"Teacher..."
Tang San's feelings were a tangled mess.
Yu Xiaotian's overwhelming presence and terrifying gains
were like sharp knives stabbing ruthlessly into Yu Xiaogang's body.
They also pierced Tang San's self-esteem.
He had always believed that his teacher's theories were invincible, that his teacher had merely been unlucky.
But now, the facts were right before his eyes.
Yu Xiaotian did not possess the so-called Ten Core Competencies.
Yet through his actions, he proved what it meant for true knowledge to come from practice.
"Would the me from the Parallel World still take Teacher as my master?"
"But in that world, Teacher was a Titled Douluo, and Teacher's elder brother was Senior Yu Xiaotian!"
Once that thought took root in Tang San's heart, it could no longer be driven away.
Inside the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's main hall,
the atmosphere was so oppressive that it was suffocating.
Yu Yuanzhen and the elders watched the Sky Screen.
Then they looked at the embarrassed Yu Xiaogang below.
Their chests felt clogged, as if they had swallowed a fly.
"One devours heaven and earth, shaking ancient and modern times."
"One farts and sends people flying, making a complete joke of himself..."
"Is this the difference between a genius and a mediocre fool?"
Though no one said it aloud,
those piercing stares
nearly drove Yu Xiaogang to collapse.
"Damn it! Why did he make the right choice every single time? I refuse to believe it!"
Anger burned within Yu Xiaogang.
But then another thought occurred to him.
Since Yu Xiaotian from that world could absorb a Devouring Dragon,
did that mean... he could too?
"Devour Heaven Eat Earth—I want that soul skill too!"
"With that soul skill, my cultivation speed can increase several times over! I can shed the name of trash!"
As though he had seized his last lifeline,
Yu Xiaogang abruptly raised his head.
His eyes gleamed with near-madness.
He shouted:
"Father! I want a Devouring Dragon too!"
That shout shattered the deathly silence in the hall.
"Since Yu Xiaotian from that world could absorb one, that proves this soul beast perfectly matches my Mutated Spirit!"
"Although my first two soul rings had some minor mistakes."
"As long as I break through Rank 30 and absorb a Devouring Dragon as my third soul ring, I'll gain Devour Heaven Eat Earth!"
"Then I'll be able to make up for all the disadvantages of my first two soul rings!"
The elders looked at one another.
Although they felt Yu Xiaogang was indulging in wild fantasies, it was indeed a theoretically viable plan.
After all, the Sky Screen had already provided a perfect demonstration.
And now, they even had a resource Yu Xiaogang had never used before: Whale Rubber!
It would be enough to support him in breaking through his bottleneck!
Yu Yuanzhen fell silent for a moment.
Seeing the fanatical look in his son's eyes, his heart ultimately softened.
"Fine."
Yu Yuanzhen said in a deep voice, "In that case, we'll give it a try."
He turned to the elder responsible for external affairs and ordered:
"Pass down my command! Issue a Bounty Notice across the entire continent!"
"Find the whereabouts of a Thousand-Year Devouring Dragon! Anyone who provides an accurate lead will be richly rewarded by the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan!"
The elder froze for a moment and instinctively asked:
"Sect Master, how rich is this reward?"
Yu Yuanzhen thought of the clan treasury,
which had grown increasingly depleted from buying medicine and Whale Rubber for Yu Xiaogang.
His old face reddened. Gritting his teeth, he held up five fingers.
"Five thousand Gold Soul Coins!"
"Ah?"
The elder was dumbfounded and nearly thought he had misheard.
"Five thousand Gold Soul Coins? Sect Master, that's a Devouring Dragon—a highly dangerous and rare sub-dragon species."
"Isn't five thousand Gold Soul Coins too little? The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect offers ten thousand just for a single medicinal herb!"
Yu Yuanzhen flew into an angry embarrassment and slammed the table.
"Don't you know what state the clan is in right now? All the money was spent buying medicine for that unfilial brat!"
"Five thousand, take it or leave it!"
"Tell them it comes with a favor from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan!"
"A favor is worth more than money!"
Previously, in order to help Yu Xiaogang, he had practically emptied his private treasury collecting Whale Rubber and all manner of heavenly treasures.
Where was he supposed to find so much spare money now?
Besides, they were only buying information!
Yu Xiaogang stood to the side. Hearing the paltry sum of five thousand Gold Soul Coins, the corner of his mouth twitched.
But he did not dare say anything. He lowered his head and clenched his fists tightly.
He knew this was the clan's final investment in him!
Very soon, the Bounty Notice was posted throughout all the major cities.
Soul Masters from the Black World gathered around the notice boards.
Seeing the reward, they all shook their heads and sneered.
"Five thousand Gold Soul Coins for information on a Devouring Dragon? Has the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan gone broke?"
"Tsk, tsk. This is the foundation of one of the Upper Three Sects? They can't even put up a respectable reward."
"Forget it, forget it. Why provoke a Devouring Dragon for so little money? If that thing swallows you in one bite, who are you going to cry to?"
Yu Xiaogang could not hear the mockery from the outside world.
Or rather, he chose to shut it out.
Inside the clan's Secret Chamber, he madly swallowed the foul-smelling Whale Rubber.
Their method of processing Whale Rubber was not as refined as Yu Xiaotian's.
But it still brought out seventy to eighty percent of its effect.
"Just wait. Once I obtain Devour Heaven Eat Earth, all of you who mocked me will have to shut your mouths!"
After the clan bled itself dry once more
and spent vast amounts of resources,
the bottleneck that had held Yu Xiaogang at level 29 for years finally loosened.
"Pff—"
With a soft sound, he finally broke through to Rank 30.
Three-Eyed Demon was still whining coquettishly at his feet.
But Yu Xiaogang's gaze toward Three-Eyed Demon was filled with disgust and irritation.
In his view, if Three-Eyed Demon could cooperate and eat soul beast meat, his progress would have been even faster.
"Useless Spirit, and I still have to serve you like this."
But he maintained his disguise well on the surface, afraid that Three-Eyed Demon would notice.
Otherwise, it might affect Three-Eyed Demon's later evolution!
News of Yu Xiaogang breaking through Rank 30 did not stir much celebration within the clan.
After being fed that much medicine, even a pig would level up!
Yu Yuanzhen gathered all the clan elders for another meeting.
This time, Yu Luomian's grandson and one of the younger generation's finest—Yu Tianxin—had just returned to the clan from training.
Seeing Yu Xiaogang's unstable Soul Power aura and his barely achieved breakthrough to Rank 30,
Yu Tianxin's heart filled with contempt and jealousy.
"Why? Why do so many resources have to be fed to this useless uncle?"
"If I were Three-Eyed Demon's master, if I had all that Whale Rubber, wouldn't my Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Spirit have soared long ago?"
During the meeting, Yu Yuanzhen excitedly announced:
"Good news! At the edge of the Soul Hunting Forest, we found the trail of a Devouring Dragon that has just reached one thousand years!"
His face was glowing red, believing this was an opportunity granted by heaven for Yu Xiaogang to turn things around.
Although the Soul Saint who had provided the information looked disgusted when receiving the five thousand Gold Soul Coins, Yu Yuanzhen chose to ignore it.
Just when everyone believed the soul ring was Yu Xiaogang's for the taking,
"Sect Master! I also request the chance to obtain this Devouring Dragon's soul ring!"
A young yet forceful voice rang out.
Yu Tianxin stepped forward, staring intensely at Yu Yuanzhen.
"My Soul Power has also reached the Rank 30 bottleneck. My Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Spirit likewise needs a powerful sub-dragon species to strengthen its attack power!"
"I can absorb the Devouring Dragon's attributes too!"
The entire hall erupted.
The elders looked at one another, then began whispering among themselves.
Some even wore expressions of anticipation, eager to watch the drama unfold.
Yu Xiaogang's face instantly turned the color of pig liver.
At such a critical moment, a junior actually dared to step out and compete with him for a soul ring?
What was this? This was a blatant slap in the face!
This was telling everyone that he was unworthy!
Before you continue