Chapter 3: Xiaogang's Younger Brother
Within the womb, Yu Xiaogang grew rapidly, greedily draining his mother's life essence. As he developed, Wang Bilian's condition deteriorated drastically. Why was this so?
Powerful soul masters inherit top-tier martial souls, and during pregnancy, both the nurturing of the fetus and the formation of its martial soul consume vast amounts of life force. Where does this essence come from? From the mother's body. Thus, the greater the talent of the child, the more life essence the mother must sacrifice.
For Wang Bilian, bearing a child with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul was not especially difficult. However, what grew within her was Yu Xiaogang himself.
Though the Yu Xiaogang recorded in history seemed useless, that was only because his martial soul had not properly awakened. If Luo Sanpao had successfully evolved, it would have become the Golden Holy Dragon—a supreme martial soul second only to the Six-Winged Angel in the first era of the Douluo Continent. This was why history recorded that Yu Xiaogang's mother had died when he was still very young.
In other words, to give birth to Yu Xiaogang, Wang Bilian had to expend enough life essence to bear an SSR-level martial soul—only for her son to awaken an N-level one.
When Wang Bilian was six months pregnant, Yun Niang, visibly expecting, approached Yu Yuanzhen.
Unlike the feudal customs of Huo Yuhao's past life, the sect system of the Douluo Continent valued all offspring greatly, as powerful cultivators often found it difficult to have children. To bear a child was to gain status: "a mother's worth rises with her son." Though Yun Niang lacked talent, the fact that she carried Yu Yuanzhen's bloodline ensured her child would possess the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul. The entire sect celebrated the coming of another heir, and Yu Yuanzhen formally took Yun Niang as a concubine.
Only one person was consumed by bitterness—Wang Bilian.
That night, while Yu Yuanzhen took his new concubine, Wang Bilian violently tore her handkerchief apart, cursing through clenched teeth, "You wretched slut. I barely conceived before you climbed his bed. Just wait—when your bastard is born, I'll make you wish you were dead."
One year on the Douluo Continent equaled a single day in the Divine Realm. Within Huo Yuhao's divine gaze, the day of Xiaogang's birth quickly arrived.
Yu Xiaogang was born first. That day, thunderclouds churned across the heavens, lightning flashed like divine judgment, and calamities spread throughout the continent. In the south of the Heaven Dou Empire, locusts swarmed. In the north of the Star Luo Empire, floods unseen in a century ravaged the land. Famine swept across the Balak Kingdom…
At the heart of this chaos came the cry of a newborn: Yu Xiaogang had entered the world. Yu Yuanzhen, overwhelmed with joy, lifted his son in his arms and exclaimed, "My son—my own son!"
"My dear," Wang Bilian said weakly yet happily, "what shall we name him?"
"Let's call him Yu Xiaogang," Yu Yuanzhen said tenderly. "May he grow to be firm, upright, and unyielding. May he have the strength to face hardship without fear—a true man of courage and iron will."
Wang Bilian smiled faintly and caressed her son's wrinkled face. "Our child is destined to be renowned across the world," she whispered.
She knew all too well that giving birth to him had consumed her remaining life force. Her time was short—but that only affirmed Xiaogang's fate as extraordinary.
Then, another thought took shape—a dark one. Her eyes grew cold. Better a fierce mother than a powerless husband, she thought. Her body was failing, and once she was gone, what if that servant woman and her bastard tormented her son? No—she would not allow it. Even if she had to drag that vile woman to hell with her, she would. Her resolve hardened.
One month later, Yu Yuanzhen's second son was born. Holding the frail infant, Yu Yuanzhen showed little interest. Though he possessed great power, the mother—Yun Niang—was no soul master at all. Even if the child awakened the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, his innate soul power would be low. Yu Yuanzhen simply said, "Call him Yu Xiaomen. Let's raise him and see what his talent's like at six."
From the Divine Realm, Huo Yuhao observed the newborn quietly. Though the child couldn't yet awaken his martial soul, Huo Yuhao used the power of Fate to calculate his future—a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul, with an innate soul power of rank five. Not high, not low.
Rank five wasn't particularly impressive, but Huo Yuhao didn't care. He had awakened with only rank one due to external interference; even naturally, his Spirit Eyes would not have exceeded rank six. Besides, compared to mortals, soul power meant nothing to a god. All he needed was for Yu Xiaogang to have a younger brother—his talent was irrelevant.
Huo Yuhao flicked his fingers, sending down a divine blessing. The sacred light fell upon Yu Xiaomen, subtly altering his meridians and amplifying his latent soul power.
After their births, as direct descendants of the main family, Yu Xiaogang was naturally showered with attention—from his father, mother, and the sect elders alike. Yu Xiaomen, however, was treated as if invisible. Even Yu Yuanzhen showed only a faint, obligatory concern.
Yun Niang's own fate was far worse. After giving birth, Wang Bilian assigned her harsh labor and secretly ordered servants to bully her and her son. They were starved, beaten, humiliated. To keep her son alive, Yun Niang often gave him her share of food, enduring hunger and fatigue in silence.
Yu Yuanzhen noticed these cruel treatments but ignored them. To him, Yun Niang was expendable; her worth died with childbirth. As for Yu Xiaomen—only his bloodline was of interest. What Wang Bilian did to them was beneath his concern.
Under his mother's influence, Yu Xiaogang grew arrogant and scornful, taking pleasure in bullying his younger brother. Yu Xiaomen's childhood was marked by coldness—his father's indifference, his stepmother's hatred, and his brother's cruelty. Time after time, his mother shielded him from abuse with her own body.
At last, when both brothers turned five, Yun Niang's body gave out from overwork. As she breathed her last, Yu Xiaogang and Wang Bilian looked on with twisted satisfaction. Yet, in a grim twist of fate, Wang Bilian soon followed, laughing even as death claimed her.
Her death only deepened Yu Xiaogang's hatred for Yu Xiaomen. He blamed his brother for everything—his mother's death, the family's sorrow—and lashed out with relentless cruelty.
Yu Xiaomen, having endured years of torment, became silent and withdrawn. His fury and resentment hardened deep within, hidden behind calm eyes. Before his brother, he behaved meekly, obediently—like a lamb that had been broken, with no will left to resist.
(END CHAPTER)
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