Yu Xiaomen walked outside the Awakening Hall and watched Yu Xiaogang's figure disappear in the distance. Yu Xiaogang tripped over a stone and struggled to get up before continuing to run further away.
He looked up at the bright sunlight in the sky and stretched out his hand as if trying to grab that warm light.
"That was quite a good show to watch," Yu Xiaomen whispered, then seemed to reminisce, "Mother, I didn't let you down. I awakened a powerful Martial Soul, but this Blue Electric Tyrannosaurus…" At the end of his words, a look of disgust appeared on his face.
He then smiled happily and said, "Hmph, it doesn't matter. I don't want to leave the Blue Electric Tyrannosaurus Sect for now."
A Few Days Later
"How did he achieve that with such little innate soul power?" Huo Yuhao wondered aloud.
Innate soul power determines the upper limit of one's future growth. In theory, Yu Xiaogang's talent should have been enough to train to the rank of a Soul Master. However, in the original story, before taking the Nine-Tiered Purple Pill, Yu Xiaogang had already reached the Great Soul Master level.
Many works attribute this to the massive consumption of resources from the Blue Electric Tyrannosaurus Sect, and while this might be part of the reason, ordinary resources couldn't possibly achieve this.
If it was just relying on rare herbs and treasures to break through the limits of his talent and raise Yu Xiaogang to the 29th rank, then in some sense, Yu Xiaogang could be seen as a genius who created miracles. After all, how many people with innate soul power like Yu Xiaogang's ever became a Great Soul Master?
Was Yu Xiaogang a genius? Based on the events in the first world of Douluo Dalu, Yu Xiaogang couldn't be considered one.
There was something suspicious about Yu Xiaogang's growth.
Though Huo Yuhao could deduce Yu Xiaogang's future fate, it was like following a drama—if you knew the answer from the start, the rest of the plot would lose its excitement.
Three Days Later...
In just three days, everything had changed.
Yu Xiaomen, who had once been cautious and afraid within the sect, to the point where even a servant could step on him, had now become the most gifted of the younger generation in the sect. If he continued to grow, he would surely have a place in the Douluo Hall in the future.
His father no longer treated him coldly. Instead, he was concerned and attentive. After learning about everything Yu Niang had gone through, Yu Yuanzhen was furious and immediately ordered the execution of all the servants who had bullied her.
Other branches of the sect had sent their younger generations to flatter Yu Xiaomen. Though his position as the young master had not been confirmed, Yu Xiaomen had already received the treatment that had once been Yu Xiaogang's. Wherever he went within the sect, people had to lower their heads and respectfully say, "Young Master Xiaomen."
One day, Yu Yuanzhen handed Yu Xiaomen the Sect Master's medallion and said, "Xiaomen, this medallion will be yours from now on. With this medallion, you can go anywhere within the sect, claim cultivation resources, and even request that the elders hunt souls for you."
After giving these instructions, Yu Yuanzhen turned to walk in a certain direction.
"Father, are you going to see Brother Xiaogang?" Yu Xiaomen asked with concern.
Yu Yuanzhen sighed and replied, "After all, he's my other son, your older brother. He's locked himself in his room for three days now, refusing to eat or drink."
"Mm, Father, you must talk to Brother Xiaogang and help him through this," Yu Xiaomen said with genuine care.
Yu Yuanzhen nodded and walked straight to Yu Xiaogang's room. Faint sobbing could be heard from inside. Yu Yuanzhen furrowed his brows and recalled the scene from the awakening ceremony—Yu Xiaogang's Martial Soul had initially appeared as a Golden Saint Dragon, but then something had gone wrong, and it had mutated into the "Three Cannons of Luo."
Although it was a worthless Martial Soul, Yu Yuanzhen felt deep down that it had some mysterious connection to the Golden Saint Dragon. He already had a few guesses as to why the Martial Soul mutated. After all, Yu Xiaogang had once been his most cherished child. Yu Yuanzhen still believed that Yu Xiaogang might be saved.
He directly twisted the door handle and barged in.
Inside, it was completely dark, with the light from outside illuminating the room. The dust in the air was clearly visible.
Yu Yuanzhen stood in the light, quickly locking his gaze on Yu Xiaogang, who was curled up under the blanket, trembling.
He scolded in frustration, "Xiaogang, why are you locking yourself in here?"
Yu Xiaogang's eyes were bloodshot, and his face was streaked with tears. He said in pain, "Father, why did I awaken the Three Cannons of Luo? It was supposed to be the Golden Saint Dragon!"
"Do you think crying day and night will bring the Golden Saint Dragon back?" Yu Yuanzhen retorted.
"With your talent, it's hard to become a Soul Master. Even if the sect has the ability to help you break through to Soul Master, the resources consumed aren't worth it," Yu Yuanzhen continued.
Upon hearing this, Yu Xiaogang shuddered. He anxiously said, "No, no! I want to become a Soul Master. I don't want to be a normal person. Father, do you want to give up on me?"
The difference between a Soul Master and an ordinary person is a huge gap in status, representing the fundamental distinction between 99% of the people on the continent and the small number of Soul Masters.
For Yu Xiaogang to become an ordinary person, it would be better to let him die. Although Yu Xiaogang didn't have the courage to take his own life, dying of old age was still a form of death.
Yu Yuanzhen looked at Yu Xiaogang's pleading face, suppressed his displeasure, and said, "Listen to me. Do you remember the Golden Saint Dragon that was half-formed when your Martial Soul awakened? That was a crucial moment in your life. Your Martial Soul seemed to be blocked by something. If you could have taken one more step, you would have reached new heights. But because your body's strength and spiritual power weren't enough to support your Martial Soul's transformation into the Golden Saint Dragon, it retreated and mutated into the Three Cannons of Luo."
"Don't underestimate your Martial Soul. There must be some connection between the Three Cannons of Luo and the Golden Saint Dragon."
Upon hearing this, Yu Xiaogang's face lit up with realization, and a deep hatred for the Three Cannons of Luo surged within him. He thought: You should have been the Golden Saint Dragon. Why did you devolve into the Three Cannons of Luo? Why?!
Yu Yuanzhen continued, "Since the Golden Saint Dragon can devolve into the Three Cannons of Luo, there must be a way to evolve the Three Cannons of Luo back into the Golden Saint Dragon."
"What's the method?" Yu Xiaogang hurriedly asked.
Yu Yuanzhen shook his head and said, "I don't know."
"Now, I'll give you two choices: Do you want to become a dragon or a pig? If you choose the latter, the sect will train you to be a business talent. You'll be responsible for managing the sect's assets. As long as I'm alive, your life won't be too hard, and the sect won't make things difficult for you. If you want to become a dragon, I can help you as much as I can, but the path you must walk yourself. You'll have to work 200 times harder than other Soul Masters to explore this difficult path."