Chapter 10: The Calm Before the Storm and Hidden Edge Within
Yu Yuanchen's feats at the Thunder Sound Pavilion—catching a Soul King's attack barehanded and'struggling' to slay two Soul Kings while wiping out a stronghold outside the city—were like stones cast into a still lake, sending ripples through Dragon City and its surrounding areas. Within the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, the younger generation viewed him as an idol and a benchmark, their enthusiasm for cultivation reaching unprecedented heights. The various large and small forces dependent on the Family felt their confidence swell due to this direct grandson who displayed such extraordinary talent and strength. In the outside world, however, especially in the eyes of the Black Flame Flood Dragon Clan and its allies, Yu Yuanchen's threat level was raised once again. His image as a 'Genius Spirit Ancestor' became increasingly clear, drawing more hidden prying eyes and schemes from the shadows.
The Long Family clearly would not sit idly by and watch the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan develop peacefully. Under the secret maneuvers of Yu Boxuan and several core Elders, the Family also began actively contacting various parties, seeking allies and consolidating relationships. The Heaven Dou Empire's imperial Family maintained an ambiguous attitude; while they did not wish to see the two great Sects of the southeast lose control and engage in a full-scale war that would affect stability, they were happy to see the two balance each other out. They merely strengthened their garrison around Dragon City on the surface as a show of'supervision.' The Elephant Armored Academy, one of the Lower Four Sects, had long-standing friction with dragon-type Martial Souls due to their own Martial Soul (it was established here that the Diamond Mammoth possessed a thin trace of Behemoth bloodline). Coupled with the heavy bribes promised by the Long Family, they had already clearly shown a bias towards the Long Family. Furthermore, some Sects and families with old grudges against the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, or those who coveted its wealth and status, also began to faintly draw closer under the Long Family's coordination.
Correspondingly, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, relying on its foundation as a top-tier Beast Spirit and the connections accumulated over many years, was not without support. They had decent relations and trade dealings with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School; although no formal alliance was declared, they had reached a tacit understanding regarding certain resources. Some small and medium-sized Sects that had received favors from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, as well as generals in the Imperial military who were on good terms with the Yu Family, also expressed limited support at this time.
For a time, two major camps faintly took shape in the southeastern region of the Heaven Dou Empire. Although it hadn't reached the point of a total falling out or all-out war, private friction, probing, resource disputes, assassinations, and counter-assassinations were like smoldering charcoal, intensifying in unseen corners. The entire Spirit Master's world sensed the tense atmosphere of an impending storm, and many forces chose to play it safe and wait for developments.
Against this backdrop of surging undercurrents, Yu Yuanchen appeared exceptionally steady. He knew deeply that in a game at this level, while personal martial force was important, it required even more wisdom and patience. He did not become complacent because of his initial brilliance; instead, he became even more cautious.
His life became extremely disciplined. Most of the time, he remained in the core area of the Family, keeping a low profile. During the day, besides his unwavering practice deep within the Thunder Canyon—using the 'Thunder God Power' to temper his body, purify his Bloodline, and solidify his Soul Power foundation—he spent more time seeking guidance from the Family Elders.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had a long Legacy, and there was no shortage of brilliant individuals among its past ancestors. Although they hadn't created top-tier self-created Martial Soul Abilities that could be popularized like some later Prodigies, they had accumulated countless pieces of valuable experience in the deep development and application techniques of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul. These techniques often varied from person to person, closely related to individual Soul skills combinations and combat styles, making them difficult to pass down widely. However, for younger generations of the same clan—especially someone as exceptionally talented as Yu Yuanchen—they provided immense inspiration.
Yu Yuanchen first visited his grandfather, Clan Chief Yu Boxuan.
"Grandfather, I still have doubts regarding the condensation and eruption of thunder force," Yu Yuanchen asked respectfully. "Ordinary Soul Masters mostly pursue range and power when releasing Martial Soul Abilities, but I feel that if it can be compressed to the extreme, it might undergo a qualitative change."
Yu Boxuan looked at his grandson with gratification and said thoughtfully, "Compressing thunder... this path is very dangerous. The nature of thunder is violent; if forced into compression, the slightest carelessness will result in a backlash against oneself. However, in our clan's history, there was indeed an ancestor who tried it. He left some insights in his later years, mentioning that it requires fine control with powerful Spiritual Power, supplemented by the Martial Soul's Origin force for restraint, to possibly succeed. The key lies in 'condensing without releasing, drawing without exploding,' internalizing the power of destruction to erupt at a single point." He explained in detail the Spiritual Power application techniques and Soul Power circulation routes that the ancestor had explored. Though rough, they pointed out a direction for Yu Yuanchen.
Next, Yu Yuanchen consulted several Elders in the clan known for their speed. He demonstrated his technique of using lightning to stimulate his movement arts, seeking optimization.
An Elder specializing in Agility Attack observed carefully, his eyes sparkling. "Yuanchen, your idea of combining this footwork with the speed of lightning is brilliant! However, stimulating the Meridians with lightning is too dangerous. I have a method that involves using Soul Power to simulate the swimming motion of a thunder eel, constructing a special circuit within the fine Meridians of the legs. This can slightly increase instantaneous explosive power and is more gentle and lasting." He taught the complex method of constructing that Soul Power circuit to Yu Yuanchen. Although it couldn't directly raise the speed limit, it greatly enhanced his endurance and maneuverability.
There was also another Elder skilled in defense. Yu Yuanchen asked him how to use thunder force for protection. That Elder demonstrated a technique that wasn't a simple Soul Power shield, but rather densely covering the body's surface with thunder force to form a layer of high-speed oscillating 'Thunder Strike Garment.' It could not only deflect and weaken physical attacks but also cause continuous lightning backlash damage to close-range attackers. This gave Yu Yuanchen great inspiration; it shared similar principles with the 'Thunder God Protective Aura' he was attempting, and through mutual verification, his gains were substantial.
In addition to these application techniques, Yu Yuanchen also browsed through a large number of the Family's archived classics regarding the combat records of past powerhouses. From these, he saw various possibilities for the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul in the hands of different experts: some turned lightning into a Domain to control a region; some developed dragonified parts to the extreme, where claws, teeth, and tails could all serve as weapons; and some even tried to combine lightning with sound waves, where a single dragon roar was not only more majestic but also had the effect of shocking the mind.
These 'pseudo-self-created Martial Soul Abilities' and combat wisdom explored by past sages were like nutrients, greedily absorbed and digested by Yu Yuanchen. He no longer limited himself to his existing Martial Soul Abilities and began trying to integrate these techniques into his own combat System. His application of the 'Thunder God Power' also became more proficient. Although the process of the purple-gold scales providing feedback on dragon blood power remained slow, he could feel that his understanding and control of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul were undergoing profound, subtle changes.
Of course, working behind closed doors was not the Righteous Path. With the support of the Family's intelligence System, Yu Yuanchen also began to occasionally take on 'field' missions. The targets were mostly hostile Soul Masters who colluded with the Long Family and frequently provoked the Family's peripheral forces or industries, with strengths mostly at the Spirit Ancestor or Soul King level.
These missions became the whetstones for him to test his cultivation results and increase his actual combat experience.
At times, he transformed into a shadow, infiltrating enemy camps at night to silently take out sentries with his exquisitely controlled Thunder Dragon Claw. At other times, he launched frontal assaults, weaving through crowds with his enhanced movement arts. The electric field formed by the thunderous force allowed him to understand the battlefield situation perfectly, always enabling him to defeat enemies with the least cost and highest efficiency.
When he fought, the strength he displayed was always controlled within the range of a 'top-tier Spirit Ancestor' or a 'newly entered Soul King.' The power of his Martial Soul Abilities was handled just right—strong enough to crush his opponents without making it seem too outrageous. Occasionally, when encountering a difficult Soul King, he would'struggle' for a while before finally 'relying' on his superior Martial Soul quality and combat wisdom to win.
However, during several missions, when intelligence was inaccurate or when he encountered hidden Soul Emperor level experts from the enemy side, Yu Yuanchen would quietly reveal a hint of his true fangs.
This happened during a mission to clear out a group of bandits secretly supported by the Long Family. Intelligence indicated the leader was only a Rank 58 Soul King. But when Yu Yuanchen infiltrated deep into their lair, he unexpectedly encountered a Soul Emperor with a cold aura and Soul Power as high as Rank 62! This person was clearly a hidden pawn planted by the Long Family, and his Martial Soul was a rare shadow-attribute Beast Spirit.
Meeting on a narrow path, the opponent was full of killing intent and immediately activated his strongest Sixth Spirit Ability, transforming into countless shadows that attacked Yu Yuanchen from all directions, sealing off all paths of retreat.
At the critical moment, Yu Yuanchen's gaze turned cold, and he no longer held back. The faint, almost imperceptible purple-gold luster on his dragonified right arm flashed slightly as the 'Thunder God Power' was instantly injected!
He didn't use any fancy Martial Soul Abilities; he simply compressed his power to the extreme in his right claw and threw a simple, direct straight punch!
"Pfft!"
Where the fist passed, the purple-gold electric light was like the light of dawn. All the incoming shadows melted like snow, instantly dispersing! The shadow-attribute Soul Emperor's true body was blasted straight out, a charred hole appearing in his chest. His eyes were filled with horror and disbelief, seemingly unable to understand how a Spirit Ancestor could erupt with such pure and destructive power.
Yu Yuanchen quickly withdrew his aura, confirmed the opponent's life was gone, and carefully handled the scene to create the illusion that the person had died from some powerful lightning-type spirit tool or had perished together with an unknown expert. Then, he quietly departed.
Similar situations occurred two or three more times afterward. Relying on his perception and explosive power that transcended his Rank, Yu Yuanchen could always perilously resolve these unexpected 'hard bones' and did so cleanly without leaving any evidence. The outside world only knew that the Genius direct grandson of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was extremely efficient in executing missions with a startling success rate, but no one knew that several Soul Emperor level enemies had already quietly fallen by his hand.
Through these trials of real combat, Yu Yuanchen's practical experience accumulated rapidly, and his control over his own power became increasingly refined. He was like a piece of unpolished jade, gradually shedding his rawness under the carving of the Family Legacy and the polishing of bloody combat, revealing an internalized and brilliant luster.
He knew that the current calm and the secret hunting were only the final brewing before the storm. The friction between the two camps was slowly intensifying and would one day reach a critical point. And he had to become strong enough before that day arrived—strong enough to handle any challenge, protect the Family, and in that inevitable thunderous storm, emit his own most dazzling and magnificent peal of thunder!