"What is this 'Ultimate Fire' you speak of?" Chen Gang asked, perplexed.
Although Chen Gang hadn't broken through to the Title Douluo level before now, he was already considered one of the top experts in fire-attribute martial souls. Yet, he had never heard of this term. He couldn't figure out where his granddaughter's fiancé had learned it from.
Ye Wen gave a light cough, showing no guilt over his slip of the tongue.
After all, even if someone knew about the concept of "Ultimate Attributes," without specific circumstances and coincidences, ordinary soul masters could never attain something like Ultimate Fire or Ultimate Ice.
However, since he had brought it up, Ye Wen figured he might as well define the term himself. 'The right to explain this concept now belongs to me,' he thought.
After carefully choosing his words, Ye Wen explained:
"Grandpa Chen Gang, as the name suggests, 'Ultimate Fire' refers to the pinnacle of flames."
Chen Gang instinctively wanted to refute this, as he believed that the temperature of flames had no upper limit.
(Author's note: Ye Wen also believed this, but this is the Douluo world, which operates by its own rules.)
Ye Wen waved his hand to interrupt Chen Gang's impending rebuttal and continued: "I know what you're thinking, Grandpa Chen Gang—you want to say that the temperature of flames has no end. But the concept of 'Ultimate Fire' I'm referring to applies only to the soul masters of our Douluo Continent. This is because of the limitations of martial souls—'Ultimate Fire' represents the peak of flame achievable by martial souls."
(Author's note: In 20,000 years, god-slaying-class soul-guided cannons, similar to nuclear bombs, will flatten Shrek Academy. The core explosion zone will resemble a glass-like area, much like the aftermath of a nuclear blast. So theoretically, the Douluo Continent could produce flames hotter than Ultimate Fire.
For reference, the core temperature of a nuclear explosion is around 1 million degrees Celsius, while the surface of the sun is about 4,000 degrees Celsius. However, scientists estimate that the core of the sun reaches approximately 15 million degrees Celsius.
So this explanation holds up—the limits of soul masters are just like that.)
After hearing Ye Wen's explanation, Chen Gang nodded thoughtfully. While he believed that flames in nature had no limits, he also acknowledged that soul masters themselves were limited. If Ultimate Fire represented the pinnacle for soul masters, then the explanation made sense.
At this moment, Dugu Bo returned, having overheard Ye Wen's mention of "Ultimate Fire." Intrigued, he asked:
"This is interesting. So, Xiao Wen, aside from being hotter than other soul masters' flames, does this so-called Ultimate Fire have any other special characteristics?"
Uh…
Hearing Dugu Bo's voice, Ye Wen stiffened momentarily, then recalled something and glanced at Dugu Bo with a hint of pity.
Noticing this look, Dugu Bo felt a sudden pang of unease.
But Ye Wen didn't stop there. Instead, he said softly: "Teacher, do you remember the two spirit herbs with ice and fire attributes at the heart of your medicinal garden?"
Though his heart sank, Dugu Bo, ever proud, feigned indifference and replied:
"Yes, what about them?"
Ye Wen didn't answer directly but instead asked: "Teacher, do you think your strongest poison could kill those two spirit herbs?"
Dugu Bo was about to boast that his poisons were unmatched, capable of killing even spirit herbs.
But then he remembered that both the Eight-Trigram Frost Grass and the Blazing Apricot Maiden Herb contained elemental energy comparable to the spring water of the Ice and Fire Dual Eye.
That spring water was deadly even to him, and in the original storyline, he had even warned Tang San never to touch it, lest he die.
For a moment, Dugu Bo felt uneasy, but unwilling to admit defeat, he avoided answering directly: "Why are you asking this? I've never tried such a thing. And besides, those are spirit herbs—don't go ruining valuable things, you little brat!"
Ye Wen chuckled. Dugu Bo's stubbornness was amusing, so he decided not to beat around the bush and said outright:
"Teacher, you know that consuming either of those two spirit herbs alone would be lethal to an ordinary soul master—they'd either burn to death or freeze to death. The reason for this is that these spirit herbs possess Ultimate Attributes.
Ordinary soul masters without Ultimate Attributes—and without the proper methods to consume them—are essentially signing their own death warrants.
This is because Ultimate Attributes are overwhelmingly dominant.
And this dominance doesn't just signify immense power—it also means that external influences can barely harm them.
For instance, teacher, if you tried to poison these two spirit herbs, you'd likely fail. The fire and ice toxins they contain surpass even your snake venom."
Upon hearing this, Dugu Bo's face turned green. This meant his poisons would be completely ineffective against soul masters with Ultimate Attributes!
Already at the bottom of the Title Douluo rankings, Dugu Bo suddenly felt his situation worsen even further.
But Chen Gang, on the other hand, grew excited.
Though he had just broken through to become a Title Douluo, he didn't think he was stronger than Dugu Bo. However, if he truly possessed the Ultimate Fire attribute, he could leapfrog over Dugu Bo, who had been lagging behind after breaking through.
Perhaps sensing Chen Gang's ill intentions, Dugu Bo gave a forced smile and said:
"Xiao Wen says Ultimate Attributes are immune to my poisons. Then let my poison test whether you, old lion, truly possess Ultimate Attributes or not~"
Chen Gang, who had been lost in wishful thinking, suddenly shivered upon hearing Dugu Bo's words. Excited as he was, he certainly didn't want to risk being poisoned!
Chen Gang instinctively tried to dodge, but how could he evade the swift strikes of a snake-type martial soul?
Dugu Bo grabbed Chen Gang by the shoulder and whispered in his ear:
"Why are you running, old lion? We're on the same side now—why would you think I'd harm you? Besides, don't you want to save face in front of the younger generation?"
Chen Gang felt something off about Dugu Bo's tone, but as a man of pride, he wasn't willing to back down unless his life was at stake. With a defiant gulp, he clenched his neck and closed his eyes, saying:
"Go ahead!"
Seeing this display of mock bravery, not only Dugu Bo but also Ye Wen and the others burst into laughter.
Still, actions had to follow words. Dugu Bo wasn't worried about his poison affecting his allies—after all, it was good for them to be strong.
With a wave of his hand, Dugu Bo summoned his soul power, which gradually formed into a green venomous snake.
But this snake wasn't ordinary—it wasn't some toy used to tease Tang San. It was infused with the core toxins Dugu Bo had extracted from his dan pearl using Xuan Yuan Gong.
In Dugu Bo's view, even Title Douluos couldn't fully resist this life-bound poison.
Clearly, though he wasn't competing for tangible rewards, Dugu Bo was serious about asserting himself.
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