Yu Tianheng held his breath and focused, gathering the Soul Power throughout his body. The phantom of the Thunder Dragon King appeared behind him.
Compared to last time, however, the phantom was not particularly large.
Deep dragon roars gradually spread through the air.
With Martial Soul Possession, there was no great change in Yu Tianheng's appearance.
Blue-purple arcs of lightning leaped about like little snakes.
A blue lightning mark had appeared between his brows.
Faint shapes of blue-purple scales appeared on his hands, which were wreathed in a presence.
It clung to them like a pair of transparent dragon-claw gloves.
Come on, let me see what this First Soul Ring can do!
With a thought, he drew the yellow ring gradually toward him, guided by the blue-purple presence.
As he felt the pressure steadily increase, the bones throughout Yu Tianheng's body gave a few faint creaks.
The yellow ring settled over the Thunder Dragon King's phantom behind Yu Tianheng.
In an instant, a current of incomparably tyrannical lightning surged into Yu Tianheng's body.
Caught off guard, he felt waves of numbness spread through his limbs.
But the sensation lasted only a moment before Yu Tianheng's Soul Power completely dispelled it.
"Roar!"
A glimmer flashed through the Thunder Dragon King's jewel-like eyes.
Its fangs and horns seemed to grow sharper.
After only a few minutes, Yu Tianheng opened his eyes.
The Thunder Dragon King behind him gradually faded away as well.
Now, every pore on his body felt utterly comfortable.
It was as though they were taking great gulps of air.
At the same time, the system issued a notification.
[Ding! Congratulations, host, on obtaining your First Soul Ring. Soul Skill: Thunder Dragon Tyrant Body. Once activated, all attributes increase by 100%, the lightning attribute increases by 200%, and you are immune to all control effects for the duration.]
"Not bad. You absorbed the Soul Ring a little faster than I did back then."
A smile appeared on Yu Yuanzhen's face as he stroked his beard in satisfaction.
"Why don't you try out your First Soul Ring's Soul Skill?"
Yu Tianheng nodded and activated Martial Soul Possession.
A Yellow Soul Ring gradually appeared.
"First Soul Skill: Thunder Dragon Tyrant Body!"
As he murmured the words, Yu Tianheng's clothes stirred as if caught in a breeze.
His whole body shone with a blue-purple light.
The lightning that had been wreathed around him grew increasingly wild and violent.
The grass within a few paces was reduced to ash in an instant.
He could clearly feel that the strength in his limbs seemed to have undergone a qualitative leap at that moment.
With a movement of his raised hand, a tree so thick that it took four people to encircle it snapped.
Wisps of smoke rose from the break, which had clearly been scorched.
"Grandpa, this First Soul Skill is pretty good."
The corners of Yu Tianheng's mouth rose slightly.
That was not all. After absorbing the Soul Ring, Yu Tianheng's Soul Power had also broken straight through to level 14.
Innate Full Soul Power was the limit of Martial Soul Awakening, but it was not Yu Tianheng's limit.
Yu Yuanzhen also sensed the change in Yu Tianheng's presence.
He laughed twice and said,
"Good! Good! Good! As expected of my grandson! Heng'er, you're just the right age now. In a little while, Grandpa will arrange for you to go to Heaven Dou Royal Academy. It has the best Soul Master education on the entire continent."
Yu Yuanzhen seemed to have already seen Yu Tianheng's future achievements.
To his surprise, however, Yu Tianheng shook his head at the arrangement.
He seemed to have no interest in Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
"Grandpa, rather than studying at an academy, I'd rather stay with the clan, fulfill my responsibilities as young clan leader, and develop the clan."
To ordinary people, Heaven Dou Royal Academy was a holy land.
But Yu Tianheng was different. He had a golden finger.
He had to develop the clan to make use of the system's summation mechanism.
Wouldn't going to Heaven Dou Royal Academy be an obvious waste of time?
"Hahaha, Heng'er, it's a good thing that you want to revitalize the clan, but you've only just turned six. You don't need to worry about these things. For now, you only need to focus on cultivating."
Yu Yuanzhen patted Yu Tianheng on the shoulder, hoping to put the idea out of his mind.
Yu Tianheng knew full well that persuading his grandfather directly was practically impossible.
He would have to find another path.
His expression shifted, and a good idea suddenly occurred to him.
"Grandpa, how about we make a bet?"
Hearing that, Yu Yuanzhen could not help but take an interest.
"What kind of bet?"
"Grandpa, if I can break through to level 20 within two years, how about letting me take over and develop the clan?"
In the early stages, ordinary Soul Masters were mostly learning how to cultivate, so their Soul Power did not increase particularly quickly.
Six levels in two years-even Yu Yuanzhen had not been that fast back then.
After considering it for a moment, Yu Yuanzhen nodded with a smile.
It would be good to have the bet spur Heng'er on in his cultivation.
If he really could break through to level 20 at eight years old, there was no reason not to entrust Heng'er with some authority over the clan.
"All right, Grandpa agrees. If you really can do it, I'll let you personally manage the clan."
"A gentleman's word cannot be overtaken by a team of four horses!"
Three days later, Yu Tianheng stood at the gates of Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
He shook his head somewhat helplessly. In all fairness, this place really would not be of much use to him.
Still, it was only two years, so he could accept it.
As an institution built with the full resources of the Heaven Dou Empire, the academy looked exceptionally grand.
Even its gates were decorated with gilded ornamentation.
After confirming that Yu Tianheng had arrived safely, the two Soul Douluo responsible for escorting him bowed deeply.
"Young clan leader, we've arrived at the academy, so we'll head back first."
"Mm."
Yu Tianheng nodded and stepped into the academy.
But he had only gone a few steps when he heard a clamor.
Looking toward the source of the noise, he saw three people in formal school uniforms doing something or other.
Quite a few people had gathered around to watch.
Out of curiosity, Yu Tianheng decided to join the crowd.
But when he drew closer, his brows furrowed slightly.
The three were ganging up on a student lying on the ground.
The student's face was bruised and swollen, and he was curled up in a ball.
He seemed to be trying to lessen the damage he was taking.
"You bumpkin! You do whatever this young master tells you to do, and you still dare talk back!"
The one in the lead kept stamping on him.
Every so often, a few curses spilled from his mouth.
Just as Yu Tianheng approached, the three suddenly turned their gazes toward him.
"Well, look, another unfamiliar face. Must be new. Perfect, I can teach the rules one more time while I'm at it."
As he spoke, the man reached straight for Yu Tianheng's collar.
Yu Tianheng turned slightly to the side, avoiding the move without leaving a trace.
"Brat, you dare dodge? I, Shi Mo, will show you what the rules are today!"
As he spoke, Shi Mo immediately released his Martial Soul.