"Alright, I haven't had a good workout in a while anyway. I'll handle this Dugu Bo," said Jiangmo Douluo as he slowly stood up.
At that moment, Dugu Bo had already arrived behind them, his expression icy cold and his voice filled with frost:
"Do you two not know that this is the territory of me, Poison Douluo?"
Jiangmo gave a lazy yawn, then turned casually to face him.
"Isn't the Sunset Forest a soul beast habitat? Since when did it become your private domain, Dugu Bo?"
"Heh, so you do know this is my territory and still dare to trespass. You two are bold beyond measure!"
"You think I'm just anyone?!"
"I am… a Titled Douluo!!"
With a shout, Dugu Bo's aura erupted. Behind him appeared his eerie, massive, cold-green martial spirit—the Emerald Scale Serpent Emperor. Under his feet, nine glowing soul rings emerged: yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black.
Dugu Bo, with his ambiguous morality, was no saint. His first instinct when threatened was always to kill. Like a snake, he was ruthless—still until provoked, but once moved, he would strike with all his might.
"You dare act out on my turf? You're clearly tired of living!"
"Now die!"
Brimming with murderous intent, Dugu Bo charged at Jiangmo Douluo with ferocious momentum and overwhelming soul power, his presence domineering and fearsome.
On the side, Dugu Yan looked on with admiration in her eyes.
"Grandpa! Teach them a lesson!"
But just then—
Soul rings began appearing beneath Jiangmo Douluo's feet as well: yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black—nine in total, just like Dugu Bo.
In his hand appeared a dragon-engraved staff.
It was the Coiling Dragon Staff, sealed within which was a sacred golden dragon of awakening.
"What?! A Titled Douluo? And such terrifying pressure—who is this guy..."
"This is bad!"
Dugu Bo was stunned—but it was too late.
"A mere rank-91 Titled Douluo dares to act arrogantly before me, Jiangmo?"
Jiangmo Douluo brought his staff crashing down.
"Begone!!"
BOOM!
CRASH!!!
SPLURT—!
"AAAHHH—!"
The once-dominant and fearsome Dugu Bo was instantly blasted away, vomiting blood violently.
He was seriously injured and smashed into the ground by a single strike!
"Grandpa!!" Dugu Yan was dumbfounded.
Dugu Bo: "???????"
What just happened?
I… I was seriously injured just like that?
Me, a dignified Titled Douluo, crushed in one move?!
He was in utter disbelief. He hadn't expected this person in front of him to be this strong!
Wait a minute… who are these two!?
"Who exactly are you? Did I offend you somehow that you've come all the way here just to kill me?" Dugu Bo asked in a half-kneeling posture, his face pale and filled with fear.
Jiangmo Douluo's eyes glinted with killing intent.
"I am Jiangmo Douluo, the Seventh Worship of the Spirit Hall."
"You—you're Jiangmo Douluo!!"
Although the Spirit Hall's worship elders had long lived in seclusion, that didn't mean the world had forgotten about them. Legends of their power were still spoken throughout the continent.
Dugu Bo had heard of him—and he could feel Jiangmo's murderous intent.
In an instant, fear of death crept over him. He wasn't too afraid of dying himself, but… his granddaughter was right beside him!
"Yan Yan! Run!!"
All of Dugu Bo's arrogance was gone. He'd lost the will to fight. He struggled to his feet, attempting to flee with Dugu Yan.
"You want to run? Not so easy," said Jiangmo, intercepting them.
Meanwhile, Lin Yu had no idea a battle was raging outside. At this moment, he had finished absorbing the immortal herbs, and his body and physique had been enhanced like never before.
Thanks to the effects of the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Fiery Apricot Delicate, his soul power had increased slightly, reaching the peak of rank 18.
(It's worth noting again that Octagonal and Fiery herbs primarily enhance physical constitution and offer minimal soul power boost, per canon lore.)
Lin Yu didn't plan to leave yet. Instead, he dove deeper into the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to explore its depths.
"The remains of the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings are buried beneath this spring—those were two of the Nine Dragon Kings under the Divine Dragon God of the Divine Realm!"
"If ten-thousand-year soul beasts are guaranteed to produce soul bones, then surely the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings would yield divine-level soul bones! If I really find one and absorb it, it would become a massive asset for my path to godhood!"
He swam downward for 500 meters in one breath, the surroundings already pitch-black.
It seemed… bottomless.
He continued swimming downward, but—
First, the pressure underwater was becoming unbearable.
Second, at that moment Lin Yu discovered a barrier of energy blocking his path, preventing him from descending any further.
"As expected… with my current strength, trying to covet the Dragon God's remains is still too early. I'll come back and try again once I've grown stronger."
Temporarily giving up the idea, Lin Yu quickly swam back to the surface.
SPLASH—!
As he burst out of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, he immediately saw Dugu Bo being mercilessly beaten by Jiangmo Douluo.
Faced with Jiangmo, who was at the peak of level 96, the level 91 Dugu Bo, no matter how hard he fought, was completely outmatched!
In the realm of Titled Douluo, the difference between each level was massive—especially between level 95 and 96, where the gap was like an unbridgeable chasm.
Dugu Bo was soon utterly defeated, and with a single strike from Jiangmo's staff, he was forced to his knees.
BANG!
SPLURT—!
"Ugh..." Blood poured from Dugu Bo's mouth as he knelt, watching as Jiangmo prepared to unleash his fifth soul skill.
It was as if a mountain were pressing down on him—he felt nothing but despair.
"Fifth Soul Skill: Dragon-Suppressing Strike!"
Dugu Yan cried out through tears:
"No! Don't! Grandpa!!"
"Am I really going to die here today, for no clear reason?"
Looking up at the overwhelming power of Jiangmo Douluo in the sky, Dugu Bo's face was filled with despair.
Just as Dugu Bo thought his death was certain—
A young voice suddenly rang out nearby.
"Wait!"
"Grandpa Jiangmo, please show mercy!"
Jiangmo, who was just about to strike, immediately held back his power upon hearing the voice.
Lin Yu had arrived just in time and called out to him:
"Grandpa Jiangmo, we don't necessarily have to kill Dugu Bo."
"Xiao Yu, if we don't eliminate him, he'll be a hidden threat in the future," Jiangmo replied.
Lin Yu, of course, knew how troublesome Dugu Bo could be. Although people from Blue Star (Earth) jokingly called him the weakest Titled Douluo...
There was a saying about him:
"Dugu Bo may not be able to defeat another Titled Douluo, but he can make sure they're the only one left alive."
While exaggerated, it wasn't without merit.
In the original story, during the Battle of Jialing Pass, Dugu Bo used his eighth and ninth soul skills to poison and kill tens of thousands of soldiers in a short time—earning him legendary status from that one battle.
Leaving someone like that alive was indeed a risk.
But!
Lin Yu said:
"Grandpa Jiangmo, eliminating a threat doesn't always mean killing. We could try persuading him to switch sides."
However, Qianjun and Jiangmo weren't optimistic about this idea. In their view, Dugu Bo would never truly submit to Spirit Hall.
Qianjun shook his head and said:
"Xiao Yu, even if we use force to pull Dugu Bo to our side, he won't sincerely serve Spirit Hall. In the future, he might even turn against us."