When it came to anything that might help him solve the malignant mutation of his martial soul and shake off the label of "waste," his mind was at its sharpest.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan not only failed to help Yu Xiaogang resolve the issue with his mutated martial soul but even dared to abandon him—demoting him to the status of a lowly errand disciple. This left Yu Xiaogang utterly disappointed, prompting him to leave the clan. Yet across the vast continent, there were precious few powers capable of helping him solve this problem.
If there existed any method on this continent to resolve the malignant mutation of his martial soul, Yu Xiaogang was certain—eight or nine out of ten chances—it would be found in the Spirit Hall.
The founding era of the Spirit Hall was long lost to history. It had stood on the continent for tens of thousands of years and held the most complete martial soul archives.
Surely, within them was a method to evolve his Luo Sanpao into the Golden Sacred Dragon.
Thus, the Spirit Hall was Yu Xiaogang's top choice.
Originally, with the clan token in hand, Yu Xiaogang had planned to come to the Spirit Hall, exchange some confidential information from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan for entry into the Spirit Hall's Core Archive Library, and from there, uncover the key to transforming his martial soul. Once his Luo Sanpao had evolved into the Golden Sacred Dragon, he would leverage the Spirit Hall's support to step by step ascend to the rank of Title Douluo. At that point, he would smoothly leave the Spirit Hall and return to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan to reclaim everything that was rightfully his.
But plans never keep up with change. His clan token was stolen. Not only was he unable to meet the Pope, he couldn't even get past the palace guards—he was stopped right at the door of the Pope's Hall.
Unexpectedly, this time, he encountered the Pope's disciple, the peerless genius with twin martial souls. Truly, heaven had opened a path for him.
So, Yu Xiaogang began plotting to use this Holy Maiden of the Pope's Hall to gain entry into the Spirit Hall.
In the days that followed, Yu Xiaogang secretly observed Bibi Dong.
Bibi Dong was genuinely happy for once.
Since she joined the Spirit Hall at age six, she had been cultivating inside the Pope's Hall. Her master treated her well, but kept her strictly confined within the palace, which made her long deeply to see the outside world.
Thus, each soul hunt was a rare chance for her to relax.
After leaving Spirit City for the Star Dou Forest, she had pleaded and begged until Elder Jin Zhong finally agreed to let her stay a few extra days in Coconut Grove City before heading out to hunt souls.
Unfortunately, the outside world also seemed to lack people who could truly stir her interest. Just like the people her age back in Spirit City, as soon as they recognized her identity as the Pope's Hall Holy Maiden, they either showed reverence or tried to flatter her—none truly wanted to be her friend.
This identity of hers created an invisible wall between her and everyone else.
"Holy Maiden, it's time for us to leave," Elder Jin Zhong said.
"Elder, just one last day—just one! I promise. We'll go to Star Dou Forest tomorrow, okay?" Bibi Dong clung to Jin Zhong's hand, pouting sweetly.
"Fine, fine," Jin Zhong Douluo waved his hand and said, "Just one last day. This really is the last. If we're late, the Pope will have our heads."
Bibi Dong happily left. For this last day, she planned to go boating on Coconut Lake.
But just as she arrived, full of excitement and ready to enjoy a peaceful day on the water, her eyes fell upon a striking figure.
By the lakeside stood a crew-cut man.
He wore a long black scholar's robe, exuding a scholarly aura. With hands clasped behind his back, he was gazing up at the sky.
A gentle breeze swayed the willows and his robe alike.
His expression was full of sorrow and his face seemed to tell countless stories.
Intrigued, Bibi Dong glanced at him a couple more times. Just as she was about to leave, she saw him lower his head and gaze at the tranquil lake before him. He sighed deeply and stepped forward.
Her pupils narrowed. She immediately realized what he was about to do. Before he could jump, she rushed forward and grabbed him. Though she appeared delicate, she was, after all, a level-50 quasi-Soul King, and easily restrained the would-be jumper.
"What is wrong with you? Why would you try to jump into the lake like that?"
The crew-cut man turned his head at her words, sighed again, and fell silent.
Bibi Dong gently sighed herself.
"Your eyes seem full of stories. Why not tell me about it? Maybe I can help. No matter what you're facing, life is precious. Why throw it away?"
"Would you really listen to my story?" the man asked.
"Of course. If you're willing to tell it, I'll be your listener," Bibi Dong replied.
"Thank you," the man rasped, then began to speak.
"I was born into a great clan. From a young age, the entire sect placed high hopes on me. But when my martial soul awakened, it mutated—badly. Instead of awakening a powerful martial soul, I ended up with a weak, degraded one. My innate soul power was a pitiful 0.5."
"From that moment, the sect's attitude toward me changed. My father became indifferent, the elders scorned me, and the other disciples mocked and bullied me."
"So...," Bibi Dong murmured, "you wanted to die because of all this?"
The crew-cut man shook his head, his eyes suddenly blazing. He stood up straight and declared:
"No. I will never bow to fate. So what if my martial soul mutated? So what if my innate soul power is only 0.5? So what if I was mistreated and mocked? I believe there are no useless martial souls, only useless soul masters. I won't give up. I'll cultivate with all my might."
"If one hundred times the effort isn't enough, I'll give two hundred times. One day, I will show my cold-hearted father and my sect—even with a waste soul, I can still stand tall."
His voice trembled with emotion, and the oppressive aura of a Level-29 Grandmaster Soul Master burst forth.
Only then did Bibi Dong realize—this seemingly unremarkable crew-cut man had cultivated all the way to level 29 despite a 0.5 innate soul power.
Across the entire continent, it was nearly impossible to find anyone else who had achieved such a feat from such a low starting point.
Even more shocking—when she had stopped him from jumping, she had sensed his bone age.
He was younger than she was!
Bearing the debuff of a mutated martial soul and a 0.5 innate soul power, he had still clawed his way up to level 29.
Bibi Dong recalled the words he had just spoken—"If one hundred times the effort isn't enough, I'll give two hundred."
He meant it. And with that thought, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of shame as she looked at him—and then at herself.
"But since you've overcome the problem of slow cultivation from low innate soul power through sheer effort and even achieved impressive results, why did you try to jump into the lake?" Bibi Dong asked.
The crew-cut youth wore an expression of deep weariness. He spoke with pain, "Although I've achieved what I have today through two hundred times the effort of others, the ceiling for soul masters still exists. Three years ago, I reached level 29, but no matter how hard I've tried since then, I haven't been able to break through that ceiling. Everyone in the sect has concluded that I'm a hopeless case who will never reach level 30."
"I didn't want to give up. I tried countless methods to try and break through to level 30, but nothing worked. The sect grew increasingly impatient with me. They saw me as a disgrace and eventually expelled me, leaving me homeless. On the road, I was swindled out of my travel funds by a schemer. I wandered around and finally ended up in this Coconut Grove City." After speaking, the crew-cut youth looked at the rippling Coconut Grove Lake. The meaning was obvious—after enduring so much hardship and suffering, he had decided to end it all by jumping into the lake.
Bibi Dong listened to the youth's bitter story, and a soft spot in her heart was touched.
A soul master born with only 0.5 innate soul power, yet through his own perseverance managed to reach level 29—what kind of sect would consider someone like that a failure? They must have been blind.
It was exactly this kind of tragic experience that led this resilient and relentless person to develop thoughts of ending his life when faced with insurmountable setbacks.
Bibi Dong advised, "I don't think you should give up on yourself like this. If you just die now, you'll never escape the label of 'trash.' Only by living, finding a way, and breaking through the bottleneck can you prove yourself to those who looked down on you."
"But..." The crew-cut youth fell silent.
"I think I might be able to help you." A spark of compassion ignited in Bibi Dong's heart toward this stranger she'd just met.
"Really?" The crew-cut youth trembled slightly, but then shook his head and declined politely, "Forget it. My problem isn't something small—you probably can't solve it. I should face it myself."
"I'm serious. My name is Bibi Dong, and I'm the Holy Maiden of the Spirit Hall. Perhaps the Spirit Hall can help you find a way to break through your bottleneck." Bibi Dong said.
Hearing this, a flash of brilliance lit up in the young man's eyes.
"...Alright, thank you." A trace of gratitude appeared on his sorrowful and weary face. "You're the first person in this world who has been kind to me."
Having stopped him from taking his own life, Bibi Dong felt a sense of accomplishment rising in her heart. She smiled and said, "I've introduced myself just now, so how about you? What's your name?"
"My name is Yu Xiaogang," the crew-cut youth replied.
Hearing this name, Bibi Dong was momentarily stunned. Only then did she realize that the story he had told matched the background she'd heard about someone before.
Yu Xiaogang—a man once renowned in the inner circles of the soul master world. The son of Yu Yuanzhen, someone who should've inherited his father's top-tier talent. But during martial soul awakening, it mutated in reverse—he ended up with a pig as a martial soul, and his soul skill was... farting. It was an embarrassment to one of the upper three sects.
At the time, Bibi Dong had even laughed when Qian Xunji told her the story of Yu Xiaogang.
Thinking of this, Bibi Dong felt even more guilty.
Seeing Bibi Dong dazed, Yu Xiaogang's expression darkened. He said, "Sigh, I guess you've heard of my name too. You know I'm a good-for-nothing, right?"
"No." Bibi Dong immediately refuted. "Yu Xiaogang, if you were truly trash, you would've long given up. But you proved yourself. You never stopped fighting. Tell me, which soul master born with 0.5 innate power can reach level 29? I didn't understand you before and mocked you, but now that I've met you, I see the side of you that no one else does. I'm sorry, Yu Xiaogang. I apologize for how I treated you in the past."
Hearing that Bibi Dong had once mocked him, a flicker of hatred passed through Yu Xiaogang's heart, but his face showed serenity. "It's fine. That's how the world sees me. You were just influenced by their ignorance."
In that moment, Yu Xiaogang seemed to be surrounded by a radiance of wisdom, so bright that Bibi Dong couldn't bear to look directly at him.
"I heard your martial soul is a detached-type martial soul. Can I see it?" Bibi Dong asked curiously.
"Luosanpao." Yu Xiaogang summoned his martial soul—a fat, purple pig that snorted with a series of "roro" sounds.
Bibi Dong's attention was immediately drawn to the ugly pig. Yu Xiaogang assumed she must be laughing at him inside. Hands clasped behind his back, he said, "This is my martial soul, Luosanpao. I know it's ugly and weak. But I've never abandoned or blamed it. It is my martial soul—my partner in battle. From the moment it awakened, I swore that one day, Luosanpao and I would stand at the top of this world together."
Hearing her master say he never blamed it, Luosanpao showed a touch of human-like anger, but because it was its master, the pig just turned its head away in helplessness, refusing to look at him.
To Yu Xiaogang's surprise, Bibi Dong suddenly picked up Luosanpao and snuggled it excitedly. "Wow! What a cute martial soul!"
Yu Xiaogang raised an eyebrow. Are your eyes broken? This thing that looks neither like a pig nor a dog is 'cute' to you? Still, seeing that Bibi Dong seemed to really like his martial soul, he started plotting—maybe he could use this to get closer to her and gain some benefits.
"By the way, I'm curious—what's your martial soul?" Yu Xiaogang asked knowingly.
"You don't know?" Bibi Dong's mood shifted slightly at the question—she clearly didn't like talking about her martial soul.
With his hands behind his back, Yu Xiaogang replied, "These past few years I've spent every waking moment cultivating. I don't know much about the outside world. This is the first I've heard that the Spirit Hall has a Holy Maiden."
Hearing that, Bibi Dong looked at Luosanpao, then back at herself. Even he could calmly accept his martial soul... yet she couldn't face her own? In her heart, Yu Xiaogang's image grew even loftier.
"Death Spider Emperor. That's my martial soul. It looks really ugly when it possesses me." Her gaze faltered. "I don't really want to show it."
Yu Xiaogang sincerely praised, "No, I think a girl as beautiful as you could never look ugly, no matter what martial soul possesses you."
A faint blush appeared on Bibi Dong's face.
This was Bibi Dong and Yu Xiaogang's first encounter. To help alleviate the gloom in Yu Xiaogang's heart, Bibi Dong took him boating in Coconut Grove City and to see the lantern festival.
That day, Bibi Dong had a wonderful time—after all, this was the first true friend she could open her heart to.
Just before parting ways, Yu Xiaogang suddenly asked curiously,
"I heard you came out this time to hunt for a spirit ring. Which ring is it for?"
Bibi Dong answered without hesitation,
"The fifth ring."
"The fifth ring?" Yu Xiaogang said, shocked.
"Of course! I'm already a quasi–Spirit King," Bibi Dong replied proudly, hands on her hips.
Hearing this, Yu Xiaogang was consumed with jealousy. Twin top-tier beast spirits, and innate full soul power—why wasn't such talent given to him? Why?
Suppressing the turbulent negativity in his heart, Yu Xiaogang feigned brief contemplation before smoothly delivering a well-rehearsed suggestion:
"For your fifth ring with the Death Spider Emperor, I recommend hunting a poisonous insect-type soul beast. Ideally, a Ten-Thousand-Year Poison Wasp Queen. It would provide you with a very useful soul skill."
Suspicious, Bibi Dong asked,
"You know the development path of my Death Spider Emperor?"
In this era, most soul masters only understood the development of their own martial soul. The Death Spider Emperor—something completely unrelated to Yu Xiaogang's own spirit—and yet he claimed to know its growth path?
Coincidentally, the Poison Wasp Queen was indeed on Bibi Dong's target list this time.
Yu Xiaogang clasped his hands behind his back, wearing a weary expression, but his eyes gleamed with wisdom.
"After my martial soul mutated, Luo Sanpao had nothing in common with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. There were no precedents for me to rely on. I had to explore my own path. In order to find suitable rings for Luo Sanpao, I've read countless books and learned about various martial spirits and their compatible soul beasts."
"You're amazing! Thank you. I'll take your advice to heart," Bibi Dong said, then handed him a ticket and a pouch of coins, speaking with some reluctance,
"I've really enjoyed spending time with you. Here—this is a ticket to the Heaven Dou Soul Master Tournament. I'm a member of the Spirit Hall team. You must come, okay?"
With that, Bibi Dong turned and left.
Watching her back disappear into the distance, the corners of Yu Xiaogang's mouth curled into a √-shaped smile. Looking down at the ticket in his hand, he knew half his plan had already succeeded.
As long as he could win over Bibi Dong, he could leverage her status as the Holy Maiden to gain access to Spirit Hall and read through its tens of thousands of years of records—perhaps discovering a way to evolve his martial soul.
The Continental Soul Master Tournament was held every five years. It represented the peak of soul master excellence in each era. Nearly all top talents came from this tournament.
In previous tournaments, the Haotian Twin Stars had risen to fame by defeating Spirit Hall's team and became renowned across the land.
It was also during past tournaments that Ning Fengzhi had met Dustheart and Gu Rong and invited them to join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
This year happened to be another tournament year, with the finals held in Heaven Dou City.
Using the coins Bibi Dong gave him, Yu Xiaogang traveled all the way to Heaven Dou City to attend the Soul Master Tournament.
From the spectator seats, he noticed one team in particular: the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy team.
Among them was someone Yu Xiaogang would recognize even if reduced to ashes— Yu Xiaomen.
Only now did Yu Xiaogang remember that Yu Xiaomen studied at Heaven Dou Imperial Academy and was now a core strength of the Royal Fight Team.
That one glimpse completely ruined Yu Xiaogang's good mood.
He watched as Yu Xiaomen led the Royal Fight Team against the Star Luo Team. The 47th-ranked Soul Sect, Yu Xiaomen, used clever tactics to eliminate the Spirit Cat Soul Master early, disrupting the fusion of the Nether White Tiger. The match turned into a fierce clash between dragon and tiger—with the dragon ultimately triumphing.
When Yu Xiaomen, bloodied but unbowed, defeated the last member of the Star Luo Team, the crowd roared:
"Royal Fight Team! Thunder War God Yu Xiaomen! Thunder God! Thunder God! Thunder God!"
Yu Xiaogang clenched his fists tightly, his bloodshot eyes locked on the young man standing in the spotlight.
Before awakening his martial soul, Yu Xiaogang had always compared himself to the Tang brothers, Tang Hao and Tang Xiao. He had dreamed of standing on this very tournament stage and astonishing the world.
But that dream had shattered after his martial soul awakened.
Now, seeing Yu Xiaomen in that coveted spot, bathed in praise, Yu Xiaogang was consumed by jealousy.
Damn it. That position should've been mine. Damn you, Yu Xiaomen. Damn you, Luo Sanpao... Yu Xiaogang screamed internally.
Another team also caught his attention: the Spirit Hall team led by Bibi Dong. In this tournament, she stood out as an unprecedented Soul King.
Even without spirit possession, she easily defeated her opponents and received thunderous applause.
Eventually, both Yu Xiaomen's Royal Fight Team and Bibi Dong's Spirit Hall Team advanced to the finals.
As the two teams faced off, Yu Xiaogang silently chanted in his heart:
Bibi Dong, go! Spirit Hall Team, go!
Yu Xiaogang held no affection for Bibi Dong nor the Spirit Hall team. His support came solely from his desire to see Yu Xiaomen fail.
The match began. Both teams summoned their martial souls. A flurry of spirits filled the arena, and Bibi Dong and Yu Xiaomen became the clear centers of attention.
Faced with Yu Xiaomen, a formidable Soul Sect, Bibi Dong couldn't win without activating her martial soul. Left with no choice, she performed spirit possession with the Death Spider Emperor.
Watching her transform into a spider-like woman, Yu Xiaogang frowned, a trace of disgust flashing in his eyes:
"So disgusting."
Truthfully, even after spirit possession, Bibi Dong's appearance wasn't hideous. In fact, it had a unique allure. But in Yu Xiaogang's eyes, she was hideous—because only by convincing himself of that could he feel superior during their interactions.
Finally, with her martial soul activated, Bibi Dong unleashed the full might of a Soul King. Under the Death Spider Emperor's poison, Yu Xiaomen was defeated.
Watching Yu Xiaomen fall, Yu Xiaogang felt refreshed—like drinking a cold soda on a scorching summer day.