Yu Xiaogang: So You've Been Secretly Grinding?

Th... This was still that good-for-nothing Young Master?

For a moment, the expressions of the many clan members changed.

At last, a flicker of emotion passed through Yu Yuanzhen's eyes.

No one knew.

After finishing the merchant accounts each day, before collapsing from exhaustion after physical training.

When night fell and all was silent.

A lone lamp was always lit in Yu Xiaoheng's study.

He turned the heavy clan tomes page by page, chewing over every word and imprinting them deep in his mind.

Those scattered memories from his past life about the Douluo Continent novels were merely castles in the air, unsystematic and incomplete.

He had no Gold Finger.

He had no cheat.

The road ahead was unknown, powerful enemies surrounded him, and the only person he could rely on was himself.

So, he did not dare relax in the slightest.

Every bit of knowledge he accumulated and every round of physical training were roads he laid out for his own future!

The examination ended, and the crowd gradually dispersed.

Yu Xiaoheng had just walked over to Liu Erlong and taken her little hand.

When a figure blocked their path.

It was Yu Xiaogang.

The spirited confidence from before was gone from his face, replaced by anger.

He stared at Yu Xiaoheng and asked, word by word:

"You've been hiding your abilities all along?"

Yu Xiaoheng did not answer.

To Yu Xiaogang, that calmness was an admission, a silent mockery.

The rage in his chest burned even hotter.

As he grew older, he had already come to look down more and more on this elder brother who wallowed in the stench of money and neglected proper pursuits.

Yet today, the knowledge he had been Proud Of was effortlessly crushed by the other party.

Especially before everyone, before... Liu Erlong.

"You already knew how important this knowledge was, didn't you?"

Yu Xiaogang stepped forward.

"You deliberately pretended not to care about anything, spending every day among those merchants, while secretly studying hard behind everyone's backs!"

His gaze flicked toward the quiet Liu Erlong beside them, and he deliberately stressed his next words.

"Yu Xiaoheng, aren't you far too scheming?"

He wanted Liu Erlong to see clearly that this seemingly gentle brother was actually a hypocrite who hid his true face.

Yet Yu Xiaoheng still said nothing.

Before he could respond, a small figure moved.

Liu Erlong let go of Yu Xiaoheng's hand and stepped directly forward, her petite body blocking Yu Xiaoheng.

She raised her head, her clear eyes full of protectiveness and indignation, and scolded Yu Xiaogang.

"How can you say that about Brother?!"

"He's obviously worked very hard!"

Before her words had even faded, Liu Erlong stretched out her little hand and firmly shoved Yu Xiaogang in the chest.

She had been training her physical body with Yu Xiaoheng these past days. Though young, her strength was far beyond that of an ordinary child.

Yu Xiaogang had not expected her to lay hands on him at all.

"You!"

A force struck him, and his footing slipped. He staggered back several steps before finally steadying himself.

His attempt to expose Yu Xiaoheng's "true face" before Liu Erlong instantly came to nothing.

What replaced it was a burning humiliation.

The girl he liked had pushed him away to defend someone else.

Yu Xiaogang's face flushed red. Seeing how completely Liu Erlong was shielding Yu Xiaoheng, every word stuck in his throat.

Having suffered a loss and lost face besides, he did not dare persist. He could only shift his gaze to Yu Xiaoheng and squeeze out a few words through clenched teeth.

"...Sorry."

The apology was as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

After the brief surge of emotion passed, he took a deep breath and glared at Yu Xiaoheng. The pride and confidence of a genius returned to his face.

"Just wait."

His tone was filled with absolute certainty.

"When the Martial Soul Awakening comes, I'll show you that effort is worthless before talent!"

"I'll show you who the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's true genius is!"

After saying that, he no longer looked at either of them. He turned and ran off quickly.

Yu Xiaogang's figure vanished around the courtyard corner.

The night wind swept through, carrying several fallen leaves with it.

Liu Erlong still stood before Yu Xiaoheng, her little fists clenched, like a young beast guarding its food.

Yu Xiaoheng watched the direction his younger brother had disappeared in, then gently patted Liu Erlong on the head.

"Let's go back."

As Yu Xiaogang ran beneath the covered corridor, his chest heaved violently.

That "sorry," along with the image of Liu Erlong pushing him away, replayed over and over in his mind like branding irons, scorching his cheeks hot.

Humiliation!

This was humiliation unlike anything he had ever experienced!

Yet the confidence in his heart did not waver in the slightest.

Since childhood, what words had he heard most often?

"Young Master Xiao Gang is truly a Heavenly Gifted Genius!"

"The Sect Master has a worthy successor!"

He was Yu Yuanzhen's son, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's once-in-a-century genius. This was a fact acknowledged by every clan member.

As for Yu Xiaoheng?

He had merely claimed the title of Eldest Son because he was his twin brother.

He was just a merchant who spent every day amidst the stench of money, putting all his thoughts into account books.

To him, Yu Xiaoheng's performance in today's examination was nothing more than his elder brother's petty tricks, the result of years of secretly memorizing things by rote.

The world of Soul Masters depended on Soul Power, Martial Souls, and talent!

What use was theoretical knowledge, even if one knew it?

Yu Xiaoheng was obsessed with trade, so he must have neglected cultivation.

When the Martial Soul Awakening came, he would surely possess Innate Full Soul Power, while Yu Xiaoheng might only have Level Five or Level Six?

By then, every petty trick would become a joke before absolute talent.

Yu Xiaogang slowed his steps, and he could no longer suppress the smile at the Corner of the Mouth.

He could already imagine the scene five days later.

Upon the Awakening Stone, his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul would shine brilliantly, and the Soul Power Testing Crystal Ball would instantly be filled to the brim.

While Yu Xiaoheng would only pale into insignificance.

He would recognize reality, recognize the unbridgeable gulf between them.

He would lower that head of his that pretended to be profound and sincerely apologize to him.

And Liu Erlong... she would see clearly who the true strong person was, and who was worthy of her following.

By then, she would stand at his side and look at him with worshipful eyes.

That was right. It would definitely be like that.

Night.

Moonlight flowed like water, bathing the courtyard.

Yu Xiaoheng's room was brightly lit.

He sat cross-legged on the floor, with two Jade Boxes placed before him.

One Jade Box was open. Inside lay a small blade of grass that emitted a faint white glow, its leaf edges seeming to be coated in the light of dawn. It was the Dawnlight Grass, which had cost him several years of savings.

Inside the other Jade Box was a strange plant with gnarled roots and a surface covered in patterns resembling dragon scales: Dragon Scale Grass.

These two items were the final trump cards he had prepared for himself.

He knew that if a Soul Master skilled in alchemy handled and refined these two herbs, their effects could be enhanced by at least thirty percent.

Unfortunately, he did not understand alchemy, nor could he find anyone trustworthy.

All he could do was search through the clan tomes and confirm that the medicinal properties of both herbs were mild and that taking them together posed no danger to his life.

As for how much of their effects he could absorb, that depended entirely on fate and his own fortune.