The moment Dugu Yan's challenge rang out, a ripple of varied reactions passed through the courtyard.
Before anyone, especially Tang San, could even process a response, Elder Gu Rong clapped his hands together with a hearty chuckle that seemed to shake the very air.
"That's a great Idea!" he boomed, his eyes glinting with undisguised curiosity.
"A spirit duel is the perfect opportunity for the younger generation to exchange pointers and for us to see the talents Rongrong keeps praising. The arena is this way."
His tone brooked no argument. It was a statement, not a suggestion.
He had effectively taken charge, shepherding the entire group before anyone could object.
Ning Fengzhi offered a faint, diplomatic sigh, exchanging a weary glance with Elder Chen Xin. Sword Douluo's stern expression was, if possible, even more unamused.
"This is highly unnecessary," Chen Xin muttered under his breath, his voice like the grating of stone.
"True," Ning Fengzhi replied softly, "but since Uncle Bone has already set the wheels in motion, we might as well observe. It might be interesting."
His gaze settled on Tang San with a deep, analytical interest.
And so, in a bewildering turn of events, Tang San found himself being ushered along by the tide of momentum, not having agreed to anything.
He was flanked on one side by an excited Xiao Wu, who was practically bouncing on her heels, and on the other by a smugly triumphant Ning Rongrong.
"Go, San! Show that purple-haired peacock what you're made of!" Xiao Wu cheered, her earlier irritation replaced by bloodthirsty anticipation.
"Exactly, Tang San," Ning Rongrong added, her voice sweet but her eyes sharp. "Let her see the gap between a true genius and someone who just relies on their family name."
Mei walked slightly behind them, but her usual serene expression was touched with a furrow of concern.
She noticed Dugu Yan's posture, noting the confident, almost predatory grace in her steps
She's too confident, Mei thought.
She didn't even blink at the prospect of a duel. Either she's recklessly arrogant, or she has a foundation to back it up.
Oh, don't be such a worrywart, Mei! Ai chirped in her mind.
This is a classic shonen protagonist setup! The underestimated underdog versus the arrogant noble! I've run the tropes; he's got this in the bag!
Caution is not worry, little spark, Luminous's deeper voice interjected.
It is wisdom. The serpent's fang is quick and often carries a hidden sting. Observe the serpent's movements. They will tell you more than her words.
They arrived at a spacious, open-air arena within the sect's grounds.
The floor was paved with seamless grey stone, and polished wooden stands surrounded it. It was a place of business, functional and imposing.
On the spectator stand, Ning Fengzhi took a seat, his posture relaxed but his eyes keen. Gu Rong stood rigidly beside him, his arms crossed.
"Elder Chen, your assessment?" Ning Fengzhi asked quietly, his voice not carrying to the others.
Chen Xin's eyes, sharp as the sword he was named for, scanned the two participants as they took their positions on the arena floor.
"The Dugu girl is level 31. Her Jade Phosphorus Snake is a top-tier beast spirit with potent venom attributes. The Poison Douluo himself has trained her, so her foundation is solid, her combat style likely ruthless."
He paused, his gaze lingering on Tang San.
"The boy… his spirit is Blue Silver Grass. A useless spirit in any conventional sense. Yet, Rongrong claims he reached the 25th rank before the age of ten. If that is true, it defies all logic. His calmness is either profound confidence or foolish ignorance. With the level gap and spirit quality disparity… it could be anyone's game, but I am leaning more toward Dugu Yan."
Down in the arena, Tang San finally had a moment to collect his thoughts. He inwardly lamented his predicament.
A public duel was the last thing he wanted to do, as it would draw unnecessary attention and reveal his capabilities.
No, he has to end this quickly and cleanly.
He focused on his opponent using the Purple Demon Eye, missing no detail.
Her striking purple hair, her piercing, faintly green-tinged eyes, the almost imperceptible, acrid scent that clung to her—it all clicked into place with a sudden, jarring clarity.
He then remembered something from his previous life, descriptions of martial artists who cultivated with deadly poisons to empower themselves, their very bodies changing as a result.
Their hair and eyes would often take on strange hues, a side effect of the toxins saturating their system.
"Wait, it can't be?" he whispered, the breath catching in his throat. "She cultivates with poison."
The theory was possible, so a direct or prolonged confrontation was now exponentially dangerous.
Elder Gu Rong stepped to the edge of the arena, his presence silencing the chatter from the stands.
"I will be the referee for this match. This is a spirit duel for exchange and evaluation. You will stop when I say so. Understood?" His voice was flat and left no room for debate.
Both participants came forward and bowed. Dugu Yan's bow was swift, perfunctory, her eyes blazing with excitement.
Tang San's was deeper, more respectful, his mind racing, already formulating and discarding strategies based on his new hypothesis.
"Begin!" Gu Rong commanded, slicing his hand through the air.
Dugu Yan was a spring uncoiling. "Dugu Yan, Jade Phosphorus Snake, Level 31!" she cried.
A vibrant purple light erupted from her, and the phantom form of a sleek, beautiful, yet deadly serpent materialized around her.
A yellow, yellow, purple spirit ring configuration rose from her feet, the perfect soul ring combination. The pressure of a 3rd-rank Spirit Elder filled the arena.
A collective, sharp intake of breath came from the stands, especially from Ning Fengzhi and the two elders.
They had expected her to be strong, but the perfect spirit ring combination was a mark of a truly elite disciple.
Tang San said nothing. He took a calm breath. "Tang San, Blue Silver Grass, Level 26. Please enlighten me."
A soft blue light enveloped him as seemingly delicate blue-silver grass sprouted from his palm.
The two bright yellow spirit rings that rose were impressive for his age.
"Level 26!" someone gasped from the stands.
The amazement was palpable. Ning Fengzhi's eyes widened slightly. Elder Gu Rong whistled, impressed. Even Chen Xin's stony facade cracked with a flicker of surprise.
A twelve-year-old at level 26 was exceptional. A nine-year-old at level 26 was unprecedented, a historical anomaly. Ning Rongrong puffed out her chest with pride, while Xiao Wu grinned fiercely.
Only Mei noticed the slight tightening around Tang San's eyes. It seems he found something.
Dugu Yan, for her part, was initially shocked into stillness.
He's only nine?
The thought was a tremor in her confidence, but it was quickly smothered by competitive fury.
So what if he was a prodigy? He was still five levels beneath her with a trash spirit.
"Level 26 with a trash spirit is still trash It is still inferior to me," she shouted, launching her attack.
"First Soul Skill: Phosphorus Serpent Venom!"
She didn't charge.
She opened her mouth and exhaled a cloud of faintly glowing, magenta poison mist that rolled towards Tang San with surprising speed, covering a wide area.
Tang San's reaction was instantaneous. "First Soul Skill: Entanglement!"
Blue Silver Grass erupted from the stone floor in a thicket, not aimed at Dugu Yan, but at the advancing poison cloud. The vines wove together, forming a dense, living wall.
The moment the poison mist touched the grass, a sizzling sound was heard. The vibrant blue-silver leaves began to turn brown and wither at an alarming rate.
But Tang San's eyes narrowed in concentration. He continuously poured his spirit power to sustain the vines.
He felt the corrosive nature of the poison through his connection to the grass, a vicious, neurotoxic agent designed to paralyze and break down spirit power.
Just before the first wave of grass completely disintegrated, a few strands, reinforced by his relentless spirit power infusion, resisted total necrosis. But soon the wall fell.
Dugu Yan saw an opening and snarled. "You think a grass wall can stop me? Second Soul Skill: Serpent's Dash!"
She became a blur of purple light, zig-zagging around the withering wall of grass with impossible agility, her fingers tipped with sharp, venomous green energy as she closed in for a direct strike.
Tang San was immediately on the defensive. "Second Soul Skill: Parasitism Field!"
The entire area around him bloomed with Blue Silver Grass. The vines, thinner and more numerous than before, lashed out at Dugu Yan as she entered the field.
They tried to wrap around her ankles and wrists, seeking to constrict her movement and drain her spirit power. But her Serpent's Dash was too fast.
She twisted and spun, her movements fluid and unpredictable, the venom on her fingertips slicing through the grasping vines before they could get a firm hold.
The few that did touch her began to wither almost immediately from her poisonous aura.
The battle settled into a tense rhythm.
Dugu Yan was the relentless aggressor, using her superior speed and the debilitating nature of her poison to press the attack.
Tang San's defense was under siege, using his Entanglement and Parasitism Field to control the space around him, creating obstacles and slowing her down.
But it was a costly move. With every exchange, patches of his Blue Silver Grass were poisoned and died, forcing him to expend more spirit power to regenerate the field.
To the spectators, it looked like a one-sided domination. Dugu Yan was clearly pushing Tang San back, her poison slowly but surely claiming the arena.
"He's losing!" Ning Rongrong whispered, her hands clenched tightly.
"He's just getting started!" Xiao Wu retorted, though her voice lacked its earlier certainty.
"Don't worry, just believe in Tang San," Mei said, trying to reassure the other.
While Tang San's spirit power was being depleted, there was a strange vitality building within the Blue Silver Grass itself.
The process of defending was draining his spirit power at an alarming rate, but he could feel his spirit was transforming.
Soon, the Blue Silver Grass that regrew after being poisoned was different. It was slightly tougher, its color a shade darker, with a faint, almost metallic sheen.
The climax of this was when Dugu Yan, frustrated by his persistent defenses, unleashed a concentrated blast of her Phosphorus Serpent Venom directly at him, bypassing his grass walls.
Tang San responded by summoning a thick shield of Blue Silver Grass directly in front of himself. The venom soaked into the shield, which began to blacken and crumble to dust.
But as the dust settled, Dugu Yan, who was already lunging for the finishing strike, froze. Everyone on the spectator stand leaned forward, their eyes wide.
The grass shield had disintegrated, but the few strands of Blue Silver Grass that had been at the very epicenter of the poison blast had not withered.
They stood, resilient and upright, their color no longer a soft blue-silver, but a deep, lustrous blue-black, like tempered steel. They seemed to pulse with a faint, hungry light.
The entire arena fell into a stunned silence.
"What… what is that?" Ning Rongrong breathed.
Elder Gu Rong, who had been ready to stop the fight, now stood perfectly still, his sharp eyes wide with disbelief. "His Blue Silver Grass… it…"
________________________________________________________________________________________
Hey everyone, I'm back for the regular update. So like always, if you enjoy what I create, you can support me by giving me a power stone and leaving a review on my novel. Additionally, if you'd like, you can read the next chapters early by purchasing them at Thank you all!