Douluo: Emerald Poison Emperor

Chen Ming opened his eyes. The surrounding pool, which was highly toxic even to hundred-thousand-year soul beasts, posed no threat to him. Chen Ming rather enjoyed soaking in the pool, as it felt like he was an infant bathing in amniotic fluid, basking in warmth and nourishment.

However, as someone accustomed to arduous cultivation, Chen Ming only indulged in the sensation briefly before swimming to the surface. He climbed onto the grass and used his soul power to dry the water droplets on his body.

The droplets that fell from Chen Ming's body instantly corroded the ground, as though it had been splashed with concentrated sulfuric acid. Seeing this, Dugu Bo, who had been about to come over to check on Chen Ming, froze in his tracks, opting instead to observe from a distance with his sharp gaze.

Standing naked on the grass, Chen Ming stretched lazily, causing the surrounding soul power to rush toward him. The immortal grasses growing near the pool bowed as if paying homage to a king.

Soul power slowly overflowed from Chen Ming's body, and his martial soul instinctively attached itself to him. The tail segments of his Scorpion Emperor martial soul, which had just reached 15 segments, had now expanded to the Scorpion Emperor's limit of 18 segments without him even noticing.

The external soul bone within his body also greatly benefited from this transformation, its age increasing to around seventy thousand years and its strength nearly doubling. Even though the transformation had concluded, the external soul bone continued to absorb Chen Ming's excess soul power and vitality at a steady yet gradual pace. At this rate, even without fortuitous encounters, it would likely reach the quality of a hundred-thousand-year soul bone in two or three years.

On his arms, the emerald-green carapace had transformed into one blue and one red, with faint, mysterious patterns on them. These emitted strong fire and ice attributes that made even Dugu Bo feel a faint sense of oppression.

Chen Ming's height had increased by nearly ten centimeters, raising his stature from just over 1.8 meters to around 1.9 meters. When his martial soul was activated, his height grew even further, reaching approximately 2.23 meters. Even among the ranks of battle soul masters on the Douluo Continent, Chen Ming now boasted a tall and imposing figure.

"Grandpa, I feel great!"

Chen Ming had no qualms about being naked in front of another man. Dugu Bo, however, found the situation a bit harder to accept.

"Xiao Ming, put on some clothes first," Dugu Bo said, plucking a few garments from the pile of Chen Ming's exploded belongings with his soul power and tossing them to him.

"Alright." Chen Ming quickly dressed himself before glancing curiously at the scattered items on the ground. "Grandpa, why did my storage soul tool explode?"

"When you were in the pool just now, a green light shot out of your storage soul tool and plunged into the pool. If your storage soul tool hadn't been of decent quality, its contents would've been torn apart in spatial turbulence instead of just scattering here."

"As long as the items are fine." Chen Ming sifted through the scattered objects and retrieved his Ice Jade Scorpion external soul bone from beneath some clothes. Seeing that it was unharmed, he sighed in relief.

The storage soul tool only contained some daily necessities, spare clothes, and cultivation herbs. The two most precious items were a dragon core and the Ice Jade Scorpion external soul bone. As long as those two were intact, Chen Ming didn't care about the rest.

Holding the external soul bone, Chen Ming approached Dugu Bo and began explaining the changes in his body.

I now possess the dual attributes of ultimate ice and ultimate fire. My martial soul has evolved again, reaching 18 tail segments. But now, my martial soul is no longer just the Emerald Scorpion Emperor—it has become something stronger and more unique, with the attributes of ice, fire, poison, life, and death.

My physical body has been further strengthened. I'm no weaker than a Titled Douluo's physical body now, and even my previously fragile internal organs have become resilient and brimming with vitality.

That dragon core has integrated into my body and turned into a soul core. Unlike the soul core I gained from absorbing the Star Luo Holy Pearl, which is attribute-based, this dragon pearl has become a pure life-attribute soul core. With one soul core in my middle dantian and another in my lower dantian, I might be able to form a spiritual soul core in my upper dantian in the future.

"Oh? Xiao Ming, what level is your soul power now?" As a traditional soul master, Dugu Bo couldn't help but ask the question he was most curious about.

"Let me check." Chen Ming, though already having a rough idea, confirmed it anyway. "I've reached level 50."

The Ice and Fire Body Tempering hadn't added much soul power, but the integration of the dragon pearl into a soul core had brought tremendous improvement.

"?????"

"???"

"?"

"Wait, Xiao Ming, didn't you just return after absorbing your fourth soul ring? Didn't you say you were level 44 after absorbing it? How are you already level 50?"

Although Dugu Bo had grown used to having his worldview shattered, he still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that his grandson-in-law had managed to progress from level 24 to level 50 in just one year. His heart struggled to keep up with the shock.

He couldn't understand—why did such a person even exist?

Some people, it seemed, were simply destined to stand above others.

Dugu Bo wasn't envious; he was simply stunned.

Even with his robust health, free of poisons and bolstered by multiple soul bones, Dugu Bo clutched his chest and lay down on the grass, staring at the clouds as if contemplating life.

Chen Ming called out to him several times, but Dugu Bo only responded with vague grunts, his eyes devoid of light. He looked like a salted fish that had been dried out, brimming with excess salt.

Left with no choice, Chen Ming decided to give Dugu Bo some time to collect himself. Holding the Ice Jade Scorpion's left palm bone, he sat beside Dugu Bo and began absorbing it.

Before gaining the ultimate ice attribute, the Ice Jade Scorpion's left palm bone had been indifferent to Chen Ming. But now, with the ultimate ice attribute and the Emerald Scorpion Emperor martial soul breaking through its upper limits, the bone actively attached itself to him the moment he tried injecting soul power into it.

Currently, Chen Ming's left arm represented the ice attribute when his martial soul was activated. The Ice Jade Scorpion's left palm bone melted instantly, merging into his body and integrating with his palm bones.

The absorption process caused a mild itching sensation and lasted only three to five minutes. Afterward, the Ice Jade Scorpion's left palm bone became part of Chen Ming's body.

Once linked with Chen Ming's essence, the Ice Jade Scorpion's left palm bone immediately evolved under the influence of his martial soul, reaching the level of the Ice Jade Scorpion Emperor.

Although its quality couldn't compare to that of the Ice Empress, it had indeed met the threshold of the emperor level. With time and growth, it might even surpass the Ice Empress' quality in the future.

PS: Having a Title Douluo-level physical body is not that OP. Even a Soul King Tang San killed a lot of Title Douluo who can't use soul power in Slaughter City. The Soul Power what's matters.