks.
Lin Chen's thoughts raced. He knew his own limits well: forty percent of a Titled Douluo's strength had already exceeded the current Chaos Shield's capacity.
Below the stage, Xiao Wu clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palms, her eyes red. She wanted to rush up and help, but knew she would only get in the way.
Ye Lingling also stood up, having already set the Soul Power of her Nine Heart Begonia in motion, ready to step in and heal him at any moment.
The three committee members looked grave. Meng Shenji raised a finger slightly, ready to intervene and rescue him. Dugu Bo's poison was no laughing matter; if anything really happened, they wouldn't be able to answer to the academy.
"Boy, if you can't hold on, admit defeat. There's no shame in it," Dugu Bo said mildly, though the mockery had gone from his voice, replaced by a measure of approval. The fact that the boy had held out this long had already far exceeded his expectations.
But Lin Chen said nothing.
He stared at the multiplying cracks, his gaze growing calmer instead.
Just as the Chaos Shield became covered in cracks and was about to shatter-
"Third Soul Skill, Void Shift."
Hum-
Space warped slightly.
Lin Chen vanished from where he stood in an instant.
Almost at the same time, the Chaos Shield shattered with a crash. The dark jade poison mist erupted, instantly shrouding the spot in deadly poison. The stone slabs on the floor sizzled as they corroded, giving off clouds of white smoke and melting into small pits.
The crowd cried out in alarm.
"Where is he?!"
"Where did he go?"
Dugu Yan sprang to her feet and looked around.
While everyone stared about in shock and confusion, Lin Chen's figure slowly appeared beside the steps, three zhang away.
He panted slightly, a faint bluish-purple tinge at the corners of his mouth. He had only suffered mild poisoning. When the poison mist broke through the shield just now, it hadn't even touched the hem of his clothes.
The instant Void Shift was used, the force of tearing space would shred every obstruction around him, and poison was naturally no exception.
Dead silence.
A pin could have been heard dropping in the auditorium.
Everyone stared wide-eyed at Lin Chen, disbelief written all over their faces.
Blocking thirty percent of the Poison Douluo's strength had been astonishing enough, but he had actually escaped unscathed from an attack at forty percent? And what he had used was... Teleportation?
"A spatial Soul Skill?!" Dugu Bo's expression finally changed. He sprang to his feet, his dark green eyes flashing brilliantly. "His Third Soul Skill actually has the spatial attribute!"
He had seen countless Martial Souls over his lifetime, but could count the Soul Masters with the spatial attribute on one hand. Every spatial Soul Master's future achievements were limitless. This boy not only had a strange shield that was immune to poison, but also a spatial teleportation Soul Skill?
Dugu Bo's figure blurred, and he appeared before Lin Chen in an instant. The Titled Douluo had moved so fast that no one could follow his path.
He looked Lin Chen up and down, the scrutiny in his eyes turning into intense interest. "Boy, what's your Martial Soul called?"
"Senior, it's the Chaos Pearl," Lin Chen replied with a slight bow. At the same time, he secretly activated the Chaos Pearl, forcing the remaining poison in his body out through his fingertips bit by bit.