"Xue'er, did I... just see wrong?" A hint of disbelief and doubt laced her voice.
The Snow Empress's face was likewise painted with astonishment. She widened her eyes, seemingly unable to believe what she saw before her. This stroke of fortune was simply too bizarre and unbelievable.
What on earth had they seen? Lang Lei had actually gained an extra martial soul! This was an unprecedented occurrence. Martial souls were normally innate; how could one possibly suddenly appear out of nowhere?
Though their hearts were filled with doubts, the fact lay right before their eyes, leaving them no choice but to believe it. In Lang Lei's hands, this martial soul was like an obedient, well-behaved child, completely following his command—forming a sharp contrast with the powerful, unyielding entity they had held previously.
However, Lang Lei himself was completely oblivious to all of this. At this moment, he was wholly focused on converting these newly acquired powers into his own strength, entirely unaware of the surrounding anomaly.
At the same time, Elysia was facing an unexpected challenge. An uninvited guest had suddenly broken into Lang Lei's mind. This mysterious entity made her feel somewhat surprised, but it was not entirely unmanageable. After all, the permissions Lang Lei granted her were very high; inside his sea of consciousness, it was no different from her own.
"This is a very important place for Lang Lei, oh? To sneak in like this without a sound, even I would feel a little displeased~?"
Inside Lang Lei's sea of consciousness, Elysia held the Missive of Flowing Flowers, resembling a fairy dancing gracefully. She lightly flicked her silky, smooth hair, a subtle smile hanging on the corners of her lips like a flower blooming in the spring—bright, charming, and looking at the silver gleam before her with eyes full of smiles.
That beam of silver light seemed completely unprepared to be discovered so easily. Suddenly, as if struck by a binding spell, it paused abruptly, then cautiously and tentatively moved slowly toward Elysia.
Seeing this, the smile on Elysia's lips deepened, and she let out a light laugh that was as crisp and pleasant as a silver bell. Immediately afterward, she waved her arm gently, and a pink crystal barrier suddenly appeared like a streak of pink lightning, tightly caging the silver light within.
The silver light trapped in the crystal clearly panicked. It began to crash wildly against the surrounding crystals, attempting to break through this pink cage. Yet no matter how it struggled, it failed to shake the seemingly fragile crystal by even a fraction.
After several futile attempts, the silver light finally realized that its efforts were all in vain, so it simply stopped crashing and floated quietly inside the crystal.
Just as Elysia watched this scene with some surprise, the unexpected happened—the silver light actually began to change gradually. Its shape became clearer and clearer, eventually transforming into a young woman dressed in white!
This young woman's figure was quite similar to Elysia's. Her skin was as white as snow, like mutton-fat jade, exuding a faint luster. Her long hair cascaded over her shoulders like a waterfall, gently brushing against her delicately sculpted face, which only made her beauty seem like that of a fairy descending to the mortal realm.
"Oh, it turns out to be a beautiful maiden! But I'm terribly sorry, I still can't let you stay here~?"
Elysia said in a pampered tone, her voice revealing a hint of playfulness and helplessness. As she spoke, she slowly raised the bow and arrow in her hand, the arrowhead flashing with a cold light, pointing straight at the white-robed girl trapped in the crystal.
She certainly liked beautiful maidens, but Lang Lei was more important to her. She would never allow anyone to hurt him. Such attempts to sneakily enter someone's sea of consciousness were either for possession or destruction, neither of which she would ever permit, especially since Lang Lei was currently at a critical stage of increasing his strength.
"Wait!" At that moment, Gu Yuena spoke.
"Hm? Does this young lady have anything else to say?"
"First, I apologize for my actions. I am Gu Yuena, the Silver Dragon King, and also the owner of this reverse scale."
"Reverse scale?" Elysia was slightly surprised. "In myths, isn't the reverse scale rather important to the dragon race?"
"Indeed, but I had no other choice."
"In the parlance of this world, you are also a deity. How could such a situation arise where you have no other choice?"
"This world? So you're not a native resident of Douluo Continent? No wonder you have such insight... and no wonder this place was able to isolate divine sense..."
"Young lady, don't ignore my question, okay~?"
"Apologies, I was just feeling a bit emotional. It's a long story involving many things that cannot be made clear in a single sentence, but I ask that you, given what I have paid, help me afterward—at the least... do not become my enemy?"
"Mh-hm~?" Elysia hummed softly. "I don't get the final say on that, oh~ I can't make decisions for Lang Lei~?"
"If you agree, I naturally will consent as well." Just then, another voice chimed in.
"Oh, Lang Lei, have you finished absorbing it?"
"Yeah, thank you, Aili."
"It's nothing~?"
Lang Lei nodded and shifted his gaze back to Gu Yuena.
"Alright, miss, state your purpose. Seeing as you did indeed help me and Elysia, I can consider it on a case-by-case basis."
"You really don't seem like a six-year-old child..."
"Miss Gu Yuena?"
* "Very well, I will explain, but I also must ask Student Lang Lei never to disclose the content of our current conversation to any deity in the God Realm." *
"Very well."
"I can actually be considered a wanted criminal of the God Realm. The specific reason... should be considered my predecessor, or rather... my father, the Dragon God, who started a war in the God Realm and then lost."
"Chiming Tui Sheng?" Lang Lei let out a soft exclamation of surprise.
"What?"
"Nothing, go on." Lang Lei waved his hand. As long as the person herself wasn't heinous, he didn't care about the rest.
"After the Dragon God died, he transformed into me and the Golden Dragon King. The Golden Dragon King was imprisoned in the God Realm, while I escaped. A portion of the Dragon God's old subordinates continued to follow me, but if the God Realm discovers me, I'm afraid..."
"So, you want me to protect you all after I grow up?"
Before Gu Yuena could finish her sentence, her voice abruptly vanished.
Lang Lei looked at Elysia, and Elysia tilted her head.
"I didn't do it, okay~?"
"I know, it's just a bit strange. Aili, do you know what's going on here?"
"It should be that this strand of spiritual energy's power was exhausted. It's my first time running into this situation too~?"
"Very well. If there's a chance later, we should still meet again."
"Does Lang Lei plan to help her?"
"Let's wait and see. Finding a way out for a civilization that wishes to survive is also the duty of a Nameless, but if the other party's civilization is the kind of existence similar to the Destruction Legion, then there's no need."
Before you continue