All the Pressure Comes From Second Sister Long

"Sister Erlong, still busy?"

"Isn't that a redundant question?"

Liu Erlong propped up her chin, watching Mo Li's movements.

Whenever she handled official business, Liu Erlong would always forget to eat or sleep. Most of the time, it was Mo Li who noticed and brought over packed meals.

Although she had told Mo Li many times not to bother, he never listened. Whenever he realized she hadn't gone to the cafeteria, he would bring her food and stay to chat for a while.

She didn't say it out loud, but she truly enjoyed these moments in her heart.

"You've worked hard, Sister Erlong."

"At least you have a conscience and still think of me."

"Sister Erlong, that really hurts my feelings. If it were anyone else, I wouldn't have bothered with you at all."

Mo Li acted as if his heart had been wounded, which made Liu Erlong chuckle.

He knew Liu Erlong had a sharp tongue but a soft heart, so he didn't take her words to heart at all.

However, upon hearing Mo Li's words, Liu Erlong's mood suddenly dampened, as if she had thought of something.

"What's wrong?"

Mo Li noticed the change in her mood and asked softly.

"It's nothing."

Liu Erlong shook her head. Seeing Mo Li's concerned gaze, she smiled slightly, her eyes softening as she reached out to stroke his hair.

"Tsk, I have to check if you're really Sister Erlong. You aren't a fake, are you?"

Mo Li feigned surprise and reached out to pinch her cheek. It was smooth and delicate, with an excellent texture, but he stopped at that and pulled his hand back.

Liu Erlong's fair, delicate cheeks instantly flushed with a blush, looking quite adorable. She then reached out and pinched Mo Li's face hard, saying with a mix of shame and annoyance:

"I'll show you if I'm real or not right now!"

After a bout of fussing, the two stopped simultaneously and looked at each other with a smile.

Mo Li leaned over to Liu Erlong's side, curiously glancing at the desk piled high with various documents like a small mountain.

He picked up a document at random and scanned it; it was a proposal for adding simulated cultivation environments. He flipped through other files, filled with rules and regulations, which made his head spin. He tossed the papers back, feeling a sudden loss of interest.

Liu Erlong took it all in. Seeing Mo Li go from full of interest to sighing in defeat, she felt as if she were looking at her own past self while working, and found it amusing.

She looked at Mo Li, who was sitting on the chair to her right, and asked, "Do you want to attend classes at the junior spirit master academy, or do you want to stay here at the academy?"

"Do I even have a choice?" Mo Li was a bit surprised. "Didn't you say you wanted to teach me yourself, Sister Erlong?"

If he had a choice, Mo Li would certainly prefer to cultivate on his own; the academy offered him the maximum amount of freedom.

"Although that is what I think, I still wanted to ask for your opinion."

"My opinion carries that much weight?" Mo Li wore an expression of surprise.

Liu Erlong glanced at him and smiled slightly. "It doesn't."

"Then aren't you just teasing me?" Mo Li looked at Liu Erlong helplessly, then immediately switched to a serious tone. "But of course, I would prefer for you to teach me, Sister Erlong."

"Sister Erlong is both strong and beautiful. Having you is enough; why would I want to go to an outside academy when our own is right here?"

"At least you have good taste."

Hearing Mo Li's subtle flattery, Liu Erlong was clearly quite pleased and nodded with satisfaction.

Her gaze wandered over Mo Li's face before she asked again, "Then tell me, how does our academy compare to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy?"

"Hmm?"

Leaning back in his chair, Mo Li clearly hadn't expected Liu Erlong to ask him this.

He pondered for a moment before answering honestly, "It certainly can't compare."

The Blue Tyrant Academy had only just started, relying entirely on her, a Spirit Saint dean. Its other teaching resources still lagged significantly behind established advanced spirit master academies.

If it were seven or eight years later, they might have a fighting chance.

After hearing Mo Li's answer, Liu Erlong nodded slightly. "You're right. Over these past three years, our academy has been going all out to build cultivation facilities. I believe that in less than two years, even if we can't match the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, we might not be far behind other advanced spirit master academies."

"However, in terms of teaching staff and reputation, we still have a gap compared to other advanced academies. That is why I intend to participate in this year's Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Tournament."

Liu Erlong turned her head to look at Mo Li with anticipation. Mo Li felt somewhat unnatural under her gaze; his intuition told him it couldn't be that simple. He laughed dryly:

"Why are you looking at me, Sister Erlong? You should discuss such things with the other teachers."

He always felt that Liu Erlong had an ulterior motive.

Liu Erlong sighed softly. "Unfortunately, we are also slightly lacking in the number of students. I'm afraid it will be quite difficult to achieve a good ranking in this tournament."

She changed the subject, looking at Mo Li with burning eyes.

"So, I want you to participate in the next Spirit Master Tournament with us."

Mo Li's eyes widened in realization. So this was where Sister Erlong had been leading him!

"The next Spirit Master Elite Tournament is still seven or eight years away! You aren't planning to put that kind of pressure on me this early, are you, Sister Erlong?"

Liu Erlong's red lips curled upward, and her delicate brows arched, making her look exceptionally radiant and spirited as she smiled and said, "I didn't say I was asking for your opinion; it's settled."

After a barrage of both soft and hard tactics, Mo Li finally conceded, sitting in his chair and nodding helplessly.

"Fine, fine, fine. I'll do as you say, Sister Erlong."

Given Liu Erlong's personality, if he didn't yield to her soft approach, he would likely be forced to endure her hard one soon enough.

"Aww, what a good boy!"

Hearing this, Liu Erlong immediately beamed, patting Mo Li's shoulder with a deep sense of satisfaction.

Mo Li offered a helpless smile; when she was with him, Liu Erlong always inadvertently revealed rare, vibrant emotions.

Their relationship could be described as something between an adoption and a sibling bond—strange, yet not awkward—and it seemed that only in front of him could Liu Erlong show her true self so freely.

Liu Erlong was naturally beautiful, but she usually presented a cold exterior, and combined with her somewhat fiery temper, people often found her difficult to approach.

Having arranged an eight-year-long mission for Mo Li, Liu Erlong felt much more at ease, though her happiness was built upon Mo Li's misery.

She casually opened the meal Mo Li had brought and began to eat on her own.

Although Mo Li was very "willing" to participate in the next Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament, she still had to solve the difficult problem of the tournament taking place three years from now.

"Sister Erlong, can our academy even scrape together seven participants?"

It wasn't that Mo Li didn't believe in Blue Tyrant Academy, but they were truly short on students at this stage.

When Liu Erlong first founded the academy, she established a rule to only recruit commoner spirit masters.

Consequently, the quality of the students' spirits and their innate talents were slightly inferior to those of other aristocratic spirit master academies.

However, Liu Erlong firmly believed that precisely because they came from commoner backgrounds, these students were more diligent and hardworking than those from large clans or noble families.

Under her leadership, this spirit of diligence, unique to Blue Tyrant Academy, gradually took shape.

In the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire, where land was worth its weight in gold, the pressure and resistance involved in establishing an academy exclusively for commoners could well be imagined.

Because of this, Mo Li held a great deal of admiration for Liu Erlong.

Hearing this, Liu Erlong paused her movements.

"That is precisely the first problem we are facing."

She gave a bitter smile.

"There are only eleven students in the advanced class right now."

"Only five of them will still meet the age requirements for the tournament in three years."

"But there are still three years left; if we can recruit suitable students during this time, then we must participate in this Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament!"

Mo Li nodded. In the original story, the Blue Tyrant Academy overcame strong opponents three years later to rank among the top eight, which was enough to prove that Liu Erlong's methods of running the academy were effective.

If he led the team, he was fully confident that they could win the championship.

"By the way, Sister Erlong, my spirit seems to have a small problem. When you come back tonight, could you take a look at it for me?"

"What kind of problem?"

Liu Erlong immediately turned her head to look at Mo Li.

"A small one. We can talk about it after you're done with your work."

"Then wait for me at home."

Liu Erlong hesitated for a moment before nodding.