Dugu Yan's offense instantly became fierce. With a flick of her ten jade-like fingers, she unleashed dozens of poison needles condensed from ultimate toxins, shooting them toward Tang San in an instant.
Tang San swung the Clear Sky Hammer, which had transformed into the Killer Whale Demonic Axe due to his fifth soul skill. The sharp edge of the axe parried Dugu Yan's needles one by one, but even though they didn't wound him, they caused his speed to drop once again.
Lacking the flight capability provided by the Blue Silver Emperor's right leg bone from the original story, Tang San's agility was greatly diminished. As long as he couldn't leave the ground, he had no way to escape Dugu Yan's poison mist. Eventually, Dugu Yan's poison mist maintained a diameter of one hundred meters, and the edge of the cloud was less than five meters away from Tang San.
As long as Tang San was touched by the mist, he would have no room to resist. This was the terrifying suppression capability of a powerful poison-attribute Soul Master; unless the opponent was of the same caliber, a single touch meant certain death.
Even though Dugu Yan could only exert the power of a Rank 63 at the moment, her strength at that level was already horrific. Even a Soul Saint using a Martial Soul Avatar would essentially be declared dead upon being enveloped by her mist. Unless their martial soul possessed extremely high poison resistance, they wouldn't survive more than a brief moment.
Just as Tang San swung his axe to block the needles, Dugu Yan's black fourth soul ring lit up.
"Fourth Soul Skill: Medusa's Gaze!"
As the skill was activated, two silver-white beams shot from Dugu Yan's cyan eyes, instantly locking onto Tang San. Already retreating with all his might, he now had to parry needles while guarding against her gaze; he was left with no room to dodge.
However, Tang San was not without a countermeasure. After blocking the needles, the axe in his hand vanished, replaced by the Blue Silver Emperor in his right hand. His soul rings shifted to two yellow, two purple, two black, and one grey—his Blue Silver Emperor martial soul.
The first yellow soul ring lit up, and countless Blue Silver Grasses rioted, forming a massive blue-gold barrier in front of him. Dugu Yan's fourth soul skill hit the barrier, petrifying it instantly. This result allowed Tang San to understand the weakness of her fourth skill. It could only petrify once, and the object petrified would be the first thing it hit. As long as he could react in time, her gaze would fail to control him.
After releasing the first skill, Tang San's third, fourth, fifth, and sixth soul rings lit up in succession.
"Third Soul Skill: Spider Web Restraint."
"Fourth Soul Skill: Blue Silver Cage."
"Sixth Soul Skill: Inescapable Net."
"Fifth Soul Skill: Blue Silver Overlord Spear!"
As the rings lit up, countless strands of Blue Silver Emperor converged into a massive web that lunged toward Dugu Yan. Simultaneously, the Blue Silver Overlord Spear condensed in his right hand, locking onto her.
Dugu Yan ignored these control skills completely. For his skills to affect her, they first had to enter the range of her poison mist. With the current horror of her ultimate poison, the various nets and cages were completely corroded by her toxins before they even touched her. They failed to provide any control effect and didn't even hinder her speed.
Witnessing this, Tang San was shaken to his core. Releasing so many soul skills in an instant consumed a massive amount of soul power, yet this expenditure gave him zero feedback. Dugu Yan was entirely unaffected. However, remembering that she was a Titled Douluo powerhouse, he felt a sense of resignation. Though she had only one martial soul, her cultivation had left him far behind.
Tang San did not give up. As his Blue Silver control skills were easily dealt with, he hurled the Blue Silver Overlord Spear at her. Simultaneously, he withdrew the Blue Silver Emperor and summoned the Clear Sky Hammer in his left hand, his rings shifting back to four purple, two black, and one grey.
The fourth purple ring lit up, and the Clear Sky Hammer was thrown like a cannonball, locked onto Dugu Yan.
"Fourth Soul Skill: Thousand Army Break!"
The combined attack of the spear and the hammer possessed power far exceeding the Soul Emperor level, reaching the tier of a Soul Saint. Though Tang San's cultivation might not match Dugu Yan's, he had absorbed fourteen soul rings in total, including five ten-thousand-year rings and six thousand-year rings. Combined with the ten-thousand-year Stone Armored Bear torso bone Gu Xuan had given him, his physical constitution far exceeded his soul power level, approaching that of a Titled Douluo.
With his other spirit bones and the immortal herbs he had consumed, Tang San's physique was already at the Titled Douluo level. His eighth soul ring could easily be a hundred-thousand-year-old one, but such beasts were rare. Bibi Dong had taken them to search the sea for a month without success, and they eventually settled for an eighty-thousand-year sea soul beast due to time constraints.
At full strength, the current Tang San could rival an ordinary Titled Douluo. However, in this trial, soul bones and skills above the sixth ring were forbidden, preventing him from utilizing his full power. He felt a hint of resentment toward Hu Liena; if she weren't there and it was just him and Dugu Yan, he could have fought her at full strength. Even without soul bone skills, his Martial Soul Avatar would have given him a much better chance.
But now was not the time for such thoughts. He had no way to deal with her poison. His three strongest control skills being corroded in seconds proved they were no longer on the same level. Yet, Tang San refused to quit. To him, becoming a God was the only chance to seek the truth, confront Gu Xuan, and avenge his parents.
Dugu Yan didn't care for his thoughts. Facing his two powerful attacks, her expression remained unchanged. Her black fifth soul ring lit up, and her right arm lashed out, transforming into a terrifying serpent tail with an end like a dark gold heavy hammer.
"Fifth Soul Skill: Titan Heavy Hammer!"
This skill came from a forty-thousand-year Titan Python. It was a massive power-attack skill that carried lethal poison, covering her weakness in close-quarters combat.
Dugu Yan's tail swayed as her speed remained constant. When the spear and hammer came within three meters of her, her arm swung. The Titan Poison Whip shattered the Blue Silver Overlord Spear into dust and sent the Clear Sky Hammer flying.
Tang San's attack wasn't entirely useless, though. The spear had absorbed some of her momentum, and the impact of the hammer slowed her down momentarily. Taking advantage of this, Tang San fled without a backward glance.
While fleeing, he switched back to the Blue Silver Emperor. Though its consumption was high, his foundation was that of a Soul Saint, allowing him to use it even at the suppressed Rank 63 level. He laid down various restrictions on the ground. Though they couldn't stop her, they could slow her down. He wasn't running aimlessly; he had already split up with Hu Liena. He had instructed her to gather the strange beasts using her charm abilities. Tang San was leading Dugu Yan toward a trap where he and Hu Liena would use the beasts to exhaust her and seek a chance to counterattack.
...
Mingdu.
Gu Xuan and Bibi Dong returned to the palace. He took her through the gardens and lakes, sharing some of his thoughts. Since he didn't plan to kill her, he hoped to change her mindset.
"Stop your God trials for now. The Rakshasa trials involve too much slaughter. The Empire is newly stabilized, and I don't want you causing trouble." Gu Xuan tossed fish food into a pond.
"Do I have a choice?" Bibi Dong looked at the goldfish competing for food, her expression resentful. "Do you want to treat me like these fish? Locked up for your amusement?"
Gu Xuan frowned. "Mother-in-law, mind your wording. You are an elder; 'amusement' is not a word to be used lightly."
Bibi Dong's resentment softened slightly. She realized she had used the wrong word in her agitation, but the meaning remained the same.
"I have my reasons for asking you to wait," Gu Xuan said. "But explaining too much wouldn't be good for either of us."
Bibi Dong fell silent. She was under his control until she could break free; words were useless. Gu Xuan looked at the sky and left her there.
He went to the Sun Moon Hall, the main throne room, where he handled imperial affairs. Sitting on the dragon throne, he summoned a guard. "Bring the Hall Master of the Zodiac Hall. I have tasks for her."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Wait," Gu Xuan called out. "Bring Nine Treasure King as well."
Nine Treasure King was Ning Fengzhi's title. He was the only king of a different surname in the Empire. It was a unique honor, and the title was not hereditary. Though the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan was the state-protecting clan, all military and political power was centralized in Gu Xuan's hands. He would not relinquish power while the nation was new and required a firm hand.
As the guard left, Gu Xuan looked toward Slaughter City. "Yanzi..."
Dugu Yan had been in the Asura trials for two years with no news. Soon, Ning Fengzhi arrived. After dismissing the attendants, Gu Xuan spoke. "Uncle, in six months, I will tour the continent to teach the Soul Spirit method in every province. I want to ignite the passion of the Soul Masters and the people. I'll leave the details to you."
Ning Fengzhi nodded. Currently, only the great families and nobles fully understand the Soul Spirit method. To stabilize the Empire, Gu Xuan needed a grand public appearance. "I'll arrange it."
Gu Xuan smiled. "Uncle, you've worked hard. After the tour, I'll give you a vacation to spend time with my aunts. I'm waiting for my three new brothers and sisters to be born."
Ning Fengzhi didn't blush this time. Instead, he turned serious. "Your Majesty, you have the nerve to tease me? The nation is founded, yet you have no heir. The ministers' first concern every morning is this. If you don't work harder..."
Gu Xuan waved a hand helplessly. "Uncle, Lingling, Zhuqing, and the others are at Sea God Island. Yanzi and Sister Xue'er are away. I can't do this alone."
Ning Fengzhi nodded. "Your Majesty, for the prosperity of the imperial family, having only seven consorts is not enough. You should add more. Perhaps during your tour, we should announce a selection of concubines across the continent?"
Gu Xuan nodded, then shook his head. As the eternal Emperor, a harem of three thousand was a dream, but he was destined for Godhood. His current wives wouldn't be an issue; even if some failed to reach Godhood themselves, his status as a high-ranking God would allow him to bring them to the God Realm. But if he took on too many now, he couldn't take them all with him later. Since his goal was Godhood, he didn't want the extra burden.
(End of Chapter)
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