Yu Xiaogang's Despair, Like a Dead Dog!

"Could it be... have I truly been wrong?"

Tang Hao's face turned deathly pale, his breathing growing ragged and shallow.

He stared at his own hands, a flicker of unprecedented confusion and remorse flashing through his eyes.

If what Tang Yu said was true, then Tang San's Blue Silver Emperor had already been tainted by the toxins and bestial nature of the Datura Snake.

This was equivalent to using filthy poison to forcibly suppress the awakening of the Blue Silver Emperor bloodline!

"Yu Xiaogang... you piece of trash, you've actually ruined my son!"

Tang Hao's teeth, hidden beneath his cloak, ground together with a rattling sound. Had there not been so many powerful experts present, he would have charged forward right then and there to smash this self-righteous waste into a pulp with a single hammer blow.

But what he feared even more was Tang San's future.

If Tang San's path had truly been led astray, wouldn't Ah Yin's bloodline be severed in Tang San's generation?

In the center of the plaza.

Endless mockery, curses, and pointing fingers transformed into invisible blades, stabbing viciously into Yu Xiaogang's body.

He felt his breathing become increasingly difficult, as if a mass of scorching magma were churning madly in his chest.

In this life, the thing he valued most was his reputation.

To prove he was not a failure, he had devoted himself to studying theory, even willing to bear the infamous title of "plagiarist" just to gain a foothold in the spirit master world.

He had treated Tang San as his only hope, believing that as long as Tang San succeeded, he could wash away all his humiliation and become a respected Master.

But today.

Tang Yu had not only exposed his lies in the most brutal way possible but had also trampled his pride into the dust.

The reputation he had painstakingly built, the theories he was so proud of—on this day, they had collapsed.

"Pfft—"

The extreme rage and the crushing blow to his heart left Yu Xiaogang unable to suppress his internal injuries any longer, and he spat out a mouthful of bright red blood.

The blood splattered onto the stone tiles, appearing jarringly stark.

Yu Xiaogang's face turned as pale as parchment, his body swaying unsteadily, nearly collapsing into the pool of blood.

He knew he was finished.

Staying here would only invite more humiliation.

He had to leave, to escape this hellish place where he had lost all his dignity.

Gritting his teeth, dragging his heavy and broken body, Yu Xiaogang turned around in a disheveled state, trying to push his way out of the plaza.

However.

Before he could take two steps, a crisp, icy voice suddenly exploded across the plaza.

"Yu Xiaogang! You stop right there!"

Yu Xiaogang's body stiffened abruptly, and he turned his head instinctively.

He saw Ning Rongrong walking out quickly from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's seating area with a dark expression, her once-lively eyes now filled with disgust and resentment.

"Ning Rongrong... you..."

Yu Xiaogang opened his mouth.

Ning Rongrong walked to the front of the stage, pointed at Yu Xiaogang's nose, and scolded him loudly:

"You deceitful fraud!"

"I regret that I once trusted you so much, thinking you truly possessed heaven-defying abilities that could lead us Shrek Eight Devils to the pinnacle!"

"But what was the result?"

"Aside from making us run with weights every day, aside from making us perform those dangerous and useless drills, what else did you ever teach us?"

"You kept saying it was for our own good, but in reality, you were just using us as tools to show off!"

"My Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda originally had a better path for cultivation, yet it almost went down a crooked road because of your misleading guidance!"

"I wasted my youth and time with you!"

"You aren't just a fraud; you are a villain who ruins the lives of his students!"

"!!!"

Every word from Ning Rongrong was like a resounding slap, striking Yu Xiaogang's face with brutal force.

The surrounding spirit masters, hearing Ning Rongrong's accusations, chimed in one after another.

"If even the young lady of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect says so, it seems this Shrek Academy really is a den of demons."

"Making support-type spirit masters run with weights? What kind of theory is that? It's an absolute joke!"

"This Yu Xiaogang is simply ruining his students; he deserves to die!"

Hiding in the corner, Tang Hao listened to Ning Rongrong's angry accusations, his heart sinking into an bottomless abyss.

Even Ning Rongrong had come to loathe Yu Xiaogang to such an extent.

What about his son, Tang San?

Tang San regarded Yu Xiaogang as a second father, obeying his every word!

Xiao San... you have truly been ruined by this piece of trash...

Tang Hao's eyes reddened, a violent killing intent surging wildly within his heart.

If not for the bigger picture, he would have struck Yu Xiaogang dead right then and there to vent his hatred.

For Yu Xiaogang, Ning Rongrong's accusations were the final straw that broke the camel's back.

He had always prided himself on being a "strict mentor," believing his disciples were filled with gratitude and respect for him.

But now.

His former student, in front of all the top powers on the continent, had stood up to accuse him of being a fraud, claiming they had wasted their youth under his tutelage.

This was more painful to him than death itself.

"No... that's not it... I did it for your own good... I did it for your own good..."

Yu Xiaogang shouted in a breakdown, but his voice was too weak, instantly swallowed by the surrounding jeers and curses.

He looked at the cold, disdainful, and disgusted gazes around him.

He looked up at the high platform, at Tang Yu, who was watching him like a god looking down upon an ant.

He could no longer hold on.

His legs went soft.

Thump.

Yu Xiaogang collapsed heavily to the ground, his hands bracing the floor, tears and snot mixing with the blood on his face, turning it into a smeared mess.

"I am a fraud... I really am a fraud..."

Yu Xiaogang wept bitterly, his voice filled with despair and collapse.

As he cried, he raised his hand and slapped his own face hard.

Smack!

The crisp sound of the slap echoed across the plaza, and his face instantly swelled red.

"It was my greed for fame... I plagiarized the archives of Martial Soul Hall and cobbled together those garbage theories..."

Smack!

Another loud slap followed.

"I ruined Xiao San... I ruined Ning Rongrong... I ruined everyone..."

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Like a madman, Yu Xiaogang knelt on the ground, repeatedly striking his own cheeks with both hands, emitting incoherent wails and confessions.

The experts from the various factions watched this scene with cold eyes, showing not a shred of sympathy, but rather mockery and sighs.

"How ironic. The 'Master of Theory' who once shook the continent has fallen to this state."

"He deserves it! Using plagiarized goods to swindle people, and he even nearly ruined a direct descendant of the Clear Sky Sect. Such a person is not worth pitying."

"He prided himself on being the embodiment of wisdom, yet in front of a true prodigy, his theories are worth less than waste paper."

"Just watch. With this defeat, his Dao heart is shattered; he will never be able to stand up again in this lifetime."

The murmurs of the crowd were like a rising tide, drowning the Yu Xiaogang who knelt on the ground beating himself.

This man, who had lived most of his life in vanity and arrogance, had all his pretenses torn away by Tang Yu in the most simple and brutal fashion, right in the field he prided himself on most.

Yu Xiaogang's hands gradually lost their strength, falling limply to his sides.

His face was already a bloody mess, the light in his eyes extinguished, his entire being like a soulless walking corpse.

Tears mixed with blood completely blurred his vision.

He knew that the reputation he had painstakingly built in the spirit master world for decades had vanished into thin air today.

From this day forward, he would no longer be the respected "Master," but a fraud spurned by the entire continent, an academic thief who had led others astray.

Yu Xiaogang moved his body in a daze, struggling to crawl up from the ground.

His legs were as soft as noodles, making even standing exceptionally difficult; he could only tremble as he leaned against a nearby stone pillar, pushing his way out of the crowd in a wretched state.

He only wanted to leave this place, to find a corner where no one knew him and live out the remainder of his pathetic life.

Just as he was about to step off the edge of the plaza.

"Master, please stay."

The one who spoke was Xue Qinghe.

Yu Xiaogang's body stiffened abruptly, and he turned his head with great difficulty to look at Xue Qinghe on the high platform.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince... I have already conceded... what more do you want?"

Xue Qinghe smiled coldly and slowly stood up:

"Conceding? Master, could it be that your memory is failing you, and you have forgotten the wager you made with Prince Wuyang just moments ago?"

"You stated clearly that if you lost, you would not only publicly admit your theories are a fraud but also sever your own right arm."

"Now that the deed is only half done, you wish to simply walk away? Do you truly believe the dignity of the Heaven Dou Empire and Prince Wuyang can be toyed with so casually?"

Upon hearing these words, Yu Xiaogang's face turned deathly pale, as if he had been plunged into an icy abyss.

Caught in the throes of a total mental collapse, he had momentarily forgotten the wager involving his severed arm.

"No... don't..."

"My martial soul is already ruined; if I lose my right arm as well, I will be a complete and utter cripple!"

Yu Xiaogang shrieked in terror, his body trembling violently from sheer dread.

He cast a pleading gaze toward Yu Yuanzhen not far away, hoping his own father, the sect master of the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex Family, would step in to save him.

However.

Yu Yuanzhen merely turned his head away with a livid expression, refusing to even glance at him.

Having already announced to the public that he was expelling Yu Xiaogang from the family and stripping him of the Yu surname, he certainly wouldn't offend the rising star Tang Yu for the sake of a worthless piece of trash.

Yu Xiaogang fell into despair.

He scanned his surroundings, but every face was etched with cold indifference and mockery; not a single person was willing to stand up and speak a word for him.

Xue Qinghe did not give him another chance to beg, waving his hand with a resolute command:

"Guards, seize him."

Two royal guards clad in heavy armor, who had been standing watch at the side of the high platform, stepped forward.

Their movements were clean and efficient; one on each side, they clamped onto Yu Xiaogang like iron pincers, instantly pinning him to the ground.

Yu Xiaogang struggled desperately, letting out a howl like a trapped beast:

"Let me go! I am the Master! You cannot treat me like this!"

"Tang Yu! You tyrant! You will meet a miserable end!"

Those curses and struggles appeared pathetic and powerless in the face of absolute strength.

One guard planted his foot firmly on Yu Xiaogang's back, pressing him against the stone tiles, while the other roughly yanked his right arm out and laid it flat against the ground.

Xue Qinghe remained calm, his tone devoid of any ripple:

"Execute the wager. Sever it!"

As the words fell.

The commander of the city defense force guarding the platform drew the blade at his waist.

It was a fine steel saber radiating a cold, biting light, reflecting a chilling gleam under the sun.

The blade was raised high, then brought down with a sharp whistle through the air, striking with ruthless force!

Squelch!

The sound of the sharp edge biting into flesh was jarringly loud in the silent square.

Accompanied by a spray of hot blood, a withered right arm traced an arc through the air and landed heavily on the ground several meters away, the fingers still twitching slightly.

"Ah--!!"

A harrowing, blood-curdling scream instantly echoed throughout the Blue Silver King Mansion.

Yu Xiaogang's eyes bulged, the veins on his forehead throbbing as the immense agony twisted his face into a grotesque mask.

He rolled frantically in the pool of blood, clutching his right shoulder with his left hand, yet the blood continued to gush from between his fingers like a fountain.

The extreme pain shattered his nerves; after only a few screams, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted dead away.

"Like a dead dog, throw him out. Don't dirty the gates of the mansion."

Xue Qinghe waved his hand with a hint of disgust.

The two guards dragged him away like refuse, each grabbing one of Yu Xiaogang's legs and leaving a long trail of blood on the ground as they tossed him outside the perimeter of the Blue Silver King Mansion.

Yet, this scene, witnessed by a tall figure in the corner of the square, ignited a towering rage.

Hidden beneath a tattered black cloak, Tang Hao clenched his steel fists until they creaked, oblivious to his nails digging deep into his palms.

His breathing grew heavy, and his eyes were bloodshot.

No matter what, Yu Xiaogang was Tang San's teacher.

In Tang Hao's eyes, one must respect the master before striking the dog.

For Tang Yu and Xue Qinghe to so cruelly sever Yu Xiaogang's right arm in front of the world was not just a punishment for Yu Xiaogang—it was a public slap in the face to him and Tang San.

However.

Looking at Tang Yu, who stood on the high platform overlooking everything like a god, Tang Hao ultimately gritted his teeth and swallowed his fury.

The current Tang Yu possessed the terrifying strength of a ninety-fourth-level Title Douluo, along with a hundred-thousand-year spirit ring and that unfathomable domain.

Moreover, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had already submitted, and the Heaven Dou imperial family stood firmly behind Tang Yu.

If he were to reveal his identity and intervene now, not only would he fail to save Yu Xiaogang, but he would also plunge himself into a quagmire and even implicate Tang San, who was still studying at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

"Tang Yu... you rebellious son..."

"For today's humiliation, my Clear Sky Sect will surely repay you a hundredfold in the future!"

Tang Hao let out a stifled roar of fury in his heart. Finally, he cast one last deep look at the high platform, his figure flickering as he vanished silently into the dark corners.

As Yu Xiaogang was dragged away like a dead dog, the clamor in the plaza gradually subsided.

The crowd's gazes converged once more upon Tang Yu on the stage.