Chapter 40: You Want to Trade for My Dragon Essence, Yu Xiaogang? Do You Even Deserve It?
Despite the bickering among top-tier forces in the livestream room, Lin Yu never once considered giving up the Dragon Essence.
Even though his Chaos Green Lotus martial soul couldn't evolve with it,
The Dragon Essence's effects—strengthening the body, extending lifespan, and increasing cultivation—were too tempting to ignore.
After all, this treasure was likely even rarer than the most precious immortal herbs on the continent. How could he trade it away so easily?
[Lin Yu: @Qian Daoliu, @Xue Ye, @Dai Tianfeng—sirs, your offers are generous, and I thank you. But as I said before: I don't like putting my fate in someone else's hands. I prefer to earn what I want through my own effort. So I must decline your deals—apologies.]
Lin Yu was polite.
Although Qian Daoliu, Emperor Xue Ye, and Emperor Dai Tianfeng were all sincere in their offers,
Accepting any of them would require meeting in person and handing over the Dragon Essence to someone from Spirit Hall, the Heaven Dou Empire, or the Star Luo Empire.
And who could guarantee that once his real identity was exposed,
They wouldn't try to take advantage of his current lack of strength?
After all, Lin Yu was still just a level-10 soul master.
Even though he had the Chaos Green Lotus martial soul, the Wind and Thunder Wings soul bone, and the Everlife Technique, his escape power was decent—but his combat power was fatally lacking.
And he couldn't yet separate himself from human society.
If people from these factions discovered who he was and targeted him,
He might end up spending his entire life on the run—and Lin Yu had no desire for that outcome.
Until he had both the ability to hide his identity and the strength to defend himself,
He absolutely would not expose himself.
He had no choice.
He had already claimed three livestream rewards, with more sure to come.
He was practically a walking "treasure vault"—with no way to protect himself.
Trusting his life to others' morality? That would be stupid.
Sigh… what a pity.
Seeing Lin Yu's reply, Qian Daoliu in Spirit City, Emperor Xue Ye and Dai Tianfeng mid-argument, as well as their imperial officials, could only sigh in disappointment.
Clearly, they had no chance at the Dragon Essence anymore.
However, Lin Yu's response actually made these top-tier leaders admire and respect him even more.
Such a young man, yet already so cautious!
If he could maintain that mindset while continuing to benefit from the livestream's rewards,
He was bound to become one of Douluo Continent's future apex beings!
Most of them believed Lin Yu was being careful—which is why he refused to trade the Dragon Essence.
But not Yu Xiaogang.
To him, Lin Yu's words revealed something else—a glimmer of hope for negotiation.
Yu Xiaogang believed Lin Yu's emphasis on "earning things through effort" meant he wasn't interested in power, but in personal growth.
And if Lin Yu wasn't power-hungry, then a trade was possible.
After all, Yu Xiaogang had spent decades compiling his martial soul theory notes, soul beast encyclopedias, and cultivation guides—
Priceless knowledge to any soul master without a powerful background!
Especially for someone like Lin Yu!
And above all—Yu Xiaogang desperately needed the Dragon Essence.
If there was even the slightest chance, he wouldn't give up.
[Yu Xiaogang: @Lin Yu — Please, trade your Dragon Essence with me. I'm willing to offer all my life's knowledge: my martial soul theory notes, my soul beast compendium, and cultivation records. I'll give you everything in exchange!]
After posting his offer, Yu Xiaogang waited nervously.
But when Lin Yu saw that Yu Xiaogang dared to @ him and propose a trade using plagiarized and worthless theories...
He was stunned—then laughed in disbelief.
Seriously? This guy… shameless to the core?
Your so-called "research" is just stolen notes from Spirit Hall, plus some warmed-up motivational nonsense.
And you still have the nerve to offer them for a treasure like Dragon Essence?
Unbelievable.
Lin Yu understood what Yu Xiaogang was thinking.
Clearly, he saw the potential for his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon's degenerated martial soul—Luo Sanpao—to be restored with the Dragon Essence.
But if you come begging like this, Yu Xiaogang...
I'm not going to miss this opportunity to slap you down.
As for Yu Xiaogang's theories, Lin Yu didn't care.
Maybe the soul beast compendium had some value, but since it was stolen from Spirit Hall—
And Lin Yu planned to join Spirit Hall eventually—
Why would he need second-hand scraps from a thief?
So to this pathetic fraud of a man, Lin Yu had no reason to hold back:
[Lin Yu (coldly): Yu Xiaogang, I honestly admire you—you're ugly, but boy do you dream big.]
[The livestream already exposed you. Your soul master and soul beast theories were all stolen from Spirit Hall.]
[Tell me, who helped you "research"? A failure like you could never have gathered that data on your own.]
[What, you think you're the hero of the Star Dou Forest? You ever even been there?]
[Using stolen knowledge as trade goods… shame on you.]
[Tch! You shameless clown—keep your trash theories and get lost!]
You…!!!
At Nuoding Academy, when Yu Xiaogang saw Lin Yu's brutal response—tearing down all his self-respect in front of the entire continent—
He shook with rage.
Though he'd braced himself for this possibility, the humiliation still hit like a hammer.
Blood surged up his throat. With a "Pfft!" he vomited a mouthful of blood—
And fainted on the spot.
[Liu Erlong (furious): How dare you talk about Xiao Gang like that?! Even if his theories came from Spirit Hall, he still spent years compiling and refining them! Isn't that how all knowledge is built?]
Ugh… Liu Erlong, the eternal bootlicker.
Seeing her jump to Yu Xiaogang's defense again, Lin Yu was speechless.
[Lin Yu (mocking): I'm supposed to respect that? He stole other people's work and added his own garbage theories—like that laughable "soul ring absorption limit." Or the line "There are no useless martial souls, only soul masters who don't know how to cultivate."
Great line. So why hasn't he proved it himself?
Oh, that's right—because he IS a failure. Never mind then!]
…
Lin Yu wasn't Flender—he wasn't going to indulge Liu Erlong's nonsense.
And since she didn't know who he was, what could she possibly do to him?
So he fired right back without hesitation.
But just as he finished tearing into Liu Erlong—
A message from an unfamiliar name suddenly popped up and @mentioned him.
(END CHAPTER)
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