Yu Xiaogang's Humiliating Departure

At the north gate of Spirit City.

A crowd of townspeople had formed a circle at the foot of the city wall. Angry shouts rang out from among them from time to time, drawing even more people over to watch.

Through the densely packed wall of people, several young men could be seen shoving another young man in the middle.

Each of the young men wore a fitted white outfit with a black cape behind him. At the center of each man's chest was the fist-sized character for "soul," the standard attire of Spirit Hall's direct subordinates.

The young man they were targeting wore simple cloth clothes. He had ordinary features and a thin build. Having been pushed to the ground, he had gotten plenty of dust on his clothes and looked like a commoner.

A newcomer, unaware of what was happening, asked someone nearby in curiosity, "Why are Spirit Hall's Soul Masters bullying a commoner?"

Someone who had been watching for a while explained, "He's no commoner. Apparently, he's a spy another faction sent to Spirit Hall. He was caught red-handed sneaking into Spirit Hall's library, and now they're driving him out of the city!"

"Why are they only driving him out? In the Star Luo Empire, a spy would be put to death as soon as he was caught."

It was clear that this person came from the Star Luo Empire. Accustomed to the empire's decisive use of lethal force, he found Spirit Hall's methods merciful by comparison.

A Spirit City resident beside him said, "That's always been Spirit Hall's rule. As long as someone isn't guilty of heinous crimes, they'll leave him a way out."

Seeing the crowd grow larger and larger, the young Spirit Hall Soul Masters pointed at the young man on the ground and shouted to the people around them:

"Everyone, look! This fellow is called Yu Xiaogang. He's a spy another faction sent to Spirit City to steal information from Spirit Hall. While he was in Spirit City, he also had the audacity to plagiarize Spirit Hall's precious knowledge and publish it under his own name."

"An elder discovered him later and arrested him in the library, catching him red-handed with the stolen goods. The elder was merciful and spared his life, ordering us to drive him out of the city."

It turned out that after the Second Worship, Golden Crocodile Douluo, had given Bibi Dong a few words of guidance, she had begun devoting herself wholeheartedly to training and cultivation.

But she had no intention of taking the Worships' advice and separating from Yu Xiaogang. Instead, she thought that as long as she improved her strength, she would have a say in Spirit Hall and be free to choose whom she wanted to be with.

If her teacher still disagreed then, she would leave Spirit Hall with Yu Xiaogang.

But things would never go as smoothly as she expected. After Bibi Dong entered seclusion, Yu Xiaogang continued to do as he pleased, freely entering and leaving the library.

He had been able to enter before for two reasons: Bibi Dong had brought him along, and Spirit Hall and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect were still in an ambiguous phase, so others naturally turned a blind eye.

Now that he was entering on his own, he was asking for trouble. As a result, Yu Xiaogang was branded a spy and driven out of the city.

"That's not true!" Yu Xiaogang argued loudly. "Those materials were all my own..."

Slap-

A young man beside him suddenly slapped Yu Xiaogang across the face, cutting him off. A crimson handprint appeared on Yu Xiaogang's face at once.

"Even now, you're still refusing to admit it."

The young man cupped his hands toward the commoners present. "Please be aware that this man has been placed on Spirit City's blacklist and is forbidden from entering the city for twenty years. If you see him in Spirit City in the future, sorry for the trouble, but please report him to Spirit Hall. I thank you all in advance."

With that, he grabbed Yu Xiaogang by the hair and turned his face in a circle so the commoners around them could get a good look at him.

The young man leaned close to Yu Xiaogang's ear and said with a smile, "Aren't you the young sect master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect? Why don't you go back there? Or could it be that they hate seeing a waste like you too?"

Then he slammed him to the ground. The others beside him also kicked Yu Xiaogang a few times, shouting as they did, "Stay away from our Spirit City, you useless piece of trash!"

After humiliating Yu Xiaogang in every way they could, the group finally turned and left, leaving him alone to face the townspeople pointing and whispering around him.

Yu Xiaogang had never suffered such humiliation. Even in the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect, though the sect's disciples all looked down on him, they kept it to themselves and were never rude to him in public.

But now, in Spirit City, he had been thrown down at the city gate for passing pedestrians to point and whisper at. Though he had suffered no real physical injuries, Yu Xiaogang's heart was bleeding.

He could not even bring himself to get up and flee. He could only bury his face in the dirt and cover his ears with both hands, turning his back to the people around him.

"What happened here?" someone suddenly asked nearby.

Everyone turned toward the voice and saw a handsome young man in a fitted silver outfit standing nearby.

Those clothes, those looks, that bearing-one glance was enough to tell he was an important figure in Spirit Hall.

Indeed, this person was none other than Jun Yan.

After learning Sage Mode, he had hurried back to Spirit City. As soon as he reached the gate, he saw a large crowd gathered together and came over to see what had happened.

Someone immediately explained eagerly, "Sir, he's a spy Spirit Hall discovered. He was just driven out of the city."

A spy? Why didn't they kill him instead of letting him go? Jun Yan wondered.

He certainly would not believe any claim that Spirit Hall was so merciful it would not kill even a spy. That was meant to build a noble and righteous image of Spirit Hall in the hearts of the people. Any Soul Master who believed it would be a real fool.

"What's his name?" Jun Yan asked.

"I think it was Yu something," someone nearby said.

Jun Yan smiled at that and said to the man on the ground, "So it's you, Yu Xiaogang."

Unfortunately, Yu Xiaogang was covering his ears and could not hear Jun Yan at all.

Seeing Yu Xiaogang ignore him, Jun Yan had no interest in mocking him any further.

"Everyone, disperse!" After saying that, Jun Yan headed straight into the city.

Hearing the important figure from Spirit Hall say so, the onlookers gradually left.

Yu Xiaogang lay on the ground for quite a while. Only after all the clamor around him had faded away did he lift his head and take a look. Seeing that everyone had dispersed, he finally climbed to his feet.

He glared resentfully at Spirit City behind him.

"Spirit Hall, I'll repay you for today's humiliation someday!"

With that, he brushed the dust from his clothes and walked off into the distance, looking somewhat disheveled.

After entering the city, Jun Yan went straight back to the Jun family home, but Jun Kuang was not there at the time.

So Jun Yan summoned the steward. "Has there been any news of the Holy Maiden lately?"

"No. I heard the Holy Maiden entered seclusion half a month ago, so there's been no news of her."

"No wonder!" Jun Yan nodded, then waved the steward away.

So Bibi Dong had entered seclusion, and Yu Xiaogang had lost the only protection he had. No wonder he had been driven out of Spirit City, and in such a manner.

"This should have happened long ago. With the powerful talent of Twin Martial Souls, instead of thinking about reaching level one hundred and becoming a god as soon as possible, she's wasting her time on romance and neglecting what matters."