Yu Xiaogang

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Yu Xiaogang (玉小刚)
Alias(es)	Master; “Grandmaster”
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Nuoding Academy (teacher); Shrek Academy (former core instructor); Self Academy (handyman, assistant librarian, and basic martial-soul theory assistant) 7 34
Occupation/Role	Martial-soul theorist; researcher; member of the Golden Iron Triangle
Martial Soul	Luo Sanpao — a malignantly mutated martial soul containing incomplete dragon bloodline 82
Soul Power	Level 29 Great Spirit Master; unable to break through Rank 30 prior to the planned bloodline extraction 7 82
Status	Alive; awaiting the outcome of his chosen dragon-bloodline stripping procedure 83
First Appearance	Chapter 7

Background / History

Yu Xiaogang first encounters Gu Qing and Tang San at Nuoding Academy after intervening in their dispute with a gate guard. He leads them down a secluded path and deduces that their innate full soul power and apparently ordinary martial souls imply hidden twin martial souls. Treating them as ideal disciples—and privately as test subjects for his theories—he offers to train them. Gu Qing and Tang San reject him, ridicule his level-29 bottleneck, and force him to retreat rather than risk conflict with Gu Qing’s purported Soul Sage uncle 7.

Gu Qing chooses not to have him killed despite Tang San’s offer, considering Yu Xiaogang’s connections to Bibi Dong and Liu Erlong more useful as future leverage than his death 8. Five years later, Yu Xiaogang is serving with Shrek Academy but does not recognize Gu Qing and Tang San until their actions repeatedly undermine his conclusions about “waste” martial souls and cultivation limits 15 17.

After Gu Qing dismantles Shrek Academy and founds Self Academy, Yu Xiaogang attempts to remain as a theory teacher. Gu Qing rejects the request, arguing that Yu’s theories cannot explain Tang San’s and Xiao Wu’s development. Desperate to evolve Luo Sanpao, Yu Xiaogang instead asks to become Gu Qing’s student; Gu Qing conditions any consideration on his securing Blue Tyrant Academy’s merger 20 22.

Yu Xiaogang successfully brings Liu Erlong to negotiate the merger, but he then suggests that she enter a relationship with Gu Qing to obtain help for his own martial-soul evolution. Liu Erlong denounces him for treating her as a bargaining chip. Gu Qing keeps Yu at Self Academy only as a handyman, library organizer, and assistant for basic theory instruction, promising to consider an evolution plan after six months of satisfactory work 33 34.

Following Self Academy’s exchange tournament, Yu Xiaogang again petitions Gu Qing for help. To assess Luo Sanpao, Gu Qing requires the Golden Iron Triangle to demonstrate its Martial Soul Fusion Skill. Yu Xiaogang endures Liu Erlong’s public humiliation and kneels to beg for assistance after the Golden Sacred Dragon is tested and defeated 79 81.

Gu Qing identifies two possible treatments: safely stripping Luo Sanpao’s incomplete dragon bloodline, or dangerously activating it in reverse. Yu Xiaogang chooses the safer extraction route, hoping that removing the malformed bloodline will release his Rank 30 bottleneck. The procedure begins with Gu Qing using Buddha Heart Lotus Seeds, Heavenly Heart Lotus, and Purple Fate Eyes to examine his soul-power pathways 82 83.

Appearance

Yu Xiaogang is a middle-aged man, described as around fifty years old. He has slightly greying hair and commonly wears a blue or azure scholar’s robe, later noted to be faded from repeated washing but kept neat 7 79.

• Slightly greying hair 7
• Blue or azure robes associated with his scholarly image 7 79
• Maintains a refined, composed façade that breaks down under public humiliation or threats to his theories 17 81

Personality

Yu Xiaogang is deeply invested in his status as a martial-soul theorist. He presents his deductions with deliberate confidence and superiority, expecting admiration when he identifies Gu Qing and Tang San as twin-martial-soul possessors. His proposed mentorship is driven partly by a desire to validate his theories through exceptional disciples 7.

His pride is especially tied to the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls. Tang San’s victory using Blue Silver Grass directly challenges his belief that martial-soul quality fixes a soul master’s upper limit, and he refuses to accept the result, instead declaring the match unfair 17.

His greatest motivation is resolving Luo Sanpao’s mutation and escaping the Rank 29 bottleneck. This obsession repeatedly makes him submit to Gu Qing, negotiate Blue Tyrant Academy’s merger, apologize to Liu Erlong, and accept a servant-like position. Even while outwardly compliant, he privately retains resentment and fantasies of reclaiming his status after becoming stronger 20 34 80 82.

Abilities & Skills

Martial Soul Theory

Yu Xiaogang has spent most of his life studying martial souls and developed the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls. His research is substantial enough for Gu Qing to retain him as a library organizer and assistant theory instructor, though several of his central conclusions are disproven by Tang San and Xiao Wu 17 34.

• Identified Gu Qing and Tang San as possessing twin martial souls from their innate full soul power and initial martial souls 7
• Holds that martial-soul quality determines a soul master’s potential, a belief contradicted by Tang San’s Blue Silver Grass cultivation 15 17
• Can assist with basic martial-soul theory instruction at Self Academy 34
• Cannot resolve his own martial-soul condition without Gu Qing’s intervention 20 82

Luo Sanpao

Luo Sanpao is Yu Xiaogang’s mutated martial soul. Its incomplete dragon bloodline occupies the martial soul’s core, producing a malignant mutation and preventing normal development beyond Rank 29 82.

• Contains a trace of Light Sacred Dragon bloodline, a branch close to the ancestral dragon 79 82
• Can potentially be restored to a purer Luo Sanpao form by stripping the dragon bloodline 82
• Its bloodline is valuable as a possible catalyst for Liu Erlong’s Fire Dragon martial soul to evolve 82
• The stripping procedure causes Yu Xiaogang and Luo Sanpao considerable pain and fear of losing the martial soul entirely 83

Golden Iron Triangle Martial Soul Fusion Skill

Together with Flender and Liu Erlong, Yu Xiaogang can participate in a three-person Martial Soul Fusion Skill that manifests the Golden Sacred Dragon 79 81.

• The Golden Sacred Dragon possesses speed, power, defense, and self-healing comparable to a newly ascended Titled Douluo 81
• Liu Erlong takes the leading role in controlling the fusion manifestation 80 81
• The trio’s conflicting emotions initially cause their soul powers to repel each other rather than fuse 80
• Gu Qing’s Thunder-Fire Golden Dragon Break can heavily injure the fusion and force the three controllers apart 81

Relationships

• Gu Qing — Formerly attempted to recruit him as a disciple; later submits to him in hopes of evolving Luo Sanpao. Gu Qing keeps him under supervision as a Self Academy handyman and theory assistant 7 20 34 79.
• Liu Erlong — Former lover and Golden Iron Triangle partner. Yu Xiaogang alienates her by treating her potential relationship with Gu Qing as a means to secure his own evolution, after which she publicly humiliates and distances herself from him 33 34 79 80.
• Flender — Longtime companion and fellow Golden Iron Triangle member. Their relationship is strained; Flender refuses to share Yu Xiaogang’s humiliation or readily support his requests 79 80.
• Tang San — Yu Xiaogang identifies her twin martial souls during their first meeting, prompting her to view him as a threat to Gu Qing’s secrets 7 8.
• Bibi Dong — Identified as his first love; Gu Qing preserves Yu Xiaogang partly because killing him could provoke Bibi Dong and Spirit Hall 8.
• Luo Sanpao — His martial soul and the focus of his lifelong frustration. During bloodline extraction, Luo Sanpao fears that Yu Xiaogang has abandoned it 82 83.

Notable Quotes

“I choose the first path—strip away the dragon bloodline. Safety comes first. As long as I can continue cultivating, I'll walk the rest of the road myself.” 82

“I, Yu Xiaogang... am truly scum.” 80