Ning Rongrong: "Break All Three of His Legs."

The comments on the Heavenly Screen had still been frantically debating how to kill Li Xun and steal Qian Renxue away.

Then they heard the mother and son start talking about Master Yu Xiaogang.

[Wait... the Holy Maiden back then was Bibi Dong, the current Pope, wasn't she?]

[What a bombshell! The former Holy Maiden of Spirit Hall fell in love with a useless Soul Master who was stuck at level thirty for life!]

[My god, the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul was cobbled together from other people's work? And I treated that book like a bible. Damn it!]

["There are no useless Martial Souls, only useless Soul Masters"? Turns out he's the biggest joke of all!]

[Stuck at level thirty for life, with a failed mutation of a Martial Soul. What gave him the right to call himself the continent's foremost theorist?]

[The irony. He's the perfect example of a useless Soul Master, yet he spent his whole life lecturing everyone else.]

[Bibi Dong was Spirit Hall's Holy Maiden, a prodigy! How did she fall for a lying scumbag like him?]

[He manipulated her! She was young and innocent, and he fooled her with sweet talk!]

[So not a single sentence in that book was original? It was all stolen notes stitched together?]

[Worst of all, he used her and ran! The moment Spirit Hall put pressure on him, he abandoned Bibi Dong!]

[Then he went after Liu Erlong, only to abandon her too. He's rotten to the core!]

[No wonder Qian Renxue looks down on him. Anyone who knew the truth would!]

[I used to think the master was strong and patient, a talent who'd never gotten his chance. Now I see he's nothing but a fraud!]

[Yu Xiaogang fooled the whole continent for decades. Today, the Heavenly Screen finally exposed him!]

Comments raced across the Heavenly Screen. Countless people throughout the continent drew sharp breaths at the revelation.

The aura of the lofty "master of theory" that had surrounded Yu Xiaogang cracked wide open. Many Soul Masters who had studied his works and looked up to him found their beliefs shaken to the core.

At the gates of Spirit City.

Yu Xiaogang stood frozen. He had planned to hear what the Heavenly Screen said about him before entering the city. Now he wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole.

When Qian Renxue first mentioned his name, he had lifted his chin slightly, even feeling a flicker of pride. He had thought the Heavenly Screen was about to praise his theoretical achievements again.

But the longer he listened, the darker his face grew.

His failed Martial Soul mutation and lifelong confinement at level thirty. His deception of Bibi Dong and the books he had assembled from Spirit Hall's secret texts. His abandonment of Bibi Dong and betrayal of Liu Erlong. One buried deed after another came to light.

His face went from white to red, then drained to a livid gray. Veins throbbed at his temples. He clenched his hands so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

The Heavenly Screen had laid the past he had tried hardest to bury before the entire continent. The disgrace hidden beneath his gleaming title of "master" could no longer be concealed.

The searching, startled, contemptuous looks around him pricked Yu Xiaogang like needles.

"Lies... every word of it is nonsense!"

Yu Xiaogang snarled under his breath, his chest heaving with anger he had nowhere to vent. He wanted to argue, but every claim Qian Renxue had made was true. He had no defense.

Inside Papal Hall, the oppressive atmosphere had nearly solidified.

The hall was silent. Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo stood below with their hands at their sides, deliberately breathing so softly that they made no sound.

Bibi Dong sat high on the papal throne, her face cold and livid, the malice surging around her almost tangible. The Heavenly Screen had exposed old memories she had sealed away and never wanted anyone to touch, laying them bare before the entire continent.

To her, it had done more than reopen old wounds. It had slandered Xiaogang. And Qian Renxue, that defiant daughter of hers, had dared reveal every secret through the Heavenly Screen. She had gone too far and deserved a harsh lesson.

Bibi Dong swept a cold gaze across the hall. Her voice held no warmth as it echoed through the vast chamber. "Ghost Douluo, go to Heaven Dou City and deliver my command."

Ghost Douluo's heart tightened. He bowed and waited.

"How much longer will our plan to seize control of the Heaven Dou Empire take? If you cannot finish it, I will send our forces to crush the Heaven Dou Imperial Family." Bibi Dong's voice was icy. She had lost her patience.

"As you command, Your Holiness!"

Ghost Douluo dropped heavily to one knee, his heart full of helpless frustration. He wanted no part in the Pope's tangled personal grievances, but he would never dare disobey her. He could only grit his teeth and accept the task.

Beside him, Chrysanthemum Douluo stood with lowered eyes and said nothing. Papal Hall had never felt more suffocating.

At the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Ning Rongrong blinked her bright eyes, curiosity written all over her face, and turned to Ning Fengzhi beside her. "Father, is what the Heavenly Screen said true? Is Master Yu really that kind of person?"

Ning Fengzhi gently stroked his daughter's hair. His expression turned serious as he explained, "The Heavenly Screen was telling the truth. Take the theory in his book. He states that a Soul Master's first spirit ring can be no older than 423 years. I disagree with such a rigid conclusion. The age of a spirit ring a Soul Master can endure should depend on the strength of their body. It cannot be reduced to a fixed, absolute number."

After hearing her father's explanation, Ning Rongrong's little face tightened with indignation. She clenched her small fists. "I see! Then he's a fraud and a heartless scumbag! If I ever run into him, I'll break all three of his legs!"

Ning Fengzhi, Sword and Bone Douluo: ...

["Actually, your father had something to do with that."

Qian Renxue kept cooking, turning the food with her spatula. It sizzled in the pan, its aroma slowly filling the kitchen.

Li Qingyang's interest was instantly piqued. "How did Dad get mixed up in this?"

"Your aunt never told you that story?" Qian Renxue asked, turning toward him.

"Told me what?" Li Qingyang looked utterly lost. He had never heard about it.

Qian Renxue shook her head helplessly and gently ruffled the boy's hair. "Your father was the first person to publicly challenge Yu Xiaogang's theories. After your father and your master underwent Spirit Awakening, the first school they attended was Nuoding Academy. That was where they met Yu Xiaogang.

Yu Xiaogang was determined to take your master Tang San as his disciple, but your father stopped him on the spot. He asked Yu Xiaogang what kind of Soul Beast Tang San should hunt for the first spirit ring of his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul. Qingyang, can you guess what Yu Xiaogang said?"

Li Qingyang shook his head blankly. "I don't know."

Qian Renxue did not keep him in suspense. She gave the iron pan a toss and told him plainly:

"He wanted your master to absorb a venomous Mandala Snake. Blue Silver Grass is a Martial Soul of pure life energy. Fusing it with a highly poisonous Soul Beast would be like trying to douse a fire with more flame. Their attributes naturally clash. He had it completely backward."]