Douluo: Emerald Poison Emperor

"That's about it."

Chen Ming opened his eyes, a trace of exhaustion visible within them.

This wasn't an act—he was genuinely tired.

The fusion of soul power and spiritual power was something that belonged in the domain of Titled Douluos. Beyond that, it approached the realm of willpower manipulation, a domain of Super Douluos or even demigods.

Being able to master this technique before reaching the Titled Douluo rank typically required hands-on guidance from an experienced elder. Those who could achieve it at the Soul Douluo level were considered exceptionally talented. Learning it at the Soul Sage level was already monstrous.

Chen Ming's ability to enter this state was largely due to the spiritual enhancement of his unique advantage, but it also required a great deal of effort on his part to maintain the state stably.

Currently, Chen Ming's soul power level was that of a Soul Grandmaster, and although his spiritual power was advanced, it hadn't reached the level of qualitative transformation. Maintaining the fusion of soul power and spiritual power was already extremely taxing, let alone demonstrating it externally.

If this ability were revealed ten thousand years in the future, even if he were studying in Illustrious Virtue Hall, at the Sun and Moon Empire's capital, Shrek Academy's Mu En would personally come with Xuan Zi to capture him and groom him as the next Sea God Pavilion Master.

Appearing in the era of Douluo Continent III or IV, being able to access this realm as a mere Soul Grandmaster guaranteed a future as an Ultimate Douluo or even a demigod. With a little luck, self-creating a divine position wouldn't be out of reach.

But Dugu Bo didn't recognize the rarity of this ability. He didn't understand its immense value and was merely shocked by it.

If one of the three Ultimate Douluos of this era had been present, watching Chen Ming achieve this state at only the twenty-fourth rank, they would probably start questioning their talent.

Dugu Bo extended a finger and cautiously touched Chen Ming's palm. The moment his finger made contact with the layer of soul power on Chen Ming's hand, he felt a sharp, piercing pain in his mind, as if a needle had stabbed his brain.

Involuntarily, the soul power gathered in his hand retreated into the meridians of his forearm.

Even though Dugu Bo believed that if he prepared himself, his soul power wouldn't be so easily disrupted, the fact that Chen Ming could suppress his soul skill as a Titled Douluo was enough to shatter his worldview.

Staring at Chen Ming's palm, Dugu Bo could no longer contain his emotions. His eyes reddened, and he nearly teared up.

He recognized this sensation—it was familiar.

It happened back when he had just become a Titled Douluo and attended his coronation at the Spirit Hall. That was the first and only time he encountered Qian Daoliu, the Grand Worship of the Spirit Hall.

At that time, nearly all the soul power in Dugu Bo's body had been suppressed, leaving him with less than ten percent of his strength. Even his martial soul felt as if it were separated from him by an invisible barrier. If Qian Daoliu had harbored even the slightest malice, Dugu Bo would have been crushed to death by the soul power emanating from him.

Dugu Bo had never forgotten a single detail of that coronation ceremony.

The soul power surrounding Qian Daoliu back then had the same feeling as what he sensed from Chen Ming just now. Though the strength was worlds apart, Dugu Bo was certain they were the same type of power.

That unique, extraordinary, and transcendent application of soul power.

Heaven have mercy!

For years, Dugu Bo had believed that what he felt from Qian Daoliu was simply the result of the Seraphim martial soul being cultivated to its peak, with its divine attributes radiating outward.

Only today, after seeing Chen Ming, did he realize that it was a special state, a higher realm of mastery. From the way Chen Ming described it, it even seemed like this realm was common knowledge among other Titled Douluos.

So all along, the self-proclaimed extraordinary Dugu Bo was nothing more than a fool.

"So my talent is terrible…"

Dugu Bo's eyes glazed over, and he felt as if an invisible hand had slapped him across the face dozens of times. The sensation on his cheeks was no longer pain—it was an empty numbness.

A mere Soul Grandmaster can already perform this technique, something I experienced decades ago.

And yet, as a Titled Douluo, I've ignored it all along. For decades, I never even knew about this method, let alone considered the possibility of fusing soul power and spiritual power.

At my age, it seems I've truly lived like a dog.

Looking at the suddenly dazed and hollow-eyed Dugu Bo, Chen Ming grew puzzled.

He raised his hand, sensing the soul power in his palm, but noticed nothing unusual.

Wait a minute... I haven't trained in anything like Dragon Emperor's Tremor Domain or Dragon Emperor's Piercing Shatter. How come my soul power suddenly has this shock effect?

Come on, though—he's a Titled Douluo, right? Even if I, as a mere Soul Grandmaster, knew a couple of tricks, wouldn't it still feel like scratching an itch to him? My soul power and spiritual power combined wouldn't even make him flinch, would it?

Seeing Dugu Bo looking so despondent, Chen Ming didn't dare approach, afraid that the Poison Douluo might have some sort of trauma response and accidentally slap him into the wall. Instead, he stood awkwardly to the side, maintaining a polite but uneasy gaze at Dugu Bo.

After a while, Dugu Bo finally snapped out of his daze. He wiped the corners of his eyes, which were slightly damp, and gave Chen Ming a complicated look.

If Chen Ming didn't know his background or how his martial soul didn't match up, he might have thought, based on Dugu Bo's expression alone, that he was some long-lost illegitimate son or grandson of the old man.

"Kid, you've got talent." Dugu Bo coughed twice, trying to cover up his moment of emotional lapse, and casually tossed out some praise.

Truthfully, he didn't dare to make any detailed comment on Chen Ming's technique—he genuinely didn't understand it.

The more he said, the greater the risk of embarrassment when the time came to ask Chen Ming for guidance. Saying too little, though, would already cost him face. So, better to avoid bringing it up altogether, sparing himself from further awkwardness later.

And if this technique could truly cure the hereditary poison afflicting his family, but he couldn't master it himself, he'd still need to seek Chen Ming's help in the future.

This thought led Dugu Bo to recall an old nemesis of his.

That damned Chrysanthemum Douluo from the Spirit Hall—there's no way he doesn't know about this technique. By all rights, he should know it too. So why have I never seen him use it? Does he know it but can't perform it…?

Or is it that he just looks down on me? Whenever we fought, he only used a fraction of his strength, keeping his real skills hidden.

The mere possibility made Dugu Bo feel even more pathetic. To stabilize his emotions, he decided not to dwell on it for now.

Fine, I'll find an opportunity to test that bastard later.

Dugu Bo didn't ask Chen Ming where he'd learned the technique.

After all, as the saying goes, the Douluo Continent is never short of fortuitous encounters.

He had avoided dying from poison backlash and risen to the pinnacle as a Titled Douluo thanks to his fortuitous encounter.

Surely, he couldn't be the only one with such opportunities, right?

Over the tens of thousands of years of history on the Douluo Continent, who knows how many Titled Douluos have emerged? And who knows what they've left behind in the far corners of the continent? If someone happened to stumble across one of these legacies and gain some profound insight, it would hardly be an unusual occurrence. More likely, they just had a bit of luck and found the right knowledge in the right book.

Refocusing his mind, Dugu Bo regained his usual dignified demeanor and began to size up Chen Ming once again.

At first, no matter how he looked at Chen Ming, Dugu Bo felt the young man was unsuitable for his granddaughter. Even though Chen Ming had decent looks, there was still something about him that seemed faintly rustic.

But after seeing Chen Ming's martial soul, talent, and, most importantly, this technique that even a Titled Douluo like himself couldn't perform, the more Dugu Bo looked at Chen Ming, the more pleasing he found him. He thought Chen Ming now looked like a perfect candidate for Dugu Yan's future husband.