Chapter 8: Will You Be a Dragon or a Pig?
Yu Xiaomen stood just outside the Awakening Hall, watching as Yu Xiaogang's figure staggered off into the distance. Halfway down the stairs, Xiaogang tripped over a stone, fell, then shakily picked himself up and continued running.
Raising his head, Yu Xiaomen gazed up at the bright sky. Stretching his hand toward the sunlight, he seemed to grasp for its warmth.
"What a splendid show that was," he murmured softly. Then his tone shifted, wistful, as though recalling a distant memory. "Mother, I didn't let you down. I've awakened a powerful martial soul. But this Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon…" His lips curled into a faint expression of disgust.
Moments later, he smiled slightly. "Hmph, no matter. For now, I have no intention of leaving the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect."
…
"How did he end up with so little innate soul power?" Huo Yuhao muttered, puzzled.
Innate soul power determined one's upper growth limit. By all logic, Yu Xiaogang's level should barely have allowed him to become a basic soul master. Yet in the original story, even before consuming the Nine-Grade Purple Zhi, he somehow reached the level of a Grand Soul Master.
Some claimed it was due to the vast resources of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect, but even with such support, ordinary materials couldn't achieve that.
If simple treasures could defy natural limits and raise someone with half an innate level to the twenty-ninth rank, then in a twisted way, Yu Xiaogang could still be considered miraculous. After all, who else with the same innate power had ever become a Grand Soul Master?
So—was Yu Xiaogang a genius? Judging from the original Douluo story, "genius" and Yu Xiaogang should never appear in the same sentence.
There was certainly something strange about his growth.
And while Huo Yuhao could easily divine Yu Xiaogang's future, he decided not to. After all, watching a story was no fun when you already knew the ending.
…
Three days—barely three days—and everything within the sect had changed.
The timid boy who had once been treated worse than a servant was now celebrated as the brightest star of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect's younger generation. It was already being said that, one day, Yu Xiaomen's name would stand proudly in the Douluo Hall.
His father's attitude had shifted completely. No longer cold and distant, Yu Yuanzhen now treated him with warmth and care. When Yu Xiaomen told him of what his mother, Yun Niang, had suffered, Yu Yuanzhen had flown into an uncontrollable rage, ordering every servant who had ever tormented her put to death.
The families of the sect's various branches quickly began sending their children to befriend Yu Xiaomen. Although his status as Young Master had not yet been formally granted, his privileges already equaled those once held by Yu Xiaogang. Wherever he walked within the sect, disciples bowed respectfully, greeting him as "Young Master Xiaomen."
That same day, Yu Yuanzhen handed him the Sect Master's token. "Xiaomen," he said gravely, "this token now belongs to you. With it, you may access any place within the sect, claim cultivation resources, and request the assistance of elders when you hunt for spirit rings."
Once he finished explaining, Yu Yuanzhen turned to leave.
"Father, are you going to see Brother Xiaogang?" Yu Xiaomen asked gently.
Yu Yuanzhen sighed. "He is still my son—and your brother. He's locked himself in his room for three days without food or water."
"Then please, Father, talk to him. He needs you." Yu Xiaomen's voice carried genuine concern.
Yu Yuanzhen nodded and made his way to Yu Xiaogang's quarters. From behind the door came faint sobs. He frowned, memories of the awakening ceremony flashing through his mind—the beginning of the awakening, when the pure aura of the Golden Holy Dragon had appeared. That sight had not been an illusion. Yet the result had been the pitiful martial soul Luo San Pao.
Though it was a worthless martial soul, Yu Yuanzhen couldn't shake the feeling that Luo San Pao was somehow connected to the Golden Holy Dragon. He already harbored suspicions as to the cause of the mutation. After all, Yu Xiaogang had always been the child he cherished most. Perhaps, he thought, the boy was not beyond saving.
He unlocked the door and entered.
The room was dark. Light from the hall broke through the dust-filled air, illuminating a small, trembling figure curled beneath a blanket.
Standing in the doorway, Yu Yuanzhen's powerful silhouette cast a long shadow across the floor. He spoke with cold frustration. "Xiaogang, what are you doing sulking in here?"
Yu Xiaogang lifted his tear-streaked face, eyes bloodshot. "Father… why did I awaken Luo San Pao? It should have been the Golden Holy Dragon!"
"You could weep from dawn till dusk and still never cry that dragon back," Yu Yuanzhen said sharply.
"With your talent, reaching even the Soul Master rank will be difficult. Even if the sect were to invest enough resources to force your breakthrough, it would be a waste."
Yu Xiaogang's body jolted at those words. Panic filled his voice. "No, please! I want to be a soul master—I can't live as an ordinary man! Father, you're not abandoning me, are you?"
The divide between mortal and soul master was vast—a gulf of strength, class, and destiny. To Yu Xiaogang, being reduced to a commoner was worse than death itself.
Yu Yuanzhen looked at his son's desperate face and suppressed his irritation. "Listen to me. Do you remember that half-formed Golden Holy Dragon from the ceremony? That was the turning point of your life. Your martial soul encountered something—a barrier. One step forward, and you'd have ascended to greatness; one step back, and you fell into ruin. Your body and spirit simply couldn't sustain a transformation toward the Golden Holy Dragon, so it regressed and mutated into Luo San Pao."
"So do not underestimate your martial soul," he continued. "Luo San Pao and the Golden Holy Dragon must share a hidden connection."
Yu Xiaogang blinked in stunned silence, then lowered his head. A dark resentment brewed within him. You were supposed to be the Golden Holy Dragon, he thought bitterly. Why—why did you degenerate into Luo San Pao?
Yu Yuanzhen went on, "If the Golden Holy Dragon could regress into Luo San Pao, then there must also be a way to reverse the process—to evolve Luo San Pao into the Golden Holy Dragon."
"What way?" Yu Xiaogang asked eagerly.
Yu Yuanzhen shook his head. "I don't know."
He took a deep breath before continuing. "Now, I will give you two choices. Do you want to become a dragon—or remain a pig? If you choose the latter, the sect will train you in management instead. You'll handle the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect's industries. As long as I live, you'll live comfortably, and no one will trouble you. But if you choose to walk the path of the dragon, I can only help as much as my strength allows. That path, you must carve out yourself—with twice, no, two hundred times the effort of any other cultivator, through a road of thorns and blood."
(END CHAPTER)
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