The First Step Ashore: Cut Off the Love-Struck Brain First

"Fourteen is far too young. At that age, you can be high-spirited, arrogant, and look down on every setback with youthful vigor, but you are absolutely not suited to becoming someone's wife."

"Though I, Lu Xuan, do not care about worldly opinions and conventions, I still have my principles. Go. I will make things clear to Yu Yuanzhen."

Lu Xuan waved a hand, signaling for Liu Erlong to leave.

Liu Erlong stared blankly at him. Her deliberately bright red lips pressed together, but tears silently rolled down her cheeks as she pleaded:

"Your Excellency, you are a good man, but I have to do this. Please, just do me this favor and use me this once, all right?"

"You may command me however you wish. I will not complain in the slightest. Even if I bear a child in the future, if you have no intention of raising it, I will bring the child up myself..."

Lu Xuan: "..."

He imagined the scene: fifteen-year-old Liu Erlong holding an infant, still at the age when girls from his previous life would be attending middle school, already nursing a child.

And he, who ought to have been "riding the wind with a sword, roaming freely between heaven and earth," would have no choice but to become a stay-at-home father.

A chill ran through him instinctively.

Good lord. Lu Xuan had always thought there was nothing in heaven or earth that he feared. Thanks to Liu Erlong, he had effortlessly found something that scared him.

Outside the Sky Screen.

Yu Xiaogang shouted himself hoarse:

"Flender, are you still going to speak for that bitch? Lu Xuan had clearly rejected her, yet she still threw herself at him like some worthless slut!"

"I, Yu Xiaogang, am ashamed to have known a woman like her!"

Flender's eyes were swollen and bloodshot. He grabbed Yu Xiaogang by the collar, releasing the pressure of a Soul Saint as he enunciated every word:

"In this world, you are the least qualified to speak of Erlong!"

"She is braver than you. Back then, she stepped forward and endured all the slander alone. She is also more loyal than you. She kept herself pure for twenty years and remains a virgin even now. What about you? Have you ever been worthy of Erlong?"

Yu Xiaogang had never seen Flender like this before.

Under the pressure of a Soul Saint, Yu Xiaogang trembled violently. He even lost control of his bladder, and before Flender's murderous gaze, his lips quivered, but he ultimately did not dare say a word.

With a slap, Flender threw Yu Xiaogang aside and said coldly:

"I will tell Erlong every detail of what you did today. Her life has been bitter enough, and you are not worth her waiting for!"

While the brothers of Shrek Academy broke apart.

At Blue Tyrant Academy, Liu Erlong watched her former self beg Lu Xuan so humbly, and her eyes could not help reddening. The Sky Screen had ripped open the scars of her youth once more, flesh and bone alike.

The Sky Screen's timeline—

Knock, knock.

Someone knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Having received Lu Xuan's permission, Bibi Dong carefully pushed open the door. At a glance, she saw Liu Erlong sitting on the bed, dressed up with great care, now crying so pitifully that she looked like a pear blossom drenched in rain.

Saintess Bibi Dong twisted the corner of her clothes between her hands and asked timidly:

"Teacher, so the reason I cannot sleep on the bed is because I am not like her...?"

Lu Xuan's face darkened.

Bibi Dong actually dared to mock him like that. Sure enough, she appeared obedient on the surface, but inwardly she had a rebellious streak. She needed proper discipline!

Seeing an outsider enter—and another girl at that—Liu Erlong felt utterly humiliated and pulled the blanket over her head.

Lu Xuan reached out and tapped the air.

The blanket lifted away on its own. Liu Erlong was set neatly on the floor, then carried outside and shut behind the door. The entire sequence flowed in one smooth motion.

"I do not care about any of that. I am going to sleep."

Then Lu Xuan looked at Bibi Dong, signaling that she could get lost too.

Yet Bibi Dong briskly took out a straw mat from her storage soul tool, laid bedding over it, and said with a serious expression:

"Teacher, do not worry. I will stand guard tonight."

"I definitely will not let your innocence be taken!"

Lu Xuan had wanted to throw Bibi Dong out as well, but after thinking it over, he stroked his chin and said:

"Fine. Since you said you want to keep watch, then do not sleep tonight. Use meditation in place of sleep. I will be right beside you, so you will have no chance to slack off."

Bibi Dong: "..."

The next day, the sky was just beginning to brighten.

Lu Xuan stretched and got out of bed.

He glanced at Bibi Dong. She was still meditating and cultivating. He nodded slightly, then said:

"Come on. Wash up, then we will eat."

After breakfast.

Lu Xuan found Yu Yuanzhen and said calmly:

"Thank you for your hospitality, Sect Master Yu. That girl from yesterday was quite good, but I am focused solely on cultivation and have no interest in such sensual pleasures."

Yu Yuanzhen said cautiously:

"I only hope Your Excellency does not find the Blue Tyrant Sect's hospitality lacking..."

Lu Xuan said:

"Also, during this visit to the Blue Tyrant Sect, I would like to borrow your Thunder Pool to temper my disciple's body. She lacks practical experience."

Yu Yuanzhen agreed, though he hesitated as he asked:

"Very well. What level Thunder Pool does Your Excellency require?"

"The highest level. There is no need to arrange any elders. I can control the lightning; let me strike her... ahem, I will personally temper her."

Lu Xuan pondered for a moment, considering what would be appropriate to offer in exchange.

Just then.

A girl in fitted clothing with a high ponytail walked past them. Liu Erlong looked better in fitted clothes than in a dress, carrying the stubborn air unique to the young.

Liu Erlong also saw Yu Yuanzhen and Lu Xuan. She stepped forward and casually greeted Yu Yuanzhen, then bowed deeply to Lu Xuan.

Then, without saying a word, she turned to leave.

Lu Xuan clapped his hands.

"How about this? As payment, I will accept one person from your Blue Tyrant Sect as a registered disciple. This young lady will do."

A registered disciple did not take up one of Lu Xuan's slots, so there was no loss to him. As for personal disciples, they had to be the most talented on the continent, at the very least possessing Innate Full Spirit Power.

Yu Yuanzhen was overjoyed.

"Erlong, why are you not thanking His Excellency?"

Liu Erlong turned around, softly said, "Thank you," and then asked:

"Was that girl from yesterday also your disciple, Your Excellency Supreme Douluo?"

"Will I have to stay by your side from now on too?"

Lu Xuan shook his head.

"She is a personal disciple. You are only a registered disciple. Your talent is too poor; you are not qualified to become a personal disciple. A registered disciple merely bears the title. If I happen to encounter you, I can offer you some guidance."

"What is her talent?"

"Twin Martial Souls and Innate Full Spirit Power. As long as she remains alive, breaking through the limit is nearly inevitable in this life. As for you... Soul Douluo is probably your limit."

Lu Xuan took out a Ten-Thousand-Year Ginseng King and tossed it to Liu Erlong.

Then he touched her forehead with a fingertip.

The sword formulas of the Nine Swords of Dugu were completely imprinted into her mind.

Liu Erlong knelt and thanked him. Her eyes gazed deeply at Lu Xuan, as though she wanted to commit every detail of his face to memory.

She suddenly asked:

"If my talent is lacking, can I really never break through to a Titled Douluo?"

"If one day I do become a Titled Douluo, can I come find you? I do not ask to become your personal disciple. I simply feel that by then, I would want to see you."

Lu Xuan agreed readily.

"Sure."

"Where there is a will, there is a way. You have a streak of stubbornness and resilience in your nature; that is also your talent. As long as you do not put your mind on love and romance, you will eventually reach those heights and see a different kind of scenery."

"Remember: the first step ashore is to cut off the love-struck brain first!"

Outside the Sky Screen.

The audience fell silent one after another.

One person spoke first, and others soon responded.

"Although the Supreme Douluo kills people and soul beasts like they are nothing, why do I feel that he is a good person? To him, it is merely a small effort, but it could change that female tyrannosaur's entire life."

"I have a bad feeling instead. That female tyrannosaur was already violent enough. If she listens to the Supreme Douluo from now on, devotes herself entirely to cultivation, and cuts off love... why am I a little scared..."

"Holy crap, do you think the female tyrannosaur in the Sky Screen's timeline might really break through to Titled Douluo in the future? Then the Supreme Douluo truly would be the benefactor of her life."

"Where are the people who mocked the Blue Tyrant Sect just now? Come out! Sect Master Yu Yuanzhen of the Blue Tyrant Sect not only resolved a potential sect-destroying crisis, but also received a reward from the Supreme Douluo. He made an absolute killing!"

Blue Tyrant Academy.

Liu Erlong stared blankly at the Sky Screen, lost in thought.

"Cut off love, devote myself to cultivation, and go see that higher scenery?"

Lu Xuan's words pulled her free from the whirlpool of love.

She suddenly realized that she had been trapped in that narrow worldview of love for far, far too long—so long that she seemed to have lost herself...