Martial Soul Flaw, Taking a Little Brother

Yu Hengqing was stunned when he heard this. Since when did Heaven Dou Royal Academy become a place where stalking was in vogue? He hadn't done anything particularly noteworthy, had he?

"Leiyi, what is the strength of the person following me?"

"A two-ring Spirit Master. I don't sense any malice from him for the time being."

Yu Hengqing raised an eyebrow. If there was no hostility, it meant this person likely needed something from him. He didn't believe for a second that any student in this academy could hide their malice from Leiyi's perception.

Suddenly, as if struck by a thought, Yu Hengqing quietly quickened his pace, his path becoming increasingly winding and erratic.

The person trailing behind Yu Hengqing panicked upon realizing he was about to lose his target, instinctively breaking into a jog.

However, with Leiyi's assistance, Yu Hengqing navigated through several twists and turns, leaving his pursuer dizzy and completely lost.

"Did I really lose him?"

Zhou Yan searched the vicinity, and upon confirming that Yu Hengqing was nowhere to be seen, he stood rooted to the spot with a look of disappointment.

"Zhou Yan, it's fine! He'll definitely come back to the Thunder-Fire Hall! I just need to be patient, and I'll be able to wait for him."

Thinking that Yu Hengqing would return to the Thunder-Fire Hall, Zhou Yan quickly cheered himself up.

Just as Zhou Yan was about to head back to the Thunder-Fire Hall to cultivate, a voice he had been longing to hear sounded from behind him.

"Senior Zhou Yan, is there something you need from your junior?"

Zhou Yan spun around abruptly to find Yu Hengqing leaning against a spirit beast statue, using a dagger to peel an apple.

Zhou Yan had already rehearsed what to say in his mind, but facing Yu Hengqing in person, he still felt a wave of nervousness.

"I—I want to follow you, Junior!"

"Huh?"

Yu Hengqing stopped what he was doing, looked up, and stared at Zhou Yan with a puzzled expression.

"Senior, in terms of strength, I'm only a one-ring Spirit Master. In terms of background, I'm just someone enjoying the shade of his ancestors. What use is there in following me?"

Before deciding to stalk Yu Hengqing, Zhou Yan had considered these things, but he trusted his own martial soul.

"Because I believe you can help me resolve the defects of my martial soul!"

When he said this, Zhou Yan spoke with great conviction, as if Yu Hengqing were truly capable of solving his problems.

"Crunch!"

Yu Hengqing, busy eating his apple, remained unmoved by Zhou Yan's words. He wasn't a warm-hearted person; if there was no benefit, he wouldn't lift a finger.

The atmosphere fell into a sudden silence.

Zhou Yan wasn't stupid; he understood that Yu Hengqing's silence meant he hadn't put enough on the table.

"My family has a Golden Lightning Pattern Fruit, which can enhance a Spirit Master's control over lightning-attribute spirit power!"

Upon hearing "Golden Lightning Pattern Fruit," Yu Hengqing finally became interested. He had read about this rare treasure in his family's archives, and its effects were exactly as Zhou Yan described.

"The Golden Lightning Pattern Fruit is indeed decent, but how do I know if one fruit is enough for me to solve your problem?"

Yu Hengqing stood up straight and tossed the apple core into a nearby trash can.

Now, it was Zhou Yan's turn to be speechless.

Indeed, even Zhou Yan himself didn't know what was required to fix his martial soul's defect; he was merely following the blind guidance of his martial soul.

"How about this? Seeing as you're quite sincere, tell me what exactly the defect in your martial soul is."

Yu Hengqing asking this was definitely not because he wanted to get his hands on the Golden Lightning Pattern Fruit to speed up his refinement of the Cangming Lightning! Yes, definitely not!

Hearing this, the somewhat dazed Zhou Yan felt a spark of hope return to his eyes, his spirit becoming invigorated.

"Yes! My martial soul is the Thunder-Roaring Purgatory Vine, said to be formed from the blood of the Thunder God when he fell."

"The Thunder God?"

Hearing the words "Thunder God," Yu Hengqing immediately understood why Zhou Yan's martial soul had reacted to him.

"Uh, I'm not entirely sure if it's true, but that's what my family's genealogy records say."

"If your martial soul was formed from divine blood, it should be an incredibly powerful martial soul. How could it have a defect?"

Yu Hengqing was suddenly curious that he could find something related to the Thunder God here.

At the mention of this, Zhou Yan let out a long sigh, his entire demeanor wilting once more.

"Sigh, the Thunder-Roaring Purgatory Vine is indeed a top-tier plant-type tool martial soul, but its strength is both its blessing and its curse!"

"Possessing this martial soul, one's cultivation is no different from an ordinary person until reaching the Spirit Saint realm. But once the spirit power level breaks through to Spirit Saint, a massive amount of lightning energy gradually accumulates within the user's body."

"If this lightning energy cannot be purged, the best-case scenario is the destruction of the martial soul and the loss of all cultivation; the worst-case is being annihilated into ash by the lightning energy."

After Zhou Yan finished describing the flaws of his martial soul, Yu Hengqing felt as though he were listening to a version of Dugu Bo.

Both involved energy accumulating in the body, both meant death or becoming a cripple without treatment—the only difference was that Dugu Bo had the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to keep him alive.

Tsk, truly miserable!

"After all that, hasn't your own family found a way to solve it?"

If he could resolve the problems of Zhou Yan's family, it might just provide Yu Hengqing with a decent subordinate.

"The family has tried, and the only successful case was five hundred years ago. An ancestor relied on his wife's more powerful lightning-attribute martial soul to channel out the accumulated lightning power within his own body, allowing that ancestor to become the first and only Titled Douluo in our family!"

Speaking of this, Zhou Yan felt both proud and sorrowful—proud that his family had produced a Titled Douluo, and sorrowful that only this one had ever appeared.

"So you mean my lightning-attribute martial soul is stronger than yours?"

Yu Hengqing was not surprised by the solution Zhou Yan proposed; if something couldn't be resolved, it could only be channeled.

"Although I cannot be one hundred percent certain, judging from your performance in the Thunder-Fire Hall at the time, it is definitely not weaker than my martial soul!"

"Since that's the case, let's confirm it right now!"

Yu Hengqing smiled and extended his right hand toward Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan looked at Yu Hengqing in disbelief, then glanced at the right hand wrapped in golden lightning.

He hadn't even noticed when Yu Hengqing had completed his martial soul avatar.

Surprise aside, Zhou Yan understood what Yu Hengqing meant.

This was a technique for comparison; once both parties activated their martial soul avatars, they could channel their soul power into their hands through a handshake to engage in a contest of strength.

"Martial soul, avatar!"

A vine covered in deep purple, violent lightning appeared in the palm of Zhou Yan's right hand.

"Come on!"

Purple lightning gathered in Zhou Yan's left hand.

The moment their hands touched, the purple and golden lightning entangled, standing on equal footing!

However, this situation did not last long; the purple lightning was gradually suppressed by the golden lightning, retreating bit by bit.

First it was Zhou Yan's fingers, then his palm, and finally, it even retreated to the base of his palm.

Upon seeing this result, Zhou Yan was not unhappy at all; instead, he was filled with excitement and agitation.

"As expected, my judgment of your martial soul was correct! Junior, your lightning attribute is indeed stronger than the Thunder-Roaring Purgatory Vine!"

"That's great! Dad is saved! Dad is saved!"

As he spoke, Zhou Yan began to cry.

"Cry it out; you'll feel better once it's out!"

Watching Zhou Yan wail, Yu Hengqing did not stop him, only gently patting his shoulder.

After a while, the sobbing stopped.

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Zhou Yan turned his back to wipe the tears from his face.

"I've made a fool of myself in front of you, Junior. I'm just happy for my father! Ever since he broke through to become a Soul Saint last year, he has been suffering from the torment of lightning power. Of course, I don't expect you to help my father right now; I only hope that once you become a Soul Emperor, you can help him once!"

"Fine. See you at the school gate at eight tomorrow morning. Don't forget my Golden Lightning Pattern Fruit!"

After setting the time and place, Yu Hengqing turned and left.

"Junior, what is your name?"

"Yu Hengqing!"