Blue Tyrant Academy.
By the time Tang Yuehua's carriage entered the academy, night had completely fallen, as if the world were shrouded in a black curtain.
"I'm Tang Yuehua. I'm here to see your dean, Liu Erlong."
Tang Yuehua spoke to the gatekeeper.
She and Liu Erlong were very close, so nearly all the academy's gatekeepers recognized her. They let her into the academy at once.
Liu Erlong also made her way toward the thatched cottage deep within the academy, as familiar with the route as ever.
In this timeline, because of the engagement between Liu Erlong and Ning Xuan, she had not given the Blue Tyrant Academy away.
The Blue Tyrant Academy was still called the Blue Tyrant Academy.
But the academy's actual control had still been handed over to Flender and the others.
Liu Erlong had only kept the title of dean.
Before she even drew near, Tang Yuehua saw candlelight glowing inside the cottage, where two figures sat facing each other.
Just as Tang Yuehua was wondering who the other person was at such a late hour, a voice came from inside.
"Xiaogang, I'm so angry I could die!"
It was Liu Erlong's voice, full of indignation and resentment.
Then the other person was Yu Xiaogang?
Tang Yuehua slowed her steps and instinctively turned aside to listen.
"Third Sister, what happened?"
"Why did you call me over in such a rush so late at night?"
Yu Xiaogang's voice came from inside.
He sounded steady enough, but there was something unnatural about him.
As if he felt guilty and was wary, trying to dodge the issue.
He was completely different from Ning Xuan, whom she had just met.
Ning Xuan's words and manner were gracious and composed, displaying the calm confidence of a direct descendant of a great clan.
"That good-for-nothing actually wants to break off our engagement!"
Liu Erlong sounded furious, unable to accept it.
"He actually dared to bring up breaking off our engagement. What right does he have? What gives him the qualifications to ask me to break it off?"
"He's insulting me!"
"You don't like him, do you? Isn't breaking off the engagement perfect, then?"
This was Yu Xiaogang's voice again, tinged with delight.
Tang Yuehua, standing outside the door, was also slightly taken aback.
Ning Xuan actually wanted to break off the engagement?
No wonder he had reacted that way when she brought up Erlong.
"I don't like him, but that doesn't give him the right to ask me to break off our engagement!"
Liu Erlong said coldly.
"What's more, Xiaogang, can you marry me?"
Yu Xiaogang fell silent.
Their relationship was taboo.
It was an obstacle he could never cross, like a Heavenly Chasm.
Yet his relationship with Liu Erlong was very good now.
He got the thrill of secretly crossing that chasm, without having to shoulder any responsibility.
Although they had not yet gone that far the last time,
the furtive nature of it kept thrilling him every moment.
"If you could marry me, then escaping that good-for-nothing would naturally be best."
Liu Erlong's voice softened.
"But you can never marry me, can you?"
Yu Xiaogang fell silent again.
"So I need an identity to use as cover. As long as we're careful, who could ever find out about us? After all, you're my cousin."
Yu Xiaogang's body jolted.
Cousin.
Tang Yuehua, outside the cottage, widened her eyes in disbelief.
She had never known about this relationship.
The person Erlong wanted to give herself to for love, so she would have no regrets, was actually her own cousin?
"But now he's already set on breaking off the engagement. What should we do?"
Yu Xiaogang finally spoke, his voice low.
"I won't agree to it."
Liu Erlong replied coldly.
"He was the one who asked to get engaged to me in the first place, and now he wants to break it off. Does he really think I, Liu Erlong, am some discarded bargain?"
"Take me when he wants me, throw me away when he feels like it?"
"Even if the engagement really is broken off, I've done nothing wrong. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect will have to give me adequate compensation."
"But what if he finds out about us?"
Yu Xiaogang asked uncertainly.
That was simply his nature. To put it nicely, he was indecisive; to put it bluntly, he was spineless and useless.
"How could he possibly find out?"
Liu Erlong glared.
"What's more, nothing has happened between us, has it?"
"That's true. All right."
Yu Xiaogang immediately felt relieved.
"It's getting late, so I should head back."
He stood up and started toward the door, but Liu Erlong grabbed him and said,
"Xiaogang, don't go."
"In half a month, I'll be marrying that good-for-nothing."
"I want...I want...to give myself to you before then, so I won't have any regrets."
Liu Erlong's voice grew quieter and quieter as she spoke.
Yu Xiaogang fell silent, but in the end he still wrenched his hand free.
"Erlong, I'm just not ready yet."
With that, he was about to push open the door and leave.
Tang Yuehua, outside the cottage, panicked and quickly tried to find somewhere to hide.
But then she heard Liu Erlong's voice.
"Xiaogang, wait a moment."
Yu Xiaogang stopped.
He had already pushed open the cottage door, and in the moonlight, Tang Yuehua could see his face clearly.
It was an ordinary middle-aged face.
He had dark skin, close-cropped hair, and thick black-rimmed glasses. He was fairly tall, but neither his bearing nor his appearance could compare with Ning Xuan.
She truly didn't know how Erlong could have fallen for him-
loving him so ardently and passionately, without regard for propriety.
"Erlong, is there anything else? We can talk about it tomorrow."
Yu Xiaogang asked, his voice complicated.
"Xiaogang, don't take what I just said too much to heart."
She thought of the things she had said while insulting Ning Xuan.
She had called him a good-for-nothing over and over, and feared she might have touched on Yu Xiaogang's sore spot, so she quickly explained,
"Although your Martial Soul limits you and keeps you from advancing, that isn't your fault. You found another path, and now everyone respects you as the Theoretical Grandmaster."
Yu Xiaogang gave a bitter smile.
"That's the truth, too. I've gotten used to it."
"No, Xiaogang."
Liu Erlong quickly said,
"You're a genius, a natural genius of theory."
"How about this? I'll give you something, and after that, no one will dare call you a good-for-nothing again."
As she spoke, Liu Erlong flicked her hand over her Storage Soul Tool.
She took out a jade box and held it out to him,
"Xiaogang, I'm giving this to you. You'll definitely be able to use it to break through the shackles of your Martial Soul."
"What is this?"
Yu Xiaogang's eyes narrowed.
Hidden beyond the fence, Tang Yuehua's heart stirred as she made a guess.
"An Immortal Herb."
Sure enough, Tang Yuehua's heart began to pound.
"This Immortal Herb is called the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid. That good-for-nothing gave it to me as a betrothal gift, and now I'm giving it to you."
"Xiaogang, with this, you'll definitely be able to break through the shackles of your Martial Soul and fulfill your dream."
Tang Yuehua said with certainty.
An Immortal Herb?
Yu Xiaogang's eyes lit up.
He'd heard Liu Erlong mention something like this, but supposedly it wasn't very effective. Otherwise, Ning Xuan wouldn't still be stuck at Rank 79.
"He's a good-for-nothing, so of course it was useless to him. Giving an Immortal Herb to him was a complete waste, but you're different, Xiaogang."
Liu Erlong said with great disdain.
"With an Immortal Herb at your side, I can already see your future."
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