Yu Xiaogang: Was This Encounter a Little Too Convenient?

Faced with Nan Feng's words, both immensely oppressive and strangely comforting, Bibi Dong's taut nerves finally gave out.

Under the crushing weight of grievance, humiliation, and boundless hatred, her eyes reddened and her voice trembled. At last, she tore open that unbearable past bit by bit and laid it bare before this "ancestor."

"I grew up in Spirit City from the time I was little..."

Her voice was soft and slightly distant, as though she had returned to the days before despair had swallowed her whole.

"After awakening my Martial Soul at six, I entered Spirit Academy to study. Because of my outstanding talent, I broke through to Soul Elder at the age of twelve. Pope Qian Xunji took notice of me and accepted me as his personal disciple."

"At that time... my teacher had always treated me well. With the vast resources of Pope Palace poured into me, my cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, leaving those my age far behind. At sixteen, I broke through to Soul King."

As she said this, an incredibly complicated glimmer flashed through Bibi Dong's eyes—nostalgia, pain, and a trace of self-mockery so faint it was nearly imperceptible.

"It was also that year that I met a man I would... never forget for the rest of my life."

"His name was Yu Xiaogang, and he came from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. He had no remarkable talent. It could even be said... that he had no talent for cultivation whatsoever. Due to a mutation in his Martial Soul, his Innate Soul Power was only half a rank. He was a worthless cripple."

"But..."

Bibi Dong's tone rose slightly. "He possessed theoretical wisdom that even the older generation of Spirit Hall found astonishing. At thirteen, he left the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, came alone to Spirit City, and joined Spirit Hall."

"Logically, with his talent, he wasn't qualified to enter Spirit Hall's elite core for training at all. But... he was still the son of Yu Yuanzhen, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's leader. Out of respect for the clan, quite a few veteran Soul Masters in Spirit City paid close attention to him."

"Still, during those first two years, I was wholly focused on cultivation and had no idea such a person even existed."

"Not until I broke through to Soul King at sixteen. Because my talent was simply too exceptional, Elder Palace broke Spirit Hall's thousand-year-old rules and made an exception, granting me the position of Holy Maiden ahead of time—a position that normally required one to reach the Soul Emperor realm before even being eligible for nomination. I became the youngest Holy Maiden in Spirit Hall's history."

"It was on the day after the investiture ceremony that I met Yu Xiaogang."

At the mention of Yu Xiaogang's name, a rare trace of wistfulness and tenderness unique to a young girl's youth surfaced on Bibi Dong's face, which had been clouded by hatred.

However, Nan Feng's expression turned somewhat strange upon hearing this.

You had just become the Holy Maiden and gained control over Spirit Hall's future authority, and then Yu Xiaogang—the so-called "waste" with a head full of theories—just so happened to come looking for you?

Wasn't that fucking coincidence a little too deliberate?

Were you really so lovestruck that you didn't suspect that bastard's motives at all?!

Still, Nan Feng did not interrupt her.

As an elder, what he needed to do now was listen, not rush to mock her.

Bibi Dong was completely immersed in her memories and continued.

"He was different from everyone else I had met in Spirit City."

"He did not bow and scrape because of my status. Even before me, the lofty Holy Maiden, he retained the pride deep in his bones. Not only did he refuse to flatter me, he even dared to point out the problems in my cultivation right to my face without mercy."

"I became curious about this unconventional man and gradually began taking the initiative to approach him."

"At first, I actually thought he was childish. In a Soul Master world where strength alone reigned supreme, he actually dreamed of finding a place for himself by studying those dry theories. The old men in Spirit City appeared polite to him out of respect for his father, but behind his back, they all mocked him as a useless fool who could only talk on paper."

"Because in this world, only strength had ever been able to prove a Soul Master's worth!"

"What use were theories without sufficient strength to support them? Who would listen to your nonsense? Strength brought status, status brought influence, and only those with influence had the right to make others listen to their theories."

"But Yu Xiaogang was different..."

A trace of admiration flashed through Bibi Dong's eyes. "He was so persistent that he was almost obsessive. He firmly believed that one day, he would prove himself in this world through theory. He would prove that he was not useless!"

"And so, five years passed."

"We went from occasional debates and encounters at the beginning to arranging to meet almost every day in Spirit Hall's Library, discussing the development of the Soul Master world and mapping out paths of cultivation. We... became increasingly familiar with each other, and increasingly in sync."

"Until that year."

Bibi Dong's tone abruptly darkened. The nostalgic look on her face was instantly replaced by fear and lingering terror.

"Pope Qian Xunji suddenly issued a secret order: I was to lead two thousand elite Soul Masters from Spirit Hall to subdue Sea God Island, across the ocean."

"At the time, we knew pitifully little about Sea God Island. We only knew that it was a holy land for Soul Masters of the sea, and legend said that they worshipped the Sea God. But Spirit Hall was at the height of its power, and we did not take that remote island seriously at all. More importantly, we had brought two thousand battle-hardened elites, along with two Titled Douluo elders to oversee the operation!"

"But..."

Bibi Dong trembled all over. "Only after landing on the island did we realize just how terribly wrong we had been."

"The foundations of Sea God Island were terrifying beyond measure! Not only did they possess seven Titled Douluo known as the guardians of the Seven Holy Pillars, they also had the High Priestess who commanded all of Sea God Island—the peerless Douluo, Bo Saixi!"

"At first, with the two elders fighting desperately, we could barely hold on against the attacks of the Seven Holy Pillars. But after Bo Saixi personally made her move... it took only one exchange!"

"Just one exchange, and the two Titled Douluo elders were killed on the spot, without even a chance to self-destruct! Before that woman, we had no power to fight back. We could only flee frantically like beaten dogs."

"Under Bo Saixi's pursuit, fewer than a hundred people barely managed to escape back onto the ship."

"Later, if the Angel Legion had not come to provide desperate aerial cover, every last one of us would have died there."

"That was the first time I had ever been so close to death."

Bibi Dong closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "But amid that life-or-death escape, I finally saw my own heart clearly."

"I broke through to rank seventy. After obtaining my Spirit Ring and returning to Spirit City, I made a decision—I liked Yu Xiaogang. I wanted to be with him."

"I happily told my teacher, Qian Xunji, about it. I thought he would be as tolerant as he had always been and formally approve of us."

"But..."

Bibi Dong abruptly opened her eyes. Blood instantly filled them, and the overwhelming hatred made the surrounding air turn icy and piercingly cold.

"Not only did he refuse, he flew into a rage! He harshly rebuked me and ordered me to immediately cut off all contact with Yu Xiaogang!"

"I had never seen my teacher lose his temper like that. Yu Xiaogang had been in Spirit City for so many years, and we had spent so many years together day and night. I didn't believe that my all-powerful teacher had not heard even the slightest rumor! He had never interfered before, so why did he suddenly react so intensely now?!"

"At the time, I even naively believed that he was furious because I had suffered a crushing defeat on the Sea God Island mission and caused Spirit Hall to lose face. I thought he was taking his anger out on me when he refused."

"But I was angry too! From childhood to adulthood, he had indulged me in everything. He had never used such harsh words to scold me!"

"He kept humiliating Yu Xiaogang with the most vicious words! He said Yu Xiaogang was nothing but trash with Innate Soul Power of half a rank, that even breaking through rank thirty was nothing more than a fool's dream! He said that if not for the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's reputation, he would have thrown such garbage, which polluted Spirit Hall's air, out long ago!"

"I refused to accept it! I argued with him loudly!"

"In the end... I was so enraged that I lost my head. To force him to yield, I threatened him with the thing he cared about most."

Bibi Dong's voice began to shake violently, and tears finally slipped beyond her control.

"I said... if he did not agree, then I would rather leave Spirit Hall and give up my position as Holy Maiden than give up being with Yu Xiaogang!"

"I thought... I thought that as long as he saw how determined I was, he would surely soften and compromise."

"But I never expected..."

Bibi Dong suddenly clutched her head and crouched down in agony, an animal-like, despairing whimper escaping her throat.

"I never expected it! That beast came looking for me that very night! He brought a jug of wine, and his tone had softened. I truly thought he had compromised! I happily drank the wine he handed me..."

"But that beast... that beast had drugged the wine!!"

"When I woke up again..."

Bibi Dong bit her lips hard enough for blood to run from the corner of her mouth. Her stunningly beautiful face twisted completely under the weight of extreme humiliation.

"I was lying there... completely naked in a dark secret chamber!"

"And Qian Xunji... that teacher I had revered like a god! He sat off to one side, staring at me as though I were an object!"

"He ruined me! Not only did he violate me, he even used Yu Xiaogang's life to threaten me!"

"He said... since I dared betray Spirit Hall for that piece of trash, then he could only use this method to bind me to Spirit Hall forever! Even if he destroyed me, I still had to belong to Spirit Hall!"