Again, Yu Xiaogang Was Angered into Fainting

After news of the Spirit Hall Holy Son spread, the entire continent was like a calm lake struck by a massive boulder.

The first places to erupt were the Soul Master teahouses and taverns in every major city.

The Soul Masters who usually gathered to boast and chat had discussed only one topic these past few days: Spirit Hall.

"Have you heard? Spirit Hall has a Holy Son. He's six years old and already level forty-nine!"

"Of course I have. The news has spread like wildfire. My cousin works in Spirit City. He saw that spirit battle with his own eyes, and his lips were trembling when he told me about it."

"Six years old and level forty-nine? You sure you're not making this up? I've cultivated for twenty years and only reached level forty-three. He caught up to me at six?"

"That's not all! They say the Holy Son's first and second soul rings were both red!"

"Red? What kind of soul ring is that?"

"A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, idiot!"

"Bullshit! A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring as a first soul ring? Do you think Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts grow like cabbages?"

"My cousin said that when the Holy Son revealed his soul rings, everyone in the spirit battle arena was dumbfounded. Even old Master Tang Chen of the Clear Sky Sect stood up. Two Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings! And there was a golden one too. Nobody recognized what level it was!"

"A golden one... I've never heard of golden soul rings."

"The soul rings aren't even the most outrageous part. The Holy Son took down both Tang Hao and Tang Xiao with a single move. You know Tang Hao, right? One of the Clear Sky Sect's two geniuses, a level fifty-four Soul King at twenty. And his brother Tang Xiao, a level sixty-five Soul Emperor! Both went down in one move!"

"One move... against a level sixty-five Soul Emperor? What level is that Holy Son?"

"Forty-nine."

"Level forty-nine defeating level sixty-five in one move? At least make your story believable."

"I'm making it up? Go ask around in Spirit City! Thousands of people saw it in the spirit battle arena that day! The Clear Sky Sect people slunk away with their tails between their legs, and old Master Tang Chen's face was black when he left!"

Similar conversations played out repeatedly in every major city.

Some believed it, while others did not, but after repeatedly seeking confirmation, they were utterly stunned.

Yet whether they believed it or not, the title of the Spirit Hall Holy Son had spread across the entire continent in just a few days.

At the same time, another subject was brought up again—Qian Xunji.

"Have you noticed? The Spirit Hall Pope's seven disciples are each more outrageous than the last."

"Holy Son Luo Jiuyou is level forty-nine. The Pope's own daughter, Qian Renxue, has the Six-Winged Angel martial soul and is level thirty-four. There are also two level twenty-six Soul Grandmasters and three level sixteen Soul Masters. They could obtain soul rings at six years old. All seven have talent exceeding Innate Full Soul Power, and all seven have soul ring configurations beyond their limits."

"Seven people... all geniuses? What kind of damned luck did Qian Xunji stumble into?"

"What damned luck? The Pope has a good eye! Look at the Clear Sky Sect's two geniuses, then look at Spirit Hall's seven. Doesn't the gap speak for itself?"

"True enough. Whatever else can be said about Qian Xunji, he really has an eye for disciples. Any one of those seven disciples would be treated as a treasured jewel by other sects."

"The most terrifying one is still that Holy Son. Six years old, level forty-nine, two Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings, one Golden Soul Ring, and he one-shotted a Soul Emperor... is that even fucking human?"

When the news reached the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, Yu Yuanzhen was discussing matters with several elders.

The instant the intelligence report reached his hands, he glanced at it, and his expression changed abruptly.

He set down the report and remained silent for a long time. The elders exchanged looks, unsure what had happened.

"Read it yourselves." Yu Yuanzhen pushed the report over.

After the elders passed it around, the hall fell into deathly silence.

Only after a long while did someone speak, their voice cracking. "Six years old... level forty-nine? His first and second soul rings are Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings? How... how is that possible?"

"The information was personally released by Spirit Hall. It should be genuine."

"Besides, several thousand people witnessed that spirit battle involving the Clear Sky Sect. Tang Chen took Tang Xiao and Tang Hao to Spirit City to flaunt their strength, only for a six-year-old child to wipe them all out. Every one of them went down in a single move."

"Tang Xiao was defeated in one move? Tang Xiao is a level sixty-five Soul Emperor!"

"That is what the report says. And that Holy Son has a Golden Soul Ring that nobody recognizes."

"A Golden Soul Ring..."

Yu Yuanzhen finally spoke, his voice low and carrying an indescribable weariness.

"I searched every record in the clan, yet I have never found any mention of a Golden Soul Ring. Yellow, purple, black, red... each corresponds to a certain number of years. But a Golden Soul Ring has never existed."

"This generation of Spirit Hall... is too terrifying. The Clear Sky Sect's two geniuses were beaten so badly that Tang Chen did not even leave his home after returning. If even the Clear Sky Sect is like this, what about our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan?"

The hall remained silent for a long time.

Yu Yuanzhen waved a hand, telling the elders to leave first.

As they departed, every one of them had their head lowered and their steps heavy, as though they were carrying something on their backs.

Watching those retreating figures, Yu Yuanzhen opened his mouth, but in the end said nothing.

Once they had gone far away, only Yu Yuanzhen remained in the hall.

He sat in the seat of honor, still clutching the intelligence report. His gaze fell upon the three words "Luo Jiuyou," then shifted to the line beside them: "Six years old, level forty-nine."

He suddenly thought of his son.

Yu Xiaogang.

At his awakening ceremony, his martial soul had mutated into a purple pig.

Innate Soul Power: level zero point five.

Six years old, level forty-nine.

Six years old, level zero point five.

Yu Yuanzhen closed his eyes, his fingers tightening around the report.

Meanwhile, in a secluded house on the back mountain of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, Yu Xiaogang had shut himself inside his room.

He had not gone out for several days.

Several books on martial soul theory lay spread across the table. He flipped through a few pages before tossing them aside, stood and paced a few steps before sitting down again, then rose again shortly afterward.

The news he had just heard echoed through his mind again and again.

Spirit Hall Holy Son. Six years old. Level forty-nine.

Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring. Tang Hao and Tang Xiao defeated in one move.

Every word drove into his mind like a nail.

He suddenly thought of his own martial soul, Luo Sanpao, that purple, fat-headed, big-eared pig.

He remembered the shocked gazes throughout the awakening ceremony, the suppressed whispers behind his back, and his father's utterly disappointed eyes.

Why?

He suddenly clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms.

Why were other people's martial souls so terrifying, while his was a pig?

Why could others stand at the peak at six years old, while he could not even obtain his first soul ring?

Why was he, Yu Xiaogang, born only to be mocked and looked down upon?

"Why?!"

"I refuse to accept this! I refuse!"

He shot to his feet and kicked the chair before him over, his chest heaving violently.

But the pent-up resentment lodged in his chest refused to disperse. It only accumulated, growing heavier and heavier.

His face flushed crimson, veins bulged at his temples, and then sweetness rose in his throat.

Pfft!

He spat out a mouthful of blood. It splattered across the open pages before him, staining them red.

Yu Xiaogang staggered back two steps, then fainted once more.