"Feng'er is right—let's add poison on top of poison. AsI said before, anyone who dares scheme against my Dugu Clan must be ready to face annihilation!
Wu Ling, Old Snake, Old Scorpion, the rest of you—assist me. I will unleash our clan's ultimate art: the Tyrant's Poison!"
Dugu Shuo's eyes burned with manic light.
"Yes, Patriarch!"
Aside from Little Snake and Dugu Feng, the seven poison soul masters all responded in low voices.
To witness their Patriarch display the clan's supreme secret art - this was their honor!
The release of the Tyrant's Poison was not as grandiose as Dugu Feng imagined.
Instead, it was silent as falling rain.
Dugu Shuo merely entered Martial Spirit Possession. His first four spirit rings flashed, one after another.
Radiant light flowed ceaselessly around his body.
Then, Old Snake, Old Scorpion, and the five others pressed their palms onto his shoulders.
Dugu Feng saw it clearly, each of their poisons was being funnelled into his father's body.
"The Tyrant's Poison requires at least a Soul King to use. The first five spirit rings must come from five venomous beasts: snake, scorpion, centipede, spider, and toad. Their poisons must be fused together.
But even now, I have only added four. If I dare fuse the fifth, my body will collapse instantly.
This time, to wield the Tyrant's Poison, I still need the strength of the clan to support me."
Dugu Shuo's voice carried a faint self-mockery as he glanced at his son.
"Father, I will master the Tyrant's Poison!" Dugu Feng's eyes were fierce. He knew his father was deliberately goading him.
Dugu Shuo nodded, satisfied.
But already pain twisted his face.
The diamond-shaped scale at his brow glowed brighter and brighter, as if about to explode.
All the toxins in his body converged there.
Until at last, a ripple of light spread outward—silent, invisible.
Centered on the carriage, it faded into the night without a trace.
Dugu Shuo's eyes hardened. Too long had the Dugu Clan's name lain dormant. Too many had forgotten their dread.
After tonight, who would still dare look down on them?
Dugu Feng, Old Scorpion, Old Snake—all of them stared expectantly.
Just how terrifying was the Tyrant's Poison?
On the Elephant Sect's carriage.
Fourteen towering figures sat, cramped even in the oversized vehicle.
At that moment, every one of them produced three black pills and placed one into their mouths.
"The first antidote pill, take now. The other two, hide in your teeth. Once the fight begins, swallow them immediately. These are gifts from Spirit Hall. With them, we'll have a quarter-hour of immunity to the Dugu Clan's poison.
And without poison, aren't they nothing more than sheep to the slaughter?"
Hu Yanzhen's face twisted into a grin, full of confidence.
The Elephant Sect soul masters below felt no pressure.
With a Soul Douluo as sect master, three Soul Sages, four Soul Emperors, two Soul Kings, and four Soul Elders—such a force was more than enough to crush the Dugu Clan.
The only thing they feared was poison.
But with Spirit Hall's pills, what was there to fear?
"Hu Yanhong, you'll be the one to 'fall poisoned.' When Dugu Shuo comes to treat you, strike first. The others follow at once.
Catch them unprepared, and we will wipe the Dugu Clan out in one stroke!"
Hu Yanzhen's eyes gleamed as he gave his command.
"Leave it to me, Sect Master," Hu Yan Hong smirked, his fleshy face nearly hiding his beady eyes.
"Ah—poison…!"
With a dramatic wail, Hu Yan Hong rolled his eyes white and let out a piercing scream.
In the night, it echoed loud and clear.
Almost at the same time, two more screams erupted—one from the Thunderclap Academy's carriage, another from the Holy Dragon Sect's.
"Who dares?!"
In a flash, Yu Luomian soared into the air above the Thunderclap carriage.
A blazing blue light burst from his brow, like a miniature sun splitting the darkness.
Crackling violet-blue thunder-serpents coiled into the sky, surrounding the entire convoy.
Eight spirit rings rose beneath his feet—two yellow, two purple, four black—shining brilliantly.
"You think to strike at my Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan? Courting death!"
His voice cracked like thunder.
Ge Ying's poisoning hadn't stirred him. But now that his clan's dignity was challenged, his fury roared.
Yet deep down, suspicion gnawed at him. Could it really be the Dugu Clan?
To poison so silently—few could manage it.
Even if they had no motive, his mind still circled back to them.
And he wasn't alone—everyone in the convoy was thinking the same.
"Big brother insisted I come this time… Did he already know something was amiss?" Yu Luomian narrowed his eyes, growing wary.
Normally, such meetings didn't require someone of his standing to attend.
"Dugu Shuo!" Tuoba Xi's furious voice rang out. "Still dare deny it? My men are poisoned! Heal them at once, or the Holy Dragon Sect will go to war with the Dugu Clan!"
"Patriarch Dugu, someone has poisoned us in secret. My Hu Yanhong is afflicted. I ask that you save him!"
Hu Yanzhen's voice followed, urgent and full of false grief.
The Dugu Clan's carriage door swung open.
Dugu Shuo stepped out slowly, cold and composed, with Dugu Feng and the others at his back.
The Tyrant's Poison had not yet erupted! Only because he held it firmly in check.
The fusion of five venoms, unleashed from the brow—this was more than mere toxins. It was a soul skill in itself, fully bound to the caster's will.
If he had guessed their scheme, then naturally he would let them choke on their own ploy.
Dugu Shuo was in no rush.
"Patriarch Dugu, please, save him!" Hu Yanzhen took a few hurried steps closer, eager, almost trembling.
Closer, closer.
That cold, expressionless man—how he despised him.
Soon, he thought. Soon I'll tear you apart!
The Elephant Sect's carriage was massive. Hu Yan Hong's enormous body lay sprawled at the edge, groaning.
Around him, twelve Elephant Sect soul masters stood ready, already in Martial Spirit Possession.
Their spirit rings flared, dazzling in the night.
The air warped with their combined power.
They looked tense, alert.
But in truth, they were simply waiting for the signal to strike.
"Just now, he was asleep," Hu Yanzhen explained, his voice heavy with grief. "Then suddenly he screamed, exactly the same as Patriarch Ge's son when he was poisoned."
His face was the picture of sorrow, tinged with anger—his acting flawless.
"Oh? Let me take a look."
Dugu Shuo's tone was cold, calm, as he approached.