Chapter 7: The Leaking Golden Holy Dragon
The awakening array flared to life, bathing Yu Xiaogang in a radiant golden light.
A dragon's roar echoed throughout the hall. Behind him, the faint shadow of a dragon began to appear. Every beast-type martial soul user present, even those with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, felt an invisible pressure descend upon them.
"This is…" Yu Luomian muttered in astonishment.
"Could it be…" Yu Luotang whispered, his face full of disbelief.
Yu Yuanzhen rose to his feet, his body trembling with excitement—he realized what it was before any of the other elders did.
Below the stage, Yu Xiaomen stared at the vast dragon shadow forming behind his brother. The joy from his own awakening vanished instantly.
Hahaha… hahaha…
I can feel it—it's a dragon, the Golden Holy Dragon… It's coming out!
Yu Xiaogang's heart raced. He tilted his head upward as golden light flashed in his eyes—he could almost see a mighty golden dragon soar through his very pupils.
My martial soul… the Golden Holy Dragon! My martial soul is the Golden Holy Dragon!
From this day forth, I shall become the second person in the history of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect to awaken the Golden Holy Dragon martial soul! My legend begins now. For ten thousand years, the continent will remember the name—Dragon God Douluo, Yu Xiaogang!
The sensation overwhelmed him, blissful beyond words. He shut his eyes, fully immersing himself in the ecstasy of the awakening.
Then, abruptly, something went wrong. Normally, a martial soul's form would stabilize instantly—but the dragon shadow behind him remained incomplete, its form flickering and unstable.
The hall fell utterly silent as everyone stared in confusion. Yu Xiaogang opened his eyes, looking back at the wavering golden dragon shadow behind him, panic rising in his chest.
And then—it began to wail. A mournful, pitiful cry echoed through the hall as the golden dragon's body started… leaking.
"My Golden Holy Dragon—no!" Yu Xiaogang screamed, desperately clutching at the fading apparition.
"What… what's happening?" a disciple gasped.
"Not good," Yu Yuanzhen said grimly. "His martial soul is mutating."
The crowd froze. Martial soul mutation could be a blessing or a curse. But if the original martial soul was the Golden Holy Dragon, the highest of beast souls, then there was only one possible direction for mutation—to the worse.
Panic gripped Yu Xiaogang. "No! My Golden Holy Dragon! Don't leave me! Without you, how can I live?!" he wailed.
The shining form shattered completely. In its place appeared a squat, plump creature of deep purple hue—ugly beyond description. It looked somewhat like a dog, but fat as a pig.
The misshapen beast scuttled toward Yu Xiaogang, rubbing affectionately against his leg and emitting a series of squealing, pig-like grunts.
Yu Xiaogang lowered his head, his face hidden in shadow.
The hall was utterly silent, save for the grotesque creature's soft oinking sounds.
Though no one dared comment aloud—the boy was, after all, the sect master's son—glances thick with disbelief, pity, and amusement filled the room. The oppressive silence pressed on Yu Xiaogang's chest like a mountain.
"Let's… test his innate soul power first," Yu Yuanzhen finally said, forcing composure into his voice. "Martial souls can't be judged solely by appearance." He still clung to a shred of hope for his son.
At those words, Yu Xiaogang snapped his head up, shouting frantically, "Yes! Test me—quick! Test my innate soul power!"
The awakening master nodded hastily, bringing forward the crystal sphere. "Young Master, please place your hand on it."
Yu Xiaogang pressed his palm down. The sphere flickered faintly—a barely visible glow.
The audience was stunned silent.
Seconds passed. Then minutes.
Suddenly, Yu Xiaogang roared in fury and hurled the sphere onto the floor. It shattered into shards. "Impossible! This can't be right! The crystal must be broken—it has to be broken!"
Yu Yuanzhen's face darkened. "Bring another one."
"Yes, Sect Master!" The awakening master quickly replaced the sphere.
Again, Yu Xiaogang slammed his palm down. Again, only a faint, pitiful glimmer appeared.
Another crash followed. "Change it again!" he shouted.
A third sphere was brought forth. The result remained the same.
Before he could shatter this one too, Elder Yu Luomian barked, "Yu Xiaogang! Enough! No tantrum of yours can change the truth. Your martial soul mutated into useless trash. Breaking sect property will not fix that."
Yu Yuanzhen covered his face with one hand, sighing deeply. With the other, he gestured weakly to the awakening master. "Announce the result."
The awakening master swallowed hard. "Innate soul power…" He squinted into the crystal sphere through a magnifying lens for several seconds, then announced with difficulty, "Zero… point five. Yes, innate soul power of level zero point five, Sect Master."
Whispers rippled throughout the hall.
"What—only 0.5 soul power?"
"What sort of martial soul is that? It looks neither like a dog nor a pig! Could a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon mutate into that?"
The murmurs grew louder, more brazen:
"There's no way our noble bloodline could degrade like this, right? But the boy is the Sect Master's son…"
"The Sect Master's bloodline is so strong—his other son, even born of a servant, awakened with 9.5 level soul power. And this one only has 0.5? Doesn't that say something?"
"Zero point five? The awakening master's just being polite. It's basically zero."
"No way a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon became—whatever that is. Pig-Dog Martial Soul? Hah!"
"Six years of flattery wasted on this!"
Each mocking whisper pierced Yu Xiaogang like a blade. His chest heaved; humiliation burned through him. Finally, his furious eyes locked on Yu Xiaomen—who was staring back at him silently, with an unreadable expression.
Mockery. It must be mockery. That bastard was mocking him!
Yu Xiaogang could endure the scorn of every member of the sect—but not his. Not that servant's half-blood brat.
Why!? he screamed silently. Why does he have 9.5 soul power while I, the true son of the sect master, am left with 0.5 and this abomination of a martial soul!?
His mind fractured under the weight of shame and rage.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
Yu Xiaogang cried, wailed, screamed, tears streaking down his face—then, without another word, turned and fled the awakening hall.
(END CHAPTER)
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