"Soul Power, Level Three."
"Level Three? That good-for-nothing took three years to reach Level Three. What a joke."
"Mind you, that's Level Three as a Spirit Warrior, not Level Three as a Soul Ancestor or Spirit King. One level a year."
"Honestly, that good-for-nothing has disgraced the whole family. To think Thunder Douluo Yu Yuanzhen fathered someone like him."
"The Sect Leader isn't the problem. That good-for-nothing is. Look at the Sect Leader's other son. He was born to a concubine, yet he has the greatest talent in our sect and the best chance of becoming a Title Douluo. After three years, he's already a Level 19 Soul Master. At least he hasn't embarrassed the Sect Leader."
"This guy isn't even a Soul Master, so how does he have the nerve to claim Core Disciple resources? Three shares, no less. Three! Give me those resources and I'd be a Spirit King by now."
"Exactly. That's what having the Sect Leader for a father gets you."
"If the Sect Leader weren't his father, a good-for-nothing like him would've been thrown out of the sect and left to fend for himself. He wouldn't still be here living off everyone else."
At the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's Resource Pavilion, a flat-topped youth walked inside under a barrage of mockery.
"Three shares of Core Disciple resources," Yu Xiaogang said.
The Elder was displeased, but the Sect Leader Token in Yu Xiaogang's hand left him no choice. He reluctantly handed over three shares of Core Disciple resources. Expressionless, Yu Xiaogang put the Cultivation Resources into his Soul Tool, turned, and left.
Once Yu Xiaogang was gone, the Elder muttered, "I don't know what the Sect Leader is thinking. What's so valuable about him that he deserves all this? Even the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan can't afford to waste resources like this."
Outside the Resource Pavilion, another round of laughter greeted Yu Xiaogang.
"Well, if it isn't Cousin Xiaogang. Collecting resources again? Three shares? That's a lot. How about sharing some with your cousins?" Yu Xiaoke approached him.
Yu Xiaogang hurriedly covered his Soul Tool. "No. These are my Cultivation Resources. Don't forget what happened last time you stole them. If you do it again, I'll tell my father and have him punish you."
A vicious glint flashed in Yu Xiaoke's eyes. He lunged forward and drove an elbow into Yu Xiaogang's chest, knocking him to the ground.
"Ow!" Yu Xiaogang cried out.
Yu Xiaomen immediately stepped forward and helped Yu Xiaogang up, then reproached Yu Xiaoke. "Why are you so careless? Watch where you're going. You bumped into my brother. Apologize."
Yu Xiaoke apologized at once. "Sorry, Cousin Xiaogang. I bumped into you by accident. Are you all right? I didn't mean to."
Eyes red, Yu Xiaogang shook off the insincere Yu Xiaomen. He stood and pointed at Yu Xiaoke. "Bullshit! You did it on purpose. You elbowed me, and everyone saw it. I'm telling my father so he can punish you properly."
Yu Xiaoke turned to the others. "You all saw it, didn't you? I bumped into Yu Xiaogang by accident."
Yu Xiaozhu joined in. "Right, we all saw it. Yu Xiaogang threw himself into your elbow."
"Yu Xiaogang wasn't watching where he was going," Yu Xiaoren said. "He walked right into it."
"Exactly. Three years of training, and one little bump knocks him over. What a good-for-nothing."
Yu Xiaogang's eyes reddened. He clenched his fists and glared at everyone laughing at him. "You... you... you..."
The crowd froze. Had they pushed Yu Xiaogang so far that he was about to fight them? Any one of them could easily crush him, but he was still Sect Leader Yu Yuanzhen's son. If they hurt him badly, they'd have some explaining to do. What if the brat ran to complain again?
As everyone hesitated, Yu Xiaogang suddenly covered his tear-streaked face with both hands, turned, and ran. They all stared after him. So he had run away again?
That evening.
"Damn it! Damn them!" Yu Xiaogang soaked in an expensive Body Tempering Potion, venting his resentment. Before he turned six, every sect disciple had addressed him respectfully as Young Master Xiaogang. Yu Xiaoke, Yu Xiaozhu, and Yu Xiaoren had bullied Yu Xiaomen every day just to curry favor with him. But after his Spirit Awakening, everything had reversed.
Now they bullied him and stole his resources to curry favor with that bastard Yu Xiaomen. Was this how differently people treated him because of talent? Why? Why, heavens? Why did you give that bastard Yu Xiaomen Level 9.5 Innate Soul Power, while I, a Soul Master with a Golden Sacred Dragon, ended up with Luo Sanpao? Why?
"Argh!" His skin had barely begun to sting, but Yu Xiaogang could no longer bear it. He got out of the tub.
After a long rest, the Body Tempering Potion in the tub had lost some of its potency. Yu Xiaogang got back in to soak. After doing this about three times, he poured the potion away and replaced it with a fresh batch.
Most people could soak in one batch for two or three hours. Yu Xiaogang's body was delicate, and he could not stand even a little pain, so he poured it away after just half an hour of Body Tempering. Others could absorb more than eighty percent of its potency. Yu Xiaogang absorbed less than thirty percent.
The weakness of his body filled Yu Xiaogang with despair. Reaching Level One had taken him three months. Level Two had taken a year, and Level Three, a year and a half. Every level was harder to reach than the last. His Soul Power rose more slowly than a snail could crawl.
And he was still only a Spirit Warrior. Advancement would slow further at higher levels. Yu Xiaogang was no longer sure he could even reach Level Ten and become a Soul Master.
The thought of that hopeless future filled him with bitter defiance. Through gritted teeth, he said, "No. I won't be an ordinary person. I'll become a Soul Master, a Soul Grandmaster, a Soul Elder, a Soul Ancestor. I'll grow stronger no matter what it costs. If one share of resources isn't enough, I'll take two. If two aren't enough, I'll take three. If three aren't enough, I'll take four or five."
His peers were becoming Soul Masters and obtaining their First Soul Rings, while he had become a good-for-nothing in everyone's eyes. Yu Xiaogang had long since grown bitter. He didn't care what happened to the sect. He cared only about himself and how to shake that label.
"I'll ask Father for two more shares of resources next month," he said. "Otherwise, I'm still advancing too slowly."