"Xiaogang, are you just going to stand there and not talk to me?" Liu Erlong's gaze returned to Yu Xiaogang.
The excitement in her eyes had not faded, but her voice was no longer trembling. Instead, it was tinged with a deep melancholy. Looking at the beautiful woman before him, Yu Xiaogang's heart clenched. He opened his mouth several times, struggling to form words, but nothing came out.
Liu Erlong gazed deeply at the Grandmaster. "Xiaogang, no matter what, I won't let you escape from me again this time."
"I…" he started, but couldn't continue.
Flender smiled faintly, stepping in. "Sister Erlong, even though this was a coincidence, I've brought him to you. If you let him run away again, you might never see him again. Time really flies. In the blink of an eye, twenty years have passed. A full twenty years."
Flender then introduced the Shrek Academy teachers to Liu Erlong one by one. Finally, he turned to the students and the rest of his group.
"This is Liu Erlong. Perhaps you've heard of her," he said. "She is the one who, along with the Grandmaster and me, once roamed the Spirit Master world. She is the final corner of our Golden Triangle."
Hearing Flender's words, Zhao Wuji and the other teachers were startled. The last corner of the Golden Triangle? This charming and voluptuous beauty was clearly more than she appeared. In the original Golden Triangle, Flender was known as the Flying Corner, the Grandmaster was the Wisdom Corner, and Liu Erlong was known as the Slaughter Corner. She hated evil with a passion and had an incredibly fiery temper. Her strength was known to be even greater than Flender's.
After the introductions, Flender and Liu Erlong began to chat casually.
"Boss Flender, speaking of which, how did you all end up here?" Liu Erlong asked. "I remember your Shrek Academy isn't anywhere near this place."
Flender quickly explained the situation with the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
Upon hearing the story, Liu Erlong slapped her thigh in frustration.
"Why didn't you say so earlier! If you had, you could have just brought everyone over to my place. My Blue Tyrant Academy could just become Shrek Academy from now on. It would be perfect, and I could even bask in your academy's reputation. No, wait," she said, her eyes lighting up. "It's not too late! You can still come to my Blue Tyrant Academy now, and we can just rename it Shrek Academy. Then our Golden Triangle will be together forever!"
Flender nodded without a moment's hesitation. "That's definitely possible. If for no other reason than for our Golden Triangle to be together again."
Zhao Wuji tugged on Flender's sleeve, looking concerned. "Boss Flender, have you considered the problem with that? We already made an agreement with the Heaven Dou Royal Academy's faculty council. If we suddenly leave at this point, we'll completely offend them."
Flender just waved his hand dismissively, his mind already made up. "When we arrived, we told them that no matter what we do, they can't interfere. Naturally, that includes us leaving."
Zhao Wuji looked at the other three teachers, not knowing what to say. While that was technically true, it felt incredibly unethical to suddenly change plans after an agreement had been made. But Flender was their leader, and since he had already decided, what could they do?
"So, you're all here to help your students get spirit rings," Liu Erlong said, changing the subject. "In that case, we'll just go together."
Her gaze then fell on Ye Yin. "Speaking of which, his spirit ring configuration is really strange. Why does he have three thousand-year purple spirit rings?"
Flender laughed proudly when he heard this. "That's what's so special about this kid. And it's not just him. Zhuqing and Xiao Wu both have three thousand-year spirit rings as well. Rongrong has two. This trip is to find a suitable third spirit ring for Ma Hongjun and Rongrong, and a suitable fourth spirit ring for Ye Yin, Zhuqing, and Xiao Wu. And even though it's their fourth ring, we're aiming for ten-thousand-year spirit rings for them."
Although Liu Erlong didn't fully understand how it was possible, she was deeply shocked. She wondered what kind of methods Flender had used to recruit so many powerful students.
She then looked over at the still-sulking Ma Hongjun. "Little Fatty, don't worry. We'll find you another thousand-year Spirit Beast later, alright? This forest has plenty of them."
Ma Hongjun forced a reluctant smile. Even if he found a better Spirit Beast, he felt it wouldn't be as good as the Flame Crane he had lost.
After the other Spirit Master finished absorbing his spirit ring, everyone rested for the night. The next morning, the combined group began searching for suitable Spirit Beasts in the Sunset Forest once again. The number of Spirit Beasts here was far less than in the Star Dou Great Forest, but after a few hours, they successfully found a ten-thousand-year Azure Wolf King.
"Kid, are you sure you want this for your fourth spirit ring?" Liu Erlong looked at Ye Yin doubtfully. "Are you certain it's compatible with your Spirit? I can't even tell what your Spirit is. Is it a Tool Spirit?"
Ye Yin nodded as the Good and Evil Pearl floated above his palm. "Sister Erlong, this one is definitely it. I can use just about any ten-thousand-year Spirit Beast. My Spirit is quite special. No matter what type of beast I absorb, my Spirit Abilities are always related to my own Spirit."
Liu Erlong felt like her understanding of the world had been turned upside down. "Then what's with your Spirit Abilities?" she asked, a bit embarrassed. She lowered her voice so only Ye Yin could hear. "I mean… those side effects they have."
Ye Yin also leaned closer to Liu Erlong, whispering directly into her ear. The warmth of his breath and the vibration of his words sent a ticklish sensation through her.
"Sister Erlong, did you want to experience those side effects again? If you do, just tell me next time. I can secretly cast a Spirit Ability on you."
Instantly, Liu Erlong's expression changed. Her face and neck flushed a deep crimson.
"[Resentment from Liu Erlong +30!]"
I was asking why there are side effects, not that I wanted them again!
"Erlong, why is your face so red?" Flender asked curiously from a short distance away.
Liu Erlong looked both shy and furious. "What red face!" she snapped, completely denying it. "I'm about to release my Spirit to help Ye Yin get his fourth spirit ring!"
As soon as she finished speaking, a powerful, fiery aura surged from her body. In an instant, Liu Erlong completed her Spirit Possession. An extremely violent presence emanated from her as red light flared, and her dragon claw struck the Azure Wolf King with tremendous force.
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