"Jiao Poison!"
"Third soul skill: Devour! Soul bone skill: Devour!"
At the Sea Star Sacred Pillar, Dugu Yan was battling Sea Star Douluo in a contest of poison and devouring.
After her martial soul evolved, Dugu Yan's poison far surpassed her grandfather Dugu Bo at the Soul Sage level. Even Titled Douluo dared not take it head-on.
But today's opponent, Sea Star Douluo, like Porcupinefish Douluo of Spirit Hall, could devour poison—both his third soul skill and his soul bone skill were "Devour." With both, Dugu Yan's poison was useless.
Dugu Yan grew anxious. Her only way to win was to outlast him—but her opponent was a Titled Douluo.
Though restricted to sixty percent power, this only meant his skills were weakened—his soul power reserves were unchanged. As a Soul Sage, she couldn't outlast him.
"I won't give up! Soul bone skill: Venomous Rain!" Dugu Yan's forehead glowed, and dark clouds gathered above.
Purple-black rain fell, corroding everything it touched with deadly poison.
This was Dugu Yan's widest-area attack, but it cost nearly half her power.
Sea Star Douluo's martial soul looked more like a giant octopus after activating his true form, with a hundred tentacles. Now, his tentacles were corroded by the rain, and Dugu Yan smiled, thinking she'd won.
Sea Star Douluo laughed. "I didn't expect such a wide-range attack. It's beyond my devouring limit—but it's useless. Fifth soul skill: Regenerate!"
New tentacles swiftly grew from the corroded stumps. Dugu Yan's half-power ultimate move had no effect.
All his tentacles surged at Dugu Yan, who was too drained to react.
Her arms, legs, neck, and waist were tightly bound.
"I'm finished—I can't move at all!" With her throat constricted, Dugu Yan could barely breathe.
"Admit defeat, girl, and I'll let you go. If you die during the trial, I haven't broken Lord Sea God's rules. If you won't admit defeat, prepare to die from suffocation," Sea Star Douluo warned.
"I… will never admit defeat!" Dugu Yan was one of the most tenacious in the Emperor Battle Team.
"Fine, you've used your last chance. Prepare to die. Ninth soul skill: Gravity—Tide's Rise and Fall." Sea Star Douluo's martial soul grew larger. At its center, a massive black hole appeared and sucked Dugu Yan in.
This was his strongest control skill. Once inside, all life force, soul power, and spirit were drained rapidly.
If one had overwhelming attack power, there might be a chance to break free. But Dugu Yan, with hands and feet bound, was helpless.
Among the pillar guardians, Sea Star Douluo's soul power ranked second-lowest, but in difficulty, he was among the hardest to deal with—because he was a control type.
Dugu Yan's remaining half soul power was being drained rapidly.
At that moment, Dugu Yan suddenly smiled. From her arm, the tentacles binding her were frozen or burned away, freeing her.
"What's this? Incredible ice and fire power. Isn't her martial soul the Jade Phosphor Serpent? How does she have such strong elemental power?" Sea Star Douluo was confused.
Dugu Yan smiled. "You fell for it, Your Excellency. I played weak on purpose. My true martial soul is the Ice-Fire Jiao. For years I've trained both poison and ice-fire power. My soul power is infused with extreme cold and heat. Absorbing so much of my power—how do you feel now?"
"Oh no!" Sea Star Douluo realized in horror he couldn't control his soul power. When he tried, it felt like burning flames or icy hell.
He'd absorbed so much of her power yet couldn't use it—it was meaningless.
"Break!" Dugu Yan still had about twenty percent soul power left, enough.
No matter how strong the ninth skill, without soul power, it could be broken. Dugu Yan forced her way out.
"Third soul skill: Purple Poison!" She used her last power to unleash her ultimate poison.
Sea Star Douluo, unable to use his devour skill or move because his meridians were frozen, could only watch as the poison engulfed him.
The trial was over as the deadly poison filled the Sea Star domain.
["Dugu Yan, Black Level Fifth Trial, fifth test passed. Soul power increased by one level. All Black Level Fifth Trials completed—extra reward: one more level. Current level: 80 (81). Granted Sea God Island Black Level authority and a god-bestowed soul ring."]
Having exhausted all her soul power, Dugu Yan passed the trial. She knew she'd used a clever trick. Had Sea Star Douluo used full power, she would have died when caught by the ninth soul skill. Titled Douluo were indeed formidable—her win was extremely close.
After the trial, Dugu Yan helped suppress the poison in Sea Star Douluo so he wouldn't die—though she didn't remove it entirely, for Ning Rongrong's sake.
Just then, Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing arrived—she'd just easily defeated Sea Spear Douluo, and her next target was Sea Star.
This battle hardly needed to be fought—Sea Star Douluo was full of ice-fire and poison, and the match was decided in less than ten seconds.
With intelligence on the seven Sea Douluo gathered before the trials, they had long prepared a plan.
Of the seven Sea Douluo, four—Sea Dragon, Sea Spear, Sea Illusion, and Sea Star—had to be beaten with clever tactics. Otherwise, for support-type Ning Rongrong to win seven consecutive matches within thirty-six hours was impossible; she only had three combat soul rings.
But if all seven were beaten by tricks, it would displease the Sea God. So for the other three—Sea Horse, Sea Ghost, and Sea Maiden—Ning Rongrong decided to take them head-on. This way, she could pass and not disappoint the Sea God.
She'd clear the trials and keep the Sea God from being too displeased.