Ning Rongrong: Brother Ye Yuan~~

After finishing, Ning Rongrong did not hesitate to bring her finger to her mouth and bite down hard.

"Hiss..."

A bright red drop of blood immediately welled up at her fingertip.

Ning Rongrong dripped the blood onto the Bronze Cicada's shell.

The Bronze Cicada absorbed the blood, and the previously dim Soul Tool immediately lit up with a soft seven-colored glow.

Buzz...

After a faint sound, the Glazed Mother-Child Cicada used the Soul Power sealed within it to transform into a transparent streak of light. In an instant, it passed through the rear mountain barrier of Blue Ba Academy and flew toward the Spirit Temple in Heaven Dou City.

Watching that streak of light fly away, Ning Rongrong cradled her burning cheeks, her eyes filled with a sickly fervor. She could not help letting out a soft, giggling laugh:

"Heehee... Brother Xiaoyuan, you'll definitely like the gift Rongrong sent you, right?"

Beneath the shadow of an ancient tree outside the bamboo grove, Liu Erlong slowly opened her eyes.

A strange smile flickered within her beautiful, narrow phoenix eyes.

As a level-seventy-eight assault-type Soul Sage, Liu Erlong's senses were exceptionally sharp.

Ning Rongrong's little actions could not possibly escape her notice.

"Glazed Mother-Child Cicada... Hehe, Ning Fengzhi's precious daughter is actually a sickly little traitor working against her own family?"

The corners of Liu Erlong's lips rose slightly as she lazily leaned against the trunk. Her mature, voluptuous body traced a breathtaking curve beneath her cloth dress.

She was also a reborn person, so she naturally saw through Ning Rongrong's pathological obsession with Ye Yuan at a glance.

"Interesting..."

"Erlong! Erlong! Save me... Please save me..."

Just then, a faint, hoarse cry suddenly came from beyond the gates.

Yu Xiaogang looked like a lazy toad covered in pus-filled boils. Dragging his leg, which had already begun to blacken and ooze pus, he crawled into Blue Ba Academy with both hands and feet.

His clothes had long since been torn beyond recognition, and a rancid stench wafted from his entire body.

"Yu Xiaogang?"

Hearing the voice, Liu Erlong froze, her beautiful face briefly stunned.

Shock and grief quickly filled her beautiful eyes as she hurried toward the gate. Every step appeared rushed, but anyone watching carefully would have noticed that her footing remained steady, without the slightest trace of panic.

"Xiaogang! You... what happened to you?"

Upon reaching the gate, Liu Erlong abruptly stopped three steps away from Yu Xiaogang.

Looking at the mud-covered figure reeking of filth, covered in boils, with his twisted and blackened right leg, Liu Erlong felt her stomach churn. That nauseating rancid odor rushed straight into her head.

When Yu Xiaogang saw Liu Erlong emerge, an almost pathological ecstasy burst from his clouded eyes.

He panted heavily and struggled forward. His filthy hands, covered in black mud and dirty blood, suddenly reached for Liu Erlong's clean cloth shoes:

"Erlong... It's me! I'm dying! Hurry and take me inside! Hold me, quickly—I'm in so much pain..."

As that filthy hand, coated in thick sludge, reached toward her, every hair on Liu Erlong's body stood on end in an instant.

Her face turned pale, and her delicate body trembled slightly as she naturally shifted a step backward, narrowly avoiding Yu Xiaogang's hand.

"Xiaogang! Don't move! Your leg!!"

With reddened eyes and a hoarse voice, Liu Erlong shouted at Yu Xiaogang:

"The bones are all broken, and it's covered in filth from underground stagnant water. Don't exert yourself! If you pull on the meridians, this leg will be completely beyond saving!"

Her cry was filled with heartache and concern, perfectly explaining why she did not reach out to hold him.

"What are you two still standing there for?! Are you blind?!"

Liu Erlong turned and angrily berated the two stunned gatekeeper Soul Masters nearby, flames burning in her beautiful eyes:

"Bring the most stable stretcher! The Grandmaster's bones are shattered. Use gentle Soul Power to support him while carrying him—do not touch his wounds directly! Get the academy's best healing herbs. Go, now!!"

"Yes! Headmaster!!"

The two Soul Masters shuddered under Liu Erlong's authority and scrambled away to fetch a stretcher.

A moment later, Yu Xiaogang was supported by Soul Power and painfully shifted onto the stretcher.

All the way there, Liu Erlong bit her red lips and followed beside the stretcher with reddened eyes. At times, she reminded the Soul Masters to walk slowly; at others, she fussed over Yu Xiaogang's condition. Yet her own steps always remained one pace away from him.

Whenever Yu Xiaogang trembled on the stretcher and tried to grab her hand, Liu Erlong would pull her hand back in apparent panic and say reproachfully through tears:

"Xiaogang, your body is covered in crucial points that need medicine. The fire Soul Power in my hands is too violent—I'm afraid that if I touch you, our Soul Powers will clash and hurt you instead... Endure it a little longer. Once we reach the rear mountain, you'll be safe."

Hearing this, Yu Xiaogang felt both aggrieved and touched.

He only felt that although Erlong had a fiery temper, she considered everything for him so thoroughly. That restrained devotion greatly satisfied his vanity.

Half an hour later, inside the rear mountain's secret chamber.

"Teacher!!"

Supported by Titan, Tang San staggered to the doorway.

The moment he saw Yu Xiaogang on the stone bed, convulsing in pain, missing a leg, and reeking all over, Tang San felt his mind buzz. He dropped to his knees beside the bed with a thud and burst into tears:

"Teacher! How did you end up like this?! It's all this disciple's fault. This disciple failed to protect you!"

"Little San... Cough, cough... It really is you!"

Yu Xiaogang clutched Tang San's hand tightly. Master and disciple embraced and wept, looking as though they had been separated by life and death.

Ning Fengzhi, Chen Xin, and Dugu Bo stood to one side. Seeing the miserable master and disciple, they could not help sighing repeatedly.

Liu Erlong stood in the most conspicuous corner of the wooden house, her eyes red, looking as if she were frantic with worry yet completely at a loss.

Looking at Yu Xiaogang on the bed, she anxiously stomped her feet, then turned to Titan and Bai He.

"Brother Titan, Old Bai, hurry and help! There may be poison in the mud on Xiaogang's body. I'm a fire-attribute Soul Master, and my Soul Power is too violent—I simply can't help. Quickly use your Soul Power to clean the filthy clothes and mud from Xiaogang's body. I'll go outside and personally supervise the medicine being brewed!"

"Don't worry, Sister Erlong. Leave this rough work to us men. Go handle your business!"

Titan slapped his chest and agreed heartily.

"Xiaogang, bear with it. I'll watch them take care of you."

Liu Erlong gave Yu Xiaogang another pained look, then naturally turned and left the wooden house under the excuse of supervising the medicine, closing the door behind her.

The moment the door shut, Liu Erlong stood in the hallway's shadows. The heartbroken expression on her face vanished without a trace, replaced by a calmness born of utter disgust.

She took out a handkerchief that had been soaked by rainwater earlier and used flames formed from Soul Power to instantly burn it—and any trace of stench that might have brushed her fingertips—into ash.

So disgusting... Looking at that trash for one more second would probably cost me ten years of my life.