Douluo Continent: Reversing Yin and Yang, the Haotian Palace and the Angel Sect

"To repay the humiliation I suffered today a hundredfold, I must resort to any means necessary," Tang San secretly resolved in his heart. Since the normal channels were blocked, he had no choice but to go all out and plunder and devour.

Only by borrowing the soul power and life force of others can he stand at a height that allows him to trample Qian San underfoot in the shortest amount of time.

……

Under the same night sky, in the dean's office at Shrek Academy.

The only oil lamp was dim, casting long shadows of the two people inside.

Flander stood behind the desk, his hands braced on the tabletop. His usually shrewd eyes were wide open, and his gaze behind his glasses was filled with disbelief.

Yu Xiaogang sat in the guest chair opposite him, his back ramrod straight. He had just recounted the truth about Titan's sudden death, as well as the devouring ability that Tang San and he himself possessed, in a completely flat tone.

The room was so quiet that the only sound was the crackling of the burning lamp wick.

"Xiao Gang..." Flander's voice trembled slightly. He took off his glasses and rubbed his temples hard. "Do you know what you're saying? Devouring others' cultivation and taking it for yourself... This is the method of a fallen soul master! You're walking a path of no return!"

Flander walked around the desk to Yu Xiaogang, his voice filled with undisguised heartache and anxiety: "You're gambling with your entire life, Tang San's future, and even the reputation of the entire Shrek Academy! Once this is exposed, all the soul masters on the continent will treat you like rats in the street, and the Spirit Hall will not hesitate to deliver its verdict!"

Faced with Flander's fierce reaction, Yu Xiaogang's stiff face finally showed a slight change.

He grabbed the handrails with both hands and stood up abruptly.

"A wager? What don't I have that I can't wager?"

Yu Xiaogang's voice became hoarse with excitement, and emotions suppressed for decades finally broke free: "You're talking to me about a path of no return? Flander, tell me, what is the right path? Do you know what it feels like to be trapped in level twenty-nine for over thirty years?!"

Flander's lips moved, but he couldn't utter a word.

"You haven't experienced it! You were born a genius, you became a Soul Saint and the Dean with ease!" Yu Xiaogang pressed on, his voice growing louder and louder, even cracking slightly.

"But what about me? I've lived half my life carrying the label of 'good-for-nothing'! Wherever I go, I have to endure other people's scorn and ridicule! I was expelled from my family, and I can't even face the woman I love!"

Yu Xiaogang's chest heaved violently, his eyes reddening: "I just want to become stronger. I just want to prove to the whole world that I, Yu Xiaogang, am not a good-for-nothing who only knows how to talk big! What did I do wrong? Answer me, what did I do wrong!"

Faced with his decades-long friend's desperate plea, Flanders remained silent.

Looking at Yu Xiaogang's distorted, pained, yet yearning face, he felt as if an invisible hand were gripping his heart. As a brother, he naturally hoped that Yu Xiaogang could break free from his shackles and hold his head high. When he heard Yu Xiaogang say that he finally had hope of continuing his cultivation, the surge of joy in his heart was truly heartfelt.

However, this method of achieving self-fulfillment by consuming the flesh and blood and cultivation of others had crossed Flander's moral bottom line. He could not accept that his sworn brother had become a monster lurking in the shadows.

Seeing the struggle and pain in Flander's eyes, Yu Xiaogang took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the anger in his heart.

He knew where Flander's weakness lay.

"Flander," Yu Xiaogang's tone softened, tinged with pleading and helplessness, "I know you're worried about me, afraid I'll be doomed. I won't let you kill those innocent people in this matter; I won't make things difficult for you."

He took a step forward, looking Flander into his eyes: "I won't touch ordinary Soul Masters. You just need to use your connections and intelligence network in the Soul Master world to help me capture those fugitives wanted by the Empire, and those corrupt Soul Masters who have committed crimes and whose hands are stained with the blood of innocents. Just consider it doing justice for God, and hand them over to me."

Yu Xiaogang paused, then threw out his last bargaining chip: "This is good for me, good for Tang San, and good for the entire Shrek Academy. You've seen the current situation in the competition; those people from the Heaven Dou Second Team are simply monsters. Don't you want the kids to go further in this competition? Don't you want the name Shrek to truly resonate throughout the continent?"

Flander opened his mouth. He wanted to refute this evil logic wrapped in high-sounding reasons, to tell him that even criminals shouldn't be used as nourishment for cultivation. But when the words reached his lips, looking into Yu Xiaogang's expectant eyes, he couldn't bring himself to say them.

Yu Xiaogang did not give Flander any more chance to hesitate.

He reached out and grasped Flander's rough, large hands tightly.

"Flander, please help me one more time, okay?" Yu Xiaogang's voice was very soft.

"I assure you, we only target the most heinous criminals. We are not greedy."

Feeling the warmth and trembling from his palm, Flander's shoulders slumped, and he seemed to age ten years in an instant.

Reason screamed in despair, but the bond between brothers ultimately prevailed over that crumbling bottom line.

"Okay..." Flander grasped Yu Xiaogang's wrist with his other hand, and finally nodded weakly.

This can be considered tacit approval.

But then, Flander raised his head, his eyes becoming more stern than ever before, staring intently at Yu Xiaogang: "This matter is between heaven, earth, you, and me. Absolutely, absolutely not, can Erlong know a single word. If she finds out you've become like this..."

Flander didn't continue; he wanted to preserve the last bit of cleanliness in Liu Erlong's mind about Yu Xiaogang.

Yu Xiaogang immediately nodded in agreement: "Don't worry, this matter will never reach her ears."

He turned away, his back to the lamplight. In the shadows where Flander couldn't see, a deep smile curved Yu Xiaogang's lips. He hadn't intended to tell Liu Erlong about this anyway; once Flander was on this ship, his future cultivation resources would be secured.

......

As night deepened, Yu Xiaogang pushed open Tang San's door.

Tang San sat cross-legged on the bed, not meditating. Seeing Yu Xiaogang enter, he immediately got up, poured a cup of tea, and handed it to him.

Yu Xiaogang took the teacup but didn't drink it. Instead, he quietly recounted to Tang San the process of his confrontation with Flander in the dean's office and the result of Flander's eventual compromise.

Upon hearing these words, a look of joy instantly flashed across Tang San's originally gloomy face.

He was worried about how to safely obtain nourishment. Although the Great Soul Arena was crowded, he dared not go too far, and could only secretly absorb a little at a time, which was too inefficient. Going to the Soul Beast Forest was an option, but he couldn't defeat the high-level soul beasts, and the energy of the low-level soul beasts was too fragmented.