"The first strike has the advantage!"
With that thought, Ye Yin's first spirit ring flashed brightly.
"Curse!"
Six rays of light shot out from him, streaking toward Liu Erlong and her students. It was his First Spirit Ability: Curse.
The blinding light landed directly on Liu Erlong. One moment, she was gazing at the disheveled Yu Xiaogang with a tender expression, and the next, a strange sound escaped her lips. A deep blush spread across her face, and her knees began to knock together uncontrollably. All traces of her previous tenderness and composure had vanished completely.
Beside Liu Erlong, another mature-looking girl had the same bizarre reaction.
"Mmmph~"
Both of them cried out at almost the exact same time, their faces burning with shame.
"[Resentment from Liu Erlong +30!]"
"[Resentment from Jiang Zhu +30!]"
The system prompts let Ye Yin know that the other girl was Jiang Zhu, the one who possessed the Healing Scepter Spirit.
"What's going on?" Liu Erlong managed to ask.
Before she could get an answer, Ye Yin unleashed two more Curses, specifically targeting Liu Erlong and Jiang Zhu once again.
"Oh my~"
The second wave of the side effect hit them, and its intensity was far greater than the first. Each curse was stronger than the last. Caught completely off guard, Liu Erlong and Jiang Zhu stumbled and fell to the ground, their legs trembling uncontrollably and their chests heaving with heavy breaths.
"[Resentment from Liu Erlong +30!]"
"[Resentment from Jiang Zhu +30!]"
The other four students, along with Yu Xiaogang and Flender, could only stare in bewilderment. They had no idea what was happening.
"Stop… don't continue…" Liu Erlong pleaded, trying her best to suppress the overwhelming pleasure coursing through her body. "I can't take it anymore."
This was the first time Flender had ever seen Liu Erlong act so demurely. He hadn't even seen this side of her when she was dating Yu Xiaogang years ago. Ye Yin's Spirit Ability was truly something else. What on earth had he cursed them with?
"Ye Yin, that's enough," Flender said, quickly stopping the boy, who was already preparing to cast a third Curse. "What's wrong with you? We all know each other here. This is an old friend of mine and the Grandmaster's. This is Aunt Liu Erlong. Please, hurry up and remove the curse's effect from them."
Ye Yin put on a perfect expression of sudden understanding.
"Oh, so that's what this is! Dean, why didn't you say so earlier? If I'd known you were friends, I would have never used my curse."
Ye Yin quickly walked over to Liu Erlong's side, getting a closer look at her. She had maintained her appearance incredibly well. As a Spirit Saint-level Spirit Master, she looked no older than a woman in her late twenties or early thirties. Under the influence of the curse's side effect, she radiated a mature charm that younger women lacked. The barely concealed curves of her full figure were something no ordinary young girl could ever match. Young men often failed to appreciate older women, foolishly thinking that youth was the only treasure. While young girls were certainly charming, mature women were utterly captivating.
"Aunt Erlong, I'll need to touch you to remove the effect. I hope you don't mind," Ye Yin said respectfully.
"[Resentment from Liu Erlong +40!]"
You made me feel such intense things twice in a row, and now you're asking if I mind you touching me? she thought furiously.
"It's fine," she managed to say through gritted teeth.
Ye Yin placed his hand on Liu Erlong's back, his skin making direct contact with hers. Her body trembled instantly at his touch. Aside from when she was fighting, it had been many years since a man had touched her. A flash of black and white light emanated from behind Ye Yin, and the curse's effect on Liu Erlong was successfully dispelled.
"Is it gone?" Liu Erlong felt a sense of lightness return to her body, but the weakness in her legs and the trembling hadn't disappeared. "Why do I still feel the same?"
Ye Yin chuckled softly. "My Spirit Ability removes special effects, both positive and negative ones. What you're feeling right now isn't a special effect. It's a… physiological reaction."
With those simple words, Liu Erlong's neck flushed a deep crimson, the blush spreading all the way to her earlobes.
"[Resentment from Liu Erlong +50!]"
She had never been so embarrassed in her entire life. For a moment, Flender, Yu Xiaogang, and the others all felt a strange tension in the air, as if Liu Erlong had been… taken advantage of by Ye Yin. It was an odd feeling. Even though it was just the effect of a Spirit Ability and nothing physical had truly happened, it was still an uncomfortable situation.
Following that, Ye Yin helped the other students remove the effects of the curse. Just like Liu Erlong, Jiang Zhu also needed some time to recover from the lingering sensations.
Once she could stand, Liu Erlong suppressed her physical discomfort and turned her attention to Yu Xiaogang.
"Xiaogang, I never imagined our reunion would be like this," she said, her voice filled with emotion. "This time, I will never let you leave me again."
Yu Xiaogang remained silent, his expression unreadable. He didn't know what to say or how to face her after all this time.
Flender, however, was much more casual. "Sister Erlong, so many years have passed, and you're still as beautiful as ever. Look at us, we've all gotten so old."
Liu Erlong's gaze shifted to Flender, a flicker of an unspoken emotion in her eyes. "Boss Flender, it's been years, and you're still the same as always."
Ma Hongjun was reluctant to interrupt his teachers' reunion, but he knew he had no choice.
"Teacher, this Flame Crane is almost dead," he said urgently. "If we don't kill it and absorb its spirit ring soon, it will die on its own!"
Flender nodded. "Erlong, this Flame Crane is the beast you were all hunting, right?"
Liu Erlong looked back at the weakened creature. A young man from her group stepped forward. Two yellow spirit rings rose from beneath his feet, and the phantom of a Flame Crane appeared behind him.
"My student's Spirit is the Flame Crane. He really needs this spirit ring," she explained.
Flender looked over at Ma Hongjun. "In that case, Hongjun, give the Flame Crane to them."
Ma Hongjun obediently pulled out his knife, ready to deliver the final blow. "Alright!"
But the moment he drew the sharp blade, he froze.
"What? Teacher!" he exclaimed, turning around in disbelief. "I didn't mishear you, did I? You want me to give up the spirit ring? But you said that even if the Heavenly King himself came, the spirit ring would still be mine!"
Flender walked over and gave Ma Hongjun a light kick on his backside. "Well, the Heavenly King didn't come, did he?"
That single, ridiculous sentence caused Ma Hongjun's brain to short-circuit. The Heavenly King didn't come? So the spirit ring isn't mine? Is that really how it works?
The Flame Crane Spirit Master from the other group shot Ma Hongjun a triumphant look. He walked over to the beast, killed it with a single claw strike, and sat down cross-legged right in front of Ma Hongjun to begin absorbing its spirit ring.
Ma Hongjun could only watch as the spirit ring that was supposed to be his was absorbed by someone else, all because his teacher had given it away. He felt an incredible bitterness welling up inside him. He wished, at the very least, that he had been allowed to fight for it like Oscar did, instead of just handing it over for nothing.
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