Chapter 18: Chapter 18: Departure
Flanders and Li Luochen set off, with their first destination being Tiandou City. As the capital of the Tiandou Empire, it was a must-visit. Li Luochen was curious to see if he would encounter any interesting opportunities.
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Meanwhile, in the Southwest of the Tiandou Empire, Fasno Province, Notting City:
"Tang San, are you willing to take me as your master?" Yu Xiaogang asked Tang San with a mysterious air.
"Greetings, teacher," Tang San replied, kneeling down and kowtowing to Yu Xiaogang.
"Hey! You only need to bow to become a disciple. Kneeling is reserved for your parents," Yu Xiaogang said, looking pleased, though a fierce glint flashed in his eyes.
'Spirit Hall, the ignorant masses of the continent, and my blind family members—just wait and see. I will succeed and prove my theories correct. And as for that bitch Bibi Dong who used me and discarded me, if it weren't for her being the Saintess of Spirit Hall, I would have... Forget it, at least I still have Erlongmei, but that bastard Yu Luomian is keeping an eye on her. Damn it!'
The historic moment of Tang San becoming Yu Xiaogang's disciple was complete, but what did that have to do with Li Luochen? It was nothing more than an internal complaint that a waste of a man had managed to cultivate a genius and was now telling this genius, who would undoubtedly become a Super Douluo, that he could one day become a Titled Douluo.
What kind of genius do you want to cultivate? Which faction can't cultivate geniuses? What do you, a mere level 29 Great Spirit Master, have besides common sense? Tang San's Blue Silver Grass will likely be ruined, but given his Blue Silver Emperor bloodline, it won't matter once he awakens.
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In a carriage bound for Tiandou City, Li Luochen and Flanders studied the map.
"Xiaochen, your first stop is Tiandou City? The prices there are very high. Although we're not short of money, the expenses will be steep," Flanders said, his miserly nature showing. Despite having substantial wealth, earned from Shao Xin's candy beans and betting on Li Luochen's soul battles, Flanders was still stingy.
"Ahem, Dean, didn't you say that one of the members of your Golden Iron Triangle, the Killing Horn Liu Erlong, has opened an academy in Tiandou City? Why don't we stay with her?"
Li Luochen was trying to help Flanders out. Why was he being so considerate? Because Yu Xiaogang and Liu Erlong were cousins, yet Flanders was still trying to bring them together? He was clearly obsessed with Liu Erlong.
"Uh, this… This doesn't seem right. How can we impose on Erlongmei? She already went out of her way to help me hunt my seventh soul ring last time. It wouldn't be appropriate to stay with her now," Flanders said, recalling Liu Erlong's figure from five years ago—still beautiful, still fierce, her violent fighting style making her seem like the perfect goddess.
Flanders smiled more and more obscenely, his already cunning face becoming even more comical to Li Luochen.
"Um… Dean? Don't tell me you like Aunt Erlong? It's said that Aunt Erlong is very heroic and handsome, but with that evil grin on your face, no woman would ever choose you," Li Luochen teased, seeking trouble. But it wasn't as if he'd really be in danger; at most, he'd get beaten up. Flanders might not be good-looking, but he was strong, and he and Liu Erlong were evenly matched. However, Flanders seemed to be much older than Liu Erlong, by at least a dozen years.
"Hey! You brat, you dare to pick a fight with this dean? Aren't you afraid I'll punish you? That I'll make things difficult for you at the academy in the future?" Flanders snapped, his lecherous smile vanishing as he looked at Li Luochen, both embarrassed and angry. The kid had actually mocked him! He had to teach him a lesson; otherwise, he'd lose his dignity as the dean.
"No way, but Dean, did I guess right? You really like Aunt Erlong? Why haven't you won her over yet?"
Hearing this, Flanders was reminded of the past with the Golden Iron Triangle and began telling Li Luochen about it.
In fact, Li Luochen already knew the general story, but the details added more depth.
"So, Dean, your other good friend, the Wisdom Horn Master, isn't a good person. He dated his own cousin and almost consummated the relationship before being caught by his second uncle. After finding out, he ran away? Leaving a woman like Aunt Erlong to bear the rumors? To be honest, Dean, your friend doesn't seem like much of a man. According to your story, Yu Xiaogang is very good at sweet-talking women.
He relies on his words to fool a young woman who isn't very worldly-wise. To put it bluntly, you lost because you were an honest man and Yu Xiaogang intercepted. Think about it: he has nothing but theory. What good is theory? At your level, you already know most of what you need to know. The soul master world is a world for the strong. He might not even be able to defeat a hundred-year-old soul beast. Why does Aunt Erlong like such a weak and irresponsible man so much? And you, Dean, you seem to tolerate him a lot too."
Flanders was also awakened by Li Luochen's words. Yu Xiaogang really was nothing. He was clearly weak but liked to act mysterious.
Perhaps he tolerated Yu Xiaogang because he liked Liu Erlong, and Liu Erlong liked Yu Xiaogang, so he tolerated Yu Xiaogang too. However, Yu Xiaogang had hurt Liu Erlong deeply, and Flanders was actually quite unhappy with him.
Moreover, Flanders knew that Yu Xiaogang had once had an affair with Bibi Dong, the Saintess of Spirit Hall and the current Pope. Bibi Dong was also a great beauty. Yu Xiaogang had no looks and no strength. Why was he so popular with beautiful women? This was indeed a puzzle. If Li Luochen hadn't pointed it out, Flanders might have continued accommodating Yu Xiaogang. As a brother, he sometimes wanted to punch Yu Xiaogang.
He was nothing but good at picking up women, hiding during battles, and putting on a wise façade afterward. To be honest, Flanders felt a bit disgusted thinking about it now.
"So what do you think? Yes, I do like Erlongmei. Xiaogang and Erlongmei are cousins, and as long as the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex family exists, there's no chance for them anyway," Flanders admitted, crossing his arms and waiting for Li Luochen's advice.
"Dean, you were too honest and missed the best opportunity. You should have comforted Aunt Erlong when she was most hurt and vulnerable. Although it's a bit unfair to my 'brother,' he's a scumbag, so who cares? Moreover, they're cousins. To save face, he left the girl to endure the rumors. To be honest, that's shameful. You're not as thick-skinned as him. If you had a bit more brains, you could have comforted her, made her accustomed to being with you, and gradually become dependent on you. When the time was right, you could launch your offensive and make it a fait accompli. Given Aunt Erlong's personality, she's probably the type who's fiercely loyal once she's committed. It's quite difficult to pursue someone like that. It all depends on whether you, the Dean, can win her heart. I suggest you change your image. You're not bad looking; you just need to present yourself better.
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