Exchange

"Hiss~"

Zhongli looked at the teacher lying on the ground, and his throat bobbed involuntarily. There was a kind of pain that hurt just to watch.

He thought for a moment, then slowly made his body tremble as he 'struggled' to crawl up from the ground. One hand hovered over his attacked abdomen as he looked blankly at Mo Yuqing and asked, "What's going on? You knocked the teacher down?"

"Mm... I think so, but it doesn't feel very secure. Should I give his vital spot another stab? Otherwise, I'm afraid he'll recover." Mo Yuqing watched the teacher on the ground cautiously.

Chain Root Strike? Are you a demon?!

"Cough, cough, better not."

Zhongli said with a twitch of his lips.

"But I don't think this is secure. None of my previous attacks could break his defense, and just now, he didn't bleed a single drop. His skin wasn't even broken, yet he just collapsed for no reason. Do you think he's deliberately putting on an act for me?" Mo Yuqing said solemnly.

Zhongli: (•́ω•̀٥)

The next moment, a familiar voice rang out.

"Stu... students, this battle is over. You won. Since the circumstances are special, I'll fill out your results for you."

It was the handsome young male teacher from before. However, the expression in his eyes when he looked at Mo Yuqing had changed by the tiniest possible amount, as though he were looking at some terrifying creature.

"Oh, alright then."

Mo Yuqing finally withdrew her Martial Soul and blinked as she watched the male teacher fill out her results. The handsome teacher felt an immense amount of psychological pressure.

What had just happened seemed absurd, but it had not actually been difficult to pull off. Although Chi Tianxiang had successfully controlled Mo Yuqing, the shield was simply too powerful. He had been completely unable to interfere with Mo Yuqing's movements inside it.

Three seconds—an entire three seconds!

Mo Yuqing had been frightened, but she had a shield and three seconds to react. Under such circumstances, she could still respond and launch an effective attack, using her own advantage to land a single 'strike' that proved fatal.

The Jade Shield was powerful because, as long as it remained unbroken, attacks from outside could not interfere with any of the movements of the person inside. At most, the impact would force them back.

"Oh, right! Zhongli, how are you feeling now? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?" As Mo Yuqing gradually relaxed, she suddenly turned back and looked at Zhongli worriedly. She hurried over to support him as she asked.

Zhongli smiled 'with some difficulty,' silently thinking, The worst injury I suffered was the psychological trauma from seeing that crippling 'strike' of yours. It still feels chilly down there.

"I'm fine. It's not a big problem."

Zhongli leaned against Mo Yuqing, steadied his breathing slightly, and replied with a faint smile.

"How did your shield break just now? It lasted so long on me." Mo Yuqing looked at Zhongli worriedly and asked.

"Because I believed in you, I used the hidden secret of my Martial Soul. At the cost of a great deal of my Soul Power and leaving myself weakened, I raised the strength of your shield to its limit, giving you three seconds of invulnerability." Zhongli said with a weak expression and a forced smile.

"So you deliberately let your shield be broken, making the teacher think it was easy to break, so that I could seize the chance to counterattack?" Mo Yuqing's eyes lit up, but the next moment, she frowned tightly and looked at Zhongli. "Are you stupid? What if I failed to seize the opportunity? If I failed, wouldn't you have been hurt for nothing?"

"I believe in you."

Zhongli continued to smile, looking at Mo Yuqing before him with complete trust, as though that truly were the case.

"Idiot!"

Mo Yuqing said softly, then forcefully pulled Zhongli's head into the 'steel plate' against her chest.

Only she would believe that... her purity was remarkably high...

"Alright, here are your forms. I've already reported your results." The handsome male teacher wore a somewhat stiff smile as he handed the two forms to them. After seeing them accept the forms, he continued, "Your situation is rather special. Just go report to the building over there later. Show the forms to the teacher there."

"Mm, thank you, Teacher!"

Mo Yuqing said politely with a slight bow.

"Mm, hurry along."

The handsome male teacher was still smiling, but inwardly, he desperately wanted these two little ones to leave as soon as possible. Looking at Mo Yuqing made him hurt all over, and his back was already somewhat damp—though the two children had not noticed.

A roadside bench

"You should rest properly first. There aren't many people around right now, so there's no need to rush. You can go report later." Mo Yuqing carefully helped Zhongli onto the bench and spoke in a gentle voice.

"Alright, then let's rest for a while."

Zhongli looked somewhat exhausted as he leaned against the bench and replied weakly.

"Mm-hmm. I'll go buy you some water. Wait here for me—I'll be back soon." Mo Yuqing stood up, looked at Zhongli with concern, and placed both hands on his shoulders as she spoke.

"Mm, thank you. Use my money."

Zhongli felt warmth in his heart. Although Mo Yuqing was still young, she had a good heart. Aside from certain accidents... his overall impression of her was quite good. She was like a walking Little Sun, someone who made people feel comfortable just by looking at her.

"Mm, then I'm going now. Wait for me!"

After taking a few steps, Mo Yuqing turned back again worriedly, lightly biting her lip as she spoke.

"I'll keep waiting here for you."

Zhongli nodded with a smile, watching as she gradually moved farther away. The light in his eyes slowly began to fade along with her departure. He turned to the old man who had appeared beside him at some unknown point and quietly asked, "Elder, did you come looking for me for something?"

"Hehe, it's nothing. I simply wanted to chat with you a little." Golden Crocodile Douluo said with a benevolent smile.

"Chat?"

"That's right, just a 'chat.'"

Golden Crocodile Douluo sat down as well, taking a seat not far from Zhongli. With a faint smile, he said, "Chat"—placing heavy emphasis on the word. In his eyes, Zhongli posed a considerable danger, so it was important to state his purpose from the very beginning. Starting a fight here would not be ideal.

Seeing that Zhongli did not react too intensely, Golden Crocodile Douluo smiled tentatively and said, "You were never injured in the first place, were you?"

"That was because Teacher Chi didn't use his full strength."

Zhongli replied calmly.

"Hehe..."

Golden Crocodile Douluo chuckled. His earlier words had not been a simple question, but a test of Zhongli's attitude. He wanted to know what this fellow was thinking, what his stance was, and whether he truly intended to hide things from him.

The answer was obvious. Zhongli was very reserved, and his response was roughly what Golden Crocodile Douluo had expected. That was a good thing.

After briefly organizing his words, he continued, "You should know that I saw that dragon, so... there is no need to hide it."

Zhongli narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Golden Crocodile Douluo. After thinking for a moment, he replied, "You saw it... Then since you've already seen it, what is there left to ask me?"

His wording was quite good. He gave the old man no useful information, merely deflecting the topic back like he was practicing tai chi. After all, he could not be sure how much the old man knew, nor what conclusions he had drawn from that information. If possible, it would be more effective to learn more before starting to bluff him.

"If I'm not mistaken, although you can use its power, that power does not belong to you, does it?" Golden Crocodile Douluo said with an unchanged smile.

"So what?"

A dangerous smile gradually appeared on Zhongli's face. "If I can use it, then it is my power. If you want to witness the limits of that power, I don't mind showing you."

An intangible dragon's might spread forth, and Golden Crocodile Douluo's expression changed again. He was now completely certain that there was a Divine Dragon within Zhongli, one capable of unleashing its full power at any time.

More importantly, this dragon possessed an extraordinarily powerful bloodline. The quality of its dragon's might was far beyond what the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon could compare to. It was undoubtedly a Dragon Type soul beast stronger than the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, and soul beasts of that level were only more dangerous than ordinary soul beasts.

"Hehe... I already said I only came to chat. Young people these days really do have fiery tempers." The old man shook his head slightly and sighed helplessly.

"Hmph, I don't want to chat with you."

Zhongli crossed his arms and turned his head slightly aside, speaking with obvious disdain.

"Haha, then I truly apologize."

The old man smiled. He could sense that the child before him was unlike ordinary people—very unlike them. But that was normal. If he had been the same as any other child, there would have been no reason for the Divine Dragon to choose him and allow him to wield power that belonged to the Divine Dragon.

His personality should have been only part of it. The larger factor was likely his Martial Soul. The Rock Spear summoned by that Dragon Type soul beast resembled the form of his Martial Soul, so it was highly possible that this child's Martial Soul could resonate with that Divine Dragon.

"Do you know how strong it is?"

The old man suddenly narrowed his eyes and asked.

"Do you think I'm capable of judging that?"

Zhongli's gaze shifted as he immediately countered with a question.

"Some things can be known without judgment, wouldn't you agree?" the old man continued with a smile.

Zhongli fell silent for a moment and did not answer directly. On the surface, he seemed to be considering whether to respond, but in truth, he was analyzing the old man's information.

What does this "it" refer to? Without a doubt, it's that dragon—the dragon I once saw in that virtual illusion. Since he asked like that, his conclusion isn't hard to understand...

"Then I won't tell you either."

In the end, Zhongli still did not answer. There was not the slightest fear in his eyes as he looked at the old man; instead, he appeared somewhat impatient, even faintly disdainful, as he said, "Just a Level 98 Titled Douluo. What a nuisance."

His voice was not loud—indeed, it was very soft—and his lips barely moved, but Golden Crocodile Douluo still heard him. He was also surprised, because by his preliminary estimate, that Divine Dragon was no less than five hundred thousand years old and might possess strength comparable to a human Limit Douluo. It was perfectly normal for it to see through his strength.

This fellow... really was dangerous!