Gu Xuan and Dugu Yan stood facing each other on the Soul Battle stage, a distance of twenty meters separating them as they locked eyes.
"Sister Yan, make sure to go easy on me later," Gu Xuan said with a slight smile.
Having watched Gu Xuan's duel with Yu Tianheng yesterday and his fight with Shi Mo today, Dugu Yan already knew this brat was the type to speak soft words while striking the hardest blows.
He was incredibly cunning; if you actually took his words to heart and looked down on him, the outcome would be the complete opposite of what you expected.
Dugu Yan let out a small laugh and replied, "Sure. Just stand right there and let me beat you up for a while, and I'll let you off the hook."
Dugu Yan had no friends as a child, and the old man Dugu Bo doted on her constantly. Deep down, she housed a little demon of her own—she had just as many wicked ideas as Gu Xuan, though perhaps with slightly more of a moral compass.
Gu Xuan didn't waste any more words. Two yellow and one purple soul ring rose from beneath him, rhythmically pulsing. His hands transformed into a pair of silver-white bone claws, shimmering with a sharp, cold light.
"Gu Xuan. Martial Soul: Bone Dragon. Rank 33 Power Attack Type Battle Soul Elder. Please."
Gu Xuan's gaze was sharp and focused. Dugu Yan didn't back down an inch; a jade-green light flickered across her body as a green diamond-shaped crystal emerged on her forehead. Her legs swayed and fused, transforming into a nearly two-meter-long serpent tail. Each of the diamond-shaped scales glittered like embedded gemstones.
Two yellow and one purple soul ring also rose around Dugu Yan, circling her body in a steady rhythm.
"Dugu Yan. Martial Soul: Jade Phosphor Serpent. Rank 37 Control Type Battle Soul Elder. Please."
Dugu Yan spoke softly, her small mouth slightly parted. As she finished, both her first and second yellow soul rings ignited.
Having witnessed Gu Xuan's previous battles, she knew his close-quarters combat was peerless. She had no intention of giving him any openings.
"First Soul Skill: Red Jaded Scale Poison!"
The Red Poison acted as an excitant, stimulating the meridians. It could cause an opponent to fall into a rage easily, stagnating their soul power circulation and clouding their judgment. When applied to allies, it increased attack and speed by thirty percent.
"Second Soul Skill: Blue Jaded Scale Poison!"
This poison targeted the nerves, making it difficult for an opponent to control their own thoughts, which resulted in sluggish movement. When used on allies, it eliminated the sensation of pain and boosted defense by fifty percent.
Both of Dugu Yan's initial skills leaned toward support and control, failing to fully unleash the true horror of her Jade Phosphor poison. Because she possessed a serpent Martial Soul, she was born with a toxic constitution; if her body was exposed to too much lethal poison in her youth, it would backfire, causing a fate worse than death.
Consequently, when Dugu Bo selected her first two rings, he chose soul beasts with weaker toxicity and abilities focused more on support and restriction. Thus, the poisonous attribute of these two skills was not particularly intense.
As the skills were activated, Dugu Yan exhaled a mist of red and blue from her lips, instantly blanketing the twenty-meter area in front of her.
Gu Xuan's eyes narrowed. To be honest, he currently lacked any specific ability to counter poisonous attributes, but that didn't mean he was helpless against her.
And no, he wasn't going to use realgar wine to break the serpent poison as seen in the original stories.
After arriving in this world and knowing he would interact with Dugu Yan, Gu Xuan had experimented. Realgar wine could indeed counter snake venom, but only ordinary ones.
As a soul master's Martial Soul, the toxins released contained not just serpent venom, but also the specialized toxicity of the soul beasts that provided the soul rings.
Gu Xuan suspected that in the original records, Tang San's ability to use realgar wine to break Dugu Yan's poison was largely dependent on Ma Hongjun's Phoenix Fire. Otherwise, how could ordinary wine counter the poison of a soul master approaching Rank 40? Or perhaps the wine Tang San used contained special ingredients specifically designed to counter serpent-type soul masters.
Since Gu Xuan hadn't actually seen Tang San perform the feat, it remained mere speculation. His own method for dealing with Dugu Yan was far more direct and brutal.
"First Soul Skill: Bone Dragon Battle Body!"
All attributes increased by twenty percent.
"Second Soul Skill: Darkgold Terrorclaw!"
Attack and strength increased by one hundred percent.
Gu Xuan's silver-white bone claws turned a dark gold, becoming even more unfathomably sharp.
Holding his breath, Gu Xuan charged directly into the mist of the Red and Blue toxins. Having knowledge of the original world, he was well aware of their effects.
Moreover, since everyone had introduced their skills yesterday, Gu Xuan knew that simply holding his breath would be enough to defend against these first two toxins for a short duration.
Gu Xuan's speed was incredible; the twenty-meter gap vanished in a heartbeat. However, just as he reached her, Dugu Yan's third purple soul ring ignited.
"Third Soul Skill: Jade Phosphor Violet Poison!"
A lethal poison. This skill combined Dugu Yan's innate serpent venom with the toxin of a Purple Poison Lizard, creating a truly terrifying substance. If a soul master of the same rank were enveloped by this mist, they would be reduced to a pool of putrid liquid in mere moments.
This time, Dugu Yan didn't exhale from her mouth. Instead, she raised her right hand. Purple mist condensed in her palm under the skill's influence, and she blasted it directly toward Gu Xuan.
Gu Xuan wasn't surprised by this. Dugu Yan had explained yesterday that her third skill could be released from her mouth, fired from her palms, or condensed in her hands for a physical strike.
This versatility made her attacks unpredictable and difficult to defend against.
Closing in, Gu Xuan was almost at the point of colliding with the violet toxin. For a moment, even Dugu Yan worried that Gu Xuan might be poisoned to death instantly.
But in the next instant, the dark gold bone claws on Gu Xuan's right hand transformed into five elongated, dark gold blades—resembling the claws of Wolverine rather than mere bone claws.
"Sky-Tearing Claw!"
Gu Xuan let out a low shout and swung his right hand. Five dark gold energy blades flew forward. The Jade Phosphor Violet Poison that had just left Dugu Yan's palm was actually sliced into six segments, scattering harmlessly to the sides.
"What?!"
Dugu Yan was stunned. In the next moment, her serpent tail swayed as she tried to put distance between them.
Yesterday, Gu Xuan hadn't mentioned that he possessed such an ability. It was the only reason Dugu Yan had felt confident enough to stay in place and launch her attack.
'This brat was holding back?' This was the first thought to cross her mind.
The five dark gold energy blades didn't just cut through her toxin; they continued their flight toward her with undiminished momentum.
Dugu Yan could clearly sense the extraordinary power behind the attack. With her defensive capabilities, being hit would surely result in a heavy injury.
Having sliced through the toxin, Gu Xuan kicked off the ground, surging through the gap toward her.
He was still holding his breath. Although less than ten seconds had passed, when fighting an opponent like Dugu Yan, the most important thing was to end it quickly.
If he were to inhale the mist of the Violet Toxin, even he wouldn't be able to neutralize it.
The swaying speed and agility of Dugu Yan's serpent tail were slightly superior to human legs, and her reactions were swift—she managed to dodge the Sky-Tearing Claw at the last possible second.
But Gu Xuan was faster. Crossing the zone of the Violet Toxin, he arrived less than three meters from her. His third purple soul ring lit up, and an endless forest of bone swords rose, sealing off every inch of space for her to maneuver.
Left with no other choice, Dugu Yan had to leap off the Soul Battle stage to avoid being skewered by the third soul skill.
(End of Chapter)
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