Lu Ming walked over quietly and poured himself a glass of water.
Perhaps it was his movement that disturbed her; Liu Erlong's long eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes.
Those beautiful eyes were dazed upon waking, but they regained clarity after seeing it was Lu Ming.
"You're back."
She sat up, tidied her slightly messy clothes with some embarrassment, and brushed the stray hair from her ears.
"Yeah, I was a bit tired, and I fell asleep while waiting."
Lu Ming handed her the water glass and sat down on the edge of her bed.
"Teacher Erlong, it's so late, is something the matter?"
Liu Erlong took the glass but didn't drink, just held it in her hands, feeling its warmth.
She looked up at Lu Ming, her eyes filled with a hint of heartache and comfort.
"Xiao Ming, I heard about today's events."
"I know you've been wronged."
"Don't worry, even if you aren't as good as Tang San and them, even if Grandmaster... even if everyone in Shrek Group looks down on you, in my eyes, you are always the best and the strongest!"
She thought Lu Ming had returned late because he was in a bad mood after being slighted by Yu Xiaogang and the Shrek Group during the day.
Hearing this, Lu Ming felt a warmth in his heart and smiled.
"Teacher Erlong, I'm fine."
He paused and said in a tone stating a fact:
"However, I might have caused you some trouble."
"I beat up that Tang San."
Liu Erlong, who was about to continue comforting him, choked on her words instantly.
She raised her head abruptly, her beautiful eyes filled with astonishment.
"What did you say?"
"You... you actually beat Tang San?!"
How is this possible?!
These past few days, Yu Xiaogang hadn't gone three sentences without mentioning his precious disciple, Tang San.
He praised Tang San as having no equal, talking about twin spirits, innate full spirit power, extraordinary talent, and that his future achievements would even surpass his father, the Clear Sky Douluo!
But now, Lu Ming was telling her that he had beaten this pride of heaven?
Liu Erlong still felt it was somewhat unreal, and she examined Lu Ming carefully.
"It seems... it seems that insight you had was truly powerful!"
"Not only did it evolve your Spirit, but your actual combat skills also became so formidable that you were able to defeat Tang San?!"
She thought of the Shrek Academy's record.
They had defeated the Heaven Dou Royal Academy team.
And Tang San had single-handedly defeated Yu Tianheng, who possessed the top-tier Beast Spirit Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, and Dugu Yan, who had the Jade Phosphorus Snake Spirit!
Previously, she had been worried about Lu Ming's future, fearing that his ordinary Blue Silver Grass Spirit would be left far behind by those geniuses.
Now it seemed she had worried for nothing.
Her student was like a bird that didn't sing, but when it did, it stunned everyone!
Joy and pride were intertwined on Liu Erlong's face.
She reached out and gently ruffled Lu Ming's hair, the warmth of his skin felt against her palm.
"Good boy, I knew you weren't an ordinary person."
"However, after beating Tang San, I'm afraid Yu Xiaogang won't let it rest. You need to be careful."
There was a hint of imperceptible worry in her voice.
Lu Ming nodded, indicating he understood.
"I know, Teacher Erlong, you should rest early."
Liu Erlong stood up, her fire-red dress drawing a graceful arc with her movement.
She walked to the door, looked back at Lu Ming, and urged: "Don't overthink it, if anything happens, I'll take responsibility for you."
After saying this, she gently closed the door and left.
The room returned to silence.
Lu Ming lay on the bed alone, a faint, fragrant scent lingering at the tip of his nose.
That was the body scent Liu Erlong had left behind, gentle yet tinged with a fiery heat, just like her.
He closed his eyes, feeling the surging level 44 spirit power in his body, as well as his almost non-existent presence under the operation of the "Great Evolution Concealment Technique".
This was the foundation of his survival.
With a thought, a cerulean virtual screen quietly appeared in his sea of consciousness.
It was the Chat Group that had been quiet for a long time.
As soon as it opened, a message tagging everyone popped up, flashing continuously, appearing very urgent.
[Poison Fairy: @Everyone, my snake venom has flared up again, it's so uncomfortable, can anyone help me?]
Below the message was a photo.
The background of the photo seemed to be a luxurious bedroom. On the soft silk sheets, a fair, slender, beautiful leg was curled up in pain.
On the skin of the leg, strange emerald-green patterns appeared, wriggling slowly like living things, spreading from the ankle all the way to the base of the thigh. The image was full of strange impact.
Although her face wasn't visible, just looking at this leg, one could imagine the immense pain the owner was enduring at this moment.
This message instantly broke the silence in the group.
[Little Demoness: Heavens! This looks so painful, it's spread to her whole body, right?]
[My Cat is White and Big: That's a bit miserable!]
[The Fox Is the Most Innocent: Are you okay? Do you want to find someone to check on you?]
Soon, a group member who hadn't appeared for a long time also showed up.
[My Son Is Not a Bastard: Your poison... is very troublesome. It's a hereditary toxin stemming from your Spirit, it has long since penetrated into the bone marrow and spread throughout the body. To be honest, even in my prime, I couldn't cure this kind of poison.]
Once these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the group stalled.
Even this senior, who sounded very powerful, was helpless, so wouldn't that mean...
[I Have No Mother: @Supreme Pontiff, you are the most powerful person on the continent and are well-informed, can you cure it?]
Spirit City, Supreme Pontiff Palace.
Bibi Dong, sitting high on the throne, looked at the message in her sea of consciousness, her exquisite eyebrows slightly furrowed.
She thought for a moment before slowly typing the message.
[Supreme Pontiff: No. The toxin itself is not the problem, my Spirit can directly devour these toxins, but while devouring the toxins, her vitality and spirit power would also be devoured along with them. There is only one outcome, she won't survive!]
Bibi Dong's words were like a basin of cold water, extinguishing the last glimmer of hope in everyone's hearts.
Even the Supreme Pontiff had pronounced a death sentence.
...
Heaven Dou Royal Academy, inside a luxurious girls' dormitory.
Dugu Yan lay in pain on the bed, her body twitching uncontrollably. Cold sweat had already soaked her long hair, sticking it tightly to her pale cheeks.
The emerald-green venom patterns flickered on her body, and every flicker brought a piercing, bone-deep pain.
Beside the bed, a young girl wearing a long dress with Nine Heart Begonia patterns was anxiously wiping away her sweat.
The girl had a beautiful appearance, a quiet and gentle temperament, and a pair of straight, slender, beautiful legs appeared faintly under the hem of her skirt.
It was the other beauty of Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Ye Lingling.
"Yanyan, hold on a little longer, someone has already gone to find your grandfather!"
Ye Lingling's voice was full of anxiety.
However, she also knew that these were just comforting words.
Dugu Bo himself couldn't cure this poison, so what other solution could there be?
Dugu Yan was in too much pain to speak, she could only pin all her hopes on that mysterious Chat Group.
When she saw the messages in the group pronouncing her death sentence, a deep sense of despair welled up in her eyes.
It was over.
Even the Supreme Pontiff had no solution.
She was only eighteen, she had a bright future ahead, she didn't want to die!
Just then, the Supreme Pontiff's message popped up again.
[Supreme Pontiff: Although I have no solution, the Group Owner must have a way.]
[Supreme Pontiff: Otherwise, why would he be the Group Owner? And who else would submit to him as this Group Owner?]