Yù Xiǎogāng was growing in the womb, ruthlessly draining the life essence of his mother. As he grew bigger, Wang Bilián's health deteriorated. Why was this happening?
Powerful soul masters inherit top-tier martial souls, and the formation of the fetus and its martial soul inside the womb is extremely taxing on the mother's life essence. Where does this essence come from? From the mother's body. Therefore, the stronger the child's potential, the greater the drain on the mother's essence — making the mother's well-being vitally important.
For Wang Bilián, carrying a soul master with the Blue Electric Tyrannosaurus martial soul was not difficult. But she was carrying Yù Xiǎogāng.
Don't be fooled by how useless Yù Xiǎogāng seems in the original story; that was before he awakened. His martial soul, "Luo San Pao," if it had evolved properly, would have become the Golden Holy Dragon — a super martial soul, second only to the Six-Winged Angel in the first era of Douluo Continent. This explains why historically, Yù Xiǎogāng's mother died when he was very young.
We can understand it like this: to give birth to Yù Xiǎogāng, she exhausted life essence required for an SSR-grade martial soul, yet Yù Xiǎogāng only awakened an N-grade martial soul after age six.
When Wang Bilián was six months pregnant, Yun Niáng, heavily pregnant herself, came to see Yù Yuánzhèn.
Unlike the feudal society of Huo Yuhào's past life, where bearing offspring was easier, in the sects of Douluo Continent, strong fighters rarely give birth to children, so every heir is highly valued. "Mother's status depends on the child." No matter how poor Yun Niáng's talent was, her child was Yù Yuánzhèn's seed, destined to awaken the Blue Electric Tyrannosaurus martial soul. Having another sect disciple born brought joy to the entire Blue Electric Tyrannosaurus Sect. Yù Yuánzhèn even took Yun Niáng as a concubine. The only one who was very unhappy was Wang Bilián.
On the night Yù Yuánzhèn took Yun Niáng as concubine, Wang Bilián tore her handkerchief fiercely and said venomously, "Damn slut! As soon as I got pregnant, you were already climbing into his bed! Just wait — when that child is born, I'll make you pay."
One year in Douluo Continent equals one day in the divine realm. Under Huo Yuhào's watchful eyes, the day Yù Xiǎogāng and his younger brother were about to be born soon arrived.
First to be born was Yù Xiǎogāng. On that day, dark clouds gathered, thunder rolled as if divine punishment was descending, bringing calamity. Locust plagues ravaged the southern Tian Dou Empire; the northern Xing Luo Empire suffered a century's worst flood; famine spread in the Barak Kingdom…
With a cry, Yù Xiǎogāng came into the world. Yù Yuánzhèn happily held his son, exclaiming, "This is my son! I have a son now!"
"Darling, what should we name him?" Wang Bilián said weakly but happily.
"Let's call him Yù Xiǎogāng. I hope he grows to be strong, resolute, and tough — a man with unyielding will, brave and fearless in the face of adversity, a true man among men."
Wang Bilián nodded, stroking Yù Xiǎogāng's wrinkled little face, saying, "Our child is destined to be famous throughout the world."
She knew very well that bearing this child had already drained much of her life essence. She would not live long, but the more so, the more it sealed Yù Xiǎogāng's extraordinary destiny.
Then, her thoughts turned to that woman, and a flash of coldness passed in her eyes. Better to have a mother wielding a stick than an official father. Her body wouldn't hold out for many years. If she died, what if that mother and son tormented her child? No — even if it kills me, I'll drag that slut down to hell with me. She made a silent vow.
One month after Yù Xiǎogāng's birth, Yù Yuánzhèn's second son also came into the world. Holding this frail child, Yù Yuánzhèn paid little attention. After all, his own talent was strong, but Yun Niáng, who gave birth to this child, wasn't even a soul master. Even if the child awakened the Blue Electric Tyrannosaurus martial soul in the future, his innate spirit power wouldn't be high. He casually said, "Let's call him Yù Xiǎomén. We'll raise him for now and see how his talent develops by age six."
In the divine realm, Huo Yuhào watched this newborn child. Although not yet old enough to awaken his martial soul, Huo Yuhào used the power of fate to predict the child's future martial soul and innate spirit power — Blue Electric Tyrannosaurus martial soul with level five innate spirit power: neither high nor low. Although Huo Yuhào's own innate spirit power was only level one due to external factors, even with normal growth, his Spirit Eye martial soul wouldn't exceed level six. The mother's body has a crucial influence on a child's talent.
Level five spirit power was decent but didn't make for an interesting comparison. And innate spirit power didn't matter much to the already godlike Huo Yuhào. He only needed Yù Xiǎogāng to have a younger brother — talent was irrelevant. Snapping his fingers, he cast a blessing. This blessing descended from the divine realm to the Blue Electric Tyrannosaurus Sect and landed on Yù Xiǎomén. It would continuously improve his meridians and raise his innate spirit power.
After Yù Xiǎogāng and Yù Xiǎomén were born, as the sect's direct descendants, Yù Xiǎogāng received much attention. His parents and sect elders watched him closely. Yù Xiǎomén, however, was almost invisible to most — even Yù Yuánzhèn cared for him only ordinarily.
Yun Niáng's situation was worse. After giving birth, Wang Bilián immediately assigned her heavy housework. Secretly, Wang Bilián arranged for servants to bully Yun Niáng and her son and cut their food rations. To keep her child healthy, Yun Niáng often gave her food to Yù Xiǎomén, starving herself while bearing heavy chores.
Yù Yuánzhèn saw all this but didn't care. Yun Niáng and Yù Xiǎomén were only a tool to him. After giving birth, she lost all meaning. Whatever Wang Bilián did to her was irrelevant.
Yù Xiǎogāng grew up influenced by his mother's hatred for Yun Niáng and her son, bullying Yù Xiǎomén for fun. Thus, Yù Xiǎomén grew up in a cold environment, used to his father's neglect, his stepmother's hostility, and his brother's persecution. He watched his mother shield him from countless abuses.
Finally, when Yù Xiǎogāng and Yù Xiǎomén were five, Yun Niáng collapsed from overwork. Watching Yun Niáng's final breath, Yù Xiǎogāng and Wang Bilián were both pleased. But happiness turned tragic when Wang Bilián suddenly "passed away" too.
The loss of his mother made Yù Xiǎogāng's hatred of Yù Xiǎomén even deeper. He blamed Yun Niáng and her son entirely for the tragedy, as if they were the root cause. So his bullying of Yù Xiǎomén grew more rampant, tormenting his younger brother with no mercy.
Having been bullied all his life, Yù Xiǎomén gradually became silent and withdrawn. He buried his anger and resentment deep within, hiding his violent temper behind a calm gaze. In front of his brother, he always maintained extreme obedience, like a tamed lamb, never daring to resist.