Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, Council Hall.
"CRACK!"
Yu Yuanzhen abruptly stood up from his seat, his eyes widening in rage. The armrest of his chair had been crushed to powder in his grip.
"Tianheng, are you sure you're not mistaken?"
Yu Yuanzhen stared intently at Yu Tianheng, who stood below. His tone was tinged with doubt, but even more so with a refusal to accept the reality.
Although Yu Xiaogang had utterly disappointed him in the past, he was still his son.
In his heart, Yu Yuanzhen had always hoped that as long as Yu Xiaogang was willing to return to the clan and spend his later years quietly, he would be content to shelter him.
Yet Yu Xiaogang had repeatedly committed such unforgivable acts. Now, he was rumored to be engaging in a sordid affair with his own disciple, a despicable act that, in the eyes of the clan, was even more shameful than his incestuous attempt to marry his cousin years ago.
"Grandpa, at first I couldn't believe it either... that Uncle would do such a thing."
Yu Tianheng paused, a hint of shame flashing in his eyes, before continuing, "But my teammates witnessed the events with their own eyes, so there's no mistake."
Yu Yuanzhen looked as if he had been struck by lightning. It was as if his vitality had been drained away, instantly aging him considerably. He sank back into his seat, utterly dejected.
At this moment, Yu Luomian, sitting beside him, coldly said, "Hmph. I should have crippled him back then to avoid bringing further shame to the family."
"Sigh..."
Yu Yuanzhen sighed deeply, his eyes filled with profound disappointment.
Now, he could only try to manage the fallout; he absolutely couldn't let this scandal spread further. Otherwise, where would he put his old face?
He looked at Yu Tianheng and asked, "Tianheng, how many people know about this?"
"I'm not entirely sure. I only know that Teacher Lin Mu, Teacher Xue, and all my teammates are aware of it. Besides them, only the people from Shrek Academy should know," Yu Tianheng said helplessly.
Because of this incident, he felt incredibly awkward during training. After all, Yu Xiaogang was his uncle, an undeniable fact that now brought him shame.
Hearing that so many people knew, even Yu Luomian's expression turned solemn.
He wasn't concerned for Yu Xiaogang's sake, but he simply didn't want this matter to negatively impact the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
Currently, the clan was facing a generational gap in power. If it suffered further reputational damage, it might lose its position among the Upper Three Sects.
Although Yu Tianheng's cultivation had recently improved considerably, one genius couldn't change the immediate political situation.
After a moment, Yu Luomian coldly said, "He's clearly a piece of trash himself, yet he still tries to mislead others, fantasizing about soaring to the heavens without even considering his own abilities."
"His innate soul power is only half a level, yet he thinks the family has wronged him!"
"Brother, if this matter becomes public, how will outsiders view our Yu family?"
"Where will the prestige of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan remain?"
Hearing these words, Yu Yuanzhen's heart grew heavier. If he had known Yu Xiaogang would make these mistakes, he should have kept him confined to the clan grounds in the first place.
"Tianheng, when you return to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, make sure your teachers and teammates keep this a secret."
"Grandpa, I've already asked them."
"That's good."
Yu Yuanzhen breathed a slight sigh of relief, then turned to Yu Luomian beside him and instructed, "Second Brother, go to Shrek Academy. First, ensure they keep this a secret. Second, bring this rebellious son back to me. If he dares to disobey... cripple him!"
"Don't worry, Elder Brother. I will definitely bring him back and hand him over to you!"
Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Back Mountain
"Scarlet Demon Hellfire Kick!"
Accompanied by a muffled shout, Lin Mu leaped into the air. His right leg bone condensed dark red hellfire, and he immediately launched three consecutive, devastating kicks at the Bone Douluo below.
Seeing this, the Bone Douluo dared not be careless. He immediately activated his strongest defense.
"Ninth Soul Skill: Bone Dragon Transformation!"
A massive, jet-black bone dragon materialized, carrying an extremely terrifying aura, and charged directly into the air to intercept Lin Mu.
This move was undoubtedly the Bone Douluo's strongest attack and defense combined.
However, Lin Mu's first kick pierced right through the energy of the bone dragon, ignoring its defense and heading straight for the Bone Douluo's main body.
The Bone Douluo's expression changed drastically; this skill ignored energy defenses! It completely exceeded his expectations.
Without time to think, the Bone Douluo decisively used his Martial Soul Avatar to forcibly withstand the physical impact. Even so, he was knocked back more than ten meters and suffered considerable internal shock.
But this wasn't the end; Lin Mu's skill had three stages of attack.
The first attack was a penetrating strike, ignoring energy defenses to hit the main body.
The second attack was an area-of-effect explosion. It struck the Bone Dragon directly, instantly triggering a massive detonation and attaching unquenchable flames to it, causing a continuous burning effect.
BOOM!!
With a deafening roar, the Bone Dragon was mostly incinerated, leaving only a fragmented skeletal frame that hurtled back toward Lin Mu.
However, its speed had decreased significantly, allowing Lin Mu to easily dodge it.
As for the third attack, a mental strike, Lin Mu didn't aim at the Bone Douluo. Instead, he released it into the void. This attack carried a mental destruction element that could cause irreparable damage, and he didn't intend to kill Gu Rong.
Ultimately, it was just a test of his soul skill.
Not far away, the Sword Douluo and Ning Fengzhi were watching the battle in shock. They hadn't expected Lin Mu to completely suppress the Bone Douluo like this.
"Truly worthy of a 200,000-year soul bone skill. Its power is terrifying. A single attack sequence can dismantle Old Bone's Ninth Soul Skill," the Sword Douluo exclaimed, his eyes filled with envy.
Although he revered the path of the sword and disliked relying on external powers, the reality was undeniable. No one would refuse a soul bone skill comparable to a Ninth Soul Skill.
"Uncle Sword, if you were to fight Lin Mu now, what are your chances of winning?" Ning Fengzhi asked tentatively.
Upon hearing this, the Sword Douluo remained silent for a long while before slowly uttering a single word:
"Zero."
"What? How is this possible?!"
Ning Fengzhi was filled with disbelief. 'Could it be that Lin Mu, having only just broken through to Spirit Douluo, already possesses strength exceeding Level 97?'
This was simply outrageous!
The Sword Douluo's eyes blazed as he observed the battle, explaining, "Before, Lin Mu's speed was astonishing, but his attack power was slightly lacking compared to a Veteran Titled Douluo. I could still manage to handle him somewhat. But now, having absorbed a soul ring and soul bone over two hundred thousand years old... unless Old Bone and I join forces, it will be impossible to withstand his attacks."
As a standard Attack System Titled Douluo, the Sword Douluo only possessed slight defensive capability with his soul skills.
Faced with such overwhelming attacks, his defense was clearly insufficient, forcing him to rely on offense as defense. However, Lin Mu's speed was almost instantaneous, making him impossible to hit while he could attack at will.
After some time, Lin Mu finally finished testing his skills.
In his Nava Flame Armor state, all four of his main skills were offensive, and their raw power surpassed even his Titan Skybreaker.
He noted the differences: If he used the Thundercliff Armor, his skills would be balanced between offense and defense. But judging from the attributes of the Scarlet King, the new ring and bone skills were best suited to the Nava Flame Armor, making its power significantly stronger than the Hurricane or Thundercliff forms for pure damage.
After the sparring session, the Bone Douluo completely realized the gap between himself and Lin Mu. He had been suppressed from beginning to end. Even sparring with the Sword Douluo hadn't left him in such a sorry state.
In reality, Lin Mu had already held back significantly. Yet, the Bone Douluo had taken several powerful hits, and even with his renowned defense, he was rattling.
The Bone Douluo was filled with resentment; if he weren't injured, he would definitely have challenged the old sword geezer to a duel to vent his frustration!
Next, Lin Mu refused Ning Fengzhi's offer to stay for a banquet. He left behind two bottles of cultivation-aiding pills as a gesture of goodwill and then departed gracefully.