Two and a Half Years, a Bet

He always felt as though something inside him was stopping him from joining the Spirit Pagoda. He had been looking forward to joining before, but now, whenever the thought surfaced, he felt sick and resistant.

But the simple-minded Tang Wulin couldn't figure out why and remained baffled. Later, he went home and asked his parents, and Tang Ziran and his wife said they supported his own decision.

Eastsea City.

While attending class at Eastsea Junior Soul Master Academy, Chen Jianshu also saw Xu Xiaoyan, who had helped him once in the Turbulent Period Spirit Ascension Platform.

When their eyes met, they nodded to each other, then sat in their respective seats like ordinary friends.

Two and a half years passed. During that time, Chen Jianshu had taken many pills that strengthened his foundation and improved his innate aptitude, along with all kinds of heavenly materials and earthly treasures. His cultivation had reached rank twenty-nine.

He had also graduated from the junior Soul Master Academy during those two and a half years. With summer vacation about to end, he was preparing to attend the intermediate academy.

Over those two and a half years, he had also had some interactions with several geniuses in his class.

It was said that Xu Xiaoyan had become a core disciple of the Spirit Pagoda and received extensive training. Her Soul Power Level had reached rank twenty-nine, making her a Soul Grandmaster and putting her on the same level as him.

Xie Xie, who was in the same year, was at rank twenty-seven. He had nearly worked himself to death competing, but still hadn't caught up. Wei Xiaofeng from the neighboring class was only at rank twenty-six, while Zhang Yangzi and Wang Jinxi were at rank twenty-five.

The few of them had sparred over those two and a half years and got along fairly well, but their relationship was limited to friendship. Mainly, Chen Jianshu was truly busy, so he rarely spent time with them.

For example, he went to Di Tian to get beaten up, which was sword practice, went to Leng Yaozhu to learn control, and practiced the spear and the like. He was busy to death. It was worth mentioning that he was already a rank-five blacksmith.

After using Gu Yue's and Gu Yuena's Character Cards, he could wield the Power of Creation, so Spirit Forging was easy for him.

Also, Na'er's Affection Points had reached three hundred, and her Character Card had been combined into a two-star card.

Na'er's Character Card, which had originally been the Silver Dragon King's other half, had transformed into the complete Silver Dragon King form.

It seemed that raising a character's star level could also bring about some kind of evolution, which was great. Apparently, he could obtain one Character Card for every hundred Affection Points, and he only needed five more to combine a three-star Na'er.

He had to go for a three-star Na'er! But he was very curious: if he had Na'er fight Gu Yue then, what would Gu Yue think when she discovered that her bloodline was suppressed?

At the same time, he had also increased his stock considerably over those two years. The King's Treasury now contained a full fifty powerful three-star weapons, and the two-star ones were beyond counting.

His Slime army had also all been upgraded to three stars, while the Electro, Pyro, Life, and Dark Slimes had been upgraded to four stars.

After reaching four stars, all four Slimes had evolved into green two-cost cards.

The Dark Slime evolved into an Evil Slime.

The Pyro Slime evolved into a Red Lotus Slime.

The Life Slime's name hadn't changed, but she had also evolved into a green two-cost card.

The Electro Slime evolved into a Destruction Slime.

The Evil Slime was just a little darker, while the Red Lotus Slime was a Pyro Slime with a red fire lotus growing on its head.

The Life Slime had grown a small sapling about fifteen centimeters tall on her head. As for the Destruction Slime, it had gained the destruction attribute, but otherwise hadn't changed much.

However, the four Slimes all seemed to have grown smarter. The Slimes of the past could do nothing but ram into people, but now they had learned to attack with elements or heal, and they seemed to have intelligence as well.

For example, when he held the Life Slime, that purple Destruction Slime seemed especially angry. One look and he could tell it was cursing up a storm.

But if Wang Dong held the Life Slime, the Destruction Slime would only fall silent instead of hopping mad on the spot.

It wouldn't get angry when other girls held the Life Slime either. But if any other boy so much as dared to approach her, it would immediately unleash a mighty heavenly dragon, transforming into Destruction Divine Thunder and ramming into him.

Once, Xie Xie had poked the Life Slime, and the Destruction Slime had nearly rammed him into a serious injury. The extent of its possessiveness left Chen Jianshu dumbstruck. He had never seen such a possessive Slime before; this was his first time.

Speaking of which, why does this lineup feel a little familiar? Chen Jianshu looked at the arrangement at the conference table.

The Destruction Slime and Life Slime sat together, the Evil Slime and Red Lotus Slime sat together, and Wang Dong sat in the last seat.

"Oh, would you look at that, a low-budget Divine Realm meeting."

He soon pictured a Divine Realm meeting: one Destruction God King, one Goddess of Life, one Evil God King, one Goddess of Kindness, plus one Sea God.

Now the set was complete, five powers standing in balance, corresponding perfectly to the five supreme enforcers of the Divine Realm.

Of course, he hadn't spent these years only farming currency. He had now mastered Human-Weapon Unity, Elemental Heart, and Intent.

Although he was beaten terribly every time he went there to learn from Di Tian, Di Tian was indeed worthy of being one of the two living sword gods on the continent. He was truly skilled.

At the very least, even a casual pointer from him could benefit Chen Jianshu endlessly. The only bad thing was that being hit with a wooden sword really hurt.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, in a manor in Eastsea City, a girl with long silver hair and bright purple eyes sat on a chair on the viewing platform, watching the sunset.

This was Na'er. At eight and a half years old, she was already beginning to show the makings of a beauty, her long silver hair cascading down like a waterfall.

Because Chen Jianshu had said that Na'er looked beautiful with long hair, she had chosen to grow it out.

But now, Na'er's former liveliness was gone. The light in her eyes slowly faded, leaving them deep and profound. Her once sweet and adorable bearing vanished entirely, replaced by an indescribable presence.

"An... age where humans and Soul Beasts coexist..."

Na'er murmured. Now she was no longer Na'er, but Gu Yuena, the complete Silver Dragon King.

Her gaze was deep as she sorted through her memories of the past three years. Soul Beasts and humans lived together in harmony; humans protected Soul Beasts, and Soul Beasts protected humans.

The two races, which had originally been locked in a mortal feud for a million years, had been united because of that First Generation Spirit Transmission Douluo. It truly was an astonishing achievement.

Even her heart couldn't help wavering, but an image soon flashed through her mind.

"How dare you cooperate with the remnants of those innately evil Soul Beasts! You human traitor, you already have a Path to Death! This God King will carry out heaven's justice now!"

A trident fell from the heavens, and a human who had condensed a divine position but had yet to fully fuse with it met the attack with a spear.

In the end, he managed to block the blow only by detonating his divine position. Immediately afterward, the heavens were shrouded in bloody light, and the Asura Blood Sword utterly erased that brilliant figure who had pioneered coexistence between humans and beasts.

The Divine Realm still regarded their Soul Beast Clan with hostility. As expected, coexistence between the two races was impossible.

She recalled the scene from ten thousand years ago. She had awakened once after sensing the might of a God King and had witnessed that person's fall.

Dressed all in white, he had held that blazing white spear, which seemed capable of holding up the sky, and upheld that symbol, as though it were going to erase the core of humans and Soul Beasts.

Perhaps there really were people who would strive for the coexistence of the two races, but that still couldn't solve the most fundamental problem.

As long as the Divine Realm existed, their Soul Beasts would never know peace. At that thought, mockery flashed in her eyes.

There were humans willing to coexist with Soul Beasts, and there were also those unwilling to let Soul Beasts coexist.

Rather than have humans and Soul Beasts sit together as equals, she preferred to trust in the absolute power she wielded! At most, she would refrain from destroying humanity, but she would make all humans submit to her.

What she wanted was obedience, not equality. At that thought, the confusion vanished from her eyes, and she began considering a plan for Soul Beasts to unite humanity.

"My Lord, have you awakened?"

At that moment, Di Tian silently appeared behind Gu Yuena and respectfully knelt on one knee. Not long ago, he had sensed My Lord's Dragon Might, so he had guessed that she might have recovered her memories.

"Mm... I have thought it through. Perhaps some humans truly are willing to coexist with Soul Beasts."

Gu Yuena nodded calmly and turned her head slightly to glance at Di Tian. He froze at her words, then let out a sigh of relief.

As long as My Lord had thought it through, that was enough. Over ten thousand years, his temper had been washed away by time.

The invincible, unrivaled bearing of the Beast God from ten thousand years ago was gone, leaving only composure. Time had worn down his sharp edges.

The Beast God had also become a leader willing to make concessions for the interests of humans and Soul Beasts. Now, the interests of humans and Soul Beasts were deeply intertwined.

If war suddenly broke out, blood would surely flow like rivers on both sides, and living beings would be plunged into misery. That was not something he wanted to see.

Just as he had begun to relax, Gu Yuena's next words made his heart sink again.

"I want humanity's absolute submission. Only by keeping the initiative in the hands of the Soul Beasts can we prevent humans from threatening us."

Confidence flashed in Gu Yuena's eyes. With the power of her Demigod divine position, wouldn't suppressing a group of humans who weren't even gods be as easy as turning over her hand?

"My Lord... our Soul Beast Clan already holds the lifeline of the human side. There is no need to worry that they will betray us..."

"Are you questioning me?"

Hearing Di Tian's objection, Gu Yuena immediately frowned in displeasure. The Silver Dragon King's absolute pressure bore down on him. Di Tian braced a hand against the ground, and countless cracks like spiderwebs instantly appeared beneath him.

"I wouldn't dare..."

He hurriedly lowered his head and admitted his mistake, asking her to calm her anger. Only then did Gu Yuena withdraw her pressure and speak in a tone that brooked no objection:

"It's settled, then. I want to join the upper ranks of the Spirit Pagoda. Select a human member of the upper ranks for me. I will infiltrate their ranks and seize the human side's power bit by bit, so that the Soul Beasts can take complete control of the initiative."

"Understood..."

With that order given, Di Tian could only retreat with his tail between his legs. After he left, Gu Yuena's brows remained tightly knit. In her mind, her human side was resisting her decision.

"Why enslave humans? Isn't the peaceful and prosperous age of coexistence between humans and Soul Beasts good enough?"

In the Sea of Consciousness, Na'er questioned her in confusion, asking why she had to press so relentlessly. Over these three years, she had seen humans rescue Soul Beasts and Soul Beasts assist humans.

She had seen Soul Beasts live and work in peace like humans and be treated with respect. Why did she still have to be so aggressive and press so relentlessly?

"What do you know? Humans are greedy. They coexist peacefully with Soul Beasts now, but what about afterward? Human ambition is endless. Perhaps one day they'll stab the Dragon God in the back like the Divine Realm did and wipe out our beast race!"

Gu Yue paid it no mind and continued to hold to her own view. Back then, humans and beasts had also coexisted in the Divine Realm where the Dragon God lived, but hadn't it still fallen apart in the end? The human side had killed the Dragon God and taken control of the Divine Realm.

"You're too extreme. Not everyone in the world is bad. Perhaps humans really can coexist peacefully with Soul Beasts?"

Na'er argued back, believing that Gu Yue, the divine side, was far too extreme. The two argued endlessly over this point, their quarrel growing fierce.

Gu Yue insisted that the Soul Beasts must have absolute dominance over humans, while Na'er advocated peaceful coexistence.

They could be described as a hawk and a dove. Later, because they couldn't agree, the two separated and made a bet: whether the human side would, out of greed, force the Soul Beasts' hand.

They would bet on whether the human side would stab them in the back for its own interests. And as it happened, Gu Yue thought of Na'er's favorite human.

"How about this? If the human you care about doesn't mind your identity as a Soul Beast, I'll let you go free. But if he covets your Soul Ring and attacks you, then you must obediently fuse with me and take control of humanity."

Gu Yue looked sharply at the stubborn silver-haired girl before her and laid out the bet directly. Na'er, however, hesitated and asked another question.

"You won't do anything to hurt Brother Jianshu, will you?"

"A mere human. Why would I care whether a human child lives or dies?"

Hearing that, Gu Yue paid it no mind. He was just a human child; what waves could he possibly stir up? But after hearing the answer, Na'er was still somewhat hesitant, afraid that once she revealed her identity, he would distance himself from her.

"You're hesitating. What is it? Afraid? Afraid that the human you care about covets your Soul Ring?"

Seeing Na'er hesitate, Gu Yue's eyes flashed with mockery as she pressed her with the question. Na'er could only steel herself and retort:

"Who's afraid? I'm just worried you'll go back on the bet afterward!"

"I am a noble Dragon King! Everyone knows I wouldn't stoop to going back on my word!"

Hearing Na'er's concern, Gu Yue folded her arms. How could she, a dignified Dragon King, possibly go back on her word? And so the two made their bet.

Elsewhere.

Chen Jianshu had no idea he had become the subject of a bet. He was enjoying the last of his vacation and preparing to enroll at Eastsea Intermediate Academy.

Just then, his phone suddenly received a message. He immediately picked it up and glanced at it, finding that Na'er had sent him a message asking to meet at the beach.

He didn't think much of it and went straight to meet her. After all, farming favorability was the way to go, and Na'er's favorability was the easiest to raise.

He arrived first at the beach on Eastsea City's coast and waited. Looking at the dying embers of the sunset, he frowned slightly. Come to think of it... why does this look so much like the farewell scene in the original story?

At that thought, he immediately checked his character library and saw that the Affection Points of both Gu Yue's and Gu Yuena's Character Cards had risen from negative fifty to negative ten.

"Just as I thought..."

Looking at the changed Affection Points, he confirmed his suspicions. Was the Silver Dragon King's divine persona about to awaken after all? Was that why Na'er had asked him to the beach this time, to say goodbye?

P.S. The third and fourth updates for July fifteenth, eight thousand characters in total.

Wait, I'm dying laughing. It took me two hours to write one chapter, and I spent an hour of that laughing here by myself.