I Think You're Doing It on Purpose

Shrek City, Spirit Pagoda Headquarters, Leng Yaozhu's office.

The afternoon sunlight streamed in at an angle through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting long shadows on the dark wooden floor.

Leng Yaozhu, Gu Yue, and Huo Yuhao sat on the sofa, their expressions serious, clearly not discussing anything lighthearted.

The tea on the coffee table had stopped steaming, but no one touched it.

Leng Yaozhu's gaze fell on Huo Yuhao, her eyes filled with undisguised satisfaction.

She looked at the child she had raised, from the naive boy she first met to the one who now stood on the edge of the continent's pinnacle.

Moreover, her once joking goal is actually about to be achieved; she is about to cultivate a true god.

She spoke calmly, "Yuhao, your Soul Power has now reached Level 98. In terms of combat strength, you are in no way inferior to Demigod. Qiangu Dongfeng should no longer be your match."

The moment those words were spoken, Gu Yue's eyes flickered slightly, but she didn't say anything.

It was Na'er in her Spirit Sea who reacted first, her tone carrying a hint of reminder: "You need to speed up your plan, otherwise if the Qiangu Dongfeng falls, the Ten Thousand Beast Platform won't be able to find a scapegoat."

Gu Yue didn't reply; of course she knew all this.

She hadn't expected Huo Yuhao's cultivation speed to be so fast, much faster than hers, who was starting over.

Huo Yuhao leaned back on the sofa, a slight smile playing on his lips as he said casually, "It seems it's time to ask this Ancient Tower Master to step down."

Leng Yaozhu nodded, but did not immediately agree.

She picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip, and then slowly said, "There's no rush. If we're going to make a move, we should aim for a fatal strike."

"I've already made some progress on his collusion with the Holy Spirit Cult. We'll take action against him once the evidence is more complete."

Huo Yuhao wasn't in a hurry, but he thought to himself that if he waited any longer, he might become a god himself.

By then, what need will there be for any evidence? No one will refuse a God to become the master of the Spirit Pagoda Tower Master.

The three did not talk for long. Leng Yaozhu had other matters to attend to, so Gu Yue and Huo Yuhao got up to say goodbye.

The two walked out of the office one after the other, the door closing gently behind them.

Gu Yue naturally reached out and took Huo Yuhao's right hand, unconsciously leaning closer to him in an intimate and relaxed manner.

Huo Yuhao felt that Gu Yue had become much more clingy since returning from the Endless Mountains.

Although the two were close in the past, Gu Yue would never have taken the initiative like this.

What Huo Yuhao didn't know was that this was actually a kind of "obedience test" by Gu Yue.

However, the object being tested was not him, but Na'er.

It seems that Na'er has been properly trained by Gu Yue now, and no longer shouts "Stop!" as she used to when she held hands with Huo Yuhao.

Na'er seems to have gotten used to all of this now. Not just holding hands, but even kissing, hugging, and being lifted up by Huo Yuhao, she can face it all calmly.

But this made things difficult for Huo Yuhao, since he knew that Na'er could sense everything this body was experiencing.

Every time Gu Yue leaned on his shoulder, every time their fingers intertwined, every time there was a natural, unspoken intimacy, he felt as if not only Gu Yue was standing beside him, but also Na'er.

The feeling of being watched and perceived by two people at the same time always gave him an inexplicable sense of awkwardness.

The two parted ways at the end of the corridor. Huo Yuhao secretly breathed a sigh of relief as he turned and walked in another direction.

Seeing Huo Yuhao's relieved expression, Gu Yue couldn't help but chuckle softly.

Just then, Na'er in the Spirit Sea snorted and said, "I think you're doing this on purpose."

Gu Yue didn't explain anything, and even tilted her head slightly, her tone carrying a hint of provocation. "So what if it is?"

Na'er was so angry at her expression that her cheeks puffed out, but she couldn't retaliate.

Because she had tried many times before, no matter what she did or said, it was all in vain.

She bit her lip for a while, then finally gave up, a hint of helplessness flashing in her eyes. "Whatever, it's your body now."

Gu Yue's smile faded slightly, and her tone suddenly became serious. "Haven't you noticed?"

Na'er was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this. "What did you discover?"

Gu Yue said calmly, "You have gradually accepted your closeness with Yuhao, and the fusion between us seems to have undergone some changes."

Na'er opened her mouth to the first sentence, but found that she really couldn't refute it. She herself didn't know when this change had started.

As for the second sentence, Na'er hadn't paid attention to it before.

After Gu Yue's reminder, she calmed down and began to seriously sense the body that was not under her control at the moment.

A moment later, her expression suddenly shifted slightly, and she exclaimed with delight, "A change has indeed occurred! Not only is the fusion more harmonious, but it seems the fusion has also loosened. We can separate now?!"

"We can't separate yet." Gu Yue shook her head, but there was a meaningful smile in her tone. "But maybe, if I get closer to Yuhao, we can separate."

Upon hearing this, Na'er began to seriously consider the question. She wondered what exactly Gu Yue meant by "getting closer" to her.

They've held hands more than once, and hugs are common. Aren't these kisses and hugs intimate enough?

Suddenly, a thought popped into her head without warning, like a pebble thrown into a calm pond, creating ripples in her mind.

Her face flushed instantly from her ears to her neck. She abruptly raised her head, looked at Gu Yue's mischievous grin, and cried out in shame and indignation, "Don't even think about it!"

Gu Yue naturally knew what Na'er was thinking, and she simply laughed a few times without saying anything more.

Previously, Leng Yaozhu said that they had made some progress on the matter of the Holy Spirit Cult, and Huo Yuhao thought it would take at least one or two months for there to be any substantial progress.

After all, the entire Douluo Federation is currently searching for the Holy Spirit Cult with all its might, and many of those Evil Soul Master have been successively wiped out or imprisoned.

However, the true leaders of the Holy Spirit Cult seemed to have vanished from the mainland in an instant, and no matter how the Federation and other major powers cast their nets, they could not find any definite clues.

However, Huo Yuhao did not expect that just five days later, Leng Yaozhu would call him over again and say that they needed to prepare for action.

When Huo Yuhao arrived at Leng Yaozhu's office, he found that in addition to her, another teacher Han Tianyi, was also present.

After the three of them sat down, Leng Yaozhu's expression was serious and solemn. When she spoke, there was no unnecessary politeness in her tone. "I only learned that she had joined the Holy Spirit Cult after you brought back the message about Yu Lai from the Star Luo Continent."

"Later, I had people keep an eye on this line and investigate relentlessly, and finally I discovered some clues."

"The higher-ups of the Holy Spirit Cult can't be found anywhere on the Douluo Continent now; it's as if they've vanished into thin air."

"But I received information that Yu Lai recently appeared on the Douling Continent, and right there at the Douling Continent Spirit Pagoda."

Huo Yuhao frowned upon hearing this and said, "Hua Tao, the Tower Master of the Douling Spirit Pagoda, is a member of Qiangu Dongfeng. Does Aunt Leng mean that he also has problems?"