A Pair of Ill-Fated Lovers

The heavy stone door of the secret chamber was pushed open slowly.

The moment she heard the movement, the malice and ambition in Bibi Dong's eyes faded away like a receding tide.

Replacing them was a timid, innocent expression, filled with the pleasant surprise of a recent breakthrough and a sense of childlike attachment.

Ning Zhen and the young Ning Fengzhi walked in with faces full of smiles.

"Dong'er, how do you feel? Was the absorption of your first spirit ring smooth?"

Ning Zhen walked quickly to the array, his eyes filled with concern.

Bibi Dong stood up immediately, trotted over naturally, and called out in a soft, sweet voice:

"Uncle Ning, Dong'er succeeded. Thank you for finding this spirit ring for me. Dong'er has never felt so much power in her body in her entire life."

Seeing the little girl's eyes filled with trust and gratitude, Ning Zhen laughed heartily and patted her head with satisfaction:

"Good, good child! As long as you succeeded, that is all that matters. Remember, from now on, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is your home. There are endless spiritual herbs and inexhaustible resources here. As long as you are willing to work hard, Uncle Ning guarantees that you will become the most dazzling star on this continent!"

"Mm, Dong'er will definitely cultivate hard. When I grow up, I will protect Uncle Ning, protect Brother Fengzhi, and protect the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."

Bibi Dong nodded vigorously, her earnest and innocent appearance making it seem as if the word "loyalty" was carved right onto her forehead.

Ning Fengzhi, standing to the side, also wore a gentle smile, feeling increasingly satisfied as he looked at this younger sister with infinite potential.

The father and son exchanged a glance, both seeing the hidden amusement in each other's eyes.

That fool Qian Xunji—the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had made a massive profit this time!

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away from Heaven Dou City, at the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

Inside a room, an eleven or twelve-year-old youth with a gaunt face and sunken eye sockets sat slumped at his desk, his eyes vacant and unfocused.

He held a tattered copy of Preliminary Study of Mutated Martial Souls in his hands, but his gaze was hollow.

At his feet lay a strange creature that looked like a cross between a pig and a dog, covered in short, pale purple fur, snoring loudly as it slept.

This was Yu Xiaogang in his youth, and his mutated trash martial soul—Luo Sanpao.

"Sigh..."

Yu Xiaogang put down the book and let out a long, deeply melancholic sigh.

The fellow disciples in the sect mocked him, and even the servants looked at him with pity.

"I, Yu Xiaogang, the son of the sect master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, am I destined to be a piece of trash for the rest of my life?"

Yu Xiaogang clutched his hair in agony, sinking into a state of extreme self-denial and depression.

"Bang!"

Just then, the courtyard gate was kicked open by a violent force of thunder.

"Xiaogang! Xiaogang, get out here!"

Yu Yuanzhen charged into the room like an old lion. He had just rushed back to the sect from Martial Soul City; without even taking a sip of water, he had headed straight for the courtyard of the trash son he usually didn't even want to look at.

"Father?" Yu Xiaogang was startled. He stood up in a hurry, subconsciously shielding Luo Sanpao behind him. "Why... why are you here?"

Yu Yuanzhen grabbed Yu Xiaogang by the shoulders, trembling with excitement. Blue electric arcs crackled across his body, causing Yu Xiaogang to wince and grit his teeth in pain.

"Xiaogang, there is hope! Your martial soul has hope!"

Yu Yuanzhen's eyes were bloodshot, and his voice was as loud as thunder.

"I went to Martial Soul City this time, and although I didn't snatch that genius with the twin martial souls, that old fox Qian Xunji told me a monumental secret himself."

"The Pope of Martial Soul Hall? Qian Xunji?" Yu Xiaogang was stunned. What could that Pope possibly have to do with him?

"Yes, it was him!"

Yu Yuanzhen took a deep breath and repeated Qian Xunji's exact words, enunciating every syllable:

"His Holiness the Pope personally confirmed that your martial soul is not trash at all, but a rare 'beneficial mutation.' It stalled mid-process because it lacked a massive supply of energy during the mutation. As long as you find the right heavenly treasures and theoretical support, your Sanpao can transform into a dragon!"

Boom—

For Yu Xiaogang, these few sentences were like a hundred-thousand-year lightning tribulation striking him directly on the crown of his head!

Beneficial mutation?

Lacked energy support?

Yu Xiaogang's previously dead-gray pupils contracted violently, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably as if he had been electrocuted.

He looked down at Luo Sanpao, who was shivering at his feet from the fright. His eye sockets turned red in an instant, and large, bean-sized tears welled up and spilled over without warning.

"Beneficial mutation... so that's what it is. So that's what it is!"

"I knew it! How could I, Yu Xiaogang, possibly be trash?"

"My theories are not wrong! There are no trash martial souls, only trash soul masters! It is simply that I have yet to find the correct method!"

If Qian Xunji were here, he would laugh his teeth out; Yu Xiaogang was a piece of trash, but Luo Sanpao might not be.

Yu Xiaogang's brain was currently in a state of extreme agitation; during these darkest years, where he was looked down upon by everyone, the Pope's affirmation was like pulling him directly from the depths of hell up to heaven!

That was the Pope, after all—the person who held the most core secrets and wielded the most power on the entire Douluo Continent.

Even he had said that his was a benign mutation, and even he had affirmed his potential.

A kindred spirit... His Excellency the Pope is truly the greatest kindred spirit of my life, Yu Xiaogang!

Yu Xiaogang's eyes welled up with hot tears; in his heart, he had unilaterally adopted that white-haired man he had never met as his spiritual mentor.

Qian Xunji's lofty image was, at this moment, even more imposing in his heart than his own father.

Yu Yuanzhen watched his son, who had regained his vitality and even seemed a bit manic; although he found it a bit of an eyesore, a weight was lifted from his heart.

"Xiaogang, calm down! Qian Xunji said that to make up for the defects in your martial soul, you need massive resources and the most top-tier theories on mutated martial souls. In this regard, the one who has studied it the deepest in the world is the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!"

Yu Yuanzhen made the final decision:

"Prepare yourself. In a few days, I will swallow my pride, take you to thank the Pope first, and then personally take you to Seven Treasure City to seek cooperation with that old thing, Ning Zhen!"

However, contrary to Yu Yuanzhen's expectations, Yu Xiaogang took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the ecstasy in his heart, his eyes becoming incomparably profound and wise.

He straightened his washed-out collar, placed his hands behind his back, and struck the pose that would become his signature "Grandmaster" stance—chin slightly raised, eyes gazing at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle.

"Father, wait."

Yu Xiaogang's voice became low and magnetic, as if he had transformed in an instant from a depressed youth into a theoretical grandmaster who had seen through the vicissitudes of the world.

"Although my soul power is low, I, Yu Xiaogang, must never lose face for our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan in front of Sect Master Ning, and I must not let down... His Excellency the Pope's high expectations of me!"

Yu Xiaogang turned around, his eyes burning as he looked at the room full of tattered books:

"Before that, I must go into seclusion. I will thoroughly digest every ancient text and theory regarding martial soul mutation in our clan's Library Pavilion!

I will bring the most perfected theoretical knowledge to meet the Pope and knock on the doors of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. I will let them see whether I, Yu Xiaogang, am truly a peerless genius!"

Watching his son, who suddenly seemed like he had been injected with adrenaline and possessed by a savior, Yu Yuanzhen was stunned for a long time before finally squeezing out a sentence:

"Good, you have ambition. The Library Pavilion is fully open to you; you can read for as long as you like!"

Yu Yuanzhen left, satisfied.

In the room, Yu Xiaogang looked at the sunset glow on the horizon, a curve of extreme confidence hooking at the corner of his mouth, and even Luo Sanpao at his feet barked spiritedly twice.

"Just you wait, this world."

"I, Yu Xiaogang, shall have the name of Grandmaster resound throughout the entire Douluo Continent!"