Suppression and a Deal! (Please Keep Reading)

Gu Long had neutralized the Amethyst Winged Lion King's attack so casually that the shock was like a tangible mountain, crushing the entire Valley into dead silence.

The horror in Yun Yun's beautiful eyes lingered for a long while after she witnessed that scene.

She gripped her longsword tightly. The little Dou Qi she had left circulated faintly within her, yet she did not dare make the slightest move.

The strength displayed by this mysterious youth had completely surpassed the bounds of her understanding.

The Amethyst Winged Lion King's beastly pupils constricted as well. Its massive body instinctively retreated half a step, and a low, wary whimper rumbled from its throat.

It had roamed the Monster Mountain Range for many years. Even against Yun Yun at her peak, it would have dared to fight.

Yet now, from this seemingly harmless youth, it sensed a tremor from the depths of its soul and an irresistible majesty!

However, Gu Long gave neither of them much time to process their shock.

With a thought, he opened the System Space, and a black figure appeared silently beside him.

It was a humanoid puppet entirely dark gold in color, roughly two meters tall, with cold, rigid lines and not a trace of life about it.

Yet an immense and terrifying pressure, as unfathomable as an abyss, radiated from its body—a Dou Zong's pressure!

This puppet was one of the rewards he had received from a recent sign-in. It possessed combat power comparable to a low-level Dou Zong and obeyed his commands absolutely.

Using it against a wounded human and beast in their current weakened states was more than enough.

The appearance of the Dou Ancestor Puppet was like the final straw that broke the camel's back.

The color instantly drained from Yun Yun's lovely face, and her lips trembled slightly. "Dou... Dou Zong?!"

She finally understood why this youth had been so fearless!

He actually carried a Dou Zong-level puppet with him!

Just what was his background?

The Amethyst Winged Lion King let out a low roar filled with terror and despair.

A Dou Zong! That was an existence it absolutely could not contend with at present!

It finally realized that the youth before it possessed the ability to decide its life and death with ease.

"Can we have a proper talk now?"

Gu Long's voice remained calm, but against the mountain-like pressure of the Dou Ancestor Puppet, it carried an irresistible force.

He first looked at the Amethyst Winged Lion King. "Submit to me and offer me a wisp of your Origin Soul Fire. I will not kill you, nor will I take your Purple Spirit Crystal.

"Moreover, I promise that I will help you break through to the Seventh Order in the future, and perhaps even higher.

"Death, or a broader future—it is your choice."

Gu Long's voice carried a strange power of persuasion. In particular, the words "help you break through to the Seventh Order" struck the Amethyst Winged Lion King's heart like a heavy hammer.

The leap from the Sixth Order to the Seventh Order was an enormous threshold, one that countless magical beasts could not cross in their entire lives.

This promise was simply too tempting for it.

Feeling the cold killing intent of the Dou Ancestor Puppet locked onto it, then looking at the mysterious youth who could casually produce such a puppet, the violence and struggle in the Amethyst Winged Lion King's eyes gradually gave way to submission.

It chose to lower its proud head and released a muffled roar.

A faint purple flame containing the essence of its life drifted out from its forehead and slowly flew toward Gu Long.

This was the mark of a magical beast's complete submission. Once it handed over its Origin Soul Fire, its life and death would be entirely in another's hands.

Gu Long reached out and caught that wisp of soul fire. Feeling the connection within it to the Amethyst Winged Lion King's soul, he nodded.

He casually put away the soul fire without refining it immediately, then turned his gaze toward the pale-faced Yun Yun.

Yun Yun's heart tightened, and her grip on her sword grew firmer.

She knew it was her turn.

"Sect Master Yun Yun," Gu Long said as he looked at her, "I bear you no ill will. In fact, I can offer you and the Misty Cloud Sect a great opportunity."

"An opportunity?" Yun Yun frowned, her vigilance undiminished.

Instead of answering, Gu Long asked, "Do you know why your teacher, Yun Shan, has remained in seclusion for so many years, yet has never succeeded in breaking through to the Dou Zong realm?"

Yun Yun's delicate body shuddered, and disbelief filled her eyes. "You... how do you know about my teacher...?"

Yun Shan's attempt to break through to Dou Zong was the Misty Cloud Sect's greatest secret. Other than her and a few core Elders, no outsider could possibly know!

"Not only do I know that he failed to break through to Dou Zong, I also know the root cause of his failure."

Gu Long's tone was calm, but his words exploded beside Yun Yun's ears like thunder.

In his early years of cultivation, he had been too eager for quick success and left behind hidden flaws in his foundation. As a result, an almost imperceptible crack had formed in his Sea of Dou Qi.

It caused no problems in ordinary times, but when he tried to break through the Dou Zong barrier, that crack would expand without limit and become an insurmountable chasm.

If he forced the breakthrough, death and the dissipation of his cultivation would be his only end.

Yun Yun's expression completely changed, because the symptoms Gu Long described perfectly matched the occasional hints Yun Shan had let slip!

This youth actually understood her teacher's condition so thoroughly?!

"Y-you... who exactly are you? What do you want?"

There was a tremor in Yun Yun's voice that even she had not noticed.

"Who I am is not important," Gu Long said slowly. "What matters is that I have a way to mend the crack in his Sea of Dou Qi and help him truly step into the Dou Zong realm."

He paused, looked at Yun Yun's shocked and conflicted eyes, and continued, "However, before that, I will have to trouble Sect Master Yun for a while."

Before his words had even faded, the Dou Ancestor Puppet moved instantly! It was so fast that it left an afterimage behind. In the next moment, it had already appeared before Yun Yun.

Though startled, Yun Yun's instincts as a Dou Emperor made her raise her sword to block.

But how could she, gravely injured as she was, be a match for the Dou Ancestor Puppet?

Clang!

With a crisp ring, Yun Yun's longsword was knocked from her hand by a tremendous force.

At the same time, the puppet's finger struck her lower abdomen, at the location of her dantian, like lightning.

A tyrannical yet pure force instantly surged into her body, transforming into several invisible shackles that completely sealed the Dou Qi within her!

Yun Yun let out a muffled groan. She felt all strength drain from her body like the receding tide, and weakness washed over her. She staggered, nearly unable to remain standing.

She stared at Gu Long in disbelief, her beautiful eyes filled with humiliation and fury. "You!"

"Do not worry. It is only a temporary seal. It will not damage your foundation," Gu Long said evenly.

"Until I confirm certain matters and ensure that the Misty Cloud Sect will not cause me unnecessary trouble, I can only ask Sect Master Yun to be my guest for a time. Once the time is right, I will naturally fulfill my promise and help Yun Shan break through to Dou Zong."

With a wave of his hand, a gentle stream of Dou Qi supported the nearly exhausted Yun Yun and brought her to his side.

"As for you," Gu Long said, turning to the Amethyst Winged Lion King lying prostrate on the ground.

"Return to your cave and recover. Conceal your aura, and do not leave without my command. Once I have dealt with the matters at hand, I will make arrangements for you."

The Amethyst Winged Lion King gave a low roar of obedience, then struggled to its feet and limped toward its lair with its wounded body.

Gu Long glanced at Yun Yun beside him, whose cultivation had been sealed and whose eyes were filled with complicated emotions, then at the silent Dou Ancestor Puppet standing nearby. His heart remained utterly calm.

Subduing the Lion King would add another battle general with immense potential to the Dragon Domain.

Controlling Yun Yun meant grasping the lifeline of the Misty Cloud Sect. In the future, he might be able to bring this hegemon of the Jia Ma Empire beneath the Dragon Domain without shedding a drop of blood, or at the very least keep it from becoming an enemy.

All of this rested upon the memories granted by his foreknowledge and the formidable aid provided by the system.

"Let us go, Sect Master Yun."

Gu Long spoke indifferently. Dou Qi swept up Yun Yun, and with a flash, he vanished from the spot together with the Dou Ancestor Puppet.

Only the wreckage scattered across the Valley remained, proof of the thrilling confrontation that had just taken place.

The depths of the Monster Mountain Range returned to silence, but the course of fate had shifted once more because of Gu Long's intervention.

A future Seventh-Order magical beast overlord and a female Dou Emperor who controlled the Jia Ma Empire's strongest sect—their fates had, from this moment onward, become tightly intertwined with Gu Long's.