The Ice and FireWell, Morning
Morning mist drifted lazily over the multicolored waters of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well. The valley was quiet except for the occasional bubbling of the springs and the rustling of medicinal herbs swaying in the breeze.
Dugu Yan sat on a smooth stone beside the lake, staring at her reflection. She turned her head from side to side, then gently poked her cheek.
It bounced back, smooth and firm.
"My skin..." she whispered in disbelief.
She leaned closer until her nose was almost touching the water.
"It is perfect. No pores. No blemishes. Not even a single dry spot." She smiled brightly. "I look like a porcelain doll."
A few meters away, Arthev sat comfortably on another rock, quietly eating a ration bar.
"That's the combined effect of the Snow Silkworm Balm and the body tempering," he explained between bites.
"Your skin has been completely reforged. It isn't just smoother. Your epidermis is several times stronger than before. An ordinary knife won't even cut it."
Dugu Yan waved a dismissive hand.
"I don't care about knives."
She gathered her long, royal jade hair over one shoulder and admired how it shimmered beneath the morning light.
"I care that I look fabulous."
Arthev nodded thoughtfully.
"A perfectly reasonable priority."
She blinked before laughing.
"See, Grandpa? Even Arthev understands."
Standing near the entrance to the valley with his arms crossed, Dugu Bo let out an exasperated snort.
"I've created a monster."
"You already were one," Arthev replied.
Dugu Yan covered her mouth, trying and failing to hide her laughter.
Dugu Bo shot him a flat look.
"You've made her worse."
"I prefer the term 'more confident,'" Arthev answered.
Dugu Yan stood and spun once, watching her hair fan out behind her.
"I've spent my whole life hiding those ugly poison veins. Every morning I'd check the mirror hoping they'd disappear." She smiled softly. "Now they're gone."
Dugu Bo's expression softened.
"You never looked ugly, Yan-yan."
She paused.
"You only say that because you're my grandfather."
"I say it because it's true."
For a brief moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Dugu Bo cleared his throat and returned to his usual gruff demeanor.
"Enough. We have a Soul Ring to hunt, and the academy reopens in two days."
Dugu Yan puffed out her cheeks.
"Grandpa, let me enjoy this for another five minutes."
"No."
"Three?"
"No."
"One?"
"No."
She sighed dramatically.
"You're impossible."
"And you're still talking."
Arthev finished his ration bar and brushed the crumbs from his hands before slinging his bag over his shoulder.
"He's right. We shouldn't waste any more time."
Dugu Yan sighed one last time before reluctantly stepping away from the lake.
As they began walking toward the valley entrance, Dugu Bo glanced sideways at Arthev.
"So, genius..."
"What exactly are we hunting?"
Arthev smiled.
"Not just any Fourth Soul Ring."
He looked toward the distant Soul Beast Forest.
"We're hunting one worthy of the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor."
For the first time since entering the valley, Dugu Bo smiled without reservation.
"Heh."
"Now that... sounds like a proper hunt."
---
The Sunset Forest, Deep Zone
For most soul masters, hunting a suitable soul beast meant days of searching through the forest, following tracks, setting camps, and avoiding predators stronger than themselves.
For Dugu Bo...
...it was little different from strolling through a market.
The Poison Douluo walked at the front of the group with his hands behind his back, releasing only the faintest trace of his aura.
It wasn't oppressive.
It was a warning.
Every soul beast within several kilometers understood its meaning.
Leave.
Now.
The forest erupted into chaos.
A pack of Shadow Wolves fled without looking back. A pair of Ironback Tigers vanished into the undergrowth. High above, a gigantic Black Mountain Bear scrambled halfway up a tree before awkwardly pretending it had always intended to climb it.
Dugu Yan watched the mass exodus with a sigh.
"Grandpa..."
"What?"
"You're scaring everything away."
Dugu Bo didn't even slow down.
"I'm saving us time."
"You're emptying the entire forest."
"I am removing the unqualified beasts."
Arthev looked up from the map in his hands.
"He isn't entirely wrong."
Dugu Yan folded her arms.
"You two are impossible."
Dugu Bo gave a satisfied grunt.
"You aren't some ordinary Soul Ancestor anymore. Your martial soul has become the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor. Anything below 8,000 years would be beneath your potential."
Arthev rolled up the map.
"Age isn't the only requirement."
Dugu Bo glanced over.
"What else?"
"We need the right attribute."
He continued walking beside them.
"Your martial soul has changed fundamentally. The poison is stronger, but your greatest improvement is control. Right now, you can spread poison through liquid and gas."
"Blood and mist?" Dugu Yan ask uncertain.
"Exactly."
Arthev picked up a fallen leaf.
"If you gain the ability to manipulate poison as a solid..."
He crushed the leaf between his fingers.
"...your fighting style changes completely."
Dugu Bo raised an eyebrow.
"Explain."
"Gas spreads."
"Liquid infiltrates."
"Solid traps."
Arthev tossed the leaf aside.
"A solidified toxin becomes a weapon and a prison at the same time. Spears, walls, cages, barriers. Your poison won't just kill people."
"It will dictate where they can move."
Dugu Bo fell silent.
After several moments, he stopped walking altogether and slowly sniffed the air.
"...There might actually be one."
He turned toward the north.
"About ten miles from here."
"A swamp."
"The place reeks of metal and poison. Twenty years ago I fought a beast there that spat crystallized venom."
Arthev smiled.
"That sounds exactly like what we're looking for."
---
The Amethyst Swamp
The swamp looked more like a wasteland than a wetland.
Purple water bubbled sluggishly beneath thick layers of poisonous gas. Trees stood frozen in time, their trunks petrified into dull gray stone after centuries of exposure to corrosive toxins.
Even the ground cracked beneath every step.
Dugu Yan wrinkled her nose.
"This place is revolting."
Dugu Bo looked around comfortably.
"I've always liked it."
She stared at him.
"Grandpa... your standards for beautiful scenery are deeply concerning."
Before he could answer....
BOOM!
The swamp exploded.
A towering serpent burst from the mire, sending toxic water raining across the clearing.
It possessed four muscular limbs tipped with jagged claws, while brilliant violet scales shimmered like polished amethyst beneath the dim sunlight. Crystal spikes crowned its triangular head, and every breath released clouds of glittering purple dust.
The creature stretched nearly fifteen meters long.
Arthev's eyes immediately narrowed.
"Amethyst Crystal Viper."
"Sub-dragon bloodline.Earth and Poison attributes."
He observed its aura for only a moment before nodding.
"Approximately 8,800 hundred years."
Dugu Bo smiled.
"Perfect."
The Viper roared and fired dozens of crystal spikes.
Before they had traveled even a meter, emerald poison erupted around Dugu Bo.
Nine soul rings rose silently beneath his feet.
The incoming spikes dissolved into green smoke.
The Viper instinctively tried to retreat.
Too late.
Emerald poison surged across the swamp like a tidal wave, wrapping around the enormous serpent from every direction.
The beast roared, smashing its tail into the ground hard enough to split the marsh.
Crystal pillars erupted beneath Dugu Bo.
He simply flicked a finger.
Every pillar shattered.
The Viper struggled violently, tearing apart trees and sending mud flying in every direction, but the gap between an eight-thousand-year soul beast and a Titled Douluo was simply too great.
Within seconds, its movements slowed.
Then stopped.
Dugu Bo dispersed his poison.
The soul beast collapsed into the swamp with a thunderous splash, breathing weakly but still alive.
He stepped aside.
"Yan-yan. Finish it."
Dugu Yan nodded.
Her third soul ring lit up.
"Third Soul Skill: Violet Venom."
A concentrated stream of emerald poison shot directly into the beast's open jaws.
The Amethyst Crystal Viper convulsed violently.
Its crystal scales darkened.
Black veins spread throughout its body before the enormous beast finally went limp.
Silence returned.
A deep purple soul ring slowly rose above the corpse.
Its color was so dark it was almost black.
Eight thousand eight hundred years.
Dugu Yan sat cross-legged before the corpse.
Taking a steady breath, she guided the soul ring toward herself.
The Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor appeared behind her, majestic and regal. Unlike most soul masters, there was no violent struggle.
The immortal herbs had already transformed her body.
The ring's violent energy was absorbed by the Emperor Serpent, refined, and gently guided through her meridians.
Thirty minutes passed.
Then she opened her eyes.
Yellow.Yellow.Purple.Purple.
The final ring was so dark it resembled black jade.
Dugu Bo couldn't hide his anticipation.
"Well?"
Dugu Yan slowly stood.
A strange smile spread across her face.
"It feels..."
She clenched her fist.
"...solid."
Arthev nodded.
"Show us."
She faced a grove of petrified trees.
Her fourth soul ring illuminated the swamp.
"Fourth Soul Skill: Jade Emperor Crystal Prison!"
She snapped her fingers.
The poisonous mist surrounding her expanded in every direction, swallowing the entire grove.
Nothing happened.
Then
CRACK!
The emerald mist abruptly condensed.
Not into liquid.
Into crysta solid.
Towering jade spikes burst from every direction, weaving together into an immense prison of translucent venom. Razor-sharp pillars erupted through the petrified trees, while countless crystalline thorns spread across the ground like blooming flowers.
The entire grove became a beautiful, lethal cage.
Dugu Bo stared in astonishment.
"It... froze the poison?"
Arthev shook his head.
"No."
He picked up a fallen branch and lightly touched one of the crystals.
The branch hissed.
Within seconds, it dissolved into bubbling sludge.
"It changed its state."
He looked toward Dugu Yan.
"Gas occupies space."
"Solid defines space."
"She compressed every poisonous particle into crystalline venom. It doesn't simply imprison an opponent."
"It pierces them. It poisons them."
"And the longer they remain trapped..."
He glanced at the liquefied remains of the branch.
"...the faster they dissolve."
Dugu Yan waved her hand.
The enormous crystal prison crumbled into emerald mist before flowing back into her body.
Only green sludge remained where the stone forest had once stood.
Dugu Bo let out a slow breath.
"A Control-type masterpiece..."
He looked at the devastated battlefield before turning to Arthev.
"Area denial. Battlefield control. Armor penetration. Lethal poison.One soul skill..."
"...and all four are combined."
He laughed, shaking his head in disbelief.
"I've spent decades studying poison."
"And today, a kid taught me there's still an entirely different way to use it."
Arthev simply smiled.
To be continued...