"Even a worthless soul master has their place—just like us. The Clear Sky Clan produced someone considered trash: the sect master's daughter, Tang Yuehua. She only ever reached level 9 in soul power her whole life. But the industry she manages brings significant profit to the sect every year. Now look at our own Yu Xiaogang—what has he ever contributed to our sect?"
"The truth is clear: Yu Xiaogang is nothing more than mud that can't stick to a wall—completely useless. All the resources poured into him over the years have been wasted on that pig. The outcome of this elders' council is clear: Yu Xiaogang's reckless waste of resources must end. Trash should stay in its place. From today forward, Yu Xiaogang is stripped of his core disciple status. Yu Xiaomen is officially named Young Sect Master. Yu Xiaogang will no longer enjoy any cultivation resources and will now serve as a chores disciple, responsible for menial tasks in the sect."
Facing Yu Luomian's barrage of accusations, Yu Yuanzhen had no rebuttal—because everything Yu Luomian said was true.
This time, Yu Yuanzhen did not use his authority as sect master to veto the decision. He simply waved his hand and said, "I understand. Proceed according to the elders' decision."
Suddenly, Yu Yuanzhen heard the sound of someone running away from behind the door.
He rushed to open it and saw the tear-streaked figure of Yu Xiaogang running off into the distance.
Xiaogang ran back toward his room, drawing the attention of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon sect disciples and servants along the way, all turning to watch the weeping, buzz-cut youth flee.
"Isn't that Yu Xiaogang again? Crying? Got bullied again, probably off to complain to daddy."
"Judging from the direction he ran from, something must've happened at the council chamber he couldn't accept."
Yu Xiaoke sneered, "Don't you get it? If it weren't for his father the sect master shielding him, the elders would've stripped that useless guy of his core disciple status ages ago. Looks like even his dad's done protecting him now."
Yu Xiaozhu mocked, "Golden Sacred Dragon? Please. If that pig of Yu Xiaogang's can evolve into a Golden Sacred Dragon, I'll eat shit standing on my head."
Yu Xiaoren ridiculed, "This kind of trash always cries or runs away when faced with challenges—or goes crying to daddy. He's burned through the resources meant for three core disciples. I don't even get why the sect keeps him around. If I were sect master, I'd have kicked him out of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon sect long ago and let him fend for himself."
Later that day, after wrapping up various affairs, Yu Yuanzhen stood outside Yu Xiaogang's door, face complex with emotion. He pushed open the door—inside was pitch dark.
Yu Yuanzhen stood in the lit doorway, scanning the room until his eyes landed on a shivering figure curled in the corner like a worm—his son, Xiaogang.
Seeing this, Yu Yuanzhen was overcome with anger. "Yu Xiaogang, come out here."
Xiaogang's body trembled. He quickly stood and approached his father.
He wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and looked at him. "Father, I heard everything. What do they mean, 29 is my lifetime limit?"
Yu Yuanzhen took a deep breath. "Some things you just have to face, Xiaogang. This world is never fair. Everyone is born with a ceiling, and that limit determines how far they can go. Your innate soul power was recorded as 0.5—but that's just a number to make you feel better. If you'd been born into an ordinary family, you wouldn't have become a soul master at all. The sect poured in resources without limit, and I personally passed on my cultivation to you. That's the only reason you've made it this far. But 29 is your ceiling. Even if I gave you all the sect's resources, even if I gave you all my soul power, it still wouldn't help you break through level 30."
Yu Yuanzhen's words dropped like a death sentence.
"No—I don't believe it!" Xiaogang's eyes turned red as he shouted.
"You have to learn to accept reality, Xiaogang. At least you are a soul master, aren't you?" Yu Yuanzhen said solemnly.
Xiaogang's gaze suddenly turned hateful. He roared in fury, "Father, you were the one I trusted most. And you're abandoning me too? You agreed with the elders to demote me to a chores disciple and make Yu Xiaomen the Young Sect Master instead?" The thought that he would be nothing but a worthless chores disciple while Xiaomen would one day rise to sect master filled Xiaogang with deep humiliation.
"Xiaogang, you had your chances—it's you who wasted them. Don't keep blaming others. Look to yourself. Do you know how many times the elders tried to convince me to strip you of your core disciple title? I took all the pressure and defended you every time. If I weren't the sect's only Title Douluo, I'd have been removed from my position long ago."
"So that's it!" Xiaogang screamed at his father. "You never cared about me. All you care about is your precious seat as sect master, isn't it?"
"You—you—you—" Yu Yuanzhen stuttered in rage.
But Xiaogang didn't relent. He exploded, spewing spittle as he roared, "You tell me to look at myself? What's wrong with me? My martial soul should have been the Golden Sacred Dragon! So why the hell did I awaken a pig? But did I give up? No! I trained two hundred times harder than anyone else to reach level 29. Look across the history of the Douluo Continent—has any other 0.5-level innate soul power waste ever reached this point?"
"Why?! Why won't the sect acknowledge my efforts? Why do I have to blame myself? Doesn't the sect bear any responsibility? Don't you?!"
That scrawny youth then unleashed his fury, hammering his massive father with spit and words alike. Yu Yuanzhen's face, hair, and lips were soon covered with his son's flying saliva.
Finally, Xiaogang's shout echoed through the sect:
"Level 29 is my limit? No!
You want me to be a chores disciple? Never!
I swear to you, Yu Yuanzhen—
I, Yu Xiaogang, will surpass level 29!
I will exceed Soul Elder rank!
I'll stand at the pinnacle of the continent!
All of Douluo will remember my name!
If the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon sect can't solve my martial soul defect, I'll go to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan!
I'll go to the Clear Sky Clan!
I'll go to Spirit Hall!
I believe—somewhere out there, someone can help me overcome this flaw.
And when that day comes—
All of you who called me trash will look up to me!"
With that, Xiaogang turned and stormed off. Yu Yuanzhen stood there, face dark, motionless for a long while, before wiping the spit from his face with his sleeve.
Footsteps approached from behind. Without turning, Yu Yuanzhen knew who it was.
"You came back—what for?"
Xiaogang's face was stiff as he reached out his hand toward Yu Yuanzhen.
"The Sect Token."
Holding the sect token in his hand, Yu Xiaogang ran down from the sect gate with tears and snot streaming down his face. As he ran, he cast a hateful glance back at the towering Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's gate.
"Just wait. One day, I, Xiaogang, will make a name for myself in the world. When that day comes, I'll make all those who once looked down on me pay the price."
But just as he turned his head, a sharp elbow suddenly slammed into his stomach.
"Owwww…" Xiaogang cried out in pain as he was sent flying.
"Brother Xiaogang!"
Before Yu Xiaogang could get up and see who had attacked him, an annoying voice reached his ears — Yu Xiaomen's voice.
"Ah, I didn't see it was you just now. My bad."
Yu Xiaomen helped Xiaogang up.
"You did that on purpose!" Xiaogang said angrily, his chest burning with pain.
He expected Yu Xiaomen to play dumb as usual — but instead, a heavy slap sent him flying again.
"You…" Xiaogang clutched his swollen face, looking at Yu Xiaomen.
"Yeah, I did it on purpose. So what?" Yu Xiaomen said, shaking his hand and walking step by step toward Xiaogang.
"You… you're not pretending anymore?" Xiaogang backed away on the ground in fear.
"Pretend? Why would I need to pretend? Look around — seems like it's just the two of us here." Yu Xiaomen smirked.
Suddenly, with a burst of speed, Yu Xiaomen appeared right in front of Xiaogang and slapped him again, perfectly symmetrical this time.
"Sanpao, help me!"
Desperate, Xiaogang summoned Luo Sanpao, his mutated pig Martial Soul. With the pig in front of him, he felt slightly more secure.
"Hahaha, your Martial Soul just gets funnier every time I see it."
Yu Xiaomen partially Dragon-Transformed — with his current spirit power level at 46, dealing with a farting little pig was ridiculously easy.
Xiaogang's expression flickered as he said,
"You're still mad about that thing back then, right? So… you want to kill me here?"
"First Soul Skill — Thunderous Fart That Shakes the Earth!"
Luo Sanpao's soul ring lit up.
"Kill you?" Yu Xiaomen's face darkened. Just as Luo Sanpao was about to fart, he grabbed the pig with a dragon claw, aiming the nozzle at Xiaogang — right as the fart was fully charged.
Pfffft!
A thick, putrid fart blasted right into Xiaogang's face.
"Cough… cough… It stinks…"
Xiaogang was completely enveloped in a yellow fart fog. Through the stench, he could faintly see Yu Xiaomen's silhouette.
"Before my Martial Soul awakened, I wanted nothing more than to kill you," Yu Xiaomen said mockingly.
"But after my awakening, I realized — you don't have to kill someone to take revenge."
"When I saw your Martial Soul was supposed to be a Golden Sacred Dragon, I was pressured.
But it turned into a pig instead. Hilarious. Absolutely delightful."
"Yu Xiaogang, I'll let you live.
I'll let you look up at me.
Level 29 — that's your ceiling.
For the rest of your life, you'll stand at attention and watch my back as I walk away — until I'm so far gone, you can't even see me anymore."
With that, Yu Xiaomen left.
"This life… stuck at Level 29…"
Yu Xiaomen's words echoed in Xiaogang's heart.
When the thick fart cloud finally dispersed, Luo Sanpao affectionately waddled over, nuzzling Xiaogang.
Xiaogang's eyes were bloodshot. He clenched his fists, ignoring the backlash from his Martial Soul, and began to savagely beat Luo Sanpao.
As he hit him, he cursed:
"Why… why did you have to mutate into Luo Sanpao? Why?!
You turned me into a worthless failure!
This is all your fault!
Give me back my Golden Sacred Dragon! Give it back—!"
Rrrrkkk!
Luo Sanpao squealed in pain.
Not long after, Xiaogang couldn't bear the feedback from his Martial Soul anymore and had to stop. His frail body couldn't handle it.
"Yu Xiaomen, thirty years east of the river, thirty years west — don't underestimate a poor youth!
Letting me live… is the last mistake you'll ever make.
One day, I'll return to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan with the Golden Sacred Dragon… and reclaim everything that's mine!"
With those final ruthless words, Xiaogang left the mountain in disgrace, with Luo Sanpao trailing behind.
Spirit Hall – Worship Hall
The Worships had all seen major progress after absorbing the immortal herbs given by Qian Renxue.
Even Second Worship, Golden Crocodile Douluo, although still not at the Limit Douluo level, had his long-standing bottleneck begin to loosen.
"Xiaoxue, thank you for the herbs. I feel fantastic.
Give me ten more years, and I'll break through to the Limit Douluo realm."
Golden Crocodile Douluo (aka Tian'e) said.
"Congratulations, Grandpa Tian'e."
Qian Renxue replied sincerely. In her past life, Tian'e had sacrificed himself to save her.
Meanwhile, Mighty Lion Worship and Qingwan Worship, both already at level 97, had now advanced to level 98, and Lightfeather Worship had broken through from 96 to 97.
Two new Worships were also added — Qian Jun and Xiang Mo.
"Isn't giving such treasures to us old folks a bit of a waste?" Tian'e asked.
"Even the greatest genius needs time to grow," Qian Renxue replied.
"Tang San will rise in about twenty years. We don't have that long.
So instead of waiting, we must bolster our current strength."
A while later, Lightfeather Worship brought in a group of Spirit Saints and Spirit Douluos.
Many faces were familiar to Qian Renxue.
The Spirit Saints included Stab Blood, Yu Long, and Ling Yuan, among others.
The Spirit Douluos included Yueguan, Guimei, Xiong Ju, and Ying Lie.
Two representatives from the Lower Four Clans were also present:
Huyan Zhen, patriarch of the Elephant Armored Sect, and Tuoba Xi, young master of the Holy Dragon Sect.
Huyan Zhen was nearly a Spirit Douluo, just one soul ring away. Tuoba Xi was younger, but more talented — a level 75 Spirit Saint. In the original story, he eventually became a Titled Douluo.
These individuals represented the future powerhouse generation of the Spirit Hall — those who would one day go head-to-head with the anti-Spirit Hall alliance during Tang San's era.
Anyone who could reach Titled Douluo status was among the elite of their time — aside from freaks like Tang San.
"Greetings, Elders and Worships."
The future Douluos kneeled in unison before the Spirit Hall's strongest.
At the front stood Qian Renxue. She stepped forward and declared:
"I have gathered you all today…
to bestow upon you a rare opportunity."
She then summoned a collection of immortal herbs from her soul tool, floating them before the crowd for all to see.
"This is..." Yue Guan was completely incoherent, his lips trembling. "Immortal treasures... they're all immortal-grade!"
"Chrysanthemum Douluo, don't lose your composure in front of the Worship," Ghost Douluo whispered sharply to Yue Guan.
Yue Guan retorted, "Do you even understand what the Young Lord has brought out? These are immortal treasures! How do you expect me to stay calm?"
"Immortal treasures? What are those?" Ghost Douluo asked in confusion.
"Immortal treasures—things of the heavens, rarely heard of in the mortal world. In this world, people are born with predetermined talent, but that's not absolute. There are fortuitous opportunities that can alter one's innate gifts, and immortal treasures are such chances."
After saying this, Yue Guan deliberately explained to everyone what immortal treasures were.
"What?" The crowd, who previously hadn't cared much about the flowers and herbs Qian Renxue brought out, was now utterly shocked after Yue Guan's explanation.
They stared at the immortal treasures in Qian Renxue's hands, their eyes burning with desire.
"That's right, Yue Guan is correct. Immortal treasures can rewrite your talents and help you achieve even greater heights in the future," Qian Renxue said. "I shall grant them to you, but in exchange, you must offer your absolute loyalty and accept the baptism of Angelic Holy Light."
"We are willing." Xiong Ju, the future Devil Bear Douluo, responded without hesitation.
The others soon followed suit.
Thus, the group entered the Angel Temple to receive the baptism of Holy Light. Completing it symbolized their heartfelt allegiance to the deity of the Hall of Spirits. Afterward, Qian Renxue began bestowing the immortal treasures.
"First, Yue Guan, this 'Sky-Penetrating Chrysanthemum' is for you."
Yue Guan accepted the chrysanthemum with trembling hands. Like an infatuated man, he caressed the flower lovingly, even shedding tears. "Sky-Penetrating Chrysanthemum... do you know how long I've been searching for you? Finally, fate has brought us together."
"Chrysanthemum Douluo, isn't this a bit dramatic?" Ghost Douluo shivered at Yue Guan's display.
"Hmph, you don't understand. Now that I've absorbed this treasure, which complements my martial spirit perfectly, I believe I can reach the level of Second Worship. If I had gotten it before reaching Soul King, even a Limit Douluo wouldn't be out of reach," Yue Guan lamented. "Such a pity."
Hearing this, everyone present became even more eager for their own immortal treasures.
Ghost Douluo received the Shadow Ghost Grass, Lingyuan the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower, and Xiong Ju received another Sky-Penetrating Chrysanthemum (Huo Yuhao had transplanted many immortal herbs from the God Realm).
Each future powerhouse who absorbed an immortal treasure achieved great improvements. Those who hadn't reached Spirit Douluo all broke through, and some even evolved their martial spirits.
For example, Lingyuan's Fiery Spirit Kite evolved into a top-tier beast martial spirit: Fire Phoenix.
Yue Guan, Ghost Douluo, and Xiong Ju used the treasures to reach the level of Quasi-Titled Douluo.
The elders congratulated them, "Congratulations to the three elders for stepping into the Titled realm." Those who hadn't reached the threshold were full of envy.
Yue Guan said, "This is all thanks to the Young Lord's bestowal of immortal treasures. Such grace—Yue Guan is at your disposal, willing to die ten thousand deaths in your service."
Ghost Douluo and Xiong Ju also pledged their loyalty.
"Your loyalty has already been verified through the Holy Light," Qian Daoliu said. "Yue Guan, Ghost Douluo, Xiong Ju, step forward."
"Yes, Grand Worship." The three stepped up.
Qian Daoliu handed each of them a soul bone. Though not high in age, these bones were sufficient for Quasi-Titled Douluo. "Absorb them. Use the boost to your physique and spirit power. I expect your ninth ring to be at least a 100,000-year ring."
"Understood, Grand Worship."
The three gratefully absorbed the soul bones.
Qian Daoliu exchanged a glance with Qian Renxue—this soul bone bestowal had been agreed upon with all the Worship elders.
The Hall of Spirits, with its thousand-year heritage, had the largest soul bone collection on the continent. In the original timeline, most were looted by the two empires, the Clear Sky Clan, and Shrek Academy after the Hall's fall.
Instead of letting them rot in the vaults and be stolen after defeat, it was better to convert them into immediate strength to face future enemies.
Several hours later, the trio finished absorbing their soul bones. Qian Renxue handed them each a pearl.
"Young Lord, what is this?" Ghost Douluo asked.
"God-Gifted Spirit Rings. Use your soul power to link with the pearl. The divine ring will appear."
It was the legendary God-Gifted Spirit Ring—everyone was shocked.
The three, deeply moved, followed Qian Renxue's instructions and linked their soul power with the pearls.
The Worship elders watched closely—this was their first time witnessing the God-Gifted Rings.
But when the rings appeared, they were puzzled—only white, ten-year rings?
Qian Renxue explained, "The ring's age depends on your limit. It forms the most suitable skill for you. Ten years is just the beginning. If your limit is high enough, even hundred-thousand-year rings are possible."
Her gaze sharpened. "The Hall of Spirits has gifted you with soul bones and immortal treasures. You must live up to this grace. With all these enhancements, your ninth ring must be at least 150,000 years."
Xiong Ju held the ring core and declared, "Of course. I won't disappoint you. If I can't obtain a 150,000-year ring, I'll find a chance to die together with a Titled Douluo of the Upper Three Sects to eliminate future threats."
Yue Guan and Ghost Douluo also declared their determination.
The three sat cross-legged, drawing the rings in to absorb.
The three white rings merged above their first eight rings and began to deepen in color.
The white quickly turned black, then a trace of crimson blood appeared in the ring patterns.
Finally, the blood-red hue completely overtook the black, officially surpassing 100,000 years.
The elders who already had their ninth rings looked on enviously. After all, a Titled Douluo with a 100,000-year ring and one without were on entirely different levels.
Moreover, such a ring represented a soul master's potential. Generally, reaching level 98 required at least one 100,000-year ring. Without one, most Titled Douluo remained stuck below level 98.
Xiong Ju's limit reached 170,000 years. The blood-red ring enveloped him, and the enormous soul power pushed him to level 92.
Meanwhile, Yue Guan and Ghost Douluo's rings were still increasing in age.
Ghost Douluo's ring eventually reached 190,000 years, pushing him to Titled Douluo level, soul power at level 92.