"Why exactly are you helping me?"
In a courtyard halfway up the mountain of Heaven Dou Imperial Academy.
Dugu Bo calmly sipped his tea, dressed in a fitted suit, scrutinizing Su Wen with suspicion.
He had clearly decided to come out of seclusion.
Su Wen might have struggled alone in the outside world, but having spent so many years in a secret realm, by the time he emerged, everything had changed—friends dead, family gone—so he had to step up.
Dugu Bo had always been loyal and righteous. Having received such kindness, how could he hide in a corner and play dead?
Even if Su Wen had offended Spirit Hall, Dugu Bo would still back him up.
But what puzzled him was that this kid had been far too kind—helping him detoxify for free, identifying the best immortal herbs in the garden, helping his martial soul evolve, and now even training his granddaughter.
"Wait, don't tell me you've taken a fancy to my granddaughter?!" Dugu Bo's eyes widened.
"What are you thinking?" Su Wen shook his head, put an arm around Dugu Bo's shoulder, and smiled, "I just want you to win for once."
"Win? When have I ever lost?" Dugu Bo blushed, a bit embarrassed.
"I heard you offended Spirit Hall?" Seeing Su Wen unwilling to reveal the truth, Dugu Bo quickly changed the subject.
"Aren't you a recluse? How'd you hear about that?" Su Wen glanced at him sidelong.
"Heh, you old thing, you've been in a secret realm so long you've lost touch with the continent. Don't look down on me for hiding away—my network's still there… Right now, there's a plaque hanging at Spirit Hall's gate: 'Su Wen Not Allowed Inside.'"
Su Wen: "..."
His mouth twitched.
He really didn't know that.
"Don't worry. If Spirit Hall's experts come to Heaven Dou Empire, with me here, they'll think twice." Dugu Bo patted his chest.
"They'll fear you?" Su Wen raised an eyebrow.
"After my martial soul's evolution, I've broken through to Rank 92. You're strong, but don't underestimate this Poison Douluo!" Dugu Bo said proudly.
"..."
The scene was silent for a moment.
Their eyes flickered, and in the next instant, both teleported into midair.
Dense, dark green poison mist erupted from Dugu Bo, gathering above his head into a massive green serpent, hissing menacingly. This was Dugu Bo's true martial soul form, its scales shining with a poisonous gleam.
"What a fine Jade Phosphor Serpent." Su Wen smiled.
In a flash, he unleashed tremendous power, turning his hand into a blade and slashing toward the serpent.
A faint golden pattern appeared across his body—this was the Golden Behemoth's trait: ultimate gold, its bloodline granting immense strength and defense.
"Hiss~!!"
The giant serpent wailed and spat a cloud of dark green poisonous mist at Su Wen.
"Buzz…"
Su Wen was momentarily dazed.
It felt just like facing Ye Xishui's Death God Tower—a sensation of one's soul being forcibly torn from the body. It was all too familiar… But of course, Dugu Bo's counterattack, however vicious, was nothing compared to the Death God Tower.
"You alright?!"
Dugu Bo returned to human form, looking worried.
"I'm fine."
With the body of the Golden Behemoth, not even ten Dugu Bo's spraying poison together could cause harm…
Su Wen pondered for a moment and nodded, "Corroding the soul, dissolving soul power? That's a good direction for your poison to evolve."
He was already considering: if he really wanted to cultivate Dugu Yan—or even Dugu Bo—which godhood should he guide them toward…?
Was there a Poison God in the Divine Realm?
Probably not.
But honestly, Dugu Bo was a man of true loyalty. Helping him become a god would be a win-win.
The best fit would be one of the Seven Deadly Sins, or perhaps stealing Zhou Weiqing's Strength God.
"All that for a friendly spar?" Dugu Bo grumbled, holding his aching back.
"Old poison, don't you want a god position?" Su Wen's words left Dugu Bo stunned, his back pain forgotten.
"Huh?"
"Godhood." Su Wen grinned. "If you ask, I'll help you become a god."
…
A pitch-black vortex quietly spun inside Su Wen's body. The world's elemental energy surged into him, devoured by the soul core like a black hole. It was a glutton, tirelessly absorbing and converting spiritual energy into soul power.
In this world, cultivation was simply absorbing the world's elemental energy, using one's martial soul as a vessel, and converting it into soul power.
Talent was all about the quality of your "martial soul" (the vessel) and your innate soul power, which determined your future absorption rate.
So the emergence of a soul core was like an industrial revolution for this continent.
This world did change—it wasn't stagnant for millennia. But under the eyes of the Divine Realm, development was constrained. Anything that might threaten a God King was strangled in the cradle.
"Huff…"
As Su Wen exhaled a turbid breath,
Dugu Bo slowly recovered from his daze.
"What terrifying absorption! What a monstrous thing!" He gulped, finally managing to speak. He'd thought Su Wen was joking about making him a god, but seeing this, he realized Su Wen had pulled out a trump card!
"If I could condense one of those…" Dugu Bo's eyes shone. His cultivation speed would at least triple, maybe more! Even his strength would skyrocket!
"You can forget about a soul core of this level," Su Wen laughed and shook his head.
"To condense a soul core, you need both a strong body and powerful spirit. Do you have either?"
"I…" Dugu Bo blushed. "Does poison count?"
"Not at all."
"But with your strength, you're more than qualified to condense a soul core." Su Wen shook his head.
A thousand years later, Title Douluos would be "everywhere"—several times more than now.
That's because advancing to Title Douluo would become much easier. In the past, one had to rely entirely on their martial soul and grind through the bottleneck—so even the "weakest Title Douluo" like Dugu Bo would be a true genius compared to the future.
After a millennium, the requirements for Title Douluo would be lowered. It would be much cruder—once you condensed a soul core, you became a Title Douluo. As a result, most future Title Douluos understood their martial souls far less than someone like Dugu Bo from the present era.
And that was an advantage.
To become a Title Douluo in this age, then condense a soul core—you could utterly crush your peers, even rivaling "Evil Soul Masters" or original martial soul users.