Chapter 164: The Seven Soul Ancestor Team
The other two groups of students had already been practicing for some time and quickly completed their soul skill fusion.
This was part of Shi Nian's training process—starting with two-person fusion, then three, then four, gradually building up to seven.
Dugu Feng had once asked Shi Nian whether fusions involving more than seven people were possible.
Shi Nian's answer was cautious: the more participants, the greater the combined spiritual power—but also the higher the difficulty.
While theoretically feasible, the actual fusion would demand exponentially more mental coordination and mastery.
It required not only raw strength but flawless synergy and refined spiritual control.
Dugu Feng kept this firmly in mind.
There would be plenty of time ahead. Gem Academy could continue developing soul masters who possessed the Illusion Control skill, integrating them into the team's ongoing fusion drills.
Who knew what level they could ultimately reach?
Dugu Feng couldn't help feeling a spark of anticipation.
While Ning Rongrong worked with the others on mastering the Seven Shura Illusion Realm, Dugu Feng began his own cultivation nearby.
Once his martial spirit possessed him, a flash of violet, green, gray, and blue lit up at his brow—the four colors merging into dazzling flowing light.
The radiance spread across his entire body, rippling like liquid rainbow fire, distorting the air around him.
He was practicing his Four-Color Mixed Poison.
The extreme of poison could sometimes appear as radiant brilliance—as divine as it was deadly.
As the toxins swirled through his meridians, mixing with his soul power, each circulation made him stronger and more resistant, his body adapting to the intensity.
After some time, he exhaled slowly, withdrawing from the martial spirit possession state.
The poison dispersed throughout his bones, veins, and soul bones.
If anyone from the clan saw this, they'd be terrified—Dugu Feng deliberately spreading venom into his very skeleton.
But this was his unique method of cultivation.
True poisoning came from internal destruction—before poisoning others, the poisoner had to refine himself.
Dugu Feng possessed three external soul bones and one right leg soul bone, all capable of absorbing and neutralizing toxins.
A normal cultivator could have rid himself of poison long ago.
But because Dugu Feng had been afflicted since childhood, the years of suffering had granted him an unbreakable body—his physical toughness far exceeded ordinary people's.
Now he used poison itself as a tool for body refinement.
Every day, the toxins within his bones, veins, and blood reached their limit, forcing his body to operate under constant strain.
Just as before, his poison flared once a day—but now it was completely under his control.
In the space of one breath, he could absorb every trace of toxin back into his soul bones.
It was a state he found almost exhilarating—no danger of death, yet constant strengthening, deepening his understanding of venom.
"Poison isn't so terrifying after all. It's become my greatest ally," he murmured.
Within his mind, his Spirit Sea pulsed with vivid energy.
He was cultivating not only poison but his spiritual power as well.
Bright, dreamlike light shimmered through that inner sea—this was the Crimson Phosphor Poison, the innate venom of the Jade Phosphor Serpent.
But Dugu Feng used it to temper his mind, training spirit and body in perfect harmony.
His progress had been astonishing lately.
He intended to take poison to its ultimate extreme—pursue perfection along the most dangerous path.
Time flowed quietly as both he and Ning Rongrong remained at Gem Academy, each devoted to their training.
Only when the Shrek Seven fought team battles at the Great Spirit Arena did Dugu Feng take breaks to watch.
Months passed swiftly.
The Soul Master Tournament was nearly at hand.
Five days remained until the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy preliminaries.
That day, Dugu Feng received great news—another gem-spirit student had broken through to the Soul Ancestor level.
Now, the Gem Academy battle team had seven Soul Ancestors in total.
Among them were:
Little Snake, Jade Phosphor Serpent, level forty-four.Dugu Mo, Flower Spider, level forty-two.
Both from the Dugu Clan.
The remaining gem spirit users, including the captain Zhang Jingyang, made up four more Soul Ancestors, and with Ning Rongrong herself, that brought the total to seven.
Dugu Feng could already envision the final match—the Seven Shura Illusion Realm powered by five Soul Ancestors and two Soul Elders.
Even those two elders had reached level thirty-nine.
The lineup was formidable, their soul power surpassing most academy teams across the continent.
As the tournament approached, Dugu Feng reviewed the competition format.
The Heaven Dou Empire would send fifteen teams to Spirit City for the finals.
Of those, four dukedoms and one kingdom under Heaven Dou jurisdiction would share ten qualification spots.
The remaining advanced academies in the capital would compete for the last five spots.
This meant Gem Academy needed to finish in the top five at the Heaven Dou preliminaries to advance.
Dugu Feng assigned Shi Nian as the team leader, responsible for tactics, scouting opponents, and managing battle arrangements.
Shi Nian threw himself into his duties immediately.
The day before the tournament, Dugu Feng accompanied his father, Dugu Shuo, to the imperial palace once again—Emperor Xue Ye's poison had flared up.
As they entered, they encountered Dugu Bo.
He was alone, without his usual carriage, dressed in a long emerald robe, walking briskly toward the emperor's chambers.
"Second Uncle, come speak with us in the carriage," Dugu Shuo called.
Dugu Bo gave a cold glance but climbed aboard.
"Second Uncle," Dugu Shuo began cautiously, "you and Prince Xue Xing have always been close. I assume you've already discussed His Majesty's condition together?"
Dugu Feng sat silently beside them. He knew that Emperor Xue Ye had suddenly collapsed the day before.
After treatment, the healing soul masters had concluded it was exhaustion, not poisoning or an attack.
The emperor had already regained consciousness and seemed fine.
Still, Prince Xue Xing had summoned Dugu Shuo for another examination.
"Xue Ye's health has been declining for years," Dugu Bo said bitterly. "Xue Xing suspects chronic poisoning.
And every time you inspect him, you give them reassurance. But tell me—if the emperor dies of poison someday, won't you be held just as responsible?"
The sarcasm in his voice was sharp as blades.
If not for Dugu Shuo's earlier warnings, Dugu Bo would have already exposed the truth.
But after this recent fainting spell, it was clear—the emperor's life was in danger.
Dugu Bo could no longer stay silent. Prince Xue Xing had treated him kindly; to watch Xue Ye die before his eyes—he couldn't accept it.
Meanwhile, Dugu Feng's mind drifted elsewhere, recalling Qian Renxue's plan.
Yang Wushuang was dead, but the poison had already entered Emperor Xue Ye's body.
That rainbow-hued toxin was made from harmless herbs carefully mixed, triggered by exposure to a specific fragrance.
As long as the false "Xue Qinghe"—Qian Renxue herself—remained close to the emperor, releasing that scent would easily keep the poison active.
(END CHAPTER)
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