In Douluo Continent, there is a proper way to die.

Chapter 114 Yu Xiaogang: Even though the sun sets three times

South of the Tiandou Empire, in the Barak Kingdom, a classic map, too lazy to introduce, so I'll omit it below (laughs). Anyway, a few days later, the group finally arrived in Soto City at noon.

As one of the two main cities of the Barak Kingdom, Soto City naturally has a Spirit Hall. However, the Spirit Hall cannot accommodate so many people as the Phantom Troupe, and it is impossible to give them empty rooms.

There are numerous troupes affiliated with the Spirit Hall, which are connected to the transportation network of the entire continent. Large cities like Soto City generally serve as transportation hubs, and it is normal for several troupes to gather in the city in a single day. There are simply not enough empty rooms to accommodate so many people.

However, as someone within the Spirit Hall, it wasn't a problem for the Spirit Hall in Soto City to provide some assistance. Lin Xiaole took a permit issued by the Spirit Hall and found a nice, clean hotel in the city center to stay in.

In simple terms, this permit is a "reimbursement voucher" that allows the group to stay temporarily at any hotel in Soto City, with all expenses covered by the Soto City Martial Soul Main Hall during the stay.

Thanks to such welfare policies, more than 90% of the troop groups on the mainland have joined the Spirit Hall, giving the Spirit Hall control over the transportation lifeline of the entire continent and making it one of the most powerful sources of intelligence for the Spirit Hall.

Yin Lan had no intention of showing her token to the Spirit Hall to reveal her identity. She had investigated a few years ago and found that Shrek Academy was now located in a small village south of the city. However, Flander, that unscrupulous merchant, had his shop in the city and sold the soul tools he had obtained during his youth when the Golden Iron Triangle was exploring. They were all old antiques, but since he was selling them, they were obviously junk to swindle money from unsuspecting customers.

His general store not only generates funding for Shrek Academy, but it also happens to be located in a position that allows him to observe the Spirit Hall's movements. If Yin Lan's identity is exposed, the entire Spirit Hall will be placed under martial law. Even if Yin Lan orders the status quo to be maintained, the atmosphere inside the Spirit Hall will still change to some extent, because that is a custom-made token of the Hall of Worship.

As a Soul Saint with the "Cat-Owl" Martial Soul, who also possesses strong observational abilities, Flander's strength is even more than ten levels higher than that of the Bishop of the Soto City Martial Soul Main Hall, so he would inevitably notice some clues.

Under Yu Xiaogang's subtle influence, Flander also had a lot of opinions about the Spirit Hall. He believed that the Spirit Hall was blind to Yu Xiaogang's talent and that it made Yu Xiaogang a "laughable figure in the entire spirit master world" and caused him to suffer the fate of being a talented but unappreciated person. He even suspected that the Spirit Hall had plagiarized Yu Xiaogang's theories.

It can only be said that Yu Xiaogang is truly an amazing person. Whenever he is down on his luck, he quickly turns his life around again.

As the son of Yu Yuanzhen and the second young master of the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex family, he showed great talent from a young age—which was only natural. Martial Soul develops with a Douluo person from the moment they are born, and the stronger the Martial Soul, the more it will affect their body in their childhood. This was also a method used by large families to judge their children's talents in this era of backward theoretical knowledge.

Yu Xiaogang displayed physical qualities beyond those of his peers from a young age, earning him praise from his clan and the doting affection of Yu Yuanzhen. Growing up surrounded by admirers, he didn't undergo the training that many children from large families should have in their early years. No one thought there was anything wrong with this, since given his superior physical abilities, he was certain that he would awaken a powerful martial soul even without formal training.

Then Yu Xiaogang faced the first tribulation in his life. Just as the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex family had guessed, the bloodline reversion caused by inbreeding did indeed awaken a powerful martial soul, "Golden Sacred Dragon (Light Sacred Dragon)". However, inbreeding also brings physical defects to offspring, such as low innate soul power. But all along, the physical qualities reflected by Yu Xiaogang's powerful martial soul have well concealed this hidden flaw.

Yes, in order to prevent their martial spirit from being stolen and passed on, and to maintain the "purity" of their bloodline, the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Clan practiced consanguineous marriage. As a result, Yu Luomian's love for a woman from another clan put him on the pillar of shame of the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Clan, and he never dared to bring Liu Erlong back to the clan.

On Douluo Star, cases of consanguineous marriage are not uncommon. The blood ties between the Star Luo royal family, the Dai family, and the Zhu family have long been a mess. The Zhu family married their daughter to the emperor, and the Dai family married their princess to the Zhu family. The history of their intermarriage is at least a hundred years.

Therefore, the reason why Yu Xiaogang abandoned Liu Erlong was not, as he claimed, because their marriage as siblings ruined Liu Erlong's reputation and made her unacceptable to the world, but because he was afraid that Yu Luomian would really kill him.

Also due to the lack of theoretical knowledge in that era, no one in the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Clan recognized the true nature of Yu Xiaogang's martial soul. They all thought he was a malignant mutation. After he awakened his 0.5 level innate soul power, everything he once possessed left him. In everyone's eyes, Yu Xiaogang was a piece of trash.

So at the age of seventeen, he encountered a turning point in his life when he met Bibi Dong, who was then the Holy Maiden of the Spirit Hall and was just beginning to experience love. Yu Xiaogang successfully attracted her with his contrasting persona of "having low innate soul power but devoting himself to theoretical research to change himself".

It's hard to say exactly how much resources he swindled from Bibi Dong with his sweet talk, but there's no doubt that he was truly skilled at charming women, making Bibi Dong and Liu Erlong both have their eyes on him for over twenty years.

In short, under the strong intervention of Qian Xunji, the "Secret Chamber Douluo", Yu Xiaogang encountered his second calamity, his relationship with Bibi Dong ended unhappily, and he was expelled from the Spirit Hall.

But then he encountered his second turning point in life, when he met Liu Erlong and Flander, forming the golden trio.

Although Liu Erlong was Yu Luomian's illegitimate daughter, Yu Luomian, under pressure from his family, dared not meet her and could only secretly provide her with assistance. His abilities were limited, so although Liu Erlong did not encounter many difficulties in her life, she did grow up in a commoner environment and did not have a proper education. This became her original intention in founding "Blue Tyrant Academy" to give commoner soul masters a way out.

Flander, on the other hand, came from a traditional commoner background and was also uneducated. He was an unorthodox individual who was oppressed by the nobles of the Heaven Dou Empire in his youth and had no goodwill towards any noble forces.

When the three met, Yu Xiaogang, who had the lowest cultivation level but the highest level of knowledge, immediately fooled the other two and became the backbone of the group.

Then Yu Xiaogang faced the third calamity of his life. On the day he married Liu Erlong, Yu Luomian almost killed him.

It has to be said that Yu Luomian has done far too much for Liu Erlong, his illegitimate daughter. He not only secretly helped her with her living expenses, but also quelled many of the troubles Liu Erlong had caused over the years. Not to mention anything else, just Liu Erlong's hobby of slaughtering soul beasts in the forest probably required Yu Luomian to use his connections with the Spirit Hall to smooth things over.

In Yu Luomian's eyes, Liu Erlong, born out of wedlock, would neither be accepted by the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan nor join any other forces. If her daughter's husband's cultivation was not strong enough, how could he protect his daughter and give her happiness in this world of Soul Masters where strength reigns supreme and the strong prey on the weak?

He wouldn't mind the identity of Liu Erlong's future husband, even if he was from the Spirit Hall, but all of this was on the condition that the other party possessed great strength and could give his daughter enough security!

What kind of strength does Yu Xiaogang have?

After that, Yu Xiaogang went into seclusion in Notting City, eating and drinking at Notting Academy for many years. The entire soul master world regarded him as a "joke," but no one really dared to offend him. It was true that he left the Spirit Hall, but the previous Pope Qian Xunji was dead, and Bibi Dong was now in power. It was true that he left the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, but Yu Yuanzhen did not treat him like a son. Even though Yu Xiaogang lived a secluded life, he could still learn about world affairs through the connections that the two had left him.

After enjoying a life of good food, drink, and status for several years, Yu Xiaogang ushered in the third turning point in his life: Tang San, who was born with two martial souls and full innate soul power, was the one who could prove his theory.

Looking at Yu Xiaogang's life from childhood to old age, everything he obtained was too easy, which made him not know how to cherish it. Yu Xiaogang has always been a person who only cares about himself. Yu Yuanzhen did not treat him as a son, but he left without saying goodbye. When Bibi Dong suddenly broke up with him, he did not think to investigate what had happened in secret, but left openly. When Yu Luomian suddenly attacked, he abandoned his wife and fled in panic for his own life. In order to prove his theory, he ended up encountering a person with innate full soul power who could become a titled Douluo no matter who taught him.

Flander was able to cultivate to the level of Soul Saint, so his innate soul power must have been quite good. Unfortunately, he was an uncultured man.

Furthermore, the Martial Soul Fusion Skill can subtly make one side become a "vassal" of the dominant side. In Flander's case, this means that he deeply believes in everything Yu Xiaogang says and does, and even lets go of the woman he loves in order to help Yu Xiaogang achieve his goals.

Therefore, although he did not do a good job in moral education for the students in Shrek Academy, he deliberately taught them his biased view of the Spirit Hall, which originated from Yu Xiaogang.

Despite his grievances, he showed no intention of letting go of the Spirit Hall's profits, continuing to provide the students with the Spirit Master subsidies, even while they were busy complaining.

............................................................

Yinlan specially booked a deluxe room for herself and the others, enough to accommodate the four of them. After a simple lunch, she began to distribute the perks to her own people.

Don't overthink it, it's the Mysterious Water Pill.

Yin Lan took out a porcelain bottle from her storage soul tool and retrieved two crystal-clear pills surrounded by aquamarine mist.

"After you become my people, I will naturally take care of you," Yin Lan said solemnly. "This is just an initial benefit. How many resources you can get from me later will depend on your performance. Let me make this clear: if you betray me, you can expect to be beaten to death by me."

"However," Yin Lan said casually, controlling her soul power to lift the two Xuan Shui Pills and float them toward the two of them, "becoming a Title Douluo by following me shouldn't be too difficult."

She didn't make any grand promises about achieving even greater things. For Zhu Zhuqing and Bai Chenxiang at that time, those things were too far away, and it would be unrealistic to say them out loud.

Bai Chenxiang and Zhu Zhuqing's breathing became much heavier. How many Title Douluos are there in this era? Look at Dugu Bo in the past. He was free and unrestrained, and he was happy to settle scores. Even though he was ridiculed as the "shame of the Title Douluos", those who laughed at him were not ordinary people, but other Title Douluos. As long as you have the strength of a Title Douluo, you can decide your own life.

If the Min clan had a titled Douluo, they wouldn't be living in such dire straits. If Zhu Zhuqing could become a titled Douluo, she wouldn't have to worry about the rules of the Star Luo royal family anymore.

"The Mysterious Water Pill can cleanse your marrow and enhance your innate soul power by one level. You can't take too many in one day. Here's one for each of you," Yin Lan pointed to the bathroom not far away. "I suggest you take it and cultivate in the bathroom, because the impurities in your body will be expelled after you take it, and it smells terrible."

Yes, Yinlan had someone test it, and it turns out that eating this stuff will cause your pores to "poop".

"Each one is worth at least four and a half million gold soul coins," Yin Lan said, looking at the two of them. "Don't waste my good intentions."

"...Um, Sister Lan," Bai Chenxiang shook her head, took out a small porcelain bottle from her body, "Grandpa's Xuan Shui Pills are all here with me, so I don't need yours..."

"Take it back. That's your Min clan's property. You can do whatever you want with it. I already discussed this with your grandfather," Yinlan said in a businesslike manner. "Now that you're mine, this is a gift from me."

Upon hearing this, Bai Chenxiang was deeply moved. She obediently put away the small porcelain bottle, then accepted the Xuan Shui Pill from Yin Lan, thanked her, and went into the bathroom first.

Zhu Zhuqing, who came from the Zhu family, had naturally heard of the famous Xuan Shui Dan that had been making headlines recently. She didn't expect Yin Lan to take it out for her so easily.

One can increase one's innate soul power by one level, which means that only three are needed to reach "full innate soul power"...

"Miss, I..." She was not good with words to begin with, and for a moment she was at a loss for words.

"Alright, from now on you're under my protection too. We're the same age, just call me by my name," Yinlan said, seeing that she was still in a daze. She simply stuffed the Xuan Shui Pill into her hand, acting all generous. "Go and absorb it with Xiangxiang."

"I, I..." Zhu Zhuqing stammered for a long time without getting to the bottom of it, and finally could only bow to Yin Lan, saying gratefully, "Thank you, Miss!"

Yinlan's face darkened: "Call me Sister Lan."

"...Sister Lan." Zhu Zhuqing was still a little shy.

"Alright, alright," Yinlan waved her hand, signaling her to leave. "Hurry up and absorb it. The Xuan Shui Pill has a gentle effect and works quickly. It's still early, we might even make it in time for dinner."

Zhu Zhuqing nodded obediently and turned to follow Bai Chenxiang.

Yinlan's lips curled up slightly.

Judging by the time, it's almost time for Dai Mubai to go out and search for "prey". The reason she didn't reveal her identity was for this. What if Flander noticed the change in the atmosphere of the Soto City Martial Soul Hall and stopped Dai Mubai from causing trouble?

"A mediocre person is one who doesn't dare to cause trouble" is a school rule of Shrek Academy. Flander is indeed illiterate, but he is not really stupid. He dared to let Dai Mubai go out and cause trouble when he saw that there was a situation. The translation of that sentence is actually "A hero is one who bullies the weak and fears the strong".

Compared to Bai Chenxiang, whose entire clan had pledged allegiance to him, Yinlan was not entirely at ease with Zhu Zhuqing. Who knew what she was really thinking? So Yinlan needed to give her a boost of confidence and cut off any possible thoughts she might have. After she finished taking the Xuan Shui Pill, Yinlan planned to take her around Soto City to broaden her horizons (laughs).

(End of this chapter)