A Soul Douluo was already a rare powerhouse, and Old Snake had actually assassinated one?
Dugu Feng was shocked.
"Your ambition is good. Focus on cultivation. Survival comes first!" Dugu Feng encouraged.
Little Snake's expression was calm. In the Dugu clan, living was the greatest honor.
As long as one lived long enough, strength would naturally come.
"I need to cultivate. Even though I haven't experienced outbreaks yet, I must prepare for them!"
He quickly packed away the food box and left.
Dugu Feng followed.
For half a year, one of his small joys was watching Little Snake train.
They reached the training ground, which was a courtyard filled with trees and plants. It resembled a simulated environment, though the oddly shaped trees and bright flowers were clearly poisonous.
The moment they arrived, Little Snake entered martial soul possession. His Jade Phosphor Serpent manifested.
His already short body became even thinner. His green eyes sharpened, exuding a cold aura.
Most striking was his face. Green diamond-shaped scales appeared on his jaw and cheeks, forming a mask-like pattern.
It was completely different from Dugu Yan, whose martial soul possession turned her legs into a serpent tail.
"Jade Phosphor Violet Poison!"
Little Snake's eyes shifted from green to violet, and the scales on his face glowed faint purple.
With a sharp hiss, he spewed out a thick cloud of violet mist.
The poison spread quickly, covering the training ground.
The mist thinned as it expanded, becoming harder to detect, harder to defend against.
Little Snake's eyes gleamed. He guided the mist with soul power, directing it like a weapon.
Dugu Feng sensed the haze. Even though it was faint, its stench was nauseating.
The mist moved forward like a barrier, filling every corner of the courtyard.
Any opponent inside would have no escape.
This was the Jade Phosphor Serpent's fighting method at low levels.
Without precise control, it relied on wide-area coverage.
At this first stage, the poison was expelled by mouth, then shaped with soul power.
Little Snake was just over ten years old, already at rank seventeen. His cultivation speed was not slow.
He was the perfect example of an attack-type soul master. His first soul skill was the Jade Phosphor Violet Poison.
The Serpent Branch, like Dugu Yan's, was control-type. Their first two skills were buffs, and only the third was an attack skill. But the Poison Branch began with offense.
Little Snake was practicing, hoping to reach the second stage.
This was releasing poison through the hands, sharp and swift like blades.
He tried over and over, but never succeeded.
Still, his persistence was impressive. He continued until his soul power was exhausted.
"Young Master, Old Snake says persistence is the key. I will master it.
We are the Attack Path. Our first ring must be a Jade Phosphor Serpent to strengthen venom. Only when I can release poison through my hands like swords, killing unseen, will I be worthy of being called strong."
Sitting cross-legged to recover soul power, he explained his understanding of the martial soul.
Dugu Feng thought to himself that Little Snake really was obsessed with killing.
His thoughts wandered to Tyrant Poison, the ultimate skill of the Poison Branch, the very technique Dugu Shuo believed would restore their glory.
In his memories, Dugu Shuo had never succeeded.
To form Tyrant Poison required five soul rings from deadly venomous beasts, fused together.
But each fusion multiplied its power. The problem was whether the soul master could endure it.
"What will you choose for your second soul ring?" Dugu Feng suddenly asked.
"Another Jade Phosphor Serpent. My first three rings will all be Jade Phosphor Serpents.
That way I can evolve the Jade Phosphor Crimson Poison, which attacks the enemy's spirit.
Only with my fourth ring will I choose a soul beast with wide-range, buff, or flight abilities."
His answer was calm and logical.
Dugu Feng understood. Only the clan leader's line cultivated Tyrant Poison. For the others, Crimson Poison was already powerful enough, so they focused on raw offense.
As for him, since his father had placed him with Old Snake and Little Snake, his first ring would likely also be a Jade Phosphor Serpent.
But from the second ring onward, he would need other poisonous beasts to begin mixing toxins. The result would be stronger poison.
His anticipation grew. Just how terrifying was Tyrant Poison, for Dugu Shuo to pin such hope on it?
Dugu Bo's Serpent Emperor poison alone could wipe out a city.
Then what about Tyrant Poison?
What about if a Title Douluo cast it?
It would mean killing unseen, controlling life and death.
But before that, he had to strengthen the Pill Pearl. Only then could he endure mixed poisons.
He resolved to eat more, two snakes a day, to provide more energy for the pearl.
Half a year had filled one-fifth. With another year and a half before martial soul awakening, he had to make the pearl brim with power.
He sat cross-legged, his breath steady.
Inside, he focused on the pearl. Warmth spread from it, flowing through his limbs, then cycling back.
It was like the inner core of a soul beast, nourishing and strengthening him.
So what if the Dugu family cultivated like snakes? He would surpass them. He would become more snake than snake itself.
In Old Snake and Little Snake's eyes, Dugu Feng ate more than adults yet barely moved.
He never exercised.
Like a serpent, he hunted, ate, and then coiled up in stillness.
Every bit of energy went into the Pill Pearl.
Only during outbreaks would he feed again.
Even Dugu Shuo had come to observe him.
For days, father and Old Snake studied him, concluding that his precocious outbreaks meant his bloodline was simply too strong. The Jade Phosphor Serpent had already reshaped his body and spirit.
His growth proved it. By the time he turned five, he already stood at one meter thirty.
Though lean, he was undeniably a child of the Dugu family.
Old Snake marveled at the strength of his bloodline.
But in truth, it was the Pill Pearl. It was hardening his body and fueling his growth.
Near his sixth birthday, Old Snake tested him. He fed a century-old Mandala Snake soul beast with Dugu Feng's blood.
The result was immediate. The snake died on the spot.
Such was the venom within him.
Everyone now waited with bated breath for Dugu Feng's martial soul awakening.