Dugu Yan smiled faintly, her jade-green dragon tail swaying behind her, her sharp, crystal-like claws flexing lightly with a cold gleam.
"This young lady accepts your challenge," she said with a playful grin. "Come then, let your big sister see your true strength."
As she spoke, her martial soul possession flared fully—three soul rings, two yellow and one purple, rose beneath her. Though her martial soul had only just evolved from serpent to dragon, the oppressive dragon might was already present.
The instant her rings appeared, a terrifying aura of dragon's pressure surged toward Oscar. Yet Oscar stood steady, azure jade sword in hand, unmoved as though a blade itself—utterly unshaken by her coercion.
"Careful," Oscar warned softly. Taking two swift steps forward, he thrust with his jade sword, sword energy slicing through the air toward Dugu Yan.
Dugu Yan merely smiled, knowing he was holding back. Still, she would force him to fight seriously with her strength.
Her two yellow rings lit up at once—not for poison mist, but for something new. With her martial soul's evolution, her first two soul skills had undergone beneficial mutations—no, evolutions.
"First Soul Skill: Jade-Scaled Dragon Claw!"
Her first skill, once a control-type ability, had now transformed into an attack amplification. Activating it caused her dragon claws to swell to more than twice their normal size, her attack and speed increasing by 50%.
"Second Soul Skill: Jade-Scaled Dragon Armor!"
Her second skill had also changed. Emerald crystal armor condensed over her body, covering everything from head to tail. Her defense skyrocketed—her overall durability doubled, and she even lost her sense of pain, becoming a relentless weapon of slaughter unhindered by injury.
With these two skills, her amplifications now applied to herself, and their power was far greater than they had ever been when she supported others.
Her speed surged, her figure blurring into an afterimage as she dodged Oscar's strike and counterattacked from the side.
Her dragon claws gleamed, beautiful yet deadly. With her martial soul's evolution, her close-combat power had now surpassed even typical assault-type soul masters of her level.
And the scariest part—her claws still carried the Jade Phosphor Serpent's poison. Any same-level soul master struck by her would instantly be invaded by venom.
Now, not only had her melee abilities become monstrous, but her difficulty to deal with had multiplied.
Boosted by her first skill, her attack speed was terrifying. In the blink of an eye, her gleaming claws were already at Oscar's throat.
Yet Oscar's reflexes were sharp. His sword flicked upward, deflecting her strike before slashing back with fierce sword qi.
Dugu Yan met the blade with her claws. Thanks to her second skill's nullification of pain, the force of the slash didn't faze her in the slightest. Her claws darted from cunning angles, constantly probing for an opening against Oscar.
But Oscar was a seasoned fighter. Even with her sudden power increase, she still found no way through. He wielded only the basic strikes of his Frostmoon Sword Art, never once employing a true sword technique.
Because of this restraint, the two remained evenly matched. Even when Oscar used simple sword moves, Dugu Yan's armor let her block them.
Her defense boost of 100% doubled her toughness. Combined with her armor's own resilience, her melee strength had skyrocketed. Once just a poison-type controller, she now fought like a warrior in close combat.
The two clashed dozens of times. Then, suddenly, Dugu Yan hooked Oscar's jade sword with both claws, immobilizing it. Her tail whipped around, striking at his lower body—aimed squarely at the vital spot three inches below the navel.
Oscar froze, speechless. He knew she was only aiming there because she trusted his defenses, but still… being targeted there by his own girlfriend was a strange feeling.
He reacted quickly. Though his sword was caught, he instantly burned soul power to condense another jade sword, blocking the tail strike.
But Dugu Yan's assault wasn't finished. Though her tail was blocked, the sharp tip was already pressed toward his chest. Soul power surged—and a burst of virulent emerald poison mist exploded from her tail, engulfing Oscar.
This was her third soul skill: Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor's Venom. The ability itself had not changed—it still unleashed her innate poison, but now she could release it from any part of her body.
It was a perfectly executed follow-up. She knew Oscar could block her tail—but not the spreading poison.
Unfortunately for her, Oscar's body was already immune to all toxins. Even if he absorbed all of her venom, nothing would happen—at most, he'd feel a bit lightheaded.
Only someone like Dugu Bo could still trouble him with poison, simply because of the overwhelming difference in soul power.
As Oscar stood amidst the mist, Dugu Yan released his sword, laughing brightly.
"Xiao Ao, how was that? If this were anyone else, they'd already be on their knees begging me for the antidote."
Oscar swept his sword, sword qi dispersing the toxic haze, and chuckled.
"Not bad at all. And now that your Jade Phosphor Serpent has evolved into a dragon, your first and second skills have become amplifications. That's an incredible boost to your strength."
"Though you've lost your group-support function, for you personally, these skills make your combat power skyrocket."
Hearing his praise, Dugu Yan's smile turned radiant.
"Hehe, all thanks to you. Now I'm both assault and control type—and with my second skill boosting my defenses, I'm practically becoming an all-rounder!"
Oscar shook his head wryly.
"Don't get ahead of yourself. You're only level 40. Your amplifications are strong, but they're balanced. Compared to specialized defense-types, you're still behind."
But he softened his words:
"Still, against most opponents, your balanced growth makes you unpredictable. You can rush in like an assault-type, then suddenly poison them like a control-type. Unless they immediately surrender and beg you for an antidote… they won't stand a chance."
Dugu Yan laughed, finding his words funny. As if I'm that bad… I'm just making the best use of my skills.
Still, she had to admit—her third skill had landed on Oscar. If it had been anyone else, even with four soul rings, taking that poison head-on would mean only one ending: kneeling to plead for her mercy.
Against peers, unless they could fly and avoid her entirely, or had extreme detoxification abilities, she was already close to invincible.