Douluo: This Legend of the Dragon King is not quite right

Chapter 453 A Promise Belonging to Lu Jun

She took a deep breath, as if she needed to muster up the courage to recall that past event:
“I told him then, ‘Yunming, I admit that I did like you when I was young because of your brilliance and your upright character. But is there nothing else in life besides romantic love? Now you have become someone I don’t recognize at all, hypocritical and arrogant. What can I say? I can only assume that I was young and naive, that I misjudged you, and that it was all just the hormones of adolescence at work.’”

Leng Yaozhu shook her head and continued:
"At that time, all I wanted to do was leave that suffocating place as soon as possible, return to the Spirit Pagoda, and focus on my career and research."

“But Yunming… he stopped me and wouldn’t let me leave.”

Lu Jun: "?"

And this kind of operation?

Force them to stay?

Leng Yaozhu's voice carried a hint of humiliation and anger:
"Yun Ming's life story is far more legendary than mine, and he's also slightly older and stronger. I questioned him about why he stopped me. Guess what he said?"

"He said... he admired me to some extent, and perhaps he liked me a little, but to say he loved me was far from it. Besides, he already had someone else in his heart, probably referring to Ya Li, who was still dating Xu Tiandi at the time."

Her tone became agitated:
"But then, he actually turned around and questioned me, asking how I could not like him?! He said that my aloofness and indifference were just a special way to attract his attention!"

Lu Jun was stunned.

Why is the plot so different from the original work?

In the original novel, it was clearly Leng Yaozhu who relentlessly pursued Yun Ming to no avail.

How did Yun Ming become so self-righteous that he actually insists that Leng Yaozhu is playing hard to get?

Is it because she didn't pounce on him like the other girls in the original story, that it aroused his distorted desire to conquer?
Indeed, human nature is inherently base; what we cannot have always stirs our desires.

The glorious image of Yun Ming in Lu Jun's heart had completely collapsed, shattered into nothingness.

That's not right either, they didn't have a glorious image to begin with.

With his amazing memory, Lu Jun searched his mind for the contents of the original work.

He remembered... in the original story, when Leng Yaozhu confessed her feelings to him, Yun Ming still harbored some affection for the two sisters, Leng Yaozhu and Leng Yulai.

This truly reflects Yun Ming's inner thoughts; there's no faking it.

Now, the fact that Leng Yaozhu didn't pursue him has led to this point being magnified infinitely?
Leng Yaozhu's voice, tinged with lingering fear, brought Lu Jun back to his senses:

"Yun Ming didn't believe my story at all, repeatedly emphasizing that I was special, the first woman who didn't fall in love with him. As he spoke, he actually... tried to force himself on me, trying to grab my hand..."

She paused, a hint of relief appearing on her face:
"At the critical moment, Guan Yue arrived in time and stopped Yun Ming's absurd actions, which barely brought this matter to an end."

"From that day on, Guan Yue and I both saw through the abnormality and distortion beneath Shrek Academy's glamorous exterior and chose to leave one after another."

"I returned to the Spirit Pagoda, while Guan Yue joined the War God Temple of the Sun and Moon Federation."

Lu Jun's lips twitched; he was too exhausted to even complain.

This Yun Ming... he's truly exceptional!

They want to have their cake and eat it too, and their self-satisfaction is off the charts!

In the original novel, how could he possibly have the audacity to accuse Tang Wulin of being lenient and indecisive? Even more outrageous, in the original novel, after his beloved disciple Na'er went missing, his first reaction was not to use the power of the number one person on the continent to find her, but to slap Tang Wulin and lecture him.

This double standard and the desire to control his disciples are simply outrageous!
The people from Shrek Academy are indeed a bit off at their core.

Lu Jun said softly:
"So, teacher, your inner conflict... isn't entirely because of unrequited love, but more because of regret over the disappearance of the once upright and honest Yun Ming, and fear and disappointment towards the unfamiliar and twisted version of him that followed?"

"You still hold onto a sliver of hope that the original Yun Ming was merely influenced or taken away by some power of Shrek Academy?"

Leng Yaozhu nodded sadly:
"Perhaps... I still don't want to believe that a person's humanity can become so completely distorted. I'm more inclined to believe that it was that place... that changed him."

She let out a long sigh, as if to release all the pent-up frustration of many years:

"Perhaps, it's time for me to truly let go. Things change, people change, and everything comes to an end. People... will eventually change. Clinging to that illusory shadow of the past is meaningless."

She turned her head to look at Lu Jun, her gaze softening yet complex:
"I don't know why, Lu Jun, you seem to have a very magical power about you. Being around you always makes me feel calm and peaceful."

"No matter how intense the emotions are, as soon as someone leans against you, it's like a bucket of cold, clear water being poured over your head, instantly calming you down. Many tangled issues will become clear and easily resolved in this peculiar calm."

Leng Yaozhu's voice grew even softer:

"Is this perhaps your unique charm, or one of your inherent abilities?"

“I don’t know… but when I witnessed you confessing to me and revealing your astonishing identity, my heart was filled with fear.”

“I’m afraid… the Lu Jun in my heart will leave me forever, and like Yun Ming, he will completely become someone else who makes me feel unfamiliar and fearful, and I will have to actively stay away from him.”

Her eyes welled up again, and tears silently streamed down her face.
"But...you told me that you are still the same you, still my student, still the same Lu Jun, not the high and mighty master of the divine artifact..."

At this point, Leng Yaozhu's beautiful eyes were already filled with tears, which rolled down her cheeks.

"Hearing you say that, I really...really feel much more relieved, completely at ease. It turns out that the one in my heart, even if his identity changes, will never leave me, and will never become the kind of person who scares me..."

Lu Jun was stunned. He never expected that Leng Yaozhu harbored such deep fear and unease.

No wonder her eyes looked so complicated before, filled with obvious fear.

Looking back now, if I had handled things slightly differently back then, choosing to abandon Leng Yaozhu, or showing even the slightest bit of the aloofness befitting the master of the artifact, I probably would have truly broken her heart, and it might even have caused irreparable consequences.

The thought of that possibility filled Lu Jun with lingering fear.

Looking at Leng Yaozhu, who was crying and whose delicate body was trembling slightly from the release of her emotions, he no longer hesitated. He reached out his arm and pulled her into his embrace with firmness and tenderness.

His face hardened with determination, and for the first time, he made a solemn promise to a woman.

"Teacher, don't worry."

“I, Lu Jun, will never become someone you find unfamiliar and frightening, and I will never become someone you need to actively distance yourself from. No matter who I am, I will always be the Lu Jun you know.”

He gently patted Leng Yaozhu's back, his movements tender, his voice carrying a magical, soothing power:
"Cry, teacher. Cry out all your grievances, disappointments, and fears. It'll be better if you cry it out. Don't keep it bottled up inside anymore."

(End of this chapter)