Chapter 1: Dugu Shuo – I Had to Bury Eight Women Before I Could Have You!
"Dong, dong, dong."
A light knocking sound echoed repeatedly.
In the cold wind, the sound drifted faintly.
"Second Uncle, it's me, Shuo'er. I brought Feng'er to see Brother Xin one last time."
"Second Uncle."
Dugu Feng held an old jar of wine, watching his father knock at the door again and again. With Dugu Bo's strength as a Titled Douluo, he surely could hear it clearly.
But he just didn't want to open the door.
Last night, when Dugu Feng transmigrated into the body of his namesake, he had been excited. His great-uncle was Dugu Bo; didn't that mean he could have any immortal herb or soul bone he wanted?
But after merging with his predecessor's memories, his heart sank halfway.
Though this body was only four years old, it held plenty of memories.
It was enough for him to piece together the story.
His grandfather, Dugu Hao, and Dugu Bo were twin brothers. Hao was the elder, Bo the younger.
For some reason, the relationship between the two grew worse and worse.
Eventually, they agreed to have a duel before both attempted to break through to the Soul Saint rank. Though there were no memories of that battle in Dugu Feng's mind...
Afterward, Dugu Bo kept advancing, while his grandfather never managed to become a Soul Saint.
The result was obvious.
About twenty years ago, his grandfather finally succumbed to the venom of the Jade Phosphor Serpent and died. Dugu Bo didn't even come to see him.
What kind of hatred was that?
Dugu Feng couldn't help feeling curious.
Today was a special day—the day Dugu Bo broke through to Titled Douluo and shook all of Heaven Dou with his power, but also the day his own son, Dugu Xin, died.
So Dugu Shuo brought his son to pay respects.
The figure of Dugu Shuo, knocking again and again, looked thin and desolate.
Creak!
The door finally opened.
A girl in white mourning clothes peeked out. She looked about eight or nine, with short dark purple hair and green eyes. Her face was pale—clearly, she had just been crying.
"Yanyan," Dugu Shuo said awkwardly.
There was a trace of guilt in his tone.
Her eyes glistened as she spoke coldly, "Leave. Grandpa doesn't want to see you. Father doesn't need your farewell!"
Bang!
The door slammed shut.
"Sigh… Feng'er, give me the wine."
As if expecting this, Dugu Shuo took the old jar from his son and poured it onto the ground.
"Feng'er, kowtow to your uncle, as a final farewell."
He pulled Dugu Feng to his knees.
After three heavy knocks of the head, they stood again. Dugu Shuo held his son's hand and slowly walked down the street.
Dugu Feng looked back at the six-meter-high gates. Above the mansion hung a plaque with two large characters: Jade Phosphor.
He wanted to remember this place.
Inside, the main hall was arranged as a mourning chamber.
A tall, thin old man, standing straight like a spear, rested one hand on the coffin, his eyes full of grief and regret.
He had reached Titled Douluo rank—but his son had died of poison.
Joy and sorrow twisted together. Dugu Bo didn't even know how he'd made it through the day.
Footsteps approached. Dugu Yan returned to the hall.
"Grandpa, I sent them away!"
"Hmph. They won't live long anyway. And they want me to save them? Xin'er is dead—why aren't they? What right do they have to live?
Brother, you went too far back then. Did you ever think this day would come? I'll watch your branch of the clan, the Poison Lineage, die out to the last!"
A cold snort echoed in Dugu Bo's heart.
His nephew Dugu Shuo, with his full head of green hair and sunken eyes, was clearly suffering from constant poison backlash—he wouldn't last much longer.
His grandnephew Dugu Feng, whose black hair was already streaked with green, was poisoned from birth. He too was doomed.
"All of them should die," Dugu Bo muttered softly. "Die cleanly."
Then his gaze returned to the coffin. Xin'er, you and Dugu Shuo were so close as children. Don't worry, he'll be joining you soon.
Reining in his emotions, Dugu Bo's face softened. He turned and pulled Dugu Yan into his arms. "Good girl. You're strong. Stay with Grandpa from now on—Grandpa will take care of you."
Hearing his comforting words, Dugu Yan could no longer hold back and burst into tears in his embrace.
Outside the Dugu estate, the street was almost deserted. The Dugu family's reputation was known across the entire Heaven Dou Empire. When it came to poison, most people kept their distance.
There were only two mansions on the street—one to the east, one to the west—both belonging to different branches of the Dugu family.
Dugu Shuo gripped his son's hand tightly, as if afraid something might happen to him.
Moments later, they returned to their own residence.
To Dugu Feng, the estate felt like a maze. Without the inherited memories of his predecessor, he would have gotten lost. Even so, many parts of the vividly colored compound were off-limits.
Even his predecessor had never entered them.
The large manor was almost devoid of servants—eerily quiet.
He glanced toward his father and was surprised. Based on how Dugu Shuo had acted outside Dugu Bo's mansion, he should have been grief-stricken. After all, Dugu Bo's son, Dugu Xin, had been very close to him.
But Dugu Shuo's eyes were dark and cold, sometimes flashing with chill intent—nothing like the hesitant man he had been earlier.
Dugu Feng was startled. A feeling of fear welled up inside him.
It was his predecessor's instinct, reinforced by memories of constant scolding and harsh lessons from Dugu Shuo since he could read.
This man was a ruthless father—far crueler than any overbearing parent in modern times.
Young as he was, Dugu Feng spent all his waking hours studying.
Soul beast studies, herbology, spirit power theory, combat strategies—
Even the slightest distraction brought punishment.
Dugu Feng's heart trembled. He had only arrived in this world the previous night, then been taken to Dugu Bo's gate at dawn.
He hadn't had time to review the memories in detail until now, and what he found made him shudder.
Creak…
The sharp sound of a door opening snapped him out of his thoughts.
He hurried over the threshold.
"Ancestral tablets…? This is the ancestral hall!" Dugu Feng froze. This was the room for memorial tablets.
Rows upon rows lined the main table—though sparsely. Each row had at most three tablets. Clearly, the Dugu family had always been small in number.
Incense smoke curled through the room, shrouding it in a hazy mist.
"Kneel," Dugu Shuo said coldly.
As if guided by muscle memory, Dugu Feng dropped to his knees.
"Feng'er, I knew it wouldn't be so easy for me to die.
I buried eight women. Four of them were lost with their unborn children.
It wasn't until I turned thirty-six, with the eighth woman, that one finally bore the Dugu bloodline—you. Your birth claimed your mother's life.
Your fate is hard.
But I didn't expect your poison to erupt at four years old. According to the family records, our Snake Branch only erupts at the Soul King level.
Our Poison Branch usually only at Soul Emperor.
But you, at four years old—without even awakening your martial spirit—your poison has already awakened.
The Jade Phosphor Serpent toxin in your veins is that powerful. Your talent surpasses mine!
Your grandfather lost to the Snake Branch, but I outlived Xin'er—that means I've won.
You, with greater talent than me, must fulfill your grandfather's wish—surpass your second granduncle.
Do you understand?"
Dugu Shuo's voice was chilling, and with the smoke-filled ancestral shrine lined with tablets, the atmosphere grew eerie and sinister.
(END CHAPTER)
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