Chapter 187: Liu Erlong's Love Gone Wild, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan Faces More Misfortune
Two days had passed since the start of the tournament, and every participating soul master academy had completed the first round of preliminaries. Among them, the most unfortunate was the Canghui Academy group: their instructor, Shi Nian, had suddenly vanished for unknown reasons.
The second round of preliminaries was about to begin. For Heaven Dou Team Two, those taking the field would be Gu Chen along with the five Shrek "monsters" (excluding Ning Rongrong and Tang San) plus Tailong. Tang San was still in a depressed state, feeling too ashamed to show his face in public.
Gu Chen, on the other hand, was eager to participate in the upcoming match. With Tang San "crippled," wasn't this his chance to shine in front of Xiao Wu? Forcing something might not be sweet, but it could still quench thirst—besides, a thoroughly ripe fruit was both sweet and juicy. And a man can't be satisfied by only one trick, right?
When they reached the area outside Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena, they sensed a multitude of mocking stares—like being watched as clowns—making the Shrek group somewhat angry. Dai Mubai's eyes, however, also showed contemplation.
Though Dai Mubai was loyal, he still had to look ahead. The possibility that Tang San's primary martial spirit was ruined—leaving only the Clear Sky Hammer—meant Tang San was no longer the all-powerful prodigy he'd been in their previous life. He would need a new "backer" or else he wouldn't survive under Davis and Zhu Zhuyun.
"Boss Flend!"
As they neared the Great Spirit Arena, a delighted female voice called out.
"Erlong!"
Flender, too, was pleasantly surprised. He paused briefly, looking at the gorgeous woman with exquisite features, a fiery figure, and smooth black hair cascading down her back. She looked about thirty years old, yet he knew perfectly well she was actually over forty. She was the final member of the Golden Iron Triangle—the Slaughter Corner, as well as his sworn younger sister and personal goddess, Liu Erlong.
Flender and Liu Erlong walked quickly toward each other.
"Erlong, what brings you here?"
"I'm the dean of Blue Tyrant Academy. My brats lost to Heaven Dou Team Two yesterday—those useless aristocratic kids—and it really ticked me off, so I came in person today."
Flender gave a sly grin. "Heh, Erlong, Heaven Dou Team Two aren't some worthless noble kids. They're the talented students of my Shrek Academy."
"Hello, Teacher Erlong!"
Behind Flender, the five Shrek members smiled in greeting.
"Children… So my students lost to yours. Then they have no right to complain."
A faint smile showed on Liu Erlong's face, which then shifted to anger. "Flend, if you came to Heaven Dou City, why go to the Royal Academy instead of looking for me? You could have led your kids to join my Blue Tyrant Academy!"
Flender looked awkward. "I, uh… just didn't think of it. If I had, I'd have brought them straight to you."
After instructing their respective teams to go prepare in the waiting rooms, the two moved aside to talk about old times.
"Flend, do you know where Xiaogang is?"
"Xiaogang? He's at the same hotel as our Heaven Dou Team, the Yaohui Hotel."
Those words made Liu Erlong seize Flender's sleeve in excitement. "Flend, which hotel? It's been years—how is Xiaogang now? At last I've cornered him; I won't let him escape me again!"
"We're not far—the Yaohui Hotel, room **. But Xiaogang's… not so good right now." By the end, Flender's tone grew hesitant.
"What's wrong with him?" Liu Erlong asked anxiously. "Flend, tell me!"
"It's nothing really. His theory turned out to be flawed, so he took quite a blow."
Flender glossed over it. He hadn't developed any real grudge against Yu Xiaogang and his "unbeatable knowledge," who had ruined Tang San. Wasn't it just a single mistake? Shrek Academy, over twenty years, had taught plenty of students to their doom. Yu Xiaogang was hardly alone in that. Apart from his background, how was Tang San any different?
"Then I'll go talk to Xiaogang now. After my students' match is over, I'll have you take them back to Blue Tyrant Academy."
With that, Liu Erlong vanished in the blink of an eye, sprinting full tilt to the Yaohui Hotel, tears sliding down her face.
"Xiaogang, this time, you absolutely won't leave me—no way!"
Yaohui Hotel
Yu Xiaogang sat on a chair, piles of manuscripts containing his "invincible theory" before him, along with hundreds of Blue Silver Grass samples he'd gathered at Nuoding Academy. He simply couldn't understand—truly couldn't—how his "invincible theories," validated by hundreds of examples, could have led Tang San's martial spirit cultivation so disastrously astray.
Blue Silver Grass was so weak that it had high compatibility, logically meaning it could go any path. Didn't using poison give it the greatest power? How could poison-based rings instead damage Blue Silver Grass?
Ultimately, he lacked both the strength and the vision to grasp the core of the martial spirit's essence. Someone of Yu Xiaogang's level and perspective couldn't comprehend it.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Leave me alone," Yu Xiaogang snapped.
Knock, knock, knock!
The pounding continued, loud enough to shake the door in its frame.
"Who is it?!"
Seeing the door about to be battered down, he opened it irritably—only to come face-to-face with the woman he'd pined for all these years. Immediately, his body went stiff, gaze vacant, tears threatening his eyes. Just after he recovered, he spun around to flee.
"Xiaogang, after all these years… do you hate looking at me so much?"
Feelings for a loved one can lead to whitewashing any actions. Hence Liu Erlong saw his attempt to run as his unwillingness to see her.
"I…"
He managed only a single syllable before it caught in his throat, and he closed his eyes in pain.
After Heaven Dou Team Two finished their second match, they unsurprisingly notched another victory. Xiao Wu, so tense in the Arena, eased a bit—Qian Xunji hadn't appeared. Of course he wouldn't watch every fight; if there wasn't something entertaining, he'd rather spend his free time in Yue Xuan, savoring refined pleasures.
"I wonder how my godmother and Teacher Yu are doing… and Third Brother," Xiao Wu murmured, dropping her gaze. Tang San hadn't eaten for two days. If Gu Chen hadn't dragged her along, she wouldn't even have shown up for this match.
"Hey, why does the 'Grandmaster' look so frantic?" Oscar called out. When they looked, indeed Yu Xiaogang dashed out of the hotel, picking a random direction and running at top speed.
Before that, in the hotel room, he'd sat on the bed like a zombie no matter how Liu Erlong tried to talk to him. Angered, she had pinned him on the bed and made as if to take him by force. Yu Xiaogang in desperation tried the "bathroom excuse," and thus escaped.
"Xiaogang!!!"
A painfully loud, shrill roar echoed overhead, shattering countless windows of the Yaohui Hotel. A figure leaped out of a window, revealing two yellow, two purple, three black spirit rings—rank 70-something Soul Sage level—and behind her a burning blue dragon. From dozens of meters up, she landed easily, shooting forward at high speed to grab Yu Xiaogang by the collar like a helpless chick.
On the street, many onlookers clutched their ears at the noise, while Gu Chen and the Shrek Five all froze, stunned.
"Erlong! Erlong, wait—!"
Yu Xiaogang felt thoroughly panicked. He knew Liu Erlong had fully lost her temper. A furious Liu Erlong, once, had slaughtered an entire small soul beast forest, who knew how many beasts, before calming down. If he didn't comply now, she would definitely carry him off to some secret place.
"So that's it—the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan," Gu Chen mused, smirking as he stood by. This was too good a chance. Not spreading such news to ruin the clan's reputation and reduce the number of commoner soul masters joining them would be a pity. Delivering a stab in the back—he'd learned it from Ning Fengzhi.
The Three Upper Sects had irreconcilable conflicts with Spirit Hall, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan likewise with both the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and the Clear Sky Clan. Since the Ning family of Seven Treasure Glazed Tile lacked the strength to safeguard its assets on its own, they needed to recruit high-level soul masters. Undermining the reputations of those other powers would direct more wandering soul masters to them.
Gu Chen: "Well, this is going to be fun!"
(End of the chapter)
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