With Gui Mei's departure, the Black Tiger Sect also slunk out of the Great Soul Arena in defeat.
The atmosphere around the Soul Duel Stage relaxed noticeably. Soul Masters from the Ge Family, Thunder Academy, Zhu Family, and Dai Family all wore smiles on their faces.
Only Tuoba Xi of the Sacred Dragon Sect maintained his composure despite looking somewhat displeased.
The outcome was now decided.
The interests left behind by the retreating Clear Sky Sect would belong to the six great families.
What followed would be internal negotiations among these six families.
Having killed two members of the Black Tiger Sect, the Dugu Family was undoubtedly entitled to a substantial share of the spoils.
These matters would be handled by his father and Old Snake.
Dugu Feng returned to his room with joy in his heart.
What truly delighted him was the long-awaited evolution of the Core Pearls within his body.
The two Core Pearls had split into four.
Sitting cross-legged, Dugu Feng focused inward. In his dantian, four emerald-green Core Pearls formed a square, rotating quietly.
Yet the energy contained within each pearl amounted to only one-quarter of its total capacity.
Hmm, just one-quarter?
He had expected it to decrease to half. It seemed the quality of the Core Pearls had significantly improved.
The energy had condensed into a more solid state, which explained the apparent reduction.
"Boom!"
Just as Dugu Feng was sensing this, four violent surges of heat erupted from the Core Pearls, flooding through his limbs and bones.
First, the Soul Power in his meridians was propelled by this heat to break through yet again—reaching level seventeen.
Under normal cultivation, this would have taken at least two more months. Yet now, he'd advanced directly.
Dugu Feng felt exhilarated.
All his sleepless cultivation, feasting, and training had finally paid off.
Next, the heat permeated every cell in his bones, muscles, and blood.
"Ha!"
He felt his entire body strengthening.
"Eh?"
Dugu Feng noticed something peculiar—two streams of energy had traveled through the meridians in his hands and entered the Nine-Section Jadeites.
The crimson eyes of the Nine-Section Jadeites trembled violently.
Their power began to surge wildly.
1,100 years...
1,200 years...
1,300 years...
Only when both pets surpassed 2,000 years did the growth finally stop.
Dugu Feng was speechless. Why did it feel like the Nine-Section Jadeites had gained more than he had?
No matter—they were working for him anyway.
Given their small size, the energy required to enhance their strength wasn't substantial.
For him, the greatest improvement lay in his physical resilience.
Most of the heat had fused with his body.
It seemed a thousand-year Spirit Ring for his second slot was guaranteed. The only question was how many years it would ultimately be.
Four green flashes.
The Core Pearls appeared in his palm as he exhaled. Already capable of size manipulation, they had now evolved into something even more mystical.
Changing size at will was just the basics.
In the brief moments they had circulated within his body, they had completely absorbed all the toxins in his bloodstream.
After their evolution, the Core Pearls' demand for toxins had intensified.
"Does this mean my poison flare-ups are completely resolved now?"
The four Core Pearls required an enormous amount of toxins to condense, and it was likely that the body's toxin production couldn't keep up with the absorption rate of the pearls.
So what was there to fear about a poison outbreak?
Moreover, the absorption and fusion power of the Core Pearls far exceeded before.
He had been born with inherited toxins, deeply fused into his bloodline. These toxins originated from Dugu Shuo's Mixed Poison and were extremely stubborn.
They were also the root cause of his poison outbreaks.
Yet this time, the Core Pearls were actually able to slowly absorb even these stubborn toxins.
This was truly remarkable.
It seemed that as long as the Core Pearls continued to evolve, they could keep up with the growth of his toxins, solving the issue of his bodily poison.
Dugu Feng was in high spirits—his suffering from poison outbreaks would be greatly reduced in the future.
In the blink of an eye, a day passed, and it was time for the final Soul Duel.
With the threat of the Hei Mo Sect gone, the battle was bound to be much more harmonious.
Dugu Feng slowly stepped onto the Soul Duel Stage.
He was looking forward to today's match. His opponent was Zhu Zhuqing, and he was curious—would she dare to step onto the stage?
As cheers erupted from the stands, he knew Zhu Zhuqing's courage was still considerable.
Zhu Zhuqing appeared, and the beautiful female Soul Master sent the audience into a frenzy.
With a light leap, she landed gracefully on the stage, her elegant posture drawing gasps of admiration.
The moment she landed, Zhu Zhuqing had already released her Martial Soul.
One of her eyes turned dark green, the other orange-blue, but the most noticeable change was the slight perking up of her adorable cat ears.
"You actually dared to come up here!" Dugu Feng said with amusement.
Zhu Zhuqing's expression was icy. "You're strong, but not strong enough to be intimidating!"
"In that case, I'll beat you until you meow!" Dugu Feng grinned brightly.
The little kitten's competitive spirit was quite fierce—well, Dugu Feng would show her the gap between them.
He instantly released his Martial Soul, his Soul Power surging forth.
Opposite him, Zhu Zhuqing's face darkened as she entered a burst state.
Her fingers flexed, and sharp claws extended from her fingertips. Crouching low like a predator, she suddenly sprang forward.
"Hei Tian was the same—trying to strike first. Unfortunately, it didn't work on me at all!"
As he spoke, Dugu Feng kept his eyes locked on the series of afterimages Zhu Zhuqing left in her wake.
Her speed was even faster than Hei Tian's.
And her footwork was more elusive.
Amid the illusions, Zhu Zhuqing's expression hardened, and her First Soul Ring suddenly lit up—"Nether Thrust!"
Her body, already moving at high speed, accelerated even further.
Given the limited space of the stage, she was practically in front of Dugu Feng in an instant.
She relied on multiple afterimages to confuse him at extreme speed, then suddenly doubled her velocity with her true body.
From above, her figure seemed to dart out from the edge of the stage like a sudden lunge.
At the same time, her claws extended sharply, as if they would pierce Dugu Feng's vital points in the next moment.
"Bang!"
A spark flickered at the tip of her sharp claws, and the force of the collision brought Zhu Zhuqing's body to an abrupt halt.
"Bang!"
Another impact.
Even Zhu Zhuqing, as naive as she was, realized her movements had been seen through by Dugu Feng.
She looked up to see him smirking, his hands raised as streaks of purple Soul Power shot out.
Each strike landed precisely on her claws, forcing her back step by step.
Furious, Zhu Zhuqing channeled all her Soul Power, and her figure abruptly shifted sideways mid-air.
Then she charged at Dugu Feng once again.
But the thudding sounds came once more, and Zhu Zhuqing's movements became jerky and unsteady—she still couldn't evade Dugu Feng's attacks.
"Damn it, he's toying with me!"
Zhu Zhuqing was well aware now that she was no match for Dugu Feng at all.
Am I going to lose? Just like that?
Unwilling to accept defeat, she swung her claws wildly, still trying to attack.
"I told you I'd make you meow like a cat!" Dugu Feng stared coldly at Zhu Zhuqing.
"Ah!"
The next moment, Zhu Zhuqing let out a startled cry as a wave of dizziness overwhelmed her. She could no longer maintain her Martial Soul Avatar, and her entire body collapsed onto the arena with a heavy thud.
"Little kitten, you're so naive. Did you really think I was just using Soul Power?"
"The poison has already entered your body. In no time at all, you'll melt into a pool of pus!"
Dugu Feng sneered.