Yu Xiaogang

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Yu Xiaogang (玉小刚)
Alias(es)	Grandmaster; Master 2 56
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Shrek Academy; later associated with Blue Tyrant Academy 56 149 153
Occupation/Role	Martial Soul theorist, instructor, and trainer
Martial Soul	Luo Sanpao 87
Soul Power	Level 29 9 149
Status	Alive 195
First Appearance	Chapter 2

Background / History

Nuoding City

Yu Xiaogang entered Tang San's life at Nuoding Junior Spirit Master Academy, presenting himself as the world-renowned “Grandmaster.” After Su Chen rejected his offer of mentorship, Yu focused on Tang San—an innate full soul power student with twin Martial Souls—as the disciple through whom he would prove his theories 2 3.

He personally led Tang San to obtain his first Soul Ring. During the hunt, Luo Sanpao's gas failed to stop a four-hundred-year Mandala Snake, and the snake's venom struck Yu Xiaogang's lower body when Tang San evaded its attack. The injury left him castrated and permanently affected his voice and movement 6 16 23.

Yu blamed Su Chen for the circumstances surrounding the injury and urged Tang San to use the Mandala Snake's poison against him. His condition later became public knowledge at Nuoding Academy after Su Chen displayed a recording of the incident 8 9 14. Tang Hao subsequently treated Yu Xiaogang, entrusted him with a Pope Token, and instructed him to continue teaching Tang San while keeping Tang Hao's identity secret 9.

Move to Shrek Academy

After interpreting Tang Hao's letter as evidence of Spirit Hall interference, Yu Xiaogang resolved to leave Nuoding City with Tang San. They travelled to Soto City and joined Shrek Academy, where Flender arranged for Yu to instruct Tang San, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun 22 23 26.

At Shrek, Yu sought recognition beyond Tang San alone. He accepted Flender's invitation to train the students, but demanded absolute authority over training plans, schedules, Soul Power allocation, team coordination, and future Soul Ring choices 56. His arrival was immediately undermined when Xiao Wu publicly exposed his castration, causing him to lose his composure 56 57.

Training Wager and Public Humiliation

Yu Xiaogang introduced uniform weighted-running training, requiring students of different combat roles to carry baskets of stones. Su Chen challenged the method for ignoring the distinct needs of power-attack, agility-attack, support, and food-type Soul Masters 67 68.

Determined to obtain Su Chen's secret for absorbing high-age Soul Rings, Yu wagered a month-long training contest between their students. His team was decisively defeated by Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong, despite his confidence in the regimen 96 104 109. After attempting to reject the result and feign unconsciousness, he was forced to honor the wager by crawling around Shrek Village on all fours and barking 110 112 113 114.

Blue Tyrant Academy

Yu Xiaogang persuaded Flender to relocate Shrek Academy so its students could enter the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament. Although he publicly framed the move as being for the students' futures, he also intended to use Tang San's eventual success to restore his own standing 136.

Following the group's rejection at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Yu Xiaogang applied for a theoretical guidance post at Blue Tyrant Academy. His Level 29 Soul Power was exposed during the required registration process 149. There, he reunited with Liu Erlong, whom he had avoided for two decades 151.

Later, desperate to obtain an Immortal Herb capable of breaking his Rank 29 bottleneck, Yu Xiaogang manipulated Liu Erlong's feelings and attempted to persuade her to make a sacrifice in exchange for one. She rejected him after learning his true motive 181 182.

Appearance

Yu Xiaogang is a thin, sallow-complexioned middle-aged man who deliberately cultivates the appearance of an aloof scholarly authority. Following his injury, his voice becomes shrill and his gait noticeably awkward 16 23 56.

• Often stands with his hands behind his back and chin raised when asserting authority 3 56.
• Has a flat or crew-cut hairstyle 145 151.
• Walks with his legs spread or turned inward due to lingering physical discomfort 23 96.
• Speaks in a thin, duck-like voice after his injury 16 56.

Personality

Yu Xiaogang is intensely status-conscious and craves public recognition as the spirit master world's foremost theorist. He repeatedly invokes his title of “Grandmaster,” demands deference from students and colleagues, and treats challenges to his theories as personal attacks 2 49 56.

His commitment to theory is rigid. He confidently insists on established Soul Ring limits and interprets conflicting evidence as impossible, fraudulent, or harmful rather than reconsidering his conclusions 49 105 106. His fixation on reaching Level 30 likewise drives much of his later behavior, including his pursuit of Immortal Herbs 108 180.

Yu Xiaogang is deeply attached to Tang San, treating him with paternal warmth and relying on him as his principal disciple. At the same time, he views Tang San as the proof of his own value and the instrument through which his theories will gain continental recognition 3 26 61. He is willing to manipulate others—including Liu Erlong—when he believes doing so may advance his cultivation or reputation 181 182.

Abilities & Skills

Luo Sanpao

Yu Xiaogang's Martial Soul is Luo Sanpao, a pig-like entity accompanied by a single yellow Soul Ring 87.

• Uses the technique “Farts Like Thunder, Shaking the Heavens and Splitting the Earth” to release yellow gas toward opponents 87.
• The gas has hypnotic or toxic properties, but a four-hundred-year Mandala Snake resisted it entirely 6.
• Luo Sanpao was unable to evade a Man Faced Demon Spider's web and was quickly restrained 87.
• Yu Xiaogang remains at Level 29 and has not broken through to Level 30 149 180.

Martial Soul Theory

Yu Xiaogang authored the widely circulated Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul and bases his authority on his theoretical research 56 145.

• Identified the Man Faced Demon Spider as a suitable third Soul Ring target for Tang San's Blue Silver Grass, citing its venom, webbing, and aggressive nature 88.
• Formulated fixed Soul Ring age limits for Soul Grandmasters, including restrictions on second and third Soul Rings 49.
• Proposed that intense physical stimulation during an over-limit Soul Ring absorption could trigger the formation of an External Soul Bone 93.
• His theories have repeatedly failed to account for Su Chen's Soul Rings, Immortal Herbs, and the rapid development of Su Chen's companions 49 106 108.

Limit Training

Yu Xiaogang's principal training method is weighted endurance running.

• Requires students to run with bamboo baskets loaded with stones to build physique, endurance, and willpower 67.
• Applies the same regimen to different Martial Soul types despite their distinct combat roles 67.
• Continues using the method during his training contest against Su Chen 96 104.

Equipment / Items

• Pope Token — Given to Yu Xiaogang by Tang Hao after the Soul Hunting Forest incident 9.

Relationships

• Tang San — Personal disciple. Yu Xiaogang treats Tang San with paternal affection and depends on him to validate his theories; Tang San remains fiercely loyal to him 3 23 61.
• Su Chen — Primary rival. Su Chen openly challenges Yu Xiaogang's theories, repeatedly humiliates him, and defeats his students in their training wager 2 74 109.
• Flender — Longtime friend and Shrek Academy's dean. Flender brought Yu Xiaogang into the academy and initially supported his authority, though he later refused to shield him from the consequences of the wager 26 56 110.
• Liu Erlong — Yu Xiaogang's cousin and former lover. He initially imagines a purely spiritual relationship with her after his injury, but later damages their relationship through his attempt to use her to obtain an Immortal Herb 16 181 182.
• Tang Hao — Tang San's father. Tang Hao entrusted Tang San's education to Yu Xiaogang, provided treatment after his injury, and gave him a Pope Token 9.
• Bibi Dong — Yu Xiaogang believes she is responsible for Spirit Hall's supposed efforts against him and Tang San, though this conclusion stems from his own interpretation of Tang Hao's letter 22 61.

Notable Quotes

“I, Yu Xiaogang, am absolutely not being coerced by any violence! I simply refuse to let others say that I break my word!” 112