White World, Spirit Hall.
At last the heavenly curtain changed its subject. Bibi Dong exhaled in relief, though indignation still burned in her eyes.
"That curtain is unbearable, and that Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang shown there—does he even deserve the name?" she snapped, jabbing a finger at the screen. She had been stewing over it for a long time.
In her mind, her husband was the epitome of uprightness and courage. No matter the danger, Yu Xiaogang would never shrink back; he would meet challenges head-on. Yet the Yu Xiaogang on the heavenly curtain had pretended to faint during his Martial Soul Awakening—a humiliation Bibi Dong could not accept.
"If not for that curtain, I'd never believe this kid could be such a coward in another world," she muttered.
Nearby, Gold Crocodile Douluo snorted, his face a mask of contempt. Qian Daoliu nodded in agreement. Ever since the real Yu Xiaogang had appeared before him, Qian Daoliu had seen what a true favored son of heaven looked like. Compared to that, the figures recorded by the Spirit Hall—or even Qian Daoliu himself—seemed to pale into insignificance.
"Let's treat the heavenly curtain as a collection of odd tales," Qian Daoliu said. "The Yu Xiaogang over there is far inferior."
Dragon God Douluo Yu Xiaogang, however, remained the calmest among them. Watching the curtain's version of himself, he understood something: if he had not transmigrated and replaced Yu Xiaogang, that pathetic version might indeed have been the original. He shrugged the thought off. No matter how pitiful that alternate Yu Xiaogang was, it didn't change his reality. He would regard the heavenly curtain as nothing more than a story.
The one who reacted most vehemently was Yu Yuanzhen, Yu Xiaogang's father.
Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect.
"I don't accept it! That's not my son—parallel world or not, I refuse!" Yu Yuanzhen slammed the table, furious. He could not bear the idea that his son might be portrayed that way. Yu Xiaogang was his pride; he would not let anyone besmirch his name.
The Elders exchanged helpless looks. They understood the Sect Master's fury. In the Douluo Continent, anyone who knew Thunder Douluo Yu Yuanzhen knew how much he loved boasting about his son. Praise Yu Xiaogang in front of him and you'd win his favor; in debates he could not go three sentences without mentioning Xiaogang. So a public broadcast that humiliated the name of Yu Xiaogang was intolerable.
"From now on, that fellow on the curtain is Yu Xiaoxiao. No one calls him Yu Xiaogang!" Yu Yuanzhen declared, eyes blazing. The Elders fell silent.
Across the White World, those who knew Yu Xiaogang reacted similarly—disbelief, anger, and a refusal to accept that the curtain's Yu Xiaogang was the same man they admired.
Then the heavenly curtain switched to a new clip: the life of Dragon God Douluo Yu Xiaogang.
[A courtyard in the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect.]
A newborn's cry echoed. Yu Yuanzhen, overjoyed, named the child Yu Xiaogang. The opening was identical to the story the Spirit Hall had shown for Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang, crushing the notion that the alternate version's differences came from different parents.
The broadcast continued, and faces in the Black World tightened.
[As the Sect's only Titled Douluo's son, Yu Xiaogang had been the Sect's hope from birth.]
[But soon after his arrival, the servant in charge of him noticed something wrong.]
["What did you say? Xiaogang might have mental issues?"]
In the clip, Yu Yuanzhen stared at the caretaker in disbelief.
["There are signs. His gaze is blank and dull, not like other newborns."]
["We tried to interact with him, but he rarely responds."]
The woman's pity was plain. Her words were cautious—calling it "mental issues" softened the harsher truth: the child might be simple-minded.
A shocking beginning.
Everyone assumed that someone who would become a Titled Douluo must have been a prodigy from the start—standing in three days, walking in seven, speaking and learning in record time. Yet the curtain showed a fragile, slow-starting infant. How could such a child rise to greatness?
At Shrek Academy, the Yu Xiaogang who had not transmigrated erupted. "A simpleton surpasses me? Impossible! This curtain must be a setup to humiliate me!" He pointed at the screen, furious. Those who had mocked him earlier glanced at one another, suddenly unsure whether the heavenly curtain was a cruel joke.
Back in the White World, Qian Daoliu, Gold Crocodile Douluo, and the others exchanged bewildered looks. With such a beginning, turning one's life around into greatness seemed miraculous.
Bibi Dong's eyes reddened; she felt the sting of betrayal for a version of her husband she had never known. Yu Xiaogang drew her close, soothing her. "Don't be sad. It's actually a good thing," he murmured, steady and composed.
Watching his younger self on the curtain, Yu Xiaogang felt a strange nostalgia. He had transmigrated into this world before Yu Xiaogang's birth. His past-life consciousness had merged with the fetus; though outwardly the infant seemed dazed and slow, internally his spirit was far more developed than that of ordinary babies. He could perceive much but could not fully control his body. That early muddled state, paradoxically, became the foundation for his later strength—his mental force far outstripping his peers and setting the stage for the path he would walk.