Yao Lao, Xiao Yan's Master, Revealed; Yu Xiaogang's Disdain

Perhaps Xiao Yan's teacher truly had some skill,

and could resolve the trouble plaguing Xiao Yan,

but once that hidden danger was removed,

Xiao Yan's future growth should still have little to do with that teacher.

After all, weren't teachers only supposed to provide theoretical guidance?

Just as Tang San had reached where he was today

through his own repeated, life-risking struggles,

while Yu Xiaogang had merely been the one to point him down the path.

The masters and disciples of other worlds were surely the same, weren't they?

Yet what happened next left all beings across the myriad worlds utterly stunned...

The scene continued to shift.

[During the three years in which he lost his talent, Xiao Yan had fallen from a former genius into useless trash scorned by everyone.]

[The clansmen, friends, and relatives who had once treated him with utmost respect now looked at him with coldness and mockery.]

[Only Xiao Xun'er, his childhood sweetheart, remained by his side without ever abandoning him.]

[Yet Xiao Xun'er possessed exceptional talent and peerless beauty, and her companionship instead drew even more jealousy and hostility toward Xiao Yan.]

[In a short time, Xiao Yan had fallen from a favored prodigy surrounded by admiration into an object of everyone's ridicule.]

[Then, his fiancée Nalan Yanran arrived in grand fashion to annul their engagement.]

[Although she repeatedly claimed it was to pursue freedom in marriage,]

[no one believed her words when Xiao Yan had fallen into such a low point.]

[This farce ultimately ended with Xiao Yan angrily writing a letter of divorce,]

[making the vow, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river; do not bully the poor young man,"]

[and using a Three Year Agreement to bring this dramatic annulment to an end.]

Xiao Yan's actions drew thunderous applause from the Heavens and Myriad Worlds!

Was Nalan Yanran wrong to pursue freedom in marriage?

No.

But her mistake was choosing precisely the moment Xiao Yan had fallen to rock bottom

to come and annul the engagement with such fanfare!

If Xiao Yan had still been that dazzling genius,

her annulment might only have been seen as a young girl's willful insistence on free love,

and everyone would have laughed it off.

But Xiao Yan had now become "useless trash."

No matter how one looked at it, Nalan Yanran's actions seemed like kicking him while he was down!

Battle Through the Heavens World--

Watching the stubborn version of herself from back then on the Light Screen,

Nalan Yanran wished she could rush into the scene and slap herself hard several times!

Served you right for annulling the engagement!

Served you right for annulling it!!

Hun Tiandi, watching this scene at Twin Emperors Cliff, could not help but freeze.

Having reached his level of cultivation, he understood one truth even more clearly:

to become a true powerhouse, talent alone was far from enough.

One's character was sometimes even more important than talent!

If the former Xiao Yan had merely possessed outstanding talent,

then after three years of silence, his character had been tempered like never before.

And Nalan Yanran's annulment was like the final heavy hammer blow,

completely igniting Xiao Yan's unyielding fighting spirit!

That "Three Year Agreement" was like a long whip, constantly driving him onward.

It could be said that Nalan Yanran was actually the most crucial link in Xiao Yan's path of growth!

Hun Tiandi laughed in extreme anger. "Nalan Yanran, you truly deserve to die!!"

Xiao Yan: "Heh."

Hun Tiandi: "What are you laughing at?! Besides 'heh heh,' what else can you say?!"

Xiao Yan: "Don't you only know how to say 'jie jie' too?"

Hun Tiandi: ...

Fine, fine, fine. If his cultivation had not been sealed at this moment, he would definitely have rushed over and torn Xiao Yan's mouth apart!

--Though it seemed he might not be able to beat him, either.

[After making the Three Year Agreement, Xiao Yan sat alone on a mountain cliff, feeling lost about the road ahead.]

[If his talent had remained, he might still have had a chance to fight for his future.]

[But now, he was "useless trash" who could not even break through the fourth stage of Dou Qi.]

[At that moment, a voice rang out beside his ear.]

[Xiao Yan's fated benefactor--Yao Lao--finally appeared!]

[Yao Lao had once been a peak powerhouse of the Dou Qi Continent, but he had fallen for certain reasons, leaving only a wisp of remnant soul behind.]

[As that remnant soul was about to dissipate, it had coincidentally attached itself to the ring Xiao Yan wore.]

[Afterward, he sustained his soul body by absorbing Xiao Yan's Dou Qi, eventually awakening and seeing the light of day once more.]

[Upon learning the truth, Xiao Yan nearly collapsed. He cursed furiously as he hurled the ring away!]

[The root cause of his lost talent and regressing cultivation had not been himself, but this ring.]

[Such a blow would be difficult to endure even for a Saint, let alone Xiao Yan!!]

[This meant that his entire three years of struggle and despair had been an undeserved disaster!]

This sudden truth caught everyone in the Heavens and Myriad Worlds off guard!

Everyone had originally believed that Xiao Yan had lost his talent because of some accident,

and that he had only recovered with his master's help afterward.

Who could have imagined

that the instigator behind all of it

was actually his future teacher!

How could there be such a master in this world?

Specializing in screwing over his own disciple?

Douluo World--

"Hmph, so Xiao Yan's problem was entirely caused by that teacher of his."

"He first drained all of Xiao Yan's talent and Dou Qi, then appeared when he was at his lowest point."

"That way, he could naturally take him as a disciple."

"What a scheme!"

Yu Xiaogang sneered coldly, utterly disdainful of Yao Lao's conduct.

In his view, Yao Lao's own strength was surely lacking,

or he would not have been reduced to a mere wisp of remnant soul,

needing to rely on absorbing a young man's meager Dou Qi just to survive and awaken.

What ability did such a person have?

One could see the whole leopard through a single spot--

he was nothing more than an opportunist who took advantage of another's misfortune and basked in the glory of a genius.

Was that all?

He was not even one-tenth as good as Yu Xiaogang at teaching Tang San!

At the very least, he had never absorbed Tang San's Soul Power to benefit himself--

though he truly could not do that anyway...

Xiao Wu also indignantly chimed in from the side:

"Exactly, this person is terrible! He actually survived by absorbing Xiao Yan's Dou Qi!"

"How is he any different from a vampire!"

"Can someone like that count as a good teacher? Is there something wrong with this ranking?"

With conduct like that, how could he be a master?

The Shrek Seven Devils and Tang San all nodded in agreement.

Could someone like that make the rankings?

Then didn't Grandmaster deserve it even more?

After all, Grandmaster had...

Uh...

made them carry rocks while running laps?

Shrouding Heavens World--

Ye Fan took a light sip of tea and remarked calmly:

"This Yao Lao is quite capable."

"On the path of cultivation, talent is certainly important, but character is the foundation."

"He used those three years to wear away Xiao Yan's impetuousness, like sharpening a blade with rough stone."

"On the surface, Xiao Yan's cultivation had fallen, but in truth, it laid a long-term foundation for his path."

"The former Xiao Yan was merely splendid on the outside but hollow within;"

"only after undergoing this tempering did he truly gain the qualifications to climb to the pinnacle."

Ye Fan had also risen from humble beginnings.

Was his Ancient Sacred Body talent not powerful?

Yet at first, it was no different from a useless body.

Had Jiang Taixu not stepped in to help him, he might never have been able to embark on the path of cultivation in his entire life.

But it was precisely because of the accumulation before his Sacred Body awakened

that after his physique revived, he was able to soar into the heavens!

At Ye Fan's side

stood a snow-haired, upright young man of peerless bearing.

He was none other than Ye Fan's master--the White-Clad God King, Jiang Taixu.

He deeply agreed with Ye Fan's words:

On the path of cultivation, talent was important, but character was even more indispensable!