Disdain

Yu Xiaogang stepped out of the courtyard and happened to see a clan member passing by next door.

"Hey, do you know where Yu Hong went?" Yu Xiaogang stopped him and asked.

The clan member glanced at him, recognized him as the clan leader's son, and hurriedly bowed.

"Reporting to you, Young Master, Yu Hong left a few days ago. He said he was going out to train."

"Train?" Yu Xiaogang froze. "Where did he go?"

"I think somewhere near Greenwood Forest," the clan member replied. "I'm not sure of the exact place."

Yu Xiaogang's expression darkened.

Yu Hong had actually gone out to train?

And to Greenwood Forest, no less?

Greenwood Forest was one of the Soul Beast forests near the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. It was teeming with countless Soul Beasts, many of them exceptionally ferocious.

Had Yu Hong gone there alone? Wasn't he afraid of dying?

"Hmph, what a show-off," Yu Xiaogang scoffed. "He must be afraid of me and hiding on purpose."

He didn't believe Yu Hong had really gone to train.

In his eyes, Yu Hong was a coward. He must have gone into hiding because he was afraid of Yu Xiaogang's revenge.

"When you come back, I'll teach you a lesson!"

Yu Xiaogang said viciously, then turned and left.

Back in his courtyard, the more he thought about it, the angrier he became.

He'd meant to put Yu Hong in his place today, but the man wasn't even there.

All the imposing presence he'd spent days building up had gone to waste.

"Damn it!" Yu Xiaogang slammed his fist into the table, leaving a dent.

"Calm down, Young Master," the servant hurried to urge him. "Young Master Yu Hong will come back sooner or later. You can settle the score with him then."

"Hmph." Yu Xiaogang scoffed, though his anger had indeed eased a little.

That was right. Yu Hong would have to come back eventually.

When he did, Yu Xiaogang would teach him a proper lesson.

"By the way, find out when Yu Hong will be back," Yu Xiaogang ordered. "Tell me the moment he returns."

"Yes, Young Master."

The servant went off to carry out his orders.

Yu Xiaogang sat in his chair, a vicious gleam in his eyes.

Yu Hong, you can hide for a while, but you can't hide forever.

At the tournament a year from now, I'll make sure you're crushed beneath my feet!

The outskirts of Greenwood Forest.

Yu Hong had been here for three days.

During that time, he had encountered quite a few Soul Beasts and fought several battles.

They had all been Soul Beasts around a hundred years old, so they hadn't posed much of a threat. Even so, those real, live-or-die battles had taught him a great deal.

"Just as I thought, actual combat and cultivation are completely different." Yu Hong sat beneath a large tree, thinking back on the battle he'd just fought.

He had just encountered a two-hundred-year-old Wind Blade Wolf. It had been incredibly fast, and its attacks had been fierce.

In the past, he might have been thrown into disarray.

But now, he could handle it with ease.

His physical strength, reaction speed, and combat sense were all improving with every battle.

"Time to go deeper." Yu Hong stood and headed farther into the forest.

The Soul Beasts on the outskirts could no longer put much pressure on him. He needed to find stronger opponents.

Of course, he wouldn't venture too deep.

The depths of Greenwood Forest were home to many Soul Beasts a thousand or even ten thousand years old. They were beyond what he could handle right now.

He only needed to stay between the outskirts and the middle reaches.

After walking for about half an hour, Yu Hong came to a relatively open area.

The trees were sparse here, and weeds covered the ground. It looked like the territory of some kind of Soul Beast.

Yu Hong warily scanned his surroundings, one hand already resting on the short blade at his waist.

Suddenly, a rustling sound came from the grass.

Yu Hong's body tensed in an instant, his eyes fixed on the direction of the sound.

The next moment, a Soul Beast sprang out of the grass.

It was a huge lizard, its body covered in dark green scales and a row of sharp bone spines running down its back.

Its eyes were bloodred, brimming with savagery.

"A Spine-Back Lizard?" Yu Hong recognized the Soul Beast. "Judging by its size, it must be at least three hundred years old."

The Spine-Back Lizard was an extremely aggressive Soul Beast. It could launch the bone spines on its back, and they hit hard.

Its skin was also incredibly tough, making it difficult for ordinary attacks to hurt it.

"Perfect. This'll make good practice." Yu Hong's lips curled slightly as he drew the short blade from his waist.

The Spine-Back Lizard let out a low hiss, then charged.

It was incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, it was right in front of Yu Hong, jaws gaping as it lunged for his neck.

Yu Hong dodged to the side and evaded the attack. At the same time, his short blade swept in an arc toward the lizard's neck.

"Clang!"

The blade struck the Spine-Back Lizard's scales with a sharp metallic ring, leaving only a faint white mark.

"Just as I thought. Tough as nails." Yu Hong wasn't surprised. He quickly retreated to create some distance.

The Spine-Back Lizard missed its strike, turned, and charged again.

This time, the bone spines on its back suddenly rose upright, then shot toward Yu Hong like a torrential downpour.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

More than a dozen bone spines tore through the air, moving at incredible speed and coming at him from tricky angles.

Yu Hong flickered like a ghost, weaving through the gaps between the spines without getting hit even once.

"Too slow." Yu Hong sneered. His figure suddenly accelerated, charging straight at the Spine-Back Lizard.

The lizard had just fired its spines and hadn't had time to grow them back. It was at its weakest.

Yu Hong seized the opportunity and thrust his short blade at its eye.

Its eyes were the most vulnerable part of its body—and its only weakness.

"Pfft!"

The blade sank into the lizard's eye socket, and blood gushed out.

The Spine-Back Lizard let out a shrill scream and thrashed violently.

But Yu Hong gave it no chance. He drove the blade deeper, piercing straight through its skull.

The Spine-Back Lizard's body stiffened, then crashed to the ground and lay still.

"Done." Yu Hong pulled out his short blade and wiped off the blood.

The fight had taken less than a minute from start to finish.

But Yu Hong didn't let his guard down.

In the forest, the death of one Soul Beast could easily draw the attention of others.

He quickly left the area and continued on.

Over the following days, Yu Hong roamed Greenwood Forest, fighting all kinds of Soul Beasts.

His combat skills grew more polished, and he learned more and more about Soul Beasts.

At the same time, he kept a close eye on his Martial Soul.

The cracks in the Primordial White Stone were growing more numerous and deeper, as if it might shatter at any moment.

Yu Hong knew that day was not far off.

His Martial Soul was about to undergo a true transformation. When that day came, he would leap over the dragon's gate and soar to the heavens.