At Shrek Academy
The smell of bitter herbs filled the dean's office.
"Xiaogang, it's time to drink medicine," Flander said softly, carefully handing over a steaming black bowl.
Yu Xiaogang sat slumped on the bed, his eyes hollow, hair disheveled. His voice was hoarse, full of despair. "Flander… you shouldn't have saved me. Better to let me die."
"Don't say that," Flander sighed, his heart aching. "This pain will pass."
But Yu Xiaogang's hands shook as he pushed the bowl away. His entire body trembled with agitation. "Pass? Do you know what worse than death is?! Lu Yuan—Lu Yuan is holding a banquet here! Here, in Shrek Academy, to celebrate his child with Erlong! This is more torture than killing me outright!"
He roared so loud that the bowl nearly toppled.
"Xiaogang, calm down!" Flander urged, gripping his shoulder tightly.
But his sigh betrayed helplessness. He too resented Lu Yuan's brazen cruelty. To hold Erlong's wedding banquet—no, their child's full moon banquet—on the very grounds Yu Xiaogang regarded as his only pride. It was savage. Savage and brilliant.
"I absolutely will not allow it!" Yu Xiaogang growled, the veins on his forehead bulging.
Flander shook his head bitterly. "Xiaogang… the academy was built by Liu Erlong. Even if she gave me the title of dean, in the hearts of the students she is still the rightful head. With Erlong insisting, and Lu Yuan standing behind her, what right do I have to refuse?"
Yu Xiaogang's lips quivered. His eyes burned. But he was powerless.
From outside the room came the jingle of hammers and wood being shifted. He stiffened. "What's that noise?"
Flander winced. "Ah… Lu Yuan's people are building the banquet hall outside."
"Ahhh!" Yu Xiaogang clutched his chest, pain stabbing again. His face turned deathly pale.
"Hold on! Drink the medicine!" Flander quickly tried to help him lift the bowl.
Xiaogang's Despair
"Flander…" Yu Xiaogang whispered shakily. "I can't stay here. Every wall, every tile, feels like mockery to me. I want to leave. Now."
"No." Flander pressed him down. "The Continental Elite Soul Master Academy Tournament is coming. Without you, how can we stand? And with your health right now… if you go wandering, you'll collapse. Stay, Xiaogang, I beg you."
"What am I here for? Shame?" Yu Xiaogang shouted, despair crushing his voice.
Flander looked at him steadily. "Have you forgotten, Xiaogang? Tang San. Your disciple. This tournament is as much his proving ground as yours. If Xiao San is alive, he'll come. Deep down you know it. Stay until then. Stay, and see your theory tested, for him."
Yu Xiaogang froze.
Tang San.
His fists loosened slowly, his chest heaved. The fire in his eyes dimmed, but the pain remained.
"...Stop talking." At last, his weak voice sank and he slumped wearily back on the bed.
Flander's grip on his shoulder tightened. At least he wouldn't run today.
Haotian Sect
Deep in the mountains, the clang of hammers shook the valley.
"Boom!"
The razor-sharp shadow of the Clear Sky Hammer whistled downward. Tang Xiao twisted aside, flicking his finger with a burst of spirit power that shattered the vibration.
Across from him, a young figure stood firm, purple light flickering in his sharp eyes.
Tang San.
His waist dipped, hands flashing in motion. Dozens of hidden weapons whistled from his fingers.
Tang Xiao smirked faintly. So his nephew had grown sharper. These "hidden weapons"… indeed, difficult to predict.
But still—
"Clang-clang-clang!"
Each one clattered harmlessly on the wall of his spirit power, two meters distant from his body.
Tang San's rings glowed: yellow, yellow, purple, black. His Blue Silver Grass erupted forth in an instant, releasing entangle, parasitize, cobweb bind, Blue Silver Cage!
Vines spread like fastened steel. For a moment, Tang Xiao was wrapped in a woven purple cocoon.
But Tang San wasn't done. His aura surged, and with a roar he swung.
The first form of the Clear Sky Hammer's Chaotic Cloak technique smashed forward. One swing became three. Three became twenty-four.
The hammer descended like a mountain.
Tang Xiao broke free, only for his eyes to fill with the dark hammerhead magnified before him.
His feet slid back a pace.
He looked up. His nephew's face gleamed with a confident smile.
"Uncle, you lost."
Tang Xiao laughed, shaking his head. "Good brat! I only used three levels of strength, but you still forced me back. You truly inherited our sect's blood."
Tang San's expression turned serious. "Uncle, let me descend the mountain. It's time. The Continental Tournament draws near—Tang San must prove himself."
Tang Xiao exhaled. "I know your determination. Then I'll send you myself."
Tang San clenched his fist, eyes shining. "Thank you, Uncle. Xiao Wu… wait for me. I'll return to you."
Visiting Lu Xiaoyu
Back in Heaven Dou City, Ning Fengzhi examined the newborn with care. His fingertip glowed faint rainbow, pressing lightly against the baby's brow.
He immediately felt a foreign force repel him, almost angrily.
"This child is extraordinary," Ning Fengzhi whispered. "Not ordinary at all."
Chen Xin's lips pressed in a grim line, his gaze still critical. "Smelly brat, don't puff yourself up just because your son is wondrous. I accept the child. But if you ever fail Rongrong in the future—Lu Yuan, I'll kill you myself."
Lu Yuan blinked innocently, then smirked. "Tch. Old man, you're still this petty? No wonder no woman wants you."
Chen Xin choked, enraged, words stuck in his throat.
Meanwhile, Lu Yuan had already tucked away Ning Fengzhi's "congratulatory gift"—a spirit bone—into his own storage device with practiced ease. His movements were so smooth, clearly this wasn't the first time.
Erlong's voice roared later that night. "Lu Yuan! Why did you absorb the spirit bone that Uncle Ning gave to Xiaoyu?!"
She glared with such fury she could ignite.
Lu Yuan raised both hands defensively. "Little Pepper, calm down! He's only a baby. A spirit bone's wasted on him now. Better I strengthen myself and keep him safer. I'll get him an even better bone when he's older, I swear."
His grin betrayed zero guilt. Already, the energy flowing from the absorbed bone warmed his body. "As expected of Uncle Ning's gifts… powerful!"
"You bastard!" Erlong flung a pillow at his face.
Martial Spirit City
In the Papal Palace, a gathering unlike any seen in years assembled.
Bibi Dong stood at the front of the vast hall, scepter gleaming, purple robes trailing like flame.
At her sides waited two shadows—Chrysanthemum Douluo Yueguan, and Ghost Douluo Guimei. Behind them clustered a tide of Spirit Masters, no fewer than three more titled Douluo, and legions of Contras.
Each face was tense with anticipation. Few knew why they were summoned.
At last, Bibi Dong's cold voice rang. "We march for Heaven Dou. Encircle Shrek Academy."
Gasps trembled through the ranks.
Her lips curled in the faintest shadow of a smile. So, Salas, you've finally brought me something useful. Such an important secret delivered to me alone. Perfect.
She raised her scepter high. "Let us see just how far Lu Yuan dares run."
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