Ignaz scratched his head, noticing the curious looks from Dugu Bo and his companion.
"Senior, how about you help me test out my fourth soul skill?"
At these words, Dugu Bo frowned, then gestured for Dugu Yan to step aside. He clasped his hands behind his back and looked at Ignaz with supreme confidence.
"Bring it on! I'm curious to see what kind of soul ring a top-tier plant soul beast can produce."
Ignaz immediately summoned his Blood Thunder War Spear and gave Dugu Bo a sincere warning.
"Senior, please be careful!"
"Fourth Soul Skill: Hell's Blood Web!"
A blood-red net, crackling with incredibly violent thunder power, shot toward Dugu Bo at lightning speed. Seeing this, Dugu Bo activated his third soul skill—Corrosive Black Witch Snake.
Two black serpents struck the blood web but were quickly absorbed and dispersed.
"Not bad. It's inherited the Thunder Hell Vine's attack methods, and the web's strength is solid enough. What a shame, though—you're a power-attack soul master with a control-type skill. What a waste of a technique!"
Dugu Bo felt somewhat disappointed and quickly moved out of the blood web's attack range. Just when he thought he'd dodged it, the blood web suddenly changed direction and caught him completely in one swift motion.
The countless blood lightning threads on the web invaded Dugu Bo's body like crimson silk, penetrating from skin to blood to meridians. In less than three seconds, Dugu Bo felt his body go numb, even experiencing some pain.
He couldn't help but feel pleased about Ignaz's fourth soul skill, laughing as he said:
"Little Iggy, looks like I really underestimated this fourth skill of yours. This blood web actually has target-locking capabilities, and the electric current can paralyze and damage someone's meridians. Though it has flaws, it's already quite impressive."
"Is that so? Senior, my skill isn't finished yet."
Just as Dugu Bo activated his Martial Soul True Body to break free from Hell's Blood Web, the shattered web immediately formed countless small Blood Thunder War Spears around him, shooting rapidly toward his body.
Now Dugu Bo no longer dared to underestimate Ignaz's mere fourth soul skill. While in Martial Soul True Body form, he used his fifth soul skill—Dark Domain Celestial Shield—to defend against these incredibly dense small Blood Thunder War Spears.
But it was already too late. The black celestial scale armor could only block some of the Blood Thunder War Spears, while many more small spears pierced directly into Dugu Bo's body.
At this moment, Dugu Bo looked like a human porcupine, his entire body bristling with small Blood Thunder War Spears.
Fortunately, Dugu Bo had activated his Martial Soul True Body, minimizing the damage from the Blood Thunder War Spears. However, he could still feel the power of these small spears formed from the blood web.
If he weren't skilled with poisons and wasn't a Titled Douluo, being pierced by these small spears would have allowed the red rust poison on their tips to invade every meridian in his body. He could have been severely injured—or died—from poisoning on the spot.
Dugu Bo immediately burst forth with powerful soul power, shattering all the small spears around him. He walked up to Ignaz with obvious delight and a hint of envy.
"Little Iggy, your fourth soul skill can control and attack—I have to say, this technique's effect is truly powerful. For a power-attack soul master like you, this kind of skill counts as a life-saving measure."
"Senior, I won't lie to you—my fourth soul skill can also go pure offense without control. Control is just the surface method. The other effect is that when the blood web attacks, it can quickly transform into a Blood Thunder War Spear four times larger, striking the target with 70% defense-breaking capability."
When Ignaz first absorbed the Thunder Hell Vine's soul ring, he was somewhat disappointed with the ring's effects. After all, it wasn't a pure attack method.
The Thunder Hell Vine's attack style leaned toward control, so naturally, the soul skill he gained also favored control, followed by explosive assault.
But the fourth soul skill, Hell's Blood Web, included a target-locking effect, which changed everything—absolute control combined with attack capabilities.
Hearing the slightly dejected tone in Ignaz's voice, Dugu Bo immediately patted his back, speaking with excitement:
"Your fourth soul skill has two effects simultaneously, and you're still not satisfied? You should know that most soul masters' soul rings don't have dual effects, nor do they possess your somewhat abnormal capabilities!"
"Big Brother Ignaz, I think leaning toward control is pretty good. Think about it—when you use your fourth soul skill, most soul masters will underestimate you as a power-attack type because of the blood web, but in reality..."
Dugu Yan trailed off with a light laugh, then quickly covered her mouth to hide her improper smile, not wanting to show any bad side of herself in front of Ignaz.
She could hardly imagine how much damage Ignaz's fourth soul skill would inflict on opponents. Poison, lightning, blood web—clearly it was a technique for the weak to defeat the strong, playing the pig to eat the tiger.
"Little Iggy, techniques are techniques. What I want to confirm now is—what's your current soul power level?"
"Well, exactly level 46."
Hearing this, both Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan looked at him with confusion. "Only level 46?"
Shouldn't absorbing a 20,000-year ring beyond his level increase his soul power by four to five levels? By that calculation, the two immortal herbs only boosted his soul power by a mere seven levels—wasn't that way too low?
Seeing their puzzled expressions, Ignaz explained helplessly:
"Senior, little sister, immortal herbs don't give higher soul power boosts the more you consume. It depends on whether the herb type suits you and the soul master's age. If everyone could eat immortal herbs to rapidly boost soul power, wouldn't this world have hundreds or thousands more Titled Douluo?"
"Little Iggy is right—immortal herbs have limited medicinal power. Eating too much is actually harmful."
After hearing Ignaz's explanation, Dugu Bo completely abandoned the restless thought of having his granddaughter obtain more immortal herbs from Ignaz.
At that moment, the last drop of Purple Thunder Liquid dripped into the bottle. Just as Ignaz was about to collect it, Dugu Yan beat him to it, taking away the three filled jade bottles and waving them in front of Ignaz with obvious delight.
"This was agreed upon beforehand—I'm taking them first. If Big Brother Ignaz wants some, come find me later."
The next second, the Thunder Hell Vine's corpse automatically dissolved before the three of them. Ignaz felt somewhat disappointed. According to how soul bones drop, Dugu Bo had practically slaughtered the Thunder Hell Vine in an almost brutal manner, yet no soul bone dropped. Perhaps the level of brutality wasn't enough?
He had to admit—if he could absorb the Thunder Hell Vine's soul bone, that would be even better.
The three returned along the same path, with Dugu Yan asking Ignaz:
"Big Brother Ignaz, have you attended an advanced soul master academy?"
Ignaz shook his head, making Dugu Yan even happier. Not attending an advanced academy was perfect! She looked toward Dugu Bo, who instantly understood his granddaughter's thoughts.
"Little Iggy, you're still young—not attending an advanced soul master academy would be a real waste. How about this—I'll mention it to Prince Xue Qinghe, and you can enroll at Heaven Dou Royal Academy!"
"Stay at my place for now. I happen to have some herbs that need your help with separation."
Ignaz was about to refuse, but seeing the sudden change in both Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan's expressions, he could only agree.
"Well... alright then!"
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