Yu Xiaogang

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Yu Xiaogang (玉小刚)
Alias(es)	Master; Mu Xiaogang, after his removal from the Yu family registry 147 198
Species/Race	Human
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Shrek Academy; formerly the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan 135 147
Occupation/Role	Spirit Master theorist; mentor and Shrek Academy team leader 127 135
Status	Deceased; his soul was condemned to Nether Purgatory before three lifetimes of rebirth as a pig 347
First Appearance	Chapter 10

Background

Nuoding City Primary Soul Master Academy

Yu Xiaogang was a friend of Nuoding Academy's dean and was treated with deference by the academy gatekeeper. He first encountered Tang San and Lin Manshan at the academy entrance, intervening in their dispute with the gatekeeper and personally bringing them to register 10 11.

After identifying Tang San's Twin Martial Souls from his awakening certificate, Yu Xiaogang explained his mutation theories and accepted Tang San as his sole disciple. He was moved by Tang San's declaration that “a teacher for a day” was a father for life 11 13.

His early assessment of Lin Manshan was markedly different. Though impressed by Lin's reasoning about Martial Soul mutations, he judged Lin's Rank Three Innate Soul Power too low to make him useful in proving his theories. He recommended a Plant-type Soul Ring for Lin's mutated cleaver and advised Tang San to associate with Lin less, framing their talent gap as insurmountable 12 16.

Yu Xiaogang took pride in Tang San's rapid growth, particularly when Tang San reached Soul Power Level 20 while still at Nuoding Academy. He regarded Tang San's achievements as validation of his own instruction 23.

Shrek Academy and the Soul Master Competition

Yu Xiaogang later became the Shrek team's leader, arranging targeted training, registering the team for Great Soul Arena battles, and analyzing opposing Martial Souls and strategies 127 135. He accepted difficult matches as opportunities to temper the team, though he was initially wary when faced with unexpectedly powerful opponents 127.

Lin Manshan's rise repeatedly challenged Yu Xiaogang's assumptions. Lin's evolved greatsword, self-created skills, alchemy, and rapid cultivation left Yu Xiaogang confused or shaken, especially after learning that Lin had cured Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan's accumulated poison 29 135.

Yu Xiaogang's medicinal-bath formula for Ning Rongrong was later exposed as having caused impurities to accumulate in her body. His disclosure of information about Lin Manshan's abilities also implicated Yu Tianheng and angered the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan 142 145.

Relationship with Liu Erlong and Clan Expulsion

After reuniting with Liu Erlong in Heaven Dou City, Yu Xiaogang accepted Tang San's suggestion that they become Spiritual Couples. He considered Tang San the continuation of his spirit and treated him as his only child in all but blood 137.

The relationship brought the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's condemnation. Yu Luomian removed Yu Xiaogang from the family registry, forbade him from using the Yu surname, and severely injured him, fracturing his pelvis and ending his ability to continue his bloodline 147.

Loss of His Martial Soul

Seeking a solution to the obstacles of Twin Martial Soul cultivation, Yu Xiaogang entered Pope's Palace to ask Bibi Dong for help on Tang San's behalf. When Bibi Dong identified Tang San as a likely enemy of Spirit Hall, Yu Xiaogang threatened to oppose Spirit Hall if Tang San were harmed 197.

Bibi Dong ordered his Martial Soul abolished. Without Soul Power to sustain his body, Yu Xiaogang became vulnerable to injury, cold, and illness; he was attacked by wild wolves while escaping Spirit City and nearly died before being found by the Shrek group 197 198.

Lin Manshan ultimately stabilized Yu Xiaogang's condition, on the condition that Yu Xiaogang personally apologize for their past grievance. Yu Xiaogang then urged Tang San to withdraw from the tournament after revealing that Bibi Dong knew Tang San's identity 199 200.

Final Years and Death

Yu Xiaogang publicly defied Bibi Dong during the tournament and was caned. The incident placed him on Spirit Hall's blacklist and left him ostracized within the Soul Master world 210.

His health continued to deteriorate. Tang San's blood was discovered to be capable of improving his condition, but Tang San had not willingly provided it; Liu Erlong forcibly administered the blood after learning the truth 213. Yu Xiaogang later suffered worsening eyesight, physical frailty, and a rupture with Liu Erlong after accusing her and Flender of intimacy 237.

In his final period, he remained fixated on Tang San's eventual return despite his failing health 332. After death, Lin Manshan informed his soul that Tang San had also died, then sentenced Yu Xiaogang for misleading others through untested theory and misguided teaching 347.

Appearance

Yu Xiaogang was a middle-aged man of average height with short hair, an ordinary face, and a habitually lazy, dejected demeanor 10.

• Often stood with one hand behind his back, maintaining a deliberately calm or aloof posture 127 135.
• After his clan punishment, he became pale and worn, with sunken eye sockets despite gaining weight and shaving his beard 157.
• After losing his Martial Soul, his body aged rapidly; he became physically frail, dependent on warmth, and progressively lost his eyesight 197 237.

Personality

Yu Xiaogang was deeply invested in being recognized as a legitimate Spirit Master theorist. Tang San's talent and accomplishments gave him the public proof and prestige he desired, and he repeatedly viewed Tang San's victories as evidence that he was not a failure 23 203 211.

He evaluated people heavily through talent and potential. His dismissal of Lin Manshan's future, paired with his immediate interest in Tang San's Innate Full Soul Power and Twin Martial Souls, shaped his earliest choices as a mentor 12 16.

Despite his self-importance, Yu Xiaogang was sincerely attached to Tang San and repeatedly called him his son. He risked visiting Bibi Dong to seek guidance for Tang San and remained determined to see his disciple reach the peak of the Soul Master world even after losing his own Martial Soul 197 198.

His later life revealed increasing insecurity and dependence. He doubted Liu Erlong's loyalty while continuing to defend Tang San, whose return became the central obsession sustaining him through terminal illness 237 332.

Abilities & Skills

Spirit Master Theory

Yu Xiaogang conducted and promoted personal research into Martial Souls, mutations, Soul Rings, and cultivation methods.

• Identified Tang San's Twin Martial Souls from his awakening certificate and advised him to conceal the second Martial Soul 11 16.
• Proposed Martial Soul Mimicry Theory as one of his “ten core competitive strengths” in Spirit Master theory 13.
• Possessed enough Spirit Beast knowledge to advise on Soul Ring selection and to analyze opponents' Martial Souls in competition 12 127 135.
• Recommended a Plant-type Soul Ring for Lin Manshan's mutated cleaver, a conclusion Lin privately regarded as an attempt to use him as an experiment 12.
• His lack of practical knowledge caused Tang San to miss opportunities to absorb higher-year Soul Rings earlier in his cultivation 179.
• His medicinal-bath formula contributed to impurity accumulation in Ning Rongrong's body 142 145.

Teaching and Team Strategy

As Shrek's mentor, Yu Xiaogang organized training and formulated battle plans based on team composition and enemy capabilities.

• Treated powerful Great Soul Arena opponents as necessary combat experience for Shrek's students 127.
• Gathered and interpreted information on enemy Martial Souls, including Yu Tianheng's team and Tian Xing Academy's members 135.
• Proposed using a Seven-in-One Fusion Skill to stack the team's Soul Power and buffs onto Tang San 179.
• Developed a multi-person fusion method that temporarily enabled Soul Ancestor Tang San to use a Martial Soul Avatar 211.

Relationships

• Tang San — His sole direct disciple, whom Yu Xiaogang regarded as a son and the proof of his own theories. Their bond deteriorated after Tang San was revealed not to have willingly given blood that could treat Yu Xiaogang's condition 13 197 213.
• Liu Erlong — His Spiritual Couple. She remained devoted through his clan expulsion, crippling injury, and later illness, but eventually left after he suspected her relationship with Flender 137 147 237.
• Flender — Fellow Shrek mentor and longtime associate who assisted Yu Xiaogang's team leadership, treatment, and care during his decline 135 199 237.
• Bibi Dong — A person from Yu Xiaogang's past whom he approached for help with Tang San's Twin Martial Souls. She abolished his Martial Soul after learning Tang San's identity 186 197.
• Lin Manshan — A former Nuoding student whom Yu Xiaogang underestimated and alienated. Lin later exposed flaws in his theories, treated his near-fatal injuries, and ultimately judged his soul in the Netherworld 132 199 347.
• Yu Tianheng — His nephew. Yu Tianheng shared confidential information with Yu Xiaogang out of familial obligation, only for Yu Xiaogang to disclose it to Shrek Academy 135 145.