Douluo: Emerald Poison Emperor

"What a despicable brat. Of all toxins to imitate, he just had to mimic my Jade Phosphor Serpent Poison. What a dog."

Dugu Bo cursed Tang San under his breath before exchanging a glance with Chen Ming, who was hiding in the shadows. Then, he swept his soul power around, lifting the injured soul masters on the ground into the air with him.

Meanwhile, Chen Ming had already gathered the corpses of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan soul masters, placing them in a small cart. He then followed Dugu Bo to deliver both the injured and the corpses of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan soul masters to their temporary camp.

When the two young men arrived at the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's camp—one pushing a cart filled with corpses—those guarding the gate immediately grew alert. After activating their Martial Souls, they let out a dragon-like roar to summon nearby soul masters.

Inside the camp, Yu Luomian and Yu Yuanzhen exchanged a glance upon hearing the warning roar. Their Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Souls activated simultaneously, and the two of them shot out like bolts of lightning.

However, while both appeared as swift as lightning, Yu Luomian's speed was only about half that of Yu Yuanzhen's. This wasn't just because Yu Luomian was still partially injured and hadn't recovered fully, but also due to the significant gap in their cultivation levels.

After all, while Yu Luomian had managed to break through to the Title Douluo level using the method of acquiring spirit bones first and spirit rings later, he was only a Rank 91 Title Douluo. Considering that he had been gravely injured by Tang Hao shortly after his breakthrough—nearly dying—he had yet to familiarize himself with his new power. His combat strength was only slightly stronger than Dugu Bo's when he was at Rank 91.

On the other hand, Yu Yuanzhen had been immersed in the Super Douluo realm for years. Even among other Super Douluos, he was considered a formidable figure.

At the camp entrance, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan soul masters summoned their Martial Souls and stared warily at Chen Ming and Dugu Bo. However, none dared to attack first. It wasn't until Yu Yuanzhen and Yu Luomian arrived—one leading, the other following—that the soul masters grew restless, seemingly ready to swarm forward at any moment.

But the moment Yu Yuanzhen saw Chen Ming and Dugu Bo, his expression changed drastically. The dragons might radiating from him suddenly pressed down on his clan members, forcing the previously eager soul masters to take several steps back.

"Dugu Bo, what is the meaning of this?" Yu Yuanzhen cupped his hands in a gesture of respect. His gaze fell on the cart of corpses, which looked like they had been turned into porcupines with countless wounds. He immediately recognized them as the group his brother Yu Luomian had sent earlier to deal with Yu Xiaogang. His expression grew serious as he regarded Dugu Bo warily.

Of course, Yu Yuanzhen didn't suspect that Dugu Bo was the one who had killed them.

After all, everyone knew what kind of person Dugu Bo was. If there were rankings for bullying the weak, Dugu Bo would easily claim the top spot. Even if a Super Douluo went on a rampage, they couldn't match Dugu Bo's speed when it came to slaughter.

To put it bluntly, with his current cultivation and poison techniques, Dugu Bo could kill ordinary people so thoroughly that there wouldn't even be bones left. Yet these corpses didn't show any signs of poisoning.

Moreover, the strange pile of unfamiliar soul masters nearby was also suspicious.

As for Chen Ming, who looked utterly unremarkable while pushing the cart, Yu Yuanzhen recognized him immediately. This was the same young man who had competed with his grandson Yu Tianheng years ago, defeating him as a Soul Grandmaster-level soul master against a Soul Elder. Yu Yuanzhen didn't hold any particular grudge against Chen Ming. After all, when Yu Tianheng's teeth had been knocked out, Yu Yuanzhen hadn't sent anyone to retaliate. He had proactively admitted fault, transferring Yu Tianheng to the Blue Tyrant Academy and even gifting Dugu Bo a ten-thousand-year-old soul bone.

Under normal circumstances, this should have resolved any animosity—unless dealing with someone petty and vindictive.

Additionally, Yu Yuanzhen had no desire to provoke Dugu Bo, who had grown into a weapon of mass destruction in recent years. So while he didn't particularly like Chen Ming, he bore no malice toward him either. He simply regarded him with the indifferent gaze of an elder observing someone else's child.

If there was any emotion in Yu Yuanzhen's gaze, it would be a hint of envy for Chen Ming's talent and a lamentation over why his clan didn't have such outstanding juniors.

Standing beside Yu Yuanzhen, Yu Luomian took a step back to demonstrate his subordinate position. Seeing this, Dugu Bo's expression shifted slightly. As a Rank 96 soul master with combat strength nearing Rank 97, Dugu Bo could still feel a faint sense of threat from Yu Yuanzhen.

This was unsettling. The last time they had met, Dugu Bo had also felt a similar level of threat from Yu Yuanzhen—but that was when Yu Yuanzhen was at Rank 95, and Dugu Bo was at Rank 94. The one-level difference in soul power made such a feeling understandable. However, now that Dugu Bo had reached Rank 96, he was still sensing the same level of danger from Yu Yuanzhen.

Dugu Bo speculated that Yu Yuanzhen must have broken through another level and made progress in areas such as willpower or combat techniques. Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense for him to still feel threatened.

In truth, Yu Yuanzhen felt the same way about Dugu Bo.

Having recently advanced himself, Yu Yuanzhen had expected to dominate Dugu Bo. Even if Dugu Bo had advanced to Rank 95, Yu Yuanzhen, as a Rank 96 soul master, should have easily overpowered him. However, Dugu Bo's aura now felt even more deadly than before.

If Yu Yuanzhen hadn't learned a bit about divine trials from seeking help for Yu Luomian's injuries from Qian Daoliu, he might have suspected that Dugu Bo had undergone a divine trial himself. Otherwise, how could Dugu Bo's strength have skyrocketed from Rank 91 to the Super Douluo level in just a few years?

To put it bluntly, Dugu Bo's progress of advancing more than one rank per year was utterly absurd.

Looking at the current Dugu Bo, who seemed like a completely different person from ten years ago, Yu Yuanzhen couldn't help but wonder if Dugu Bo might become Ultimate Douluo in another two or three decades—no, perhaps even sooner.

The more he thought about it, the more Yu Yuanzhen felt that Dugu Bo undergoing a divine trial was the most logical explanation. Without such an opportunity, this level of cultivation progress was simply defying the heavens. If someone were to tell him that Dugu Bo was on the path to godhood, Yu Yuanzhen would believe it.

Meanwhile, Yu Luomian…

Considering the current state of Title Douluos across the continent, Yu Luomian might as well be called the Blind Douluo. He stared at Dugu Bo for a long time but couldn't discern anything about his strength. He didn't dare to speak a word, fearing he might embarrass himself.