Tang Yu's gaze passed straight over the stone table and fell brazenly on Liu Erlong.
It traveled down from her furious, wild face, sweeping over the astonishing curves tightly hugged by her leather outfit.
At last, it settled on her long, shapely legs beside the table.
His undisguised appraisal carried an intensely predatory edge.
"Forget those lousy theories."
"But if you're what I'd get in exchange, I might consider it."
At those brazen words, Liu Erlong felt a thunderclap explode in her mind.
Her eyes widened as she stared at the boy before her, utterly stunned.
When she met Tang Yu's nakedly possessive gaze, a profound sense of danger surged through her.
Liu Erlong's heart gave a sudden jolt, and she instinctively shrank back.
An overwhelming tension swept over her in an instant, making even her breathing grow ragged.
This man had some nerve—he actually dared to covet her!
Anger, shame, and the panic buried deep in her heart made it impossible for Liu Erlong to stay in the courtyard another second.
She turned around and strode toward the courtyard gate.
Just before she left the pavilion, she stopped and glared back at Tang Yu.
"You'll pay for your arrogance today!"
"Since you look down on Xiaogang's theories, I'll bring him here myself tomorrow!"
"I'll make him show you what true Soul Master wisdom looks like, right to your face!"
With that, she stormed away without looking back.
Only the hurried clack of her high heels echoed down the corridor, fading into the distance.
Liu Erlong turned and hurried outside in her high heels.
Though she had been seething with anger, now she felt a chill creeping down her back.
The aura radiating from the boy in the pavilion was terrifying.
Even sitting there drinking tea, the pressure he kept tightly in check made it hard for her, a Soul Saint, to breathe.
She had spoken fiercely, but deep down, she had already begun to retreat.
A man this dangerous was far beyond anything she could afford to provoke.
The front courtyard of Wuyang Mansion was not far away, and Liu Erlong soon reached its vermilion gates.
Once she crossed the threshold, she would see Yu Xiaogang waiting outside to meet her.
With Xiaogang by her side, she would at least have some confidence.
However.
Just as she reached out to touch the gate—
A black figure appeared before her without warning, blocking her way like a ghost.
Tang Yu stood with his arms crossed, looking down at the woman before him.
"What's the matter?"
"You were talking so big just now. Are you already planning to run with your tail between your legs?"
The sudden blockade startled Liu Erlong into a shriek. She stumbled back several steps.
Her heart hammered in her chest, and a deep fear spread through her in an instant.
The boy was too fast. She hadn't even had a chance to react.
Tang Yu took a step forward, closing the distance between them.
His oppressive presence bore down on her like a tangible weight.
"You keep sticking up for that good-for-nothing."
"Do you still love that coward who only knows how to hide behind women?"
At his words, Liu Erlong instinctively bit her lip.
Though terrified, she forced herself to retort, driven by her fixation on Yu Xiaogang.
"He's not a coward!"
"Xiaogang simply isn't good at fighting. His wisdom is second to none!"
Tang Yu scoffed, looking at her as if she were the biggest joke in the world.
"Wisdom?"
"Then tell me, if he's not a coward, why didn't he come in here himself to get you? Why send a woman to stand up for him?"
"If he's not a coward, why did he leave you alone in such a dangerous place?"
Tang Yu's eyes gleamed with amusement as he raised a hand and pointed at the tightly shut gate of Wuyang Mansion.
"If he's not a coward, why did he abandon you?"
For a moment, Liu Erlong didn't know how to answer.
She spun around and wrenched open the heavy wooden gate of Wuyang Mansion.
The street outside was wide and level, sunlight spilling across the flagstones. There were few passersby.
But the agreed-upon corner was utterly deserted—not a soul in sight.
Seeing this, the servant guarding the entrance calmly reported what had happened.
"My lord."
"The middle-aged man who arrived with this lady heard your voice coming from the courtyard."
"He turned and bolted. He ran faster than a rabbit and didn't dare linger for even a moment."
At the servant's words, Liu Erlong froze in place.
The breeze from outside brushed against her, yet she felt cold all over.
He was gone.
Xiaogang had abandoned her again and fled on his own.
The scene from their wedding years ago surfaced in her mind once more, crystal clear.
That man had been just the same: faced with the slightest obstacle, he'd turned and walked away without so much as an explanation.
He had left her alone to face all the gossip and pain.
Now, history had repeated itself.
An overwhelming despair filled her chest in an instant.
It was as if the whole world had abandoned her, leaving her lonely and helpless.
Liu Erlong's legs began to give way. She leaned against the doorframe to keep herself upright.
She began questioning herself over and over.
For all these years, she had stayed true to that man and given him all her love and devotion.
Today, she had even risked her life to provoke the infamous Prince Wuyang.
Had any of it been worth it?
All she had gotten in return was betrayal and evasion, again and again. Nothing else.
Then she remembered how Tang Yu had ruthlessly exposed the flaws in Yu Xiaogang's theories back in the pavilion.
At that moment, the trust she had held onto for years finally crumbled.
Thinking back carefully, over the past several decades—
Xiaogang's so-called Ten Core Theories had done little more than impress low-ranking Soul Masters.
They had no real effect on true experts.
He couldn't even break through level thirty himself, so what gave him the right to guide others toward becoming Titled Douluo?
So the sacred body of knowledge she had worshipped for all these years really was nothing more than Yu Xiaogang's boastful way of hiding his own incompetence.
Two streams of tears slipped uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes.
Liu Erlong's gaze went blank, and it was as if every ounce of strength had been drained from her.
Nothing was more tragic than a heart that had died.
Just as the world around her seemed to sink into darkness—
A broad, strong hand suddenly reached out before her.
Tang Yu looked at the mature woman before him, bereft and broken. His voice remained calm, but it carried an unmistakable note of dominance.
"Be my woman."
"I, Tang Yu, will never abandon you."