How Could the Same Yu Xiaogang Be So Different?

Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Ning Fengzhi stood in the courtyard, with Sword Douluo Chen Xin and Bone Douluo Gu Rong beside him.

The three of them had been watching for a long time.

"Send someone to buy some Whale Rubber. Follow the method shown on the Sky Screen, choose suitable people to try it, and carefully record the changes before and after they take it."

Ning Fengzhi looked away and instructed the disciple behind him.

"Record its age and the dosage clearly."

"Yes, Sect Master!"

The disciple accepted the order and withdrew.

Gu Rong glanced at Ning Fengzhi and smiled.

"Fengzhi, it seems you believe it now, at least a little."

Ning Fengzhi smiled faintly.

"Something that has shown results is worth trying. If Whale Rubber truly can improve a Soul Master's physique, far more people than that one Yu Xiaogang on the Sky Screen will benefit."

"If it raises the age of Soul Rings their bodies can withstand, you two uncles should know better than I what that means for a Soul Master's future growth."

With that, he looked back up at the Sky Screen.

It had produced such an obvious change in a boy with only half a level of Innate Soul Power in little more than a month. That alone was enough to make him take it seriously.

As for the Martial Soul Evolution Li Qingshan had spoken of...

Ning Fengzhi's gaze gradually deepened. If even Luo Sanpao, a failed mutation, could change again through careful nurturing...

Then what about his Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda?

Once the thought took root, he could no longer drive it from his mind. But his Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda did not seem capable of eating.

Chen Xin noticed his expression and asked:

"You're thinking about the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda?"

Ning Fengzhi did not deny it. He nodded slowly.

"It's a direction worth researching, at least."

"Even if it only gives us a little inspiration, that would be something."

At that, he turned to Chen Xin again.

"Uncle Jian, what do you make of that man's two swords?"

Chen Xin pondered for a moment.

"They're fine swords."

"But from beginning to end, he's only summoned his Martial Souls. He hasn't truly struck with either one. For now, I can't tell how strong he is."

Passionate Sword. Heartless Sword.

Sword Douluo had committed both names to memory.

As a fellow swordsman, he very much wanted to see what this young man who called himself Love Sword Douluo looked like when he truly made a move.

Gu Rong could not help laughing.

"It seems you've both taken an interest in him."

Ning Fengzhi smiled but said nothing.

His gaze fell on Luo Sanpao once more. At that moment, he hoped more than anyone that the little golden dog really would show some change.

Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, Council Hall.

Yu Yuanzhen stood at the front, with several clan elders gathered behind him. Ever since Yu Xiaogang's name had appeared on the Sky Screen, many in the clan had recognized him.

The same background.

The same half a level of Innate Soul Power.

Even his failed Martial Soul Mutation was still called Luo Sanpao.

Yet the longer they watched, the stranger everyone's expressions became.

Especially when they heard the boy on the Sky Screen murmur that his father had found him so many medicinal ingredients and hired so many people to teach him, yet he had not reached level ten until he was fifteen.

One elder could not help turning to Yu Yuanzhen. He hesitated, then said:

"Clan Leader, this Yu Xiaogang... actually feels bad for his father?"

The others exchanged looks.

If they had not seen it with their own eyes, they would have found it hard to connect the boy on the Sky Screen with the Yu Xiaogang they knew.

The Yu Xiaogang they remembered had never been like this. His half a level of Innate Soul Power and failed Martial Soul Mutation seemed to have become his reasons for resenting everything.

When his cultivation was slow, he thought the medicinal ingredients the clan found were not good enough. When an attempt failed, he blamed the Soul Masters they had hired for being all talk.

If someone in the clan urged him to settle down and focus, he decided their talent was good, so they could never understand his suffering. As for his father, Yu Yuanzhen had heard even more complaints.

Yu Yuanzhen said nothing. He only stared at the Sky Screen, his face darkening. Suddenly, he remembered what Yu Xiaogang had said to him years ago after a fruitless cultivation session.

"You're the leader of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. Why do I have only half a level of Innate Soul Power?"

"Did I choose this Trash Martial Soul myself? If you'd given me a normal Martial Soul, how would I have ended up like this?"

"It's all your fault, you useless fool!"

He had never forgotten those words.

Back then, looking at his son's indignant face, Yu Yuanzhen had thought the child had suffered too much and could not accept it yet. He had spoken without thinking.

So Yu Yuanzhen had not rebuked him harshly.

Instead, he had kept searching for ways to help his son.

If the medicinal ingredients were not enough, he found more.

If the person he hired had no solution, he hired someone else.

Whenever he heard of something that might improve a Soul Master's aptitude, he tried to obtain it and have his son test it.

But as time went on, Yu Xiaogang seemed to take all those efforts for granted.

Because his talent was poor, his father ought to make it up to him and the clan ought to provide more resources. He rarely asked how much they had used or what it had cost.

All he cared about was why none of it had worked yet.

"Has the clan spent so little on him over the years?"

Another elder finally spoke up.

"More than once, medicinal ingredients originally set aside for other children in the clan went to him first."

"And what came of it?"

"Not only does he refuse to acknowledge that the clan has done all it can, he complains that the ingredients aren't good enough. He thinks we've never truly taken his troubles to heart."

The man beside him shook his head.

"Yet that child on the Sky Screen even thought to ask whether the other clan members would have become Soul Grandmasters by now if they'd been given those things."

He looked at the boy on the Sky Screen, his expression growing more conflicted.

"How could the same Yu Xiaogang be so different?"

Yu Yuanzhen's hand slowly clenched at his side.

That was exactly what he wanted to ask. The boy on the Sky Screen had suffered the same blow of having only half a level of Innate Soul Power. He had consumed just as many resources from his father and clan.

Yet he wondered whether he had failed to live up to his father's hopes. Even after blaming himself, he opened his notebook again and continued puzzling over his Martial Soul.

Everyone had clearly heard him say, "No matter how hard the road ahead, I won't give up," and, "There are no useless Martial Souls, only people content to be useless."

Then there was the Yu Xiaogang of their own world. He complained that fate had treated him poorly, that his father had not given him better talent, and that no one in the clan understood him.

He enjoyed the resources the clan provided while believing everyone owed him something.

"He read plenty of books when he was younger."

"But he never learned how to conduct himself!"

Yu Yuanzhen spoke suddenly.

The elders fell silent at once.

He stared at the much-thumbed notebook on the Sky Screen, filled with notes in the margins. His voice dropped.

"So I always thought Xiaogang was trying hard and had simply never seen results. It was only natural for him to harbor some resentment. But now..."

He did not finish.

What a person was like when faced with hardship was plain to see. When the Yu Xiaogang on the Sky Screen did not understand something, he asked. When he heard a different opinion, he gave it serious thought.

Li Qingshan had told him to take Whale Rubber, so he took it on schedule and recorded each day's changes one by one.

When he noticed his body improving, his first thought had been to take his notebook to his teacher and earnestly report what he had learned.

The sight of him finding his resolve again after the slightest progress left Yu Yuanzhen staring in a daze. He could no longer remember the last time his own son had looked like that.

The Yu Xiaogang he remembered was more often sullen after a failed cultivation session, demanding medicinal ingredients as though they were his due, and voicing complaint after complaint.

An elder glanced at him and said quietly:

"Clan Leader, you've fulfilled your duty as a father all these years."

Yu Yuanzhen did not answer.

On the Sky Screen, the boy was earnestly thanking Li Qingshan.

After Li Qingshan praised him, he looked a little embarrassed, then solemnly said that since his teacher was willing to teach him, he would never dare slack off.

Yu Yuanzhen watched the scene.

An indescribable sense of loss suddenly rose in his heart.

So even with half a level of Innate Soul Power and a failed Martial Soul Mutation, a child could grow up grateful and willing to work for his own future.

After a moment, he spoke slowly.

"Bring me the texts on Martial Soul Mutation."

"And the records on Dragon-type Soul Beasts. Bring those too."

The elder beside him paused in surprise.

"Clan Leader, are you..."

Yu Yuanzhen kept his eyes on the boy on the Sky Screen. His voice was low. "I want to see how far he can go."

This time, he meant the Yu Xiaogang who knew he had let his father down, yet still refused to give up.