Level

"All right."

Yu Yuanzhen waved a hand, returning to his hearty manner.

"Enough of that. You so rarely come home. Let's have a good dinner tonight. I'll have someone prepare a table of fine dishes, and we father and son can share a proper drink."

Yu Xiaogang smiled. "All right."

By evening, the tournament had ended.

The rankings remained almost unchanged, though two participants had distinguished themselves in this tournament: Yu Tianheng and Yu Tianxin, two geniuses of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's younger generation.

They should have been the focus of everyone's attention, but today, almost all their limelight had been stolen by Yu Xiaogang and Liu Erlong.

In another few years, one of the two would be chosen as the young clan leader, naturally on the basis of strength.

Most of Yu Luomian's injuries were soon healed.

Though resentment simmered inside him, he still came to pay his respects to Yu Xiaogang and Liu Erlong. After all, clan rules dictated that the victors should receive due courtesy.

Yu Xiaogang exchanged only a few perfunctory words with him, polite but distinctly distant.

As for Liu Erlong, she never once looked him in the eye. Although Yu Luomian was her father, she hardly acknowledged him as such.

Angry as Yu Luomian was, he dared not say anything.

Both were now stronger than him. He had never expected Yu Xiaogang to be capable of shattering his Martial Soul Avatar head-on.

He had originally thought that however strong Yu Xiaogang might be, he was only a Soul King. Who could have known that even he, a level 79 Soul Saint, would be no match for him?

Only Yu Xiaogang himself knew exactly where his true strength stood.

In fact, his overall combat power was roughly on par with a level 79 Soul Saint. He had yet to reach the point where he could readily face a Soul Douluo.

Under the Manga World's framework, the gap between each realm was clearly defined.

It was not something easily crossed.

His easy victory over Yu Luomian had primarily been due to Martial Soul suppression.

Although the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul was the world's foremost beast Martial Soul, before the Golden Sacred Dragon, it was merely a common dragon facing a true dragon. Under that dragon might, being able to exert even half its strength was already good.

Had their Martial Souls stood on the same tier, without that suppression, defeating Yu Luomian would have taken some effort.

Unfortunately, on this continent today, existences that could stand on the same tier as the Golden Sacred Dragon-

As far as Yu Xiaogang could think, there was probably only Spirit Hall's Six-Winged Angel...

Once the tournament had fully concluded, Yu Yuanzhen led the two to a secluded courtyard residence on Back Mountain.

A short while later, under Yu Xiaogang's guidance, Yu Yuanzhen took the immortal herb and sat cross-legged to absorb it.

Liu Erlong stood guard outside the door, while Yu Xiaogang remained at his side, sensing the changes in his father's aura.

Two hours later.

Boom!

An aura far surpassing his previous one erupted around Yu Yuanzhen. An invisible wave swept outward, shaking the chamber walls until they hummed and even dislodging several tiles from the roof.

Lightning flashed across his skin, and the sky resonated with it as a dazzling bolt split the night.

Yu Yuanzhen abruptly opened his eyes, lightning fading into the depths of his pupils.

He slowly rose, sensing the power within him, so abundant it almost overflowed, and murmured, "Level 96..."

Yu Xiaogang cupped his hands with a smile. "Congratulations on reaching level 96, Father. Becoming a Limit Douluo is only a matter of time."

Under the Manga World's framework, levels above 96 fell within the category of Limit Douluo.

Level 97 was the Touching-Moon Realm, level 98 the Broken Moon Realm, and level 99 the Treading-Moon Realm. The gaps between these three realms were enormous.

Several battles demonstrated this directly. Having just reached level 97, Sword Douluo Chen Xin had easily crushed the four Titled Douluo-Qian Jun, Dragon Subduer, Snake Lance, and Pufferfish-handling all four at once with ease.

At the time, the newly advanced Chen Xin had still been exhausted and unable to unleash his full power.

Had he unleashed his full power, even killing all four Titled Douluo would have been no trouble.

His opponents would barely even have had the strength to resist.

Yet when level 97 Sword Douluo Chen Xin faced Liang Tian, who carried a sliver of Qian Daoliu's spiritual power, even his utmost effort had only barely held the attack off, and he had been injured.

This showed that a level 97 could easily crush a coordinated assault by Titled Douluo below level 97. But against a level 99, if the latter attacked seriously, he probably could not withstand even a single move.

The gap between level 98 and level 99 was equally enormous.

The Broken Moon Realm and the Treading-Moon Realm!

Chen Xin's father, Chen Jianjun, had been a level 98 Supreme Douluo of the Broken Moon Realm!

Known as the Western Li Sword Hero, he had challenged Qian Daoliu in pursuit of a higher realm.

Yet the result had still been a crushing defeat.

What constituted a crushing defeat? The kind in which he had no power to fight back whatsoever.

Now that Yu Yuanzhen had reached level 96, he might yet have a chance to glimpse the level 97 Touching-Moon Realm.

Having taken the immortal herb and increased his potential, he finally had that slender thread of hope.

"Heh, all of this is thanks to the immortal herb you gave me."

Yu Yuanzhen sensed the purer power of lightning within him, his eyes filled with emotion.

"Not only did I reach level 96, but even my lightning has become somewhat purer."

"How could an immortal herb's effects be so simple?"

Yu Xiaogang smiled. "It's just a pity that you're already a Titled Douluo. Had you taken it when you were young, the effects would only have been better."

"There's no need to force things in life. Having such an opportunity is already enough."

Yu Yuanzhen waved a hand. "Come, have a proper drink with your father tonight."

Yu Xiaogang nodded in agreement.

That night, father and son drank late into the night in the courtyard residence on Back Mountain.

There was no one else, no formalities-just a pot of wine, two small dishes, and a great deal of conversation.

As their cups crossed, many knots in their hearts quietly dissolved.

Only on the morning of the third day did Yu Xiaogang and Liu Erlong pack their belongings and leave the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

The moment he stepped through the clan gates, Yu Xiaogang felt his whole body grow lighter.

The great stone that had weighed on his heart for so many years had finally fallen away.

His obsession was resolved, his ties to the past severed...

From this moment on, only forward!

His steps paused, and his gaze settled on a massive gray-green stone beside the mountain gate.

After a moment's silence, he raised his hand, gathering Soul Power at his fingertips, and sent his finger flying across the stone's surface.

Scenes from the past flashed through his mind. As he moved nimbly, stone chips rained down.

Liu Erlong stood quietly to one side, watching without disturbing him.

Only when Yu Xiaogang withdrew his finger and stood still did she step forward, her gaze falling on the rows of bold, forceful inscriptions on the stone.

"Long trapped within the abyss, dust and frost veiled armored might.

One day, wind and clouds arose; wings unfurled to break the cage.

Old regrets ended with the mountains; a new journey trod the moon homeward.

Henceforth, no looking back; head held high toward the clouded skies."

The signature bore five characters-"Hidden Dragon Ode · Yu Xiaogang"!

Liu Erlong looked at it for a long time, then suddenly smiled softly and slipped her hand around Yu Xiaogang's arm. "Let's go."

Yu Xiaogang nodded, glanced back at the stone tablet one last time, then turned and strode down the mountain.

Morning light poured over the eastern ridge, stretching their shadows long behind them, extending all the way into the distance.

Inside the mountain gate, Yu Yuanzhen had appeared at some point in an elevated corridor. He watched those two figures recede into the distance, remaining motionless for a long time.