Master's Madness

Outside Suotuo City, a dilapidated thatched hut beside a graveyard.

Yu Xiaogang woke up from his coma, his forehead hitting a rotten wooden stake, causing him to gasp in pain. He touched his chest, where two ribs were broken, and every slight breath felt like steel needles churning in his lungs.

"Flender?" he called out hoarsely.

In the corner, Flender was squatting on the ground, stuffing handfuls of muddy grass roots into his mouth, his eyes vacant, muttering indistinctly, "Five million... Gold Soul Coins... My academy... gone..."

"Crazy, everyone's gone mad." Yu Xiaogang pushed himself to stand, a strong sense of desolation surging in his heart. But he quickly forced himself to calm down. He was the "Master," a being whose theories were invincible. As long as Tang San was still alive, as long as that genius with Twin Martial Souls was still alive, he still had a chance to turn things around.

"Where's Xiao San? Where did Xiao San go?" Yu Xiaogang searched the thatched hut like a madman, but only found a pool of dried black blood on the ground.

He stumbled towards Suotuo City. Although there was a wanted poster at the city gate, he firmly believed that with his current appearance—his face covered in dirt, his beard unkempt, unrecognizable even to his own mother, let alone the City Guards—he would be fine.

At the south gate of Suotuo City, a crowd had gathered, their clamor almost shaking the city wall.

"Quick, look, a new announcement from the Martial Soul Hall! That Tang San from Shrek Academy is dead!"

"He died horribly. I heard he was hit by a meteorite on the shoulder and finally suffocated to death by a ten-year Wind Baboon."

"Haha, is this the genius? Is this the little monster who claimed he would challenge those above his level? This death method will surely go down in Shrek's history!"

Yu Xiaogang squeezed into the crowd, his gaze fixed on the giant announcement.

In the center of the announcement, Tang San's face, deliberately enlarged, with Unclosed Eyes, had now become the laughingstock of the entire city. Beside it, in bold letters, was written: [Cause of Death: Karma Retribution, Luck Backlash. Suffocated to death by a low-level soul beast, a Wind Baboon, covering his mouth and nose with its hindquarters.]

"Pfft—!"

Yu Xiaogang felt a fishy sweetness rise in his throat, and three mouthfuls of old blood sprayed out like mist, staining the announcement before him.

His mind buzzed, his worldview shattered at that moment. His hope, his test subject, his proud disciple, had died so... absurdly?

"Conspiracy! This must be a conspiracy by the Martial Soul Hall!" Yu Xiaogang leaned against the city wall, his fingernails digging into the stone crevices, his eyes filled with madness. "Qian Mo! You killed my disciple, ruined my reputation, this hatred is irreconcilable!"

He touched his chest, where he kept a few Hidden Weapon Parts that Tang San had left behind. He had originally intended to study them, but now they were his only travel expenses.

He turned around and looked in the direction of Heaven Dou City. There lay his last Haven—Liu Erlong.

"Erlong... Only you can help me now." Yu Xiaogang gritted his teeth, sold the Hidden Weapon Parts to a roadside Blacksmith Shop at a low price, exchanged them for a few dry, moldy flatbreads, and embarked on his Escape Route.

Cloud Top Heavenly Palace.

Qian Mo was comfortably lying on Zhu Zhuqing's plump thigh. The maiden's slender fingers gently massaged his temples, a faint fragrance lingering in the air.

"Lord, Yu Xiaogang has already departed," Xiao Wu, dressed in a Gold Thread Long Skirt, reported softly from the side, a hint of satisfaction flashing in her eyes.

"Mm." Qian Mo closed his eyes and lightly tapped the air.

[System, initiate Holographic Projection Broadcast. Target: Heaven Dou City, all Soul Master Academies.]

[Instruction received. Scandal Video The Hypocritical Mask Behind the Master has entered the broadcast sequence.]

Qian Mo's lips curved into a playful arc. Killing didn't always require a knife. For Yu Xiaogang, who valued his reputation above all else, letting him live in the scorn of everyone was the greatest punishment.

"Zhuqing, want to watch a show?" Qian Mo took Zhu Zhuqing's hand and brought it to his lips for a kiss.

Zhu Zhuqing's face flushed slightly, but her eyes were firm. "As long as it's something you want to see, Zhuqing will accompany you."

Heaven Dou City, Blue Tyrant Academy.

As one of the top five Soul Master Academies in Heaven Dou City, Blue Tyrant Academy had always been known for its practical combat. Its Dean, nicknamed "Horn of Slaughter," Liu Erlong, was currently standing in front of the academy's massive Soul Guiding Screen on the sports field, her entire being like a volcano about to erupt.

On the screen, a video "magic modified" by Qian Mo was playing on repeat.

In the footage, a young Yu Xiaogang was ranting at Bibi Dong's back: "Erlong? She's just a tool to me. Without her, how could I complete the Martial Soul Fusion Skill of the Golden Iron Triangle? Once I've used up the resources of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon family, she'll be useless."

This was followed by Yu Xiaogang's contemptuous evaluation of Liu Erlong's personality in various situations: "That crazy woman is useless except for violence."

"Boom--!"

The scarlet Fire Dragon Phantom surrounding Liu Erlong instantly went berserk, and the terrifying Spirit Power Fluctuation shattered the surrounding stone pillars.

Her eye sockets were red, not from sadness, but from extreme anger. Twenty years of longing, twenty years of waiting, had turned into a massive joke at this moment.

"Yu! Xiaogang!" Liu Erlong gritted her teeth, each word squeezed out like blood from between her fangs.

Just then, a student ran over in a panic.

"Report... Report, Dean! There's a man at the entrance who looks like a beggar. He claims to be your old friend and calls himself Yu Xiaogang. He's shouting and demanding to see you."

Liu Erlong took a deep breath, and the rage in her eyes strangely subsided, replaced by a chilling coldness that struck fear into the heart.

She turned around and walked towards the weapon rack.

There lay a massive mace, entirely black, covered in barbs and spikes. It was a heavy weapon she had used during her early training, dusty and unused for many years.

"Old friend?" Liu Erlong lifted the mace, which weighed five hundred jin, with one hand, dragging it on the ground, creating a dazzling spark.

"Let's go, let's go and welcome our... Master."

The entrance of Blue Tyrant Academy.

Although Yu Xiaogang was in ragged clothes, he still tried to straighten his back, putting on a "Melancholy Sage" demeanor.

The surrounding students were pointing and gesturing at him, their eyes filled with contempt and teasing.

"Look, is that the freeloader scumbag from the video?"

"Tsk tsk, he doesn't look like a good person. A Soul Grand Master at level twenty-nine, and he dares to call himself a Master?"

Yu Xiaogang frowned as he listened to the surrounding discussions. He thought these children were jealous of his talent.

"Erlong! I know you're inside!" Yu Xiaogang channeled his spirit power and shouted affectionately towards the academy gate, "I'm back! I've suffered too much over the years, only here, with you, is the destination for my soul!"

He had already planned it out. As soon as Liu Erlong came out, he would first embrace her deeply, then recount his hardships over the years, and finally, naturally take over the Blue Tyrant Academy. He would use the resources here to train a batch of loyal followers and seek revenge on Qian Mo.

"Creak—"

The heavy academy gate slowly opened.

A smile, which he thought was charming, appeared on Yu Xiaogang's face. He opened his arms to welcome her, "Erlong, I knew you wouldn't..."

Before he could finish.

A scorching gust of wind rushed towards him.

Yu Xiaogang only saw a fiery red figure flash out like a meteor. Immediately after, a giant mace covered in ferocious spikes rapidly enlarged in his retina.

"Thump!"

It was the sound of a heavy object hitting a sack.

Yu Xiaogang didn't even have time to let out a scream. He was like a golf ball, fiercely struck in the waist by that mace.

"Crack!"

The sound of bone cracking was clearly audible.

Yu Xiaogang drew a perfect parabola in the air, accompanied by a string of bloody teeth, and was sent flying over a hundred meters away, crashing heavily into the sewer opposite.

Liu Erlong rested one hand on the mace, her fiery red long skirt fluttering in the wind. She looked down at the man struggling in the ditch, her eyes devoid of any pity.

"Er... Erlong... you..." Yu Xiaogang raised his head from the foul-smelling muddy water, his face filled with horror.

Liu Erlong looked down at him coldly and spat out a word.

"Scram!"

"If I see you again, I'll cripple you and feed you to the dogs!"

Yu Xiaogang was completely stunned. He looked at the mocking faces around him, at Liu Erlong's heartless expression, and the last shred of his vanity completely collapsed.

At the other end of Heaven Dou City, Xue Qinghe (Qian Renxue) was holding a plan for the "Auspicious Divine Kingdom" and fell into deep thought.