Yu Xiaogang stood frozen in place, like a clay sculpture whose soul had been instantly drained away.
"Pfft!" Overcome with anger and rage, a mouthful of blood spurted from Yu Xiaogang's mouth, splattering onto the front of his faded old robe, a shocking sight. Yu Xiaogang's vision blurred, his body swayed, and he almost collapsed.
Two Pope's Hall guards, clad in silver armor and exuding a deep, imposing aura, appeared silently at the palace entrance. One on each side, they unceremoniously grabbed Yu Xiaogang's limp body and dragged him out of the palace without a word.
Yu Xiaogang did not resist, or rather, he had lost the strength and will to resist; he simply stared blankly ahead.
" Little San... No!!!" A heart-wrenching scream, filled with endless terror, finally came from outside the hall.
Inside the hall, Bibi Dong's purple eyes gazed intently at the hall's entrance, her gaze unfathomable. Yu Xiaogang's collapse and screams did not move her in the slightest.
" The Clear Sky Sect... Tang San... Twin Martial Souls... Ha, dreaming of turning the world upside down? That's far too naive."
Bibi Dong muttered to herself, her voice so low that only she could hear it.
She had already made up her mind that eliminating Tang San, this potentially huge threat wielding the Clear Sky Hammer, was a strategy she had planned long ago. Yu Xiaogang's arrival only made Bibi Dong more certain of the correctness of this decision, and seeing the man's pained expression with her own eyes... seemed not so bad after all.
Pope's Hall, Yu Xiaogang was unceremoniously thrown out of the Spirit Hall's gate by two Pope's Hall guards, like a rag doll.
Yu Xiaogang staggered a few steps, barely managing to stand. His chest felt tight, and his throat tasted metallic. The mouthful of blood he had vomited out in a fit of rage still seemed to be stuck in his chest.
The ordinary guards standing at the foot of the steps outside the hall immediately showed undisguised contempt and mockery when they saw Yu Xiaogang's disheveled appearance, with his clothes stained with blood and thrown out by the guards.
"Hey, isn't this the arrogant ' Grandmaster ' from earlier?" a security guard said sarcastically, his eyes scanning Yu Xiaogang up and down.
"Exactly! Doesn't he even know his own worth? A Grandmaster, my foot! Bah!" another gatekeeper spat, his face full of disdain.
"Get out of here, don't dirty the Pope's Hall grounds!" The gatekeeper waved impatiently to shoo them away.
These vulgar and direct insults severely Stomp on Yu Xiaogang's already shattered dignity and crumbling spirit.
Yu Xiaogang suddenly raised his head, his bloodshot eyes glaring fiercely at the guards. The overwhelming hatred in his eyes made the guards shudder and instinctively take a half step back.
Yu Xiaogang ignored them completely, not even bothering to clean the bloodstains on his chest, and stumbled out of Spirit City.
Finding a carriage shop near the city gate, Yu Xiaogang took out twenty Gold Soul Coin, slammed them on the counter, and said urgently, "The fastest carriage! Take the pipe, towards the Heaven Dou Empire."
Upon seeing the pile of gleaming Gold Soul Coin, the carriage shop assistant quickly arranged for a carriage drawn by two strong horses.
Yu Xiaogang practically lunged into the carriage.
"Giddy up!" The driver cracked the whip, and the carriage shot forward, its wheels rolling as it sped along the wide official road leading to the Heaven Dou Empire.
Inside the carriage, Yu Xiaogang slumped in his seat, muttering to himself, " Little San... you must hold on... wait for the teacher to come and save you..."
Yu Xiaogang traveled day and night, his heart burning with anxiety. Exhaustion was eroding his spirit, and his vigilance towards his surroundings inevitably decreased.
When the carriage reached a remote section of the winding mountain road far from villages and towns, it was suddenly blocked by several large rocks and felled tree trunks in the middle of the road ahead.
Just as the driver was about to rein in his horse, seven or eight men with sharp blades and ferocious faces jumped out from behind the piles of rocks on both sides. They were the desperate bandits who had been entrenched here, targeting passing merchants and lone travelers.
These robbers were clearly discerning; they noticed that Yu Xiaogang's carriage was not only luxurious, but the horses pulling it were also very strong, and the driver was dressed neatly, so they deduced that he was not a poor traveler.
The leader was a level 40+ Power Attack System Soul Ancestor nicknamed " Black Bear," while the others were Soul Master of levels 20-30.
"Stop the car! Leave all your valuables behind!" Black Bear roared with a savage grin, carrying a large, demon-headed sword.
The coachman was terrified and tried to turn the horse around, but a robber threw a knife that struck him in the shoulder, causing him to scream and fall off the carriage.
Yu Xiaogang inwardly cried out in alarm and forced himself to calm down. He quickly released Luo Sanpao, attempting to create chaos with his Soul Skill.
"His farts are like thunder, Earth-Shattering Luo Sanpao!"
Luo Sanpao's obese body suddenly bulged, releasing an incredibly foul-smelling attack. This unexpected and "unique" Soul Skill caught the unsuspecting bandits off guard, causing them to panic. The two Soul Grandmaster at the forefront were dizzy and sluggish from the stench.
"Damn it! He's a Soul Master! Brothers, let's go and kill him!" Black Bear, seeing this, was not surprised but enraged. He roared and charged forward, brandishing his ghost-head broadsword. The other bandits also reacted, unleashing a barrage of Soul Skill and swords.
Yu Xiaogang directed Luo Sanpao to charge left and right, attempting to defend himself, but he lacked practical combat experience and had neglected training for many years. His Soul Power Level and attack methods were also far inferior to his opponent's. Soon, Yu Xiaogang was struck hard in the back from the side by an iron rod from a Soul Elder.
"Pfft!" Yu Xiaogang spat out a mouthful of blood, his vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground. Luo Sanpao a mournful cry and transformed into a stream of light, returning to Yu Xiaogang's body.
The robbers swarmed forward, punching and kicking, tearing Yu Xiaogang's Yu Xiaogang old robe to shreds, and taking all the Gold Soul Coin and Storage Soul Tool from his pockets.
One of the robbers, unable to bear seeing Yu Xiaogang attack with Luo Sanpao's stench when he resisted, grinned maliciously and swung the iron bar in his hand, smashing it hard against Yu Xiaogang's left shin!
"Snap!"
A crisp cracking sound rang out, and the excruciating pain caused Yu Xiaogang, who was still unconscious, to let out a piercing scream before falling back into unconsciousness.
"Bah! Poor Soul Master, all you get is this little bit of profit!" Black Bear cursed as he tallied up the loot. The bandits then turned the carriage upside down, taking everything they could, before driving off in the stolen carriage, leaving behind only the unconscious, almost naked Yu Xiaogang, his left leg twisted and deformed, lying in the cold, dirty roadside dust.
After an unknown amount of time, the cold night dew and the excruciating pain in his wounds slowly roused Yu Xiaogang from his reverie. He felt icy cold all over, as if every bone in his body was broken, and his left leg was writhing in agony. With difficulty, Yu Xiaogang turned his head and saw only a vast wilderness and a sky full of Star Dou. The robbed carriage and bandits had long since vanished.
Fear, despair, and a deep-seated worry for Tang San's safety overwhelmed Yu Xiaogang in an instant. "I can't die here! I have to get back! Little San might be in danger!"
Yu Xiaogang Yu Xiaogang his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, and used his arms to support his upper body, dragging his broken leg as he moved forward, crawling inching along. The rough ground chafed his palms, elbows, and knees, and blood mixed with dirt, leaving a long, shocking trail behind him.
Only one thought burned in Yu Xiaogang's mind like a raging fire: Little San... wait for me... teacher... is coming...
He climbed like this for an unknown amount of time, Yu Xiaogang consciousness fluctuating between clear and blurry, until he heard familiar, noisy marching sounds ahead...
When the Royal Knights at the forefront of the participating teams discovered that the person lying by the roadside, half-naked and severely injured, screaming hoarsely, was actually Yu Xiaogang, the leader of the Shrek Academy, they immediately reported it up the chain of command.
Crown Prince Xue Qinghe personally led the Shrek students to confirm the situation, and students from other academies also gathered around to watch the spectacle. Seeing Yu Xiaogang's miserable state, everyone was shocked and in uproar.
" Grandmaster Yu? How... how did he become like this?"
"Oh my god, my leg is broken!"
"Weren't you supposed to be Soul Master? How come you couldn't even handle a few petty thieves?"
"Judging by his appearance, he's probably been robbed of everything. That's really pitiful..."
There was much discussion, ranging from surprise and pity to disdain.
Yu Xiaogang ignored all of this, his eyes frantically searching through the crowd. When he spotted Tang San, a terrifying light flashed in his eyes, and he hissed, " Little San! Run! The Spirit Hall has sent people to kill you! Get out of here!"
The desperate, chilling warning silenced the crowd instantly, followed by a louder murmur of discussion. Three days had passed since the attack, and most people felt he had been utterly useless.