Tang San looked toward Tang Hao and asked uncertainly:
"Father, will your plan still succeed? Will Spirit Hall really do as you wish and help me get rid of those love rivals?"
Hearing Tang San's question, Tang Hao fell into silence.
His original plan had been to storm into Spirit Hall, humiliate them thoroughly, wreak havoc, and then take Tang San and Yu Xiaogang away—while leaving Yu Tianheng, Dai Mubai, and the others behind in the Pope's Palace to face Bibi Dong's wrath. With that crazy woman's temperament, she would very likely vent her anger on those people, thereby helping Xiao San eliminate his rivals, and paving the way for Xiao San to inherit the Shura God's position in the future.
But during his recent trip to Spirit Hall, instead of making a grand show, Tang Hao ended up disgraced—he couldn't even defeat little nobodies like Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo. Under such circumstances, would Bibi Dong really get angry enough to vent on them? Hard to say.
"Hopefully," Tang Hao said uncertainly.
At this moment, in the room, the flat-topped man (Yu Xiaogang) slowly woke up.
He yawned, drawing the father and son's attention. Both Tang Hao and Tang San turned their reddened eyes toward him, their breathing heavy like enraged bulls.
Yu Xiaogang had not yet realized the situation he was in. He was even moved: in such a dangerous moment, Tang Hao and Tang San had actually thought to bring him out—that proved Tang Hao acknowledged his identity, and Xiao San also recognized him as his teacher.
"Xiao San, Lord Tang Hao…" Yu Xiaogang started to greet, but he froze when he saw the predatory, man-eating looks in their eyes. Feeling a chill, he stammered:
"Y-you… what's wrong with you two?"
Tang San laughed in fury and said:
"Gangzi, I think we need to settle accounts over that little speech you gave during the Soul Master Tournament."
Tang San leaned close to Yu Xiaogang's face and said:
"I had originally planned to kick you aside after the tournament. But you just had to make our relationship public—spouting nonsense like 'once a teacher, always a father' and 'deep bonds between master and disciple'…"
Hearing this, Yu Xiaogang felt a shiver in his heart. He thought bitterly: I treated this little disciple so well, and yet he says he wanted to discard me after the tournament? Is that human speech? Thankfully, I was smart enough to lock down the teacher-disciple relationship publicly before the tournament ended.
As he was thinking this, suddenly a fist slammed into his flat-topped head, sending him flying. Stars exploded in his vision from the pain.
Tang San quickly caught up, yanked him up by the collar, and said with hatred:
"Gangzi, were you planning to make me your son? To have me dutifully serve you, take care of you, and when I gain fame across the world, let you enjoy the benefits too?"
Though Tang San's words pierced straight to the truth in his heart, Yu Xiaogang still tried to argue:
"Xiao San, that's not what I meant, as your teacher, I—"
Slap! Slap! Slap!
Dozens of slaps landed across Yu Xiaogang's face as Tang San roared with rage:
"Gangzi! As my teacher, what the hell have you ever taught me? What benefit did you ever give me? None—nothing at all! You're just a fraud, yet you still dared to ride on my head with your 'once a teacher, always a father' crap, dreaming of sharing in my glory. Where do you get the face for that!?"
Yu Xiaogang's face was swollen and bruised, tears streaming as he wailed:
"Xiao San, stop! Don't hit me! Please don't!"
Tang Hao stood nearby, watching coldly. He too loathed this fraud. While Tang San beat Yu Xiaogang, Tang Hao sneered:
"Yu Xiaogang, I am Tang San's father—his real father. You think you deserve to call yourself his father under that 'once a teacher, always a father' excuse? Let me tell you the truth: when I first let Tang San take you as a teacher, it wasn't because of your so-called knowledge. It was only because of your ties to Bibi Dong, so that your connections could shelter his growth. But now, I see—you're utterly useless."
So Xiao San had taken him as a teacher not because of his brilliance, but just because he knew Bibi Dong? Yu Xiaogang felt his heart shatter into pieces.
Tang San paused his blows and said:
"Gangzi, I don't remember ever saying 'once a teacher, always a father' when I bowed to you. You just wanted me to treat you like a father while being my teacher. Fine, then let me show you how I 'honor' my father!"
With a flash of cold light, a curved blade appeared in Tang San's hand.
Seeing the blade, Yu Xiaogang panicked and stumbled backward:
"Xiao San, what are you doing? Do you mean to kill your teacher? Killing one's master is the greatest of crimes!" Even in that moment, Yu Xiaogang tried to use the title of "teacher" as moral blackmail.
Tang San sneered:
"Here, aside from my real father, there's no one else. Gangzi, who would ever know if I committed this crime of slaying my master?"
Step by step, he advanced, knife in hand.
"D-don't come any closer!" Yu Xiaogang retreated, terrified. His fear grew so great he pissed himself, the stench filling the room.
With a flash of the blade, blood sprayed. Tang San had castrated Yu Xiaogang.
"Uuugh—ahhhhhh!!" Yu Xiaogang let out a scream of agony before finally fainting.
Tang Hao came over, tidying things up. Before leaving the room, he said to Tang San:
"Xiao San, although Gangzi is despicable, the teacher-disciple bond has already been made public. No one saw you do this, but everyone knows this fraud was taken away by us. He wasn't wrong—slaying one's master is a grave crime. This bad reputation could affect your future."
Tang San's face was cold as he wiped the blood- and piss-stained blade with a handkerchief:
"I know."
Then he leaned close and whispered a few words into Tang Hao's ear. Tang Hao nodded, and left.
Tang San bandaged Yu Xiaogang's wound with herbs.
Hours later, Yu Xiaogang slowly woke. The pain from his lower body immediately reminded him what had happened.
It was gone. The symbol of his manhood, cut away by his own disciple Tang San. He was now a eunuch.
He lay on the ground, while Tang San sat before him, idly playing with the very blade that had castrated him.
"X-xiao San… how could you treat your teacher this way? You've committed the crime of slaying your master! After all the effort I spent raising you, how could you repay me like this…" Yu Xiaogang's voice cracked and grew shrill, carrying a eunuch's sharp edge.
"Gangzi, if you want to see more pieces of flesh fall off your body, then go ahead and try morally blackmailing me one more time." Tang San said with a ferocious expression.
"Xiao San, you—" Yu Xiaogang, seeing Tang San's menacing aura, was so frightened that he dared not speak further. But being treated with such disrespect, and even being castrated by Tang San, his gloomy heart began to grow resentment and hatred toward him.
"You always thought that I, Tang San, cared about my reputation, so I wouldn't dare touch you. Before I could turn against you, you rushed to let the whole world know that you were my teacher, claiming countless false contributions to me, and then using the so-called righteousness of the teacher-disciple bond to pressure me." Tang San's tone was icy. "You weren't wrong—I do care about reputation. But if you think that means I'll let you sit on my shoulders, defecating and ruling over me, Gangzi—you're delusional."
Tang San stepped right in front of Yu Xiaogang, rubbing his small flat-top haircut as he continued:
"Just look at yourself. Your so-called theories are all plagiarized, your talent is garbage—you'll never break through the 29th level in your lifetime. And you think you're worthy?"
His hand slid down, patting Yu Xiaogang's chubby face. He threatened coldly:
"Reputation is just a glamorous set of clothes for me. With it, I'm a shining figure, above others. But don't think I need those clothes. Don't force me to strip them off—otherwise I'll show you what cruelty really is."
As he spoke, Tang San's hand closed around Yu Xiaogang's throat.
"Uhh—ahhh!" Yu Xiaogang choked, unable to speak. Tang San's icy threat made him feel like he had fallen into an abyss of ice. All along, he had tried to bind Tang San with morality, forcing him to serve, but he had never considered—what if Tang San stopped caring about reputation?
"Gangzi, let me tell you now: after tonight, you are no longer my teacher. In public, we can maintain the facade of master and disciple, but in private—you're not worthy. Do you understand?" Tang San said coldly.
Yu Xiaogang, nearly suffocating, could only nod frantically.
Only when Tang San saw him nod did he finally let go.
Yu Xiaogang gasped for air desperately. His hatred for Tang San deepened. In his mind: I was the one who led Tang San into the soul master world. Every achievement he has is because of me. Every setback he suffered was because he disobeyed me. And now, he dares to cut ties, to deny our master-disciple bond? How could I accept this?
Tang San was his last hope in life—he absolutely could not allow that hope to be severed.
Still, it was obvious Tang San valued reputation. Otherwise, he wouldn't have restricted this to a private break. No, I must bind him publicly even tighter. I'll make "once a teacher, always a father" an iron law weighing down on him forever. A malicious thought flashed in Yu Xiaogang's mind.
At that moment, Tang Hao walked in carrying a roasted chicken.
Tang San glanced at him, then turned back to Yu Xiaogang.
"Gangzi, do you know why I only castrated you instead of killing you?"
"Because you care about reputation?" Yu Xiaogang replied.
"Not entirely." Tang San sneered. "You're worthless, but I've invested a lot in you. I need some return. As my teacher, you're unfit. So you'll just have to be the Tang family's dog and do our bidding."
"You dare make me your dog?" Yu Xiaogang's pride could not accept such humiliation.
"Gangzi," Tang Hao jabbed a finger at his nose, "being the Tang family's dog is an honor. Others couldn't be one even if they begged."
Then, smugly, Tang Hao said:
"Yu Xiaogang, I might as well tell you the truth. My son Tang San, from the moment he was born, was watched by the gods themselves. He's the chosen one, destined to become a god in the future."
Become a god? Yu Xiaogang's little flat head almost short-circuited at the thought. (Since he hadn't gone to sea with Bibi Dong, he had no real concept of gods.)
Seeing Yu Xiaogang's blank, overwhelmed look gave Tang Hao, a man who had once been a god for thousands of years, a swelling sense of superiority and pride. He boasted:
"Of course, to you—a man stuck at level 29 forever, with Titled Douluo forever out of reach—the idea of gods must be unimaginable. But you know of the last era's three Ultimate Douluo, right?"
"I know." Yu Xiaogang nodded. "The invincible sky—Qian Daoliu. The invincible land—Tang Chen. They were called the twin peaks of the soul master world. And the third was…"
"The invincible sea—Bo Saixi. The fact you don't even know that shows your ignorance." Tang Hao scoffed.
"So what about them?" Yu Xiaogang asked, puzzled.
"You think Ultimate Duoluo, standing atop the mortal world, are great? To the gods, they're just servants who can't even enter the God Realm." Tang Hao said smugly. "Bo Saixi was Sea God's servant. Qian Daoliu was Angel God's servant."
"What!" Yu Xiaogang was stunned. Each Ultimate Duoluo was a peak existence of their era, yet in the gods' eyes, they were mere attendants. Just how powerful must gods be?
The flood of information Tang Hao poured out shook Yu Xiaogang to his core. The concept of gods now loomed incomparably high in his mind.
"Wait… Qian Daoliu was a god's servant—the Angel God?" Yu Xiaogang muttered.
"The Spirit Hall is the inheritance site of the Angel God. Only those with the Angel Martial Spirit can be favored by the deity. Gangzi, do you know? At the Soul Master Tournament, that girl Qian Renxue—her innate soul power was level 20. Forty times yours. What you could never reach in a lifetime was her starting point. And she is the Angel God's inheritor." Tang Hao explained, deliberately belittling Yu Xiaogang to crush his fragile pride.
Yu Xiaogang thought of that stunning golden-haired woman, and jealousy surged in his heart. Why? Why is it that I, Yu Xiaogang, so brilliant, was born with only half a level of soul power, while she could have the Angel Spirit and innate level 20? Why?
Wait—
Yu Xiaogang suddenly remembered something. His breathing quickened. Trembling, he asked:
"Your Lordship Hao Tian… did you just say Xiao San is a chosen one of the gods?"