"Hmph!"
Tang Hao let out a cold snort. An even more immense pressure of soul power descended, crushing down hard on Poison Douluo.
Dugu Bo trembled violently. The soul power he had been gathering instantly dissipated. Cold sweat beaded across his forehead despite himself. He turned to Lin Fan with an expression of both anger and dread.
"What exactly do you want?" he asked.
Lin Fan smiled pleasantly.
"Didn't I already say? I simply want Poison Douluo to join us. Or… I could pay a little visit to your sweet, obedient granddaughter. That wouldn't be bad either."
Though Lin Fan's face wore a cheerful smile, to Poison Douluo, it was utterly sinister—like a dagger hidden within laughter.
Dugu Bo shut his eyes, took a deep breath, and asked in a trembling voice:
"If I agree to join you… will you let me live?"
Lin Fan chuckled.
"That's a strange way to put it. I merely wish to offer Poison Douluo a better home, a brighter path. You see, I hate forcing anyone to do things against their will."
Dugu Bo's face twitched. His brow tightened, his expression strained.
If it weren't for Tang Hao standing nearby, his cold, focused gaze watching him like a hawk, Dugu Bo would've already lashed out and struck Lin Fan.
"Hmph!"
Letting out a reluctant grunt, Dugu Bo finally spoke in a voice tinged with frustration:
"Fine. I agree. I'll join you.
But know this—I will never do anything that betrays my conscience or the laws of Heaven."
Lin Fan's lips curled into a strange smile.
"Of course. I'm a man of peace, a lover of life. Why would I ever make a powerhouse like you do something so despicable?"
Dugu Bo nodded, half-suspicious, half-convinced.
"Since I've agreed… may I go now?"
But just as he was about to turn, Lin Fan stretched out an arm to stop him.
"What's the rush, Poison Douluo?
Surely, you still desire greater power?"
Dugu Bo sneered.
"Heh… At my age, with one foot already in the grave, strength is meaningless.
It's just an illusion now."
In his youth, the idea might have tempted him. But now, Dugu Bo had only two priorities left in life: his granddaughter—and vengeance.
Lin Fan wasn't surprised by his answer. He merely gestured toward Tang Hao.
"Are you sure? Don't you want to heal, to grow stronger again—to rise like a phoenix from the ashes… and take your revenge?"
Dugu Bo's eyes narrowed slightly. He didn't reply, but his spiritual sense was already sweeping across Tang Hao's body, analyzing him from head to toe.
He had once heard that though Tang Hao had escaped the pursuit of countless experts from Spirit Hall, he'd sustained crippling injuries—so severe that even his lifespan had been drastically shortened. That was the only reason Spirit Hall eventually stopped chasing him.
Yet now?
Tang Hao showed no sign of injury. His aura was not only intact—it was immense. His soul power surged like a roaring tide, even more terrifying than Chrysanthemum Douluo's had ever been.
Could it be…?
A sudden, dangerous thought flickered through Dugu Bo's mind—but he shook his head.
"Impossible," he told himself.
Not even the healing experts of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan could fully restore a Titled Douluo's broken body—much less some unknown boy barely past twenty.
But Lin Fan's voice cut through his doubt:
"Think of your granddaughter.
Think of her mother—slain, unjustly.
You, a noble Titled Douluo, shackled by wounds and age, can only endure the pain in silence."
"Even if you crossed paths with your enemies from Spirit Hall today… can you say with certainty that you'd defeat them?"
"Or would you simply fall where you stood… and leave your granddaughter alone in this cruel world, vulnerable to torment?"
Dugu Bo clenched his fists.
A green light shimmered in his eyes—cold, poisonous, and full of wrath.
With every word Lin Fan spoke, his knuckles turned whiter, his killing intent heavier.
"No…"
Dugu Bo suddenly looked up, fixing Lin Fan with a fierce gaze.
"You can help me grow stronger?"
"Guaranteed satisfaction," Lin Fan replied calmly.
"If you dare lie to me…" Dugu Bo whispered, voice low as a ghost's sigh, "I'll make you wish for death."
Lin Fan smiled without a care.
Whether he actually had the means or not was irrelevant. Even if he did lie, Dugu Bo—once bound to the Zerg—would have no choice but to grit his teeth and endure it.
"Welcome to my world.
Welcome… to the Zerg."
He spread his arms wide.
SKREEEEEE!!!
A chorus of monstrous shrieks rang out.
The ground trembled. The air pulsed with an overwhelming biological hum.
A tidal wave of Zerg surged forward like a black ocean, roaring toward them. Zerglings, Hydralisks, and other twisted bioforms writhed and snapped as they moved—an army of living nightmares.
Even someone as cold-hearted as Dugu Bo found his breath catching in his throat.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
"W-What are these… creatures?"
They resembled soul beasts—but had no soul power. None. Yet their killing aura was suffocating.
"Since when did the Douluo Continent have… monsters like these?"
"And they were hiding just beneath Sunset Forest?!"
No wonder Lin Fan knew so much about him.
His every movement was likely already exposed to these Zerg.
Lin Fan watched Dugu Bo's astonished expression and nodded in satisfaction.
Yes…
Shock breeds curiosity.
And curiosity… is the beginning of submission.
"So?" Lin Fan asked with a smile.
"Impressed with the Zerg yet?"
Dugu Bo reflexively nodded—then quickly frowned and scoffed.
"They're just numerous. Numbers alone don't frighten me."
"Even ants, no matter how many there are, are still just ants. With a single breath of my poison, I could raze a city, leave corpses littering ten thousand miles."
Lin Fan didn't argue. He just smiled and led him deeper into the Zerg hive.
In the heart of the vast subterranean cavern stood a fully-formed Zerg hive cluster—an apex Broodmother, towering and pulsing with alien vitality.
Dugu Bo stared, stunned.
"A structure… built by beasts?!
Not even the Supreme Pontiff's Palace in Spirit City feels this… monumental."
Eyes wide, caught between awe and unease, Dugu Bo followed Lin Fan inside.
What greeted him there—
Floating in mid-air was a blood-red ten-thousand-year soul ring, thick with power. Its aura was overwhelming, its glow mesmerizing.
And woven faintly through the ring's crimson were traces of golden light.
Below it lay the body of a soul beast.
Dugu Bo's pupils contracted violently.
"Titan Giant Ape!"
It was the very creature that had forced him to retreat earlier—its soul ring now floating quietly above its corpse.
"This... this can't be!"
He whispered, dazed.
Lin Fan chuckled softly.
"So? Do you like your gift, Poison Douluo?"
"…Gift?" Dugu Bo asked automatically.
Then blinked.
"Wait. Did you say—gift?!"
"That's right," Lin Fan replied warmly.
"A small token to welcome you to our cause."
Truthfully, Lin Fan had been wondering how to make use of such a rare soul ring—wasting it would've been a shame.
Then Dugu Bo had appeared. Perfect timing.
With his body restructured through Zerg bioengineering, Dugu Bo would soon be able to absorb all kinds of energy—soul rings included.
And once he accepted the ring, his loyalty would be sealed. His strength would skyrocket, and he'd become a blade in Lin Fan's hand.
As for why he didn't give it to Tang Hao?
No natural soul ring, not even a 100,000-year one, could match what Zerg-forged energy rings could provide.
Tang Hao was the Clear Sky Douluo.
Naturally, only the greatest creations would be worthy of his name.
****
If you want to support me or read advanced chapters (21+), consider checking out my pat.
patr*on.com/Salsita2k