"Hey! You little brat, you've got some guts, huh? Old man's asking you!"
Dugu Bo sneered at Wang Zhong, his tone laced with displeasure.
How many people in the entire continent dared to speak to him like this?
"Didn't I answer you!"
Feeling Dugu Yan tugging at his clothes, Wang Zhong, who had been about to retort sarcastically, changed his tune.
"Fine, kid, you've got nerve!"
"Today, for Yan Yan's sake, I won't bicker with you. Moreover, I can let you witness my poisonous arts and techniques. But if your answer displeases me, your fate will be like that tree!"
As he spoke, a ball of green soul power condensed in his palm and struck a small tree nearby. The trunk of the tree rotted and withered at a visible speed, then shattered entirely.
This was not caused by force, but by pure poison!
"Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor's Poison!"
Glancing at the poison emanating from Dugu Bo's palm, Wang Zhong immediately identified the type of poison with just one look.
The moment he uttered the words, Wang Zhong subtly retreated a step, moving beside Dugu Yan. His gaze upon the old man was filled with astonishment.
"You are the Poison Douluo, Dugu Bo!"
"Hahaha, kid, I thought you'd still be fearless after seeing my poison. Looks like you're scared too."
Dugu Bo gazed contentedly at Wang Zhong's expression, a smug look on his face.
This old man has roamed the world, and I can't even deal with you, a mere brat!
"Scared? Don't get me wrong, I'm not afraid of your poison!"
"I'm worried about your unpredictable temper and that you might attack me on the spot!" Wang Zhong scurried behind Dugu Yan, poking his head out and replying with clear dissatisfaction.
Wang Zhong wasn't particularly afraid of poison. When he lived in a small wooden house near the forest far from the orphanage, he had been bitten by a venomous snake. However, the snake venom had no effect on him.
Afterward, he had experimented with various poisons, but most had no effect.
It could be said that Wang Zhong was born with an extremely high resistance to poison!
His only current concern was Dugu Bo's volatile temper, his tendency to kill without reason, which was the most troublesome aspect for Wang Zhong.
Other Titled Douluo might care about their reputation, but this one was not someone who cared much for appearances.
"Yan Zi, you need to keep an eye on your grandfather. My little body can't withstand even one of his blows."
Dugu Yan glanced at Wang Zhong behind her, her eyes welling up with laughter.
"Hey, can you stop being so funny? You clearly don't admit defeat verbally, yet you hide behind me."
Wang Zhong shrugged nonchalantly. "He's stronger than me, what can I do?"
"I can't beat him either. If you don't keep an eye on him, what else can I do?"
Shaking her head helplessly, Dugu Yan pushed Wang Zhong forward and said, "Don't worry, my grandfather is fierce, but he's not a murderer who'll do anything to you."
"If you're really worried, I'll hold your hand. Is that acceptable?"
Dugu Yan giggled, took Wang Zhong's hand, and led him to stand side-by-side in front of Dugu Bo.
Witnessing their intimate interaction, Dugu Bo unconsciously raised an eyebrow. These two youngsters were progressing rather quickly.
It was remarkable that Dugu Yan, with her proud and reclusive nature, would go this far.
"Give me your hand!"
Brought before Dugu Bo, Wang Zhong had no choice but to reluctantly say to the old man.
Dugu Bo had no objections and directly extended his hand.
Grasping the old man's arm and probing his physical condition with his mental power, Wang Zhong's frown deepened.
Dugu Bo, however, kept glancing at the young man before him. Such powerful and condensed mental energy, it was already approaching the level of a Soul Douluo.
After frowning for a while, Wang Zhong released Dugu Bo's arm and stared at him with an extremely peculiar gaze.
"Kid, what do you mean by looking at me like that!"
Dugu Bo had a bad premonition. This kind of gaze...
Carefully considering his words, Wang Zhong looked at Dugu Yan beside him and asked very cautiously, "Yan Zi, did your grandfather ever suffer a head injury?"
"Huh?"
"Brat, do you believe I'll kill you on the spot!"
Before Dugu Yan could react, Dugu Bo was almost enraged to the point of exploding.
Fortunately, Dugu Yan wasn't foolish. She quickly understood and pulled Wang Zhong to sit on a nearby chair, giving him an annoyed look. "How can you talk to people like that? My grandfather doesn't seem to have any grudge against you."
Glancing at the furious Dugu Bo, Wang Zhong said with a troubled expression, "But, other than this reason, I genuinely can't think of why someone would poison themselves while cultivating their martial soul."
"It's like a venomous snake poisoning itself with its own venom. It's too, too..."
Muffling Wang Zhong's mouth, Dugu Yan shook her head repeatedly. Her grandfather was already extremely angry. If he were provoked any further, she might not be able to protect Wang Zhong.
"Yan Yan, don't stop him, let him speak! Today, if he can't give a reason, even with you here, I'll still teach this ignorant brat a lesson."
Dugu Bo said this with a laugh that was almost furious.
"I understand what you mean, but the Jade Phosphor Serpent Poison, cultivated to my grandfather's level, has become a terrifyingly potent poison, fundamentally different from ordinary snake venom. This toxin is no longer something that can be contained by a martial soul."
"Therefore, my grandfather's body was gradually corrupted by the poison, and it was then passed down to me through our bloodline!"
Dugu Yan sighed heavily. As a soul master, being poisoned by the very toxin of her martial soul was something that would likely draw ridicule if spoken of.
"What's the difference!"
"A venomous snake is a venomous snake. According to your logic, if greater strength means the poison becomes more uncontrollable, then there wouldn't be any venomous snake soul beasts surviving for over ten thousand years in nature!"
"They'd all have been poisoned to death by their own venom!"
Wang Zhong spread his hands, genuinely unable to comprehend the reasoning of the two before him.
Dugu Yan was stunned. Something felt wrong, yet it also seemed correct.
Dugu Bo, however, stood frozen, all traces of his sneer and ferocity vanishing from his face.
"Simply put, your grandfather is incompetent. He couldn't control the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor's Poison, so he left a legacy of harm to his descendants. How can you blame the snake venom for that!"
Wang Zhong added a final blow. But Dugu Bo remained silent, for Dugu Yan's parents had died from the backlash of snake venom, and the source of that poison was none other than himself, the Poison Douluo, Dugu Bo.
"Little brat, if you can resolve the snake venom in Yan Yan, I owe you a favor and will promise to do three things for you that do not violate my conscience."
Dugu Bo's tone was exceedingly solemn and sincere.
These were his true words, devoid of any falsehood.