Dugu Yan took a deep breath, suppressing the rising anger in her heart. She huffed and sat on another bench, far apart from the first.
They were like children having a spat.
"Hey, if you don't want to suffer that pain again in the future, you have to stop cultivating that poison technique," Wang Zhong said helplessly, sitting on the other side of the bench.
"None of your business!" Dugu Yan retorted, her purple hair flicking.
Anyone who was called an idiot to their face would not be able to accept it. If it were before Wang Zhong had taken care of her, she, Dugu Yan, would have made Wang Zhong taste her snake venom.
"Now is not the time to be stubborn. Your poison is inherited from your bloodline. If you continue to cultivate that poison technique, when the two toxins mix and erupt, you will eventually be poisoned to death by your own toxins." Wang Zhong rested his chin on his hand, sitting at the other end of the bench, weakly trying to persuade her.
"Nonsense, my grandfather cultivated the same poison technique as me, and he is perfectly fine."
"Why is it different for me!"
"Moreover, as a soul master, if you don't cultivate, how can you become stronger." Dugu Yan crossed her arms and glared at Wang Zhong with her green eyes, speaking with dissatisfaction.
"If I'm not mistaken, the poison passed down from your ancestors in your grandfather's body is not very potent, which is why he can cultivate poison techniques and live a long life."
"But you are different. The ancestral poison in your bloodline, deepened by the poison technique cultivated by your grandfather, has become extremely potent. This poison, imprinted into your bloodline and causing you that pain just now, is the result of the toxins clashing."
"Currently, you are not strong, and your own poison is not strong, so when the two clash, you can easily resist it. But once you reach a certain level of strength, the eruption of the clashing toxins will be so powerful that not only you, but even your grandfather, will not be able to suppress it."
Wang Zhong tried his best to use a calm tone to describe the terrible consequences that might occur in the future.
Hearing this, Dugu Yan suddenly remembered that the pain she felt now was indeed stronger than before, as if it had become more intense with her increasing strength.
"What do you think? Have you thought about it? Is the pain of your clashing toxins increasing in a very subtle way?" Wang Zhong sighed, his tone carrying a hint of something unidentifiable.
Cultivating a poison technique only to be poisoned to death by oneself was simply the cruelest of jokes.
"Is there... is there no other choice?" Dugu Yan's eyes trembled as she looked at Wang Zhong with hope. She didn't want to die, but she also didn't want to be unable to cultivate.
Soul masters were beings that countless people yearned for but could not attain. As a soul master with exceptional talent, she was confined by these things, and she was truly unwilling.
To this, Wang Zhong merely shrugged helplessly and said weakly, "I'm not too sure about that."
"I haven't seen your family's poison technique, nor have I met your grandfather, so it's hard for me to give any advice."
"Oh! Is that so!"
A cold, low, hoarse voice, sharp and sinister like a snake's hiss, suddenly echoed between them.
Wang Zhong was startled by the sudden voice. He turned around, and saw a tall, lean old man, standing erect like a javelin. His hair and beard were a peculiar shade of green, and his gaunt face was adorned with a pair of luminous green eyes like precious gems.
Wang Zhong instinctively shielded Dugu Yan with his body and cautiously observed the newcomer. Someone who could approach him so silently was definitely not simple.
With the enhancement of the Wisdom Skull, Wang Zhong's mental power was now astonishingly strong, making him terrifyingly adept at perception and vigilance. Yet, even so, he had been approached to this extent, which greatly alarmed him.
"Old man, eavesdropping on two children talking, and you have the nerve!" Wang Zhong demanded, his voice filled with displeasure, blocking Dugu Yan behind him.
For a top expert to stoop to eavesdropping clearly indicated hostile intentions.
The old man frowned, his gaze towards Wang Zhong as cold and fierce as a snake's. However, seeing Wang Zhong's action of shielding Dugu Yan, he suppressed his ferocity and instead spoke to Dugu Yan.
"Yanyan, tell this brat who I am!"
"Yanyan?" This intimate address made Wang Zhong turn his head abruptly, staring at the person behind him with a look of utter confusion.
Looking at the person blocking her path, Dugu Yan replied with a beaming smile, "He is my grandfather. Although he is a bit scary, he is a very good person."
Wang Zhong, after scrutinizing the old man in front of him, finally stepped aside. Since he was someone Dugu Yan knew, it should be fine.
He then casually scanned the old man's body and suddenly burst into laughter, pointing at the old man and mockingly exclaiming, "You're that old fool who passed down his toxins to his descendants!"
Dugu Yan was dumbfounded. Her grandfather was the Poison Douluo, a peerless villain who dominated the world with his poisons. Who dared to insult him to his face like this?
Upon hearing this, Dugu Bo's body began to surge with a potent killing intent. His clothes billowed without wind, and a strange aura emanated from him, causing the surrounding flowers and grass to wither bit by bit under its influence.
Sensing this, Dugu Yan quickly pulled Wang Zhong behind her and glared at her grandfather with her green eyes, displeased. *What are you trying to do to my friend! He's someone I finally made friends with!*
Recalling Wang Zhong's protective stance from earlier, Dugu Bo dispersed his killing intent. Anyone who instinctively shielded his granddaughter, he, Dugu Bo, had to acknowledge their care.
He walked up to Wang Zhong. On the bench between them, there was a half-empty paper bag containing several cookies and cakes. Dugu Bo finally understood. "This brat actually dared to share food with Yanyan. This kind of courage, even if feigned, is remarkable."
"No wonder Yanyan is so protective of him. Interesting." With his hands behind his back, Dugu Bo asked coldly, "Brat, I heard you say earlier that if you see me and witness my family's poison techniques, you are confident you can help Yanyan no longer suffer from the so-called dual-toxin backlash?"
Wang Zhong glanced at Dugu Yan, who was shielding him, gently patted her shoulder, and shook his head to signal that he was fine. Then he stepped forward and said, "I can't be sure. I don't have that kind of confidence!"
"I just said that after seeing it, it might allow me to..."
"You can also call me Yanyan, or Yanzi. Grandfather also calls me that," Dugu Yan said with a chuckle.
Wang Zhong nodded. "I just said that after seeing it, I might gain a better understanding of Yanzi's poison source and composition, which might allow me to find some way to inhibit or guide it."
"You can only inhibit and guide it?" Dugu Bo's eyebrows furrowed as he looked at Wang Zhong, his tone and demeanor clearly displeased. After witnessing his poison techniques and skills, all he could achieve was this much. This was something related to his life and cultivation!
"Otherwise! Do you think a poison that can be passed down through generations is so easily resolved!"
"If it were that simple, you could have done it yourself, couldn't you!" Wang Zhong frowned, quite displeased with the old man's arrogant attitude. *This old man is so pretentious!*