Awakening and Letting Go
Yan Zu took a deep breath, suppressing his anxiety and a trace of guilt.
If it weren't for her words that night provoking Liu Erlong, she might not have lost control of her emotions and acted so recklessly.
Little Jade, perched on his shoulder, also seemed very anxious, gently rubbing against Liu Erlong's cold hand.
"Little Jade, Fourth Soul Skill, Life's Praise!" Yan Zu instructed, while simultaneously using the healing techniques of the Nine Yin Manual to treat Liu Erlong.
The meridians, internal organs, and chaotic Soul Power within Liu Erlong's body, which had been broken due to the forced outburst and severe blows, began to be forcibly sorted out, repaired, and nourished.
Little Jade's auspicious aura was like the gentlest hands, soothing her emotional wounds and turmoil.
The treatment process is extremely taxing on Soul Power and mental energy.
Sweat poured from Yan Zu's forehead, and his face grew paler and paler, but his eyes remained resolute as he manipulated life energy, repairing Liu Erlong's battered body bit by bit.
After an unknown amount of time, a trace of color finally returned to Liu Erlong's pale face, and her weak breathing became steady and long.
Yan Zu slowly withdrew his hand, almost completely exhausted, and leaned against the bed to catch his breath. Little Jade also lay wearily at his feet.
After a while, Liu Erlong's long eyelashes fluttered a few times, and she slowly opened her eyes.
Her eyes were initially somewhat dazed, but then they cleared, and she felt that although her body was still weak, it was now stable.
And seeing her Soul Power and vitality slowly but steadily recovering, a deep sense of surprise flashed in her eyes.
She struggled to sit up, but the movement aggravated her injuries, causing her to groan softly.
"Dean, your injuries haven't healed yet; you need to rest." Yan Zu quickly helped her up and fed her some warm water.
Liu Erlong leaned against the headboard, looking at Yan Zu, who was pale and clearly exhausted, and then at Little Jade, who was lying beside him and looked equally tired. After a moment of silence, she spoke in a hoarse voice, "It was you—who saved me?"
"It's what a student should do," Yan Zu said in a low voice. "If it weren't for the dean stepping forward, Xiao Wu and I would likely have had a difficult time with Tai Tan today. Student—thank you, dean."
Liu Erlong shook his head, his gaze fixed blankly on the sky outside the window.
After a long silence, he let out Youyou sigh, his voice carrying a sense of relief and weariness, yet also a hint of resignation. "No need to thank me."
I saved you because you are my students, and it's my responsibility as the dean. As for that Tai Tan —I just happen to need to vent my anger.
She paused, then turned to look at Yan Zu, her eyes clearer than ever before, devoid of the previous melancholy and obsession. "That night—what you said—I've thought about it for a long time—" She paused, as if each word was a struggle, "Was it a coincidence? Did he—really know nothing at all? If he knew, why at that particular time? When he turned and left—did he even have me in his heart? Twenty years— Blue Tyrant Academy is right here—if he wanted to find it, wouldn't he be able to?"
Two lines of clear tears silently slid down from the corners of her eyes and disappeared into her hair.
"I'm just... unwilling to accept it." She closed her eyes, but the tears flowed even more fiercely. "Unwilling to accept that so many years of feelings have become a joke. Unwilling to accept that I was a fool, guarding a coward who may have never loved me—I used anger, the academy, everything to numb myself, telling myself that he cared, that he had his reasons—but actually, I just didn't dare to admit that I, Liu Erlong, loved the wrong person, waited for the wrong person—"
She opened her eyes and looked at Yan Zu, her gaze sharp as a knife, dissecting her bloody past, yet also reflecting an unprecedented clarity. "Yan Zu, thank you. Thank you for your words that night, like knives, but swift and effective. And thank you for today—for not actually letting me die when I was courting death."
Yan Zu, his heart filled with countless emotions.
Liu Erlong took a deep breath, as if exhaling all the pent-up frustration of the past twenty years, and said each word with unwavering resolve, "Yu Xiaogang, he doesn't deserve it. From this day forward, I, Liu Erlong, sever all ties with him. Blue Tyrant Academy is my academy, Liu Erlong's academy, opened only for myself and for those who deserve it."
After saying these words, she seemed to lighten up a bit. The melancholy and restlessness that Entanglement between her brows for twenty years melted away like snow under the sun, replaced by a kind of unwavering determination after the dust had been washed away, and—the radiance of new life.
She turned her gaze to Yan Zu again, this time with pure and burning light, without the slightest hint of searching for someone else through him. "Now, answer me. Yan Zu, I, Liu Erlong, as the Dean of the Blue Tyrant Academy and a Level 76 Power Attack System Battle Soul Saint, sincerely value only your Yan Zu, talent, wisdom, and sense of responsibility. Do you wish to become my disciple?"
Her gaze was clear and honest, filled with genuine approval and expectation.
Looking at the woman before him, who had just struggled back from the brink of death and seemed to have been reborn from the ashes, now clear-headed and resolute, Yan Zu felt a complex mix of emotions welling up inside him.
There is admiration, there is emotion, and there is also a deep appreciation for this pure recognition.
Liu Erlong stood up for him and Xiao Wu today, showing no fear of death. This protectiveness has made him truly accept the dean.
Now she's inviting me so frankly----
He took a step back, straightened his clothes, and with a solemn expression, slowly and deeply bowed to Liu Erlong on the bed.
"Disciple Yan Zu greets Master."
Yan Zu's bow was solemn and sincere. There were no formalities, no probing or weighing of options; it was simply a pure expression of the highest respect and recognition to the teacher before him who had risen from the ashes and was willing to treat him with sincerity.
Liu Erlong leaned against the headboard, looking at the unwavering determination on the young man's handsome face, and at his deeply bent back. The last bit of dust in his heart seemed to settle with this bow.
The misty moisture in my eyes evaporated quickly, replaced by an unprecedented brightness and solidity.
She neither offered a token gesture of support nor declined; instead, she accepted the bow with composure. This was the dignity of the teacher's way, and also the beginning of her new life as Liu Erlong.
"Good! Good! Good!" Liu Erlong said three times, his voice hoarse from weakness, yet each word was firm and resounding. "From this day forward, you, Yan Zu Liu Erlong, are my only disciple in this life! As long as you live up to the expectations of our sect, I, Liu Erlong, will impart all my knowledge to you and protect you on your journey!"
"Disciple will obey Master's orders!" Yan Zu straightened up, his eyes clear.
The simple ceremony was completed, and the master-disciple relationship was established.
A strange connection was established between the two, different from the close bond they shared with Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong. This was a more solemn bond, carrying the weight of inheritance and responsibility.
"Teacher, your injuries are extremely serious and require immediate treatment. Please relax and do not resist your disciple's Soul Power." Yan Zu prepared to continue treating his teacher.