Chapter 31: Yu Xiaogang's Day of Suffering
When Bibi Dong completed her plan of "planting the seed" in her daughter and left feeling satisfied,
Qian Xunji, after leaving the Pope's Palace, quickly led his spirit masters to Yu Xiaogang's residence in Wuhun City.
Seeing the ordinary house and closed door in front of him, Qian Xunji sneered with contempt, waved his hand, and directly ordered a spirit master to kick the door open.
"Bang!"
With a loud crash, the door to Yu Xiaogang's home was kicked open. Qian Xunji stepped inside and saw Yu Xiaogang, who was immersed in studying martial spirit theory.
Just seeing Yu Xiaogang made Qian Xunji especially irritated and annoyed.
He couldn't understand how someone so useless—no status, no strength, no money—could still manage to charm his disciple.
Compared to this loser, Qian Xunji was clearly superior in every way, right?
Inside the room, Yu Xiaogang sat at his desk studying martial spirit theory. When he noticed the door had been forced open, he saw two strong, expressionless spirit masters in the uniforms of the Spirit Hall enter the room.
Then Qian Xunji, handsome and wearing a beautiful golden crown, also stepped into the room with a sneer of disdain, followed by several Spirit Hall masters.
Seeing Qian Xunji's mocking expression, Yu Xiaogang's heart skipped a beat.
However, as someone who dared to deceive Bibi Dong, the Holy Maiden of the Spirit Hall, Yu Xiaogang had strong mental resilience.
Even in the face of Qian Xunji, who clearly came with hostile intentions, Yu Xiaogang forced himself to remain calm and bowed respectfully.
"Greetings, Your Holiness the Pope. May I ask what brings you here?"
As he was also technically part of the Spirit Hall, Yu Xiaogang pretended to be a loyal subordinate.
But seeing Yu Xiaogang feigning respect made Qian Xunji so nauseated he almost vomited.
"Drop the act! How pathetic!"
He pointed at Yu Xiaogang coldly and with disgust.
"At first, I thought you were just a loser who only knew how to run away, so out of respect for your father Yu Yuanzhen, I allowed you to stay in Wuhun City.
I thought you'd behave, but I never expected you to have such wild ambitions. Not only did you try to plagiarize the Spirit Hall's secret knowledge, but you also dared to seduce my disciple, Bibi Dong!"
At the end, Qian Xunji was gritting his teeth, his eyes practically spitting fire.
You see, disciple Bibi Dong wasn't just the top genius of the Spirit Hall—she was supposed to be his future wife. And now that future wife had nearly been seduced by a despicable traitor. What greater humiliation could there be?
"You really think your little tricks can fool everyone?"
Qian Xunji mocked.
"I figured you out long ago. Even though Dong'er was deceived by you, I won't let her continue down this path. I've already imprisoned her in the Pope's Palace."
"I came here today to teach you a lesson, to show you who you can't mess with, and then expel you from the Spirit Hall!"
"No! Your Holiness, please hear me out. I never intended to seduce Her Holiness the Saint!"
"Also, the reason I used your Spirit Hall's soul master knowledge was to develop theories that could benefit countless civilian soul masters across the world."
"Doesn't the Spirit Hall recruit civilian soul masters as well? This benefits your organization too!"
Upon hearing this plea, Qian Xunji grew even more furious.
What a shameless hypocrite!
"You used the Spirit Hall's materials to build your own reputation. You promoted this knowledge and won the gratitude of countless civilian spirit masters."
"But nowhere in your theory do you even mention the Spirit Hall. Do those civilians thank our Hall? No! They thank you!"
"Ha! Giving flowers to Buddha with borrowed hands, aren't you clever?"
"But do you think we're all fools in the Spirit Hall?"
"You idiot!"
"Beat him!"
Qian Xunji shouted furiously. Realizing Yu Xiaogang was not only shameless and deceitful, but also foolish enough to trick his innocent disciple and try to deceive the entire Spirit Hall, he ordered his spirit masters to rush in.
Yu Xiaogang was immediately pinned to the ground and violently beaten.
"No... not there... it hurts! Not... not there either..."
As he was pinned by Qian Xunji's spirit masters, Yu Xiaogang tried to protect his brilliant, yet fragile head with his arms, but punches rained down nonetheless. In moments, his entire body was bruised and swollen, and his groans filled the room.
The spirit masters didn't spare his head, limbs—or even his most sensitive part. Cracking bones and other unpleasant sounds echoed in the room.
His cries, the sound of tearing clothes, and the sight of his bloodied, swollen face—unrecognizable now—made for a gruesome scene.
Blood stained not only Yu Xiaogang's clothes but also a large portion of the floor beneath him. He lay motionless, nearly dead.
Qian Xunji felt deeply satisfied.
"Haha! So clever, huh? Are you even worthy?"
After letting his men beat Yu Xiaogang to the brink of death, Qian Xunji crouched beside him, slapped him across the face, and mocked him.
"You think this is the end? I'm telling you, this is just the beginning!"
Then, he stood up and ordered the spirit masters:
"Hang him up first. Then take him to the punishment department and torture him again."
"Make sure you take precautions to prevent suicide. And while torturing him, keep a spirit master nearby to treat him if needed. Don't let him die!"
"Once you've done all that, send someone to inform me."
"Yes, Your Holiness!"
Having given his orders regarding Yu Xiaogang, Qian Xunji left with satisfaction.
To him, Yu Xiaogang was never a real threat.
He was just a shameless hypocrite who used trickery to deceive the kind-hearted Saint of the Spirit Hall and exploit the Hall's resources.
Had he been anyone else, Qian Xunji would've killed him long ago.
But Yu Xiaogang was the youngest son of Yu Yuanzhen, the leader of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, and killing him outright would've caused major political fallout. Still, torturing and expelling him? No problem.
(End of Chapter)