"Na'er, I asked you here today because Mingxiao has something he wants to tell you. You two talk; I'll leave you to it."
Yu Yuanzhen smiled and left the reception hall.
Yu Mingxiao took a deep breath. "Na'er, let's talk outside."
Na'er nodded and followed him out of the Sect Master Mansion.
When they reached a deserted spot, Yu Mingxiao asked gravely, "You came here for the Dragon-Slaying Blade, didn't you?"
"What's the Dragon-Slaying Blade?" Na'er asked, her face full of confusion.
Yu Mingxiao frowned. She's the Silver Dragon King. How could she not know about the Dragon-Slaying Blade? What does she mean by that?
Suppressing his thoughts, Yu Mingxiao asked bluntly, "Should I call you Na'er, or the Silver Dragon King?"
"I'm Na'er. Who's the Silver Dragon King? It feels... a little familiar." Na'er suddenly clutched her head and closed her eyes, pain showing on her face.
Amnesia? Yu Mingxiao's expression turned strange.
He had already planned to hand over the Dragon-Slaying Blade. After all, precious as a divine artifact was, it could not compare to his life.
If he lost this divine artifact, he could find another. But he had only one life, and no one could bring him back from the dead.
Did that mean there was still a way out?
He thought for a moment, then asked, "Are you all right?"
At his words of comfort, Na'er's pain eased a little. She lowered her head slightly and whispered, "I'm sorry."
"You don't need to apologize." Yu Mingxiao gave her a long look. "Do you know who your parents are?"
Na'er shook her head.
Had she really lost her memory? Was it an accident, or had some unknown force affected her...?
Yu Mingxiao's thoughts grew heavy. "Na'er, now that you've joined the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, we're family. If you need anything, come to me."
"Is your house big? Could I live with you?" Na'er asked softly. She seemed to realize how that sounded as soon as she said it and hurriedly lowered her head.
What was this young Silver Dragon King after? Was she drawn to some aura on me?
Yu Mingxiao's imagination ran wild. After a moment's hesitation, he asked uncertainly, "You want to live with me?"
Na'er's cheeks reddened. She buried her head even lower, unable to say a word.
Yu Mingxiao was silent for a moment. "My house has plenty of spare rooms. If you want to live there, you're welcome anytime."
Since the Silver Dragon King seemed interested in him, he would see what she was really after.
Keeping her close might not necessarily bring disaster.
"Thank you," Na'er murmured.
One year later.
Yu Xiaogang's courtyard.
After three days in seclusion, Yu Xiaogang's eyes snapped open, a sharp gleam flashing in them. Just as his aura settled, an ill-timed, thunderous fart exploded, like celebratory fireworks going off.
"I, Yu Xiaogang, have finally broken through level ten! Hahahaha!"
Yu Xiaogang laughed wildly, his smile twisted and crazed with an almost sickening obsession.
The two guards at the door exchanged a glance, a trace of concealed contempt flashing in their eyes.
What the hell was he so excited about? Four years and a pile of resources, and he'd only just barely reached level ten.
Yu Xiaogang noticed none of it. Instead, he was smugly pleased with himself.
Seeing that neither guard had yet become a Soul Ancestor made him even more secretly pleased. It never occurred to him that they spent half their time watching him and pushing him to train, leaving them little time to train themselves.
Even so, both men were already close to becoming Soul Ancestors.
He flung open the door, nose in the air and arrogance written across his face. "I'm going to see Father. You two stay here and guard the door."
With a disdainful sneer, Yu Xiaogang strode toward Yu Yuanzhen's residence without once looking at the guards.
He had just reached the courtyard gate and was about to enter when a guard stopped him. "Young Master Xiaogang, what do you want?"
"I've broken through level ten. I'm here to see Father. Move aside," Yu Xiaogang said darkly.
Two years ago, he had watched his elder brother Yu Mingxiao enter the Sect Master Mansion to a respectful welcome from the guards, while he, Yu Xiaogang, had been stopped at the door.
The memory filled him with a fierce sense of unfairness.
"Wait here." The guard glanced at him, then went into the Sect Master Mansion.
Before long, Yu Yuanzhen came out. "You've broken through level ten?"
"Father, hurry and take me to hunt a Soul Ring. I want to become a proud Soul Master," Yu Xiaogang said eagerly.
Yu Yuanzhen shook his head. "Go home and wait a day. I still have some things to handle. You can use the time to stabilize your Soul Power; it'll do you good."
"No! Father, I've trained bitterly for four years. I can't wait any longer to become a Soul Master. I want to hunt a Soul Ring right now!"
Yu Xiaogang grabbed Yu Yuanzhen's wrist, his expression feverish, his urgency bordering on a loss of control.
Yu Yuanzhen frowned slightly. "Can't you be patient for even one day? Fine. I'll have a clan elder take you to hunt a Soul Ring."
"A clan elder?"
Yu Xiaogang's expression changed. Of everyone in the clan, the elders were the people he least wanted to see.
In his eyes, those old fossils had nothing better to do than whisper behind his back and make up stories about him.
The thought twisted Yu Xiaogang's face. He gave a soft snort and hurried away.
If Father would not take him to hunt a Soul Ring, he would take people himself.
Yu Yuanzhen watched him leave without stopping him. Four years of bitter training, and his abilities haven't improved, but his temper has only grown more extreme.
As Yu Xiaogang walked along the road, he raised his chin slightly, suddenly full of high spirits.
"Once I get my First Soul Ring and turn my Martial Soul back into the Golden Sacred Dragon, I'll make every last one of you regret it!"
Young and ignorant, he clearly had yet to face reality. His heart still burned with dreams of becoming a mighty warrior; disappointment had not yet driven him down the crooked path of becoming a Grand Master of theory.
As the clan leader's youngest son, Yu Xiaogang managed to recruit a few reasonably capable outer disciples to accompany him on his Soul Ring hunt.
Few people paid attention to Yu Xiaogang in the first place, so Yu Yuanzhen did not hear the news until the day after they left.
"That damned Yu Xiaogang! He's going to be the death of me!" Yu Yuanzhen's face darkened.
"Father, what happened?" Yu Mingxiao could not help asking.
Yu Yuanzhen said, "Your younger brother sneaked off to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt a Soul Ring. He only took three outer disciples, all Soul Elders."
"I'm worried, so I plan to go there myself. I can see what Soul Ring he absorbs while I'm at it and make sure nothing goes wrong."
"He's grown more and more stubborn these past few years. I'm afraid he'll absorb some random Soul Ring."
Yu Mingxiao nodded lightly and said nothing more.
He suddenly thought of Yu Xiaogang's black pig.
He vaguely remembered Luo Sanpao having pale purple fur, but Yu Xiaogang's had pale black fur. Something was clearly off; it was probably not a degenerated form of the Radiant Sacred Dragon.
Given Yu Xiaogang's knowledge and judgment, even if he reached the Star Dou Great Forest, he might not find a suitable Soul Ring...
Before you continue