Before the crowd, Gu Rong lifted his cloak, revealing his true appearance—a tall, broad-boned, ugly man missing an arm.
Immediately, vast spirit power pressure surged from the Bone Dragon around him, spreading outward but carefully bypassing Yu Xiaogang. Instead, it locked precisely onto Yu Xiaoke, Yu Xiaozhu, Yu Xiaoren, and the other clan members.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black—
Nine immense spirit rings descended one after another.
A colossal ancient dragon slowly manifested behind Gu Rong and Yu Xiaogang, flapping skeletal wings as it soared skyward, unleashing a threatening roar toward the Yu clan members.
"Titled… Titled Douluo…" Yu Xiaoren said with a grim expression.
Gu Rong declared:
"The Teacher Of Gods is an honored guest of my Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. I will not permit your Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan to bully him."
With a Titled Douluo backing him, Yu Xiaogang's smugness soared. His mouth nearly split to his ears as he said proudly:
"You hear that? I am a valued guest of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect! I am the Teacher Of Gods! I, Yu Xiaogang, am no longer the man you once trampled and mocked. Hahahahaha!"
He laughed manically, venting decades of resentment and hatred he had long buried in his heart toward his clan.
Yu Xiaozhu, Yu Xiaoren, and Yu Xiaoke exchanged silent looks. Their expressions said everything.
Yu Xiaozhu: "No longer the same? He still looks stuck at rank 29 to me…"
Yu Xiaoren: "What's this about a Teacher Of Gods?"
Yu Xiaoke: "Has the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect lost their minds? Taking in a rank 29 reject that even our Blue Lightning Clan discarded, and treating him as an honored guest?"
As Yu Xiaogang laughed in arrogance, disaster struck. A pressure far stronger than Gu Rong's Bone Dragon fell upon him. His frail body collapsed instantly, crushed to his knees in shock and humiliation.
Meanwhile, the Titled-level suppression on the others dissipated, as if stripped away by an even greater force.
"Hmph. Bone Douluo Gu Rong, this is my Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, not your Seven Treasure Glazed Sect. To oppress my clan members within my own sect—do you think nothing of us?"
A voice rang from afar.
The Bone Dragon ignored Yu Xiaogang, who knelt on the ground trembling, his face twisted by pain, shame, and fury. Instead, the dragon raised its head toward the sky.
Above, golden light filled the heavens. A massive golden dragon descended, carrying a figure upon its head.
Yu Xiaomen stood proudly atop the Golden Dragon's brow, looking down upon Yu Xiaogang and the Bone Dragon with utter dominance.
At this time, Yu Xiaomen's spirit power had reached rank 96. His spirit rings: yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, red, red.
The tide instantly turned.
Gu Rong's martial spirit ranked beneath the Golden Holy Dragon, and his spirit power was a level lower than Yu Xiaomen's. Worse, Yu Xiaomen possessed a hundred-thousand-year spirit ring, while Gu Rong did not. If they fought, the Bone Dragon could only rely on its defense to hold on briefly. And this was the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's territory—here stood also another Titled Douluo, the old Dragon King Yu Yuanzhen.
Yet Gu Rong refused to bow his head. He said coldly:
"Saint Dragon Douluo, Yu Xiaogang is a noble Teacher Of Gods, an honored guest of my Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Bearing our sect's token, he serves as envoy to your clan. For you to treat him this way—I cannot stand idly by."
"Teacher Of Gods? Honored guest of the Seven Treasure Sect?" Yu Xiaomen blinked in surprise. Looking down at Yu Xiaogang, who still knelt humiliated under his earlier suppression, he quickly withdrew the pressure and said with false courtesy:
"Ah, my apologies! I didn't realize little Gangzi here was a guest of your sect. Gu Rong, your reputation is known across the land—why didn't you reveal your identity sooner instead of concealing it?"
Gu Rong: …
(Could he say it was because Yu Xiaogang wanted to play the pig to eat the tiger?)
Meanwhile, Yu Xiaogang, feeling the suppression lift, rose to his feet. He gazed up at the figure upon the Golden Dragon's head.
Jealousy burned in his eyes—mad, crazed jealousy.
The Golden Holy Dragon… that should have been mine. Mine!
Damn you, Yu Xiaomen! Back then you stole the Golden Dragon Fruit meant for me, and your spirit evolved into the Golden Holy Dragon. Now, after all these years, you are famed as a mighty Titled Douluo. With your talent, advancing to rank 97 or 98 is only a matter of time. Even becoming an Ultimate Douluo is within reach.
And me? I lost not only my Golden Holy Dragon, but also Luo Sanpao and its Saint Dragon bloodline. My martial spirit is nothing but a useless pig that farts. My spirit power stuck at rank 29. Why? Tell me, why?!
Then Yu Xiaogang thought of his beloved disciple, Tang San. His jealous rage calmed slightly.
Yu Xiaomen, so what if you are gifted? So what if you wield the Golden Holy Dragon? Even if you reach the peak as an Ultimate Douluo, before true gods you are nothing but an ant.
Yes, my disciple Tang San bears the destiny of godhood—the fate of a God King! He is fated to ascend as King of the Gods.
And it is all thanks to me. Under my wise guidance, Tang San will ascend and reign supreme. He will always remember me as his teacher. One day, the world will remember Yu Xiaogang—the Teacher of the God King!
Even the strongest Titled Douluo are still mortal, bound to decay into dust. But I—once Tang San becomes a god, he will restore my talent, raise my cultivation, and grant me a seat as a First-Class God. In the God Realm, I will enjoy eternal life!
In the God Realm, I will be the revered Teacher Of Gods Yu Xiaogang. And you, Yu Xiaomen—by then, you will be nothing.
(At this point, our dear "Gangzi" had gone completely mad with jealousy, deluding himself. He conveniently ignored the reality that to Tang San, he wasn't even a servant, but rather a castrated dog—a dog Tang San himself neutered. Yet in Yu Xiaogang's eyes, he was Tang San's master, believing Tang San would revere him for life as a father figure who guided him to godhood.)
At that moment, the Bone Dragon sensed another Titled-level aura approaching.
Thunderous spirit power descended from the sky, forming a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.
The Old Dragon King—Yu Yuanzhen—had arrived.
At this moment, Yu Yuanzhen descended onto the plaza. His soul power was still stuck at Rank 95 even after so many years—it seemed 95 was his limit.
Of course, if he hadn't wasted over ten years transferring his cultivation to Yu Xiaogang back then, Yu Yuanzhen might have advanced another level, reaching Rank 96 Titled Douluo.
In other words, Yu Yuanzhen had traded one level of his own cultivation as a Titled Douluo in exchange for his son Xiaogang's dignity as a soul master, and the last bit of pride left to them: that with an innate 0.5 level of soul power, Xiaogang had managed to cultivate to an unprecedented level for such a talent—Rank 29 Great Soul Master.
Yu Yuanzhen's gaze grew complicated as he looked at Yu Xiaogang. He then turned to Gu Rong and asked:
"I just heard you say Xiaogang has become your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's envoy, or rather…"
"The honored Teacher of Gods," Gu Rong corrected.
"Teacher of Gods?" Yu Yuanzhen looked at Yu Xiaogang, full of doubt.
Feeling his father's gaze, Yu Xiaogang puffed out his chest proudly and declared:
"That's right! My disciple Tang San bears the destiny of a God King. He will surely ascend to godhood, and I will be the one who raised a god!"
"Xiaogang, are you sure you know what you're saying? You raised a god? Tang San? You're not being deceived, are you?" Yu Yuanzhen's suspicion deepened.
Tang San was someone Yu Yuanzhen knew well. His talent was indeed remarkable—twin martial souls, innate full soul power, one of them being the Clear Sky Hammer. With such gifts, it was believable he could reach godhood.
But Tang San had already crippled himself! Switching from Blue Silver Grass midway to cultivate the Clear Sky Hammer, and even attaching disgusting "snot" soul skills—he had wasted most of his talent. To say he could still become a god? Yu Yuanzhen didn't believe it. Instead, he thought Xiaogang had likely been duped.
But his well-meant caution twisted in Yu Xiaogang's ears into something else entirely. His face contorted, and he roared in fury, jabbing his finger in his father's face:
"I knew it! I knew it! From the very start, you never cared about me! No matter what I did, no matter how much effort I put in, you never cared!"
"Yu Yuanzhen! When I awakened that useless martial soul, with only 0.5 innate soul power, I worked myself to the bone to prove my worth! If one effort wasn't enough, I gave a hundred, two hundred times more! And finally, I became a soul master! I reached Rank 29 as a Great Soul Master! I proved my potential! But you—you never cared. You never saw my effort! You stripped away my chance to grow in the world of soul masters, cast me out to become a lowly merchant. But I refused! I swore I would prove myself in the soul master world!"
"Under my wise guidance, the Shrek Academy team won third place in the Soul Master Tournament! My disciple Tang San has been granted divine trials—he is destined to be a God King!" Yu Xiaogang took a deep breath, his eyes bloodshot:
"Now I've returned! I'm here to tell you, I am no waste! I will raise a god! But why—why, old man—why do you erase all my effort with just a single word? Is it because, in your eyes, I'm not worthy of success? That I'll never compare to that bastard Yu Xiaomen?"
The more Yu Xiaogang raged, the more frenzied he became. Spittle flew as he shouted, splattering all over Yu Yuanzhen's face.
(For all his humility before every other Titled Douluo in the world, only in front of his father did Yu Xiaogang suddenly find his courage.)
Yu Yuanzhen's face darkened as he wiped the saliva from his cheeks. Seeing Yu Yuanzhen about to explode, Gu Rong quickly tugged Yu Xiaogang back and cut in with a forced smile:
"Patriarch Yu, our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has important matters to discuss. This clearly isn't the place for such talk."
Yu Yuanzhen shot Yu Xiaogang a glare. Xiaogang, far from backing down, glared right back. Then Yu Yuanzhen turned to Gu Rong and said coldly:
"Please, come inside."
Inside the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect Main Hall
"So you're saying Tang San will become a god, and he sent Yu Xiaogang here to form a Continental Alliance against Spirit Hall and the rising Spark Alliance?" Yu Yuanzhen stroked his beard as he spoke.
Teacher of Gods," Yu Xiaogang corrected.
"I know," Yu Yuanzhen snapped, irritated.
"Yes, Patriarch Yu," Gu Rong said. "What do you think of this proposal?"
"Allow me some time to discuss it internally," Yu Yuanzhen replied.
He ordered his men to host Yu Xiaogang and Gu Rong, while he gathered the Blue Lightning Sect's senior leaders for a council.
In the Council Hall
"What do you make of this talk of Tang San becoming a god?" Yu Yuanzhen asked.
Yu Luomian spoke first:
"Tang San's talent has already been ruined. In this age, with so many geniuses on the continent, others cannot become gods—why would he? I say this is nothing but a scam devised by Tang Hao and his son."
"But would the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect really fail to see through such a ruse?" Yu Yuanzhen pressed.
"Father," Yu Xiaomen stepped forward, "I see it differently. Ning Fengzhi surely knows there are problems with this story. He's just taking advantage of it."
Yu Yuanzhen nodded for him to continue.
Yu Xiaomen explained:
"All our sects and imperial forces face a grim reality. Spirit Hall is the obvious threat—Bibi Dong is ambitious and seeks to unify the world. But there's another, hidden threat: the Spark Academy. They've broken certain barriers, shattering the iron law of martial soul bloodline inheritance. In our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect, a Golden Holy Dragon Martial Soul has not appeared for centuries—yet they've artificially created one with ease. If this continues, they will threaten the very order of the continent. This is a danger every power must face."
"We must unite against Spirit Hall, and while Spark Academy is still weak, eliminate it. But no one wants to be the early bird who gets shot. And so…" Yu Xiaomen trailed off.
The council chamber fell into grim silence.
None of them were blind to the threat. Spirit Hall loomed openly. And the Spark Academy—imagine it! Their clans had staked everything on bloodlines, while Spark relied on technology. A random farmer could, with their methods, be turned into a soul master with the Golden Holy Dragon. How could they stomach such a reality?
Yu Yuanzhen snorted coldly:
"Hmph! Ning Fengzhi, that old fox—always preaching about the Three Sects standing together, yet when it matters most, he avoids being the one in front. He wants others to take the risk for him."
At this thought, Yu Yuanzhen's mind flashed with the image of a flat-headed figure—his son—jabbing a finger at his nose, screaming abuse. Rage surged through him once again.