Academy Arena

Liu Erlong only felt her cheeks burn, her heart pounding so fast it seemed ready to leap from her chest.

She could no longer remember how many years it had been since she had last felt such a flutter.

Ye Feiyang looked Liu Erlong up and down, muttering inwardly, Is this really the legendary Liu Erlong? Wasn't she supposed to have a temper as explosive as a female tyrannosaur? Why does she look more like a shy stutterer now?

Liu Erlong tried hard to calm her turbulent emotions, but even her voice trembled slightly. "Y-you, how did you find this place? Did you come specifically to see me? If you don't mind, should we listen to stories first, or eat some peanuts first?"

A trace of amusement flashed through Ye Feiyang's eyes. How had her stutter improved after only a few sentences?

The legendary female tyrannosaur who exploded at the slightest provocation actually had such a flustered side. That was rather interesting.

He raised his brows and chuckled, deliberately teasing her. "Dean Liu, are you planning to make your guest stand outside in the cold wind all night? It's chilly out. It wouldn't be good if I froze."

Only then did Liu Erlong come back to her senses. Her mind felt like a lump of paste, and she had even forgotten the most basic etiquette of receiving a guest.

She hurriedly stepped aside and said somewhat frantically, "How about, how about we go inside and sit?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, she felt they were inappropriate and hurriedly added, "D-doing anything else won't be necessary! This time, we should just have a proper chat and get to know each other first. The moonlight outside is quite lovely. How about we have a few drinks by the stone table in the courtyard?"

"Sure!" Ye Feiyang readily agreed and walked over to sit at the stone table.

Liu Erlong followed with the same hand and foot, stiffly sitting across from him, not even knowing where to put her hands.

Ye Feiyang studied her thoughtfully. Where was the female tyrannosaur he had heard about? The woman before him was as gentle as a kitten. Who had been spreading those rumors?

Could his 99-point Charm stat have been so dazzling that it directly suppressed her fiery temper?

He felt that the Liu Erlong before him was completely different from the image he had in mind. Everything about her seemed strange.

After all, this was their first meeting!

Ye Feiyang could not help calling out to the system in his heart and voicing his doubts. "System, what exactly is going on? Why is her attitude toward me so strange?"

[Host, the attraction between all things is mutual. The stronger your interest in the target, the stronger the feedback of affection they perceive, which in turn causes them to develop a higher favorability toward you.]

Ye Feiyang nearly laughed out loud. He had not expected the system to use a principle of physics to explain the situation, but upon thinking it over, it actually made some sense.

In the past, although he had been handsome, he had been like a transparent person with no presence at all. Ever since the system had maxed out his Charm stat, it was as if he had gained an "active attraction" switch. Wherever he went, he became the center of attention.

Now he finally understood why so many people had shown him goodwill. It turned out that he first became interested in them, and then the system amplified that attraction.

With that, everything made sense.

Ye Feiyang nodded in satisfaction and deliberately leaned closer to Liu Erlong, his tone carrying a hint of concern. "Dean Liu, your face is so red. Don't tell me you have a fever?"

Liu Erlong froze. She instinctively wanted to refute him, but then a well-defined hand gently touched her forehead. The warm contact made her hold her breath, leaving her unable to say a word.

"Huh? It doesn't feel hot." Ye Feiyang withdrew his hand and smiled innocently. "Looks like the moonlight tonight is simply too beautiful. It has made your cheeks as red as peach blossoms."

At his words, Liu Erlong's heart beat even faster. Her cheeks reddened further, and even the tips of her ears turned pink.

She lowered her head slightly, her voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz. "W-what are you saying?"

After a pause, she hurriedly changed the subject. "You brought wine. Did you want me to have a drink with you?"

Ye Feiyang looked up at the night sky and sighed softly. "The night is long. Drinking alone always feels lonely. It's only interesting when someone keeps you company."

"Y-you feel lonely too?" Liu Erlong asked in surprise. "Don't you have three disciples with you? They're so lively. They shouldn't make you feel lonely, right?"

Ye Feiyang swirled the wine in his cup and chuckled. "What do children know about an adult's loneliness? Their world is simple and pure. They don't think the same way we do."

Liu Erlong unconsciously clenched the corner of her clothes. What did he mean by that? Why was he telling her such things? Was he hinting at something?

She softly agreed, "Ah? I-is that so?"

Ye Feiyang asked again, "Why do you live alone here, Dean Liu? This place is so remote. Don't you find it desolate?"

"I simply like peace and quiet," Liu Erlong replied softly.

"Oh, I see." Ye Feiyang deliberately drew out his tone. "I thought you were lonely like me."

"Ah? Actually, I do feel lonely sometimes," Liu Erlong hurriedly said, afraid of missing something.

"Enough of that." Ye Feiyang smiled and changed the subject. "Didn't you want to drink? Let's drink and talk. I'll tell you my story."

Liu Erlong hurriedly nodded. She had long wanted to know what kind of past this absurdly young Soul Douluo had.

Ye Feiyang poured two cups of wine and began recounting his experiences with vivid flair. Of course, he had deliberately polished a few details, choosing only the parts that were easiest for others to empathize with.

Liu Erlong became engrossed in his story, drinking cup after cup. When she reached the emotional parts, tears actually welled in her eyes. She had clearly been deeply moved.

Seeing this, Ye Feiyang secretly laughed to himself. Did I make the story too touching? I actually made the legendary female tyrannosaur cry. That's truly rare.

It was also the first time he had seen Liu Erlong react like this.

Liu Erlong sniffed, her voice choked with emotion. "I never expected your childhood to have been so difficult. You really suffered too much."

As she spoke, she raised her cup and drained it in one gulp. A few drops of wine ran down her neck and slipped deep into her collar.

When she set down the cup, her little face was already flushed, and her gaze had become somewhat unfocused. She was clearly a little drunk.

It had to be said that drunken Liu Erlong had lost some of her usual sharpness and gained a touch of charming innocence, making her especially alluring.

Ye Feiyang's gaze unconsciously fell on her heaving chest. He quickly looked away and tried to keep himself calm.

At that moment, Liu Erlong's eyes were full of affection, her eye rims slightly red, and her small lips faintly parted. With drunken emotion, she said, "You lost your parents when you were young. You must have suffered a lot. You don't have any family around you now either. If you don't mind, let me be your big sister. From now on, your big sister will dote on you."

Ye Feiyang swallowed, an inexplicable joy rising in his heart. She wanted to be his big sister? That was truly an unexpected gain!

A big sister was nice!

He carefully looked Liu Erlong over and secretly marveled. He had not expected Liu Erlong to take such good care of herself. She was already in her thirties, yet she was still in such fine condition, with firm skin and a rosy complexion.

The last person he had thought was good at maintaining herself had been Zhu Zhuqing. Her figure had also been getting better by the day, full of vitality.

"Hahaha~ Sister Liu, do you really mean that?" Ye Feiyang asked with a laugh, his tone full of anticipation.

They said wine gave courage to cowards, and after a few drinks, Liu Erlong had indeed grown bolder.

She suddenly stood up, walked in front of Ye Feiyang, stretched out her arms, and pulled his head into her embrace with such force that she nearly smothered him unconscious. "Of course I mean it! From now on, your big sister will definitely dote on you properly!"

Ye Feiyang only felt softness surrounding him. The faint scent of wine and milk lingered at his nose, making his whole body feel light. This feeling was far too intoxicating!

He struggled to poke his head out, his voice muffled. "Sister, I can't breathe..."

It was not that he was unwilling to indulge in such tenderness. He simply knew that everything had its pros and cons. It felt good now, but if Liu Erlong regretted it after sobering up, that would be a serious problem.

Hearing him, Liu Erlong hurriedly released him. Her cheeks were crimson, though it was impossible to tell whether it was from drunkenness or embarrassment.

Ye Feiyang inhaled the lingering fragrance in the air, still wanting more. He really wanted to be hugged once again.

He looked at Liu Erlong's hazy drunken eyes, then glanced at the empty wine jar on the table. Good lord, she had emptied an entire jar of wine. No wonder she was being so forward. She really was drunk.

Ye Feiyang suppressed the stirring in his heart. He could not touch a drunk person. What if she woke up tomorrow and accused him of taking advantage of her, then chased him through the streets with a knife? That would be disastrous.

"Sister Liu, it's getting late. You've had too much to drink. You should go back to your room and rest first," Ye Feiyang gently advised.

"Rest? Right, it's time to rest." Liu Erlong's eyes were unfocused as she suddenly grabbed his sleeve, her tone carrying a hint of coquettishness. "We'll rest together... Let your big sister dote on you properly."

Ye Feiyang sighed helplessly. This really is troublesome.

After hesitating for a moment, he still raised his hand and lightly struck the back of Liu Erlong's neck. Liu Erlong let out a muffled groan and directly fainted.

"Have a good sleep." Ye Feiyang looked at the unconscious Liu Erlong and muttered softly, "When you're drunk like this, what's the difference between you and a dead fish with no awareness? Besides, if something really happened, wouldn't you wake up and chase me down with a knife?"

He knew perfectly well that Liu Erlong was hot-tempered to the core. The gentleness he saw now was merely an illusion brought on by drunkenness.

But then again, if something really had happened, he wondered how Liu Erlong would react when she saw Yu Xiaogang again.

Ye Feiyang shook his head, casting aside those messy thoughts. He carefully helped Liu Erlong into the room, laid her on the bed, tucked her in, and then turned to leave.

Back in his own small courtyard, Ye Feiyang rubbed his brow, feeling somewhat depressed. He had been in this world for so long, yet he had not even had a single bite of "meat." What a waste of his 99-point Charm stat.

"Wait, that's not right. I'm not some saint. Why shouldn't I eat meat when it's delivered right to my mouth?" he muttered to himself. "Forget it. I'll come back tomorrow and test the waters again. If she's still this forward, then I'll just go along with it..."

Facing three beautiful disciples every day without being able to do anything was simply torture for him.

The reason he did not want to live too close to his disciples was also for their own good. If he ever lost control and they caught him seeing something they should not, everyone would be embarrassed.

Ye Feiyang was very conflicted. He clearly enjoyed being surrounded by women, yet he never dared to act on it. He clearly had opportunities, yet he always gave them up because of various concerns.

He was eighteen this year. His body was young, but his soul had lived through another lifetime and was far more mature than those his age.

His body craved youthful excitement, while his soul carried a degree of restraint. This contradiction had kept him from making a choice.

"Perhaps I was too poor and had too little presence in the past, so I'm this cautious now." Ye Feiyang murmured softly. "I'll wait a little longer. I'll act when the time is right."

News of Ye Feiyang visiting Liu Erlong late at night was soon secretly delivered to Xue Qinghe's ears.

After learning the news, Xue Qinghe first breathed a sigh of relief. At least Ye Feiyang did not like men. Her previous worries had been unnecessary.

But on second thought, she became displeased. Why had Ye Feiyang gone to another woman's residence in the middle of the night to drink? A lone man and woman in the same room—what if something happened?

The report said it was their first meeting, so how had they managed to talk so happily? Love at first sight? Bullshit. It was clearly lust at first sight!

"You like drinking that much? Fine, just wait and see." Xue Qinghe gritted her teeth and secretly plotted. Next time, she would definitely find an opportunity to drink alone with Ye Feiyang.

As she was thinking, she suddenly felt a faint swelling pain in her lower abdomen and could not help frowning. "I've already changed into a man's body, so why do I still feel this? What a nuisance."

The next morning, Liu Erlong woke with a splitting headache.

The room reeked of alcohol, reminding her that she had drunk quite a lot the night before.

Fragments of memory slowly pieced themselves together in her mind, and her expression grew increasingly colorful—from surprise, to embarrassment, to shame and anger.

"Heavens! What did I do yesterday?" Liu Erlong covered her face, wishing she could crawl into a crack in the ground.

She had never imagined that she would say such things to Ye Feiyang when they had only just met, much less make such intimate gestures.

If word of this got out, she would be utterly humiliated!

Heaven knew that Liu Erlong had never been such a casual woman.

Thinking about how she had nearly smothered Ye Feiyang with her chest yesterday made Liu Erlong's head hurt even more.

"Ah, I have no face left to see anyone." She had originally wanted to visit Ye Feiyang at Supreme Academy today, but it seemed better to forget it.

Liu Erlong scratched her messy hair and buried herself beneath the blankets. She did not even want to go to Blue Tyrant Academy. Her mind was filled with scenes from last night, with phrases like "let your big sister dote on you" and "we'll rest together" echoing in her ears like a curse.

If anyone else heard those words, who knew what they might misunderstand?

Meanwhile, the entrance to Supreme Academy had already become lively.

Early in the morning, a group of people noisily began setting up an arena at astonishing speed. Ning Rongrong had "borrowed" all of them from the Seven Treasure Sect. Not only did they require no wages, they worked especially hard.

After all, who would dare ask the Young Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Sect for money? They were all free labor.

Ning Rongrong was quite satisfied with this. She gave each of them verbal praise and saved another large sum in expenses.

In only half a day, a spacious and sturdy arena was completed.

Ning Rongrong immediately arranged for people from the Seven Treasure Sect to spread the news throughout Heaven Dou City: starting today, Supreme Academy accepted challenges from talented students of every major academy! Anyone who won could take away ten thousand Gold Coins. Even if they lost, there would be no punishment.

The implication was obvious: if you had the skill, come challenge them; if not, stop talking nonsense. Could you take away these ten thousand Gold Coins or not?

Whether they were Soul Elders or Soul Ancestors, whether it was one-on-one or one-against-many, Supreme Academy accepted all challengers!

As soon as the news spread, all of Heaven Dou City erupted.

Many people had long wanted to witness the abilities of this young Soul Douluo dean. Now there was such an "arrogant" challenge notice and an enticing reward. Anyone with even a little ability was eager to try.

Everyone wanted to see whether the disciples were as monstrous as their master.

The next day, Ning Rongrong made another move. She practically "packaged up" every beast-ear girl she could find in Heaven Dou City and brought them back to Supreme Academy.

Ye Feiyang voluntarily offered to arrange work for these Beast-Ear Girls. At that moment, he was examining them with great interest while continuously praising them. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, not bad at all. Every one of you has your own unique traits."

Meanwhile, Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu had already taken their places on the arena for everyone to watch.

After all this time training, they no longer even knew how to spell the word "awkward." They stood calmly on the arena, waiting for someone to challenge them.

After all, Ye Feiyang had once said, "As long as you don't feel awkward, the awkward ones will be everyone else!"

They regarded those words as a supreme truth and put them into practice themselves.

Very quickly, the number of spectators grew larger and larger, until the entrance to Supreme Academy was packed tight.

A pile of glittering Gold Coins sat atop the arena, a full ten thousand of them. By the standards of this world's prices, one Gold Coin could support a family of three commoners for a month. Ten thousand Gold Coins was undoubtedly an enormous fortune.

Looking at the coins, Ye Feiyang felt somewhat emotional. Before he had met Zhu Zhuqing, he had worked hard to save only a few hundred Gold Coins, and he had thought that was already a lot.

Later, he often did good deeds, invested in the development of Shenma Village, built bridges and paved roads, and spent quite a bit of money. After all, he was the most successful person to come out of Shenma Village. Giving back to his hometown was only right.

He had never thought of committing crimes, robbing or killing for wealth, nor had he encountered any earth-shattering opportunities. He had merely relied on his own efforts to reach this point step by step.

He had feared poverty in both his previous life and his childhood. Was it not normal for him to be a little greedy for money now?

Ye Feiyang shook his head and cast aside those messy thoughts. Being a villain did not necessarily make someone a bad person. It simply meant their position was different.

When had the world ever been purely black and white? Most people were merely ordinary people, neither especially kind nor especially evil.

More and more people gathered beneath the arena, and the discussions grew louder.

Within the crowd, a red-haired girl and a white-haired youth stood out in particular. They were Huo Wu of Blazing Fire Academy and Shui Bing'er of Skywater Academy.

Whether by coincidence or not, people from all the major academies had all come to Supreme Academy today without prior arrangement.

"Look! Aren't those people from the Five Elemental Academies?"

"More than that! Even people from the Royal Academy are here!"

"Who is that big guy? He looks like a student from Blue Tyrant Academy."

"He went up! He actually dares to go up and challenge them!"

With a cry of surprise, everyone's gaze focused on the arena. A thrilling challenge was about to begin.