Douluo: Emerald Poison Emperor

The atmosphere in Biluochen City is truly unique. Poison soul masters are rare on the Douluo Continent, but in Biluochen City, it's rare to find someone not specializing in poison.

Here, even meals are likely to contain traces of poison—whether added intentionally or simply from contamination. The city is nearly devoid of rats, not because of cleanliness, but because the place is overrun with snakes. For the common folk, the main source of protein is the spicy snakes that crawl into their homes. In this city, if you can't catch a snake barehanded without getting hurt, you aren't even considered marriage material. Children as young as four or five pit venomous creatures like scorpions and centipedes against each other in fights for entertainment.

Even the water sources in Biluochen City have traces of poison. There have been cases where water-affinity soul masters while cultivating near Biluochen City's waters, ended up poisoning themselves half to death.

The reason Biluochen City manages to persist near a large habitat of poisonous soul beasts without thriving is entirely due to its harsh living conditions. Nine out of ten soul masters in this city practice poison techniques, and the remaining one likely has natural poison resistance. Any soul master from outside, after staying here for a few generations, would either go extinct or evolve to develop poison abilities or resistance.

In this city, treating poison relies on the principle of using poison to counter poison. If you survive, you live; if not, you die. Survival of the fittest is the law here. There isn't even a hint of banditry in the surrounding mountains because the entire region is full of venomous creatures. The soil and environment make it impossible for bandits to survive. Even the plants in the mountains might mutate under toxic pollution into venomous soul beasts capable of attacking people.

Here, while it's rare, the possibility of being killed by a stalk of wheat isn't zero.

Forget about the Heaven Dou Empire—even across the Douluo Continent, Biluochen City is infamous for its fierce and tenacious people. Even during times of widespread chaos, no one was ever reckless enough to set their sights on this cursed place.

...

After the fragrance lingered for a while, the children gradually calmed down, though their faces showed signs of fatigue, and they were too weak to move.

While the scent could easily incapacitate a grown man, this was, after all, Biluochen City. Even children here have a notable resistance to toxins. Moreover, these were children from soul master families, inheriting martial souls that either specialized in poison or resisted it. Fragile children simply don't exist here—or more accurately, in a place where poison can be found every three steps and venomous creatures every ten, frail children don't survive past the age of six.

Seeing their children being helped up, most of the onlookers weren't overly concerned. Instead, their attention shifted to Chen Ming.

The Chen family had been rooted in Biluochen City for over 500 years, and their family martial soul, the Emerald Scorpion, was famous throughout the city.

This martial soul, as well as the corresponding soul beast, had many names. Beyond the name Emerald Scorpion, it was most widely known as the Green Phosphor Scorpion.

The Green Phosphor Scorpion, along with the Green Phosphor Snake, Centipede, Gecko, and Toad, is one of the Five Green Phosphor Poisons, universally recognized as some of the most lethal entities in existence. Its poison is fatal upon contact with blood, and its close-range offensive and defensive capabilities are top-notch. Even on the Douluo Continent, it is considered a superior martial soul.

Perhaps due to the prolonged influence of living in a poison-laden environment like Biluochen City, the Chen family's Emerald Scorpion martial soul is not only more toxic than others of its kind found across the continent but also more unpredictable and difficult to counter. Its poison is so unique and multifaceted that targeting or defending against it is a significant challenge.

In terms of martial soul quality, there isn't a single other family in Biluochen City that could rival the Chen family.

In Biluochen City, three major powers hold sway: the City Lord's Mansion, representing the official face of the Heaven Dou Empire; the Spirit Hall, whose status as a holy land for soul masters is universally acknowledged; and lastly, the Chen family, whose strength is unquestionable and unmatched.

Because of their centuries-old interactions with the Chen family, the onlookers were well aware of a critical flaw in the Chen family's martial soul, a flaw that was devastating for a soul master family. At this moment, the crowd's focus was on one question: did Chen Ming inherit this flaw?

"Try channeling your soul power. Be careful, though—don't shatter the crystal ball. Your strength isn't what it was a moment ago," Yan Jun said, handing the crystal ball to Chen Ming with a sharp, focused gaze.

Having lived in Biluochen City for decades, Yan Jun knew the situation with each family's martial soul inside and out. Naturally, he was familiar with the Chen family's inherited flaw.

From Chen Ming's current state, it was clear he had soul power. But how much? That was the real question.

Chen Ming bit his lip and reached for the crystal ball. As he poured his soul power into it, the ball gradually lit up. The light wasn't particularly bright, but it drew the attention of everyone around.

"Innate soul power… level five?"

Yan Jun's face was filled with shock, and his usually squinted eyes opened wide in surprise.

Level five was a moderately high level for most soul masters—not exceptional but still impressive. Yan Jun himself had awakened at level five back in the day, and over the years, there had been others in Biluochen City who awakened with similar or higher levels. However, Chen Ming's case was different.

Typically, higher-quality martial souls correspond to higher innate soul power levels. High-quality martial souls rarely produce low innate soul power. But the Chen family's Emerald Scorpion was an exception.

The Emerald Scorpion martial soul was exceptionally high-quality—considered top-tier in terms of attributes. However, it had a glaring flaw when it came to innate soul power.

Most members of the Chen family who awakened their martial soul barely reached levels two or three of innate soul power. Level four was a rare occurrence, and over the past century, the family had struggled to produce anyone with soul power at all. Many descendants couldn't even become soul masters.

For a family that had been rooted in Biluochen City for 500 years, the number of soul masters among them had dwindled to fewer than ten. Nearly half of these were individuals who married into the family. Those directly inheriting the Emerald Scorpion martial soul were few and far between.

While the Emerald Scorpion was a high-quality martial soul and easily passed down to offspring, its flaw often resulted in descendants lacking innate soul power. In such cases, the Emerald Scorpion would degrade into a venomous but ordinary scorpion. This created a near-unsolvable cycle for the family. Other families in Biluochen City were even reluctant to marry into the Chen family, fearing that the flawed bloodline might spread and render their descendants unable to awaken innate soul power.

Over 500 years ago, when Biluochen City was first established in the desolate Biluoxia, the city's first lord came from the Chen family. Back then, Biluochen City was practically the Chen family's domain. However, as the issue of low innate soul power grew more prominent, they eventually had to relinquish the position of city lord and gradually fell into decline.

In recent decades, there has been widespread speculation among other families in Biluochen City that within 100 years, the Chen family might completely exit the ranks of soul masters due to their inability to produce descendants with innate soul power. Ultimately, they might even lose their noble title altogether.

Chen Ming's martial soul, which was distinct from the typical Emerald Scorpion, along with his level five innate soul power, naturally made onlookers suspicious.

Could it be that the Chen family got lucky? Could their martial soul, on the brink of extinction, have undergone a beneficial mutation? Not only did the quality improve, but perhaps the hereditary issue of low innate soul power had been resolved as well.

Regardless, in a small place like Biluochen City, level five innate soul power was already considered genius-level. With someone like Chen Ming, the Chen family might be able to hold on for a few more decades. If they managed to endure and the martial soul issue was truly resolved, it would mark a significant shift in Biluochen City's power dynamics.