Douluo Continent: I am the true master

Chapter 44 Obtaining the Shield (Part 2)

Ye Wen shook his head in disappointment; Dugu Bo was clearly a victim of empiricism.

Seeing Ye Wen deny his approach, Dugu Bo was secretly annoyed. After all, his family was one of the most renowned families in the continent for using and detoxifying poisons, yet they were being looked down upon like this. Suppressing his anger, Dugu Bo asked.

"So what are your thoughts?"

"I wouldn't call it insightful, but let me first explain the basics of snake venom. Generally speaking, snake venom is divided into three types: one is hemotoxic venom, which causes blood to clot and lead to the death of the organism; another is neurotoxic venom, which can cause paralysis and necrosis of the body; and the third is the most troublesome mixed venom, which combines the characteristics of the first two types, making it even more potent and difficult to cure."

As Ye Wen began to speak eloquently, Dugu Bo's face showed agreement. This was basic knowledge about snake venom, and he was now more interested in listening to what Ye Wen had to say next.

"And the Azure Scale Serpent Martial Soul inherited by your clan, if we consider it in terms of soul beasts, should essentially be a kind of mixed poison."

Furthermore, as you continued to hunt different poisonous soul beasts, this mixed poison became even more ferocious. Normal medical methods were completely ineffective in removing it; only soul masters could resist it with their soul power, which is the antidote method you mentioned earlier, Senior Dugu.

However, this method of detoxification actually involves a cause-and-effect relationship: how does snake venom affect the human body? Undoubtedly, through wounds.

If it's just snake venom splashed on a person, wiping it off will be fine, because there's no medium for the venom to react.

So, it's fine for someone sucking snake venom if they don't have any open wounds in their mouth. However, if they happen to have a small wound in their mouth and the venom they suck is extremely potent, it will directly enter their brain and cause instant death. Am I right, Senior Dugu?

After answering, Ye Wen looked at Dugu Bo with a smile.

Meanwhile, Dugu Bo, whose face was fair, had a contorted expression. He was clearly aware of the potential consequences of sucking out the poison with his mouth. Normally, when a venomous snake bites a person, it would only bite their ankle or, at most, their arm.

Since a snake's mouth is only so big, it must choose the right spot to bite and poison a person accurately.

Bites to these two locations offer some time for treatment, but if the bite lands directly on the neck, the toxic gas can attack the brain, causing abnormal blood supply and potentially leading to brain death or even paralysis.

Having not noticed such details before, Dugu Bo seemed to understand something now that Ye Wen had pointed it out.

Dugu Bo's mouth was dry as he spoke with difficulty.

"You mean the reason our family was poisoned is because the tiny wounds on our bodies released when we used our soul skills allowed the poison to seep into our bodies, right?"

Ye Wen nodded.

"That's right. Although your martial soul is the Azure Serpent, without the martial soul possessing you, you are essentially just ordinary people. Although there may be residual antibodies in your body to resist snake venom, the original poison has been corrupted because of the hunting of various spirit rings. This poison will accumulate over time and eventually drag down the health of your entire clan."

At this moment, Dugu Bo's face was pale. From childhood to adulthood, his father had always taught him to work hard to cultivate his soul power in order to resist the erosion of snake venom, because this was an inherent defect of the Jade Scale Serpent Martial Soul.

But who would have thought that Ye Wen's words would awaken him to the fact that the problem wasn't with his own family's martial spirit, but rather with the direction his ancestors had taken in their cultivation.

Yes, a wound can be poisoned by snake venom. It's such a simple principle, so why has no one in our family paid attention to it for centuries?

When Dugu Xin was born, his lover died tragically from poisoning due to uterine bleeding. Every few years, servants in his family would also die from poisoning. So many living examples were right in front of him, but he subconsciously ignored them because of his arrogance as a Soul Master.

"Hahaha--!!!"

Dugu Bo buried his face in his hands and wept bitterly, yet he also seemed to be laughing self-deprecatingly. He was overwhelmed with mixed emotions of sorrow and joy, and appeared somewhat mad.

Seeing this, Ye Wen was not too surprised. Those who had experienced great changes in their previous lives would generally do the same.

Dugu Xin was startled by his father's appearance and instinctively hid behind Ye Wen. In his memory, his father had always been a gentle and refined nobleman, a strong man who remained calm and composed in the face of any situation. His sudden transformation left the young man at a loss.

After venting his emotions, Dugu Bo calmed down somewhat and bowed deeply to Ye Wen.

"The Dean is truly talented. I never imagined that he could break the curse that has been passed down through our clan for hundreds of years from just a few words."

"I have no other desires; my life is already like this. But my son, Dugu Xin, is still young. I hope the dean can lend a helping hand."

Ye Wen stepped forward and helped Dugu Bo up, saying with a smile.

"Senior Dugu, there's no need for such formality. As I said before, as long as you become the honorary dean of our academy and protect its development, and your son becomes my disciple, I will certainly impart all my knowledge of the antidote to you."

Dugu Bo's eyes held a hint of gratitude as he pulled Dugu Xin aside and spoke to him.

"Son, become his disciple. Although the dean's cultivation level is not high, his knowledge is the most profound I have ever seen since I became a Soul Master. Under his tutelage, you will surely restore the reputation of our Dugu family."

Dugu Xin did not hesitate. Although he did not understand many of the professional terms Ye Wen used, seeing his father's approval, he knew that the person in front of him was definitely not a fraud. He quickly bowed and said.

"Greetings, Master."

"Alright, from today onwards, you will be my personal disciple, Ye Wen's eighth disciple."

Although it is said that a Soul Master in Douluo Continent can only have one master in their lifetime, the process of becoming a disciple is extremely rudimentary.

Furthermore, although Tang San, the Buddha, said in the original novel that "a teacher for a day is a father for life," he did not address Yu Xiaogang as "Master," but rather as "Teacher." I don't know if Tang San himself didn't notice this or what, but as someone from a martial arts world, this should be basic common sense, right?

However, once one becomes Ye Wen's disciple, it means that the Dugu family and Ye Wen are completely bound together, sharing both glory and ruin. Betrayal would result in being scorned by all the soul masters on the continent.

Therefore, although the Clear Sky Sect had many titled Douluo in the original work, it was always looked down upon because of their direct abandonment of affiliated families.

The families who attached themselves to you did so because they wanted your protection, and you just abandoned them. How can such a force be a leader?

So by the time of the second battle, although the Haotian Sect was still continuing its lineage, its reputation had been ruined in secret, and it had no choice but to go into seclusion.

Ye Wen wanted to subdue the Dugu family because of Dugu Bo's Soul Saint cultivation level of 75. Only Soul Masters at this level are qualified to establish advanced Soul Master academies and stand on their own.

Ye Wen has now reached a bottleneck in his research in various aspects, but what he lacks are rare resources, which are controlled by powerful forces.

Only by establishing an advanced soul master academy can Ye Wen obtain more resources that are not accessible to ordinary soul masters, and only by obtaining those resources can Ye Wen better plan for the future.

As for why they didn't just reveal their cultivation level and apply to the Heavenly Dou Royal Family...

Then all those years of hidden cultivation would have been for nothing.

Moreover, Ye Wen had not forgotten why his father died.

Once you side with a powerful force, you will inevitably face resistance from opposing forces. It is better to choose to remain neutral from the beginning.

(End of this chapter)