Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
Yu Yuanzhen read the intelligence report from beginning to end three times.
After the first reading, his expression remained blank, though the fingers holding the letter tightened slightly.
After the second, his brows slowly furrowed, and extremely complicated emotions churned in his eyes.
After the third, he slowly set the letter down and stared at the Purple Gold Thunder Dragon relief coiling across the hall's vaulted ceiling, remaining silent for a long time.
"Clan Leader..." an elder cautiously said. "The emergence of Self-Condensed Soul Rings is ultimately a good thing for the Soul Master world. It's just... it's just that no one expected a problem that even Spirit Hall, after pouring the strength of its entire organization into eleven years of research, failed to solve would be resolved by an obscure young man."
Yu Yuanzhen did not respond.
He remained silent for so long that the elders in the hall began exchanging uneasy glances before he finally spoke.
"That rebellious son spent eleven years in Spirit Hall."
His voice was calm, so calm that it sounded as though he were discussing something unrelated to himself.
Yet every elder could hear the deep exhaustion and disappointment beneath that calm tone.
Eleven years ago, Bibi Dong had invited Yu Xiaogang into Spirit Hall with immense wealth and authority, appointing him head of the Creation Institute and placing him in charge of all research into Self-Condensed Soul Rings.
The whole world had watched, and countless people had waited in anticipation.
Though the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan publicly called it disgraceful, deep down, they still held onto a sliver of hope.
They hoped that this waste cast out by the family could prove himself. They hoped that his theories would one day bear fruit.
But now, the flowers