Douro Continent

Chapter 229 The Past of the Golden Triangle (Part 1)

Tang San followed behind Grandmaster the whole time, asking no questions, simply keeping his teacher company. He could sense the complex emotions Grandmaster was experiencing.

At this time, it would be better to let the teacher have some peace and quiet.

As you enter the woods, the temperature is noticeably lower than outside. The crisp air invigorates the master and seems to soothe his mood as well.

Stopping in his tracks, the master turned to Dang San and said calmly, "Little San, are you eager to ask what my relationship with Erlong is, why things have turned out this way, and why I've been avoiding her for twenty years?"

Tang San nodded.

The master sighed, "Let me tell you a story."

"More than twenty years ago, a young man from a prestigious family was ostracized by his family because his martial soul mutated and he was unable to inherit the family's martial soul inheritance. In order to prove himself, he studied the knowledge of soul masters and explored its deeper meaning, hoping that one day he could gain the world's recognition through his knowledge. When he was traveling, he met a like-minded young soul master, and the two decided to venture into the world of soul masters together."

"One day, while hunting spirit beasts in a spirit beast forest, they encountered a beautiful young girl. The girl was alone, and her lively and cheerful personality quickly attracted the two young men. The three became good friends, and their original two-person team expanded to three."

"As time went by, both young men fell in love with the girl who possessed the Fire Dragon Martial Soul, but because of their brotherly bond, neither was willing to confess their feelings. In particular, the young man who was unable to possess great strength due to his mutated Martial Soul buried his love deep in his heart. Due to the accidental discovery that the three of them could perform a powerful Martial Soul Fusion Technique by cooperating with each other, they gradually made a name for themselves as the Golden Iron Triangle in the Soul Master world by relying on their own strength."

At this point, the master sighed again, "Feelings accumulate over time; the deeper they are hidden, the stronger they sometimes become. As the three grew older, their feelings for each other deepened. Finally, one day, the young man with considerable strength could no longer bear the torment of his emotions and confessed his feelings to the girl. However, a result that greatly surprised both of them appeared before them. The girl had always known that both young men liked her, and it was precisely for this reason that she was afraid of hurting the other by revealing her choice. Now, faced with the confession of the powerful young man, she could no longer hide it. She called both young men to her and told them that she liked the young man whose martial soul had mutated and whose strength was low, but who possessed excellent theoretical knowledge through perseverance and hard work."

"You've probably guessed it by now. That girl was Erlong, and those two young men were me and Flander. I still remember Flander's extremely disappointed expression and my own racing heart. At that moment, I suddenly felt a happiness I had never experienced before. However, neither Erlong nor I wanted to hurt Flander, and for a time, the three of us fell silent. Several days passed like this, and the somber atmosphere made us feel somewhat suffocated. Finally, Flander stepped forward. He was the oldest among us, and he said that he wanted to become sworn brothers with me, and Erlong would be his sister-in-law."

Tang San couldn't help but say, "Dean Flander is truly a good person. Perhaps, this is the best ending."

The master nodded. "I will never forget what Flanders said. He said that he had already lost his lover and would never want to lose his brother and sister as well. He blessed us from the bottom of his heart."

Tang San asked in confusion, "If that's the case, then you and Aunt Erlong should be able to get together, so why...?"

The master smiled bitterly, "If everything had gone smoothly and the subsequent events hadn't happened, perhaps our children would already be older than you. But, I don't know if it was fate playing a cruel trick, ruining everything we had."

"I remember that day very clearly. The stars were exceptionally bright that night. Flander officiated at our wedding, and Erlong and I finally got married. Although we had nothing back then—no blessings from family and friends, no grand wedding—we felt incredibly happy. What did anything else matter as long as we could be with the one we loved?"

"Just as the three of us had finished drinking together, and Flander was preparing to say goodbye and go out to make his own way, a few people suddenly arrived. I recognized all of them. The one in the lead was my uncle, Yu Luomian, the current second head of the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex family. His arrival surprised me greatly. But since it was my big day, and they were relatives, and I had a good relationship with this second uncle, I quickly and happily invited them into our new house."

At this point, the master's emotions became visibly agitated. "But who would have thought that my second uncle wasn't coming to see me? His target was actually Erlong."

"What? Why?" Tang San asked in surprise.

The master continued, "Before our marriage, Erlong, Flander, and I roamed the continent together, never asking each other about our backgrounds—it was a personal matter. I kept quiet because my family wouldn't allow it, Flander came from a poor family, and Erlong never mentioned it either. The reason my second uncle came to us was to claim kinship. Erlong, Erlong is actually his illegitimate daughter."

Tang San stared wide-eyed in astonishment. Fate was playing tricks on him. No wonder, no wonder his teacher chose to leave. All of this was so unfair to him.

"When I called her Second Uncle, Erlong's face turned deathly pale. When I asked her in disbelief and saw her nod, I was shocked as if struck by lightning. I never imagined that the woman I loved so deeply was actually my cousin."

Tears streamed uncontrollably down the master's face. Even though twenty years had passed, those scenes from back then could never fade from his mind.

The immense joy of being with a loved one can suddenly turn into profound sorrow—what unbearable pain that is!

With a choked voice and dazed eyes, the master said, "Back then, my second uncle understood what was going on as soon as he saw our clothes. His first words were, 'How could you marry this good-for-nothing?' I always thought my second uncle treated me well and didn't see me like the others in the family did. It wasn't until then that I realized I was wrong. It turned out that he still saw me as a good-for-nothing."

"Later I learned that Erlong was the daughter of my second uncle and a prostitute. Because of Erlong's mother's background, my second uncle dared not bring her home. When Erlong went out to travel, her mother had already passed away from illness. She was raised by my second uncle in a place outside the village. He even let her take on her mother's traits. The two characters in her name, Erlong, were chosen by her mother for her father. My second uncle's childhood name was Erlong."

"Wait a minute, teacher, if Senior Erlong is your cousin, then her martial soul should be the same as your family's, the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex. Could it be that Senior Erlong's martial soul is also...?"

The master nodded. "Yes, Erlong's martial soul also mutated, but it didn't become weaker. Although it didn't become stronger either, it was still an extremely powerful martial soul. The lightning mutated into a similar flame, which is the origin of her fire dragon martial soul. It was through these coincidences that this tragedy occurred between us."

"At that time, I ran out like a madman. All I could think about was death. Erlong wanted to chase after me, but my second uncle forcibly stopped him. If Flander hadn't caught up with me and stopped me from committing suicide, there probably wouldn't have been the master we know today."

Tang San didn't say anything more; at this moment, he was also immersed in the sorrowful world in the master's heart.

Unbeknownst to them, not far behind, another person was also weeping uncontrollably, gazing in their direction.

"What could I do? Although I eventually gave up my suicidal thoughts, at that time, Erlong was my whole life. You can see that I'm not handsome, nor do I have great strength. Yet she gave up Flander, who was far more outstanding than me, and chose me instead. I loved her so much, but my beloved became my sister. That kind of pain is unimaginable to ordinary people. In the end, heartbroken and disillusioned, I could only choose to run away. I didn't let Flander come with me; I left quietly by myself."

"Later, Flanders sent word that Erlong and my second uncle had fallen out after returning to the family and were frantically searching for me. How I longed to see her, but I couldn't. I couldn't ruin her reputation."

"A brother-sister relationship is unacceptable to the world. Even if I didn't care, how could I let Erlong, a woman, suffer all this? Besides, my second uncle is right, I'm just a good-for-nothing, a useless piece of trash. If Erlong were with me, I wouldn't even have the ability to protect her. She should never have belonged to me."

(End of this chapter)