Chapter 187: Liu Erlong's Frenzied Love, and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's Next Misfortune
Two days had passed since the start of the tournament, and every participating academy had completed the first round of preliminaries. Among them, the most unfortunate was Canghui Academy. Their instructor, Shi Nian, had inexplicably vanished.
The second round of preliminaries was about to begin. For Heaven Dou Team Two, the ones going out would be Gu Chen and, aside from Ning Rongrong and Tang San, the five Shrek "monsters," plus Tailong. Tang San was still wallowing in self-pity, feeling he had no face left to show people.
Gu Chen naturally welcomed the chance to play in the next match; since Tang San had become "useless," he now had a window to show off in front of Xiao Wu. Forced affection might not be sweet, but it could still quench one's thirst… or so he saw it. A fruit that was already fully ripe was indeed sweet, delicious, and refreshing. And a man, after all, shouldn't only enjoy a single "position" for pleasure, right?
Arriving outside the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena, they immediately sensed many mocking gazes—as if they were clowns—which angered the Shrek group somewhat. Dai Mubai, though incensed, also fell into thought.
While Dai Mubai was loyal, he had to consider the future. With Tang San's primary martial spirit basically crippled, only his Clear Sky Hammer remained. Tang San was no longer that all-powerful prodigy from their previous life; he needed a new "big patron" to lean on, or else how would he survive under Davis and Zhu Zhuyun?
"Boss Flend!"
Approaching the Great Spirit Arena, a pleasantly surprised female voice rang out.
"Erlong!"
Flender too was overjoyed, momentarily dazed by the ravishing woman with delicate features, a fiery figure, and smooth black hair cascading behind her. She looked around thirty, but Flender knew full well that she was actually over forty. She was the third corner of the Golden Iron Triangle, known as the "Killer Horn," his sworn younger sister—and the "goddess" in his heart—Liu Erlong.
Both Flender and Liu Erlong strode forward in excitement.
"Erlong, why are you here?"
"I'm the dean of Blue Tyrant Academy. Those punks of mine lost yesterday to Heaven Dou Team Two—those worthless aristocrat brats. I was furious, so I came in person today."
Flender flashed a sly grin. "Heh heh, my dear Erlong, Heaven Dou Team Two isn't any bunch of incompetent noble heirs. They're actually the prodigy students of my Shrek Academy."
"Greetings, Teacher Erlong!"
Behind Flender, the five Shrek members smiled warmly.
"So my students lost to you—no wonder it was a fair defeat," Liu Erlong said with a slight smile, then she flared with anger, "Flend, you came to Heaven Dou City but didn't look for me? You could've taken them to join my Blue Tyrant Academy!"
Flender looked rather embarrassed. "I, uh… didn't think of it. Otherwise, I would've brought them to you long ago."
After telling their respective teams to head to the waiting rooms, the two went aside to catch up.
"Flend, do you know where Xiaogang is?"
"Xiaogang? He's staying at the same hotel as our Heaven Dou team."
At that, Liu Erlong grew agitated, grabbing Flender's sleeve. "Flend, what hotel are you in? I haven't seen Xiaogang for so many years—how is he now? Finally I've cornered him, and I won't let him run away again!"
"We're not far—the Yaohui Hotel, room **. But to be honest, Xiaogang's… not doing so well." Flender's words grew vague by the end.
"How so? Flend, what do you mean?"
"N-nothing. He just… encountered a big blow when his theories were proven mistaken."
Flender glossed it over. Yu Xiaogang's failure with Tang San hadn't changed Flender's high opinion of his unstoppable "theoretical knowledge." It was just "one slip-up," after all. Over the 20 years Shrek had been running, how many students had been "messed up" or "killed" under their training? Yu Xiaogang was hardly unique. Tang San's background aside, what made him different from anyone else?
"All right. I'll go talk to Xiaogang now. After my students finish today's match, I'll have you bring them back to Blue Tyrant Academy."
With a blink of an eye, Liu Erlong vanished at high speed, rushing for the Yaohui Hotel, tears running down both cheeks.
"Xiaogang, I absolutely won't let you leave me again—never!"
Yaohui Hotel
Yu Xiaogang sat on a chair, piles of books containing his "invincible theories" piled before him, along with hundreds of Blue Silver Grass specimens he had studied at Nuoding Academy. He didn't understand—he just couldn't understand. He had verified hundreds of cases, used his "unbeatable theories" to guide Tang San in cultivating his martial spirit. How had it all gone so catastrophically wrong?
Blue Silver Grass was so weak but extremely compatible. Didn't that mean it could take any direction at all, that choosing poison could bring out its greatest power? How was it that poison rings ended up poisoning the Blue Silver Grass?
In the end, lacking a high enough cultivation, let alone knowledge of a martial spirit's essence, Yu Xiaogang had no way to figure it out.
Knock-knock-knock.
"Don't bother me," Yu Xiaogang called out.
Knock-knock-knock!
The pounding continued, loud and forceful, the door rattling in its frame.
"Who is it?!"
Seeing that the door was about to give, he opened it sullenly—only to come face to face with the figure he had adored beyond measure. His body froze at once, his expression going blank, tears welling up. The moment he recovered, he turned to flee.
"Xiaogang, after all these years, do you hate looking at me so much?"
Someone in love tended to interpret the beloved's actions in a positive way. So Liu Erlong saw Yu Xiaogang's attempt to run as him being unwilling to see her.
"I…"
He tried to say a word, but his throat locked, and he shut his eyes in torment.
After winning their second match, Heaven Dou Team Two's victory was unsurprising. Xiao Wu's grim tension finally relaxed a bit—Qian Xunji wasn't around. He wouldn't watch every match; if there wasn't fun to be had, he preferred to spend his holiday in Yue Xuan, enjoying more elegant pursuits.
"I wonder how Godmother, Teacher Yu, and Third Brother are doing…"
Xiao Wu spoke quietly. After all, her Third Brother had scarcely eaten for two days straight. If Gu Chen hadn't dragged her along, she wouldn't have come to this fight.
"Hey, looks like the 'Grandmaster' is in a real hurry, huh?"
Oscar exclaimed, and indeed they saw Yu Xiaogang bolting from the hotel, randomly picking a direction and running at top speed. As it turned out, in the hotel room, he had been in a zombie-like daze no matter what Liu Erlong said. That only enraged her enough to pin him on the bed for a forced "act." In desperation, he'd feigned needing the toilet, escaping at the last moment.
"Xiaogang!!!"
A sharp roar tore through the sky. Windows at the Yaohui Hotel shattered in an instant. A figure jumped from the window, revealing two yellow, two purple, and three black spirit rings—a rank 70-something Soul Sage. A blazing blue dragon's shadow hovered behind her. From dozens of meters above, she landed nimbly, then sprinted ahead, lifting Yu Xiaogang by the collar as though he were a frightened chick.
On the street, people clutched their ears at the sheer volume of that voice. Gu Chen, along with the Shrek Five, all stared blankly at the spectacle.
"Erlong, please…"
Yu Xiaogang was terrified. He knew a raging Liu Erlong could be more formidable than anything—she had once slaughtered an entire small soul beast forest in a frenzy, killing who knew how many beasts before calming down. If he didn't submit, she'd carry him off to some secluded room for sure.
"So that's how it is—Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan…"
Gu Chen wore a sly smile. This was a perfect opportunity. If he could spread these events to tarnish the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's reputation and thereby reduce the number of freelance soul masters enlisting with them, that would be ideal. A good behind-the-scenes stab was exactly what he had learned from Ning Fengzhi.
Among the Upper Three Sects, they and Spirit Hall had irreconcilable differences, and so did the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan with both the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and the Clear Sky Clan. Ning Fengzhi's clan lacked the strength to protect its assets and people alone, so they needed to draw in powerful soul masters. By undermining the reputations of the other big powers, fewer wandering soul masters would join them, and more would turn to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
Gu Chen thought: "Perfect, there's going to be quite a show now!"
(End of this chapter.)
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