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"Forget it." Teacher Zhang waved his hand. "Next, Li Wei. Zhu Zhuqing, you attack this time."
A girl named Li Wei stepped onto the field; her spirit was the Wind-Shadow Leopard, a Level 32 Agility Attack System. Her speed was much faster than Wang Shuo's; when her first soul skill "Wind-Shadow Step" was activated, she pulled out three afterimages.
Zhu Zhuqing moved.
She didn't use Hell Stab; she simply charged forward. Her speed wasn't fast, but her footwork was eerie—every step landed in the blind spot of Li Wei's movement, and every change in direction caught the gap in her power delivery.
Three seconds.
Li Wei's afterimages dissipated, and she was already pinned to the ground by Zhu Zhuqing, her wrist locked behind her back.
"Do you concede?" Zhu Zhuqing asked, her voice calm.
"...I concede."
Releasing her grip, Zhu Zhuqing stepped back. She could feel the gazes around her—surprise, curiosity, and even some hostility.
Teacher Zhang looked at her for a long time, then said: "You don't need to attend today's class anymore."
Zhu Zhuqing's heart sank.
"Go over there." Teacher Zhang pointed to the obstacle area at the corner of the training grounds. "Practice on your own. For this afternoon's combat simulation, you will be the referee."
There were few people in the obstacle area. Zhu Zhuqing chose the most complex route and began running it over and over.
She needed an outlet.
The power within her body was restless. The memories of last night—those shameful, chaotic, yet fatally pleasurable images—churned in her mind. She ran faster and faster, soul power surging through her meridians, those "nodes" cleared by Mo Bai feeling like red-hot branding irons.
Jump, flip, roll, pivot.
Sweat soaked her uniform, clinging to her body. Her breathing grew more rapid, but her thoughts remained exceptionally clear. She could feel it—every inch of muscle, every wisp of soul power was obeying her commands. That sense of control fascinated her. Her full breasts bounced slightly with each powerful movement, the fabric of her uniform growing damp and semi-translucent against her smooth pale skin.
Then, she heard clapping.
Very soft, but clear.
Zhu Zhuqing stopped and turned.
Under the shade of the trees at the edge of the training grounds, a girl was leaning.
She looked to be eighteen or nineteen, tall, with deep green long hair loosely tied behind her head with a silver ribbon. Her skin was very white, almost translucent, revealing faint bluish veins. Her eyes were dark green, like two emeralds soaked in venom. She had an elegant yet dangerous curvaceous figure—full, prominent breasts that strained against her faculty uniform, a slender waist, and long, shapely legs. A faint, scale-like mark on her left face extended from the corner of her eye to her jaw, adding a seductive yet poisonous charm to her beautiful features.
"Nice footwork," the girl spoke, her voice somewhat raspy with a lazy tone. "It's just too 'tight.' Like a strained string that could snap at any moment."
Zhu Zhuqing said nothing, just watched her.
"Dugu Yan," the girl introduced herself. "A senior student at the academy, and the vice-captain of the Heaven Dou Team."
Dugu Yan. Zhu Zhuqing knew that name—or rather, she knew her grandfather's name. Poison Douluo Dugu Bo, the only Title Douluo-level poison spirit master in the Heaven Dou Empire.
"Is something the matter?" Zhu Zhuqing asked.
"Just came to see the new genius." Dugu Yan walked over, her steps somewhat unsteady. She stopped three paces away from Zhu Zhuqing, her dark green eyes looking her up and down. "Level 29, with footwork stronger than many Soul Elders. How did you train?"
"Practiced a lot," Zhu Zhuqing said.
"Practiced a lot?" Dugu Yan laughed, the smile holding no warmth. "I've seen many people who 'practiced a lot.' They practice until they die and still don't reach your level."
Her gaze landed on Zhu Zhuqing's waist. "Your way of delivering power is very special. It's not taught by the academy, nor is it the style of any clan. It looks more like... you were 'kneaded' over again from head to toe."
Zhu Zhuqing's fingers tightened slightly.
"Who kneaded you?" Dugu Yan asked, taking a step forward.
A faint, sweet-metallic scent drifted over. Zhu Zhuqing instinctively stepped back, but Dugu Yan was faster—her hand had already rested on Zhu Zhuqing's shoulder.
Ice-cold.
Like a snake.
"Relax," Dugu Yan said, her fingers sliding from Zhu Zhuqing's shoulder to her collarbone. "I'm just curious. After all, someone who can 'knead' a Level 29 Grand Soul Master into this... that person must be incredible."
Her fingertip stopped on Zhu Zhuqing's carotid artery. There, beneath the skin, soul power was flowing in an exceptionally active state.
"And," Dugu Yan's voice grew lower, almost a whisper, "In your soul power... there is the scent of someone else."
Zhu Zhuqing violently threw off her hand, backed away three steps, and instantly possessed her spirit. Her cat ears stood up, and her pupils contracted into thin lines. Her long black tail lashed behind her.
"Angry?" Dugu Yan tilted her head, the scale marks on her face shimmering in the sunlight. "Don't be nervous, I just..."
She didn't finish her sentence.
Because her body suddenly swayed.
It was slight, but Zhu Zhuqing saw it—Dugu Yan's pupils dilated in that instant, a flicker of abnormal black passing through the dark green.
"Cough..." Dugu Yan covered her mouth and coughed. When she lowered her hand, there was a smear of dark red blood in her palm.
Her face became even whiter, white as paper.
"Poison backlash?" Zhu Zhuqing asked instinctively.
Dugu Yan snapped her head up, her gaze becoming sharp. "You know?"
"Guessed," Zhu Zhuqing said. "The Jade Phosphor Serpent spirit carries innate poison. The stronger the poison, the heavier the backlash."
Dugu Yan stared at her for a long time. Then, she laughed, a smile carrying a certain self-deprecating flavor.
"Good guess." She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. "A few days every month are like this. I've gotten used to it."
But she couldn't stand steady anymore.
Her body swayed again, more obviously this time. She reached out to lean against a nearby tree trunk but missed, her whole body pitching forward.
Zhu Zhuqing instinctively rushed over and caught her.
So light.
Dugu Yan's body was impossibly light, like an empty shell. Through the thin uniform, she could feel the temperature of her skin—it was terrifyingly hot. Dugu Yan's full breasts pressed softly against Zhu Zhuqing's arm as she supported her.
"Let go..." Dugu Yan gasped, yet her hands tightly gripped Zhu Zhuqing's sleeve. "Don't touch me... the poison will..."
"I've already touched you," Zhu Zhuqing said.
She had indeed touched her. Her palm was pressed against Dugu Yan's arm, where the skin was oozing fine, dark green beads of sweat. The sweat touched Zhu Zhuqing's skin, bringing a stinging and numbing sensation.
But only for a moment.