Shrek Academy, deep in the secluded back mountains, had a detached little courtyard. Once, it was Liu Erlong's quarters in the academy; now, it had become Yu Xiaogang's makeshift "sanatorium."
Inside, Yu Xiaogang sat in a pristine wheelchair, his back to the window and his gaze fixed upon a blank wall. Dressed in clean gray cloth, his hands lay lifeless on the armrests—fingers curled slightly. Once meticulously groomed, his hair was now disheveled with streaks of white mixed in.
The crossed words scarring his face had become thick scabs, twisted and lumpy like squirming worms upon his skin. As his skin tightened, his facial movements made the phrase "Ten Core Competencies" writhe silently like a gaggle of tadpoles across his face.
"Xiaogang…" came a gentle, cautious call from outside the door. Liu Erlong stood there, bearing a steaming bowl of herbal porridge, as if fearful of disturbing him. An unprecedented anguish and carefulness clouded her eyes; her once fiery temper now utterly subdued.
Yu Xiaogang's hollow gaze immediately turned icy and ferocious. He whipped his head to glare at the door.
"Get out!"
His voice, hoarse and brimming with hatred and rage, erupted as if spewing foul refuse. The loathing in his tone made Liu Erlong's back tremble, nearly causing her to drop the bowl. She fought down the stabbing pain in her chest, her voice choked with sobs.
"You haven't eaten in three days. If this keeps up, you'll ruin your health… Please, at least eat something?"
Yu Xiaogang's Adam's apple trembled, but memories of his humiliation flashed before his eyes: being stripped naked, the words carved into his skin, his roots destroyed, thrown out like a dead dog from the palace gates. He recalled Liu Erlong and Flender tending to him, but his 'family jewels' were never recovered. In his eyes, her so-called love was just a facade—a lie. Like everyone else, she merely pitied this cripple.
"Didn't I tell you to get out? Are you deaf!?" Yu Xiaogang's voice sharpened further as he flung an empty medicine bottle at the door.
It shattered against the frame, tears finally spilling from Liu Erlong's eyes as she quietly wept. Thinking of how this once proud man had changed tore at her heart, yet she could do nothing.
"Xiaogang! How can you treat Erlong this way!"
Flender rushed in at the commotion, supporting the trembling Liu Erlong and shouting inside.
"She made you food, searched for doctors, stayed by your side day and night because she cares for you…"
"You get out too!" Yu Xiaogang's angry roar interrupted Flender. "Brother? What kind of brother flees first when I'm being humiliated outside the Imperial Palace, then plays the good guy now? Hypocrite!"
Flender was left speechless, face flushed. The only reason he'd forcefully dragged Liu Erlong back was for her own safety; the palace was filled with elite guards and powerful experts. Barging in would have meant certain death. Yet Yu Xiaogang wouldn't listen to reason.
At last, Flender could only sigh, gently comforting the sobbing Liu Erlong. "He's stuck in a loop he can't escape… This won't do. I'll go to Moon Pavilion and find Tang Yin—maybe he can persuade Xiaogang to eat something."
Liu Erlong nodded desperately, wiped her tears, and hurried away toward Moon Pavillion in Heaven Dou City.
Listening to their footsteps fade, Yu Xiaogang's cold lips twisted in a bitter sneer.
"Love? Brotherhood? Ha… when disaster strikes, everyone runs even faster than before."
"Maybe if I try harder, I can get my family jewels back? Useless! All of you are useless!"
Yu Xiaogang turned his wheelchair to face the wall—as if that wall represented the Imperial Palace, Xue Qinghe, Chen Yi, and the dead silent Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
"Xue Qinghe… usurper… how dare you humiliate me so! You're courting death!"
As for the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan: even as their esteemed Honorary Elder, after suffering such disgrace, the clan said nothing and sent no one to demand justice for him in Heaven Dou City. The elders scorned him, believing it better if he died or remained crippled.
"Xue Qinghe… just wait! If I don't take revenge, I'm no man!" Yu Xiaogang's face twisted with hatred.
"And the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan—just a pack of foolish, dying old men! After all I've done, they won't even pressure the sect on my behalf!"
"Damn it! You all deserve to die!"
At last, Chen Yi's calm face burned in his mind.
"Chen Yi… the Body Sect… it's all your fault. If not for you, things would never have turned out like this!"
"Just you wait—I'll make you pay! I'll show you what happens when the Master of Theory turns to anger!"
Muscles spasmed with uncontrollable rage, the scars on his face distorting violently. The words "Ten Core Competencies" competed furiously across his face, rendering him ever more frightful.
After venting, Yu Xiaogang felt a surge of fatigue and even stronger hunger. Swiftly, he retrieved a steaming meat pie from his spirit tool, gave the locked door a guarded glance, and hurriedly devoured the food. Juice ran down his chin, mixing with the scars.
Once finished, he crumpled the oily paper and flung it violently at the door as if casting out Liu Erlong and Flender, cursing, "Blind fools!"
…
Body Sect
Chen Yi was seated cross-legged on his bed, the Thunder Hell Prison Vine's right arm spirit bone floating before him. A hint of joy flickered in his eyes—this spirit bone had arrived at the perfect time. Absorbing its energy, he felt, could help him break through the bottleneck of level 70.
Even more important—somehow, as he drew closer to level 70, an inexplicable intuition told him this would be a critical juncture: crossing this boundary would transform his power at the core level. Not just a numerical increase in soul power, but a true leap in life's essence—a step onto the summit of power on the continent.
At the seventh level of cultivation, he could formally begin the "Nine Trials of Thunder God."
"Nine Trials of Thunder God…" Chen Yi murmured to himself, a blaze surging in his eyes.
Without hesitation, he extended his right arm. The purple-gold spirit bone drifted down and pressed against his arm, as if summoned.
Buzz—
In an instant, dazzling purple-gold light erupted from his right arm. Fierce and pure thunder force surged through his meridians. The bones beneath his skin subtly cracked under the immense power, and his soul power began to skyrocket at astonishing speed.
…
Spirit Hall
In the vast, pure white hall stood the towering statue of an angel, holy sword in hand, its expression both merciful and solemn. Qian Renxue knelt before the statue, clad in a simple white linen robe. Her long golden hair draped over pale shoulders, her lips drained of color.
Eyes closed, long lashes casting faint shadows upon her cheeks, she clasped her hands before her chest and prayed earnestly. Yet her breathing was clearly unstable—sometimes heavy, sometimes weak—evidence her internal injuries had yet to heal.
Qian Daoliu entered silently, glimpsing the stubborn yet fragile back of his granddaughter, a trace of pain surfacing in his gaze.
"Xue'er, everything you did in Heaven Dou was necessary to spread the Angel's glory. A little bloodshed is nothing to the divine; the god is merciful and will surely understand your plight."
Qian Renxue slowly opened her weary eyes, their golden color clouded by pain and exhaustion—but her stubbornness remained unbroken.
"Grandfather, I understand what you're saying. But, in the end… my excessive slaughter, especially my final order to massacre the city to stop the remaining rebels, violated the Angel God's teachings of 'protection and salvation.'"
"This is my sin. I must repent here, cleanse my soul, and seek forgiveness from God and our ancestors."
At the mention of the city massacre, complex pain flickered in Qian Renxue's eyes—quickly hidden beneath even deeper piety.
Qian Daoliu sighed softly. In his own mind, as a hero who had fought through endless battles, even the handling of Heaven Dou City and its slaughter were trifling matters. He himself had once led the Angel Legion to massacre uncountable clans and sects. Yet, for his granddaughter, raised amid the light of the Angel's glory, this was an insurmountable barrier—especially after being gravely injured by her own mother at the very height of her success. This self-punishment might have been her way to vent the pain and seek peace of mind.
Unable to persuade her, Qian Daoliu watched her pale profile. The injuries Bibi Dong had given her that day were clearly severe, stirring even greater anger toward Bibi Dong.
Just as he was about to turn and leave, Qian Renxue suddenly spoke in a soft voice—compelling Qian Daoliu to stop.
"Grandfather," she said without turning around, eyes fixed on the statue. "I want to know… Why does she hate me so much?"
Qian Daoliu's body trembled slightly. Looking back at his granddaughter's slim but straight back, his expression grew infinitely complex. The unbearable truth involved his son Qian Xunji's ugliness, Bibi Dong's tragedy, and the secret behind Qian Renxue's birth—secrets he had desperately tried to keep from her. He didn't want the shadow of her father tainting her heart, nor did he want her to bear the burden of original sin.
He took a deep breath, instinctively preparing to deflect the question—but Qian Renxue's next words instantly froze all his hesitation and attempts at comfort.
"This concerns whether my spirit can be complete when I face the Angel God Trials in the future."