The deeds of Yu Yuanchen, who single-handedly faced a Soul King at the Thunder Sound Pavilion and "struggled" to slay two Soul Kings while clearing out a stronghold outside the city, were like a stone cast into a calm lake, sending ripples across Dragon City and its surrounding regions. Within the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family, the younger generation viewed him as an idol and a benchmark, their enthusiasm for cultivation reaching unprecedented heights; meanwhile, the various large and small factions attached to the family felt their confidence bolstered by this direct descendant who displayed such exceptional talent and strength. In the outside world, however—especially in the eyes of the Black Flame Demon Flood Dragon Family and their allies—Yu Yuanchen's threat level was raised once again. His image as a "genius Soul Ancestor" became increasingly distinct, drawing more prying eyes and schemes from the shadows.
The Long family was clearly not going to sit by and watch the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family develop steadily. Under the secret maneuvering of Yu Boxuan and several core Elders, the family also began actively contacting various parties, seeking allies, and consolidating relationships. The Heaven Dou Empire Royal Family maintained an ambiguous attitude; while they did not wish to see the two major sects in the southeast spiral into an uncontrollable conflict that would affect stability, they were happy to see them keep each other in check. They merely strengthened their garrison around Dragon City on the surface to demonstrate "supervision." The Elephant Armored Sect, one of the Lower Four Sects, had already clearly shown a bias toward the Long family, both because their Martial Soul had long-standing friction with Dragon Martial Souls (it was established here that the Diamond Mammoth possessed a faint trace of Behemoth blood) and because the Long family had promised them great benefits. Furthermore, some sects and families that held old grudges against the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family, or coveted its wealth and status, also began to lean toward the Long family under their orchestration.
Correspondingly, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family was not isolated, relying on the foundation of its top-tier beast Martial Soul and the connections accumulated over many years. They maintained trade relations with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and their relationship remained decent; although they had not formed a formal alliance, 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 Family, 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 began to take shape in the southeastern region of the Heaven Dou Empire. Although they had not yet reached the point of tearing off the mask and engaging in all-out war, the private friction, probing, resource competition, assassinations, and counter-assassinations were like smoldering charcoal, intensifying in unseen corners. The entire Soul Master World sensed this tense atmosphere of an impending storm, and many factions chose to protect their own interests and wait to see how things would develop.
Against this backdrop of surging undercurrents, Yu Yuanchen appeared exceptionally calm. He knew well that in this level of maneuvering, while individual martial prowess was important, wisdom and patience were even more necessary. He did not become complacent because of his initial success; instead, he became even more cautious.
His life became extremely disciplined. Most of the time, he remained in the core area of the family, rarely venturing out. During the day, besides his unwavering routine of tempering his body, purifying his bloodline, and solidifying his Soul Power foundation deep within the Thunder Gorge using the "Thunder God Power," he spent most of his time seeking guidance from the family elders.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family had a long history, and among its past generations were many brilliant and talented individuals. Although they had not created top-tier self-created soul skills that could be popularized like some later monsters, they had accumulated countless precious experiences in the deep development and application techniques of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul. These techniques were often tailored to the individual, closely related to one's personal soul skill combinations and combat style, making them difficult to pass on widely. However, for descendants of the same clan, especially those with exceptional talent like Yu Yuanchen, they provided great inspiration.
Yu Yuanchen first visited his grandfather, the Patriarch Yu Boxuan.
"Grandfather, I still have doubts regarding the condensation and eruption of Thunder Power," Yu Yuanchen asked respectfully. "Ordinary Soul Masters, when releasing soul skills, mostly pursue range and power, but I feel that if it can be compressed to the extreme, it might produce a qualitative change."
Yu Boxuan looked at his grandson with comfort and pondered, "Compressing lightning... this path is extremely dangerous. Lightning is inherently violent; if you compress it by force, a moment of carelessness will lead to a backlash. However, in our family's history, there was indeed an ancestor who attempted this. In his later years, he left behind some insights, stating that it requires meticulous control through powerful Spiritual Power, supplemented by the power of the Martial Soul Origin to bind it, for there to be any chance of success. The key lies in 'condensing without releasing, guiding without exploding,' keeping the power of destruction internalized and erupting it at a single point." He explained in detail the techniques for using Spiritual Power and the Soul Power circulation routes that the ancestor had explored; although rough, they pointed out a direction for Yu Yuanchen.
Next, Yu Yuanchen sought advice from several elders in the clan who excelled in speed. He demonstrated his technique of using lightning to stimulate his movement and sought to optimize it.
An elder skilled in agility observed carefully, his eyes shining with brilliance: "Yuanchen, your footwork combined with the speed of lightning is a brilliant idea! However, using lightning to stimulate the meridians is too dangerous. I have a method that simulates the movement of an Electric Eel with Soul Power, constructing a special circuit in the fine meridians of the legs, which can slightly increase instantaneous explosive power while being gentler and more sustainable." He taught the complex construction method of the Soul Power circuit to Yu Yuanchen; while it could not directly raise the speed cap, it greatly enhanced his endurance and ability to change direction.
There was also an elder who specialized in defense. Yu Yuanchen asked him how to use Thunder Power for protection. The elder demonstrated a technique that was not a simple Soul Power shield, but rather one where Thunder Power was densely spread over the surface of the body, forming a high-speed vibrating "Lightning Strike Robe." This not only deflected and weakened physical attacks but also caused continuous lightning counter-damage to those who attacked at close range. This gave Yu Yuanchen great inspiration; it was similar to the "Thunder God's Aegis" he had been attempting, and through mutual verification, he gained a great deal.
In addition to these application techniques, Yu Yuanchen also browsed through a large number of books collected by the family regarding the combat records of past powerhouses. From them, he saw the various possibilities of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul in the hands of different experts: some turned lightning into a domain, controlling a region; some developed dragon-like body parts to the extreme, with claws, teeth, and tails all serving as weapons; others even attempted to combine lightning with sound waves—a single Dragon Roar was not only more imposing but also had the effect of shaking the mind.
These "quasi-self-created soul skills" and combat wisdom explored by the sages of the past were like nutrients, which Yu Yuanchen greedily absorbed and digested. He no longer limited himself to his existing soul skills and began to try to integrate these techniques into his own combat system. His use of the "Thunder God Power" also became more proficient, and although the process of the Purple Gold Scale feeding back dragon blood power remained slow, he could feel that his understanding and control of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul were undergoing a subtle and profound change.
Of course, working behind closed doors was not the right path. With the support of the family's intelligence system, Yu Yuanchen also began to occasionally take on some "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, mostly at the Soul Ancestor or Soul King level.
These missions became the whetstone for him to test his cultivation results and increase his combat experience.
At times, he transformed into a shadow, sneaking into enemy camps in the dead of night to silently eliminate sentries with precisely controlled Thunder Dragon Claws; at other times, he launched frontal assaults, weaving through crowds with his enhanced movement. The electric field formed by his Thunderous Might allowed him to have a clear grasp of the battlefield situation, always defeating enemies with the minimum cost and the highest efficiency.
When he fought, the strength he displayed was always controlled within the scope of a "top-tier Soul Ancestor" or "newly ascended Soul King." The power of his soul skills was handled just right—strong enough to crush his opponents, yet not so much that it felt outrageous. Occasionally, when encountering a difficult Soul King, he would "struggle" for a while, eventually winning "by virtue of" superior Martial Soul quality and combat wisdom.
However, in several missions, when intelligence was inaccurate or he encountered hidden Soul Emperor-level experts from the enemy side, Yu Yuanchen would quietly reveal a trace of his true fangs.
That was during a mission to clear out a group of bandits secretly supported by the Long family. Intelligence indicated that the bandit leader was only a level 58 Soul King. But when Yu Yuanchen snuck into the depths of their lair, he unexpectedly encountered a Soul Emperor with a chilling aura and a Soul Power as high as level 62! This person was clearly a secret agent planted by the Long family, and his Martial Soul was a rare Shadow Attribute beast Martial Soul.
Meeting on a narrow path, the opponent was filled with killing intent and directly unleashed his strongest sixth soul skill, transforming into countless shadows that attacked Yu Yuanchen from all directions, sealing off all paths of retreat.
In the critical moment, Yu Yuanchen's eyes turned cold, and he no longer held back. The faint purple-gold luster on his dragon-transformed right arm flashed, and the "Thunder God Power" was injected instantly!
He did not use any flashy soul skills; he simply compressed his power to the extreme in his right claw and threw a simple, direct straight punch!
"Puff!"
Where the fist reached, the purple-gold electric light was like the light of dawn; all the incoming shadows melted like ice and snow, instantly collapsing! The main body of that shadow-attribute Soul Emperor was directly blasted out from within, a charred hole appearing in his chest. His eyes were filled with shock and disbelief, as if he could not understand how a Soul Ancestor could erupt with such pure and destructive power.
Yu Yuanchen quickly restrained his aura, confirmed that the opponent's life force was extinguished, and carefully handled the scene, creating the illusion that the person had died from some powerful lightning-type Soul Tool or had perished together with an unknown powerhouse, before quietly leaving.
Similar situations occurred two or three more times afterward. Relying on his perception and explosive power that exceeded his level, Yu Yuanchen was always able to solve these unexpectedly appearing "hard bones" in dangerous situations, and he did so cleanly, leaving no evidence behind. The outside world only knew that the genius descendant of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family was highly efficient in executing missions with an astonishing success rate, but no one knew that several Soul Emperor-level enemies had already perished at his hands without a sound.
Through these real-life trials, Yu Yuanchen's combat experience accumulated rapidly, and his control over his own power became increasingly refined. Like a piece of raw jade, under the carving of family heritage and the tempering of blood and fire, he gradually shed his immaturity and revealed an internalized, brilliant luster.
He knew that the current calm and the secret hunts were just the final brewing before the storm. The friction between the two major camps was slowly intensifying and would eventually reach a critical point. And he had to become strong enough before that day arrived—strong enough to face any challenge, protect his family, and in the inevitable thunderous storm, let out his own, most dazzling and eye-catching thunderclap!
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Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: GodKun-Chan