"Rongrong, if you don't want to, then there's no need—"
"Alright, I'll fight you," Ning Rongrong replied.
"Mm." Dugu Yan nodded.
The two of them stepped back to create distance, while Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er also moved aside.
"Bing'er, who do you think will win?" Shui Yue'er whispered.
"Rongrong is a Soul Sage, and Dugu Yan is a Soul King…" Shui Bing'er didn't continue.
Dugu Yan was already at level 59. After returning from the Extreme North, she had broken through another level in these past two days.
Before returning to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, she might even reach Soul Emperor.
"Who knows how they cultivate!" Shui Yue'er's tone carried a hint of melancholy.
She had unexpectedly reached level 37, while Shui Bing'er had achieved level 45.
Dugu Yan was a Soul King at just 19 years old—possibly even a Soul Emperor by 19.
And Ning Rongrong was even more outrageous…
Earlier, Dugu Yan had told her that a woman named Qian Renxue had even greater talent and strength, already a Soul Sage at 21.
Every single one of them was absurd.
Shui Yue'er was only level 37 at 18—how could she even compare?
The standoff between Ning Rongrong and Dugu Yan began.
The atmosphere around them grew heavy.
"Nine Treasures shine, the Glazed Tile emerges—"
"First, Strength!"
"Second, Speed!"
"Third, Soul!"
"Fourth…"
The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda radiated light as Ning Rongrong's aura grew increasingly formidable.
Then, a sword-shaped soul tool appeared in her hand—a close-combat soul tool forged by Lou Gao during her last visit.
The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda hovered around Ning Rongrong as she gripped the sword.
Dugu Yan: "…"
Using the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda for enhancement and then fighting me with a soul tool—is this how an auxiliary-type Soul Master from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan fights?
Buffing herself?
I've never seen Uncle Ning fight like this. Is this kind of auxiliary Soul Master even normal?
"Rongrong, didn't you say the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's enhancements are useless on you?"
Dugu Yan looked suspicious.
"Yeah, but as a Soul Master, you gotta have some sense of ceremony."
"You're too much." Dugu Yan facepalmed.
No wonder Uncle Ning had such a headache—sometimes Ning Rongrong was just too unpredictable.
Whether it was the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda or the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, aside from the inherent rules of the martial soul itself, none of the enhancements had any real effect on her.
Ning Rongrong was at her peak state 24/7, treating the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda like some kind of spiritual treasure.
After reaching the Grandmaster realm, aside from being able to unleash power beyond her limits inside the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda and resonating with Tokisaki Kurumi,
everything else… her martial soul was practically just an external object to her.
"Sister Yan, how do you want to fight?" Ning Rongrong asked, gripping her soul tool.
"I defeat you, or you defeat me—just like you said, whoever's on top…"
"Uh, did I say something like that?" Ning Rongrong froze. Why did it feel like Dugu Yan was getting better at steering the conversation into dangerous territory?
"Who knows? Here I come."
"Martial Soul, Possession!"
"Fifth Soul Skill—Misfortune Poison!"
"Hey, be careful with that!" Ning Rongrong quickly retreated, shouting to the distance, "Kurumi, watch out for Dugu Yan's poison!"
"Got it."
Tokisaki Kurumi casually tossed away the watermelon rind in her hand.
With a "whoosh," she appeared beside Shui Yue'er and Shui Bing'er, raising a barrier that enclosed the two of them and herself.
"What's this for?" Shui Bing'er was puzzled.
Tokisaki Kurumi explained, "The poison Dugu Yan uses isn't ordinary. Even a Titled Douluo could be in serious trouble if they're not careful."
She was referring to that big, dumb black dragon currently licking its wounds in the Great Star Dou Forest—the one whose mind had been left blank after Ning Rongrong injected Dugu Yan's Misfortune Poison into its soul.
Though, given Di Tian's quasi-god-level strength, the poison couldn't actually kill him.
But once it invaded the soul, it could still cause damage—hence why he had coughed up several mouthfuls of blood.
"That terrifying?" The two gasped.
The things they'd witnessed these past few days had completely overturned their understanding. A Soul King's power could threaten a Titled Douluo? That was just absurd.
"Watch the fight properly. I don't know much about your human world."
"But generally speaking, Ning Rongrong, Dugu Yan, and that Qian Renxue are basically the most talented Soul Masters on this continent."
"Oh, sorry—my ridiculous master isn't even a Soul Master. She's something called a 'cultivator' or whatever. I don't really get it…"
"Actually, forget it. You don't need to know this much. I can help blur your memories if needed."
"Bing'er and I promise we won't tell anyone." Shui Yue'er was speechless.
This Kurumi really had no common sense! If you didn't want us to know, why even bring it up?
Kurumi just shrugged it off and didn't actually act on her words. The three turned their attention back to the battle.
The fight had already begun.
The Misfortune Poison dyed the space in a greenish glow, tinting everything in a faint emerald hue.
"Hey, this is too much!" Ning Rongrong's scalp tingled. "Is Dugu Yan not afraid of poisoning me to death?"
If I accidentally die, where would she find another Ning Rongrong this big to return to Ning Fengzhi?
Then he'd have to endure decades more as the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan's patriarch.
No way. Ning Fengzhi deserves retirement. As a filial daughter, I can't let my dear father suffer like this.
Her soul tool erupted with light as ice and fire energies intertwined, forming a Taiji symbol.
A small Taiji pattern materialized beneath Ning Rongrong's feet. The encroaching poison mist seeped into the array, where the Misfortune Poison was dissolved by the opposing forces of yin and yang.
"Of course. Rongrong, someone as cautious as you wouldn't help someone develop a Misfortune Poison Body without a way to counter it first." Dugu Yan realized.
"Hey, don't make me sound like some scheming old fox," Ning Rongrong retorted before vanishing and reappearing behind Dugu Yan.
Her sword slashed mercilessly toward Dugu Yan's neck.
"No mercy, huh?"
As if anticipating the attack, Dugu Yan coiled her Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor into a defensive spiral, releasing a wall of poison mist behind her to block Ning Rongrong's strike.
"Clang—"
The collision of forces sent shockwaves radiating outward.
While Ning Rongrong landed gracefully, flicking her sword to disperse the surrounding poison, Dugu Yan coughed up a trickle of blood as she was sent flying dozens of meters back.
"As expected, I don't stand a chance. But I've learned a trick too—watch out, Rongrong."
Her soul power surged as the first four of her five soul rings lit up simultaneously.
"Heart Division Control?" Ning Rongrong was puzzled.
Then, in Ning Rongrong's eyes, the first four rings dimmed drastically as their energy flowed into the fifth ring.
"This is…" Ning Rongrong's pupils shrank. "Hey, you're being reckless!"
"Even if something goes wrong, it should be fine…" Dugu Yan murmured.
"Soul Ring Fusion!"
"Fifth Soul Skill—Misfortune Poison!"
The moment Dugu Yan's voice fell, her martial soul underwent a drastic transformation. The already distinct scales of the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor grew even more vivid.
Empowered by the fused soul rings, her serpentine body rapidly expanded into a colossal python, charging straight at Ning Rongrong.
The space around it was dyed a deep, venomous green.
Dugu Yan's strength was already close to that of a Soul Emperor. With Soul Ring Fusion, her power surpassed even that.
Coupled with the unique lethality of the Jade Phosphor Serpent's poison, even a Soul Sage would have to retreat.
The dozens-of-meters-long serpent opened its maw wide, lunging with a thunderous roar.
Watching this, Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er stood frozen.
"This is a Soul King?!"
The sheer might of the serpent, the terrifying aura it exuded—even a glancing touch would instantly kill any Soul King from Tian Shui Academy.
"Right, didn't Ning Rongrong and Dugu Yan say they'd participate in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament in two years?"
Two more years… if these two joined, would anyone else even stand a chance?
Even those so-called monsters from the Spirit Hall wouldn't last, would they?