Shut Up! You Think You're Worthy of Mentioning the Pope?

"As for that last scrap of dignity you have left..." Qian Renyuan's tone was calm, yet it carried a chill that made one's spine tingle. "You used some dubious token to pretend to be a Spirit Hall elder for most of your life, swindling people and mooching off others everywhere. Do you take Spirit Hall's rules for decoration, or do you think no one can uncover your past?"

Hearing this, Yu Xiaogang, sprawled in the pool of blood, suddenly shuddered.

"No! I didn't impersonate anyone!"

Ignoring the agonizing pain of his shattered right hand, Yu Xiaogang's blood-smeared face twisted into something nearly feral.

He abruptly raised his head and tore at his wind-leaking throat, screaming hysterically:

"This badge wasn't scammed from anyone! You can't treat me like this! I know the Pope! Back then, the Pope and I..."

"Shut up."

Qian Renyuan's lazy posture, with one hand supporting his chin, vanished in an instant. The air pressure around him dropped to freezing.

Qian Renyuan leaned forward slightly, his gaze as cold as if he were looking at a pile of trash. The cat-and-mouse amusement from before was gone, replaced by the fury of someone whose forbidden boundary had been crossed.

"You think someone like you is worthy of speaking the Pope's name?"

He looked down at Yu Xiaogang, disgust seeping through his voice.

"Yu Xiaogang, you are not worthy."

Qian Renyuan felt dirty just looking at him any longer. He withdrew his gaze in distaste, tilted his head slightly, and looked toward Ma Xiunuo below the stage.

"Ma Xiunuo, read it aloud for everyone on this training ground." Qian Renyuan's tone was casual. "Let them hear whether our Spirit Hall truly has such a distinguished honorary elder."

Ma Xiunuo had been holding in his anger for a long time. Now that Qian Renyuan was backing him, he immediately straightened his back and strode forward.

Holding a document in his hand, he quietly circulated Soul Power and projected his voice clearly into every ear on the training ground:

"After Spirit Hall reviewed and verified the records, the elder registry of Pope Palace has never contained the name Yu Xiaogang! As for the badge in his possession, it has absolutely no official documentation!"

The moment those words were spoken, the previously quiet training ground erupted.

Before this, the teachers and students had merely thought Yu Xiaogang was a plagiarizing thief. But now, the way they looked at him changed. He was a complete and utter fraud!

"So even his Spirit Hall identity was fake?"

"I knew it! Why would a dignified Spirit Hall elder freeload in our little academy for so many years? Turns out he was just an old con artist!"

"Bah! What an eye-opener. He was still putting on airs just now, ordering the Law Enforcement Squad to stand down. How thick must his skin be?"

Those undisguised voices of contempt poured salt mercilessly into Yu Xiaogang's wounded pride.

Yu Xiaogang's mouth hung open, but he could not make a sound. He lay limp in the pool of blood like a dead fish, his eyes completely unfocused.

Looking at the lump of filth on the ground whose breathing had grown faint, Qian Renyuan lightly dusted off his sleeve, where no dust existed. It was time to bring this farce to an end.

He withdrew the last trace of his patience and delivered the final judgment:

"Since no such person exists in the records, handle this according to Spirit Hall's rules. Strip Yu Xiaogang of all false identities, cripple his Soul Power channels, and throw him into Notting City Prison to await Pope Palace's judgment."

"Yes, sir!"

The Law Enforcement Squad had long since been unable to wait. Two burly soul masters charged forward like wolves and tigers, grabbing Yu Xiaogang by the back of his collar and brutally hauling him out of the pool of blood.

One of the soul masters wore a cold expression. He raised his hand, circulated Soul Power, and slammed his palm without mercy into Yu Xiaogang's dantian.

"Bang—"

With a dull explosion, Yu Xiaogang's entire body convulsed as though struck by lightning. The pitiful trace of Soul Power within him instantly dispersed like air rushing from a punctured ball.

At the brink of life and death, Yu Xiaogang's martial soul instinctively tried to protect its master. Luo Sanpao's fat phantom had only just emerged in midair when, before it could even fart, it was instantly shattered by the force, let out a miserable cry, and retreated into his body without another movement.

"Ah—"

Yu Xiaogang's eyes rolled upward. Before he could even let out a scream, he completely lost consciousness.

The Law Enforcement Squad showed him no mercy, dragging him toward the edge of the training ground like a rotten sack. Yu Xiaogang's limp legs scraped along the ground, leaving behind two horrifying trails of blood.

His head dangled helplessly, yet saliva still dribbled from his mouth as he muttered like a madman:

"I'm a master... I'm a Spirit Hall elder... My theories are invincible... You can't arrest me..."

Tang San stared fixedly at the receding trail of blood, his fists clenched until they cracked, his nails deeply embedded in his palms.

"A fraud... He really was a complete fraud!"

Tang San clenched his back teeth hard enough that he could taste the faint tang of blood in his mouth.

After seeing Yu Xiaogang's true face, the stifled, vicious fire in his heart burned even hotter. He refused to admit that, after living two lives, he had been blind enough to misjudge someone so badly. He was even less willing to admit that he had nearly knelt and begged to become the disciple of a worthless fraud!

That humiliation left him desperately needing an outlet. So he placed all the blame on the lofty Holy Son atop the platform.

It's all your fault! If you hadn't insisted on exposing everything in public, how could I, Tang San, have ended up in such an embarrassing position!

"Die!"

Tang San suddenly lifted his eyes, a fierce glint flashing within them. His right hand snapped upward.

"Whoosh—"

A Sleeve Arrow gleaming with blue light, clearly coated in deadly poison, tore through the air and shot straight at Qian Renyuan's throat!

This was the Tang Sect's secret art that Tang San took such pride in. He was confident that even a Soul Elder would suffer greatly from such an unexpected ambush.

Unfortunately, before absolute power, this so-called secret art was not worth a fart.

"Impudence."

A cold shout exploded through the air. Jiangmo Douluo, standing nearby, did not even summon his martial soul. He simply raised a hand with a contemptuous expression and casually waved it as though swatting away a fly.

"Crack!"

The Sleeve Arrow Tang San regarded as his trump card seemed to strike an invisible wall in midair. Before it could even approach Qian Renyuan, it was crushed into powder by the gust of force and scattered across the ground.

"What?!" Tang San's pupils shrank to pinpoints as a storm surged within his heart.

My hidden weapon... shattered just like that?!

Before he could recover from the blow, Jiangmo Douluo's terrifying pressure as a Super Douluo had already crashed down upon him.

"Bang!"

Tang San had no room to resist. His knees buckled, and his entire body was slammed hard onto the ground.

The immense pressure ground his bones until they creaked, making even a breath an impossible luxury.

On the platform, Qian Renyuan rose to his feet. He descended the steps at an unhurried pace, and his boots came to a stop beside Tang San's face.