Yu Xiaogang was so frightened that his heart jumped out of his chest. He fled in panic, and only after quite a while did he calm down and return to sit upon the gilded chair again.
With a dark expression, he questioned sternly:
"Speak. What on earth happened?"
The alliance messenger, trembling all over, replied:
"Alliance Leader, the Body Sect refuses to hand over their contributions. They cut off one envoy's head and told me to bring it back. They also gave me a message to deliver to the Alliance Leader : "If you want our contribution, then come and fetch it yourself."
Come and fetch it myself… Yu Xiaogang thought of the severed head inside the ornate box. If he really went there, wouldn't that mean certain death? At the thought of this, Yu Xiaogang shook his head again and again.
No, no, no. My Xiao San has already learned how to be filial to me. He is about to become a god and has even promised to make me a God Emperor. My good days have only just begun. Why should I go and die now?
"Body Sect! How dare they humiliate me like this? Do they not place the Alliance, me—the God Teacher—and my beloved disciple Tang San, the future deity, in their eyes at all?" Yu Xiaogang shouted angrily.
But his brain—smaller than a walnut—simply could not think of any solution. Thus, he looked toward the gathered alliance officials and asked:
"Does anyone have a good plan?"
One official stepped forward and saluted:
"Alliance Leader, this matter is difficult to handle. The Body Sect is the Alliance's greatest power. If we provoke them, our Alliance will lose more than half of its top-tier combat strength."
"Of course I understand that!" Yu Xiaogang snapped. "I am asking for a solution. Do you mean to just allow the Body Sect to be so arrogant and so brazenly ignore me?"
The Alliance fell into an awkward silence. The truth was, only because of the Body Sect's membership could the Alliance's overall strength rival Spirit Hall. Without them, the strongest fighters left would be only two: Sword Douluo Chen Xin at rank 96, and Saint Dragon Douluo Yu Xiaomen. But the embarrassing part was—Yu Xiaomen had a long-standing grudge with Yu Xiaogang.
The official spoke again:
"Not necessarily, Alliance Leader. You only need to wait and endure. Once your disciple returns as a true god, the situation will naturally change."
Yu Xiaogang knew this was true. But he was unwilling! In his heart, he roared with impotent rage:
Body Sect! I am already a God Teacher! My disciple Tang San will one day become a god. Why can't you give me face, give me dignity? Why must you challenge me?
He inhaled deeply, suppressing the fire within. Since he could not deal with the Body Sect for the time being, Yu Xiaogang transferred his anger and frustration onto someone else to soothe his wounded heart. He suddenly pointed at the surviving envoy and said:
"You! How do you handle affairs? Even such a simple matter you've bungled completely. What crime should that be? Men! Throw him into the oil cauldron—slowly fry him with a gentle fire!"
"No! Spare me, Alliance Leader, spare me!"
No matter how the envoy begged, Yu Xiaogang was unmoved.
You are losing only your life. But I—what I lost was my dignity and my face. Because of you, I wet myself in front of everyone once again. You deserve death.
Soon, the oil cauldron was brought forth. The firewood beneath it burned, and after a while, the oil began to boil.
The armored guards lifted the envoy and carried him toward the cauldron, preparing to throw him in.
At that moment, the envoy realized death was inevitable. Thus, he shouted with all his might:
"Gangzi! Do you really think Tang San respects you, venerates you as God Teacher, and allows you to be this so-called Alliance Leader worshiped by all?
In my eyes, you are nothing but a 29th-rank waste with a pig's martial soul! You are just a clown sitting on stage. Not only me—everyone in this Alliance sees you as a ridiculous clown! Don't worry, I'll be watching from the end of hell, laughing at your farce. Hahahahaha—"
Yu Xiaogang's face turned iron blue. Enraged, he bellowed:
"What are you waiting for? Throw him in!"
Plop!
The envoy was thrown into the boiling oil.
At once, shrill screams filled the Alliance's great hall. The envoy's miserable howls soothed Yu Xiaogang's wounded ego—though only a little.
That night, Yu Xiaogang still seethed. He recalled the Body Sect's disrespect, then the envoy's humiliating words before death: The whole Alliance thinks of you as a clown.
Grabbing a stick, Yu Xiaogang smashed everything around him in madness—precious furniture, porcelains, decorations—all shattered.
With bloodshot eyes, Yu Xiaogang shouted:
"I, Yu Xiaogang, am no clown on a stage! Body Sect, just you wait! The humiliation you gave me—when my disciple Xiao San ascends to godhood, it will be your doomsday. I will order my disciple to annihilate your sect completely!"
After venting, Yu Xiaogang looked at his own hands and sighed:
"In the end, the real problem is strength. I must break through level 29 as soon as possible."
Thus, he ordered rare cultivation herbs from the Alliance warehouse. The medicines were brewed into a decoction, and under servants' service, Yu Xiaogang entered a medicinal bath.
But only after soaking for a short while, Yu Xiaogang's delicate skin hurt unbearably. He stood up, frowning, and told the apothecary:
"Dump it out, and change for another batch."
"Alliance Leader, this…" The apothecary looked at the thick medicinal soup—it had barely been absorbed at all, almost the same as when it was freshly brewed.
"I said dump it out and make another! Don't make me repeat myself." Yu Xiaogang snapped.
"Yes, as you command."
And so, the bath was discarded, and a fresh batch was prepared.
Yu Xiaogang sat in again, soaking in the new medicine. He recalled his childhood, when simply receiving a little extra cultivation resource would cause his clan to gossip and criticize him. But now… I am the Alliance Leader. I can use as many resources as I want. No one dares object. The taste of power—it is intoxicating.
After a while, Yu Xiaogang hissed in pain. His skin prickled sharply, and he stood up again, frowning.
"Dump it out, and bring me a new batch."
"Yes, Alliance Leader." The apothecary said nothing further, simply discarding the mixture and brewing another.
Later, Yu Xiaogang directly demanded that each time he used one batch of medicine, another had to be prepared in advance. That way, whenever he felt pain and needed to step out, he could immediately continue with the next batch without waiting.
But after the entire training session, Yu Xiaogang consumed twenty times the cultivation resources of an ordinary soul master. Yet despite such extravagance, his cultivation showed not the slightest progress.
"Why?! After consuming so many resources, my cultivation still hasn't advanced even the slightest!" Yu Xiaogang roared in frustration.
He recalled the words that alliance emissary had spat at him before dying: "In the eyes of the entire alliance, you are nothing but a ridiculous clown!"
"No… I'm not a clown. I am not a clown!" Yu Xiaogang shook his flat head violently, then suddenly his expression changed as though he had figured it out.
"I understand now. It must be the medicinal herbs! Yes, that's it! These damned sects and clans must be hiding the good resources for themselves, only offering me inferior substitutes outwardly obedient but inwardly defiant."
"Damn them! Those are all my resources!" Yu Xiaogang gnashed his teeth. "Unforgivable! I, the Teacher of Gods, will not allow you to fool me like this. I might not be able to deal with the Body Sect for now, but I can still deal with the rest of you!"
So Yu Xiaogang decided to establish his own inspection department—a special branch to oversee the resources of every clan and sect, reporting directly to him. That way, he would know exactly what treasures each clan possessed, and he could demand they be offered up to him for cultivation whenever he wished.
Having reached this conclusion, Yu Xiaogang placed his hopes of breaking through on Gu Rong's transmission training.
Thus, he ordered a servant to summon his "cultivation accelerator," Gu Rong.
After a while, the servant returned to report:
"Alliance Leader Xiaogang, Bone Douluo seeks an audience."
Yu Xiaogang's eyes lit up.
"Let him in."
Moments later, Bone Douluo Gu Rong entered. Yu Xiaogang sat upright with a solemn air and said,
"Oh, Gu Rong, you've come at the perfect time."
By now, Yu Xiaogang no longer bothered addressing a Titled Douluo with the honorific "Your Excellency." In his eyes, his noble identity as the Teacher of Gods was by no means inferior to that of a Titled Douluo.
"Yes, Alliance Leader Xiaogang," Gu Rong replied.
"The next stage of my cultivation will require your assistance." Yu Xiaogang declared.
So Yu Xiaogang sat cross-legged on a cultivation seat, while Gu Rong positioned himself behind him. Yu Xiaogang began circulating his soul power, and Gu Rong placed his palm on Yu Xiaogang's back, running his own soul power to smooth the channels and inject energy into him.
But the moment Gu Rong's power entered Yu Xiaogang's body, his brows furrowed deeply.
What is this physique…? How could it be this useless? Gu Rong was stunned. And yet he really managed to reach level 29 like this? This is a miracle in itself, even if Yu Yuanzhen personally assisted him all the way.
Even though he realized the truth, Gu Rong maintained a calm face and continued helping. But in reality—his help made no difference whatsoever.
After an entire night of cultivation, Yu Xiaogang still hadn't improved even a bit.
"Why? Why?!" Yu Xiaogang stared at his hands in disbelief. His flat head turned, eyes bloodshot, as he demanded:
"Gu Rong, why haven't I made any progress? Am I doomed to remain stuck at level 29 forever?!"
At this moment, if there was one number Yu Xiaogang hated above all else, it was 29. To him, it was a curse—an insidious curse.
Meanwhile, Gu Rong was silently mocking in his heart: What I really want to know is how you even managed to reach level 29 in the first place.
"Alliance Leader Xiaogang," Gu Rong finally asked, "may I take a look at your martial soul?"
Yu Xiaogang's eyes flickered with hesitation. He truly didn't want anyone to see his disgraceful martial soul. Seeing this, Gu Rong added:
"Alliance leader, perhaps only by examining your martial soul can I find the answer."
Reluctantly, Yu Xiaogang summoned his martial soul.
With a flash, a big spotted pig appeared in front of them. The pig rubbed affectionately against Yu Xiaogang.
Gu Rong placed his hand on the pig and was utterly dumbfounded.
All this time, he had mocked Yu Xiaogang by calling him a "swine." But in the end… it was literally true. Yu Xiaogang really did have a pig martial soul!
And he was the son of Yu Yuanzhen, the great Blue Lightning Dragon King! How could his martial soul be this? Unless… could it be that the old dragon king—?
"This…" Gu Rong finally spoke, "Alliance Leader Xiaogang, I think I understand the reason now."
"Speak, Gu Rong."
"Your martial soul is an utterly useless one. Normally, a martial soul like this would awaken with no innate soul power at all—meaning it cannot be cultivated, no matter how much effort is spent."
Yu Xiaogang's face turned ashen.
"No… I don't believe it. I refuse to believe it!"
"I too am baffled," Gu Rong admitted. "Without innate soul power, how did you even reach level 29 in the first place?"
Yu Xiaogang's eyes widened as if struck by a revelation. He clapped his fist into his palm.
"I see now. I understand!"
Then Yu Xiaogang recounted his tragic past to Gu Rong.
Back then, he had acquired a Golden Dragon Fruit from Spirit Hall and consumed it, successfully evolving his martial soul into the Golden Holy Dragon.
But before he could enjoy his triumph, Lin Chen of the Spark Battle Team appeared. Using some vile method, Lin Chen stripped away his martial soul, forcibly taking the Golden Holy Dragon, and left him with this wretched spotted pig instead.
"There was such a thing?!" Gu Rong was astonished.
Yu Xiaogang, trembling with rage, asked:
"Gu Rong, does this mean I truly can never cultivate again?"
"Not exactly," Gu Rong replied. "If you could obtain the Spark Academy's technology to replace this pig martial soul, then you could continue cultivating."
A flash of madness gleamed in Yu Xiaogang's eyes.
"Then what if I launch a war against Spark Academy? What do you think?"
His plan was clear—destroy Spark Academy, seize their technology, reclaim the Golden Holy Dragon, monopolize that power, and slaughter every soul master who possessed it.
In Yu Xiaogang's mind, the noble Golden Holy Dragon was his alone. How dare lowborn commoners stain it with their hands?
Gu Rong sighed.
"Alliance Leader, Spark Academy must indeed be dealt with—but not now. Have you forgotten? The alliance still has an important matter ahead: the awakening of the Child of God's martial soul. If you truly wish for war, at least wait until after that ceremony."
Yu Xiaogang regained a shred of reason. He nodded slowly.
"Yes… you're right."
"Then," Gu Rong asked, "since we've identified the problem, perhaps there's no need to continue transmission training?"
"No! Continue!" Yu Xiaogang snapped.
His obsession with breaking through level 29 bordered on madness. He couldn't bear the shame of that number. Even though he knew Tang San would help him in the future, he couldn't stand remaining in this humiliating realm for even a moment longer.
Before, he lacked the means. But now—he had the resources of the entire alliance at his disposal, and Titled Douluo to transmit energy for him. No matter what, he had to surpass level 29.
If once wasn't enough, he would try ten times. If ten times weren't enough, then a hundred, two hundred!
If twenty times the resources weren't enough, then he would pour in a hundred times, two hundred times!
Yu Xiaogang refused to believe he would remain forever trapped at level 29.
Next chapter the long awaited martial soul awakeninng ceremony Jie Jie Jie.