Douluo: Emerald Poison Emperor

"Of course, this is just my personal opinion; whether it's correct or not is another matter. It's just a simple description."

"Even if everyone is truly a bucket, not every bucket has to be shaped like a bucket—it might be a gourd, or maybe a basin; it's not necessarily the same."

"The factors that influence a soul master's innate soul power are far too many. This should be proven through large-scale investigations and studies conducted by professionals."

"I'm just saying that everyone has innate soul power; it's just that the amount varies. Generally, when someone is said to have no innate soul power, it means their innate soul power is so low that it falls below an observable threshold."

Seeing that Dugu Bo was about to start discussing the origins of soul masters, Chen Ming quickly steered the topic away and continued.

"Vitality and mental power are innate things. Without vitality, one isn't alive; without mental power, one cannot think."

"Some soul masters experience situations where their soul power becomes uncontrollable. Normally, this happens because their soul power surged rapidly in a short period, and they haven't adapted to it yet. There are also cases where insufficient mental power makes it impossible to control their soul power."

"Generally speaking, mental power increases gradually over time and grows alongside soul power. Right now, there aren't any particularly effective ways to accelerate this growth."

"If there's a way, it's through hard work—slowly refining it through diligent practice."

"The combination of mental power and soul power can lead to a qualitative leap in soul power and significantly improve control over it."

"The combination of mental power and vitality, reportedly, can enhance vitality and improve control over the body. I read in a book that taking this research to a profound level can even allow one to manifest special abilities called 'combat techniques.' Allegedly, these are akin to soul skills but don't require soul power."

"The combination of vitality and soul power... results in an enhancement of both the body and soul power." Chen Ming glanced at Dugu Bo. "This is the simplest combination. Some people achieve it without even realizing it, but deep research into this area is rare."

"Supposedly, if mental power, soul power, and vitality are all combined, one's strength can increase dramatically, reaching new heights. However, this is just something I've heard."

Chen Ming spread his hands, indicating that he wasn't sure.

"The combination of mental power and soul power improves control over soul power. The combination of mental power and vitality improves control over the body. But the combination of vitality and soul power doesn't improve control; instead, it makes control more difficult."

"The poison of the Jade Phosphor Serpent should be the product of the martial soul's origin combined with vitality. In the beginning, there wouldn't be any problems. But as one age and their soul power increases, the poison gradually grows by devouring vitality and soul power, possibly absorbing a small amount of mental power as well."

"When a martial soul obtains a soul ring, this poison will mutate along with the soul master as they absorb the soul ring and acquire the essence of the soul beast. It changes from its original form and incorporates elements belonging to the soul beast."

"The higher the level, the stronger the poison. The more soul rings acquired, the less of the Jade Phosphor Serpent's original essence remains. The combination of the two increases the likelihood of losing control exponentially."

"Because it absorbs soul power and vitality, it cannot be expelled. Essentially, this poison has already become a part of life itself. If you remove it, no one knows what will happen. However, due to multiple mutations and the absorption of some unconscious mental power, it has also become very difficult to control."

"It's like a beast without reason—a creature with sharp claws and fangs, incapable of distinguishing between friend and foe. Since it has no brain, and isn't even a living being, when it goes berserk, it has no reservations, not even about its existence."

"The key is that if this beast dies, no one knows what will happen next."

"In the mildest case, you lose vitality and soul power, and the poison dissipates. In the worst case, immediate death is a very real possibility."

"What should I do?" Dugu Bo frowned deeply, feeling as though the situation had become even more challenging. "The lack of reason in the beast isn't entirely bad, though it does make control harder. But this also means the beast can be completely tamed, becoming like a part of oneself, like an arm or a leg, incapable of betrayal."

At this point, Chen Ming glanced at Dugu Bo, giving him a look that made Dugu Bo feel uneasy.

"Forgive me for asking, Grandpa—are you not skilled in mental power?"

"That's true..." Dugu Bo admitted with a nod, not hiding his shortcomings.

"Our Jade Phosphor Serpent lineage has been passed down for a long time, but because of this issue, we've never had high-ranking soul masters. Before me, the highest was an ancestor at the Soul Sage level. There are rumors of Soul Douluo-level ancestors, but nothing confirmed. We truly don't know much about mental power."

"When I was young, I was self-taught and didn't join any organizations or academies. While I lack none of the basic knowledge of soul masters, I am still missing some of the deeper, hidden knowledge."

"My mental power is usable, but I wouldn't say I'm proficient with it." At this point, Dugu Bo quickly added, "By the way, I have a head soul bone that I obtained when acquiring my eighth soul ring. This soul bone significantly enhanced my mental power. I didn't notice it before, but according to what you're saying, this soul bone played a huge role in helping me become a Title Douluo."

"If you have a head soul bone..." Chen Ming hesitated. "Uh, my earlier estimates were based on the assumption that you didn't have a head soul bone. If you do have one..."

"What happens if I have a head soul bone?"

"This only proves that your mental power talent is truly lacking. Even with a head soul bone enhancing your mental power, it's still below passing."

"If it weren't for this head soul bone, you probably wouldn't have broken through to Title Douluo before the poison completely got out of control."

Chen Ming's words were tactful, but Dugu Bo still felt deeply hurt, his face burning with embarrassment.

"So, there's no solution?" Dugu Bo tapped his head, feeling a headache coming on. His poor mental power talent meant that, even with a solution, he couldn't implement it. If word got out, people would laugh at him.

"There's a solution." Chen Ming didn't hold back.

"If your mental power is strong enough, you can tame the beast slowly. If it's not strong enough, weaken the beast first and then use mental power to tame it."

"The difference is that directly taming the beast brings many benefits. Weakening it first and then taming it reduces the benefits, but it's still doable."