Yu Xiaogang: Father, Where Are You?

Yu Yuanzhen looked at the child before him, who appeared far older than he did, and could not help sighing.

"Xiaogang, you've suffered... Your father has failed you."

Yu Yuanzhen reached out, drew his hand back, then resolutely placed it on Yu Xiaogang's head and rubbed it.

The sight of Yu Xiaogang covered in blood-soaked bandages made Yu Yuanzhen's heart ache.

"Who did this?" Yu Yuanzhen pointed at Yu Xiaogang's wounds, his teeth clenched.

Heaven knew how terrified he had been when he saw people from Spirit Hall carry the barely breathing Yu Xiaogang back to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect.

Only then had he understood how much this son meant to him.

However much disappointment he had stored up over Yu Xiaogang, it had all vanished like smoke in that moment. The slate had been wiped clean.

Yu Xiaogang did not want to tell Yu Yuanzhen what had happened. After all, it was hardly something to be proud of.

He did not want a crack to appear in his shining image, not even before his father, Yu Yuanzhen.

So Yu Xiaogang kept his mouth shut.

"If you won't tell me, I'll investigate it myself." Yu Yuanzhen was a sect master and a Titled Douluo, with eyes and ears everywhere. What could he not uncover?

If he wanted to know exactly what had happened to Yu Xiaogang, he could learn the whole story in no time.

He simply feared hurting Yu Xiaogang's pride.

Ever since awakening a malignantly mutated Martial Soul and learning that his Innate Soul Power was only half a level, Yu Xiaogang had never recovered from the blow.

Even with Yu Yuanzhen pouring the sect's finest resources into him, he had barely managed to push Yu Xiaogang to level 29, the realm of Soul Grandmaster.

"No, Father!" Yu Xiaogang cried, reaching out to grab the hem of Yu Yuanzhen's robe.

"Hiss—ow!"

Yu Xiaogang cried out and let go.

In his panic, the sudden movement had pulled at his wounds. Cuts that had only just begun to heal tore open, and fresh crimson seeped through the bloodstained bandages.

Fine beads of cold sweat broke out on Yu Xiaogang's forehead. Enduring the searing pain, he gripped Yu Yuanzhen's robe again.

"Father... don't..." Yu Xiaogang bit his lip. Tears gathered in his eyes from the pain, then burst their banks and ran down his cheeks. Vulnerability filled his face as he pleaded through a tremble.

Yu Yuanzhen drew a deep breath and closed his eyes. After a long while, he spoke again, his voice no longer as gentle as before.

"Anyone who dares harm a member of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect will answer to me, its sect master. I will see justice done."

With that, Yu Yuanzhen fought the urge to look back, turned, and strode away.

"Someone, take good care of Yu Xiaogang."

"Yes!"

Several maids with one soul ring hurried forward to answer.

They had served Yu Xiaogang for years. Yu Yuanzhen had specifically sought out people who, like him, had begun with only half a level of Innate Soul Power, then had them rigorously trained as his personal maids.

They could attend to Yu Xiaogang's every need and use their one-ring cultivation to spar with him, building his confidence.

They were the best people to care for Yu Xiaogang.

Yu Xiaogang did not like them, however. They also represented a dark chapter of his past.

Every time he saw their faces, he was reminded with painful clarity that he was nothing but a good-for-nothing with half a level of Innate Soul Power.

Yu Xiaogang recalled Jin Yang's words, which still rang in his ears.

A good-for-nothing!

That was what he was—a good-for-nothing!

At the thought, Yu Xiaogang shouted at the maids, "Get out! All of you, get out!"

Yu Xiaogang's face twisted like a vicious ghost's.

Malice filled his expression.

But the maids did not flee the room in a panic as he had imagined.

Instead, as though they had not heard him, they went about tidying Yu Xiaogang's room.

They helped him change and wash, wiped down his body, straightened his clothes, and replaced his bandages and medicine.

It was as though Yu Xiaogang were merely a pet in need of care, and the maids were veterinarians Yu Yuanzhen had hired to look after him.

As for the blows Yu Xiaogang landed on them, the maids paid them no mind. After years of cultivation, they had long since reached level 20 and were in good physical condition. Some were even defense-type Soul Masters.

The only reason they had not advanced to level 21 was that Yu Yuanzhen had expressly forbidden it.

All Yu Xiaogang could do was thrash about on the bed, raging helplessly.

He flailed his injured arms and legs, struggling on the mattress.

He hoped to protest Yu Yuanzhen's authority this way.

It had next to no effect. Yu Yuanzhen did not even care.

To Yu Yuanzhen, Yu Xiaogang's years of defiance—running away from home, publishing theories—were nothing more than rebellion born of a desire to prove himself.

Yu Yuanzhen even found it rather endearing.

As more of Yu Xiaogang's wounds split open, four maids pinned down his arms and legs to stop him from struggling.

No matter how Yu Xiaogang resisted, it was futile.

Barely clinging to life as he was, how could he match maids who trained year-round?

"Father!"

"Father!"

"Where are you?"

Meanwhile, Yu Yuanzhen arrived at the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect's council hall.

Several elders of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect were already waiting there.

Everyone was talking at once.

"Sect Master, if you ask me, this is absolutely a Spirit Hall plot! Our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect and Spirit Hall have long been at odds. This move must mean they want war with us!"

The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect's first elder rose to speak, his tone grave, his brow tightly furrowed, and his face solemn.

"Exactly!"

"That must be it!" the others echoed.

Most members of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect were Soul Masters with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan was warlike by nature, and its elders were influenced by their Martial Souls, leaving them quick-tempered.

Yu Yuanzhen, a Titled Douluo, was no exception.

The atmosphere in the council hall caught fire in an instant.

Yu Yuanzhen coughed, signaling for silence.

"Quiet, everyone! Hear me out," Yu Yuanzhen said.

The crowd fell silent and looked at Yu Yuanzhen expectantly.

Yu Yuanzhen tapped the table. "The most important question right now is this: can we beat Spirit Hall?"

At those words, the hall fell so silent a crow or sparrow could have been heard.

The elders who had just led the calls for war avoided one another's eyes. They scratched here and there as though fleas were crawling all over them.

The atmosphere grew awkward.

Of course, one stubborn voice refused to yield. "How will we know whether we can beat them unless we fight?"

A young elder said it with his neck stiff.

"Exactly, exactly." Once someone had opened fire, the others immediately joined in.

"How many Titled Douluo does the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect have?"

"..."

"Our entire sect has only one Titled Douluo: me."

Yu Yuanzhen glanced around. "How many does Spirit Hall have? More than twenty."

"How do we fight them? Come on, tell me how."

Everyone fell silent. Indeed, how could they fight?

One against more than twenty.

And on top of that, Spirit Hall had Qian Daoliu, a Limit Douluo.

"Are we just going to let this go? Spirit Hall dared attack a direct-line disciple of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect. We can't swallow this insult!" An elder stood and put the question to Yu Yuanzhen.

"Leave this matter to me. None of you need to get involved. I'll meet with Bibi Dong."

Yu Yuanzhen gritted his teeth. It was both a decision and a warning to the elders not to act rashly.

Xiaogang, I'll see justice done for you...