Yu Xiaogang stared. It was the person he hated most—Yu Xiaomen.
"You?! Yu Xiaomen!" he growled through bloodshot eyes. "Why are you here? Give that fruit back!"
"Why?" Yu Xiaomen said mockingly. "I was nearby when I heard some pig grunting. Turns out it was you."
"As for the Golden Dragon Fruit, it's a great item. Can't let a pig like you waste it. It belongs with me."
"No! That's mine! Give it back!" Yu Xiaogang shouted, trembling in rage. "Luo Sanpao!"
He summoned Luo Sanpao and yelled, "First Soul Skill: Thunderous Fart, Earth-shaking Luo Sanpao!"
Luo Sanpao aimed at Yu Xiaomen—but he reacted faster, grabbing the beast and turning its rear toward Yu Xiaogang.
Pfffft! A deafening fart sent Yu Xiaogang flying.
Without hesitation, Yu Xiaomen swallowed the fruit as Yu Xiaogang watched in horror.
"No! That's my Golden Dragon Fruit! My Golden Holy Dragon!" he howled in despair amid the thick fart smoke.
"I can feel it… the power surging through me!" Yu Xiaomen cried excitedly. His martial soul, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, appeared and began to transform. Golden light shimmered from within the thunder dragon.
"My martial soul is the Golden Holy Dragon! Golden Holy Dragon!" he shouted with passion.
"Hahahahaha—"
"Ahhhhhhh—"
In the forest, two intense outbursts of emotion echoed. One was a crazed laugh from Yu Xiaomen, overflowing with excitement. The other was an agonized, nearly inhuman shriek—Yu Xiaogang, screaming like a raging baboon.
From a bird's-eye view above the forest, a swath of trees was bathed in blue light. A massive dragon basked in lightning; the blue lightning reached its peak and began transforming into golden light.
The giant dragon began its metamorphosis. Its scales, claws, and tail slowly shifted from blue to brilliant gold.
The lightning attribute started to convert into light (P.S.: Since it's hard to tell the difference between the Golden Holy Dragon and the Light Holy Dragon, in this work, they're the same entity).
A tremendous soul power storm enveloped Yu Xiaomen. Above him, the dragon fully transformed from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon into the powerful Golden Holy Dragon.
"No… no… ahhhh! That should've been mine! That Golden Holy Dragon should belong to me!" Yu Xiaogang cried out in despair, trying to approach but completely unable to get near due to the raging storm of soul power around Yu Xiaomen.
"Hahahaha—Golden Holy Dragon! My Golden Holy Dragon!" Yu Xiaomen stretched out his arms in the center of the storm, laughing joyfully as he felt his martial soul evolve.
Roar—!
At last, the Golden Holy Dragon completed its transformation. The golden dragon was over fifty meters long, its radiant light outshining everything for miles.
It let out a contented roar, and the overwhelming dragon might exploded outward.
As a top-tier beast martial soul, its pressure suppressed other beast martial souls. Yu Xiaogang and his martial soul Luo Sanpao trembled under its force.
Yu Xiaogang felt humiliated and enraged. In the past, even if his martial soul was trash, he had never felt such oppression from another beast martial soul. But now, facing the Golden Holy Dragon, he could feel it—clearly.
And yet, this was the martial soul that should have belonged to him.
He stared in stunned sorrow at the dominating, tyrannical form of the dragon. His chest ached. The Golden Holy Dragon—the lifelong goal of Yu Xiaogang—was now someone else's.
"I can feel it! Power far beyond that of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul!" Yu Xiaomen laughed madly, intoxicated by the strength.
Suddenly, he approached Yu Xiaogang, proudly declaring, "So, my foolish brother, look at that perfect, unyielding body! Feel that unmatched dragon might and boundless golden soul power! This is the ultimate dragon in history—the Golden Holy Dragon! Ahahahahahaha!"
"ROAR—"
The Golden Holy Dragon also roared, as if with sentience, right in Yu Xiaogang's face.
"Ahhhh!"
Faced with the overwhelming dragon might and his trembling Luo Sanpao, Yu Xiaogang once again broke down in an anguished, baboon-like scream.
"Let me show you the strength of the Golden Holy Dragon."
Surrounded by yellow, purple, and black spirit rings—five in total—Yu Xiaomen sneered, "Yu Xiaogang, I must thank you. You worked so hard to bring me that precious Golden Dragon-Nurturing Fruit. Not only did it evolve my martial soul, it boosted my spirit power directly to Level 60. With one more ring, I'll be a Soul Emperor. And I'm a man who returns favors. So in return, I'll let you enjoy the sight of the Golden Holy Dragon's beauty and power. At least you'll have something to fantasize about when you dream, eh? Hahaha!"
As he spoke, his first spirit ring lit up.
"First Soul Skill: Holy Dragon's Breath!"
The dragon's spectral mouth opened, gathering golden energy. It then unleashed a beam of sacred light, which shot past Yu Xiaogang and exploded into the forest behind him.
Boom!
A massive crater formed in the blast zone.
"So strong! Even stronger than the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon's first skill!" Yu Xiaomen shouted excitedly.
He then dragonized his arm into a golden claw, as his second ring lit up.
"Second Soul Skill: Dragon Claw Rend!"
He slashed the forest with his claws, sending sharp energy blades through the air, tearing through trees, boulders, and hills with ease.
"Third Soul Skill: Dragon Might Intimidation!"
The dragon behind him roared deeply, unleashing a powerful pressure. Yu Xiaogang and Luo Sanpao were forced to the ground in terror—wetting themselves.
"Fourth Soul Skill: Dragon Scale Armor!"
Golden light flashed around Yu Xiaomen as layers of gleaming dragon scales covered his body, forming a solid defense.
"Fifth Soul Skill: Dragon Wing Tempest!"
Huge golden wings spread behind him. As he ascended, he flapped rapidly, generating a powerful storm mixed with golden energy blades—a skill with both control and destruction.
"Ahhh!"
Now half-dragon, Yu Xiaomen surveyed the destruction his skills had caused—everything ravaged, except for the patch of ground where Yu Xiaogang and Luo Sanpao lay cowering.
He finally landed before Yu Xiaogang, arms crossed. The golden dragon's spectral image floated behind him.
Yu Xiaogang finally looked up. His cheeks were soaked with tears, his eyes bloodshot.
"Yu Xiaogang, did you see it? This is the dragon that's stronger, more tyrannical, and more invincible than the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon—the Golden Holy Dragon!"
Drunk with power, Yu Xiaomen raised a dragonized fist and roared,
"Unyielding! Invincible! The Strongest! Shatter! Perish! Thunderous! Ahahahahahaha—!"
He then looked down at Yu Xiaogang with scorn.
"Hmph. My foolish giegie (big brother), we may carry blood grudges between us, but looking at your pitiful state, I don't want to kill you. You've reached your limit. With no more fateful opportunities, you're doomed to be stuck at Level 29 for life. Meanwhile, I, Yu Xiaomen, will keep rising—until I stand at the very summit of the continent. And you? You'll be looking up at my back… until it disappears. Hahahahaha—!"
With that, Yu Xiaomen turned and left. His martial soul still active, the majestic Golden Holy Dragon followed without glancing back at Yu Xiaogang.
Yu Xiaogang stared at the departing figure, eyes filled with hatred toward Yu Xiaomen and desperate longing for the Golden Holy Dragon.
"No… don't go… don't leave me, Golden Holy Dragon!"
He reached out, trying to grab it—only to watch the dragon fade into the distance… and vanish into a golden light.
Clearly, Yu Xiaomen had deactivated his martial soul.
Yu Xiaogang sat lifelessly in the ruins left behind by the Golden Holy Dragon. His body was shrouded in an emotion called despair.
He thought about how he had left his sect, even gone so far as to seduce the saintess Bibi Dong. He had endured humiliation, crawling before Qian Xunji, and risked his life to retrieve the Golden Dragon Fruit from the Spirit Hall—all of which had ended up benefiting the very person he hated most in his life, Yu Xiaomen.
While he was still stuck with the Luo Sanpao martial soul, Yu Xiaomen had snatched his opportunity and evolved his martial soul into the Golden Holy Dragon. Not only had the gap between them failed to close, it had grown even wider. Thinking of this filled Yu Xiaogang with utter hopelessness.
That ugly but cute Luo Sanpao suddenly came up to him, rubbing against him affectionately.
Looking at the plump purple pig, and then thinking about the majestic and imposing Golden Holy Dragon behind Yu Xiaomen, fury surged in Yu Xiaogang's heart. Overwhelmed by rage and resentment, he grabbed a nearby spiked stick and, in a flash, began to mercilessly beat Luo Sanpao.
"Rorororo—" Luo Sanpao cried out in pain.
Yu Xiaogang roared with venomous hatred, "Luo Sanpao, it's all your fault! You dragged me down! You took the Golden Holy Dragon martial soul that should've been mine! All the humiliation I've suffered until now—it all started with you! Give me back my Golden Holy Dragon! Give it back!"
Despite the pain caused by his martial soul's backlash, he continued beating Luo Sanpao ferociously.
In the end, Luo Sanpao was left with torn flesh, and Yu Xiaogang only stopped when he could no longer bear the pain himself. Dropping the stick, he fell to his knees, stretched his arms toward the night sky, and began the infamous "Little Gang Howls at the Sky" scene—
"Heavens, look at me! Why have you subjected me to such injustice? I know you're watching! I ask you, what exactly did I, Yu Xiaogang, do wrong? Tell me—!"
God Realm – Eternal Divine Hall
The divine projection displayed scenes from the Douluo Continent like a television drama.
On screen, Yu Xiaogang was kneeling, hands raised toward the sky, questioning the heavens. Off-screen, Huo Yuhao casually tossed a Golden Dragon Fruit in his hand. Eventually, with no interest, he threw it into a nearby fruit basket.
That basket was filled with Golden Dragon Fruits. Beside it, Xie Di, Xiao Bai, and Tianmeng were enjoying the very immortal delicacies Yu Xiaogang so desperately longed for.
"This Golden Dragon Fruit? Hao-ge brought it out just to tease you, to let you smell it—not to let you eat it. You're just a delivery boy for divine treasures," Tianmeng answered on Huo Yuhao's behalf.
"Hahahahaha!" Xie Di and Xiao Bai burst into mocking laughter.
Watching Yu Xiaogang's clownish tragedy, the Divine Hall was filled with joyous laughter.