Yu Xiaogang's Jealousy

Zhang Qiong said, "The Sect Master told me that the Young Sect Master has already obtained his first Soul Ring. I am a level sixty-one Soul King. Today, I will suppress my Soul Power to level twenty-one and serve as your sparring opponent."

"Level twenty-one? You're suppressing it too much." Yu Mingxiao lightly shook his head.

For a moment, Zhang Qiong did not understand what he meant. He assumed Yu Mingxiao was worried that he was being suppressed too severely, so he forced out a smile and advised, "Young Sect Master, if I lower my Soul Power too much, it won't have the intended effect of sparring practice."

"No, I mean you should raise your Soul Power a little. I want something more challenging," Yu Mingxiao said.

"Huh?" Zhang Qiong looked slightly stunned. "Young Sect Master, are you sure you want me to raise my Soul Power?"

Yu Mingxiao said calmly, "I'm sure. Come at me."

At that moment, Yu Xiaogang, who had just finished breakfast and come to the front courtyard for a walk, happened to see the two facing off.

What were his brother and that sect disciple doing? From the looks of it, they were about to fight. Was this the sacred duel between Soul Masters?

Yu Xiaogang frowned slightly, staring at the two without blinking as he prepared to watch the battle closely.

Ever since awakening Luo Sanpao, that useless Martial Soul, his mentality had already collapsed.

How he wished he could stand in his brother's place and spar freely with that disciple.

His elder brother, Yu Mingxiao, had practically become the embodiment of his dreams.

Yet for him, that dream would ultimately remain out of reach.

Fortunately, his father had not completely given up on him. Even though he had deceived his brother into absorbing a hypnotic Soul Beast, his father still sent people to supervise his cultivation and prepared cultivation resources for him every day.

This was already the only consolation left in his heart.

Yu Mingxiao caught sight of Yu Xiaogang watching from nearby, and his expression shifted slightly. Even a fight could draw Yu Xiaogang out? He should find a chance to speak with his father and move out of here.

After all, he needed privacy too. It had not mattered much when he was younger, but things were different now that he was older.

"Young Sect Master, how about I adjust my Soul Power to level twenty-five?" Zhang Qiong asked tentatively.

Yu Mingxiao said, "Fine, level twenty-five it is. Let me see what the strength of a Soul Grandmaster is like."

"Zhang Qiong, Martial Soul: Fire Lynx. Young Sect Master, be careful." Zhang Qiong's eyes flashed. With Martial Soul Possession, his body swelled by a full circle, fiery red fur grew over both palms, and a mane burst forth around his neck.

He pushed off the ground with his toes and shot forward like an arrow loosed from its bow.

"A Fire Lynx?" Yu Mingxiao's pupils turned into golden slits. Dense platinum dragon scales covered his right arm, and his hand transformed into a dragon claw as he met Zhang Qiong head-on.

Their palms collided, and the force sent Yu Mingxiao stumbling back several steps. His arm went slightly numb.

Zhang Qiong said, "Young Sect Master, although I am an agility-attack Soul Master, I am still a level sixty-one Soul Emperor. Your strength is far inferior to mine."

Sacred Dragon Flame Light. Yu Mingxiao found this troublesome. The first yellow Soul Ring beneath his feet lit up as his first soul skill activated. Golden light burst from his eyes, boosting all his attributes dramatically, while a stream of golden Radiant Dragon Breath shot from his mouth like a beam of light.

Even with Zhang Qiong deliberately suppressing his strength, he was still far stronger than an ordinary Soul Master of the same level.

Though he claimed to have level twenty-five Soul Power, his strength and speed remained at the level of an agility-attack Soul Emperor.

Faced with this situation, Yu Mingxiao could only play to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses.

"A beam attack? Perfect." Zhang Qiong tilted his head back. The second yellow Soul Ring beneath his feet flashed as he unleashed his second soul skill, Lynx Fire Line, firing a scorching, slender jet of flame from his mouth as well.

As its name implied, Lynx Fire Line fired a slender, high-temperature beam of flame.

The two streams of energy collided, and the surrounding temperature surged sharply.

Not far away, Yu Xiaogang stared blankly at the two as they fought, feeling the jealousy in his heart grow deeper and deeper.

His brother's Martial Soul was actually this powerful. The beam he fired was strong enough to contend evenly with that sect disciple.

Yet his own Martial Soul was nothing more than a fat pig that could only fart.

Remembering the strange looks from the guests on both sides of the hall on the day of his Martial Soul awakening, Elder Yu Luocheng's disgusted gaze, and the disappointment in his father's eyes, Yu Xiaogang felt a sharp pain pierce his heart.

Damn it!

I was the one who had been praised since childhood. My brother was just a nobody. Why did I awaken a fat pig on the day of awakening, while my brother awakened a True Dragon?

Why was fate so unfair?

Now, his brother had become the most sought-after figure in the entire sect, while he had become the family's shame, unable to hold his head up.

It was all that damned fat pig's fault! If not for it, how could he have fallen to this point, his status in the sect plummeting as he endured nothing but cold stares?

The more Yu Xiaogang watched, the angrier he became. The more glorious his brother appeared, the more his wound hurt. He turned and headed back to his room. He was going to summon that black-furred fat pig and beat it mercilessly!

Yu Xiaogang left in fury, and no one paid him any attention.

In the arena, Yu Mingxiao's Radiant Dragon Breath had already gained the upper hand.

Although Zhang Qiong's Soul Power was higher, the might of his flames was far inferior to Yu Mingxiao's.

The Radiant Sacred Dragon's attributes were close to the ultimate. The suppression brought by such attributes could not be erased by a gap in levels.

At most, that gap could only let Zhang Qiong hold on a little longer.

"Not good!"

Seeing that his flames could not prevail, Zhang Qiong immediately withdrew and retreated. He narrowly avoided the attack as Yu Mingxiao's radiant beam whistled past his side.

Yu Mingxiao closed in, light power surging over his dragon claws and condensing into sharp blades of light that slashed toward Zhang Qiong!

Zhang Qiong did not dare take the attack head-on with his body. His first white Soul Ring flashed as he hurriedly activated his first soul skill, Claw Shred, instantly unleashing more than a dozen claw shadows and forcing back Yu Mingxiao's assault.

But before he could celebrate for long, Yu Mingxiao flashed to his side and breathed out another blazing mass of Radiant Dragon Breath.

So far, his only offensive methods were the innate abilities of his Martial Soul: dragon claws and dragon breath. But that was already quite good, since ordinary Martial Souls did not even possess such additional abilities.

Some fire-attribute Martial Souls had to obtain the appropriate Soul Rings before they could even breathe fire.

Others were even worse off. Take Ma Hongjun, for example. Though he possessed the Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul, he only gained the ability to fly after obtaining his third Soul Ring and acquiring the Phoenix Wing Soaring soul skill.

Perhaps this was the most direct difference brought by the quality of a Martial Soul.

The instincts super Martial Souls possessed naturally were abilities ordinary Martial Souls needed to obtain Soul Rings to acquire.

As the flames came rushing in, Zhang Qiong's pupils shrank sharply. He instinctively activated his fourth soul skill, Flame Barrier, blocking the attack.

Yu Mingxiao retreated several steps in a row.

A bitter smile appeared on Zhang Qiong's face. "Young Sect Master, I've already used my fourth soul skill. I lost this battle."

Just now, he had not used the speed advantage of an agility-attack Soul Emperor. His underestimation and carelessness had led to this outcome.

"You let me win."

Yu Mingxiao clasped his fists slightly and said calmly, "I'll recover my Soul Power first. For the next match, suppress your Soul Power to level thirty-one. I want to test my limits."

The difference between level twenty-five and level twenty-one was not that great. Without a third soul skill, it was difficult to produce a qualitative change.

Zhang Qiong fell silent for a moment before saying, "All right. Then Young Sect Master, you must be careful."

After a long while, the two began their battle again...