Liu Erlong's fury

Tang San's pole vault performance caused a sensation throughout the academy. The next day, more than a dozen students came to the courtyard to learn pole vaulting from him. Tang San taught them for an entire morning with an expressionless face, then realized he was still better suited to practicing alone-with so many people, there wasn't enough vegetable patch to trample. What Tang San didn't know, however, was that his performance had also caught the attention of someone unexpected.

That person was neither a student nor a teacher, but the most unusual presence at Heaven Dou Royal Academy-Liu Erlong.

Liu Erlong was a guest elder at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon as her martial soul, and a level seventy-eight Soul Saint. Her strength was second only to the dean's, but even the dean feared her temper. Some said a man had hurt her when she was young, making her volatile; others said she had been born that way, and anyone who provoked her was in for trouble; still others said she was actually one of the Golden Iron Triangle, but had left them for certain reasons and come alone to Heaven Dou Royal Academy as a guest elder. No one knew the truth. Everyone knew only this-Liu Erlong was not to be provoked. Provoke her, and at best you would get a beating; at worst, you would end up in the hospital.

Today, Liu Erlong was in a bad mood. No, an exceptionally bad mood. The reason was simple-she had received a letter from another member of the Golden Iron Triangle. It said Yu Xiaogang was coming to Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

Yu Xiaogang, her older paternal cousin, was the man she had loved all her life, and the man who had hurt her all her life. She had waited for him for so many years, only to be met with evasion and rejection, every time.

Liu Erlong tore the letter to shreds and threw it out the window. The scraps scattered through the wind like snowflakes. She stood at the window, her chest heaving, fury burning in her eyes-the flames of anger had burned for far too long, and today they would finally erupt.

On Heaven Dou Royal Academy's training grounds, the students were training as usual. Suddenly, the ground began to shake. It wasn't an earthquake; someone was approaching. The footsteps were as heavy as a pile driver, each step making the ground tremble. The students looked up and saw a woman approaching from a distance.

The woman appeared to be in her thirties, tall and dressed in tight leather that outlined her voluptuous curves. Her dark purple hair was tied in a neat ponytail, and her features were delicate, but her expression was fierce, like a leopardess ready to pounce on her prey at any moment. Most importantly, blue-violet lightning coiled around her, crackling as it scorched the stone paving beneath her feet black. The pressure of a level seventy-eight Soul Saint poured out without restraint, making the entire training ground tremble.

The students scattered in terror. "T-Teacher Liu!" "Run! Teacher Liu's gone mad!" "Help!"

Liu Erlong reached the center of the training ground, threw back her head, and let out a long cry. Blue-violet lightning surged from her body, striking in every direction. Training dummies shattered, wooden posts were scorched, and stone blocks split. The entire training ground looked as though it had been struck by lightning, a complete wreck.

"Yu Xiaogang! You bastard!" Liu Erlong roared as she unleashed lightning. "I waited for you for so many years! You won't even spare me a glance! What's so great about your research? What's so great about your theories? Are they more important than me?"

No one dared approach her. Everyone kept far away. Liu Erlong was the only one left raging on the training ground, lightning flying everywhere, the earth scorched black, and the smell of burning filling the air.

Yi Yun was lying in the courtyard, basking in the sun, when he suddenly felt the ground shake.

"What happened?" Xiao Wu ran out of the house.

"No idea. Sounds like someone's fighting." Yi Yun sat up and looked in the direction of the tremors-toward the training ground.

Zhu Zhuqing came out as well, her brow slightly furrowed. "Such powerful soul power fluctuations."

"Level seventy-eight. A Soul Saint," Yi Yun said. "There should only be one person at that level in this academy."

"Who?"

"Liu Erlong."

Ning Rongrong rushed out of the house, her face deathly pale. "Handsome Master, something's wrong! Teacher Liu's gone mad! She's attacking everything on the training ground, and no one dares go near her!"

Tang San stood up in the vegetable patch, still holding a watering can. "Who's Liu Erlong?"

"Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul, level seventy-eight Soul Saint, explosive temper. Anyone who dares provoke her is in for trouble." Ning Rongrong spoke rapidly. "I don't know what's gotten into her today. She seems to be cursing someone named Yu Xiaogang. Who's Yu Xiaogang?"

Tang San's eyelid twitched. Yu Xiaogang? Isn't that my teacher in name? After transmigrating to the Douluo Continent, he had studied at Nuoding Academy, but he had read quite a few of Yu Xiaogang's theories. How had Yu Xiaogang become involved with Liu Erlong?

"Let's take a look." Yi Yun stood and brushed the dust off his clothes.

"Brother Yun, are you going to stop her?" Xiao Wu caught his sleeve. "A level seventy-eight Soul Saint. Aren't you scared?"

Yi Yun smiled. "Level seventy-eight? I could send three of them flying with one slap."

Liu Erlong was still raging on the training ground. She had already destroyed half of it. The dummies were shattered, the wooden posts scorched, the stone blocks cracked, and the ground pitted as though it had been bombarded by artillery. Students hid in the distant teaching building and peeked through the windows. The teachers didn't dare approach either, and the dean paced anxiously in circles, helpless.

Liu Erlong was a level seventy-eight Soul Saint. The dean was the only person in the academy who could defeat her, but he was a theoretician and poor at actual combat. All they could do was watch helplessly as Liu Erlong tore the place apart.

"Yu Xiaogang! You coward!" Liu Erlong sent another bolt of lightning crashing into the flagpole beside the training ground, bringing it down with a thunderous crash.

"What are you coming to Heaven Dou City for? What are you coming to see me for? Haven't you hurt me deeply enough already?"

The more she spoke, the more agitated she became, and the lightning grew ever denser. She was like the center of a thunderstorm. She prepared to unleash an attack with an even greater range-her ninth soul skill, Thunder Dragon Roar.

It was her strongest strike, capable of destroying everything within a radius of a hundred zhang. The dean's face went deathly pale. "It's over. The academy's done for."

Just then, a languid voice came from the edge of the training ground.

"Auntie, cool down."

Silence fell. Everyone turned at once toward the voice.

A young man in white stood at the edge of the training ground, both hands in his pockets, looking as relaxed as if he were out for a stroll. A white jade hairpin held his hair behind his head, and the skirts of his robes fluttered gently in the wind. He radiated a composure utterly at odds with the chaos around him.

The students gaped. "I-Isn't that Yi Yun?" "Does he have a death wish? Going near Teacher Liu at a time like this?" "Come back! Teacher Liu will beat you to death!"

Liu Erlong froze too. As she looked at the young man in white, her gaze shifted from confusion to wariness. Under the pressure of her lightning, his expression remained unchanged. Not even a strand of his hair stirred. Her lightning dissipated automatically three feet away from him, as though blocked by an invisible wall.

"Who are you?" Liu Erlong's voice was hoarse.

"Yi Yun. Just passing by."

"Passing by? Can't you see I'm furious? Get lost if you don't want to die!"

"I can. That's why I came to talk you down." Yi Yun took a step forward.

Liu Erlong narrowed her eyes. "Talk me down? What right does a wet-behind-the-ears brat like you have to talk me down?"

"No particular right. I just can't stand watching this." Yi Yun took another step forward. "Keep this up, and you'll tear the academy down. Once you do, where will the students attend classes? Where will the teachers teach? Where will the dean work?"

"What's that got to do with me?"

"Everything, of course. Tear down the academy, and the students will hate you, the teachers will hate you, the dean will hate you, and all of Heaven Dou City will hate you. You started out in a bad mood, only to end up public enemy number one. What a losing deal."

Liu Erlong gritted her teeth without speaking. She knew Yi Yun was right, but she couldn't control herself. A fire burned in her chest. It had burned for so many years, and today it had finally found an outlet.

"You don't understand." Liu Erlong's voice dropped.

"I do."

"What do you understand?"

"You've waited for someone for years, but he keeps avoiding you. He gives you no response, no hope, and no chance to give up on him." Yi Yun looked into Liu Erlong's eyes. "You hate him, but you hate yourself even more for being unable to let him go."

Liu Erlong's lips began to tremble, and her eyes reddened.

"You're talking nonsense!"

"No, I'm not." Yi Yun took another step forward. "You're wounded. Not in your body, but in your heart. That wound is called Yu Xiaogang."

"Shut up!" Liu Erlong roared, finally releasing the lightning she had been gathering.

A blue-violet lightning dragon roared out of her body, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws as it lunged at Yi Yun. This was her strongest attack, the full-force strike of a level seventy-eight Soul Saint. Wherever the lightning dragon passed, the ground was torn up and the air ripped apart.

Yi Yun stood where he was. He didn't dodge, retreat, or even move. He raised his right hand, opened his palm, and gently caught it. The lightning dragon struck his palm-and dissipated. Like a drop of water falling into the sea, like a snowflake falling into a furnace, it vanished without a sound or a trace.

Silence fell once more.

The students' mouths hung open, the teachers' eyes widened, and the cane in the dean's hand fell to the ground. Liu Erlong froze too. Someone had caught her strongest attack with one hand. And he hadn't even furrowed his brow.

Yi Yun withdrew his hand and brushed nonexistent dust from his palm. He looked up at Liu Erlong, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. "Auntie, cool down."

"Who are you calling Auntie?!" Liu Erlong practically roared.

"Then should I call you Big Sister?"

"Who are you calling Big Sister?!"

"Then what should I call you? Beautiful?"

Liu Erlong's face instantly reddened. Not from shyness, but anger. In all her years, no one had ever teased her like this. Yet she found that she didn't dislike him. In fact, she even felt a little-admiration.

"Who exactly are you?" Liu Erlong's voice grew a little calmer.

"Yi Yun. An ordinary person."

"An ordinary person can catch my Thunder Dragon Roar with one hand?"

"Mm. A relatively powerful ordinary person."

Liu Erlong took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. The fire in her chest still burned, but not as fiercely as before. He had caught her strongest attack without mocking or lecturing her. All he had said was, "Cool down." Suddenly, she felt that perhaps she really should cool down.

"You can go." Liu Erlong turned around. "I'm done fighting."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Then don't tear anything else down. Keep going, and there won't be an academy left."

"I said I'm done, so I'm done! Will you stop nagging?"

Yi Yun smiled, turned, and left. When he reached the edge of the training ground, Xiao Wu ran over and caught his hand. "Brother Yun, are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

"You looked so handsome just now."

"When don't I?"

Xiao Wu smiled, her eyes curving into crescents.

Zhu Zhuqing stood beside them, her eyes brighter than usual as she looked at Yi Yun. Tang San stood at the very back, silently gnawing on a carrot. He realized that whenever Yi Yun persuaded anyone, he did it with his fists. First he beat you into submission, then he reasoned with you. The process was rough, but it worked very well.

Liu Erlong stood alone on the ruined training ground, watching Yi Yun walk away. The image of him catching her strongest attack with one hand replayed over and over in her mind. Someone had caught the full-force strike of a level seventy-eight Soul Saint with a single hand, without even lighting up a soul ring. Just what level of powerhouse was he?

Liu Erlong didn't know, but she knew one thing-perhaps he could help her. Help her let go of Yu Xiaogang, help her escape the love that had tormented her for half her life.

"Yi Yun..." Liu Erlong murmured, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.