Seeing Xiaogang Again

On the other side, Ling Yi and his group, having just rested briefly, emerged from the south gate of ' Kennen City ' and were met by a figure hurrying along. ✋♣ 🐠👣

Seeing the familiar face of the person approaching, Ling Yi called out as the person bowed and drew closer, "Xiaogang?"

"Um?"

Yu Xiaogang subconsciously raised his head. His face, which hadn't been groomed for some time, looked somewhat haggard. His beard was unshaven, and his clothes were stained with dirt, making him look rather unkempt.

Upon seeing Ling Yi's handsome face, Yu Xiaogang's first reaction was not the joy of a long-awaited reunion or a greeting, but rather his eyes darted around, as if he intended to avoid him.

Perhaps realizing that it would be too conspicuous to simply pretend not to know him and turn away at this busy city gate, Yu Xiaogang weighed his options briefly, then pursed his lips and stepped forward. "City Lord Ling, it's been a long time."

"Yes~" Ling Yi smiled, his temperament gentle and refined, and nodded slightly, "It's been a while since we last met. How have you been lately?"

"The ' Star and Moon Dew ' you wanted to buy earlier, I squeezed it out at the research institute, and I can get about twenty-five more drops. Combined with the nearly forty drops I had saved before, and the ones I collected during this period that I haven't used, it'll make a total of over eighty drops."

"I can help you discuss it with Master Yu (Yu Luomian) and we can give you a share of the profits later on. It should take at most three or four years, and that should be enough to help you..."

"City Lord Ling!"

Yu Xiaogang interrupted Ling Yi in a deep voice, saying, "Thank you for your trouble, but it's no need!"

"What?" Ling Yi was taken aback upon hearing this, and looked at Yu Xiaogang, whose expression had suddenly turned ugly, with surprise.

Yu Xiaogang gave Ling Yi a deep look. What he saw was Ling Yi's incomparably Wushuang face, full of sincerity and enthusiasm. His eyes were crystal clear, without a trace of darkness, yet they were incredibly dazzling to him.

After a few moments of silence, Yu Xiaogang took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, and said in a detached tone, "I have abandoned the ' Radiant Holy Dragon ' route."

"Give up?!" Ling Yi's eyes widened slightly, his voice rising a little as he exclaimed incredulously, "This... this, your father, and the [Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan], just gave up like that?!"

"That's the bloodline of the ' Radiant Holy Dragon '!!"

Upon hearing Ling Yi's words, Yu Xiaogang felt as if a sharp knife had been plunged into his heart, and it was being churned mercilessly.

Pain! Heart-wrenching pain!

The bitterness in his heart prevented Yu Xiaogang from answering; his expression only grew colder.

Seeing this, Ling Yi immediately fell silent, looked at him apologetically, hesitated for a few moments, and finally said, "Xiaogang, why don't you come back to ' Lingyun City ' with me?"

"The City Lord’s Mansion can cover the resources needed for your bloodline advancement in advance, and you can pay them back once your strength improves."

"Given your potential, I believe it won't take long—"

Upon hearing Ling Yi's words, Yu Xiaogang's eyes lit up at first, but then dimmed again. Somewhat disheartened, he shook his head and said, "No need. I am, after all, from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, and it is impossible for me to join Lingyun City."

After speaking, she looked at Ling Yi one last time, then glanced at the people behind Ling Yi, including Yang Shelly and Chen Xin, who were all of extraordinary appearance and bearing. Without looking back, she walked past Ling Yi and headed straight into the city.

Looking back at Yu Xiaogang's back, compared to when he walked with his head down, he was now walking with his head held high and his back straight, forming a stark contrast with the pedestrians around him.

"What a pity~" Ling Yi shook his head. He had really intended to take Yu Xiaogang back to ' Lingyun City '.

Putting everything else aside, with Yu Xiaogang in his hands, Ling Yi has a hundred ways to manipulate Yu Yuanzhen, the Titled Douluo and patriarch of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, and subtly control every word and action of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

In addition, having just acquired a Titled Douluo with the dark attribute, if another Blood Pack with the "Radiant Holy Dragon" Martial Soul bloodline were to join, we could have another powerful team when building the [Lingyun City] legion later.

Fortunately, Ling Yi had a habit of preserving some samples during his previous research. He would try to cultivate and regenerate them later, which would only require more effort and increase costs.

As for how to influence the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan without Yu Xiaogang, with the carrot of Star and Moon Dew," or rather, the Dragon Power of the " Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon,"Ling Yi still has a way to achieve his goal.

Just like the "Blood Essence Fruit" for Tang Zhen and the Clear Sky Sect.

Let's go~

Ignoring Yu Xiaogang's refusal, Ling Yi turned to the people around him, chuckled, and waved his hand.

Following the flow of people into ' Kennen City ', Yu Xiaogang realized he was out of Ling Yi and the others' sight. His originally proud and upright posture instantly collapsed. He lowered his head, bent over, and bit his lower lip tightly.

Taking a deep breath, Yu Xiaogang mustered his spirits and made his way to a commercial street, walking past the vendors one by one, clearly aiming to purchase various supplies and materials.

About an hour later, Yu Xiaogang put the packaged beef and mutton, which had stopped bleeding, into his Storage Soul Tool and turned to walk out of the city.

More than ten miles outside the city, in an ordinary village.

In front of the small courtyard consisting of three adobe houses in the west of the village, Yu Xiaogang looked around but did not see any villagers. He reached out and pushed open the courtyard gate, his gaze sweeping across the courtyard.

There were no footprints in the dust that had been scattered in the yard when they left, so no one should have come in or come out during this time.

Thinking of this, a hint of life finally appeared on Yu Xiaogang's bitter and resentful expression.

After glancing at the quiet main room in the center of the courtyard, Yu Xiaogang walked to the kitchen on the right, lit the stove, and took out one package after another from his Storage Soul Tool.

Animal bones, flesh, internal organs, and various aged herbs were simply processed and then placed into a huge earthenware pot by Yu Xiaogang. Water was added, and the pot was boiled over a high flame!

A gust of wind blew into the kitchen from outside the window, and under the flickering light of the stove, Yu Xiaogang's expression shifted between light and shadow.

After silently cultivating his Soul Power for more than two hours, Yu Xiaogang opened his eyes, smelling the rich, strange fragrance in his nostrils.

Lifting the lid, the original full earthenware pot of water and various ingredients had turned into a small half-full pot of brown broth.

He channeled his Soul Power into his hands, picked up the jar of his improved "Tenfold Tonic Soup," Yu Xiaogang walked towards the main room.

The main room could be described as bare, with only an earthen bed on which a figure was lying. Yu Xiaogang came to the earthen bed and handed the figure a pottery jar. "Get up and drink this."

"What is this thing?" The figure on the earthen bed opened his eyes, sniffed, and frowned as he asked.

Yu Xiaogang's eyelids drooped, and he said indifferently, "The Tenfold Tonic Soup '."

Upon hearing this, the figure on the earthen bed struggled to sit up, revealing a bare chest with a bloody line running from the throat to the navel that was particularly conspicuous.

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"Sounds good, let me try... Hmm, how many herbs did you add? The mutton is overcooked, it has no chewiness at all. This blood eel is even worse, it just fell apart! The bones of Hundred-Year Soul Beast? This wasn't cooked long enough, the nutrients in the marrow weren't extracted at all, and..."

"Although I've never tasted a real ' Tenfold Tonic Soup,' this one you made is a complete failure!"

"I think we shouldn't call it ' The Tenfold Tonic Soup,' let's just call it 'A Hodgepodge Stew.'"

Instead of receiving recognition for his skills, Yu Xiaogang was criticized from beginning to end. His expression grew even colder. "Enough nonsense, hurry up and absorb the effects of the medicine. Once you're almost recovered, take me to the ' Slaughter City '!"

"And that ' Blood Spirit Fruit ' you once said you'd trade with me, Hannibal, I hope you're not lying to me!"

Upon hearing this, Hannibal nonchalantly picked up the earthenware pot, tilted his head back, and gulped down the indescribably awful "Tenfold Tonic Soup" inside. Then, he reached out and grabbed the remaining chunks of meat and bones, crunching and chewing them all down.

After finishing his meal, Hannibal tossed aside the earthenware pot, raised his hand to touch the bloody lines on his chest, a fleeting look of resentment and fear flashing in his eyes. Then, with a calm expression, he said to Yu Xiaogang, "If you really want me to get better sooner, then bring me some people instead of feeding me this garbage."

"Then, I can teach you how to cook the ultimate delicacy!"

"Impossible!" Yu Xiaogang ignored Hannibal's subsequent words and rejected the suggestion to arrest him without hesitation.

Although with his current strength as Four-Ring Soul Ancestor, capturing ordinary people is not difficult, and even capturing One-Ring Soul Master and Two-Ring Grand Soul Master is also possible with a little care.

After all, since breaking through to the Three-Ring Soul Elder, although his Martial Soul "Luo Sanpao" has not changed, he can now Dragon Transformation. His attack power is slightly weaker than that of "Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon" in Dragon Transformation, but it is still stronger than that of most ordinary Soul Master.

"Hehehe—"

Seeing Yu Xiaogang's straightforward refusal, Hannibal didn't mind, only chuckled softly. He believed that once the other party experienced the feeling of rapid advancement in strength, the more resistant he was now, the more fervent he would become later.

Over the years, he has seen far too many low-level Soul Master. At first, they restrained their desires and tried to maintain their ridiculous conscience. But after experiencing the cruel blows of reality, as long as there was a sliver of opportunity, even if it meant falling into demonhood, they would not hesitate to go down that path!

Ignoring Hannibal, who was even suppressing his laughter lest his chest wound burst open, Yu Xiaogang picked up the pottery jar and walked out of the house without looking back.

With his back to Hannibal, Yu Xiaogang's eyelids were lowered, and his eyes were incredibly deep, with a fleeting glimpse of bloodlust.

Without returning to the kitchen, Yu Xiaogang took the pottery jar and left the mud-brick house courtyard, arriving at a tiled house at the east end of the village.

"Mr. Long is here~" An old man with sallow skin and a face full of wrinkles saw Yu Xiaogang, grinned, and revealed his only two remaining yellow front teeth.

"You've come at the perfect time! The soup has just finished cooking and is simmering on the stove—"

"Hmm." Yu Xiaogang didn't say much. He handed the pottery jar in his hand to the old man, walked into the tiled house, circulated his Soul Power in his hands, picked up another scalding hot pottery jar, and turned to walk outside.

Outside the village, in a sparse grove of trees.

Yu Xiaogang arrived at an open space, first tilting his head back to drink the enhanced "Tenfold Tonic Soup" in the pottery jar, which had cooled down slightly, and then taking out several large bags of beef and mutton from his Storage Soul Tool.

Driven by his Soul Power, a faint purple light flashed, and "Luo Sanpao," who looked like a pig and a dog with a round bump on his head, appeared in front of Yu Xiaogang.

"Luo Luo—"

As soon as "Luo Sanpao" appeared, he snorted twice, then trotted over to Yu Xiaogang's side on his four short legs and rubbed against him, his crystal-clear eyes filled with joy.

Yu Xiaogang raised his hand and rubbed the round, jade-like bump on Luo Sanpao's head. With his other hand, he opened several packages at his feet, revealing pieces of bloody beef and mutton inside.

"Eat up, and then we'll cultivate together!"

As Yu Xiaogang spoke, "Luo Sanpao's " adorable face first showed a look of disgust, but then a hint of longing flashed in his eyes, and faint blood vessels appeared in his amethyst-like eyes.

Having received Yu Xiaogang's order, "Luo Sanpao" let out two "luo luo" grunts and came to the flesh and blood to feast on it.

Looking at the somewhat bloody scene of eating before him, Yu Xiaogang recalled some of Ling Yi's words from the past.

"Xiaogang, the Dragon Power of this ' Blood Shadow Demonic Dragon ' is no longer primarily composed of the bloodline within you."

"Years ago, I obtained some flesh and blood from the ' Demon Dragon Zixi,' just like the ' One-Horned Flame Dragon Beast ' and the ' Purple Lightning Python.' Combined with your blood and Soul Power, I nurtured and refined it into an even purer dragon blood power."

"But unlike the ' One-Horned Flame Dragon Beast ' and the ' Purple Lightning Python,' which only contain a portion of dragon blood, the ' Demon Dragon Zixi's' bloodline is powerful, completely on par with your family's ' Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.'"

"Two very similar true dragon bloodlines clashed with each other. I tried many methods to solve this problem, but all of them failed in the end. Two tigers cannot share one mountain; they simply cannot be fused together."

"Since we can't merge, I'll try a different approach: let one of us devour the other, absorbing its strengths to become even more powerful."

"Because this is a fusion of two bloodlines, I added some ' Blood-Devouring Vine ' juice as a catalyst."

"I don't know if it's because... well, don't mind me, anyway, the blood of the ' Demon Dragon Zixi ' devoured your blood, and even absorbed some of the characteristics of the ' Blood-Devouring Vine,' turning it into the blood sample of the ' Blood Shadow Demonic Dragon ' now."

"Xiaogang, while the ' Blood Shadow Demonic Dragon's' power is not as great as the ' Radiant Holy Dragon,' in terms of Dragon Power intensity, it's no less than the ' Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.' However, its power is extremely unstable, and I can't say for sure what it will eventually become. Perhaps it will grow into something comparable to the ' Radiant Holy Dragon,' or perhaps it will become as ordinary as a common sub-dragon..."

"Anyway, I don't recommend you choose this. I also considered destroying it before, but after all, it was cultivated with your blood. You should have the right to know and the right to dispose of it. I'm entrusting it to you, hoping you will keep it safe and not let it fall into the hands of unscrupulous people."

"By the way, based on my observation, your ' Luo Sanpao ' is in a special situation, like a companion Soul Beast. You can try feeding it some food that carries spiritual energy and vital energy, which will benefit its growth."

"You are one; whether you grow or it grows, it will promote the growth of each other."

"It's best to feed it less radishes..."