Douluo Continent: Long Live the Spirit Hall

"It probably wasn't done by anyone from the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy. This Fourth Prince Xue Beng seems like a spoiled brat. But he's not a simple character either."

"What the Holy Son means is..." After hearing his words, Salas carefully observed Avalanche. He hadn't paid much attention to this fourth prince before because he was too spoiled. However, Yan's meaningful words made him think of something.

A mysterious smile crept across Yan's lips.

"Over the years, Crown Prince Xue Qinghe's power has grown, and his relationship with Prince Xue Xing hasn't been very good. And with the other two princes running into trouble one after another, if you were Emperor Xue Ye, wouldn't you investigate? Xue Beng's ability to enter the Heaven Dou Royal Academy shows his Soul Master talent is quite strong. With such a good environment, could he really be a complete waste? However, we don't need to worry too much about him. Just get him to attract Xue Qinghe's attention a little. We don't need to get too involved in the Heaven Dou royal family's internal strife."

"Understood." Bishop Salas understood Yan's meaning, nodded, and stopped worrying about it. After all, Avalanche was just a nobody to them. Unless he really became the new crown prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, he was not worthy of their concern.

"Avalanche, get ready to call for backup. He seems to be getting very close to Xue Xing. This is going to be quite a show. Let's go in too." Yan narrowed his eyes and said to Bishop Salas before entering the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy.

At this moment, inside the teaching committee office of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, the three teaching committee members of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy were meeting with the Shrek Academy group who had come from afar. Just as the group was having a pleasant conversation, the door suddenly opened, and a teacher entered the office to report some information to the three teaching committee members.

Meng Shenji, the most powerful of the three education committee members, was slightly taken aback. He then stood up, frowned, and muttered under his breath, "Why did that guy come to our Heavenly Dou Royal Academy? Is he planning to attack our team again? This is too much! What is his strength? And what is the strength of those students? This is simply bullying! He's so petty; isn't he afraid of losing face for nothing..." As Meng Shenji finished speaking, he slammed his hand on the table in extreme anger.

Across from Meng Shenji, among the Shrek group who had just been talking to them, a middle-aged man with a slightly dejected air tentatively asked, "Commissioner Meng Shenji, have you run into some trouble?"

"Master, I'm sorry. It's not that there's a problem with Shrek Academy, but rather the Spirit Hall. The people from the Spirit Hall have probably gone to the team's base again." Meng Shenji smiled and explained to the man, whose aura was weak, and who could even be said to be the weakest in cultivation among those present.

He is Yu Xiaogang, the so-called master of martial spirit theory, Tang San's teacher, and the instructor of Shrek Academy.

"The Spirit Hall, does the Spirit Hall have any specific actions targeting the Heaven Dou Royal Academy team?" When Yu Xiaogang heard Meng Shenji mention the Spirit Hall and the Royal Academy team, his heart sank. His nephew, Yu Tianheng, was on the Heaven Dou Royal Academy team. He had a fairly good relationship with his nephew, and he didn't want his nephew to get hurt.

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Meng Shenji took the initiative to explain the situation.

"It's the Holy Son of the Spirit Hall again. Last time he came to the academy, he kidnapped our students and even injured Teacher Qin Ming. It's a pity that the royal retainer Dugu Bo and Prince Xue Xing actually spoke up for him, so the matter could only be dropped in the end. He actually came again today, it must be for the Elite Tournament in a few years. These people from the Spirit Hall are really lawless."

Chapter 313 First Meeting with Yu Xiaogang

"The Holy Son of the Spirit Hall." Yu Xiaogang was shocked when he heard this name. He then subconsciously looked at Fred, and then looked at his disciple Tang San with concern.

He had a premonition that this Holy Son of the Spirit Hall was probably not after the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

"You can't come in...Bang..." Just as the high-ranking officials of Tiandou and the Shrek Academy group fell silent because of this news, a commotion suddenly came from outside the door. It seemed that the academy staff were trying to stop someone from entering. But before they could say a few words, the door was blasted open and a group of people filed in.

"Insolence!" The three members of the Tiandou Education Committee were furious at the group of people who had barged into the office. This was the Royal Academy's Education Committee office building. How could they tolerate someone barging in like this and treating them as if they were nothing?

Meng Shenji made his move immediately, his body instantly becoming illusory, transforming into a pitch-black phantom. Thick black mist rose from beneath his feet, and eight spirit rings—two yellow, three purple, and three black—bloomed simultaneously.

"Meng Shenji, why are you so angry?" A light laugh echoed throughout the office. Everyone present felt a blur before their eyes, and when the voice ended, they were all incredibly surprised, staring at the scene before them in disbelief.

Meng Shenji, the head of the teaching committee of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy and a Soul Douluo with a Soul Power of 86, was pressed down into a chair by someone after releasing his Martial Soul. His face was full of shock and fear, and his eyes were fixed on the young man in front of him.

The one who single-handedly suppressed Meng Shenji was actually a young man of only eighteen or nineteen years old, and almost everyone present had a deep impression of him: Yan, the Holy Son of the Spirit Hall.

"The three education commissioners, don't rush to fight. If you start fighting me, aren't you afraid that a Title Douluo will block the door?" Yan casually released his hand that was pressing down on Meng Shenji. His words made Bai Baoshan and Zhilin very wary. The intimidation of a Title Douluo was still very strong, and everyone present knew that this person could really command a Title Douluo.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to see you, but to see them." Yan stepped aside to let the other two education committee members pass, and then walked to the other side of the seats with Salas. As he spoke, he pointed to Shrek Academy and his group.

After Yan sat down, he stretched his muscles and then looked at Qin Ming, the instructor of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy team, who was standing to the side.

"Ah! Qin Ming, I heard that you arranged this contact between Shrek Academy and Heaven Dou Royal Academy?" Qin Ming's attitude was neither humble nor arrogant in the face of Yan's question.

"Your Highness, this is a matter between my Royal Academy and Shrek Academy, and it doesn't seem to have anything to do with the Spirit Hall."

"It's true that it's not related, but Shrek Academy isn't an academy. Besides, Qin Ming, the Heaven Dou Royal Academy must have treated you quite well, so why did you introduce such a huge pit like Shrek Academy to them?" Yan's words made the three education committee members' hearts skip a beat, and they subconsciously looked at Qin Ming. Yan then spoke again, "You probably didn't tell these education committee members how low Shrek Academy's graduation rate is, how many geniuses it has ruined. Let bygones be bygones, but Shrek Academy now, an institution with three Soul Saints and two Soul Emperors as teachers, actually has a Great Soul Master as an instructor. If word gets out, people will laugh their heads off. Do you guys have no one else?" As Yan spoke, he looked at Yu Xiaogang. This was probably his first formal meeting with Yu Xiaogang, and from the first glance, he only felt disgust.

Yu Xiaogang is of medium build, slightly thin, and looks to be around forty or fifty years old. He has short black hair parted in a 3/7 ratio, has an ordinary appearance, and possesses a unique scholarly air. He also seems to exude a sense of confidence.

However, his gaze towards Yan held a hint of evasion and disgust, perhaps because of Tang San, or perhaps because of something else.

"Bang!" Yan's words undoubtedly enraged the Shrek Academy group. Tang San stood up and slammed his fist on the table. Others were afraid of Yan, but after learning some information from Yu Xiaogang, he understood the situation.

This guy, having lived two lives, still understands some things. By analyzing his current situation, he knew that the Spirit Hall wanted to use him as bait to lure out his father, Tang Hao. Before achieving this goal, the Spirit Hall probably wouldn't kill him.

"Tang San, are you in such a hurry to die?" Yan wouldn't tolerate Tang San's behavior. Seeing that he dared to act wildly and lose his temper in front of him, Yan directly sent Tang San flying with a palm strike from a distance.

"Little three."

"Tang San."... No one expected that Tang San would be sent flying by Yan. Even the three education committee members of Tian Dou felt that Yan had gone too far. Tang San had only slammed the table, and none of the landlords had said anything. Why did this guy do such a thing?

"You should know that you are just bait. I haven't killed you yet only because you are still somewhat useful, but that is not a reason for you to be so presumptuous." Yan said casually, his aura pressing down on Tang San. Fred and Zhao Wuji quickly got up, but at that moment, a golden light suddenly shot out from Yan's arms, and the two Soul Saints, Fred and Zhao Wuji, were instantly blasted away.

"What is this thing? Why do I feel fear in my martial soul?" When the golden light dissipated, everyone could see the thing in its entirety. It was a cute-looking young gorilla with shimmering golden fur and a strange golden light surrounding it. When it appeared, all the beast martial soul owners present felt fear.

Yu Xiaogang's special martial soul underwent a malignant mutation, yet he was one of the few people who remained unaffected. He frowned as he looked at the strange little beast. Its body was golden and resembled a gorilla, but its golden claws were astonishingly large. It was a completely unfamiliar species, and he had no recollection of it whatsoever.

Yan glanced at Yu Xiaogang, slightly surprised.

"Yu Xiaogang, don't you like calling yourself a master? Then show us what you've got. Can you recognize the origin of my little pet? Let me remind you, it's a mortal enemy of the martial soul of your Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex clan. Although there aren't many specific records, there are some legends." He hadn't expected that this so-called master, who was all show and no substance, would be unaffected by the pressure of the Golden Behemoth. It was probably because the bloodline of the Golden Sacred Dragon was powerful enough.

Although Yu Xiaogang was somewhat useless, his martial spirit was anything but. Yu Xiaogang seemed to have thought of something, and fear flashed in his eyes as he muttered, "Could it be that kind of creature? Impossible, how could such a creature exist? It's just a legend, it can't possibly really exist."

"Why don't you want to believe it? It's probably like you don't want to admit you're a piece of trash, even though that's a fact." Yan smiled slightly at Yu Xiaogang, then continued, "Your father, Yu Luomian, has repeatedly defied my good intentions, saying he wouldn't be a dog. He talks a big game, but I want to see if he can still be so tough in front of my pet. Nowadays, true dragons are almost extinct on the Douluo Continent. Yu Luomian, who has cultivated to the level of a Title Douluo, should have dragon blood in his body that barely reaches the level of a true dragon, which should satisfy my little guy."

"No, no, you can't do this." Yu Xiaogang became anxious as soon as he heard this, because if the creature Yan brought was really the legendary being as he thought, then even if his father's strength far exceeded that of an ordinary Title Douluo, he might still be easily defeated by the Spirit Hall.

Yan smiled somewhat strangely.

"Oh, why do you think yelling like that will do any good? You're just a piece of trash. I really don't understand how my teacher ever took a liking to someone like you."

"Your teacher, that's right, that's right, your teacher Bibi Dong knows me, we're old acquaintances, I'm your elder brother~ Slap~" Yu Xiaogang was about to persuade Yan as if he had grasped a lifeline when a loud slap rang out. His ears were ringing, and he felt terrible.

"Speak properly. I hate people who randomly claim kinship, especially someone as useless as you." Yan wiped his hands with a handkerchief as if he had swatted a fly, and continued, "I'm here today to strip Yu Xiaogang of his scholar status as a research scholar at the Spirit Hall." As soon as Yan finished speaking, Yu Xiaogang stood up agitatedly, wanting to argue, but Yan didn't give him a chance to speak.

"As a scholar of martial spirit theory research, Yu Xiaogang has indeed achieved some results over the years. Some of the so-called ten core competencies of martial spirits do have some reference value, but most of them are useless and cannot be considered useful results. In addition, he is flamboyant and calls himself a master. Without reporting to the authorities, he used others as experimental subjects to conduct immature theoretical research, which seriously violated the rules of martial spirit research theory. Therefore, it is decided to remove his status as a martial spirit research scholar as a warning to others."

"No, this isn't real, this isn't real..." After hearing Yan's verdict, Yu Xiaogang's eyes were lifeless. All along, the achievements in the field of martial soul research had been everything to him.

Originally, after Tang San was brought into the picture, proving the effectiveness of some of his achievements, he planned to use the other students to verify them after arriving at Shrek Academy.

He knew there were risks involved, of course, but he didn't care anymore. However, when Yan announced that he was being stripped of his academic status because of his actions, Yu Xiaogang finally broke down, as if most of his life had been overturned.

Yan suddenly laughed again: "Yu Xiaogang, you always think that your achievements are just unappreciated, but they are actually quite great. But anyone with a brain wouldn't believe it. Just like this Tang San, he's a brainless guy, and he actually obtained the soul ring according to your plan. I really have to thank you."

Chapter 314 Yu Xiaogang's Resentment

"What do you mean by that?" Yu Xiaogang's heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly had a bad feeling. He subconsciously looked at the disciple who had been thrown to the ground by Yan, and got up to help Tang San up.

"Hehe... You probably never understood Tang San's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul." Yan waved his hand casually, and Yu Xiaogang slumped back into his seat. Yan's palm reached out towards Tang San, and the intense soul power fluctuations felt like a high mountain pressing down on him, making it hard for him to breathe. It was under this pressure that all the power in Tang San's body began to operate wildly.

"Ugh..." Tang San let out a painful groan. Although Yan's cultivation was only Soul Emperor, the pressure of his soul power when he personally took action was comparable to that of a Soul Douluo, which Tang San could not withstand at the moment.

"Stop! What are you doing?" Yu Xiaogang shouted as he looked at the suffering Tang San. He was, besides Tang San himself, the person who knew his disciple's strength best.

The soul power pressure that Yan is currently exerting is not the kind of probing without malice, but a kind of brutal pressure. This kind of soul power pressure from a high-level soul master can easily cause hidden injuries to a low-level soul master if not handled properly.

Yan's unbridled actions naturally drew dissatisfaction from many people present. Fred and Zhao Wuji wanted to rescue people, but there were golden Behemoth cubs blocking their way in front of them, and several Soul Saints from the Spirit Hall behind them, giving them no chance to get close at all.

The three committees of the Heavenly Dou Royal Family were capable of taking action, but Meng Shenji couldn't help but feel hesitant when he thought about how powerless he felt when facing Yan earlier. In addition, the piercing gaze of the Platinum Bishop Salas made them dare not make any rash moves.

"You... slap slap slap..."

"Shut up." Before Yu Xiaogang could speak, Yan slapped him several times with his other hand. He had no intention of talking to this good-for-nothing Yu Xiaogang.

The pressure of the soul power released by Yan was almost tangible. Yu Xiaogang's face, which had been slapped, showed even deeper anxiety. After all, he was a soul master research scholar and knew the situation of his disciple. He could still roughly calculate Tang San's limit.

The pressure that Yan is currently releasing is already close to Tang San's limit, although Tang San himself and his spirit Blue Silver Grass are both full of resilience.

But sometimes, more resilience isn't always better. As Yan's pressure intensified, Tang San's expression of pain deepened, and he struggled to raise his right hand.

Blue light flashed, and Blue Silver Grass surged from Tang San's palm like blooming flowers, forming a huge cage that enveloped Tang San's body as it floated in the air.

A brilliant blue-purple light emanated from the blue-silver grass, causing all the blue silver grass to sway in the air. Each sway produced a unique sensation, as if the air itself was pulsating in rhythm.

"Using four ounces to move a thousand pounds, you think you can pull such a trick in front of me? Who do you think you are?" Yan's eyes narrowed slightly, and his outstretched hand clenched into a fist. The Blue Silver Grass, which had been swaying rhythmically, exploded inch by inch. Tang San couldn't help but choke and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

"Stop! You'll kill him if you do that!" Yu Xiaogang shouted angrily, trying to get up to stop him. Yan casually slapped him, applying the same pressure as Tang San. The master immediately banged his head on the ground, howling in pain.

"I was just letting you experience the pain of your own student. If you can't even endure this little bit of pain, what right do you have to be his teacher?" Yan's casual remark made Yu Xiaogang's face turn bright red. However, he didn't dare to get up again at this moment. Although Yan had withdrawn that oppressive aura, the physical pain and the fear of pain made him lose the courage to resist.

This so-called master was never a person with perseverance; tenacity and willpower were never his concern.

Essentially, Yu Xiaogang is an ambitious but incompetent opportunist who only thinks about getting ahead overnight.

"Ahhhhh!" Tang San couldn't help but shout out after experiencing intense pressure. All the pressure seemed to burst out from his back in that instant, and was released in a flash.

His whole body trembled, the clothes on his back ripped open instantly, and his body swelled up.

Behind him, eight purplish-red spider spears resembling spider legs appeared, and spiderweb-like patterns also appeared on his forehead.

"Soul bones?" The three Soul Douluos from the Heaven Dou Royal Academy exclaimed almost simultaneously. They were quite knowledgeable and immediately recognized the eight spider-leg-like spears as soul bones.

"As expected, it's an external spirit bone, from a spider-type spirit beast. You're quite lucky." Yan also stopped at this moment. He could see that with his pressure, this external spirit bone had further fused with Tang San.

He came here only to confirm his suspicions, not to help Tang San fuse with the soul bone. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that external soul bones cannot be separated after fusion, he would have even considered killing someone to take the bone.

Anyway, Tang San will be killed sooner or later, so it's better to kill him sooner rather than later. Besides, it would be good if he could get a soul bone.

Unfortunately, it is still an external soul bone and cannot be separated, so we can only keep it for now.

"Tell me, how did you get this external soul bone in the first place? Did you go to the Star Dou Great Forest?" Yan asked casually, then added, "..."

"Oh, right, don't test my patience. If I ask you a question, just answer it. Although I won't kill you, Shrek Academy has more than just you. I don't care about their lives. You can try." The threat in Yan's words made Tang San give up some of his little schemes. He didn't dare to gamble on the truth of Yan's words, so he could only tell him about how he accompanied Zhao Wuji to hunt for the third spirit ring.

Yan frowned and looked at Zhao Wuji.

"Why did you decide to take them to the Star Dou Great Forest? We didn't encounter anything strange along the way, did we?" Zhao Wuji, knowing the situation was beyond their control, quickly replied, "Our academy can't get a hunting permit, so we can't go to the Soul Hunting Forest. We can only go to the wild soul beast gathering areas. The Star Dou Great Forest isn't far from our academy, and it has a wide variety of soul beasts. We didn't encounter anything unusual on the way, except we got into a fight with some people from Canghui Academy… and then in the forest we met the Gaishi Longshe couple choosing soul beasts for their granddaughter's third soul ring. We… stole two suitable soul beasts from them…"

"Those students from Canghui Academy are really unlucky to have run into your Shrek gang of hooligans. Those who don't dare cause trouble are just mediocre. Fred, you really dare to teach like this. If you're always this arrogant, why weren't you killed when you were roaming the continent?" Yan's words silenced Fred. He was arrogant and tough in front of his students, who were at most second or third ring cultivators, but as a Soul Saint, he couldn't really handle many situations.

Let alone the Spirit Hall, he can't afford to offend any of the more powerful sects. So his claim that he's incompetent and doesn't dare to cause trouble is just empty talk. He'll just boost the students' confidence and teach them how to assess situations and what kind of people they can and cannot mess with.

However, in the original story, these students grew up too quickly, and there were some things later on that he didn't need to teach them at all, so he only taught half of this sentence.

"You said you almost exploded when you absorbed the spirit ring, but the age of that spirit beast hadn't exceeded Yu Xiaogang's so-called age theory. Tell me more about that spirit beast." After listening to Zhao Wuji's description, Yan understood that Tang San's third spirit ring should still be the spirit beast from the original story.

Although it's unclear why Tang San was still able to run into that soul beast even with his presence as a variable affecting the plot.

Fortunately, Zhao Wuji and Tang San's group did not encounter Titan Giant Ape, Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, or Ning Rongrong in the Star Dou Great Forest, as he had no intention of killing them for the time being.

After recalling the situation, Tang San said, "My third spirit ring was absorbed from a human-faced demon spider. Perhaps because that kind of spirit beast was particularly ferocious, my body almost couldn't withstand the backlash when I absorbed the third spirit ring..."

"Hehehe, Yu Xiaogang, you call yourself a master of soul master research, yet you can't even teach the knowledge of judging the age of soul beasts properly. How can you be a teacher?" Yan couldn't help but sneer after listening to Tang San's account.

"While the Human-Faced Demon Spider is a ferocious spirit beast, generally speaking, as long as the spirit ring doesn't exceed your body's limits, absorbing and refining it isn't as dangerous as you described. The reason you encountered that situation was simply because that spirit beast exceeded your body's limits. Fortunately, it didn't exceed them by much, and you survived by luck, even managing to obtain an external spirit bone. Also, let me tell you something: the age of a Human-Faced Demon Spider isn't determined by its main spider body, but by its legs. The Human-Faced Demon Spider's legs are over three meters long, a sign of over two thousand years of cultivation. Yu Xiaogang, you're not a good teacher! You can't even teach how to determine the age of a spirit beast properly, perhaps you yourself don't even know this, yet you're teaching others how to acquire spirit rings. Also, I remember when you published that theory about the limits of spirit rings at each stage of a spirit master, you said the limit for the third spirit ring was over 1600 years. Tang San's third spirit ring is almost four hundred years higher than your theoretical limit. Tsk tsk tsk..."

"Hehe..." Yan's words made Yu Xiaogang, who was sitting to the side, clench his fists so tightly that they cracked, but he couldn't say anything to refute them. In fact, he knew very well that everything Yan said was right, but he couldn't admit it at all. He couldn't vent his anger at all.

"However, your theory does have some use, and it serves as a significant reference for ordinary Soul Masters. Therefore, the Spirit Hall's recognition of your status as a Soul Master researcher can be considered an affirmation of the value of some of your research results." Yan suddenly spoke up again at this moment. Upon hearing the Spirit Hall's recognition of his research results, Yu Xiaogang relaxed for a moment, but then became angry again.

The Spirit Hall possesses the largest number of ordinary spirit masters in the spirit master world, and my research results are of great use to them. However, the Spirit Hall only granted me a scholar status, and now they are turning their backs on me and stripping me of that status. It's simply shameless.