After letting out a low, furious roar, Yu Xiaogang vented the frustration bottled up inside him. Only then did he compose himself and prepare to apply for help hunting his First Soul Ring.
Ever since he had returned from Spirit Hall a year ago,
their Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had failed to achieve any decent results in that so-called exchange battle for geniuses.
As a result, the clan's geniuses had pinned all the blame on Yu Xiaogang.
Many of them had been just a little short of defeating their opponents and claiming a good ranking.
Just a little short.
If the resources that should have been theirs hadn't fallen into their opponents' hands, their strength would undoubtedly have been greater than it was at the time, and they would certainly have gained something in the end.
Because of this, after they returned to the clan, the elders of the various branches became even more dissatisfied with Yu Xiaogang.
Then they went to Sect Master Yu Yuanzhen and joined forces to pressure him.
Under these circumstances, even Yu Yuanzhen, as Sect Master, had no choice but to give in.
He truly had no other option.
He had spent the years suppressing the disciples of the other branches too harshly, and now the backlash had come. Unless he gave them an explanation, he would have to make concessions elsewhere.
In the end, the clan stripped Yu Xiaogang of the resources that belonged to him.
For the past year, Yu Yuanzhen had provided Yu Xiaogang's resources out of his own pocket.
For one reason or another, Yu Xiaogang had come to loathe the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan more and more.
But for now, he had no choice but to rely on the clan's strength to hunt a Soul Beast.
After all, he was only at level 10 and couldn't hunt a Hundred-Year Soul Beast on his own.
The first person Yu Xiaogang thought of was his father. He would ask him to help hunt his Soul Beast.
Although it was a little humiliating, this concerned his First Soul Ring. He felt he could only endure it for the time being.
Mustering his courage and pushing past the knot of resentment in his heart, Yu Xiaogang went to find Yu Yuanzhen.
But he was told that the Sect Master was in seclusion.
The news struck Yu Xiaogang like a blow.
"Could it be that Father has really given up on me?"
"You didn't go into seclusion earlier or later—you just had to do it when I'd finally reached level 10."
"Even you think my existence brings shame on you?"
Yu Xiaogang gazed at the Sect Master's Hall in the distance, his eyes filled with dejection.
The reason he thought this way was that he truly didn't want to face the people of the clan.
He had long since grown used to the endless insults over the years, but what normal person would want to be mocked to their face—or go looking for a chance to be hurt?
Because he didn't want to face them, he chose to redirect his emotions elsewhere.
Yu Xiaogang was an extremely insecure person. Living in an environment of mockery and abuse had made him far too sensitive. Whenever anyone said anything related to him—even if they were talking about someone else, or the matter had nothing to do with him at all—he still thought they were discussing him and making fun of him.
At the same time, he was also extremely confident, so confident that it bordered on arrogance.
Whenever he sensed even the slightest impropriety, he thought others were targeting and ostracizing him.
He thought far too highly of himself.
The main reason for these two utterly different sides of his personality was the sharp contrast in his status.
Before awakening his Martial Soul, wherever he went, people had praised him and held him high on a pedestal—so high he could never climb down.
After awakening his Martial Soul, even when those same people continued treating him just as they had before, he still thought they were laughing at him and mocking him.
If he hadn't thought so highly of himself, none of this mess would have happened.
Aside from a handful of people, hardly anyone in the clan was bored enough to mock him.
In fact, many people envied Yu Xiaogang.
His talent was so poor, yet he still had a father who was a Titled Douluo and had always protected him.
But Yu Xiaogang had never thought of it that way.
Ultimately, it all came down to how highly he thought of himself.
He didn't know it.
At that moment, Yu Xiaogang was gritting his teeth and making his way to the place where clan members applied for help hunting Soul Beasts.
The person handling these requests was a Soul King with mediocre talent. He would probably never become a Soul Emperor in his lifetime.
Limited by his talent, he had hit a bottleneck and could no longer advance. He had once studied Martial Soul Theory as well.
He couldn't be called a Grandmaster, but he had made considerable achievements in the field of Martial Soul Theory.
Seeing that Yu Xiaogang was interested in studying Martial Soul Theory, he had wanted to offer him some guidance.
Those children might laugh at Yu Xiaogang as a good-for-nothing, but old men like them truly didn't dare. Yu Xiaogang's father was the Sect Master, after all.
Young people feared nothing and cared about nothing, but at their age, they couldn't afford to act so recklessly.
He had done so because he wanted to curry favor with the Sect Master.
He had simply wanted to tell Yu Xiaogang that having theories without putting them into practice wouldn't improve his cultivation at all. It would only waste the best years for cultivation.
Unexpectedly, Yu Xiaogang had taken his well-meant advice as mockery.
After it happened twice, the old man stopped saying anything.
He simply watched Yu Xiaogang go down the wrong path and waste his time.
"I want to apply for the clan's help hunting my First Soul Ring."
When Yu Xiaogang saw the old man before him, his voice was full of coldness.
He knew perfectly well that this old geezer looked down on him.
If he hadn't wanted to obtain his First Soul Ring as soon as possible, he would have chosen to come back another day.
"Here are the teams responsible for Soul Hunting missions. Pick whichever one you want."
Seeing Yu Xiaogang's attitude, the old man immediately felt a surge of distaste.
He had originally planned to offer him some guidance and pick a suitable Soul Hunting Squad for him.
But with Yu Xiaogang acting like this, he truly couldn't be bothered to cozy up to him anymore.
After all their interactions, he had come to see Yu Xiaogang clearly.
The man was the Sect Master's son, the son of a Titled Douluo. Even with low Innate Soul Power and a Trash Martial Soul, he wasn't someone people like them could curry favor with.
Trying to show him goodwill only made him resentful.
If that was how it was, then let him be.
Yu Xiaogang glanced at the squads responsible for Soul Hunting missions.
There were only basic descriptions of the teams. Nothing else was provided.
There was no mention of the Soul Hunting Squad members' strength or what kinds of Soul Beasts they specialized in hunting.
Yu Xiaogang's face darkened at once.
Although this was his first time applying for help hunting a Soul Beast, he knew a little about how it worked.
Whenever someone applied for the clan's Soul Hunting Squads to help with a hunt, the person in charge would provide detailed information about the teams.
The situation before him was clearly intended to make things difficult for him.
That was exactly what had happened.
The person in charge had two sets of standards: one for those with good talent, and another for those without.
Even if someone had mediocre talent, as long as their attitude was good, the person in charge would give them the same standard of service as those with good talent.
The reason Yu Xiaogang had been given such poor service was simple: he rubbed the man the wrong way.
When you acted within the rules, even if you had grievances, you had to swallow them.
Before you continue