Yu Yuanzhen

"This matter must be reported to the Sect Master at once. Young Master, take the children back to the sect first. Leave the aftermath here to me."

The Young Master nodded.

He glanced in the direction Dugu Bo had vanished, unwilling though he was, but he knew there was no way to catch up now.

He drew a deep breath and let out a low shout, summoning his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul.

His seventh black soul ring suddenly lit up.

His body changed drastically amid blue light. His human form vanished completely, transforming into a blue-violet dragon more than ten meters long.

The giant dragon was covered in scale armor crackling with lightning. Enormous dragon wings grew from its back, and thunder coursed around its claws, making it seem like a Thunder God descending from ancient times.

The giant dragon stretched out its claws and gently placed Yu Tianheng and Yu Tianjiao on its back, letting the two children grip its scales tightly.

Then, with a beat of its wings, its enormous body soared into the air and shot toward the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect like a streak of blue-violet lightning.

Only a long trail of lightning remained in the night sky, like a meteor streaking across the heavens.

Half an hour later, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect's Young Master finally returned to the sect gates with Yu Tianheng and Yu Tianjiao.

The night was as dark as ink, but the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect's mountain-protecting formation shone as brightly as day.

Ninety-nine stone pillars coiled with dragons lined the mountain path.

Each one stood more than two zhang tall and was as thick as two people embracing it. Their surfaces were carved with intricate lightning patterns dazzling enough to make one's eyes swim.

The patterns spiraled from the bases to the tops of the pillars, like ninety-nine Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragons winding and coiling around them.

Atop every stone pillar burned a cluster of dim blue lightning fire.

The lightning fires burned silently, giving off a steady, frigid glow that illuminated the entire mountain path.

When the gatekeeping disciples saw the Young Master return, they were first startled. Then they noticed the injured-looking Yu Tianheng and Yu Tianjiao in his arms.

Their expressions changed instantly, and they hurriedly made way for the group to pass.

The Young Master did not slow down, his hurried footsteps striking the sect's main road paved with white jade.

His Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul trembled faintly within him. Residual lightning seeped from the surface of his skin, leaving fine blue arcs dancing across the ground in his wake.

Yu Tianheng was held securely in his father's arms.

The boy's face was deathly pale. Though the wound on his left arm had been roughly bandaged, dark red blood still seeped out continuously, soaking through the wrappings.

Yu Tianjiao lay over her father's other shoulder. She too bore obvious injuries, but the little girl clenched her teeth and did not make a sound, only occasionally forcing out a tiny choked sob through her nose.

Although the two had defeated a thousand-year soul beast, they had also been injured. Fortunately, their wounds did not appear too serious.

A few days of rest would be enough for them to recover.

The Young Master passed through layer upon layer of halls and several long corridors. More than ten minutes later, he finally arrived before the family's main hall.

The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect's main hall was a colossal pavilion more than twenty zhang high.

From afar, it resembled a blue behemoth crouching in the night, silently and majestically overlooking the entire sect.

The hall was built entirely from ten-thousand-year cold ironwood, its surface coated in dark blue gold paint patterned with lightning veins that glimmered with a deep, shadowy sheen in the night.

Two jade statues of Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragons stood before the hall gates.

Each was nine zhang tall.

Their dragon heads were raised high toward the sky.

Two fist-sized lightning stones were embedded in each dragon's eyes, radiating a faint electric glow.

Their mouths hung slightly open, revealing rows of sharp jade fangs.

Their bodies were carved with lightning patterns of utmost complexity, stretching from their necks all the way to their tails.

Every scale bore delicate lightning talismans.

Even in the deep night, faint electric light could be seen winding across their stone surfaces.

They carried an astonishing sense of oppressive majesty.

The several guards standing on either side of the hall gates saw the Young Master's condition and bowed at once.

One of them reacted quickly, striding forward and extending both hands to slowly push open the towering, heavy doors.

The turning hinges let out a deep rumble.

The instant the doors opened wide, a scent mingling pine fragrance with the lingering aura of lightning rushed out from within, followed by a flood of warm light.

The hall was brilliantly lit.

Several dozen soul lamps floated beneath the vaulted ceiling in an orderly arrangement.

Each lamp emitted a soft blue glow.

The lights intertwined, illuminating the entire hall as brightly as daytime without being harsh in the slightest.

The floor of the great hall was paved with entire slabs of dark blue jade.

The jade had been cut and polished as smooth as mirrors, reflecting the lights overhead and the hall's furnishings. A warm, smooth sensation rose from beneath one's feet when walking over it.

Enormous murals hung on the walls on both sides of the hall.

Each spanned several zhang in length and width.

They depicted successive Sect Masters of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect battling powerful enemies.

The scenes were lifelike.

Giant dragons twisted through the skies as lightning ran rampant. Even hanging on the walls, the murals exuded a vast, surging battle spirit.

At the deepest end of the main hall stood a raised platform.

The platform had nine steps, each covered with dark blue carpets.

A bronze lampstand half the height of a man stood on either side of the steps.

Dim blue lightning fire burned within them, and its flickering glow cast the scene atop the platform into shifting light and shadow.

A broad blue dragon throne stood atop the platform.

The chair was carved from some kind of deep blue ore, with a relief of a nine-clawed blue dragon coiling over its backrest.

And seated upon the throne was a man.

He was the current Sect Master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect, Yu Yuanzhen.

The moment the Young Master stepped through the hall doors and saw his father, it was as if he had found his anchor. The exhaustion and fear from days of rushing about surged over him at once.

He hurried to the center of the hall and carefully placed Yu Tianheng and Yu Tianjiao from his arms onto a soft couch nearby.

Then he dropped to one knee, lowered his head, and clasped his fists in salute.

"Father, your son has returned from Dragon Valley."

Yu Yuanzhen slowly opened his eyes.

His appearance was unforgettable at first sight.

His long dark blue hair spilled over his shoulders like a waterfall, thick and coarse.

Every strand possessed a metallic texture, glinting with a cold, shadowy luster beneath the soul lamps.

His face was sharply defined, its hard lines resembling a stone statue carved by blade and axe. His brow ridge was high, his nose straight, and the curve of his jaw firm and resolute.

His eyes were a deep azure blue. Lightning seemed to flow slowly within his pupils, and every blink released a thread-thin arc from the corners of his eyes.

Those eyes held the authority and wisdom accumulated through the years, as well as a sharpness and edge no young man could match.

He was so powerfully built that one had to look up at him. Even seated in that broad chair, he resembled a towering mountain.

His shoulders were broad, his back thick, and his chest as wide as a stone gate.