After Yu Xiaogang was treated and the misunderstanding between the two sides was resolved, Ning Fengzhi invited him to take the seat of honor.
Once Yu Xiaogang sat down, Ning said warmly:
"Master, please!"
Yu Xiaogang's heart warmed. After so many years of cold treatment and neglect, he hadn't expected the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect to show such courtesy.
"Thank you, Sect Master Ning." Yu Xiaogang bowed before sitting.
Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong exchanged a glance, then began probing.
"Master, earlier you said you were the teacher of a god. What do you mean by that?"
At that, Yu Xiaogang's spirits rose. His eyes gleamed with "wisdom" as he deliberately said:
"Sect Master Ning, have you ever heard of gods?"
Ning Fengzhi shook his head.
"No. Master, what is a god?"
Yu Xiaogang leaned in, his tone brimming with pride.
"On the Douluo Continent, rank 99 Limit Douluos are the strongest mortals. Yet, before gods, even they are but lowly servants. The realm of gods lies above the hundredth rank—hence the legend of ascending to godhood at rank 100."
"What? Such a thing exists? Rank 100 to become a god?" Ning Fengzhi was visibly shocked.
The Seven Treasures Glazed Sect's elders were equally astonished.
"You just claimed to be a teacher of gods. Does that mean you've trained a god?" Ning pressed.
Yu Xiaogang calmly sipped his tea.
"Not quite."
"What do you mean?" Gu Rong scowled. "If you haven't produced a god, how dare you call yourself such a teacher?"
"Uncle Gu, let the Master finish," Ning soothed, though both he and Gu Rong had already decided: if Yu Xiaogang was telling the truth, they would treat him with due respect. But if he was simply trying to toy with them, they would make him regret ever being born.
Yu Xiaogang, oblivious to their intent, continued sipping tea with mock elegance.
"My disciple has not yet become a god. Rather, he was chosen by the God of Asura to undergo divine trials. Once he completes them, he will leap past the impassable chasm that blocks all Title Douluo and become a supreme god."
"So you mean Tang San is destined to become a god?" Ning scrutinized Yu Xiaogang's face.
"Of course." Yu Xiaogang set down his cup. "Sect Master Ning, my beloved disciple Tang San is fated for godhood. And not just any god—the Asura God is one of the God Kings of the Divine Realm."
"God King?" Ning and Gu Rong were truly shocked this time.
"Yes, the king of all gods," Yu Xiaogang said smugly.
And from there, without needing any more prompting or testing from the sect, Yu Xiaogang poured out every secret about Tang San—using his disciple's intelligence as his own show-off capital.
As the surrounding elders looked on with awe and envy, Yu Xiaogang's fragile heart swelled with satisfaction.
Finally—
"So, Master, you're saying that Tang San is undergoing divine trials, and upon passing, he will not only become a god but even a God King?" Ning asked, breathing deeply.
"Exactly. And I, his teacher, will be the one who cultivated a god." Yu Xiaogang's "wise" eyes sparkled with unrestrained pride.
Ning glanced at Gu Rong, lips moving in a whispering sound-transmission.
"Uncle Gu, what do you think?"
Gu Rong cast a doubtful look at Yu Xiaogang.
"Judging by his expression, he doesn't seem to be lying. But Sect Master—if you were Tang San, with such potential, would you let a worthless rank-29 trash like him ride on your head as your teacher?"
"Of course not," Ning whispered back. "This 'trash' has no right to teach me. From the very beginning, when Tang San awakened his twin martial spirits—Blue Silver Grass and Clear Sky Hammer—he already surpassed Yu Xiaogang. What reason would he have to follow him?"
"Exactly. What's his motive?" Gu Rong asked.
"That's crucial. If we knew Tang San's motive, we could guess the truth." Ning replied.
Throughout, Yu Xiaogang remained blissfully unaware. As a powerless rank-29, he didn't even recognize sound-transmission, let alone high-level soul power techniques.
After their quick exchange, Ning Fengzhi suddenly flattered him:
"Then, esteemed Teacher of Gods, Yu Xiaogang, what brings you to my Seven Treasures Glazed Sect?"
Yu Xiaogang stood, hands behind his back, eyes flashing with false wisdom.
"Sect Master Ning, what do you think of the current state of the Douluo Continent?"
"Grave," Ning answered immediately. "The Spirit Hall and the Spark Academy are ambitious. At this rate, war is inevitable."
Yu Xiaogang sighed deeply, putting on a pious, sorrowful expression.
"My disciple Tang San is concerned for the continent's dire situation. While he undergoes his divine trials, he has entrusted me to walk the land, uniting its powers into an alliance to resist Spirit Hall and Spark Academy."
"And so, I journey with this mission."
"You mean, you want the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect to join this alliance you're building, to unite the continent against Spirit Hall and Spark Academy?" Ning asked.
"These two powers are no trifling matter," Gu Rong warned. "Even united, the continent's factions may not match them."
"But once my disciple becomes a god, he will decide the fate of the world in a single battle," Yu Xiaogang boasted.
At that moment, Ning Fengzhi's gaze dropped to Yu Xiaogang's lower body.
Calculating the timeline, he realized: Yu Xiaogang had been rendered a eunuch around the same time Tang Hao and Tang San had taken him along.
Enlightenment struck Ning's heart.
The father and son, with such bright futures, had no reason to take a trash like Yu Xiaogang as teacher. More likely, their relationship wasn't teacher and disciple at all—but master and servant.
That explained everything: Tang San, destined for godhood, needed time. So he had let this "useless servant" roam about under his name, forming alliances to keep Spirit Hall occupied.
After a long conversation, Yu Xiaogang had practically sold out all the information he knew about Tang San and Tang Hao. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect now knew everything they should—and Yu Xiaogang sat there proudly bragging about it.
"So, Sect Master Ning, what do you think about this alliance?" Yu Xiaogang tilted his head smugly. His tone carried no humility at all, as if in this moment he and Ning Fengzhi were equals.
Ning Fengzhi wasn't angered. He replied, "Master, this matter is of great importance. Allow me to discuss it with the upper ranks of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect before I give you an answer."
Yu Xiaogang said, "Sect Master Ning, with my disciple, soon to become a god, leading the way, Spirit Hall and Spark Academy will be easy to crush. Do we even need to discuss this?"
"I already have a general plan in mind," Ning Fengzhi answered, "but at the very least, I must inform my sect first." Then he turned to his attendants: "See to it that Master Yu is well attended to. He is a distinguished guest of our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."
"Yes," the attendants nodded.
Ning Fengzhi then left to convene the sect's senior members.
"That's the situation," Ning Fengzhi explained, then turned to the two Guardian Douluo. "Uncle Jian, Uncle Gu—what do you think about the claim that Tang San will become a god?"
Gu Rong sneered, "Tang San's talent was good, yes—twin martial souls, innate full soul power. Saying he could become a god wouldn't have been strange. But his talent has been crippled. And now they say he'll ascend to godhood? What, then, was the point of our decades of cultivation? Yu Xiaogang, that cripple, is clearly here just to freeload off us!"
Chen Xin, more tactful, said, "Sect Master, I believe we should treat Yu Xiaogang's words with caution. From what I know, he is a man who seeks empty fame. His claim needs verification."
Ning Fengzhi nodded, then suddenly raised another point: "Did you know that Yu Xiaogang is a 'man without roots'?"
"What do you mean, Sect Master?" Chen Xin asked.
Ning Fengzhi explained, "I discovered it while giving him treatment just now. Judging by the timing, he lost his manhood shortly after the Soul Master Tournament."
"So you mean… he was castrated by Tang Hao and Tang San?" Chen Xin said. "But why would they do that?"
Gu Rong scoffed, "Yu Xiaogang deceived Tang San for so long, even causing Tang San to cripple his own Clear Sky Hammer. Of course Tang Hao would be furious! In his rage, he castrated Yu Xiaogang—that's only natural. I'd say Yu Xiaogang is probably nothing more than their servant now."
Chen Xin pressed, "Then why release him? Yu Xiaogang is petty and narrow-minded. If he were castrated, shouldn't he be seething with hatred toward Tang Hao and Tang San? Why don't I sense any resentment in him?"
Ning Fengzhi answered, "One explanation is that following Tang Hao and Tang San brings him greater benefit. Enough benefit to suppress even such humiliation. And what is the greatest lure for a man like Yu Xiaogang?"
Gu Rong and Chen Xin replied without hesitation: "The reputation that comes with power—that's what he's pursued his whole life."
"Exactly. If Tang San truly can become a god, and Yu Xiaogang believes it, then he could swallow even the hatred of castration in order to keep following the father and son. That would make it reasonable for him to roam among the great factions, building an anti–Spirit Hall alliance." Ning Fengzhi said.
The two Douluo thought it over. From Yu Xiaogang's perspective, it made sense.
"So you truly believe Tang San can become a god?" Gu Rong asked, still doubtful.
Ning Fengzhi shook his head. "I can't be sure. All I can be sure of is that Yu Xiaogang wasn't lying to us. But who can guarantee that Tang Hao and Tang San aren't lying to Yu Xiaogang himself?"
"Then… should we accept his proposal?" Gu Rong asked.
"I believe we should," Ning Fengzhi said. "Regardless of whether Tang San ascends or not, we still must face Spirit Hall and Spark—two monsters squeezing our survival. An alliance is urgently needed."
He continued, "And since we're going to form an alliance anyway, why not use Tang San's supposed ascension as our rallying point? We unite under Tang San's name, persuaded by the so-called 'God's Teacher,' Yu Xiaogang. If Tang San never becomes a god, we simply blame that fraud for deceiving us."
It turned out that Ning Fengzhi had long intended to form a continental alliance. But whoever first proposed it would become a target for Spirit Hall's retaliation. None of the other major sects—the Body Sect, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan—were willing to stick their necks out. This had troubled Ning Fengzhi greatly.
Now, Yu Xiaogang had stepped forward. Whether Tang San became a god or not, they could use Yu Xiaogang as the face of the movement. And if worst came to worst, they could always push this clown out to take the blame.
"Of course, I still hope Tang San truly ascends. If he does, his power will be decisive." Ning Fengzhi said. "What do you two think?"
"Since Sect Master has spoken, we support your choice," Chen Xin and Gu Rong replied.
Meanwhile, Yu Xiaogang basked in the sect's hospitality, waiting. At last, Ning Fengzhi returned.
"Sect Master Ning, what is your decision?" Yu Xiaogang asked.
Ning Fengzhi replied, "Naturally, we are willing to unite under the banner of the God King Tang San, and under you, his God's Teacher. Together we shall form an alliance against Spirit Hall and Spark, to restore balance to the continent."
"Good! A wise choice," Yu Xiaogang said proudly.
"Then, respected God's Teacher, what are your next plans?" Ning Fengzhi asked.
"Huh? Plans?" Yu Xiaogang froze.
The truth was, Yu Xiaogang had never been one to make long-term plans. Ever since separating from Tang Hao and Tang San, he had been stuck on step one: how to make contact with a major power. That problem had stalled him for years. Now, he had finally made a breakthrough with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. But beyond that… there was no next step.