Dugu Yan smiled faintly, her jade green dragon tail swaying as a pair of cold, gleaming dragon claws curled slightly.
"This young lady accepts your challenge." Dugu Yan beamed. "Come then, let big sister see your strength."
As her words fell, three spirit rings two yellow and one purple rose from her body. Though her martial soul had only just evolved from serpent to dragon, that powerful draconic pressure was already present.
The moment her spirit rings appeared, a terrifying dragon aura pressed down on Oscar. Yet Oscar stood firm, his jade sword gripped steadily like a blade of steel, unmoved and unafraid of her pressure.
"Careful." Oscar gave a light reminder, stepping forward and thrusting his sword. The jade blade surged with sharp sword energy, slicing toward Dugu Yan.
Dugu Yan only smiled. She knew Oscar was holding back, but it didn't matter she would force him to take her seriously with her strength.
In the next instant, her two yellow spirit rings lit up. This time, she did not release poison fog. After her martial soul's evolution, her first two soul skills had undergone a positive mutation one could even say evolution.
"First Soul Skill: Jade Scale Dragon Claw!"
Now, upon activation, this skill changed from its original support/control effect to attack amplification. Her dragon claws doubled in size, with both attack and speed increasing by 50%.
"Second Soul Skill: Jade Scale Dragon Armor!"
Her second skill had changed as well. When released, a jade green armor instantly covered her whole body not only her torso and head, but even her dragon tail. The armor greatly boosted her defense, and at the same time, her natural defensive power was increased by 100%.
Even more so, in this state, she would lose all sensation of pain, becoming a weapon of pure slaughter unaffected by injury.
Her martial soul's evolution allowed her to turn both augmentation skills inward on herself, and the effect was far more terrifying than when they were applied to others.
After releasing the two skills, Dugu Yan's speed skyrocketed. She blurred into an afterimage, evading Oscar's sword strike and counterattacking from the side.
Her jade green claws looked dazzling, but their destructive force was even more horrifying. With her martial soul's evolution, her offensive power now even surpassed that of most assault type spirit masters of the same level.
And most terrifying of all, even without her third soul skill, the venom still laced her claws. Any spirit master struck by them would instantly have poison invade their body.
Dugu Yan's close combat ability had grown exponentially her difficulty level multiplied several times over.
Enhanced by her first soul skill, her attacks came extremely fast. In the blink of an eye, her jade claws were already at Oscar's throat.
But Oscar's reaction was swift. His jade sword flicked upward, blocking her claws, and then he unleashed a wave of sword energy that slashed back at her.
Dugu Yan blocked with her claws. Thanks to her second soul skill's pain nullification, she felt no pain at all from the jade sword's slicing power.
Her claws continued probing from every tricky angle, constantly seeking an opening to strike Oscar.
But Oscar was a seasoned fighter. Even though her combat strength had grown dramatically, she still couldn't find an opportunity.
Oscar only used basic sword strikes from the Frost Moon Sword Style, not employing any advanced techniques.
Precisely because of this, Dugu Yan could keep pace with him. Even if he used simpler sword forms, she could still defend herself.
After all, her second soul skill doubled her defense, and combined with the armor itself, her resilience was astonishing. From a poison type spirit master who relied only on toxins, she had transformed into a warrior capable of close combat!
The two exchanged dozens of blows. At one point, Dugu Yan suddenly caught Oscar's jade sword with both claws, locking it in place. At the same time, her dragon tail whipped toward Oscar's lower body, aimed precisely at his vital spot.
Oscar was speechless at this. He knew she only attacked such a tricky area because she trusted that he could defend against it.
Still, being targeted there by his own girlfriend felt… rather complicated.
Even so, Oscar's reaction was lightning fast. Though his sword was pinned, in just an instant he poured out soul power to condense another jade sword, which he used to block her tail strike.
But Dugu Yan wasn't done. Her tail may have been blocked, but its tip pointed straight at Oscar's chest. With a surge of soul power, a jade green poisonous mist sprayed out, instantly engulfing Oscar.
This was her third soul skill Jade Scale Serpent Emperor Poison. It had not changed with her evolution, still unleashing her innate venom endlessly, able to spread from any part of her body.
It was a perfectly timed move. She knew Oscar could block her tail, but not the sudden burst of poison fog.
Unfortunately for her, Oscar's body was already immune to all poisons. Even if he inhaled every bit of her venom, nothing would happen at most, he'd feel a little dizzy. Actual poisoning was impossible.
Unless her grandfather Dugu Bo himself struck, whose vastly greater soul power might cause Oscar discomfort, no poison could touch him.
Seeing Oscar enveloped, Dugu Yan released his sword and laughed. "Oscar, how was that move? If I were fighting anyone else, they'd definitely be poisoned and already kneeling, begging me for an antidote!"
Oscar dispersed the toxic fog with a sweep of sword energy, replying: "Not bad at all. And now that your Jade Scale Serpent has evolved into a dragon, both your first and second soul skills have become augmentation skills. That's a huge leap for you."
"Though you lost your group support effect, for your own strength these two skills have made you skyrocket."
Hearing his praise, Dugu Yan's smile grew even more radiant. "He..he, it's all thanks to you. Now I combine offense and control. With my second skill boosting my defense so much, I feel like I'm becoming an all rounder!"
Oscar shook his head helplessly. "What are you thinking? You're only level forty. Your first and second skills are strong, but they're balanced growth. Compared to pure defense types, you still fall a bit short."
Not wanting to dampen her spirits, he quickly added: "But that's only in direct comparison. With balanced growth, your ability is far more versatile. Truly without weakness."
"In battle, you can close in, let your opponent think you're an assault type, then suddenly poison them. Anyone who fights you I can only pray they kneel quickly and beg for mercy, or else…"
Dugu Yan burst into laughter. "Come on, I'm not that bad!"
Still, she knew Oscar was right. Though she couldn't defeat him, she had landed her third skill.
Against anyone else even a four ringed spirit master if they were hit head on by her poison, they'd have no choice but to kneel for the antidote.
So while she couldn't beat Oscar, against others she would be overwhelming.
Only two types of enemies could counter her: those with flying soul skills who could evade her entirely, or those with powerful detoxifying abilities.
Other than that, among spirit masters of her level, Dugu Yan was now an absolutely unstoppable existence.
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