Chapter 192: The Broken Arm and the Stolen Gold - Douluo Dalu: Tang San Suffereing Is My Success

Liu Erlong stood in the center of the office, a warm, affectionate smile gracing her lips as she looked at the man she had loved for so long. Her voice was soft but carried an undeniable weight of authority.

"Xiaogang, you don't need to worry about anything anymore. From now on, this academy is yours," she declared, her eyes sparkling with devotion. "Tomorrow, I will hold a general meeting for all teachers and students to officially announce this decision. You will be the Dean."

"Ah?" Yu Xiaogang let out a sound of pure shock.

He had always known Liu Erlong was a straightforward and fiery woman. She was never the type to let men overshadow her or dictate her path. However, he never expected her to be this generous. She was handing over her entire life's work—a large, functioning Advanced Spirit Master Academy—to him without blinking an eye. For a moment, his mind went blank, and he couldn't quite accept the reality of the situation.

On the other side of the room, the teachers belonging to Lanba Academy were equally stunned. Teacher Yin Shu, a respected member of the staff, stood with his mouth slightly ajar, unsure if he had heard correctly.

Liu Erlong turned to him, her demeanor shifting instantly from affectionate to commanding. "Teacher Yin Shu, please announce that a general meeting for all teachers and students will be held tomorrow. This man is my dear friend; we haven't seen each other for many years, so we need time to catch up today. Have the cafeteria prepare a lavish banquet in the private room on the second floor immediately. I want to entertain them properly."

"Yes, Dean," Yin Shu replied instinctively.

Although the staff still didn't understand the true relationship between Dean Liu Erlong and the two disheveled men in front of them, they knew better than to question her. Liu Erlong's temper was legendary. Yin Shu and the other two teachers bowed quickly and hurried away the way they came, whispering among themselves as they walked down the hall.

This left only the three of them in the room, along with the two uninvited guests from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

The two enforcers were completely dumbfounded. As high-ranking members of the sect, they naturally recognized Yu Xiaogang. They knew his history well. He was the Sect Master's son, famous for being a "good-for-nothing" regarding cultivation, yet possessing a brilliant mind for theory.

However, a conflicting thought nagged at them. They looked at each other, puzzled. If Yu Xiaogang wanted to sneak into the sect to steal money, it would be incredibly easy for him. He knew the layout, and many guards would hesitate to stop the Sect Master's son. But there was a major discrepancy with the evidence.

The wanted poster clearly stated that the suspect had only one arm.

They looked closely at Yu Xiaogang. He was standing there, looking nervous, but he clearly had both arms hanging by his sides.

What the enforcers didn't know was that Yu Xiaogang's right arm was a prosthetic. It was a fake limb he had acquired to hide his disability. Because the quality was poor and the materials were cheap, he didn't dare to swing it too much or use it for heavy lifting. If he moved too vigorously, the connection point at the shoulder was very likely to snap, or the entire prosthetic limb might just fall off in front of everyone.

Despite the confusion, the enforcers had a job to do. They had received intelligence that the thief was here, and they couldn't just give up because of a visual discrepancy.

The two exchanged a meaningful glance, silently agreeing on a plan. One of them reached into his chest pocket and pulled out a heavy token inscribed with a dragon.

"Sirs, this is a search warrant from the Sect's Enforcement Hall!" the enforcer announced coldly. "Please cooperate with us."

Upon hearing this, Liu Erlong's brows immediately furrowed, her eyes flashing with irritation. She stepped forward to block them, but Yu Xiaogang held up a hand.

Although Yu Xiaogang felt incredibly guilty, he forced himself to feign composure. He looked at the two enforcers with a stern expression. "Are you suspecting that I am the person on this wanted poster?"

Yu Xiaogang's expression hardened slightly, adopting the air of a superior. This reaction made the enforcers pause in surprise. However, they were experienced hunters. The two men first pretended to back away two steps in a show of weakness and hesitation.

Then, without warning, they moved.

They instantly lunged forward, moving with the speed of highly trained Spirit Masters. One came from the left and one from the right, their hands grabbing firmly at Yu Xiaogang's arms to restrain him.

Boom—!

"Presumptuous!" Liu Erlong roared.

Violent Spirit Power surged around her body, the air crackling with the heat of her dragon flame. However, before she could unleash an attack to blast them away, she froze in place. Her eyes went wide with horror.

The enforcer on the right had pulled too hard.

With a sickening tearing sound, Yu Xiaogang's right arm was directly pulled off his body.

But there was no blood. It was wood and metal.

It was fake! Yu Xiaogang's right arm was actually a prosthetic.

The realization hit everyone in the room simultaneously. If he was missing an arm, then the description on the wanted poster matched perfectly. The thief was indeed Yu Xiaogang.

"Yu Xiaogang, please come back to the Sect with us!" the enforcer holding the wooden arm shouted triumphantly.

The two men moved to escort Yu Xiaogang out of the room, treating him like a common criminal. But in the next second, their path was blocked by a furious wall of fire. Liu Erlong stood in front of them, her face twisted in anger.

"Can you just arbitrarily arrest people based on this?" she hissed, her voice dangerously low. "Do you take me, Liu Erlong, for a decoration? Do you think you can just walk into my academy and kidnap my people?"

One of the enforcers smiled faintly, not intimidated. He held up the fake arm as evidence. "He stole 500,000 gold coins from the Sect. If there are no surprises, he should still have a considerable amount left on him! A search of his Spirit Tool will reveal all."

Yu Xiaogang, who had been clutching his shoulder in humiliation, suddenly panicked upon hearing the number. His face turned red, and he shouted without thinking.

"What 500,000? That is a lie! I only took 250,000! I..."

The room went deadly silent.

Yu Xiaogang suddenly froze. He seemed to realize that something was terribly wrong. He looked at the smirking enforcers and realized the trap.

Damn it, I've been tricked! They lied about the amount to make him correct them, thereby confessing to the crime.

"Hmph!" The enforcer sneered. "So, are you still saying you didn't steal from the Sect's treasury?"

As soon as these words came out, Yu Xiaogang's embarrassment turned into defensiveness. He straightened his back, trying to regain some dignity despite the missing arm.

"Steal? What do you mean, steal?" he argued loudly, his voice filled with righteous indignation. "I took some money from my own home to spend! Since when is taking money from your own family considered stealing? 250,000 gold coins is nothing to me, Yu Xiaogang! Here, take it back!"

Yu Xiaogang indignantly shook his remaining sleeve. He began to rummage through his Spirit Tool belt for a long time, his movements frantic.

But as the seconds ticked by, sweat began to form on his forehead. He didn't find much money. He had spent most of it on research materials and travel.

Standing beside him, Tang San had long since lowered his head, staring at his shoes. He felt a deep sense of second-hand embarrassment. Didn't he know how much money his teacher had? 250,000 gold coins? It would be hard for the current Yu Xiaogang to even produce twenty-five gold coins, let alone a quarter of a million.

Just as the situation was becoming unbearable, Liu Erlong's figure flashed. She stepped between Yu Xiaogang and the enforcers. She reached into her own storage device and pulled out a sleek black card, holding it out to the men from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

"There are 250,000 gold coins on this card," she said coldly. "Take it. And don't ever come to my Lanba Academy again!"

One of the enforcers took the black card. He injected a small amount of Spirit Power into it to verify the balance. His eyebrows raised slightly; there really were 250,000 gold coins.

They exchanged looks. They had recovered the stolen funds. As for the person, with the violent Liu Erlong blocking them, they knew they couldn't forcefully take Yu Xiaogang away without a massive fight that they might lose.

Since that was the case, they decided to cut their losses. They would take the 250,000 gold coins back to the Sect to report their success first.

Thinking this, the two of them bowed slightly, then turned and flashed away, disappearing from Lanba Academy in seconds.

"Erlong... I..." Yu Xiaogang's voice trembled. "I can't repay your kindness. I am so ashamed."

At this moment, Yu Xiaogang was already in tears. He felt utterly defeated.

"Xiaogang, don't say such things," Liu Erlong said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You and your disciple should settle down first. Rest well for two days. We have plenty of time."

Half a year flew by quickly. The seasons changed, and life at the academy fell into a rhythm.

During this half-year, Tang San became an official student of Lanba Academy, using its resources to further his cultivation and hidden weapon manufacturing. Yu Xiaogang also settled into his role, becoming a teacher at Lanba Academy and helping to refine the curriculum.

Meanwhile, at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, the rest of the group known as "The Shrek Group" had also made a qualitative leap in strength. Under strict training, they had pushed their limits.

After a successful expedition hunting Spirit Beasts a few days ago, the Spirit Power of all seven Shrek members had increased significantly, with everyone reaching level 40 or above. The leader, Huo Feng, had even reached an astonishing level 50!

Currently, the basic information and status for the seven Shrek members were recorded as follows:

Huo Feng: Level 54 Attack System Battle Spirit King.

Spirit Rings: Two Yellow, One Purple, Two Black.

Spirit Abilities: Sword Breaking Strike, Prairie Fire, One Thought God and Demon, Gale Breath Severing Strike, and Gravity Sword Array.

Dai Mubai: Level 44 Attack System Battle Spirit Ancestor.