On the way back, Tang Hao spat fiercely in the direction of the Alliance stronghold and said, "I never expected this Waste Gangzi, despite his modest abilities, to have such a big appetite. He even wanted to be promised a Level One Godhood, haha!"
Tang San was also somewhat surprised when he heard Yu Xiaogang's words. He had originally assumed that Yu Xiaogang only wanted him to improve his talents and take him to the God Realm to enjoy bliss, but he hadn't expected Yu Xiaogang to actually ask for a Level One God rank?
Level One God? I could only arrange a Level Two God rank for my father. How could a Level 29 Waste like you deserve that?
"Dad, don't pay any attention to this clown. I'll lift him up to the heavens, then throw him down with one last swoop. Let him know what cruelty is," Tang San said with a sneer.
Tang Hao nodded. "That's right. Let this clown be proud for a while."
Even after a night of cleansing, Yu Xiaogang still emanated a faint stench when the alliance meeting convened the next day.
But Yu Xiaogang was oblivious to this. He walked straight to the gilded chair and greeted it with his monkey butt.
His hands played with the gilded handles as he faced the representatives of the various factions at the alliance meeting.
At this moment, he felt that the attitudes of the various factions towards him had subtly changed.
Yes, he was no longer the puppet leader Xiaogang. He was the leader chosen by his beloved disciple, who was about to become a god. With the endorsement of such a god-king, who would dare to disobey him at this alliance meeting?
Thinking of how he had been sidelined by this group before, Yu Xiaogang felt a flicker of anger. He decided to hold this alliance meeting to test their loyalty.
"My disciple, the God of the Future, Tang San, has appointed me as the leader of this alliance. As leader, I naturally have the obligation to lead all parties on the continent to curb the expansion of the Spirit Hall and Spark Academy.
From now on, all parties in the alliance must focus on preparing for war!" Yu Xiaogang's crew cut swept across the crowd and said, "Star Luo Empire, Heaven Dou Empire, XXX Kingdom, XXX Kingdom, XXXX Principality, from now on, I demand that you increase your national taxes by three times, no, five times or more. The excess tax burden will be borne by the alliance."
After hearing Yu Xiaogang's words, there was a sudden murmur among the crowd.
As the conversation began, the Grand Duke of the Principality of Alanda, a vassal of the Star Luo Empire, stepped forward and said, "Master, this seems inappropriate. If we raise taxes fivefold, it would be almost as if farmers would only have a thin layer of their harvest left. If that were the case, I'm afraid it would incite civil unrest!"
Hearing this question, Yu Xiaogang sneered and pointed at the Grand Duke, "Are you questioning me? Are you questioning the wisdom of a Divine Teacher?"
"No, no, that's not what I mean, Master. Let me explain," the Grand Duke of Alanda quickly explained.
"Shut up," Yu Xiaogang interrupted the Grand Duke, spreading his hands and saying, "No one understands politics better than me!"
"Our alliance's top priority is to wipe out the Spirit Hall and the Starfire, restoring order to the Douluo Continent. We must prepare for this war as fast as possible, and yet you're questioning my sound decision-making. What are you thinking?" Yu Xiaogang demanded.
At this moment, Dai Tianfeng's eyes rolled. He stood up, pointed at Grand Duke Aranda, and said, "Grand Duke Aranda, our leader has worked tirelessly to wipe out the Spirit Hall, the Spark, and other reactionary forces.
The decision he made was absolutely correct. We are simply causing the people some hardship and making them tighten their belts. Once we have razed the Spirit Hall and destroyed the Spark, they will understand. And you, how dare you question our Divine Teacher? What are you thinking?"
"Your Majesty, I... I..." Grand Duke Aranda stammered.
Dai Tianfeng bowed to Yu Xiaogang and said, "Alliance Leader, how should we deal with Grand Duke Elanda?"
Yu Xiaogang took a deep breath. At that moment, he deeply realized the wonder of power. Every decision he made dictated a person's fate. At this thought, anger surged within him. "Grand Duke Elanda, you dare to question my decisions? To question my decisions is to question God. Your crime is unforgivable.
I decree that Grand Duke Elanda's family be stripped of their titles, that Grand Duke Elanda be tortured to death, that the men of the Elanda family be exiled, and that the women be confined to brothels!"
"As you command, Alliance Leader!" Dai Tianfeng said.
Grand Duke Elanda knelt in terror, crying, "Master Alliance Leader, spare my life!"
"Get out," Yu Xiaogang ordered coldly.
After Yu Xiaogang gave the order, two soldiers from the Star Luo Army entered and carried Grand Duke Elanda away. "Then what about the territory of Aranda, Lord Alliance Leader?" Dai Tianfeng inquired.
Yu Xiaogang pondered for a moment, his first thought being himself. He now had an alliance without his own direct forces. How could this work? So he said, "Since that's the case, this territory will be directly under the Alliance, and I, the Alliance Leader, will be in charge. I believe that with my wisdom, I will be able to govern it and make it prosperous."
Dai Tianfeng opened his mouth. He had thought that this land would originally return to the Star Luo Empire, but this guy just touched his upper lip and it became his own.
Yu Xiaogang's first decree went smoothly. Surprisingly, despite such an unreasonable decree, no one stood up to oppose it, except for the Grand Duke of Aranda. This disappointed Yu Xiaogang. If more people had spoken out in opposition, he could have used this as an excuse to expand his territory.
So, after gaining control of finances and possessing his own territory, Yu Xiaogang began to seize the opportunity to expand his military power and gather his troops.
He said, "I hereby announce the second order of this alliance. All alliance countries must triple their current military strength. The Central Empires will contribute 100,000 troops, the Kingdoms 50,000, and the Principalities 20,000. The elite troops will be placed under the direct jurisdiction of the alliance. Within a year, this alliance will rapidly expand its army to a million elite troops."
"Oh, this..." The alliance countries were stunned.
No, the previous order required us to increase taxes, and this one requires us to conscript farm labor into the army. If everyone goes to the army, there's no one to farm the land. How can the tax be increased by more than five times? Aren't you just trying to make things difficult for us?
"If you have any objections, raise them and we'll discuss it," Yu Xiaogang said. He pretended to be very open-minded, but the pair of dark eyes nestled in his crew cut couldn't help but be greedy.
Two young, unwise lords stood up and said, "Alliance Master, this doesn't align with the conditions of our Winston Territory. If all the male labor force is expanded to the military, there'll be no one to farm the fields."
"Why not? Let the women and the elderly farm the land! How dare you question my wise decision!" Yu Xiaogang said angrily.
Thus, Yu Xiaogang, in a rage, happily acquired two more directly-affiliated territories.
Next, Yu Xiaogang carried out another round of probing.
He pulled out a map of the Douluo Continent and began sketching fortresses at locations he had envisioned.
The fortress sites he marked on the map were either on flat, indefensible plains, in barren wastelands lacking water, or absurdly placed in valleys beneath towering mountains—practically inviting enemies to rain down attacks from above.
Even laymen would shake their heads at such choices. Yet Yu Xiaogang gave the order for feudal lords to recruit conscripted labor to build these fortresses. What's more, he demanded that each fortress erect a marble statue of him, over 50 meters tall, for the world to admire.
Yu Xiaogang had once visited Spirit Hall and witnessed the grandeur of the Angel God statue. That sight had filled him with envy.
He thought to himself: The Angel God? She's nothing. Just a mere first-class god. But I, Yu Xiaogang, am going to cultivate a God King—am a future God Emperor! If even she gets a statue, why shouldn't I?
When this policy was announced, the feudal lords, having learned from earlier lessons, kept their mouths shut. Since they couldn't use it as an excuse to expand their own domains, they had no incentive to oppose it. Yu Xiaogang was a little disappointed at their silence.
After several decrees passed with no resistance, Yu Xiaogang became convinced that his identity as "Teacher of the God" was indeed enough to suppress these lords, thereby securing his real authority.
Power was like a poison. The feeling of controlling the fate of others deeply intoxicated him. He thought: If being only the "Teacher of the God," and leading this alliance, already feels this good, then what would it be like if I became a god myself? If I became a God Emperor, wielding divine authority and ruling over all beings?
He imagined marrying a noble goddess, siring many children, installing them in key positions throughout the God Realm and the Douluo Continent. The entire God Realm would become the Yu Xiaogang's divine realm, and the Douluo Continent would become the Yu Xiaogang's eternal land of faith.
The more he fantasized, the more excited he became—so excited, in fact, that due to his castration, he lost control of himself. Before long, he had wet his trousers.
The entire hall of the alliance was already tainted by the lingering odor of Yu Xiaogang's unwashed swim from yesterday, and now it carried the added stench of urine.
Quickly clamping his legs together, his face flushed with embarrassment, Yu Xiaogang muttered:
"Everyone, please wait here. I must go attend to an urgent matter."
He hurriedly left.
Everyone present knew exactly what had happened, but all instinctively pretended not to notice.
After a while, Yu Xiaogang returned in a fresh set of clothes and planted his monkey rear back on the gilded chair.
Having dealt with the feudal lords, Yu Xiaogang now turned his attention to the sect and clan powers.
From the Body Sect to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect…
These sects were tough bones to chew, but Yu Xiaogang told himself: Hard bones are exactly what I bite down on.
He glanced at the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect, where Yu Xiaomen was quietly standing, and a cold glint of malice flashed in his eyes. Then he masked it and withdrew his gaze.
Yu Xiaogang declared:
"Compared to Spirit Hall, even if we can mobilize an army of a million, our soul master legions—whether at the top, middle, or bottom ranks—are inferior in strength and numbers. Therefore, I have decided: each sect and clan within the alliance shall contribute a number of young soul masters. I, Yu Xiaogang—the man who cultivated a god—will personally train and mold them, unlocking their potential, and forging an army of soul masters loyal to the alliance. Does anyone object?"
The three upper sects kept silent. Naturally, the smaller ones dared not speak either.
Yu Xiaogang nodded with satisfaction and continued:
"Furthermore, each sect and clan shall provide fifty percent of their cultivation resources to the alliance, for the purpose of raising this army."
Of course, this was only a pretext. Yu Xiaogang's real intention was to fuel his own cultivation.
Ever since leaving the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect, he had lost access to a proper training environment.
No matter how hard he tried, he had been stuck at level 29, utterly hopeless. Now, as the Alliance Leader, even if Tang San later improved his talent after becoming a god, Yu Xiaogang was unwilling to just wait idly.
That cursed "Level 29" haunted him like a vicious curse, a lifelong humiliation he could never forget.
Half their cultivation resources! Once he proposed this, the mid- and small-sized sects looked visibly strained.
They turned to the upper three sects, hoping one would oppose. But the Body Sect and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect said nothing. Yu Yuanzhen of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect merely furrowed his brow but also remained silent.
With no opposition from the upper three sects, none of the others dared resist. Thus Yu Xiaogang's decree passed easily.
This made his arrogance swell even further.
Now that he had the resources, the question was how to cultivate. Even though his martial soul was now nothing but a pig, Yu Xiaogang had not given up on breaking past level 29. To do so, he needed a Titled Douluo to transmit their power to him. The stronger the better.
Naturally, his eyes landed on the Body Sect's leader, Huo Qiang—the alliance's sole Ultimate Douluo, standing at level 99.
Only such power is worthy of aiding me, the future God Emperor, in cultivation.
If he agrees, then once I ascend as a god, I can reward him by naming him my consecrated servant on the Douluo Continent.
Huo Qiang asked, "Alliance Leader, what matter do you wish to discuss?"
Yu Xiaogang cleared his throat and said:
"Sect Master Huo, you are already level 99, the very limit of a soul master. Training further is meaningless. I require your assistance as my cultivation support. Would you be willing?"
His tone carried no hint of request—it was an order.
At once, the room fell silent. Everyone was stunned. Yu Yuanzhen even covered his face in shame, thinking: Just pretend I never had this son.
Huo Qiang himself said nothing, but the fiery-tempered Titled Douluo of the Body Sect behind him erupted.
"Gangzi, what did you just say? You want our master to help you cultivate? Do you not know that the dignity of a Titled Douluo is inviolable?!" Zhao Quan shouted, pointing at him.
"Gangzi, asking my master to transmit power to you? You, a mere level 29 soul master, with a pig as your martial soul? You're not even worthy!" Xiao Zhi spat.
"Gangzi, I suggest you piss on the ground and take a good look at yourself. Level 29 is your life's ceiling! Stand still in your place and stop overreaching, will you?" Lu Yuan barked.
The Body Sect's barrage of rebukes turned Yu Xiaogang's face livid.
The supreme dignity he had just established as "Teacher of the God" and Alliance Leader was shattered once again, ground into dust beneath their feet.