"Arrogant!"
Yu Luomian spat out the two words coolly.
Mo Li's expression didn't change. He simply continued, "You said you weren't as strong as your clan leader, so you couldn't make the decision. Then if one day I can defeat your clan leader, does that mean I get to decide?"
Hearing Mo Li's utterly brazen words, Yu Luomian's eyelid twitched. He laughed in anger. "Junior, I'll let your tone pass for now. But I wonder, has your mother ever told you which sect she came from?"
My mother? Mo Li was taken aback, then immediately put the subject aside. Now wasn't the time to talk about that. He couldn't let his thoughts wander.
Liu Erlong had also come to her senses. She clasped Mo Li's hand and tugged him slightly behind her.
But Mo Li didn't budge. He remained firmly in front of her, shielding her from Yu Luomian's ridicule.
"The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. You just said it yourself."
"Since that's the case, do you know just how fearsome my Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan is, as one of the Upper Three Sects in the Soul Master World?"
"I don't see it. If you're anything to go by, I can't see a future for this sect. You have no ambition to advance. I'm curious—where does your sense of superiority come from?"
Mo Li's tone was calm, but the sarcasm in his words was no less cutting than Yu Luomian's.
From their earlier conversation, how could he have failed to understand? From beginning to end, Sister Erlong hadn't wanted a place in the clan. She had only wanted her mother to be given a proper status.
So that even after death, she wouldn't be left as a lone ghost, drifting outside.
Liu Erlong's mother had been a woman of the streets, neither rich nor noble. Naturally, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, one of the Upper Three Sects, couldn't tolerate such a stain, even though Yu Luomian was already the clan's second-in-command.
Mo Li didn't know whether the clan had pressured Yu Luomian or whether he had chosen to back down himself.
Right now, he simply wanted justice for Liu Erlong.
"Hmph, you insolent brat!"
Yu Luomian snorted. His hands remained behind his back, but the vast Soul Power surging from his body pressed toward Mo Li.
Mo Li stood where he was and clearly felt wave after wave of pressure radiating from Yu Luomian. It was as if the space around him were being squeezed, leaving him unable to move.
Yet the pressure carried little in the way of direct attack.
Yu Luomian had no intention of killing Mo Li over what he'd said earlier. But that didn't mean he could forgive the boy's mockery of him and the clan.
He was only trying to teach the boy a lesson before he left.
Even a mere ripple of Soul Power was more than an ordinary Soul Master could withstand.
The boy before him wasn't even ten. He might not even have become a Soul Master yet.
Thinking this, Yu Luomian no longer held back. With Liu Erlong there, the boy wouldn't suffer any real harm.
But when his Soul Power reached Mo Li, the boy didn't react as Yu Luomian had expected. Instead, he stood firm as a rock, without so much as a twitch.
So he'd misjudged him.
Yu Luomian's gaze returned to Mo Li. This time, he examined him carefully and increased the pressure.
Mo Li immediately felt an even stronger force bearing down on him. This wave of Soul Power was enough to sweep away anyone below Soul Grandmaster rank.
Yu Luomian thought so too. But as time passed, he was startled to find that Mo Li still showed no reaction. He hadn't even revealed his Martial Soul or Soul Rings.
His gaze fell on Mo Li and Liu Erlong's tightly clasped hands. His brows furrowed, and after a single glance, he looked away.
He could tell that Liu Erlong wasn't using even a trace of Soul Power to help Mo Li.
The boy had done all of this on his own.
Liu Erlong's expression was still grim, but she was no longer as shaken as before. The moment Yu Luomian's Soul Power pressed down on Mo Li, her face had turned cold, and she had been about to act when she felt movement in her hand.
It was Mo Li's hand. He was signaling her not to interfere with this test.
She was worried, but she trusted Mo Li. He was standing up for her.
Liu Erlong's nose tingled again. She had lost so much in her life, but fortunately, she still had Mo Li.
If Yu Luomian's earlier move had just been a casual test, then now, with his face stern, he was absolutely getting serious.
His first two attempts had failed, striking a blow to his own pride and bringing shame to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
He couldn't bring himself to bully someone younger, but neither was he willing to lose face in front of this boy, who had just mocked him and his clan.
For his third attempt, he released Soul Power comparable to that of a Soul Elder, his eyes fixed on Mo Li like an eagle's.
This time, he would see whether Mo Li truly had ability or was just putting on an act.
As the third wave of Soul Power arrived, their silent test began anew.
The instant the pressure hit, Mo Li felt an immense weight bear down on him. Under it, he could no longer remain as carefree as before.
Yu Luomian had skipped past Soul Grandmaster-level power and jumped straight to Soul Elder strength.
Mo Li laughed inwardly. This so-called father of Sister Erlong really thought highly of him. He hadn't held back at all on the third try.
But so what?
Though he couldn't handle it as easily as before, Mo Li could still withstand it. It still wasn't time to release his Martial Soul and Soul Rings.
As time passed, the corner of Yu Luomian's eye began to twitch. He kept his attention fixed on Mo Li.
Even after raising the pressure to the thirty-fifth level, he still couldn't make the boy reveal his Soul Rings or Martial Soul.
The boy was only eight or nine. How could he withstand pressure comparable to a Soul Elder?
Yu Luomian had time to calculate Mo Li's age now. But what he couldn't imagine was that even after he quietly raised the pressure to level thirty-nine—
The boy before him still hadn't released his Soul Rings!
Just as Yu Luomian was reeling with shock, Mo Li was having a hard time too.
If he hadn't kept hold of Liu Erlong's hand, stopping her from acting, she would have intervened long ago.
He had insisted that Liu Erlong not interfere with this test. He wanted Yu Luomian to see that he had potential—the potential to help Liu Erlong.
Perhaps before long, Mo Li would truly be capable of doing everything he had just said.
He had long understood that this was a world where strength reigned supreme. Without strength, one's dignity could be trampled underfoot.
If Liu Erlong's Martial Soul hadn't been a Fire Dragon Martial Soul, if her mutated Martial Soul hadn't been every bit as strong as the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, she might never have had the chance to return to the clan.
All of a sudden, Yu Luomian's gaze shifted. He saw a yellow and a purple Soul Ring appear around Mo Li, and his expression changed dramatically.
By then, the Soul Power pressure he had released had already exceeded the Soul Elder level!