After sorting out his emotions again, Yu Xiaogang once more came to Yu Yuanzhen's residence, intending to tell his father the plans he had organized for his future and thereby gain his approval.
Yet just as he was about to push the door open, heated arguing rang out from inside.
"Ming'er, we have no choice but to let Xiaogang leave the clan to study at Thunder Academy. His talent is what it is, and his Martial Soul underwent that sort of mutation. This was a decision reached jointly by the clan elders."
"Xiaogang is our son, and your eldest son at that! He would be better off staying in the clan than going to Thunder Academy. So what if his Martial Soul mutated? If your Yu family's ancestor's Martial Soul hadn't mutated back then, how would the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan of today exist?"
"You're the head of a clan, yet you can't even keep your own son here. What kind of clan leader does that make you? What kind of father? No wonder that bastard son dared refute you in front of everyone in the main hall."
Having said this, Jiang Ming covered her face and wept. Yu Yuanzhen had relied on the help of her Jiang family to defeat all the other contenders for the position and become clan leader. Now he actually wanted to drive her Xiaogang away just as he had driven away that wretched offspring back then. Was there any justice left in the world?
"Enough! Don't mention that unfilial son to me. Everything I've done has been for the clan and for our Xiaogang's own good. If he stays in the clan for long, the criticism from its disciples will seriously affect his state of mind."
The woman beside them, who was holding Yu Xiaolie, saw Yu Yuanzhen beginning to lose control of his emotions and hurried forward to take his arm, soothing him.
"Sister, our husband has his reasons for doing this. Thunder Academy's teaching resources aren't poor, and it's an enterprise run by our clan. Xiaogang might gain something by going there."
"Once our husband breaks through to Titled Douluo, the opposing voices in the clan will naturally disappear. When that time comes, we can..."
Hearing this, Jiang Ming, the mistress of the household, looked at her younger sister and her husband and their unwavering attitudes. It seemed that the best-and only-option for her Xiaogang right now was to leave the clan temporarily and take shelter at Thunder Academy.
Why? Why could such a vast clan not accommodate her sensible son?
At that moment, Yu Xiaogang heard everything clearly from outside the door. Were his parents disgusted with him? Was he a useless piece of trash who only consumed resources? Had he become a burden to them?
In that instant, Yu Xiaogang's glass heart, which had only just been repaired, suffered another heavy verbal blow and shattered again.
Tears spilled from his eyes, and he ran away with rather heavy footsteps, sobbing loudly.
This alerted the three people inside.
"Was that Xiaogang?"
Receiving no answer, Yu Yuanzhen hurried outside, but saw only a faint figure. By the time the three of them reached Yu Xiaogang's residence, the house was already empty, with only a few brief words left behind.
"Father, Mother, Aunt, I've gone to Thunder Academy. I'll prove that I'm not trash."
"There are no trash Martial Souls, only trash Soul Masters."
Meanwhile, Long Qianming had returned to Gengxin City.
He carefully arranged three baskets of Nine Netherworlds Devil Tiger meat, along with portions of its hide and bones, in the storeroom one by one. Xiao Tian, whom he had just summoned, lay on the ground, taking great mouthfuls of a piece of hind-leg meat.
"Eat slowly. Nobody's going to snatch it from you."
Long Qianming looked delightedly at Xiao Tian, who was like a heaven-devouring beast. He had not expected that, with only the first signs of Dragon Transformation, it would already display the gluttonous side of dragons.
Fortunately, he now ran an apothecary and carried out his Soul Hunting Plan every night. Otherwise, he might not have been able to feed this Martial Soul with its enormous appetite.
Still, the more Xiao Tian ate, the more Soul Power it fed back to him. Though it was only a few wisps, something was better than nothing.
Long Qianming reclined in a chair, stroking Xiao Tian while continuing to reflect on the earlier operation that had nearly killed him.
"Xiao Tian is relatively weak before transforming into a dragon, so in most situations, I still have to fight myself. It looks like I need to spend money as soon as possible to have a spear made that's suited to my hands and not easily destroyed. At the very least, it has to withstand attacks from a Hundred-Year Soul Beast."
What troubled Long Qianming most, however, remained the drawbacks of an External Martial Soul.
He had already begun studying Self-Created Soul Skills over the past few years, but creating one was not something that could be done overnight. It required years of experimentation before the waters could flow naturally into a channel and a skill could take shape.
Then the only-and most direct-method available right now was to temper his body. Improving his physique would not only allow him to absorb Soul Rings beyond his level, but also make him more resistant to blows.
However, he currently had less than fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins saved up, and eating low-aged whale rubber and Soul Beast meat was gradually becoming less effective.
Suddenly, Long Qianming's thoughts took a turn, and realization dawned on him. He slapped his forehead.
"Why didn't I think of that? Aside from nourishing the body with whale rubber, there's another body-tempering method that's more precise and has greater potential."
Long Qianming picked up a piece of Nine Netherworlds Devil Tiger meat from beside him and swallowed it in large mouthfuls. Sitting cross-legged, he used his Soul Power to guide the earth element within the tiger meat to the location of his spleen in his chest cavity.
For a moment, Long Qianming felt slightly more at ease. A kind of innate Qi surrounded his body, replenishing his essence, Qi, and spirit.
More importantly, after the earth element entered his spleen, it actually began gradually accelerating the circulation of Soul Power within his body. However, this phenomenon soon stopped.
"It really works. Why didn't I notice this when I ate Soul Beast meat before? I've wasted five whole years of Soul Beast meat."
Long Qianming was very satisfied with this body-refining method that focused on a single area.
According to traditional Chinese medicine, earth corresponded to the spleen. The spleen was an important organ of the human body, the seat of its Qi and blood, while earth nurtured all things. A strong spleen meant strong Qi and blood; strong Qi and blood meant faster circulation of Soul Power within the body and an increasingly powerful physique.
The same principle applied to fire corresponding to the heart, water to the kidneys, wood to the liver, and metal to the lungs. This was the refining of the five organs, and the six viscera also corresponded to the five elements. If he could refine all of them to grand perfection in their respective attributes, his physique would surely undergo a qualitative leap from the inside out.
This method would not only benefit an External Martial Soul Soul Master like him; even Xiao Tian could benefit. Moreover, if things followed his thinking,
Xiao Tian could absorb Soul Rings primarily of the darkness attribute, with the five elements as supplements. This could replenish its darkness origin while also laying a solid foundation for its future evolution to a higher level.
However, to avoid affecting the accumulation of its darkness origin, he should still try to feed it meat from Soul Beasts with only the darkness attribute in the early stages.
He himself could eat Soul Beast meat primarily of the darkness attribute, with earth as its secondary attribute, first refining the earth attribute within his body to grand perfection before refining the other five-element attributes.
This way, he could prevent Xiao Tian from becoming unable to evolve because its attributes were too mixed.
At this thought, Long Qianming gained a fresh understanding, and his gaze grew ever firmer.
"We have to follow this path. The Dark Sacred Dragon is only a starting point, not our final destination."
Long Qianming took out the Nine Netherworlds Devil Tiger's meat in succession. After setting aside some meat as rations for Xiao Tian, he refined the remaining tiger meat batch by batch, targeting his spleen for earth-attribute strengthening.
The Nine Netherworlds Devil Tiger's bones could be considered the part of its entire body with the richest concentration of the earth attribute. Long Qianming simmered them, adding medicinal herbs that prevented the nutrients from dissipating, then drank the broth and refined and absorbed it.