Chapter 66: The Transformation of Luo Sanpao
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"Well… let me take a look."
Gu La used his Appraisal Eye to examine Yu Xiaogang.
Yu Xiaogang had grown up in the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect, where he'd enjoyed half of the sect's medicinal baths for over a decade before reaching level twenty-nine. His foundation was solid from years of careful nurturing.
Though he had neglected his training in recent years and fallen behind significantly, the last few months of cramming had helped him regain some physical strength. Upon closer inspection, his body appeared much sturdier than before.
Thus, Gu La said, "He can handle it. Master Yu has a strong foundation—clearly built through years of cultivation. Though the dragon-blood soul ring is domineering, the pain will be manageable compared to the rewards of evolving his martial soul. It's worth it."
"Master, do you think you can endure it?"
"No problem!"
Yu Xiaogang bolstered his confidence. He was done with being a loser all his life. A little pain? He could grit his teeth and bear it.
This was his chance to defy fate!
He didn't even consider that his miserable life wasn't just due to his martial soul but also his personality.
Alas, people are often blind to their own flaws.
"Boss Flender, don't worry. I have dragon lineage in my blood—I must awaken it. I refuse to remain a useless person any longer."
Yu Xiaogang stopped Flender, who was still uneasy, and took out a polished dagger. Without hesitation, he plunged it into the Golden Feather Dragon Eagle's eye socket.
The eagle woke in agony, thrashing violently. Its piercing cries echoed as if it were trying to break free from the thumb-thick iron chains binding it.
Yu Xiaogang didn't waste time. With a twist of the blade, he ended the eagle's life. Only after seeing the purple soul ring form did he finally release his grip.
He exhaled deeply. After so many years, killing a spirit beast again made his hands tremble slightly.
But for the sake of appearances, Yu Xiaogang endured the discomfort, set down the dagger, and sat cross-legged on the ground. Summoning his martial soul, Luo Sanpao appeared.
Luo Sanpao was an exceptionally rare detached martial soul with rudimentary intelligence. To those unfamiliar with its true nature, it looked like nothing more than a pig.
Gu La observed carefully. After a year of feeding on dragon blood, Luo Sanpao looked far livelier than when they first met.
It was baffling why Yu Xiaogang fed it white radishes. Even if it was a failed mutation, as the son of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect's master, surely it couldn't truly be a pig martial soul?
Even now, after consuming dragon blood, Luo Sanpao's body remained fat and bloated. However, faint traces of white scales had begun to appear on its black skin—a sign of dragon lineage.
Though these traces were subtle, one would only notice them if they already knew what to look for. Still, they proved that Luo Sanpao was indeed a dragon martial soul.
Everyone present had experience fusing soul rings, so they patiently stood by and waited.
Yu Xiaogang guided the soul ring onto Luo Sanpao. The pressure from the soul ring forced him to groan, while Luo Sanpao collapsed on the ground, grunting in pain.
If he wanted to play it safe, Yu Xiaogang should have fused with a hundred-year soul ring. But after living a lifetime of weakness, he refused to fall behind others. He insisted on using a thousand-year soul ring. Unable to dissuade him, Flender reluctantly gave in.
The soul ring slowly merged into Luo Sanpao's body. Yu Xiaogang's brow furrowed tightly as he endured immense pain, suppressing a growl in his throat. He resembled a fierce yet restrained dog ready to lash out.
"Xiaogang, hold on! If anything happens to you, I won't be able to face our third sister."
Flender silently prayed, cheering Yu Xiaogang on.
An hour later, Yu Xiaogang emerged drenched in sweat, as though pulled from water. Despite his exhaustion, he had successfully fused the soul ring.
With weary eyes, he looked at his martial soul.
Luo Sanpao had slimmed down slightly, its pig-like patterns fading. The scale marks were now more prominent, and most importantly, two small bumps had appeared on its forehead—resembling flower buds about to bloom.
"Xiaogang, your martial soul really changed! Those are going to be dragon horns!"
Flender was thrilled for Yu Xiaogang, nearly tearing up.
"Teacher, congratulations."
Tang San marveled at the newly transformed Luo Sanpao. So this was evolution? The changes weren't drastic—was it incomplete?
He guessed correctly.
Yu Xiaogang smiled but expressed some regret. "They are indeed dragon horns. Unfortunately, the Golden Feather Dragon Eagle's dragon lineage was too diluted, so the transformation isn't complete. It's not yet a sub-dragon martial soul—it should now be called Luo Wupao. Still, at least it can reach the four-ring Soul Ancestor stage."
Though disappointed that his martial soul hadn't fully evolved, Yu Xiaogang wasn't disheartened. In just over a year, Luo Sanpao had undergone one transformation. He believed that with continued effort, his martial soul would evolve further.
Gu La joined in the congratulations, inspecting Luo Sanpao. "Luo Sanpao's dragon lineage is almost ready to awaken. The next time it fuses with a soul ring, it should exhibit dragon characteristics, becoming a true dragon martial soul."
Yu Xiaogang smiled faintly. "I understand. I believe that with my perseverance, Luo Sanpao will eventually transform into a powerful martial soul."
Indeed, there were no useless martial souls—only useless soul masters.
The words he had always used to comfort himself seemed to become reality. Yu Xiaogang felt triumphant, almost floating on air.
Gu La chuckled softly. What he didn't say was that to fully awaken the Golden Holy Dragon lineage, Yu Xiaogang would either need to consume a Nine Treasure Purple Zoysia Immortal Herb and awaken his bloodline upon reaching the Soul King stage, as in the original storyline…
Or fuse with a top-tier sub-dragon spirit beast's soul ring. But on this Douluo Continent, sub-dragons were rare, and finding a top-tier one wouldn't be easy.
"By the way, Master, what's your third soul skill?"
Only someone as tactless as Xiao Wu would ask such a question at this moment.
Flender's expression darkened. Soul skills were a soul master's private matter and shouldn't be casually revealed. Moreover, he had refrained from asking out of respect for Yu Xiaogang's pride. Who would've expected an impulsive girl like Xiao Wu to blurt it out?
"Xiao Wu, soul skills are a soul master's personal privacy."
Flender adopted the tone of a principal, scolding Xiao Wu.
Xiao Wu pouted. "Fine, don't tell us. Like we care. We've told you all our soul skills anyway."
Flender hesitated. That wasn't the same! As an elder, he naturally needed to know the future students' information.
Yu Xiaogang forced a smile and waved it off. "It's no big deal. Since Luo Sanpao hasn't evolved, its attack method is still farting. It's called 'Farting Like Lighting a Lamp, Glorious Gold Luo Sanpao.'"
"The effect is to release a cloud of smoke that blinds everyone within range and deals burning damage to dark-attribute enemies."
Yu Xiaogang kept his expression neutral, though he was inwardly embarrassed. He believed this was temporary. Instead of dwelling on it, he chose to be optimistic. When Luo Sanpao evolved, its soul skill would change, and everything would be different then.
Xiao Wu, having been scolded by Flender, wore her dissatisfaction on her face and immediately shot back. "Isn't this still farting? I don't see how this resembles dragon lineage."
Zhu Zhuqing lowered her head, struggling to suppress her laughter.
Yu Xiaogang couldn't maintain his smile but didn't want to stoop to Xiao Wu's level. He muttered under his breath that unevolved soul skills couldn't be considered mere farting! How could a dragon's soul skill be described as such? The air was filled with lightheartedness and joy.
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