Douluo: Emerald Poison Emperor

"Stop right there, you scoundrel!"

Seeing his clansman being tormented so mercilessly, Yu Tianheng, who had been silently observing, could no longer feign indifference. Activating his martial soul, two yellow and one purple soul rings appeared around him.

His first soul ring lit up as thunder surged across his body, and a Thunder Dragon Claw shot toward Chen Ming with fierce intensity.

In major clans, soul skills are often the product of generations of experimentation and refinement. The first three soul skills are almost standardized, while individuality is introduced starting from the fourth ring.

The Thunder Dragon Claw is regarded as the optimal first soul skill for the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. It can be used both in close combat and at range, has low energy consumption, and delivers significant power—making it an exceptional skill for a first soul ring.

The violent lightning coursing toward him made even Chen Ming wary.

Chen Ming quickly released the unlucky youth he had pinned to the ground, delivering a powerful kick to send them flying. The kick served two purposes: to push the troublemaker out of the line of fire to avoid further complications and to propel Chen Ming away from the incoming attack.

Yu Tianheng was about twenty paces from Chen Ming, and though the Thunder Dragon Claw was fast, it wasn't instantaneous. Chen Ming's sharp reflexes allowed him to dodge in time.

The moment Yu Tianheng unleashed a soul skill, the cafeteria erupted in commotion.

Using a martial soul and soul skill outside of an arena to attack another student was a serious violation of Heaven Dou Royal Academy's rules. While such acts might go unnoticed in private, doing so openly could lead to severe consequences.

Even among the academy's privileged elites, few would dare to pull such a stunt in public.

Unlike new students like Chen Ming and Dugu Yan, Yu Tianheng had been at the academy for two years and was a prominent figure. His background and strength were the envy of many, though they also fueled plenty of private resentment.

Previously, Yu Tianheng had been seen as aloof and disdainful but still within the bounds of propriety. No one had expected him to act so recklessly, openly attacking a fellow student in the cafeteria.

After dodging the Thunder Dragon Claw, Chen Ming quickly regained his footing, his gaze locked onto Yu Tianheng. His body glimmered with emerald-green soul power, and a faint aura of deep-green poison mist surrounded him.

"To attack a fellow student with a soul skill over a mere disagreement—this is what you call being a senior? The pride of the so-called greatest beast martial soul? Or is there some ulterior motive, perhaps silencing me to cover something up?"

Though Chen Ming only had two soul rings, the quality of his rings—one yellow and one purple—was enough to astonish the crowd. His presence matched the intensity of Yu Tianheng's audacious public display of a soul skill.

Faced with this, even Yu Tianheng's initial rage faltered. His reptilian-like pupils scrutinized Chen Ming, repeatedly confirming that he was just a two-ring Grandmaster, without any hidden white or yellow soul rings.

"Hmph! Do you dare question me after injuring my clansman? Using poison in front of everyone to harm another student—such ruthlessness doesn't look like the behavior of a good person," Yu Tianheng retorted, flipping the narrative.

His eyes briefly flicked to the groaning figure lying unconscious on the ground, a hint of malice flashing within them. Despite his righteous tone, Yu Tianheng's involvement in the whole situation was undeniable.

Since Dugu Yan had joined the academy, Yu Tianheng had paid her keen attention.

However, as a proud member of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect, he disdained behaving like the desperate admirers who openly fawned over her. Instead, he orchestrated his intentions through subordinates.

Many of the recent events involving Dugu Yan at the academy could be traced back to Yu Tianheng's influence from behind the scenes.

As a descendant of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect, Yu Tianheng's status within the sect, while not as prominent as his cousin Yu Tianxin, was still highly esteemed. Although he enrolled in Heaven Dou Royal Academy as an individual, he was never short of underlings.

The lackey who was effortlessly defeated by Chen Ming earlier was one of Yu Tianheng's distant relatives. Though not a member of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and possessing a mutated Thunder Dragon martial soul instead of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, he had always been Yu Tianheng's most loyal subordinate since the latter joined the academy.

This underling handled tasks that might tarnish Yu Tianheng's reputation—such as gathering information, monitoring individuals, or teaching someone a lesson. While Yu Tianheng rarely expressed it openly, he was quite satisfied with this resourceful lackey, even promising that should he become the sect's young master, he would help the lackey marry a woman with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul.

Earlier that day, Yu Tianheng and his lackey had entered the cafeteria as usual, intending to have a meal. However, Yu Tianheng had been deeply irritated by rumors circulating about Dugu Yan and some other man. He stood in the cafeteria for a long time without ordering anything.

Much of the fervor surrounding Dugu Yan at the academy was deliberately stoked by Yu Tianheng himself. His goal was to trample over the masses of admirers and leave a favorable impression on her.

But rumors are not always controllable.

Although Heaven Dou Royal Academy had its share of elites, most students were mere riffraff. Whenever someone thought they might show some intelligence, they would promptly prove otherwise, demonstrating that such lowly creatures did not need brains.

Even though Yu Tianheng had been one of the forces behind the rumors, he couldn't suppress all of them.

Originally, he intended to use the rumors as a stepping stone to get closer to Dugu Yan. But to his frustration, that plant had turned into a stumbling block.

While one lackey attempted to cheer him up by suggesting they visit Heaven Dou City that evening for some fun, another lackey—whose name Yu Tianheng couldn't even remember—noticed Chen Ming entering the cafeteria in a rush. The lackey immediately reported this to Yu Tianheng.

Upon learning that Chen Ming was the so-called other man in the rumors, Yu Tianheng became even more agitated. He was eager to teach this newcomer from the countryside, who dared to compete with him for Dugu Yan's attention, a harsh lesson.

Yu Tianheng didn't need to give a verbal order. A mere glance and a slight nod toward his lackey were enough. The underling understood immediately and swaggered over to confront Chen Ming.

This lackey's martial soul, the Thunder Dragon, was a variant of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.

As a subspecies, the Thunder Dragon martial soul was weaker than the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon in all aspects. It lacked the most critical dragon transformation ability but was still a high-quality true dragon martial soul.

At rank 28 as a Grandmaster, the lackey could easily rival newly minted Soul Elders who had just acquired their third soul ring.

Even within Heaven Dou Royal Academy, his strength was considered formidable. Yu Tianheng was confident that this subordinate was more than capable of teaching Chen Ming—a rural upstart who relied on poison—a harsh lesson, showing him the rules of Heaven Dou City and the academy.

Instead, the underling in whom Yu Tianheng had placed so much trust was effortlessly defeated by Chen Ming in a single exchange. Even after summoning his martial soul, the lackey's skin was corroded by the toxin of Chen Ming's Emerald Scorpion.

Everyone at the academy who had been around for a few months knew that this lackey was one of Yu Tianheng's men, his trusted subordinate.

Was Chen Ming slapping his subordinate's backside with this act?

No. He was slapping Yu Tianheng's face!

He was slapping the future young master of the sect that aspired to be the greatest in the world!

In essence, this was a provocation against the future number-one sect in the world!