Meanwhile, over at the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
Yu Yuanzhen had brought along the clan's finest young disciples.
His goal was simple: to let the clan's younger generation see just how wide the gap was between them and the geniuses of other factions.
Thinking of this, Yu Yuanzhen glanced at his son, Yu Xiaogang, who stood not far away.
Five years. A full five years.
It had been five years since he awakened his Martial Soul, and he had spent ten times the resources of an elite disciple, yet he was still only at level 9.
He hadn't even obtained his First Soul Ring.
For the sake of this son of his, Yu Yuanzhen, as clan leader, had shouldered far too much.
He hadn't planned to bring Yu Xiaogang along this time.
But Yu Xiaogang had insisted on coming, saying he wanted to study the Martial Souls and development of his peers so he could learn from them, see if he could improve his cultivation, and make up for his poor talent.
That was why Yu Yuanzhen was somewhat dissatisfied with him.
With the resources the clan had provided, as long as Yu Xiaogang had focused on cultivating, he might have already reached level 10 by now, even with only half a level of Innate Soul Power.
Wouldn't it be better to work hard at cultivation? Yu Yuanzhen couldn't imagine what had gotten into his son. Why did he insist on studying Martial Soul Theory?
There had already been a lot of complaints within the clan. Back then, Yu Yuanzhen could use Yu Xiaogang's diligence in cultivation as an excuse, while his status as clan leader kept those dissatisfied from speaking up.
But over the past two years, Yu Xiaogang had become ever more obsessed with studying Martial Souls, and had gradually neglected his own cultivation.
If things continued this way, even Yu Yuanzhen, as clan leader, wouldn't be able to keep the complaints at bay.
The grumbling among the clan members was growing louder.
"Xiaogang, in your father's eyes, you're no worse than anyone else."
"Don't neglect your cultivation. Now that we've come here, if you see how far behind you are compared to everyone else, I hope you'll face reality and still persevere."
Yu Yuanzhen looked at his son. After a moment's hesitation, he offered him some advice and reassurance.
The reason was that soon, he might not be able to suppress the complaints from the clan Elders.
When that happened, the clan would cut back on Xiaogang's resources.
He only hoped that, when the time came, Xiaogang would understand his predicament—and the clan's.
Whatever else he might be, Yu Xiaogang was still his son.
"Father, I understand!"
At just eleven years old, Yu Xiaogang already had a cold, detached air about him.
He responded faintly, then lowered his head and returned to the book in his hands.
He acted as if he hadn't heard his father's advice at all.
He had no good feelings toward anyone in the clan, from top to bottom.
They either mocked him to his face or slandered him behind his back.
He was the clan leader's son. What was wrong with him enjoying more resources?
He deserved them.
If they couldn't get the same resources, why didn't they ask their own fathers why they hadn't worked harder, become Titled Douluo, or become clan leaders?
Over the years, Yu Xiaogang had also built up plenty of resentment toward his father.
He always felt that his father looked down on him, and that just because he had awakened a useless Martial Soul, his father's attitude toward him had changed completely.
On top of that, the two of them had grown more and more distant.
His father gave him resources merely to silence the others and preserve his image as the perfect clan leader, a man without a single flaw.
Most importantly, his father also thought it was wrong for him to study Martial Soul Theory and try to change his own circumstances.
As a result, Yu Xiaogang had grown increasingly estranged from his father, Yu Yuanzhen.
"You all look down on me!"
"One day, I'll prove to you that I, Yu Xiaogang, am no good-for-nothing!"
Yu Xiaogang secretly swore an oath to himself.
As the various factions gathered, the so-called Genius Exchange Meeting began.
As an important member of Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong naturally took part.
This time, Yue Guan and Gui Mei weren't at her side to protect her.
They had important matters of their own to attend to.
After returning to Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong had ordered someone to investigate the records of every Soul Master who had awakened there over the years.
Her goal, naturally, was to find the Blue Silver Emperor, Ah Yin.
Though countless Soul Masters had awakened over the years, finding a Blue Silver Grass Soul Master with Innate Full Soul Power wasn't too difficult.
Such a thing was exceedingly rare. A thorough search would still turn up promising results.
So Gui Mei went to carry out the task.
Gui Mei didn't know why Bibi Dong was looking for a Blue Silver Grass Soul Master. He was even more surprised that a Blue Silver Grass Soul Master could awaken with Innate Full Soul Power. But he did as he was told.
He knew Xiao Dong had abilities ordinary people didn't.
Only that blockhead Yue Guan hadn't noticed.
As for Yue Guan, he was naturally busy carrying out the money-making scheme she had assigned him.
As the various factions drew lots, one person after another took the stage at the Soul Fighting Arena.
Throughout the proceedings, no genius had appeared who made Bibi Dong's eyes light up.
"It seems the geniuses of this era really aren't all that dazzling!"
Bibi Dong watched two Soul Kings battle in the arena. They were quite impressive, but compared to true geniuses, they still fell short.
In the end, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan disciple won the match only by risking his life.
"How interesting!"
Bibi Dong then turned her gaze toward the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's section, where it settled on Yu Xiaogang.
She truly hadn't expected Yu Xiaogang to come to a place like this.
With his talent and cultivation, wasn't he just coming here to get beaten up?
No matter how ordinary these geniuses were, they were still beyond Yu Xiaogang's reach.
What Bibi Dong found interesting wasn't that Yu Xiaogang had shown up here.
It was that after the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan genius fought desperately to win, he showed no joy at all. Instead, he turned and glared viciously at Yu Xiaogang.
Clearly, Yu Xiaogang had become despised by everyone in the clan.
A good-for-nothing taking up so many cultivation resources was bound to make the others unhappy.
It wasn't that people feared scarcity so much as unfairness.
Of course, Bibi Dong felt that, in this respect, Yu Xiaogang had become a scapegoat for everyone to blame.
What resources could cultivators on the Douluo Continent of this era even have?
At most, medicinal baths and Mimicry Cultivation Environments.
But because Yu Xiaogang was there, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's genius disciples could comfortably make excuses for themselves.
When their own strength fell short, they would instinctively blame it on Yu Xiaogang hogging their resources, and tell themselves that was why they couldn't measure up to the geniuses of other factions.
Of course, that wasn't to say Bibi Dong was trying to whitewash Yu Xiaogang or anything like that.
In the entire Douluo series, he was the person she hated most.
She was simply calling it as she saw it.
Just then, Bibi Dong snapped out of her thoughts.
It was her turn to take the stage.
As luck would have it, her opponent was a disciple of the Clear Sky Sect.
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