Don't, don't whip me! I'll pick it, I'll pick the cotton, okay?
On the bed, Tang San muttered feverishly in his sleep. He suddenly jolted awake, sitting upright, his forehead dripping with cold sweat.
"Ah San, what's wrong? What cotton-picking are you talking about?" asked Oscar, who had been assigned to look after him.
"N-nothing." Tang San quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"If you're fine, then I'll go tell the teachers." Oscar stood up.
Tang San didn't reply. He only stared blankly at his hands resting on the bedsheet. It took him quite a while before he came back to himself.
"It was just a dream…" he muttered, exhaling heavily.
Fortunately, it had only been a dream. Yet the dream left Tang San with a harsh reminder: everything he had was tied to Xiao Wu.
Without Xiao Wu's recognition, he wouldn't get the Shura God's scabbard, wouldn't inherit the Shura God position, and that divine throne would end up in someone else's hands. If Yu Tianheng snatched it first, then everything he had just experienced in that nightmare would unfold in reality.
I was being whipped in a cotton field by some cowboy priest while you were enjoying pastoral scenery on a breezy hillside?
Just recalling the scene made Tang San's eyes redden. His breath came heavy like an enraged ox. No! I can't let that happen. I must win Xiao Wu's love to secure the Shura God's divinity!
After Tang San woke, the Shrek Eight Monsters regrouped. This time, Yu Tianheng and Er Ming didn't mock him—because once Tang San had been eliminated, they too had lost.
At this point, Shrek Academy had been defeated. With the exception of Ning Rongrong and Oscar, who hadn't entered the fight, nearly everyone bore injuries.
Flander scanned the group and sighed. Inwardly, he felt regret. With the current configuration of the Eight Monsters, in any previous tournament they would have easily locked down the championship. But who could have foreseen so many dark horses appearing this year?
The Skywater Team and the Windfire Team each had a Spirit King-level opponent who posed serious threats to Shrek. And the Spark Team… they consistently outperformed Shrek at every turn. What had once seemed a guaranteed championship now looked full of uncertainty.
"Little monsters, you've already done excellently. No matter the outcome of this tournament, I am proud of you all."
Even Tang San himself no longer had absolute confidence in taking the championship.
But Xiao Wu, speaking in a mysterious tone, said: "We can win, Dean Flander. This time, we will definitely claim the championship—because we have a secret weapon."
"Secret weapon?" Flander blinked. Then he smiled faintly. "Oh? Then we teachers will look forward to seeing what you can do in this tournament."
The round-robin stage concluded. The team that performed the best was the Spark Team, who stood out with an undefeated record.
Shrek followed close behind, with their only loss being against the Spark Team.
The Windfire and Skywater Teams trailed just behind.
With the rankings set, it was time for them to head to Spirit City for the final matches.
Under Xue Qinghe's leadership, all the academy teams departed together toward Spirit City.
What surprised Tang San was the sight of Xue Beng, that frivolous and useless prince, among the convoy.
Of course, Tang San didn't really care. To him, Xue Beng only needed to keep breathing until the day Qian Renxue's plan was exposed. At that moment, Tang San would reveal her identity, and the Heaven Dou Empire would still have a prince capable of rallying the world to fight the Spirit Hall—useful cannon fodder to throw into the fray.
What truly concerned Tang San was what should happen next.
From his memories of his past life, their journey to Spirit Hall would be ambushed by assassins. With help from Dugu Bo, Chen Xin, and others, they would narrowly escape.
It was a trial with danger but no real risk for Tang San, and he was actually looking forward to it. After all, wasn't the best chance to win a woman's heart through a heroic rescue?
If Spirit Hall's pursuit created the crisis, and he seized the chance to save Xiao Wu heroically, then her heart—and the Shura God position—would surely be his.
So, on the way, Tang San eagerly anticipated Spirit Hall's attack.
But…
After days of traveling, Spirit City appeared on the horizon.
Tang San froze.
They'd arrived? Where was the ambush? Where were the assassins?
The realization hit him like a hammer. In his previous life, Bibi Dong had sent killers after him because he was Tang Hao's son—the Haotian Sect bloodline—and the second known Twin Spirit master of his era. He was too great a threat to leave alive.
But this time, no assassins had come.
There was only one explanation.
Bibi Dong didn't consider him a threat.
Yes—she must have dismissed him, thinking that by awakening his Clear Sky Hammer early, he had crippled his potential and was no longer worth worrying about.
"Damn you, Bibi Dong," Tang San thought furiously. "You dare look down on me? That's your path to death!"
With Yu Tianheng and Er Ming previously drawing most of Spirit Hall's hatred, Tang San had started to look at Spirit Hall with less hostility. He thought he'd deal with them eventually but didn't obsess over it.
But now?
Spirit Hall had earned themselves back onto his hatred list—for the sole crime of looking down on him.
Because of that, he had missed his perfect chance to win Xiao Wu's heart through a heroic rescue.
The Heaven Dou team entered Spirit City smoothly. The others gasped in awe at the city's magnificence, but for the four reincarnated Shrek members, it was nothing new.
In their past lives, they had fought in this city, looted it bare, then burned it to the ground. Compared to the sights of the God Realm and the future Shrek City, Spirit City's grandeur now seemed laughable.
Tang San cast only a brief glance at the Pope's Palace on the hillside before withdrawing his eyes.
To him, Spirit Hall was no longer the greatest threat. His real enemies were Feng Xiaotian, Yu Tianheng, and the others coveting Xiao Wu. They weren't just after his Xiao Wu, but also his Shura God inheritance.
He needed to find a way to eliminate them without turning Xiao Wu's feelings against him. Perhaps… Spirit Hall could be the blade in his hand.
While Tang San was lost in thought, in a shadowed corner, a disheveled man with a cropped haircut lifted his head. His face was weary and dust-covered. But when his eyes landed on that dark-skinned figure in the convoy, his expression lit up as though seeing the light of salvation. Tears welled in his eyes.
With a sudden burst, he hurled himself forward, throwing himself onto Tang San.
"Little San! My dear disciple! Waaaaah! You finally came to see your master! You're finally here!"
Tang San was suddenly hugged tightly by a filthy man who reeked of the nauseating stench of hawthorn flowers, and he almost gagged from the disgust.
"You—who are you? Let go of me! I don't know you." Tang San struggled to push away the man in front of him, but no matter how hard he tried, the man clung to him like a stubborn patch of psoriasis, refusing to let go.
Seeing Tang San try to push him away, the man with the flat crew-cut panicked. He grabbed onto Tang San even harder, refusing to release him, then opened his mouth and shouted loudly:
"Little San, you don't recognize me? I am Yu Xiaogang—your teacher, the teacher who, as the saying goes, once a teacher for a day, a father for life!"
His voice was so loud it sounded like a blaring loudspeaker, deliberately ensuring everyone nearby could hear that Tang San was his disciple.
At that moment, everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at the "charcoal-head" Tang San and the crew-cut man.
Seeing this, Tang San's face turned even darker. Despite the reeking hawthorn stench, the ragged clothing, and the obvious weight gain from eating too many high-calorie foods, Tang San still recognized him by his signature crew-cut hairstyle.
Even though he recognized him, Tang San pretended not to, wanting to push the man away. But Yu Xiaogang suddenly pulled this dramatic stunt, making escape impossible.
Not long ago, Yu Xiaogang had reached the peak of his life. He had possessed the Golden Holy Dragon martial soul, basking in glory. Yet at the very height of his pride, he fell into the abyss. His martial soul was stolen by Lin Chen, and afterward, he was captured by brother Scar, brother dragon, brother mohawk, and others, locked in a small secret chamber where he suffered unspeakable things day and night.
Finally, one day, Yu Xiaogang managed to escape during a moment of lax guard.
Now, Yu Xiaogang had nothing left. His martial soul was utterly, thoroughly, hopelessly useless trash—useless from every conceivable angle. In front of the entire world, it had been proven that his so-called martial soul theories were plagiarized. He had completely lost the halo of being a "theory master."
The only reason he had managed to cling to life until now was because of one last hope—his treasured disciple Tang San. That was all he had left to rely on. He had to cultivate Tang San into the strongest spirit master in the world, then use him to take revenge on Spirit Hall, Lin Chen, the Yu Clan, and everyone else who had humiliated him.
He also wanted to crush Xinghuo Academy, seize their martial soul-seizing technology, reclaim his lost Golden Holy Dragon, and have Tang San pass his cultivation to him, so that he could rise again and become a peerless powerhouse.
In short—at this moment, Yu Xiaogang absolutely would not let go of Tang San.
Seeing things had already gone this far, Tang San had no choice but to put on a shocked expression. He hurriedly supported Yu Xiaogang and said:
"Teacher…is that really you? How did you end up like this?"
Yu Xiaogang cried, tears and the foul hawthorn-stenched grime on his face rubbing all over Tang San's clothes. He sobbed miserably:
"Wuwuwu… Little San, your teacher's heart is full of suffering!"
Tang San forced himself to endure the nausea and disgust, then comforted him:
"Teacher, let's talk slowly once we're back. Don't worry—whatever grievance you've suffered, your disciple will definitely stand up for you."
"Really?" Yu Xiaogang immediately grabbed Tang San's hands with his filthy, reeking ones, his face moved. "I haven't loved you in vain. You are my good disciple. In my heart, you're even more like my own son!"
Inside, Tang San's anger burned fiercely. But for the sake of smoothly leaving Spirit City in the future, and for the sake of his plans to become a god—
What others saw was a touching, heartwarming scene of deep affection between master and disciple. Even Flender, Liu Erlong, and the others stepped forward to comfort Yu Xiaogang.
When they arrived back at Shrek Academy's lodgings, Flender asked:
"Xiaogang, what on earth happened after you left? How did you become like this?"
Yu Xiaogang looked at Flender. Right now, Flender—nourished by love, happily married to Liu Erlong, and successful in Shrek's affairs—was brimming with vigor. Compared to his own miserable downfall, Yu Xiaogang's heart welled up with a nameless fire of jealousy.
Why? Why was it that I, born into the noble Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan with its exalted bloodline, destined to stand above others, have had to suffer such torment? Why should Flender—this mud-legged peasant-born trash, this lowly stock—why should he get to become a Soul Saint, destined for a future Title Douluo, and even have both love and career success? Why?!
Yu Xiaogang roared inwardly with jealous fury.
His jealousy of Flender made him unwilling to let Flender know of his shameful past. Stubbornly, he turned his head away, refusing to look at him.
Seeing this, Flender could only sigh. "Forget it. Xiaogang, whenever you're ready, come find me, Erlong, and Zhao Wuji. If you've suffered any grievance, as your friend, I'll definitely stand up for you."
"There's no need. You—and the others—leave. Little San stays. I just want some quiet." Yu Xiaogang said coldly.
Flender saw this and could only sigh again, turning to leave with the others. Soon, only Tang San and Yu Xiaogang were left in the room.
"Little San, my heart aches so much. You're all I have left now." Yu Xiaogang said, weeping and sniffling.
"No one's here now, Gangzi. Don't disgust me." Tang San looked coldly at him.
"You—you hurt your teacher's heart too much." Yu Xiaogang said bitterly.
"Enough, Gangzi. Spit it out. Where the hell have you been these past days? If you keep dragging this out, I'm leaving." Tang San's voice was icy.
"Wait, wait, don't go! I'll tell you!" Yu Xiaogang quickly said.
He then began to recount how he had been old acquaintances with Bibi Dong, how she possessed the cultivation method for twin martial souls, and how he had gone to Spirit Hall in order to obtain it for Tang San.
Hearing this, Tang San thought to himself: As expected. He wasn't particularly interested in Bibi Dong's twin martial soul cultivation method—he'd only sent Yu Xiaogang to Spirit Hall to test what kind of place Yu Xiaogang held in Bibi Dong's heart. That way, he could assess whether this "umbrella" would actually protect him at a critical time. If Bibi Dong didn't care about Yu Xiaogang, then wasn't his "master" useless?
But seeing Yu Xiaogang's current appearance, Tang San worried that the man's relationship with Bibi Dong might have already soured. So he pressed:
"Gangzi, tell me—did you get it or not?"
"I…" Yu Xiaogang's eyes shifted evasively.
"Tell me!" Tang San unleashed his Purple Demon Eye to intimidate Yu Xiaogang's fragile spirit. (Though Tang San's current strength was pretty lousy, compared to Yu Xiaogang the useless one, it was still enough.)
Yu Xiaogang's mind wavered under Tang San's gaze. Facing his disciple's questioning, he hurriedly blurted out the truth.
Yu Xiaogang explained the details of his recent trip to Spirit Hall, but of course, he left out the fact that he had actually been kidnapped by Scarface and his group.
"So, in short, Gangzi, you struck a deal with the Elder Hall of Spirit Hall. In exchange for not disturbing the Pope and admitting that your theories were fabricated, you received a Golden Dragon Fruit from them," Tang San said.
"That was— that was Spirit Hall's slander! They pinned false charges on me just so they could monopolize my great theories!" Yu Xiaogang stiffly tried to defend himself.
Tang San ignored his excuses and continued, "Then you ate the Golden Dragon Fruit, and your martial spirit evolved into the Golden Sacred Dragon. But in the middle of your spirit's transformation, Spark Academy used some unknown method to steal it from you. After that, your Luo Sanpao got replaced with a big spotted pig. Pfft—hahahahahahaha!"
Tang San gave him no face at all, bursting into raucous laughter.
When he first heard that Yu Xiaogang's spirit had evolved into the Golden Sacred Dragon, Tang San felt uncomfortable inside. On one hand, he didn't want to see Gangzi make a comeback; on the other hand, in Tang San's view, Yu Xiaogang should remain stuck forever at level 29, groveling like a maggot, never able to rise again.
So when he heard that Yu Xiaogang's martial spirit had been stolen and replaced with a pig, Tang San felt no sympathy whatsoever—instead, he couldn't stop mocking him.
As Tang San's laughter rang out, Yu Xiaogang's expression grew darker and more rigid. Finally, furious, he said:
"Xiao San, your teacher has suffered through so much—don't you feel even a shred of sorrow for me? Do you even see me as your teacher anymore?"
"Gangzi, look around. There's no one here. I don't need to keep pretending," Tang San sneered. "No, I don't see you as my teacher. Not only do I feel no sorrow for your situation, I actually find it funny."
"All this, I endured for your sake! How can you be so heartless—" Yu Xiaogang clutched his chest dramatically, playing the victim and trying to guilt-trip him.
"Yu Xiaogang, stop pretending you did it for me. Do you think I don't know who you are? You went to Spirit Hall for yourself. You wanted to beg Bibi Dong for the method of cultivating twin spirits so I could use it, isn't that right?" Tang San sneered. "But you got bribed by the people of the Worship Hall with just a Golden Dragon Fruit. That shows clearly that in your eyes, your own spirit's evolution is more important than my cultivation with twin spirits, isn't it?"
"Xiao San, that's not what I meant—" Yu Xiaogang hurriedly said.
"Hmph, it's exactly what you meant," Tang San cut him off. "You haven't taught me anything of value. You couldn't even bring me the twin spirit cultivation method. Looks like I'll have to reevaluate this so-called 'master-disciple relationship' between us."
With that, Tang San turned to leave. Yu Xiaogang rushed forward to grab him, but Tang San kicked him away.
Tang San walked off decisively. From their conversation, he had already gathered plenty.
First: The Worship Hall was willing to bribe Yu Xiaogang with a Golden Dragon Fruit. That meant Gangzi still had ties to Bibi Dong. In other words, this "chamber pot" was still useful.
So Tang San's attitude just now was deliberate PUA—manipulating Yu Xiaogang into clinging to their master-disciple bond, forcing him to make greater efforts, and squeezing every last drop of benefit from his connection to Bibi Dong. That way, Tang San could secure a protective umbrella for the upcoming Spirit Master Tournament.
And afterward? Well, once the tournament was over, he could simply kick this "Flying Dance" away.
Second: Spark Academy was worth keeping an eye on. They had the ability to strip away martial spirits. Could it be that all those noble-born spirits they possessed had been obtained through such means?
"Hmph. Spark Academy dares to use such evil methods to throw the spirit master world into chaos? It seems that I, the future God King Tang San, have the duty to set things right." Tang San's eyes gleamed with determination, as though a mission had been branded onto him.
Tang San thought he was PUA-ing Yu Xiaogang to serve his own goals. Little did he realize—Yu Xiaogang was an extremely self-centered man. How could such a person allow himself to be manipulated?
After Tang San left, Yu Xiaogang stared sadly at his departing back. Soon, his eyes hardened with determination:
"Xiao San, you have no respect for your teacher at all. Once a teacher, always a father. I'm practically your parent! How could you treat me like this? Parents are never wrong! Even if I took the Golden Dragon Fruit, it was only so I'd have the strength to better protect you in the future. Why don't you understand my painstaking efforts? You won't even call me 'teacher' anymore. No… it seems I have the duty to teach you to respect your master and honor the Dao."
At this point, Yu Xiaogang's repeated setbacks had twisted his mind. For success, he would use any means necessary. He lacked hard power, but he had "soft power"—moral coercion. He decided he would do whatever it took to tie Tang San to his side, to keep him under his name forever, with the title of "master" eternally pressing down on Tang San's head. Forever and ever…
(So in short: Tang San planned to PUA Yu Xiaogang into serving as his protector before discarding him. Meanwhile, Yu Xiaogang planned to morally blackmail Tang San into remaining bound to him as his disciple forever. Truly, a deep master-disciple affection indeed!)
When the teams from the Heaven Dou Division and the Star Luo Division arrived at Spirit Hall, they were stationed in separate quarters. After all the teams had gathered, the tournament did not begin immediately. Instead, everyone rested for three days before the matches officially started.
That night, Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue went to meet with Huo Qiqiang.
"As for the upcoming matches, do you have any arrangements in mind?" Bibi Dong asked.
Huo Qiqiang replied, "As the saying goes, 'rise by pressing down.' Always suppressing Tang San isn't good either. So for the tournament, divide the strong teams into one bracket—teams like your Spirit Hall Golden Team, the Spark Team, Tianshui Team, and Windfire Team. Let them eliminate each other until only your Golden Team and the Spark Team remain."
"As for Shrek… let them advance smoothly all the way to the semifinals," Huo Qiqiang continued.
"So, you don't want Shrek to have a chance at revenge against Windfire or Tianshui?" Qian Renxue asked.
Huo Qiqiang nodded.
"For Shrek's first match, let it be a warm-up. Pair them against the Star Luo Royal Team. After that, place all the weak teams that should've been eliminated on Shrek's side of the bracket."
"We'll make the arrangements immediately," Bibi Dong said.
Then, she and Qian Renxue left together.