Outside the Principal's Office at Blue Tyrant Academy.
Yu Xiaogang shielded Lang Yi behind him, gritting his teeth.
He stubbornly refused to let Liu Erlong lay a hand on him.
Liu Erlong's eyes were red. She wanted to tear Lang Yi to pieces, but with Yu Xiaogang blocking her, she dared not use even a trace of Soul Power.
She could only wave her hands, repeatedly trying to claw at Lang Yi.
Lang Yi was a little frightened, both arms wrapped across his chest.
He turned sideways and hid behind Yu Xiaogang.
Fear and alarm kept spilling into his eyes.
"Lang Yi, are you a man or not? If you're a man, face me in a fair fight!"
In the sky nearby, Xuan Zi held a chicken drumstick in one hand, tearing into it with great bites, and an Image Recording Stone in the other.
Dressed in a dark gray gown, Zhang Lexuan stood silently beside Xuan Zi.
Xuan Zi sealed off the surrounding space with Soul Power to keep their voices from leaking out.
Then he laughed heartily and explained to Zhang Lexuan.
"See that? According to my intelligence, this woman once had a romance with Yu Xiaogang. But do you know something?"
Zhang Lexuan was a little puzzled. Although the Grandmaster was notorious in her eyes, he still had some knowledge to his name.
After all, she also knew that Yu Xiaogang had spent a long time in Spirit Hall and learned a great deal from its books.
Whether he had stolen it or pieced it together.
It was normal enough for him to have won Liu Erlong's affection through his knowledge.
Besides, they even had a Martial Soul Fusion Technique.
Why would Xuan Zi ask her a question like that?
Xuan Zi put on a somewhat inscrutable air and shook his head.
He pointed at Liu Erlong with the stripped chicken bone.
As Zhang Lexuan followed his gesture, he slowly spoke.
"Her Martial Soul is a fire dragon. You know that, little Lexuan."
"Do you know what Martial Souls could mutate into a fire dragon?"
Zhang Lexuan lowered her gaze and pondered briefly.
"Fire-attribute flood dragon or serpent Martial Souls, or dragon Martial Souls of the same rank?"
Xuan Zi nodded, agreeing with her answer.
"Then what's the name of this academy?"
Zhang Lexuan froze.
"Her Martial Soul is a mutated Martial Soul of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon? Wait, I remember Yu Xiaogang was..."
Xuan Zi chuckled.
"That's right. This little crew-cut fellow wanted to marry his own paternal cousin."
Xuan Zi glanced at the drumstick he had finished and casually tossed it away.
Then he pulled an even larger one from his storage space, its fried surface entirely coated in amber-gold sauce.
Its fragrance wafted into their noses.
Xuan Zi took two deep sniffs, then bit off a mouthful, satisfaction spreading across his face.
"That crew-cut fellow has at least some knowledge. Didn't he know that, in that era, a fire dragon Martial Soul could only have been a mutated Martial Soul from their Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan?"
Zhang Lexuan's delicate brows knitted slightly, and her entire presence grew colder.
"No wonder the Young Master wants to toy with Yu Xiaogang. I originally thought he had simply angered the Young Master. For a while, I even wanted to just kill him and be done with it."
"Who knew this scum would disregard all morals and marry his own cousin for personal gain?"
"Fortunately, it failed in the end. As expected of the Young Master, he sees far ahead. Simply killing someone like this really wouldn't be appropriate."
Xuan Zi said nothing, but poured ever more Soul Power into the Image Recording Stone in his left hand.
Liu Erlong was roaring at that moment.
She was furious.
She loved Xiaogang so deeply. For his sake, she had remained unmarried for more years than she could count.
Every night, she endured unspeakable loneliness.
That loneliness had lasted for many years.
Heaven only knew how she had made it through.
Now, she had finally met the Xiaogang she had yearned for, and could reunite with Boss Fu to form the Golden Iron Triangle once more.
She should have been overjoyed.
But Lang Yi's appearance had shattered all that happiness.
This man had come from who knew where. He was effeminate, his Soul Power was low, and his Soul Rings weren't worth a damn.
Yet for some reason, he was especially close to Xiaogang.
Their relationship had long since gone beyond ordinary friendship.
A woman's sixth sense was always accurate. How could she not have caught a whiff of it?
But she had endured it.
After all, she wasn't sure whether her suspicions were true.
Until after she had arranged accommodations for the Shrek group.
She saw Xiaogang and Lang Yi after their baths, dressed in thin clothes.
They were walking down the corridor, chatting and laughing, and every so often Lang Yi would reach out, wanting to put an arm around her Xiaogang.
What was even more hateful was this.
From beginning to end, Yu Xiaogang never showed the slightest impatience or disgust.
Liu Erlong had always had an explosive temper, and now she could no longer restrain herself.
She charged straight at them, ready to erupt.
That was how the present scene had come about.
By now, Yu Xiaogang was growing impatient with holding her back.
With a roar, he shoved Liu Erlong hard.
Liu Erlong froze, unable to react before she was pushed to the ground.
Her face was filled with disbelief.
Her lips parted slightly, and she seemed to have turned to stone.
"Xiaogang, why? Why!"
Her eyes began to redden, as though tears would come pouring out the next second.
Yu Xiaogang had calmed down by then, and inwardly realized things had gone wrong.
He had never seen Liu Erlong lose control like this.
He had only meant to stop the fight, but for some reason, when he saw Lang Yi trembling behind him...
Courage and an inexplicable sense of disgust surged into his heart.
And he had acted as he did.
The prolonged pushing and arguing had tired him too, and he was panting slightly.
His mind raced, searching for a solution.
A flash of inspiration struck.
He immediately extended a hand, gesturing for her to stop.
"Erlong, I don't know what's gotten into you."
"Lang Yi is the most important friend in my life. He's also the man who saved my life."
"Why would you rush over and treat him like this?"
"Now that I know you're this sort of person, perhaps I, Yu Xiaogang, gave my heart to the wrong person long ago."
Yu Xiaogang spoke with a deliberately fierce expression.
As the words left his mouth, his expression kept changing.
From his initial shock and anger to confusion, and finally hurt and acceptance.
His performance was utterly lifelike.
Liu Erlong truly believed him.
Perhaps her lovesick mind had taken over as well.
Without another word, she rushed forward and hugged Yu Xiaogang from behind.
"Xiaogang, it was my fault. I was wrong. Please don't leave!"
Yu Xiaogang's steps faltered, but then he seemed even more determined to walk away.
Liu Erlong clung tightly to him.
Seeing that the moment was about right.
Yu Xiaogang let out a long sigh.
"Very well. I'll forgive you."
It clearly sounded somewhat like an elder forgiving a junior, or even a perfunctory reply.
Yet Liu Erlong seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw.
Xiaogang forgave me. He still has me in his heart!
Then even more self-reproachful apologies spilled endlessly from her lips.
Yu Xiaogang said nothing, but there was a trace of bewilderment in his mind.
His feelings for Lang Yi were growing stronger and stronger.
That affection seemed to be gradually transforming into something else.
It made him instinctively want to stand up for Lang Yi whenever he was wronged or bullied.
Even his feelings for Liu Erlong, and for Bibi Dong before her...
Were gradually fading, even turning into a trace of disgust.
At the same time, Lang Yi's ordinary, even somewhat ugly features and slightly plump figure were gradually becoming attractive in his mind.
What's happening to me?
I feel like... I've fallen for him?