Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Journey to the Spirit City
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Over the next month, Ye Wen began treating the Dugu father and son.
In the original story, Tang San's method of channeling toxins into soul bones was essentially like planting a time bomb in Dugu Bo's body. Moreover, if one had the time and effort to force the toxins into their soul bones, why not just expel them from the body? It was clear that this plot point was poorly thought out. Yet, people still believed it simply because Tang San was an expert in poison.
One could only say that love-struck Douluo fans truly had terrifyingly low IQs.
The world of Douluo was indeed peculiar when it came to the concept of dragons. Both Eastern and Western dragons existed, and creatures such as snakes, carp, lizards, salamanders, and even dinosaurs were classified as spirit beasts with dragon lineage.
Thus, the Jade Phosphor Serpent itself was considered a top-tier spirit beast with dragon bloodline, though its talents leaned heavily toward toxicity. However, the Dugu family, when hunting for soul rings, never considered targeting dragon-type spirit beasts. Instead, they exclusively focused on venomous snakes, which resulted in the terrifying accumulation of toxins within their bodies.
If viewed from a soul master's perspective, the solution would have been to hunt for powerful, toxin-resistant dragon-type spirit beasts when acquiring soul rings. This would enhance their resistance to poison. While it might weaken their venom, it would also allow the Jade Phosphor Serpent to evolve toward a dragon-like form.
After receiving Ye Wen's guidance, the Dugu father and son abandoned the idea of being control-type poison users and instead shifted their focus to becoming power-oriented attackers.
Although two of Dugu Xin's soul rings were wasted—both century-level rings with limited effects—it was still salvageable at this stage. As for Dugu Bo, who had already reached the Soul Sage level and whose martial soul had evolved into the **Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor**, there was no turning back. Unless he could further evolve his martial soul into a dragon-bloodline spirit beast upon breaking through to Title Douluo, thereby strengthening his physical essence, he would likely continue to suffer from the torment of these potent toxins.
However, the evolution of a martial soul was inherently difficult. Whether Dugu Bo's martial soul could eventually evolve into the Jade Phosphor Dragon Emperor remained uncertain.
Still, Dugu Bo accepted this outcome with equanimity. After all, he had long grown accustomed to the pain that had accompanied him since childhood.
Seeing this, Ye Wen couldn't help but feel sympathy for the honest man. He pulled out a microscope and handed it to Dugu Bo, saying,
"Senior Dugu, this is a microscope. With your expertise in poisons, you might be able to decipher the toxins afflicting your body.
As long as the next two soul rings you acquire aren't poison-based, they shouldn't cause further harm to your body."
Upon seeing the microscope, Dugu Bo was intrigued. Though the Douluo Continent had spirit tools, those were remnants of ancient times. The current technological level of Douluo was abysmal.
When Dugu Bo observed the toxins under the microscope, he was ecstatic. In the field of medicine, most efforts were akin to blind men groping an elephant—relying on guesswork based on pharmacological principles. If luck struck, it worked; if not, lives were lost.
To prevent Dugu Xin from meeting an early demise, Dugu Bo not only mastered the use of terrifying poisons but also achieved considerable proficiency in medical arts.
"Words cannot express my gratitude, Principal. Please don't hesitate to ask if you ever need anything."
True to his honest nature, Dugu Bo was sincere in his gratitude. His icy demeanor melted away, and he now resembled a friendly neighborly uncle.
As for why Ye Wen didn't use Void Mimicry to analyze and neutralize the toxins, he could only say:
"Do you really think mixed toxins are child's play? Those things aren't so easily cracked. Even experts from his past life might struggle with the molecular formulas, let alone Ye Wen himself. And this was martial soul-grade snake venom—who knew what complications might arise?"
That said, traditional Chinese medicine did possess a certain mystique. Despite lacking scientific evidence, it undeniably cured ailments. Unfortunately, in his past life, it had been slandered as pseudoscience, though foreigners seemed eager to claim it as their own.
Later, Ye Wen recalled that since this involved detoxification, the toad venom he had previously extracted might come in handy. He generously handed over half of it to Dugu Bo and kindly explained how to use this traditional Chinese medicine.
Upon learning that it came from an 80,000-year-old Battle Drum Toad King, Dugu Bo's eyes gleamed with excitement. Had he not owed Ye Wen a favor, he might have even tried to snatch the remaining toad venom from Ye Wen's possession.
In the days that followed, Ye Wen began teaching Dugu Xin the six techniques and the training methods of tree-climbing and water-treading.
Though the Dugu family was a prestigious clan with centuries of history, the sudden influx of eight self-created soul skills left Dugu Xin utterly bewildered. With so many self-created soul skills, who needed soul ring abilities?
Meanwhile, Dugu Bo, who had been quietly studying, was shocked by his son's progress. It hadn't even been long since they established their master-disciple bond, yet Ye Wen had already shared these precious self-created soul skills with his son. This deepened Dugu Bo's gratitude toward Ye Wen.
When it came to nurturing his subordinates, Ye Wen was never stingy. To be honest, aside from Life Return, the six techniques, along with tree-climbing and water-treading, weren't particularly advanced self-created soul skills.
Thus, Ye Wen also imparted everything he knew to Dugu Bo, considering him both an honorary dean and a future shield for himself.
The notion that toxins could be countered and render enemies helpless was simply too basic.
Dugu Bo, true to his reputation as the most talented soul master in the Dugu family for centuries, possessed far greater aptitude than his son, Dugu Xin. Aside from Life Return, which was exceedingly difficult, he managed to master tree-climbing, water-treading, and other techniques within two months.
Following Ye Wen's advice, he even modified the Finger Gun technique, infusing it with poison to create a unique self-created soul skill: Poison Finger Gun.
Compared to merely spreading poison to irritate enemies, this move was far more ruthless and safer to use.
Moreover, although snake-type martial souls weren't perfectly suited to the human body, they greatly enhanced flexibility and endowed explosive power.
After all, the speed of a snake's strike, while not as fast as a bullet, was still beyond the reaction time of ordinary humans. Scientists in his past life had calculated that in the blink of an eye, a snake could attack four times—a testament to its swiftness.
Based on this enhancement, Dugu Xin's development as a power-oriented attacker began to take shape.
During this period, the Dugu family also became acquainted with others in the academy. The siblings Huo and the five siblings quickly accepted Dugu Xin, despite him being slightly older than them.
At this time, Ye Wen began preparing to journey to Spirit City to participate in the once-every-five-years grand event:
The All-Continent Advanced Elite Soul Master Tournament.
As for Ah Yin… well, she hadn't yet broken through to Soul Emperor, so she would stay behind to look after things.
After all, Spirit City was still under the dominion of the Angel Clan. Venturing into the stronghold of a godlike presence would be rather unwise.
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