Change of Heart (Extra Chapter 1)

"Gu Yue."

Gu Yuena did not respond, but her gaze remained fixed on her.

"You stand here today for the revival of Soul Beast. You need the Golden Dragon King Bloodline, you need the reappearance of the Dragon God."

Tang Wulin's voice was low, and he spoke each word slowly, as if he were making an extremely important deduction, "Have you ever thought about this question—even if the Dragon God really reappears, then what?"

He took a step forward.

Yuanen Yehui's body twitched slightly, as if she wanted to stop him, but she saw Tang Wulin's hand hanging by his side.

Her hand was relaxed. She hesitated for a moment, then didn't move.

"Eliminate humanity and let the Soul Beast once again dominate the continent?"

Tang Wulin's gaze passed over Gu Yuena and landed on Di Tian, but only for a brief moment before returning to her face. "But is that what you want?"

silence.

The spring water of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well is steaming in the distance, creating a mist of alternating hot and cold vapors, with the sound of flowing water.

If you don't speak, I'll assume you're not.

Tang Wulin said, the smile that had appeared on his lips resurfacing, not a smile, but something more resolute than a smile, "If all you want is to exterminate humanity, you don't need to act for so long in front of us. You could have done it on your very first day at the Eastsea Academy; you have a million chances."

"So what you want is not annihilation, but coexistence."

When he uttered those two words, his tone was as flat as if he were stating a mathematical equation that had already been proven.

Something stirred deep within Gu Yuena's pupils.

It was extremely subtle, but Tang Wulin had known her for so long that he could tell what it was.

"You are the Silver Dragon King, the ruler of Soul Beast; you must be responsible for your race. I understand."

Tang Wulin said, "But you also said—every day since you met us is real. If that's the case, why isn't there a third option?"

"What choice?"

Gu Yuena's voice was very low.

"Take away the Golden Dragon King Bloodline."

Tang Wulin looked at her and said, slowly and deliberately, "Then you, as the Silver Dragon King, restrained the Soul Beast, and I... I used whatever method I could to promote peace between humans and Soul Beast."

"Hasn't Jing Heng been trying to persuade you? The seven of us together might not be able to do it in one generation, or even two generations, but someone has to take the first step."

"Your plan lacks not power, but trust. You don't believe that humans will be willing to coexist with Soul Beast after the threat is gone, but if you kill me today, you will never prove that."

The valley was so quiet that only the gurgling of the spring water could be heard.

Gu Yuena remained silent.

Her expression remained cold and calm, but Di Tian, standing behind her, noticed a detail that no one else saw: her fingers curled slightly inside her sleeve.

Di Tian was all too familiar with this move.

Before the Lord made any decision that would affect the entire realm, her fingers would curl up like this.

He used to think it was uncertainty, but later he realized it wasn't uncertainty, but a habit of holding all hesitation in his palm the moment he made a decision.

She was never a person who hesitated.

The fact that she can use this action to restrain herself shows that her will has already shifted.

But the direction of the tilt was not his.

Di Tian raised his head.

He didn't look at Tang Wulin, nor at Gu Yuena, but instead glanced at the sky.

The setting sun had begun to sink beyond the barrier of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, and the darkness of night was gradually spreading.

Time is running out.

He sensed an extremely faint fluctuation; the confinement that Yun Ming had personally promised was being pried open from within by some force.

Yun Jingheng.

Di Tian's pupils narrowed.

The human boy trapped on Sea God Island is trying to break free of his limitations.

Although it was only a very slight fluctuation, and although he didn't believe anyone could break through Yun Ming's blockade before the transaction conditions were met, the first rule he had learned in his tens of thousands of years of life was: never underestimate anyone.

Especially that variable named Yun Jingheng, we can't wait any longer.

He withdrew his gaze and focused it back on Gu Yuena's back.

The Lord's fingers were still curled up inside his sleeve; he knew that the hesitation she held in her palm had not completely loosened.

She was still thinking about Tang Wulin's "third option"—not killing him, but still being able to take his bloodline.

She was trying to justify her soft heart.

But there's no theory to this kind of thing.

Not killing is being soft-hearted, and being soft-hearted is a hidden danger, which can destroy everything.

Di Tian shifted his gaze from her back to his right palm, where an extremely dark rune was slowly taking shape deep within his bloodline.

He hasn't made a move yet, not yet.

He needed to confirm one thing: what the Lord would say next.

If she says "okay," then that's settled.

He will make the decisions she cannot make.

Gu Yuena raised her head.

Her gaze refocused on Tang Wulin's face. At a distance of three steps, the boy's expression was more honest than any human she had ever seen.

Every single thing he said could be summed up in one word, "Naive." How could he possibly advocate for the coexistence of humans and Soul Beast?

By himself?

With a boy who is not even eighteen years old?

But she didn't say "naive".

Because she had known him long enough to know that when he said those words, he wasn't just making empty promises, but was making a commitment he intended to fulfill with his entire life.

Tang Wulin never lies.

He will do whatever it takes, even at the cost of his life.

This is him.

This was the man she knew from the very beginning—the one who had caused all her plans to go astray.

"Then tell me," Gu Yuena said, her voice finally showing a very subtle softening that only those who knew her best could detect, "How will you let me take the Golden Dragon King Bloodline without tearing apart our very essence?"

Tang Wulin was taken aback.

He didn't answer immediately because he understood the implication behind her words: she wasn't rejecting him.

She was asking "how to do it".

This is her way.

As before, I won't say "okay," I won't say "I agree," I won't say any direct, clear affirmation.

She would ask a technical question and then look for a path she could accept in the answers.

Tang Wulin took a deep breath, just about to say that Jing Heng was undergoing God Trial and might have a solution.

But he didn't get a chance to say it.

"My Lord."

Di Tian's voice came from Gu Yuena.

He has uttered those two words for tens of thousands of years, each time with reverence and obedience.

But this time is different.

This time, there was no respect in those two words, only a chilling calm, a somber tone that only comes after making some irreversible decision.

Gu Yuena turned around.

Black runes had already emerged from Di Tian's palm.

This is not an attack on Tang Wulin.

They came for her.