"Phew..."
Yu Xiaogang straightened his faded, threadbare clothes and lifted his chin, doing his best to look like a true Grandmaster.
He strode out from the shadowy corner.
At that moment, representatives of the various factions were jostling to congratulate Lin Qiu in the square. Nobody noticed the middle-aged man who had suddenly appeared.
That is, until a shrill, furious voice, amplified by Soul Power, abruptly rang out over the square.
"Stop—!!!"
Yu Xiaogang poured all his strength into that shout.
The bustling square fell silent in an instant, as if someone had hit the pause button.
Everyone froze.
Who was bold enough?
Who dared to make a scene at Spirit Hall's ceremony to confer the title of Holy Son?
Countless gazes, filled with confusion, shock, and even anger, swept toward the source of the voice.
At the edge of the red carpet stood a middle-aged man with a close-cropped head, scruffy beard, and a face weathered by time. His chin was raised high.
His shabby clothes clashed with the luxurious robes around him, but his expression brimmed with arrogant disdain.
Above them, on the high platform—
Bibi Dong had been watching Lin Qiu with a smile. At the sudden shout, she furrowed her brow slightly and cast a stern gaze below.
When she recognized the man, clear surprise flashed through her violet eyes.
"Yu Xiaogang?"
Her red lips parted, and she murmured the name without thinking.
Though they had not seen each other for years, and he had grown much older and more haggard, she still recognized his face at a glance.
Hearing the Pope speak his name gave Yu Xiaogang even more confidence.
He gazed at Bibi Dong, his eyes bright, with a trace of tenderness and grievance—as though he were a wanderer who had finally reunited with his family after years away.
He stepped forward, ignoring the strange looks around him, and shouted:
"Your Holiness the Pope! You mustn't!"
Bibi Dong stood on the high platform. She had instinctively begun to step forward, but at his call, her foot stopped in midair.
Looking at the figure below, she felt the memories buried in her mind surge for a brief moment.
But before those emotions could take hold, another memory surfaced with even greater clarity.
It was Lin Qiu's "constant chatter" in her ear over the past few days.
"Mom, all that theory from Yu Xiaogang is copied from Spirit Hall's books. He's never put any of it into practice."
"Mom, how can a good-for-nothing who can't even break through level thirty call himself a Grandmaster? Isn't he just misleading his students?"
"Mom, if he really had talent, that would be one thing. But the man's character is rotten. He abandoned you after taking advantage of you, and now that he's fallen on hard times, he wants to use your reputation to cheat people..."
Each of those words struck her to the core, dousing the last ripples in Bibi Dong's heart like bucket after bucket of cold water.
As she looked at Yu Xiaogang's slightly greasy, calculating face, a sense of absurdity rose within her.
Could Qiu'er be right?
Had I really been deceived by this good-for-nothing all these years?
I, Bibi Dong, had been renowned all my life, yet I'd spent half of it suffering over a man like this?
Yu Xiaogang kept his eyes fixed on Bibi Dong's face.
He saw the hesitation and uncertainty in her eyes.
To him, that was the best news imaginable!
She was hesitating!
That meant she still had feelings for me! It meant she wasn't entirely satisfied with this Holy Son!
I just need to fan the flames a little more!
Yu Xiaogang took a deep breath, raised his hand, and pointed straight at Lin Qiu, who stood beside Bibi Dong. He roared righteously:
"Bibi Dong! You've been deceived by this little bastard!"
"This boy is twisted and ruthless, with no virtue whatsoever! Just a few days ago, he publicly humiliated me at the market and even stole my treasure by force. His despicable methods are simply outrageous!"
"What right does someone like him have to become Spirit Hall's Holy Son? What right does he have to lead the Soul Masters of the world?"
"Though my strength is meager, my pride remains unbroken!
"For the sake of Spirit Hall's reputation and the future of all Soul Masters, I ask Your Holiness the Pope to revoke your decree at once, strip this boy of his title as Holy Son, expel him from Spirit Hall, and never employ him again!"
He delivered the speech with such fervor and conviction that every word rang out like a hammer striking stone.
The entire square fell deathly silent.
It was so quiet that you could have heard a pin drop.
The representatives of the various factions were dumbfounded. Their mouths hung open as their gazes darted between Yu Xiaogang, Bibi Dong, and Lin Qiu.
Who was this guy?
How dare he?
He actually pointed at the Holy Son and called him a little bastard right in front of the Pope? And he wanted to have him thrown out?
Had he lost his mind?
"This man... looks kind of familiar."
Someone in the crowd muttered under their breath.
"I remember now! Isn't he that good-for-nothing the Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan kicked out? What's his name, Yu Xiaogang?"
"That's right! It's him! He calls himself a Grandmaster, but he's only a level-twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster. He'll never break through in his whole life!"
"So it's him... I heard the clan struck his name from its rolls years ago. I also heard he and Her Holiness the Pope once had a thing..."
"Shh! Do you have a death wish? You can't just blab about royal secrets like that!"
Though the murmurs were hushed, quite a few people nearby still heard them.
Not far away, at the Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's seats—
The elders' faces darkened at once.
Thunder Douluo Yu Yuanzhen, who was leading the group, trembled with rage. He wished he could find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.
What a disgrace!
An absolute disgrace!
This unfilial son had been expelled from the clan years ago, and now he had come out to embarrass himself again! And at an occasion like this, in front of the strongest people on the continent!
He was dragging the Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's good name through the dirt!
Everyone's attention turned back to Bibi Dong and Lin Qiu.
This time, they were all watching to see how the two would react.
One was the lofty Pope, and the other the newly appointed Holy Son, the center of everyone's attention.
How would they deal with a "clown" who had dared to provoke them in public?
Bibi Dong stood on the high platform, her exquisite face cold as ice.
She said nothing, merely gazing at Yu Xiaogang. The last trace of warmth in her eyes had vanished completely.
In the past, perhaps she would have defended Yu Xiaogang, or even punished Lin Qiu for his sake.
But now...
In her heart, Lin Qiu had long since become more important than anything else.
He was the good son she had raised from childhood, the one who called her "Mom" at every turn and saved every good thing for her!
He was a peerless prodigy who could casually produce an Extreme Yin Soul Flower to help her break through, and intimidate Sword Douluo with a single sword strike!
Compared with Lin Qiu, Yu Xiaogang—who could do nothing but boast and even wanted to ruin Lin Qiu's future—wasn't fit to be the mud beneath her feet!
Before you continue