A red light burst from Lu Yuan's body as he drew his sword, sweeping it in a grand arc. Waves of Sword Qi fanned out one after another from the sword's tip, slicing through the air like blades of wind. Each strike ripped forward and slammed into a massive green serpent that stretched for dozens of meters.
That move — his second spirit ability granted by the hundred-thousand-year spirit ring — was Ride the Wind, Break the Waves!
"The sixth spirit ability — Jade Pho Snake Emperor Venom!"
The voice of Dugu Bo thundered through the forest. His body, transformed into the Jade Snake Emperor, reared high. The enormous serpent's jaws gaped open, unleashing a torrent of thick, green, poisonous mist that surged out like a roaring tide, smothering the incoming Sword Qi in an instant.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
A chain of sharp sounds echoed through the poisonous haze.
Dugu Bo shook his snake head violently. His poisonous mist couldn't corrode the Sword Qi at all.
This kid…
He's gotten this strong already?
A flicker of irritation rippled through him. Dugu Bo might be proud and eccentric, but losing to a junior — that was hard to swallow.
"The second spirit ability — Biphos Breath!"
"The third spirit ability — Biphos Purple Poison!"
A yellow and a purple ring around his massive body flared up together. His serpentine roars shook the trees, and his lantern-sized eyes gleamed with a deadly glow. Purple light surged forth, bursting into a field of shining motes all around Lu Yuan.
"Fireworks and Flowing Clouds!"
Lu Yuan's voice cut through the chaos as he channeled his spirit power into his right arm bone. A scorching aura erupted outward, domineering and fierce, sweeping across a circular area nearly thirty meters wide. The moment the fiery aura expanded, all of Dugu Bo's purple poison mist was devoured in an instant.
"Hiss—" Dugu Bo inhaled sharply.
Not good.
Something's off!
He might be a titled Douluo, but his greatest weapon was poison. If his poison couldn't even touch his opponent, then what was he supposed to fight with? Just swing his tail around?
Still stunned, he looked for Lu Yuan — but the boy had vanished. The powerful aura he had just clashed with disappeared completely from his senses.
Not good!
A chill crawled down Dugu Bo's spine. He felt it — something above him.
He lifted his gaze, only to see that the surrounding poison mist was being drawn upward, back into his own body. And then, a huge black sword appeared right above his head, radiating murderous intent so intense that even his serpent body felt frozen.
The muscles on the top of the snake's head bulged, twitching under the strain. His bright green eyes turned pure white, twin halos blooming from them as his power gathered.
"Medusa's Stare!"
Twin beams of pale light shot out from Dugu Bo's eyes, colliding directly with the descending black sword. The instant they met, a violent wave of heat and wind swept through the entire Sunset Forest.
Then something even stranger happened —
The black giant sword changed.
Its radiant, intangible energy form seemed to petrify under the penetrating light, turning solid and gray, as if carved from stone. The huge gray sword plummeted, stabbing deep into the earth with a thunderous crash.
Rumble!
Half the blade embedded itself into the ground, leaving the terrain split open for hundreds of meters.
"Enough! Stop! If we keep fighting, the entire Sunset Forest will be gone!"
Dugu Bo's figure reappeared from behind the massive stone sword. He looked weary — and very ready for a truce. The old poison master wasn't stupid; continuing this battle would serve neither of them.
He sighed internally. Since when did this little bastard become so terrifying?
Good thing he'd held his tongue earlier about that wager — he'd been ready to swear that if he lost, he'd give up his family name. That would've been a real slap to his old face.
A sound of liquid gulping came from behind him.
"Glug... glug... glug... ahhh!"
Lu Yuan let out a long sigh of satisfaction after taking a hearty drink from his gourd. "Refreshing!"
"Old Poison," he called out cheerfully, "I'm going to check out your medicine garden!"
Before the words had even finished leaving his mouth, he was already a hundred meters away, sprinting toward Dugu Bo's cherished garden.
"Grandfather!"
Dugu Yan's voice carried a hint of reproach and playfulness. "You weren't supposed to fight, and yet you did! You just can't help yourself!"
Dugu Bo's face stiffened. "What? You think I lost?"
He coughed, trying to sound dignified. "If I fought any longer, it might've hurt you girls. Otherwise, I'd have taught that brat a lesson today!"
Dugu Yan tilted her head with a mischievous grin, her eyes curved like crescents. That look made Dugu Bo's beard bristle.
This girl's too happy seeing me embarrassed. Real filial piety, eh?
Still, one thing was clear in his mind — never fight Lu Yuan again. That boy wasn't just fierce; he was a walking disaster in human form.
"The road's too long!" Dugu Bo's mind buzzed with panic as he dashed after Lu Yuan. But when he arrived, his heart nearly stopped.
Lu Yuan had already flattened half the precious medicine garden.
Five years of careful cultivation — gone. The same garden that Lu Yuan had ravaged last time was barely recovering. Now it looked like a battlefield again.
"Old Poison, why are you yelling?" Lu Yuan said casually, stuffing the remaining half-grown medicinal herbs into his Soul Guidance Device. "You can just plant new ones later!"
"You brat!" Dugu Bo's voice trembled with frustration. "You talk like I'll live another hundred years to see them mature again!"
"Grandpa, calm down," Dugu Yan said with a laugh, holding his arm. "You lost the bet, remember? So take it like a man."
"Goose—" Dugu Bo groaned, clutching his chest. "When are you getting married, huh? Your poor grandpa can't wait anymore!"
The ache in his heart deepened. Ever since this Lu Yuan showed up, his sweet, obedient granddaughter had completely switched sides. This little padded jacket of warmth was now leaking heat everywhere!
Then his eyes narrowed.
"What the hell are you digging now?!"
Lu Yuan didn't even look back. "Old Poison, chill. The feng shui here is perfect. I'm just planting something."
He continued to dig, sweat glistening under the afternoon sun.
"Hmph! My medicine garden isn't some random patch of dirt! Ordinary Blue Silver Grass won't survive here!" Dugu Bo crossed his arms and scowled. "If that thing dies, don't come crying to me for compensation!"
Lu Yuan rolled his eyes. "You talk too much, old man. My grass is very tough — it'll grow anywhere."
"Wait," Zhu Zhuqing said softly, kneeling beside the pit. "Lu Yuan… you're really planning to plant her here?"
Her voice had a complexity that few others could understand.
Two years ago, Chen Xin had brought back a rumor to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. That rumor was about him. Lu Yuan — the man who had taken Tang Hao's wife, the Blue Silver Emperor. The entire council had fallen into stunned silence when they heard. Even now, she could barely bring herself to believe it.
Lu Yuan froze for just a second.
Before he could answer, Dugu Bo's face turned ashen.
"You WHAT?! You're planting the Blue Silver Emperor here? Tang Hao's wife?!"
"R–roll! Get out! Right now! Immediately!"
The old man exploded. His shouting sent birds scattering from the forest canopy. He stared at Lu Yuan in disbelief; judging from that calm, guilty little smirk, the cat-eared girl's words were probably true.
He didn't even want to know why Tang Hao's wife had ended up as a blue silver grass — he just knew one thing: this was trouble. Big, world-ending trouble. If Tang Hao ever found out, Dugu Bo's name would be carved on a tombstone the next morning.
Lu Yuan didn't flinch. "Why's your old man's mind so narrow, huh? I'm not offending anyone — I'm saving this grass. You could call it accumulating virtue!"
The young man glanced at the pit with satisfaction. "Ah, nice and deep."
"You brat! You really intend to do this? Fine, go ahead! But don't drag me down when the sky falls!" Dugu Bo huffed, already walking away. "Forget it! I don't even want this medicine garden anymore!"
Who wants to inherit a death sentence like this?
He was already backpedaling fast, muttering to himself about troublesome juniors and the stupidity of heroes-in-training, when the faint sound of Lu Yuan humming drifted through the air.
--
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