"Yu Xiaogang, you can't marry her!"
The newcomer was none other than Yu Luomian, the second-in-command of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
Yu Xiaogang frowned. "Why not? Second Uncle, Erlong is the woman I love. Why can't I marry her?"
Liu Erlong snapped angrily, "Who are you? What gives you the right to interfere in our affairs?"
Yu Luomian let out a cold laugh and hurled a cruel truth at them. "Because she's my daughter! Liu Erlong, given your family relationship, how could you possibly marry?"
"What?!" Yu Xiaogang's face instantly turned deathly pale, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"No... That can't be..."
Liu Erlong stood frozen, the flowers slipping from her hand. She didn't even notice.
"You're saying... I'm your daughter? And Xiaogang and I..."
The image froze on their shocked, bewildered, anguished faces.
(Emotion Point +40 from First Cute Bunny for shock)
(Emotion Point +50 from Pagoda Suppresses River Demon for bewilderment)
[Pagoda Suppresses River Demon: No way... This is way too melodramatic!]
[I Am Not Yanzi: Finding out on your wedding day that you're... melodrama +1]
[Begonia Blossoms: How tragic~]
[No Petting Cats: Tragedy.]
Even Zhu Zhuqing, who was usually so quiet, couldn't help sending two words.
[First Cute Bunny: Oh my god! How could this happen...]
[Fire-Breathing Dragon: ...]
Liu Erlong bit her lip so hard her nails dug deep into her palm. That day, she fell from heaven straight into hell.
[Most Beautiful Pope: Heh, so that's how it is. This really is the perfect test of human nature.]
Bibi Dong's tone remained calm, but her words were unmistakably scornful.
Before Liu Erlong could strike back, Ye Qiong played the third clip.
[Ding! Group Owner "Face-Tanking Ultimate" uploaded video file The Golden Iron Triangle: Parting Ways]
On their wedding night, inside a secret chamber.
Yu Xiaogang's face was filled with anguish and turmoil.
"Xiaogang..."
Liu Erlong's eyes were red-rimmed as she clutched his arm tightly.
"So what if we're related? I don't care what the world thinks!"
But Yu Xiaogang suddenly shoved her away.
"No! Erlong, we can't do this! The entire Soul Master World will despise us! I can't let you suffer that kind of humiliation with me!"
"I'm not afraid!" Liu Erlong cried. "I just want to be with you!"
"But I am!"
Yu Xiaogang roared, "My family has already cast me out once. I can't become a laughingstock across the entire Soul Master World! Besides... Flender likes you too. He can give you more happiness than I can. You'll be better off with him than with me!"
"You bastard!"
Liu Erlong froze, then flew into a rage. "You're the one I love, not Flender! How can you say something like that?"
Yu Xiaogang closed his eyes and steeled himself. "I've made up my mind."
That night, Yu Xiaogang left behind a letter that read: "Erlong, forgive my cowardice. The world won't accept us, so let go. Find someone who can give you a stable life, and live well. Don't think of me."
The clip ended with Liu Erlong screaming and sobbing in the empty bridal chamber. "Yu Xiaogang! You coward! Get back here!"
For nearly twenty years afterward, she built Blue Tyrant Academy by herself and devoted all her energy to it. Yet in the lonely hours of the night, she would always weep quietly over Yu Xiaogang's old belongings.
Yu Xiaogang, meanwhile, had retreated to Notting Academy to wallow in self-pity, never once looking back.
[Face-Tanking Ultimate: All right, that's the end of the story.]
[Face-Tanking Ultimate: Now I'll give you all my summary and brutally honest take.]
[Face-Tanking Ultimate: You three—what happened twenty years ago was, to put it simply—]
[Face-Tanking Ultimate: Yu Xiaogang was a calculating bastard!]
[Face-Tanking Ultimate: All that talk about his family looking down on him, about a once-promising Martial Soul Mutation genius falling into obscurity—it was all just setup! The moment he met you, Liu Erlong, he worked out the whole equation: top-tier strength, Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon bloodline, and a woman completely devoted to him.
[Face-Tanking Ultimate: What kind of love is that? It was the most successful investment of his life! Then he found out at the wedding that you were... Hahaha, that's what you call an "investment gone bust"! He didn't flee with his bags in the middle of the night because his heart was broken. He was cutting his losses! What he feared wasn't this—it was that this would turn him into a complete laughingstock, leaving him no chance of making a name for himself in the Soul Master World! He used your pain as a stepping stone for himself. Get it?]
(Emotion Point +200 from Fire-Breathing Dragon for anger)
[I Am Not Swallow: Awesome! The Group Owner's take is so spot-on!]
[Face-Tanking Ultimate: And you, Liu Erlong, you're a self-dramatizing actress, moved by your own performance!]
[Face-Tanking Ultimate: Waiting twenty years? Hah! You were forging yourself a saint's halo! You even renamed the academy "Blue Tyrant," just to make sure the whole world knew.
[Face-Tanking Ultimate: You weren't waiting for him. You were waiting for him to kneel before you and repent someday, so you could cash in your twenty years of "devotion," with interest! This isn't love at all. It's a carefully engineered emotional hostage situation, and your hostage is Yu Xiaogang's guilt! You turned yourself into a living monument to chastity—not for him, but so you could stand on the moral high ground, always in the right, always the victim, and always able to condemn and control him with righteous indignation!]
(Emotion Point +400 from Fire-Breathing Dragon for fury)
[Pagoda Suppresses River Demon: +1! That just opened my eyes!]
[Face-Tanking Ultimate: As for Flender, he's the most devious of the three!]
[Face-Tanking Ultimate: Why pretend to be the devoted big brother? He voluntarily stepped aside at the wedding and even officiated? Let me tell you, that's called cashing out from a position of strength! He lost on the love market, so he immediately turned around and started shorting the stock, switching to "brotherly loyalty" and "selfless sacrifice"! He made a killing! From then on, Liu Erlong owed him a "debt of protection," and Yu Xiaogang owed him a "debt of mercy for not avenging the woman he stole." He lost none of the real benefits, yet gained two enormous favors for free, securing himself the judge's seat in your relationship! His silence wasn't pain. He was savoring it! Savoring the fact that you both owed him, savoring the feeling of always being right, always being noble!]
[Face-Tanking Ultimate: All three of you are calculating schemers!]
[Face-Tanking Ultimate: One calculates his prospects, one calculates her moral capital, and one calculates emotional debts. What Golden Iron Triangle? I'd call it a chain of ironclad ships! With guilt, indebtedness, and self-righteous devotion, you've locked the three of yourselves onto one sinking vessel. None of you can have a good life, yet you all think you're so noble, so tragic!]
(Emotion Point +500 from Fire-Breathing Dragon for fury!)
Ye Qiong's scathing remarks struck like a string of thunderclaps, setting off an uproar in the group.
The entire group chat fell silent.
Everyone had been stunned by this sharp, brazen analysis that cut straight to the soul.
(Emotion Point +150 from Pagoda Suppresses River Demon for shock)
(Emotion Point +180 from 6G Sky Wing for shock)
(Emotion Point +120 from Heavenly King Covers Earth Fox for shock)
After a few seconds of silence, the group erupted.
Before you continue