The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan

Xing Tian had no interest in what the people below thought. He sneered at Yu Tianheng. "Time to honor our wager."

Yu Tianheng's teeth nearly shattered from grinding them. His fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white, but he still lowered his noble head and tossed over a Gold Soul Card.

"This Gold Soul Card contains one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins. I apologize for my earlier insolence. Everything I said about you was... all... complete... nonsense!"

Xing Tian raised his voice. "Yu Tianheng, I told you long ago that you're nothing to me. A horned earthworm, a scaled mudfish—my assessment of you was spot-on."

"I know you're still not convinced. You're thinking that once you master the Dragon Transformation Secret Technique, you'll come back and beat me, then humiliate me a hundred or a thousand times over, all for that ridiculous pride of yours."

Xing Tian spoke calmly. "You're welcome to try. I've never considered you my opponent. I'll give you time to catch up, until you can no longer even see me on the horizon."

Everyone was astonished. What kind of confidence did it take to make such an overbearing declaration in so calm a voice?

Xing Tian was only an eight-year-old Soul Grandmaster, yet he seemed to possess the bearing of a Titled Douluo, the lofty spirit of one who stood atop a peak and looked down upon the mountains below.

Yu Tianheng seemed to have something inside him shattered. His straight back gradually bent.

"What! Tianheng lost!"

Inside the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's Council Hall, its senior members were stunned to hear that Yu Tianheng had been defeated.

The most alarmed among them was Yu Feilong, Yu Tianheng's father and the eldest son of the clan leader, Yu Yuanzhen.

Yu Feilong's talent was average, and he had no hope of becoming a Titled Douluo, so he had pinned all his hopes on his son, Yu Tianheng.

In truth, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was already facing a dearth of capable successors. The second-generation disciples, Yu Feilong among them, generally had average talent and little chance of becoming Titled Douluos.

Among the third-generation disciples, only the cousins Yu Tianxin and Yu Tianheng stood out. Their Innate Soul Power exceeded level eight, and the clan leader, Yu Yuanzhen, had high hopes for them. He wanted the clan to produce two Douluos from one family, like Tang Xiao and Tang Hao of the Clear Sky Sect. That was why he gave the cousins a title similar to the Clear Sky Twin Stars: the Blue Lightning Twin Stars.

Although the cousins Yu Tianxin and Yu Tianheng got along well in private, both had their sights set on inheriting the clan leader's position, putting competition first.

Yu Tianheng was a year younger but had a slight edge in talent. He had never fallen behind Yu Tianxin, and Yu Feilong had been confident that his son would surpass Yu Tianxin one day and inherit the clan leader's position.

But now Yu Tianheng had lost—to a Soul Grandmaster three years younger and five levels below him in Soul Power. His opponent even possessed a Beast Martial Soul. It was a disgrace to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's claim of having the best Beast Martial Soul in the world.

What was even more infuriating was that Yu Tianheng had been on the back foot almost the entire time. He hadn't even forced his opponent to use his second Soul Skill.

For the first time, Yu Feilong felt anger toward his son. He was also worried this might affect Yu Tianheng's standing in his father Yu Yuanzhen's eyes, leading Yu Yuanzhen to favor Yu Tianxin as his successor.

Just then, an elder said furiously, "Clan Leader, that Xing Tian was clearly using a roundabout way to insult us. 'A horned earthworm, a scaled mudfish'—he was humiliating our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan! We must teach that brat a lesson, or everyone in the world will think our clan is easy to bully!"

Another elder chimed in, "And Yu Tianheng acted rashly. Not only might he have incurred Dugu Bo's displeasure, he also brought disgrace upon the clan. He should be summoned back immediately and punished!"

The two elders had voiced what the other fifteen elders were thinking. They all chimed in agreement.

Yu Yuanzhen sat in the clan leader's seat, his head propped on one hand, looking like a sleeping old dragon. Even with his eyes closed, he radiated an aura that brooked no disrespect.

After remaining silent for a long while, he finally spoke slowly. "Second Brother, what do you think?"

"Elder Brother, I don't think we should."

Yu Luomian, seated beside Yu Yuanzhen, addressed the elders. "Elders, I know you're furious, and that you want to defend the clan's dignity. But this isn't the way to handle things."

"Tianheng did act too hastily, but that was mainly because of his pride. This incident is just the thing to temper him. There's no need to make a big deal of it. I don't think he needs to be punished."

"Besides, Tianheng was the one who provoked Xing Tian first. Xing Tian's words were directed at Tianheng personally. No matter how you look at it, we're in the wrong. If we force the issue, won't that make our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan look overbearing and prone to bullying the weak?"

"What's more, the Education Committee at Heaven Dou Royal Academy has already made its decision, and Tianheng agreed to it. If we use our power to bully people, that would mean we can't accept a loss."

"We are dragons! If we can't accept defeat, are we even dragons?"

"A true man can lose his head, but never his resolve! What we need to do now is bring Tianheng back, rekindle his fighting spirit, and have him train harder so he can go back and win!"

Yu Yuanzhen was very pleased with Yu Luomian's reasoning, especially the line, "We are dragons! If we can't accept defeat, are we even dragons?"

That was precisely why Yu Yuanzhen had created the position of deputy clan leader, the clan's second-in-command, for Yu Luomian.

Yu Luomian was more than a decade younger than Yu Yuanzhen. In both age and cultivation, he fell behind some of the elders. In theory, he could only have become an elder, yet Yu Yuanzhen had made him the clan's second-in-command, second only to himself.

Aside from his personal affection for his younger brother, the reason was that Yu Luomian's perspective, vision, and principles perfectly aligned with his own.

Although Yu Luomian's grandson, Yu Tianxin, was competing with Yu Yuanzhen's grandson, Yu Tianheng, the clan's revival came first in Yu Luomian's eyes. He wouldn't kick someone when they were down.

The other elders always thought that any loss the clan suffered meant someone had insulted them. They believed they were noble dragons who could never allow themselves to be humiliated, and that they had to repay every slight a hundred or a thousand times over.

But that wasn't nobility. It was arrogance.

Yu Yuanzhen even believed that the clan's present lack of capable successors was caused by the elders' way of thinking. He had wanted to reform things for a long time.

But the clan wasn't his alone to command, and the elders' positions were difficult to shake.

That was why he had decided to institute reforms, creating the position of second-in-command and gradually elevating Yu Luomian to counterbalance the elders.

Yu Luomian had risen to the challenge, living up to Yu Yuanzhen's careful plans. He had built up considerable prestige, and together with Yu Yuanzhen, he could now keep the elders in check.

Yu Yuanzhen sat upright and said sternly, "Second Brother is right. We are dragons. How could we bully someone weaker than us? Tianheng's state of mind is the priority."

He looked toward the messenger below. "Go to the Education Committee at Heaven Dou Royal Academy again and request a month's leave for Tianheng. I'll personally put him through intensive training!"

"Yes!"

Hearing this, Yu Luomian felt a little stirred. Yu Yuanzhen was usually busy with clan affairs, and to be fair, he rarely gave Yu Tianheng any extra guidance.

But now that this had happened, Yu Tianheng's state of mind might have suffered. Yu Yuanzhen had no choice but to step in. Guidance from a level 95 Super Douluo was something every young Soul Master dreamed of.

I hope Tianxin works even harder when he hears the news and surpasses Tianheng. Tianheng, don't lose heart. Half of Elder Brother's hopes rest on you...