Chapter 97: Overplayed
He had thought Dugu Bo would show a shocked expression.
But now it seemed he had thought too much, because Dugu Bo was thoroughly enraged.
A piercing long cry came from his mouth, and an emerald-like green light burst forth from his body. His body expanded in the wind, and the illusory image of a great, jade-green serpent appeared behind him.
At the same time, nine soul rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black—rose from under Dugu Bo's feet, spiraling around his body.
"Damn it, I've overplayed my hand," Zu Zong exclaimed.
In an instant, a powerful pressure swept over Zu Zong's entire body, nearly crushing him to the ground.
If Zu Zong hadn't activated the Nine Yang Divine Art to protect his body at the critical moment, along with the support of the Eight Spider Lances and the Blue Silver Emperor Spirit, he would have likely fainted already.
At this moment, Zu Zong was half-kneeling on the ground, using the Eight Spider Lances for support to barely stand up.
Zu Zong did not fall; he stood up perfectly intact. Even with Dugu Bo's composure, he couldn't help but be shocked. What kind of little monster was this? His burst of aura was enough to knock out a Spirit King, and even a Spirit Emperor would be pinned to the ground, unable to move.
But shock was shock; Dugu Bo still had not given up on the idea of teaching Zu Zong a lesson.
It was Zu Zong's own fault for hitting Dugu Bo's sore spot! A man who played with poison ended up harming others and himself; not only was he poisoned to the bone, but even his descendants suffered greatly from it.
With a wave of his right hand, Dugu Bo sent a purple flame, different from the previous one, rushing towards Zu Zong. This purple flame was larger and deeper in color, and along its path, almost any land or vegetation it touched turned to ash.
Zu Zong was greatly alarmed. Already prepared, his hands formed several strange seals, and the second soul ring on his body lit up brightly.
"Second Spirit Ability—Blue Silver Sharp Blade!"
The next moment, the Blue Silver Emperor vines covering Zu Zong's body erupted, transforming into hundreds of fiery red sharp blades that shot towards the oncoming purple flame. Zu Zong held nothing back, channeling almost all his remaining spirit power into his second spirit ability.
This time, the Blue Silver Sharp Blades were somewhat different from before. Not only were they fully covered in fire poison, with their toughness and hardness at their peak, but they also incorporated the domineering sword techniques Zu Zong had learned from Xuan Jian. Their power was more than ten times stronger than when he had fought Dai Mubai.
If he couldn't block it, Zu Zong would have no choice but to escape using the system's teleportation function.
The Blue Silver Sharp Blades collided with the purple flame. A surprising scene occurred: the purple flame did not burn the blades, nor did the blades pierce through the flame. Instead, two shockwaves were generated.
Upon closer observation, one could see that the point of contact between the red and purple shockwaves was changing. The red, fire-poison-covered Blue Silver Sharp Blades were devouring the purple flame, but moments later, the blades would be overwhelmed and burst. This process repeated itself over and over, happening hundreds of times in the blink of an eye.
Seeing only a few dozen Blue Silver Sharp Blades left, struggling to hold on, Zu Zong revealed a bitter smile.
His mind raced. He had finally managed to hook a big fish like Dugu Bo. If the fish escaped, Zu Zong would be very unwilling to accept it, because this was a one-time opportunity. Who knew when the next chance would come? It might even be snatched away by that fellow Tang San.
Thinking of this, Zu Zong shouted in his mind, "It seems I can only take a gamble, otherwise I'll have to run away using the system's teleport."
Taking a deep breath, Zu Zong shouted loudly, "Old Poison, the reason I said you are poisoned is because I have a way to save you—"
The collision between Zu Zong's Blue Silver Sharp Blades and the purple flame released by Dugu Bo after activating his Spirit naturally caused a significant commotion.
Several miles away, the members of the Royal Combat Team all noticed it. From a distance, a mushroom cloud dozens of meters high appeared in their sight, with flames of intermingling purple and red within the smoke.
"Little Zong is in danger, I have to go save him." Seeing the explosion in the direction Zu Zong had gone, Xiao Wu, who was already worried, saw her eyes immediately turn red.
She kicked the ground fiercely and shot up, using a large nearby tree to leap away, rushing straight towards the site of the explosion.
At this point, she could no longer care about anything else; Zu Zong's instructions and Dugu Yan's repeated assurances were all thrown to the back of her mind.
The second to react was Ye Leng Leng. As the most reclusive person in the Royal Combat Team, she only knew that Zu Zong was going to meet someone, but she didn't know it was Dugu Bo.
Seeing the huge explosion over there, her reaction was only a beat slower than Xiao Wu's. Infusing her feet with spirit power, she also gave chase, following closely behind Xiao Wu.
Yu Tian Heng frowned and looked at Dugu Yan, "Yanzi, did Senior Dugu really attack Zu Zong?"
He was one of the few who knew some of the inside story, as he was present when Zu Zong suggested that Dugu Yan might be poisoned.
Like Dugu Yan at the time, he also thought Zu Zong was worrying needlessly. He never expected that after Dugu Yan went back to ask her grandfather, Dugu Bo would get so angry.
Dugu Yan sighed lightly, "Grandfather promised me he wouldn't harm Zu Zong. I'll go take a look!"
As she spoke, Dugu Yan also followed them.
Just as Yu Tian Heng was about to follow, Qin Ming stopped him.
Qin Ming looked around at everyone and said in a deep voice, "Tian Heng, Senior Dugu is too dangerous. You take Oslo and the others back to notify the chairmen of the Education Committee. I will go and see."
Yu Tian Heng nodded. Although Dugu Bo wouldn't harm him, it was hard to say for the Shi brothers, Yu Feng, and Oslo.
Besides, their relationship with Zu Zong hadn't reached the point of life and death, so there was no need to involve the innocent. Instead, finding the chairmen of the Education Committee was the most correct choice.
At the same time, within the Pope's Palace in Spirit City.
A stout, black-clothed middle-aged man knelt on one knee. Standing before him were the current Pope of the Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong, and her disciple, Hu Lie Na.
The black-clothed middle-aged man said, "Reporting to Your Holiness, the person you asked me to secretly protect has been taken away by the Poison Douluo."
At this, cold sweat dripped from the man's forehead. He was well aware of how ruthless the Pope before him was; in the past, those who failed to complete her tasks were all executed by her.
Unexpectedly, Bibi Dong did not get angry. She said faintly, "You may leave."
Standing to the side, Hu Lie Na was somewhat puzzled. She looked at Bibi Dong, "Teacher, why don't you—"
She wanted to ask why Bibi Dong didn't punish the middle-aged man in black.
Bibi Dong did not answer directly. Instead, she looked up at the sky through the window of the Pope's Palace and murmured, "You will understand in the future. Go back to your training for now! Hurry up and refine that immortal herb I gave you. Also, your practice of those spirit abilities is still not proficient enough."
After Hu Lie Na left, a trace of murderous aura appeared on Bibi Dong's previously calm face. "You old poison, I hope you know what's good for you, otherwise—"
As she spoke, Bibi Dong took out a red and white, spiritual flower from her bosom, kissed it gently, a happy smile appearing on her face. She held it in her palm and murmured to herself, "Two more years—"
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