This Chapter Is

This chapter is discarded, feel free to skip it.

Behind Lanba Academy, this once tranquil sea of flowers was now a scene of utter devastation.

In a massive crater in the ground, Liu Erlong lay sprawled in the dirt, looking disheveled. Her originally neat cyan cloth dress was tattered, revealing large patches of snow-white skin, with blood hanging from the corner of her mouth and her hair in a mess.

She always wore attire suited for combat.

Her form-fitting black leather outfit outlined a breathtaking physique—shoulders broad enough to shoulder any burden, yet a waist unexpectedly slender and supple, the result of years of high-intensity combat and soul power tempering, forming a perfect, powerful proportion. The muscle definition in her arms and thighs was fluid and firm, not the softness of a sheltered lady, but the lean, ready-to-pounce intensity of a hunting leopard.

The collar and cuffs were inlaid with dark red dragon-scale armor; it was something she had forged for herself, an extension of her martial soul. When her soul power surged, these scales would grow slightly warm, glowing with a magma-like dark light. A wide belt cinched her waist, hanging a wine flask and a short dagger—the marks of her twenty years of wandering; the wine was to drown her sorrows, the blade to cut through thorns.

Her skin was a healthy wheat color, and several faded scars were visible on her exposed wrists and neck. The most prominent one ran diagonally from her left collarbone to above her right breast, its color now as faint as a cherry blossom, yet it recorded a brutal battle where she had brushed against death. She never hid these marks; they were her medals, the proof that she was alive.

But more painful than her body was her heart.

Because at this very moment, the youth named Yu Tianyu was stepping on her proud spine with one foot, looking down at her with the gaze one might use for livestock.

And the man she had pined for over twenty years—Yu Xiaogang—was slumped on the ground a dozen meters away, his eyes filled with terror, not even daring to utter a single harsh word.

"Let... let me go!!"

Liu Erlong was still struggling, the rage in her eyes seemingly ready to swallow Yu Tianyu whole. "If you have the guts, kill me! What kind of skill is it to humiliate a woman!"

"Humiliate?"

Yu Tianyu applied a slight pressure with his foot, and a crisp sound of grinding bones echoed.

"Liu Erlong, you've got it wrong."

"I am saving you. Pulling you out of the quagmire named 'Yu Xiaogang'."

Yu Tianyu ignored the struggling beneath his foot and instead raised his head, his gaze piercing toward Yu Xiaogang in the distance like a blade.

"Hey, trash."

Yu Tianyu crooked his finger. "Your woman is currently under my foot. As long as you dare to charge over and throw a punch at me, even if you are beaten to death by me, I will respect you as a man and let her go."

"Come on."

The entire scene fell into a deathly silence.

Flender clenched his fists, but he dared not move. Because at this moment, another green figure descended from the sky—Dugu Bo was standing with his arms crossed, staring at them coldly. The killing intent of a Title Douluo had locked onto everyone.

Everyone's eyes were focused on the Grandmaster.

Liu Erlong also struggled to lift her head, her bloodshot, beautiful eyes filled with a final glimmer of hope.

Xiaogang... you will stand up for me, right? Even if it means death, we can die together...

However.

One second, two seconds, ten seconds passed.

Yu Xiaogang's face was deathly pale, sweat soaking his collar. His lips were trembling, and his calves were cramping. He looked at Yu Tianyu, who stood like a demon god, and then at the terrifying Dugu Bo.

Finally, under Liu Erlong's despairing gaze, he lowered his head.

"Erlong... I'm sorry..."

The Grandmaster's voice trembled, laced with a sob. "As long as the green hills remain, there's no need to worry about firewood... We can't beat him... You... you just endure it for now..."

This single sentence was heavier than the kick Yu Tianyu had just delivered, shattering Liu Erlong's heart into pieces.

Endure it?

Watching his own woman being humiliated, and he tells her to endure it?

Is this the Grandmaster who proposed the "Ten Core Competencies"? Is this the man she had waited for in bitterness for twenty years?

So, he really was just a coward.

"Hahahaha!"

Yu Tianyu burst into loud laughter, his voice filled with mockery and disdain.

"Did you hear that, Liu Erlong?"

"This is your lover. To survive, he tells you to 'endure it'."

Liu Erlong's voice was hoarse, as if she had exhausted every ounce of her strength.

"Let them go... This academy is yours. I am yours too..."

"Very good."

Yu Tianyu retracted his foot with satisfaction.

He turned to look at Flender and the others, his eyes cold. "Heard that? Dean Liu sold herself to save your pathetic lives."

"Now, take your trash and get out of my sight."

"If you aren't satisfied, you are welcome to come and seek death at any time."

"Erlong!" Flender cried out in agony. "We can't leave you behind..."

"Get out!!"

Liu Erlong suddenly roared hysterically, tears bursting forth like a broken dam, "Take him and get out! Never let me see you again!!"

Flender gritted his teeth, looking at the near-collapse of Liu Erlong, then glancing at the murderous Dugu Bo standing nearby.

"Let's go!"

He grabbed the limp Grandmaster, and with Tang San and the others in tow, fled from this place of heartbreak without looking back.

As Grandmaster was dragged away, he didn't even turn his head to look at Liu Erlong once.

Perhaps he didn't dare, or perhaps... the instinct to escape danger had overridden everything else.

With the departure of the Shrek group.

The mountain behind returned to silence. Yet, that once cozy little wooden cabin now appeared exceptionally cold and desolate.

Liu Erlong remained sprawled on the ground, like a ragdoll that had lost its soul.

"Get up."

Yu Tianyu's voice came from above.

Liu Erlong did not move.

"I don't want to say it a second time."

Yu Tianyu bent down, grabbed her messy black hair, and forced her to stand up.

Without a shred of gentleness, he dragged her directly into the exquisite little wooden cabin.

"Bang!"

The wooden door was slammed shut, cutting off everything from the outside world.

The room was filled with a faint floral scent, the result of Liu Erlong's usual meticulous care. On the wall hung a painting she had made herself, depicting the blurry back of a man (needless to say who it was).

"Rip!"

With a casual wave of Yu Tianyu's hand, the painting instantly turned into dust.

"Don't..." Liu Erlong instinctively wanted to retort, but upon meeting Yu Tianyu's eyes, which burned with golden flames, the words died in her throat.

Yu Tianyu sat in the rattan chair that originally belonged to Liu Erlong, crossed his legs, and pointed to the floor in front of him.

"Don't go too far..." Liu Erlong gritted her teeth, her eyes filled with tears of humiliation.

"Too far?"

Yu Tianyu sneered, "When your Xiaogang told you to 'bear with it' just now, why didn't you think that was too far?"

Liu Erlong's body trembled violently.

She closed her eyes, and two lines of clear tears slid down.

Thump.

Those long, straight legs, wrapped in tattered silk stockings, slowly bent.

He reached out and lifted Liu Erlong's chin.

"But Liu Erlong, ask yourself."

Yu Tianyu's fingers lightly traced her burning cheek, finally coming to rest at her collarbone.

"Is what you feel for Yu Xiaogang really love?"

"Or is it just an obsession born from what you cannot obtain? A form of self-indulgent sacrifice?"

"You are a Fire Dragon. And he is nothing but a pig with a failed mutation."

"How could a dragon and a pig ever fall in love?"

"Nonsense! That is Luo Sanpao! That is a mutation of the Holy Giant Dragon!" Even while kneeling, Liu Erlong stubbornly retorted.

"Holy Giant Dragon? Hahahaha!"

Yu Tianyu acted as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.

"Then let me show you what a real dragon is!"

Boom!

Yu Tianyu no longer suppressed the aura within his body.

Dragon God Bloodline, fully unleashed!

A supreme dragon pressure, originating from the ancient primordial era, instantly filled the entire wooden cabin.

Behind Yu Tianyu, the faint phantom of a massive Nine-Colored Giant Dragon emerged—the ancestor that stood above all living things.

Liu Erlong gasped for air; the image of Yu Xiaogang that had been so clear in her mind now became blurry, eventually dissipating entirely.

Replacing it was the domineering, powerful youth before her, who shook her very soul.

"You are... Master..."

Finally.

These two words escaped her lips.

Carrying shame, yet also a sense of relief.

Admit it, Liu Erlong. Deep down, you have always been drawn to the strong.

You loved Yu Xiaogang for twenty years, but in truth, you only loved the persona of that "misunderstood genius." When that persona collapsed and a true powerhouse descended, your body made the most honest choice.

"Good girl."

Yu Tianyu patted her cheek, which felt even smoother and slicker from the sweat.

"From today on, Lanba Academy shall be renamed 'Tyrant Dragon Academy'."

"As for Yu Xiaogang..."

A flash of cruel light flickered in Yu Tianyu's eyes.

"The next time you see him, I want you to break his legs with your own hands."

"Can you do that?"

Liu Erlong lay in Yu Tianyu's arms, a flicker of struggle crossing her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by the hatred brought on by the memory of that cowardly, retreating back.

"I can..."

She replied in a low voice, her tone laced with a fierce ruthlessness.

"That coward... he doesn't deserve it."

Heaven Dou City, the slums.

Inside a rented room reeking of mold.

"Achoo!"

Yu Xiaogang wrapped himself in a tattered quilt and sneezed.

"Teacher, are you alright?"

Tang San walked over carrying a bowl of cold water, his eyes filled with worry and hatred. "This place is too cold, your body..."

"I am fine."

The master and disciple encouraged each other in the dark corner, fantasizing about their future revenge.

Little did they know.

The Liu Erlong they were so obsessed with "saving" was currently lying on a comfortable bed, enjoying the unprecedented power and pleasure brought to her by that "beast."

Heaven and hell are often separated by nothing more than a single thought.

Liu Erlong's beauty was like a long-dormant volcano, a crimson blade that drew blood the moment it was unsheathed. Her tight-fitting outfit could not conceal her explosive curves, and her brow was etched with twenty years of obsessive resentment and lonely indignation. When her violent Crimson Dragon martial soul possessed her, her rage and soul power burned in unison, making her appear like a goddess of vengeance.

Yet, beneath that iron-hard exterior lay a tenderness that had been worn nearly to the point of shattering by the years spent facing Yu Xiaogang. This extreme combination of ferocity and fragility formed the most striking aspect of her beauty.