Chapter 140: A Grandmaster's Delusion
Supreme Pontiff Mountain.
The mountain loomed over Spirit City, a symbol of absolute power. But halfway up, on a secluded cliff edge, the grandeur was lost to the biting wind.
"Why? Why is it like this? I just want to prove myself! I just want to be the proud son of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan again!"
Yu Xiaogang stood on a large, jagged rock, his thin robes flapping uselessly against the cold. He roared these words internally, his face pale and twisted in the twilight.
His life's work, "The Ten Core Competencies of Spirits," was criticized by everyone. It was not just unrecognized; it was scorned. He was expelled and publicly humiliated by his own father. All these things struck at his heart, shattering his pride.
What he found most intolerable, most unjust, was that the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan—which had just been named the World's Number One Sect—and his father, the Clan Master, did not understand him. They had not defended him.
In front of Spirit Hall, in front of the various Sects of the Spirit Master World, and in front of thousands of prominent lone Spirit Masters, his father had announced his expulsion. He had been completely disowned.
This public execution of his identity, his lineage, and his life's work had brought him to the brink of collapse.
The cold mountain wind blew like sharp blades, hitting every part of his body. From the end of the Sect Competition yesterday until this evening, he had been waiting.
He hadn't eaten or slept for a day and a night. Even before returning to Spirit Hall, his life had been a series of difficulties. He couldn't eat enough, couldn't dress warmly. He woke up earlier than chickens and went to bed later than dogs, all in pursuit of his research.
At this moment, his body had entered an extremely weak state, but none of that mattered anymore.
His Spirit was in agony. He could fully imagine the coming days. He could see the mocking stares, hear the whispered insults, and feel the pitying looks of everyone who learned he had been completely disowned. He could picture how those who had previously recognized his theories and admired his wisdom would gradually distance themselves, believing he was not worthy of being a "Grandmaster" of theory, not worthy of being a disciple of the World's Number One Sect.
"I am not reconciled! Why? Why did my Spirit awaken as a pig when I am the legitimate son of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan Master? Why were my theories—my perfect, revolutionary theories—misinterpreted by those commoners? They were too stupid to understand! If you don't understand, don't use them!"
"If they hadn't sullied my work, I... Otherwise, as the Young Clan Master of the World's Number One Sect, I would already be an existence more dazzling than the Clear Sky Twin Stars!"
He bit his lower lip, hard. The metallic tang of fresh blood overflowed, but he was already unaware of it.
The extreme unwillingness, the burning injustice, plunged Yu Xiaogang into a state close to madness.
Fortunately...
He found that he was not without anything. He still had one anchor.
He still had Bibi Dong.
He still had this last loyal follower who had always stayed by his side, encouraging and supporting him, looking at him with those eyes of pure admiration.
From a very early time, Yu Xiaogang knew that Bibi Dong liked him. He had cultivated that affection carefully. His attitude towards her had always been ambiguous: not rejecting, not accepting, and not taking responsibility.
He maintained an image of a profound 'wise man' in front of her. He spoke of theories, of the world, of ideals, always keeping her at arm's length.
Because he knew that the only reason he, a man with a waste spirit and no power, could attract the brilliant Holy Maiden was because of his 'wisdom'.
At the same time, Bibi Dong was also a woman who extremely disliked the obsequious, 'lick-dog' type. If he tried to curry favor with her in every way, she would instead ignore him. He had seen it happen. He had seen how she treated Qin Xuan when he, in his early days, had foolishly fawned over her.
Only by maintaining the initiative, by affecting an air of mystery and keeping a relative distance—a relationship that was neither too close nor too far—could he firmly hold Bibi Dong's heart.
But times were different now.
His world had collapsed. Because his "invincible" theories were misinterpreted, his image as a 'wise man' had begun to collapse along with it. His foundation was gone.
To prevent Bibi Dong from leaving him one day, he had to do something drastic. He had to change tactics.
Confess.
This was the only measure Yu Xiaogang could think of at the moment. As long as the confession was successful... and then, he would "cook the raw rice into cooked rice."
Once the two were physically bound together, her honor and her body tied to him, Bibi Dong would never be able to leave him.
He vaguely remembered that Bibi Dong had said there was a divine object, an Immortal Herb, that could solve the mutation problem of his Spirit. She had said that any Spirit Master who consumed an Immortal Herb could have the potential to reach Titled Douluo.
That was the true path.
As long as he firmly bound Bibi Dong to his side, and when she inevitably became the Supreme Pontiff, then one day they would find that Immortal Herb.
He would consume it. His Luo San Pao would evolve. He would break past his bottleneck. He would reach the realm of Titled Douluo.
He wanted to let those who once looked down on him—his father, his clan, Qian Xunji, the whole world—experience the taste of 'today you ignore me, tomorrow I will make you unable to reach me'.
He would let Spirit Hall, let the Two Great Empires, let the Upper Three Sects, let all those commoners know that 'Gang' cannot be humiliated, and that Yu Xiaogang will eventually return as a king.
Just as he was envisioning this beautiful, vengeful future, he heard a faint sound of crushing dry branches from the path behind him.
His heart leaped. His face, which had been contorted in a mad grimace, instantly lit up with joy. She came.
However, he did not turn around. With his back to the approaching person, he forcefully restrained his smile. He rearranged his features into a mask of cold melancholy. He hunched his shoulders slightly, making his figure appear solitary, desolate, and somewhat out of place with the surrounding world. A tragic hero, abandoned by all.
"You're here."
Only when the footsteps drew near did Yu Xiaogang speak, his voice pitched low and gloomy.
However, the answer that came from the person made him suddenly shiver. His feet, perched precariously on the rock, became unsteady. Loose stones rolled from under his shoe, and he nearly fell off the cliff.
"Do you always like to talk with your back to people?"
Qin Xuan walked over slowly, his hands clasped behind his back, his expression one of faint, mocking amusement.
Yu Xiaogang didn't dare to say the harsh words that leaped to his mind—'Are you here to see me make a fool of myself?'
Instead, he slowly turned around. His "tragic hero" mask evaporated, replaced instantly by a look of fawning, humble terror. "Lord... Lord Qin Xuan, why are you here?"
He knew, with absolute certainty, that this young man in front of him was not to be trifled with. If there was a problem, he would truly act. He showed no mercy when hitting people.
Ever since he had been slapped a few times by Qin Xuan in that small forest, he had developed a deep, psychological shadow.
He both hated and feared this guy.
If the other party was unhappy and threw him off this cliff, he wouldn't even have anyone to collect his body.
High in the dark sky above, invisible to the man on the cliff, Bibi Dong stood silently on Qin Xuan's flying sword, looking down. The wind whipped her purple hair, but she stood as still as a statue, her face pale and cold.
Seeing Yu Xiaogang's fawning, terrified, and humble appearance, she grew increasingly angry. No, not angry. She felt a cold, hollowing disgust.
This humble, pathetic appearance... was it an illusion? How did the wise, proud, and defiant Yu Xiaogang she knew become this overnight?
Or was he always like this? Was she just blind? Had "love" made her so stupid that she just didn't notice?
After the incident in the secret room, after Qin Xuan had laid her "naive" and "love-struck" personality bare, she had confirmed that her "liking" for Yu Xiaogang was a hollow, childish fantasy. And looking at him now, he suddenly seemed full of flaws. His "pride" was arrogance. His "wisdom" was delusion. His "defiance" was just the posturing of a pathetic coward.
"Someone entrusted me to come," Qin Xuan said, enjoying the terror on Yu Xiaogang's face. "And she also asked me to bring you this."
Qin Xuan reached into his Qiankun Bag at his waist and took out a small, ornate jade box.
Happiness came too quickly, too jarringly. Seeing the jade box, Yu Xiaogang already vaguely guessed something. His pupils contracted instantly, his earlier fear vaporized by a sudden, burning greed.
"This... this is..." Ignoring his fear of Qin Xuan, he quickly stumbled off the rock and walked to Qin Xuan's front. His hands trembled as he excitedly opened the jade box.
Inside, resting on a bed of silk, lay a pale purple plant. The top of the Immortal Herb was like a cap, but it was a ganoderma. The ganoderma was entirely purple, with an emerald-like stem below, bearing exactly nine perfect, jade-like leaves. Its surface was enveloped in a faint, dreamlike purple light.
Although Yu Xiaogang had never seen an Immortal Herb and had certainly not seen an Immortal Herb catalog, this did not prevent him from judging the extraordinary nature of this item.
From this Immortal Herb, he felt a deep, primal craving from his Luo San Pao Spirit. It was a call of evolution, a scream of hunger.
He had a premonition. He knew. If he consumed this Immortal Herb, his Spirit Power would definitely break through the Level 30 bottleneck. Then he would soar. He would gain the potential he had dreamed of, the potential to advance to Titled Douluo.
"Haven't you already guessed?" Qin Xuan said indifferently, watching the undisguised greed on the "Grandmaster's" face. "That's right. It's the Immortal Herb that can allow you to break through the Level 30 bottleneck and complete your Spirit evolution."
"This... This is too precious! How can I accept this..." Yu Xiaogang smiled so wide his mouth almost reached his ears, revealing some yellowish back teeth.
At the same time, although he said this, his hand was not slow at all. It shot out, a greedy talon, to snatch the herb.
Just as his fingers were about to touch the Immortal Herb, Qin Xuan snorted coldly.
Snap.
The jade box automatically closed, leaving Yu Xiaogang grasping at air.
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