Chapter 44: Dugu Yan Falls Unconscious, Dugu Bo Arrives

"Ah, even though Zhi Ling's words are pessimistic, he's not wrong," Bai Baoshan shook his head, looking unwilling to accept the situation. However, Meng Shenji had a different perspective. "It's fine. Even if we lose this Soul Master Tournament, it doesn't mean that the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy is truly in decline. Our time to show our fangs will come... six years from now!" Hearing this, Bai Baoshan's eyes lit up. He looked at the spirited young people across from Team One of the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy. That's right—victory or defeat in the short term didn't matter. The nine members of the Emperor Team were their real hope. "You all performed well today, especially Tianheng and Tianlin. The two of you are working together with great synergy. It's just a pity that you can't perform a Martial Soul Fusion Skill. If you could, your strength would undoubtedly multiply," Qin Ming said as he walked over. He had been exploring the possibility of fusing the Suppresing Demon Sword and Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Souls. The Suppressing Demon Sword could accommodate various attributes, and the lightning of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon was unmatched among Martial Souls. Logically, these two Martial Souls should be compatible. Unfortunately, despite his long research, all he had managed to create were a few combination skills. A true Martial Soul Fusion Skill was far more complex. In truth, Tianlin knew the reason they couldn't fuse: Yu Tianheng's Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon wasn't of a high enough grade. It was merely a top-tier Martial Soul, while Tianlin's Demon Sword was a hidden god-tier Martial Soul. Unless Yu Tianheng underwent a fundamental transformation, it would be almost impossible for them to achieve a Martial Soul Fusion Skill. After completing their training for the day, the group stepped down from the battle stage. At that moment, Dugu Yan suddenly felt a wave of dizziness. "How strange... Could it be from overusing my Martial Soul?" "Yan, what's wrong?" Yu Tianheng quickly caught her, his voice full of concern. "Tianheng, don't worry. I'm just feeling a little dizzy," Dugu Yan said, trying to reassure him. She forced herself to stand, but as soon as she left Yu Tianheng's embrace, she collapsed to the ground and quickly lost consciousness. "Sister Yan!" "Yan!" The Emperor Team and Qin Ming shouted anxiously. Meng Shenji immediately stepped forward to check on her condition. Dugu Yan wasn't just a member of the Emperor Team; she was their only control-type Soul Master and the sole granddaughter of the Poison Douluo. Nothing could be allowed to happen to her. "Old Bai, Qin Ming and I will take Dugu Yan to the infirmary. You go find the best healing-type Soul Master in the academy right away!" Meng Shenji ordered. Although Ye Lingling's Nine-Hearted Begonia was the strongest healing Martial Soul, her level was too low to fully unleash its power. "Understood!" Despite his large frame, Bai Baoshan moved with surprising speed, disappearing in an instant. An hour later, in the infirmary, Dugu Yan finally regained consciousness under the care of a seventy-plus-level healing-type Soul Sage. The Soul Sage's Martial Soul was a Healing Staff, similar to Jiangzhu's from the Blue Tyrant Academy. "She's fine now. I think it was just a case of Martial Soul overuse. After all, your opponents were all above level 30. You're just a group of Soul Grandmasters. Don't push yourselves so hard in the future, understood?" The Soul Sage retracted his staff and offered his advice. "Whew, thank goodness nothing serious happened. Yan, you need to take better care of yourself in the future," Qin Ming said with a relieved sigh. While the others relaxed, Tianlin's brows remained tightly furrowed. He knew this wasn't a simple case of overexertion. If it were just for overusing her Martial Soul, how could Dugu Yan have been more affected than him and Yu Tianheng? After all, the two of them bore most of the team's offensive output, yet neither of them had shown such symptoms. In Tianlin's opinion, what had just occurred was likely due to Dugu Yan's body being overwhelmed, causing the toxins within her to lose their suppression by her soul power and backfire. Fortunately, she was a poison-type Soul Master herself, which allowed her to recover quickly. However, as Dugu Yan's soul power continued to grow, the potency of her toxins would only increase. Eventually, her poison would exceed her body's capacity to contain it, leading to a fatal backlash. It seemed that finding a way to detoxify Dugu Yan needed to become a priority. This had to be done as soon as possible. Only by fully controlling the toxins within her could she unleash her true strength. "Yan'er!!!" Suddenly, a furious and anxious shout came from outside. The infirmary door was kicked open, and an old man dressed in emerald green strode in. He was tall and thin, and astonishingly, not only his clothes but even his hair and beard were green. A faintly fishy scent lingered around him. "Grandfather," Dugu Yan called out softly. With that, the others finally realized who this man was. It was none other than one of the current generation's Title Douluo, the man known as the Poison Douluo. Most people, however, preferred to call him the Jade Phosphor Douluo because his personality, like his Martial Soul, was both venomous and ruthless. His sudden appearance wasn't unexpected. When Dugu Yan lost consciousness, the academy naturally sought to notify him. It was Elder Zhiling who personally went to fetch him. "Your Eminence, please don't worry. Dugu Yan is fine now. She just needs some rest," Qin Ming said respectfully. "Yes, Grandfather, you're overreacting. I just overexerted my soul power—there's no need for you to come all the way here," Dugu Yan said as she threw herself into her grandfather's arms, playfully acting spoiled. Despite her words, she was genuinely happy that her grandfather cared so deeply about her. "Good, as long as you're okay. You scared your grandfather half to death," Dugu Bo said gently, stroking her hair. To the surprise of the Emperor Team and Qin Ming, the notorious Poison Douluo, known for his mercilessness, displayed such a tender side. However, Dugu Bo wasn't as naive as the others. His first thought upon hearing the news was that Dugu Yan's toxins had started to backfire. Even though his expression remained gentle, Tianlin could see the deep worry in his eyes. After all, Dugu Yan's father—Dugu Bo's son—had died from the same slow poison-induced deterioration. But he couldn't bring himself to tell Dugu Yan the truth. She was still so young. How cruel would it be to let her know her life might end prematurely? The world called Dugu Bo heartless, yet few knew how much he valued family. If he could, he would gladly give up his Title Douluo strength in exchange for his granddaughter's happiness and health. To avoid disturbing Dugu Yan's rest, the others quickly left the infirmary. Outside, Dugu Bo addressed the group: "So, you're the Emperor Team? Yan'er always mentions you when she comes home. You're all quite impressive." "Your Eminence flatters us," they replied humbly. In the presence of a Title Douluo, none of them dared to act arrogantly. Dugu Bo's gaze lingered on three people: Tianlin, Ye Lingling, and Yu Tianheng. Tianlin was the youngest yet also the strongest among them—a once-in-a-generation prodigy. In Dugu Bo's decades of roaming the continent, he had never encountered such talent, not even in Tang Hao. As for Ye Lingling, with her Nine-Hearted Begonia, the strongest healing Martial Soul on the continent, she might be able to alleviate Dugu Yan's poisoning. If Dugu Bo admired Tianlin and Ye Lingling, his feelings toward Yu Tianheng were entirely different. His gaze was full of killing intent. This boy had stolen his precious granddaughter's heart, and Dugu Bo would have loved nothing more than to give him a dose of Jade Phosphor Serpent Venom on the spot.