A week later, outside Spirit City, a Ten-Year Soul Beast called a Chasing Wind Horse trudged through the dust toward the city gate, panting hard.
The rider on its back was none other than Great Master Yu Xiaogang.
After packing his bags, Yu Xiaogang had wasted no time. He had gone straight to Zhouma Firm and rented a fine Chasing Wind Horse.
As the crowd around him mocked him for renting a horse, Yu Xiaogang had ridden on through the dust. After seven grueling days, he had finally reached his destination. Zhao Guangyi had been the War God on a donkey; now Yu Xiaogang was the War God on a horse.
Those seven days had been torture! After so long in the saddle, Yu Xiaogang's fifth limb had nearly been rubbed down to a needle.
His fifth limb wasn't the only casualty. All that pounding had forged his backside into iron, too. How did the saying go? Zilong was courage from head to toe; Master Yu Xiaogang was iron from head to toe.
By then, a long line had formed outside Spirit City's gate. A crowd of guards had gathered at the entrance and were checking travelers' identities one by one.
But Great Master Yu Xiaogang had no habit of waiting in line. After all, who was he? He was Yu Xiaogang. And who was Yu Xiaogang? The Martial Soul Theory Master famed throughout Douluo Continent! Without Yu Xiaogang, the world of Martial Souls would have languished in eternal darkness!
After working himself into a private frenzy, Yu Xiaogang climbed back onto his horse and rode toward Spirit City's gate, facing backward.
He wasn't riding backward to show off. His fifth limb had been rubbed painfully raw, and he needed a change of position to give it a rest.
As he passed the people waiting in the long line, Yu Xiaogang couldn't help feeling superior.
Lowly people like them could only spend their lives obediently following other people's rules. They even had to wait in line.
He was different. He had been born above them. Not only was he a member of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, he was also an honored guest of Spirit Hall and the Martial Soul Theory Master known across Douluo Continent. He didn't need to queue to enter the city!
Ignoring the looks from the people in line, Yu Xiaogang held his head high and moved slowly forward. Before he could come out of his fantasy, though, a slap struck the back of his head. He tumbled from the horse, and his iron backside slammed into the ground with a clang.
The guard who had slapped Yu Xiaogang looked startled himself. His mouth fell open as he stared at the shallow dent in the ground.
He had never imagined the man's backside could be so hard. The Iron-Backside War God was terrifying indeed!
The slap had left Yu Xiaogang stunned. Worse, a whole crowd was staring at him. He felt his dignity had suffered an unprecedented insult.
Yu Xiaogang hurried to his feet and clasped his hands behind his back, putting on an air of inscrutable wisdom. As he stood there, he blocked the people behind him, and the whole line grew restless.
Yu Xiaogang didn't care that he was holding everyone up. He gave the guard an aloof look. "Who are you? Why are you stopping me from entering the city? Do you know who I am?"
"Who... who are you?"
Seeing Yu Xiaogang's lofty manner, the guard who had slapped him grew uncertain. The man didn't seem to be pretending. Could he really be someone important?
"I am Great Master Yu Xiaogang..."
"Never heard of you. Get the hell out of the way."
The Spirit Hall guard at the gate seized Yu Xiaogang by the sleeve and dragged him aside. Yu Xiaogang stumbled and nearly fell.
"What are you doing? Laying hands on someone in broad daylight is a disgrace! How could Spirit Hall make you a guard here?"
"Spirit Hall's choice of guards is none of your concern. Now get to the back of the line."
"You... you..."
Yu Xiaogang pointed at the guard's nose, too furious to speak.
"What about me? Looking for trouble, are you?"
The guard's expression turned fierce. He had seen plenty of thugs and scoundrels like this one. The man before him was scruffy, with sunken cheeks. He didn't look like a good person at all. For all the guard knew, he had come to Spirit City to steal.
"Black Panther, Possession!"
Four Soul Rings—one white, one yellow, and two purple—appeared behind the guard. With his Martial Soul Possession active, his body swelled, and his height shot from six feet to over six foot two. He looked down at Yu Xiaogang.
"I-I'll go join the line..."
The moment Yu Xiaogang saw the four Soul Rings behind the guard, he turned and headed for the back.
As the saying went, endure for a moment and the storm would pass; take a step back and the world would open up. As Yu Xiaogang walked away, he was moved all over again by his own magnanimity.
After the commotion, the line grew longer and longer. Spirit City was the largest city on Douluo Continent, bigger than Heaven Dou City and Star Luo City combined, with a population in the tens of millions. Its gates were busy to begin with.
By the time Yu Xiaogang joined the line, he was several hundred meters from the gate.
The moon had risen by the time a weary Yu Xiaogang finally reached the entrance.
"Please show your entry permit."
The guard spoke with open impatience when he saw Yu Xiaogang. Work was irritating enough without dealing with this idiot.
Yu Xiaogang's face darkened. "What entry permit? I've never heard of one. Since when do you need an entry permit to enter Spirit City?"
"What backwater did you crawl out of? This rule's been in place for months, and you don't even know about it? No permit, no entry. Now get lost."
The guard finally lost his patience and cursed Yu Xiaogang to his face.
In truth, he had been putting up with the man for a long time.
Yu Xiaogang, however, saw it differently. He was certain the guard was getting back at him for what had happened earlier and was deliberately keeping him out.
And why else would the guard be shouting? He was guilty. He was making a scene to hide it.
Pleased once more with his extraordinary insight, Yu Xiaogang clasped his hands behind his back again. He leaned close to the guard's ear and whispered, "You're clearly abusing your position to settle a personal grudge. If your superiors hear about this, you'll probably lose your job. I suggest you let me in right now. You wouldn't want anyone to find out..."
"Fuck you!"
The guard couldn't take it anymore. He struck Yu Xiaogang across the face twice, hard and square. The blows left him standing there in a daze.
A few seconds later, Yu Xiaogang's vision went dark, and he nearly collapsed. Then his roar rang across the gate.
"You hit me! You actually fucking hit me! Not one of you Spirit Hall people is any good! You're all rotten!"
After being slapped twice by a Spirit City guard, Yu Xiaogang caught sight of the Spirit Hall emblem on the man's clothes. The terror of being at Qian Xunji's mercy came rushing back. Almost by reflex, he covered his head with his arms, thrust his backside into the air, and trembled.
"Damn it. Turns out he's crazy. Didn't even know he needed an entry permit, and he still got in line ahead of me."
The people behind him finally saw what kind of man he was: hopeless, yet determined to make a scene.
"What backwater did that thing crawl out of to cause trouble in Spirit City?"
The people behind him entered the city one after another. No one paid any more attention to Yu Xiaogang, curled up on the ground.
Only after the gate closed did Yu Xiaogang finally come to his senses and climb to his feet. The hatred in his eyes was almost tangible.
He clearly couldn't enter Spirit City now. He had originally intended to give Bibi Dong and Spirit Hall a chance to mend their ways, but they had squandered it.
Yu Xiaogang clambered unsteadily onto the Chasing Wind Horse and rode away.
He had spent all his travel money on the journey. He decided to find a Spirit Hall branch in another city, collect his ten Gold Soul Coin subsidy, then return to Nuoding Academy.
"Spirit Hall, just you wait. I'll come back for revenge!"
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