Zuzong vs. Dugu Bo

"Senior, even though you are a Titled Douluo, I won't just sit and be slaughtered. You know better than I whether Yan has been poisoned. So, I apologize in advance for my offense."

A faint blue light began to appear behind Zuzong. Immediately after, his entire spine seemed to push out of his body, emitting a faint purple glow. Eight ribs suddenly protruded from his back, forming eight large lumps.

As the eight lumps burst out, the sound of fabric tearing echoed, and eight thick, purple columns quickly extended from his back, rapidly growing longer.

"Eight Spider Lances."

As soon as the words were spoken, Zuzong's Eight Spider Lances were fully released.

At the same time, he felt a significant boost in his attack power, roughly by fifty percent.

Dugu Bo narrowed his eyes, a greedy look flashing across his face as he thought, "Is this the external soul bone Yan mentioned?"

Beckoning Zuzong, Dugu Bo said, "Boy, Yan says you're something special. You managed to break through her snake venom. Show me what you've got."

Without responding, Zuzong activated his Blue Silver Emperor spirit, immediately transforming into his most powerful form—one he had never shown before—the Extreme Flame Blue Silver Emperor.

Two yellow and one purple spirit rings rose from the ground, circling his body.

The first spirit ring lit up, "First Spirit Ability—Poison Dragon Bind!"

He formed several strange hand seals, and the ground beneath his feet cracked open as dozens of thick Blue Silver Emperor vines shot out, aiming at Dugu Bo.

At the same time, the surface of the vines gradually turned red. When the red-tinted Blue Silver Emperor vines touched the ground and plants, white smoke rose, and the air was filled with the smell of burning. This was caused by the high-temperature scales covering the vines. No, now it should be called the Extreme Flame Blue Silver Emperor.

Without hesitation, Zuzong raised the temperature to its maximum.

Dugu Bo was momentarily stunned. Initially, he had paid no mind to the Blue Silver Emperor, planning to let the vines bind him, knowing that with his Titled Douluo strength, no soul skill from someone below level 40 could get close to him. However, the terrifying heat surrounding him suddenly made him feel a sense of danger.

Dugu Bo instinctively released his soul power to defend himself. With a wave of his right hand, green flames suddenly ignited around him.

The green flames collided with the Extreme Flame Blue Silver Emperor vines. As expected, Zuzong's vines were instantly destroyed, most of them burned away.

Zuzong smirked slightly and whispered, "Venom Devour."

As he uttered the word, the remaining red-tinted scales on the vines secreted a red liquid, resembling magma. But instead of solidifying, the liquid flowed freely. Upon contact with Dugu Bo's green flames, the red liquid consumed the flames in an instant. Simultaneously, Zuzong's first spirit ability was exhausted.

The first round ended in a draw.

Dugu Bo's eyes flashed with surprise. The purple flames he had released were not just regular flames but highly toxic. Even though he hadn't fully activated his martial spirit and it was just a casual attack, he knew that such an attack would be difficult for even a Soul Emperor or Soul Saint to withstand, let alone a boy who wasn't even a Soul Master.

Suddenly, Dugu Bo's eyes glowed with green light as if he had realized something.

In a cold voice, he said to Zuzong, "Boy, that red high-temperature liquid from your martial spirit must also be a poison, right? A plant-based spirit with high-temperature poison... interesting."

Zuzong calmly replied, "You could call it poison. I named it Fire Poison."

"Fire Poison, huh? Interesting. This is the first time I've heard of it," Dugu Bo said with crossed arms, leaning against a nearby tree. "Let's see what else you've got."

As soon as he finished speaking, Dugu Bo vanished from his spot. In the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of Zuzong, throwing a punch filled with powerful soul force.

Zuzong's pupils shrank. He wanted to use a body-shifting technique to dodge, but it was too late. As for the substitute technique he had never used before, it required preparation. With no other choice, Zuzong infused soul power into his legs, accelerating as he executed his Ghost Shadow Steps. At the same time, the Eight Spider Lances on his back instinctively lashed out, releasing their full toxic potential.

"Hmm?" Dugu Bo was slightly surprised. With his strength, he didn't need to actually touch the attack. His body's energy reaction was enough to sense the power of the Eight Spider Lances. Green light instantly spread from his body, and without using his martial spirit, the Eight Spider Lances struck the green light, causing ripples, but they couldn't penetrate it.

Though the Eight Spider Lances failed, they bought Zuzong a moment. In the nick of time, he dodged, barely avoiding Dugu Bo's soul force punch, which grazed his chest. The punch's wind force sent Zuzong flying, but fortunately, the Eight Spider Lances cushioned his fall. 

Otherwise, he would have broken several ribs. Even so, blood dripped from Zuzong's lips. Though the punch had only grazed him, it had shaken his internal organs.

Dugu Bo's eyes gleamed with a greedy light, as though he were staring at a priceless treasure. "I have to admit, Yan wasn't wrong. You're stronger than her, even stronger than that Yu Tianheng kid. Not even thirteen, your soul power is close to a Soul Sect, with an external soul bone, high-temperature poison, and a powerful mutated plant spirit. Such a shame... such a pity."

Dugu Bo's tone shifted, "Yan said your external soul bone has fully fused with you. It seems she was right. Otherwise, I'd have taken it from you. But, for Yan's sake, if you take back what you said about her being poisoned, I'll let you go."

Zuzong shook his head. "Earlier, I was just concerned for my teammate, and I only guessed Yan might be poisoned. But after meeting you, Senior Dugu, I'm certain. Not only is Yan poisoned, but so are you. And your poison has penetrated deep into your bones."

Dugu Bo's eyes flashed coldly, like a snake, "Are you begging me to kill you? Killing you would be as easy as crushing an ant. But I won't be in a hurry. The soul bone from the Man-Faced Demon Spider is intriguing. I'll extract all the poison from it and then slowly kill you."

"Uh." Zuzong felt awkward now that the legs of the Man-Faced Demon Spider had been identified. But thankfully, when he had lied earlier, he only claimed it was from a millennium-old spider-type soul beast, or else he would have been exposed. However, now wasn't the time to worry about that. He had to push further.

With that thought, Zuzong repeated Tang San's words from the original story.

"You think you're not poisoned? Then let me ask you. On cloudy, rainy days, do you feel a numb itch on both sides of your ribs, growing more intense over time? It happens around noon and midnight, each time lasting over an hour. And late at night, around three in the morning, do you feel a stabbing pain in your head and chest, your body convulsing for at least half an hour? That unbearable pain—need I describe it? If you're not poisoned, why would you have such symptoms? The poison has already entered your bones. I'm just surprised you haven't died yet. The poison you're suffering from isn't something soul power can suppress."

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