Sparring with Liu Erlong

Yu Hong smiled and shook his head without saying anything.

Liu Erlong looked at Yu Hong, a defiant glint flashing in her eyes.

"Yu Hong, I want to spar with you!" Liu Erlong suddenly said.

" spar?" Yu Hong was a little surprised.

"Yes!" Liu Erlong nodded. "I want to see just how strong you are!"

She knew she definitely couldn't beat Yu Hong, but she still wanted to try.

She had never liked losing, even as a child. The stronger her opponent, the more she wanted to challenge them.

Yu Hong looked at the stubbornness in Liu Erlong's eyes. After a moment's silence, he nodded.

"All right."

"Great!" Liu Erlong jumped up excitedly, then hurried to the other side of the Martial Arts Arena, putting some distance between herself and Yu Hong.

"Yu Hong, don't you dare go easy on me!" she shouted.

"Don't worry, I won't," Yu Hong replied.

Liu Erlong drew a deep breath. The next moment, her Martial Soul possessed her.

"Come on!" Liu Erlong roared, launching the first attack.

Her first Soul Skill was Fire Dragon Breath. She opened her mouth and spewed a stream of searing flames that swept toward Yu Hong.

The flames came roaring in, their temperature scorching hot. An ordinary person touched by them would be badly burned.

But Yu Hong simply stood where he was, motionless.

Before Liu Erlong's Fire Dragon Breath could reach him, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon had already appeared.

The enormous white dragon looked down at the flames below, a flicker of disdain in its azure eyes.

It opened its mouth and let out a deep, rumbling dragon's roar.

The next moment, an invisible pressure burst from the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, blanketing the entire Martial Arts Arena.

The Blue-Eyes White Dragon easily blocked Liu Erlong's breath attack.

Not only that, Liu Erlong could feel her Martial Soul being suppressed.

"What?!" Liu Erlong cried in shock.

Her Martial Soul was being suppressed. How was that possible?!

Before she could react, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon had already opened its mouth.

A dazzling white light gathered within. It was the Blue-Eyes White Dragon's signature attack: Burst Stream of Destruction.

"Wait—" Liu Erlong tried to call for a halt, but it was already too late.

The white light shot from the Blue-Eyes White Dragon's mouth at astonishing speed.

Liu Erlong had no time to dodge. All she could do was watch as the white light flew toward her.

Just as it was about to hit her, Yu Hong appeared beside Liu Erlong and pulled her out of the way.

Yu Hong really hadn't expected Liu Erlong to just freeze up.

"Are you all right?" Yu Hong asked with concern, looking at the stunned Liu Erlong in his arms.

Liu Erlong leaned against Yu Hong, still unable to recover from that devastating beam of white light.

Her eyes were wide, her chest heaving. In that instant, she had truly thought she was going to die.

But at the most perilous moment, a warm, strong hand had wrapped around her waist and carried her away from the brink of death.

She slowly raised her head and looked at Yu Hong.

Sunlight streamed down from the Martial Arts Arena's dome, falling across Yu Hong's profile and outlining its clean, sharp lines.

His expression was calm. There was no smugness, no reproach—he was simply earnestly checking whether she was hurt.

Liu Erlong felt her heart skip a beat.

Then it started racing wildly, as though it had lost control.

Thump, thump, thump.

Each beat was so forceful that she could clearly hear the pounding in her chest.

It was nothing like the heated thrill of battle. This was a strange, unfamiliar flutter that left her flustered.

"I... I'm fine!" Liu Erlong pushed Yu Hong away and took two steps back.

Her face turned crimson, even the skin on her neck taking on a faint pink hue.

She lowered her head, not daring to look Yu Hong in the eyes again. She had no idea what to do with her hands, so she finally clasped them behind her back and twisted them together.

"Y-your attack just now was way too much!" she stammered, her voice an octave higher than usual. "I nearly died!"

Yu Hong raised an eyebrow, a hint of helplessness in his voice. "You were the one who said not to go easy on you."

"I—" Liu Erlong opened her mouth, then realized she really had said that. She was left speechless.

She turned away with a huff, her long black hair whipping through the air in an arc.

Liu Erlong's heart was still racing, so fast she wondered whether she had some strange illness.

She pressed a hand to her chest, trying to quiet her disobedient heart, but the harder she tried, the more noticeable that tingling sensation became.

"Are you really all right?" Seeing her flushed face, Yu Hong thought she might have been caught in the attack's shockwave. "Do you want to rest for a while?"

"No!" Liu Erlong practically yelled. Realizing she'd overreacted, she lowered her voice and added, "I really don't."

She drew a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.

Remembering how thoroughly she'd been crushed, Liu Erlong said, "Yu Hong, you... just you wait! One day, I'll beat you!"

Yu Hong paused, then laughed.

"All right. I'll be waiting."

Looking at Yu Hong's smile, Liu Erlong felt a little conflicted.

She knew Yu Hong was just humoring her.

Given the gap between them, it would probably be ages before she could beat him.

But she wouldn't give up.

She, Liu Erlong, had never liked losing, even as a child. The more impossible an opponent seemed to beat, the more she wanted to challenge them.

"Yu Hong, starting today, you're my target!" Liu Erlong said earnestly. "I'll train with everything I've got. One day, I'll catch up to you!"

Yu Hong looked at Liu Erlong's serious expression and nodded.

"I believe you can do it."

Liu Erlong's face reddened slightly, and she hurriedly turned away.

"Hmph. Just you wait and see!"

She spoke defiantly, but in her heart, she had already begun to admire Yu Hong.

Yu Hong was so strong that it was almost despairing.

But that was precisely why she wanted to catch up to him all the more.

"By the way, Yu Hong." Liu Erlong suddenly remembered something and turned to ask, "What did those words you recited when you summoned your Martial Soul mean?"

"Oh, those." Yu Hong smiled. "They're the incantation for summoning the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Saying them makes it stronger."

It was purely because of his chuunibyou phase. There was no other reason.

"Really?" Liu Erlong's eyes lit up. "Does my Fire Dragon Martial Soul have an incantation?"

"I... don't really know." Yu Hong shook his head. "Every Martial Soul has a different incantation. You can try coming up with one yourself."

"Okay! I'll try as soon as I get back!" Liu Erlong said excitedly.

Watching her excitement, Yu Hong shook his head helplessly.

That girl really was so innocent.

"Come on. I'll show you around the clan," Yu Hong said.

"Okay!" Liu Erlong replied with a happy nod.

After they left the Martial Arts Arena, Yu Hong began showing Liu Erlong around the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

Yu Hong introduced her to places like the clan's Library and Cultivation Room.