Douluo: Emerald Poison Emperor

"Another annoying pest has come in? What's wrong with the people outside? When Grandpa gets back, I'm going to complain to him. These irritating mosquitoes are driving me crazy!"

Dugu Yan opened her eyes and glared at Chen Ming's distant figure, her expression filled with annoyance.

When she first entered the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, she was genuinely happy. After all, she had grown up without any friends her age to play with. Other than her grandfather, the only companions she had were various venomous creatures.

Even when she went out, she was always surrounded by a group of people telling her what she could or couldn't do, which frustrated her to no end.

She had thought that joining Heaven Dou Imperial Academy would mark the beginning of a better life. Instead, she found herself constantly surrounded by a swarm of schemers, buzzing around her like flies and full of self-importance.

Dugu Yan felt nothing but disgust—pure, unadulterated disgust.

If she had known the academy would be like this, she thought she might as well have stayed quietly by her grandfather's side.

Were it not for the fact that her grandfather had recently gone off to train somewhere and was temporarily out of reach, she would have already complained to him.

"Let's teach him a lesson... Isn't getting poisoned a normal thing around here?"

Dugu Yan quietly released her martial soul, and two yellow soul rings appeared around her. Carefully suppressing her soul power and presence, she activated her first soul skill.

"First Soul Skill: Jade-Scaled Red Poison!"

Jade-Scaled Red Poison—The Poison of Excitement. When used positively, it could temporarily enhance physical abilities, boost energy, and increase alertness. However, in excess, it could cause hyperexcitement, hallucinations, spasms, and loss of control.

Though Dugu Yan had recently left her grandfather's protection and was annoyed, she still showed restraint. The dosage of red poison she used would only make someone uncomfortable for a while before dissipating on its own, leaving no lasting effects. This was far from the Dugu Yan in the original story, who would poison her enemies within an inch of their lives.

Dugu Yan thought she had hidden herself well, but little did she know, that Chen Ming had noticed her the moment she activated her soul skill.

Sensing the toxins merging with the air and drifting toward him, Chen Ming smirked and summoned his martial soul.

A yellow and a purple soul ring materialized around him. As his soul power radiated outward, a vivid green toxic mist formed around him.

He stood completely still, allowing the Jade-Scaled Red Poison to drift toward him. The green mist surrounding him, like a natural aura, easily neutralized the incoming poison.

"Oops, poisoned the wrong person. So, you are a Poison Soul Master?"

Seeing Chen Ming's martial soul in action, Dugu Yan abandoned her pretense and leaped out of her hiding spot. She scrutinized Chen Ming with curious eyes, and when she noticed the purple second soul ring on him, her gaze sparkled with fascination.

"Who are you? A newly enrolled Poison Soul Master? What's your name? And why is your second soul ring purple?"

Though Dugu Yan was already fifteen, with a curvaceous, mature figure that paired perfectly with her Jade Phosphor Serpent martial soul, giving her the appearance of an enchanting lady, her lack of interaction with outsiders left her as curious as a child. Her heart brimmed with wonder.

"Before asking for someone else's name, isn't it polite to introduce yourself first?"

Chen Ming swayed his scorpion tail slightly and countered Dugu Yan's question with one of his own.

"I'm Dugu Yan, 15 years old, martial soul Jade Phosphor Serpent, Level 29 Control System Soul Grandmaster. Now it's your turn to introduce yourself."

As a poison attribute specialist, Dugu Yan might be far from matching her grandfather Dugu Bo's prowess, but her knowledge of poison-attribute soul beasts was solid.

The moment she noticed the segments of Chen Ming's scorpion tail swaying behind him, she immediately recognized that the soul master in front of her, who seemed a year or two younger, possessed a martial soul on par with her grandfather's Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor: the Emerald Scorpion King.

Fourteen tail segments—just one short of the true Scorpion Emperor. It was already at a level infinitely close to royalty, far surpassing her Jade Phosphor Serpent.

"I'm Chen Ming, 11 years old, Level 23 Control System Soul Grandmaster, martial soul Emerald Scorpion King."

"Eleven years old, Level 23, a thousand-second soul ring, and an Emerald Scorpion King martial soul?"

Even with all her experiences on her grandfather's side, which gave her confidence in her broad knowledge, Dugu Yan was still stunned by Chen Ming's introduction.

Dugu Yan prided herself on her talent and believed she had the potential to inherit her grandfather's legacy, becoming the next generation of Poison Douluo and continuing the renown of the Jade Phosphor Serpent lineage. Yet, when facing Chen Ming, she couldn't help but feel overshadowed.

The toxin she had released earlier was merely a warning and posed no threat to a true poison-attribute soul master. However, as she felt the faint pressure emanating from his martial soul, Dugu Yan couldn't suppress a flicker of excitement.

"You're also a poison-attribute soul master. How about we compare our poison techniques?"

"Sorry, maybe another time," Chen Ming replied, giving Dugu Yan a once-over before pausing slightly when his gaze landed on her vibrant green hair and eyes.

"My poison is too potent; most people can't handle it. If something happens, it'll be troublesome to deal with. The three board members have specifically instructed me not to use poison on my classmates in the academy."

"Too potent? Told not to act lightly? The three board members said the same thing to me."

Hearing Chen Ming's explanation, Dugu Yan puffed out her chest with pride, though her curiosity about him only deepened.

"Let's compare here. No one will know. Besides, I'm curious about how my Jade Phosphor Serpent, which is part of the Jade Phosphor Five Poisons, matches up against your Emerald Scorpion. Don't you want to see what the Jade Phosphor Serpent's poison can do?"

"What's there to be curious about? When I awakened my martial soul, I played with snakes on the training grounds. Nothing happened."

"You—!" Dugu Yan felt a surge of frustration but couldn't find the words to retort. She sat down angrily, pretending to train, but secretly scattered her poison along the path Chen Ming was walking.

Noticing her childish tantrum-like behavior, Chen Ming chuckled and, still in his martial soul-possessed state, walked straight through the poisonous path she had set.

Dugu Yan cracked her eyes open to peek, only to discover that her poison had no effect whatsoever.

It wasn't that Chen Ming was expending effort to neutralize the poison—it hadn't even penetrated the toxic soul power enveloping his body.

Chen Ming walked forward with his soul power wrapping him entirely. Not even his clothes or the soles of his shoes showed the slightest trace of corrosion.