Why?!
Why should he?!
They were both Luo Sanpao! Why could his devour Soul Beasts, absorb Soul Rings beyond his limits, and possess such terrifying Soul Skills? Why did he get all the praise, all the resources, all the attention?
And why was I, Yu Xiaogang, nothing but a good-for-nothing, a laughingstock, someone even my father couldn't bear to look at?!
Scorching jealousy blazed wildly in his eyes, nearly spilling from their sockets and consuming what little reason he had left.
He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug deep into his flesh. Blood trickled between his fingers, but he didn't notice. He only stared at Yu Tianlong, shrouded in light, with bloodshot eyes brimming with venomous resentment.
That gaze was ice-cold, like a knife tempered in poison.
Who knew how much time had passed? The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's corpse had completely disappeared, without even a scrap of bone left behind.
Little Gold lay contentedly on an exposed blue-gray rock, lazily basking in the dappled sunlight filtering through the canopy.
Golden light rippled around its body. It was clearly much bigger than before they entered the forest. The chubby little fellow, which had originally been just over half a meter long, had grown to nearly a meter, its limbs thicker and sturdier.
Its forepaws were the most striking change. The once blunt claws now extended several inches, dark gold and curved like hooks. Their edges were sharp, and they glinted with a chilling sheen in the light.
A small bump had risen above its forehead, as if something were about to break through the skin. A faint dragon's might curled around it.
"Luo..." Little Gold yawned, revealing teeth that had also grown sharper and finer. Its dark golden eyes were half-closed, and it looked like a lazy king who had eaten his fill and looked down on all creation.
Little Silver, perched on Yu Tianlong's shoulder, watched Little Gold "strutting around" below, its glassy eyes full of indignation.
With a "whoosh," it jumped to the ground and trotted over on its stubby legs. Then it lifted a furry silver paw and patted Little Gold on the head.
"Luo!" (Get up. Fight me!)
Little Gold lazily raised an eyelid and glanced at it. Then it rolled over, turning its rear toward Little Silver.
Little Silver was so angry that its silver fur stood on end. It circled Little Gold twice, then suddenly opened its mouth. A tiny icicle formed in midair and shot toward Little Gold's rump.
"Pa." The icicle struck its golden fur and crumbled to powder, leaving not even a mark.
Little Gold slowly got to its feet and shook out its fur. Then, before Little Silver could react, it lunged forward and pinned it beneath itself.
The two Luo Sanpao, now very different in size, tumbled around on the ground, but it was obvious to anyone watching that Little Silver was completely outmatched.
The flames it spat were slapped aside by one of Little Gold's paws. The frost it conjured was smashed apart by its opponent's brute force, and the wind blades only rang against its golden fur with a series of crisp "tings."
In fewer than ten exchanges, Little Gold had pinned Little Silver to the ground, belly up and unable to move. All it could do was let out aggrieved "luo-luo" cries.
"Alright, alright. Don't bully Little Silver." Yu Tianlong stepped forward and rescued Little Silver from Little Gold's clutches.
The moment it was free, Little Silver burrowed into his arms. Its glassy eyes turned watery as it rubbed its little head hard against his chest, making a mournful, protesting sound.
Luo-luo-luo! (It bullied me! I want to get stronger too!)
Yu Tianlong laughed helplessly and rubbed its fluffy head to soothe it. "Alright, alright. I hear you. I'll find you a chance to get stronger."
He said that, but he couldn't help feeling a little troubled. Little Gold had a clear path to growth: devouring Soul Beasts, especially the flesh and Soul Rings of powerful ones, would let it grow quickly.
But what about Little Silver? It needed to absorb elemental energy, and the rarer and more powerful the element, the better.
It could absorb ordinary flames, water, wind, and earth, but its growth was slow. It was like how a person could fill their stomach with plain rice, but it was hard to grow strong quickly on that alone.
"Powerful elemental energy..." A place name surfaced in Yu Tianlong's mind: the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.
It was an extremely rare treasure on the Douluo Continent, where two springs—one freezing, one boiling—lay side by side, gathering the elemental energies of extreme ice and fire.
Countless rare Immortal Herbs and spirit medicines grew around the springs. Any one of them would be enough to spark a scramble among the Soul Master World if it appeared elsewhere.
If he could take Little Silver there to absorb energy for a while, it might not just grow stronger—it could evolve outright.
"Based on the timeline, the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well should already be occupied by Dugu Bo. But... Dugu Bo probably hasn't reached the Titled Douluo level yet. He's likely around Soul Douluo rank."
Yu Tianlong thought to himself, "He only fully claimed that place in his later years. He might have only discovered it recently. If I could find a way to get in..."
As he pondered how to get in touch with Dugu Bo, or whether there was another way to reach the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, a fierce clash of Soul Power suddenly rang out from the depths of the forest ahead!
"Boom—!"
" Hiss—!"
Roars of beasts, snapping trees, and human shouts mixed together, the uproar startling countless birds into flight. Judging by the strength of the Soul Power fluctuations, a Soul Beast that had lived for at least ten thousand years was fighting someone.
"Come on. Let's take a look." Yu Yuanzhen raised an eyebrow and darted toward the source of the sound.
Carrying Little Silver and bringing Little Gold along, Yu Tianlong followed. Yu Xiaogang gritted his teeth and hurried after them as well.
After pushing through a dense patch of thorny brush, the view suddenly opened up.
A clearing had been violently carved out of the forest. Trees for dozens of meters around had been snapped in half or torn out by the roots. Furrows and scorch marks covered the ground, and the air reeked of blood and the rank, musky stench peculiar to snakes.
At the center of the clearing lay a giant snake, green from head to tail and over ten meters long. Some sharp attack had nearly severed its head, leaving it attached by only a little flesh. Its body had burst open in several places, and all signs of life were gone.
Above the snake's corpse, a deep black Soul Ring slowly rotated, growing more solid.
A Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring.
Beside the snake's corpse, a young man who looked to be in his early thirties sat cross-legged. His eyes were tightly shut, his face was pale, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead. He was clearly doing everything he could to absorb the Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring.
He wore a dark green outfit, and his hair was dark green as well. His face bore some resemblance to someone else's, but he was younger, with an air of arrogance between his brows. At that moment, however, pain and strain had replaced it.
A man in his fifties stood beside the young man.
He was tall and gaunt, with prominent cheekbones and long dark green hair falling over his shoulders. His aura was sinister and cold, and he looked very much like someone not to be trifled with. His presence was powerful.
With his hands behind his back, he seemed to watch the young man absorbing the Soul Ring calmly. But his slightly tensed shoulders and the occasional flicker in his eyes betrayed his nervousness and concern.