Poison Cloud Technique — at first glance, it doesn't sound like anything special. It's a fairly common skill across fantasy worlds, and even on Douluo Continent, it's not unheard of.
But this Poison Cloud Technique is far from ordinary.
Just as two soul skills might share the same name — say, "Claw Strike" from an ordinary black bear versus the same from a Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear — the effects could be worlds apart in power. The Poison Cloud Technique from the Bi-Phosphorus Seven-Petal Flower is something truly exceptional.
The essence of the Bi-Phosphorus Seven-Petal Flower is deadly poison. Its strongest and most proficient means of attack lies in the creation of a toxic cloud. Under Chen Ming's unique intervention, this soul ring didn't just let him fully absorb the poison inherent to the flower — it also granted him a rare ability: the power to alter the form of his soul power.
On Douluo Continent, soul power exists in three known forms — gaseous, liquid, and solid. But in this era, soul masters have only a vague understanding of these states. The transformation from gas to liquid is typically a slow, grinding process through cultivation. As for whether the solid state even exists, that remains unclear. And as for something like a soul core — that concept hasn't even been conceived by soul masters of this time.
This soul ring, while bestowing the Poison Cloud Technique, also gave Chen Ming the innate talent to change the form of his soul power.
Externally, Chen Ming can now transform his soul power into a poisonous cloud, manipulate its density and composition with spiritual energy, and even reabsorb the cloud back into soul power if needed. Internally, he can reverse-engineer this process, using the Poison Cloud Technique to condense his soul power — transforming it from gas to liquid, and even beginning to touch upon the solid form and the idea of a soul core.
In this era, that's nothing short of groundbreaking. Even if he can't form a soul core, merely improving the quality of his soul power would allow him to punch above his level — even across entire ranks.
Moreover, through years of learning, Chen Ming has come to understand that poison-type soul masters on Douluo Continent find it extremely difficult to alter their poison. Typically, their toxins are defined by their martial soul and only diversify through soul rings.
Without those rings, they have almost no way to change the composition of their poison. Emerald Scorpion poison is always Emerald Scorpion poison, and Bi-Scale Snake poison stays Bi-Scale Snake poison. Even when enhanced through soul rings, it's just a mutation — the core remains the same. No matter how it changes, it never truly deviates from its origin.
A keen eye can easily identify the source of these poisons and find a corresponding antidote or countermeasure. This is one of the main reasons Dugu Bo (the Poison Douluo) has felt so stifled — his poison may not be fully understood, but enough has leaked out that countering him isn't impossible.
But Chen Ming is now different.
He can actively interfere with and change the very nature of his soul power. His soul power, originally based on the Emerald Scorpion, has now fully fused with the toxins from the Bi-Phosphorus Seven-Petal Flower. If he observes another poisonous beast, he can analyze its toxins and integrate their properties into his own soul power.
If he wanted to, he could strip out the Emerald Scorpion's traits entirely, leaving only the Bi-Phosphorus Seven-Petal Flower or even a new toxic signature from another source. He could mix different toxins together in varying ratios, crafting a unique hybrid poison that has never existed on Douluo Continent.
Dugu Bo might release Bi-Scale Snake venom with a flick of his hand, but what Chen Ming releases in the future? That will always remain a mystery.
When his enemies think they've cracked the code to his poison, Chen Ming can just swap it for something entirely different. With the right combinations, the effects could be unpredictable and devastating — recreating forbidden toxins like a lesser version of the Life and Death Talisman or the Three-Corpse Brain Melting Pill would be almost trivial for him.
There's no question: while the Poison Cloud Technique itself is strong, the additional properties it grants are even stronger — easily on par with, or even exceeding, some 100,000-year-old soul skills. Dugu Bo would be drooling with envy if he heard about it.
After choosing the soul skill, the soul ring began to solidify. Chen Ming's spiritual state slowly descended from that lofty, law-touching level back to a deep meditative trance.
Soul power from the Bi-Phosphorus Seven-Petal Flower flooded into his body, fusing with his martial soul and beginning to alter him physically. His body grew taller, his bones and muscles denser, and his vitality surged. Even his appearance became more refined and handsome.
Intricate, plant-like patterns appeared on the shell of Chen Ming's martial soul. The scorpion tail behind him swayed, its tip taking on a semi-melted, fluid texture as soul essence was channeled into it. Slowly, the tail grew longer.
The twelfth tail segment formed, dark in color. But it didn't stop there — a thirteenth, still-growing segment began to take shape.
"Wait… Twelve and a half segments?"
Chen Shijie found himself stunned — for what felt like the umpteenth time. But this time, after spacing out briefly, he managed to give a hesitant response.
Normally, martial souls don't grow new segments like this. But if such growth occurs, one can often draw direct comparisons to their soul beast counterparts.
In Chen Shijie's view, even though Chen Ming's thirteenth tail segment hadn't fully formed, continued cultivation would bring it to maturity — possibly even before absorbing his second soul ring. Once Chen Ming reaches level 20, that thirteenth segment might finish growing naturally.
"Second ring, fourteenth segment… Third ring, fifteenth segment… Scorpion Emperor Martial Soul?"
"First soul ring sacrificed by Bi-Phosphorus Seven-Petal Flower, martial soul becomes imperial class at level 30… My grandson Chen Ming has the potential to become a Titled Douluo!"
"My grandson Chen Ming is destined to become a Titled Douluo!!"
Without warning, Chen Shijie, seemingly overwhelmed with emotion, put up a soul power barrier in front of Chen Ming and grabbed Chen Tianyun by the collar, shouting ecstatically right into his ear. The excitement stunned Tianyun so much that for a moment, he forgot who he was. After a while, he groggily nodded in agreement.
The two of them, chatting behind the soul power barrier, carefully monitored Chen Ming's condition while waiting for the soul ring absorption to complete.
An hour passed.
Eventually, Chen Ming's soul power stabilized, and he slowly opened his eyes.
The moment he confirmed Chen Ming was awake, Chen Shijie couldn't help himself — he rushed forward and lifted Chen Ming high into the air.
"My grandson Chen Ming has the makings of a Titled Douluo!"
"Father, be careful! Don't scare the boy! He just finished absorbing the soul ring!" Chen Tianyun quickly pulled his father's arm, reminding him to be gentler.
Hearing this, Chen Shijie calmed down a little. After giving Chen Ming a fierce hug, he finally placed him back down. But before Chen Ming could say a word, Chen Tianyun leaned in and started feeling his body all over, checking his condition carefully.
"Body looks great. Soul power state is perfect… Couldn't be better! Xiao Ming, you really do have the qualities of a Titled Douluo!"
"Second Uncle, Grandpa, you two really need to calm down…" Chen Ming had a lot he wanted to say, but their fussing left him no choice but to smile awkwardly and try to settle them down.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the two finally composed themselves and put on their usual expressions before turning to ask Chen Ming for more details.
For soul masters, soul skills are considered closely guarded secrets, not something to share with outsiders. But within the family, sharing is more than acceptable.
Chen Ming skipped over the part about choosing his skill in a spiritual realm and simply said he followed his instincts and acquired a special soul skill. He then briefly explained the Poison Cloud Technique and its associated powers.
Unfortunately, in this era, soul masters didn't yet grasp the importance of qualitative soul power transformation, so neither Chen Tianyun nor Chen Shijie realized just how extraordinary this ability truly was. Instead, they focused their attention on the Poison Cloud Technique itself.
Under their watchful eyes, Chen Ming demonstrated a small-scale version of the technique, conjuring a modest poison cloud. Once they confirmed that Chen Ming's martial soul had indeed absorbed the toxins from the Bi-Phosphorus Seven-Petal Flower, Chen Tianyun and Chen Shijie exchanged glances — a deep sense of relief washing over them.
"The dream our ancestors once held… has finally been realized in a descendant of the family…"
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