Xiao Gang's Ordeal

After leaving the clan, Yu Xiaogang's luck went from bad to worse.

Before leaving, he had asked his father for a Sect Token. With the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's token, he could enter Spirit Hall and the other two Upper Three Sects, meet their leaders, and have a much easier time finding a way for his Martial Soul to break through to Level 30.

But as he descended the mountain, Yu Xiaomen stopped him and made off with his Sect Token.

As the saying went, the king of hell was easy to meet, but his underlings were hard to deal with. Without the token that proved his identity, Yu Xiaogang could not even get past the guards when he tried to visit a local Spirit Hall, the Clear Sky Sect, or the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

The Pope and the Sect Leaders—how could he expect to meet any of them so easily?

With his token gone, Yu Xiaogang could have returned to the clan and asked Yu Yuanzhen for another. But he had his pride. Before leaving, he had sworn not to return until he had made something of himself.

So Xiao Gang had to find another way into Spirit Hall, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, or the Clear Sky Sect. Somehow, he would gain access to their secrets and find a way to achieve Martial Soul Evolution.

First, though, Xiao Gang ran into a problem. He met a swindler who claimed to possess a miraculous medicine that could evolve a Martial Soul. Yu Xiaogang believed him in a moment of excitement, and the swindler took every last coin he had.

Being penniless did not leave Yu Xiaogang without options. For all his shortcomings, he was still a Level 29 Soul Master. He could join a Soul Hunting Team and earn commissions helping others hunt souls. He could also become a Spirit Hall Deacon and travel to villages to help people awaken their Martial Souls.

But who was Xiao Gang? He was the son of Yu Yuanzhen, leader of an Upper Three Sects clan. His status was exalted. Help commoners awaken their Martial Souls? Teach those commoners? Hunt souls for commoner Soul Masters? He would rather die than stoop so low. Even if Yu Xiaogang starved, he would never keep company with such crude Soul Masters of humble birth. At the time, those who joined Soul Hunting Teams for commissions or became Spirit Hall Deacons were generally commoners fortunate enough to possess Martial Souls and become Soul Masters. And so the young master went hungry for three whole days.

Fortunately, a way out appeared just as hunger made his vision swim. Yu Xiaogang saw several Soul Masters emerge from the local Spirit Hall, each holding a few Gold Soul Coins they had just collected.

Only then did Yu Xiaogang remember the Spirit Master Stipend. He went into Spirit Hall and registered his Soul Master level.

He collected his Spirit Master Stipend and began living off Spirit Hall's money.

A skinny Flat-top, thin as a bamboo pole and dressed in a black scholar's robe, emerged from Spirit Hall with a pouch containing his stipend. He curled his lip in disdain. "Hmph. Spirit Hall uses the Two Great Empires' money to buy people's loyalty. What a despicable scheme. I might as well spend it."

With Spirit Hall's stipend keeping him fed, Yu Xiaogang was free to brood over his troubles again.

No matter how hard he tried to cultivate, his bottleneck remained as immovable as stone.

After all, even Yu Yuanzhen's Power Transmission had failed to get him past Level 30. How could Yu Xiaogang manage it through his own cultivation?

Without Yu Yuanzhen, it would have been a miracle for him to become a Soul Master at all.

It's all Luo Sanpao's fault. Whenever things went badly, Yu Xiaogang would find a dark corner where no one could see, summon Luo Sanpao, and bully him mercilessly.

"You worthless thing! It's all your fault! You could have evolved into a Golden Sacred Dragon, so why did you degenerate instead? Do you know you've made me bear the name of a failure for over ten years? If it weren't for you, I'd be a Soul Ancestor by now. No, a Spirit King!

"Give me back my Golden Sacred Dragon! Give it back!"

At the height of his fury, Yu Xiaogang kicked Luo Sanpao hard and sent him sprawling. Luo Sanpao let out a string of pitiful squeals.

If harming a Martial Soul did not also harm its Soul Master, Yu Xiaogang would have slaughtered the Pig and eaten pork that very night.

At a cheap inn in Coconut Grove City.

Yu Xiaogang trudged to his room and pushed open the door. The moment it opened, he saw three people inside.

Two old men flanked a handsome, upright man standing between them.

"You—"

Before Yu Xiaogang could finish his question, a golden light flashed. Dizziness washed over his frail body, and he collapsed.

Just before he lost consciousness, he heard the three of them talking.

"So this is Yu Yuanzhen's famously worthless son? His reputation is well deserved. His Martial Soul is actually a Pig."

"And his Soul Skill is farting! Hahahaha!"

"That's not all. I heard he used up vast amounts of clan resources. Yu Yuanzhen spent more than ten years transmitting power to him, and he only barely reached Level 29. Without him, Yu Yuanzhen would have become a Level 95 Super Douluo long ago."

"Then we really ought to thank this failure. He's held back the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan."

"But are you sure you want to choose him?"

"What I need is a failure. A clown."

Shut up! I'm not a failure, and I'm not a clown! Yu Xiaogang cried out inwardly just before his consciousness faded.

Yu Xiaogang woke on the floor at dusk.

He shook his dizzy head, baffled. Why was I asleep on the floor? What happened just now?

Unable to make sense of it, Yu Xiaogang stopped trying. His thoughts returned to the problem before him.

The Spirit Master Stipend had solved the matter of food, but his goal remained far out of reach.

He needed to approach other powers across the continent, obtain a way to evolve his Martial Soul from them, and use their resources to help Luo Sanpao evolve into a Golden Sacred Dragon. But how could he do any of that without a Sect Token?

Yu Xiaogang scratched his Flat-top and went out, troubled.

He walked through the streets of Coconut Grove City with his hands clasped behind his back, worry written across his face. Then he spotted a graceful figure moving through the crowd.

She had wine-red hair, a lovely figure, and a beautiful face.

Yu Xiaogang's eyes widened. He watched her with a hungry gaze.

She was certainly beautiful. What man would not be drawn to her? But her looks were not the main reason she had caught Yu Xiaogang's attention.

He had recognized her.

She was Bibi Dong, Spirit Hall's current Saintess.

The instant he recognized her, the little mind beneath his Flat-top began racing.