"Leng Yaozhu? All right, I'll be right there."
After setting down the Soul Guidance Communicator, Long Yuan furrowed his brow for once. Leng Yaozhu's arrival had caught him completely off guard.
"Long Yuan, what's wrong?" Seeing that his expression was a little off, Gu Yuena asked curiously.
Long Yuan thought it over and decided there was no harm in telling her. "I used a special method to get myself a position in the Spirit Pagoda. I'm now the Vice Tower Master of the Spirit Pagoda in Eastsea City. And before I've even been here a few days, Leng Yaozhu shows up and asks for me by name."
Then he added, "Leng Yaozhu's title is Heavenly Phoenix Douluo. She's a Level 99 Limit Douluo and also a Vice Tower Master of the Spirit Pagoda. So when the car comes to pick me up, come with me. You wanted to establish ties with the Spirit Pagoda, didn't you? This is a pretty good opportunity."
Long Yuan knew Gu Yuena's plan. The Spirit Pagoda controlled all Artificial Soul Spirits and the vital Spirit Ascension Platforms, making it an extremely important part of the plan.
"All right, let's go." Gu Yuena put down her chopsticks and was the first to leave the restaurant.
Long Yuan watched her go, then sensed something was wrong.
Damn it, she hadn't paid!
He was about to chase after her when the owner stopped him. "Sir, you haven't paid yet."
"Sigh, how much? Just tell me." Long Yuan rubbed his brow helplessly.
Outside, Gu Yuena watched with a bright smile as Long Yuan paid.
"All right, you dared to set me up? Looks like you're asking for a sore backside!" Long Yuan stepped outside, saw Gu Yuena laughing, and immediately reached out to grab her.
Gu Yuena fought back with all her might, but she was no match for the power of the numbers and was caught in one swift motion.
Smack—
The sharp sound rang out. Gu Yuena, who had just been about to struggle, froze in place. The next moment, a blush swept across her cheeks.
She stamped her foot, mortified. "You, you..."
Gu Yuena had never imagined that he would actually dare to do that in front of so many people...
"Hmph. Let's see if you dare set me up again." Long Yuan clapped his hands in satisfaction.
Little sisters were the sort of creatures who, if you didn't teach them a lesson for three days, would climb right up onto the roof and tear it off. So it was best to discipline them early. Otherwise, when they started calling you "old geezer, cough up some cash," you'd regret it too late.
After that, Gu Yuena behaved herself. She let Long Yuan hold her hand and didn't pull any more tricks.
"Let's go meet that Heavenly Phoenix Douluo." After getting out of the car, Long Yuan courteously held a hand over the door frame and helped Gu Yuena out.
Gu Yuena pursed her lips. "You're always putting on these empty shows. What's the point?"
Long Yuan replied solemnly, "Don't you think it makes the moment feel special?"
"Fine. If you think it's good, then it's good." Gu Yuena was completely at a loss.
Lu Kening was manning the front desk again today. She'd spotted the two of them some time ago and greeted them from a distance. "Greetings, Tower Master Long."
"Lu Kening? I thought you'd stop working part-time once school started. Don't the upper-year students have anything to do?"
"How could I? Registration's only today. Classes don't officially start until tomorrow." Lu Kening stuck out her tongue and spoke playfully.
"You're here to see Your Excellency Heavenly Phoenix, right? She's in my dad's top-floor office. You can head straight up."
"All right. Thanks for the trouble."
Long Yuan waved a hand, took Gu Yuena's hand, and led her toward the Soul Guidance elevator.
As they waited for the elevator, Long Yuan said, "That girl's name is Lu Kening. She's Lu Fengnian's daughter, the Tower Master of the Eastsea City Spirit Pagoda, and a fifth-year student at Eastsea Academy."
"Why are you telling me that?" Gu Yuena muttered.
But despite what she said, she couldn't help feeling relieved.
She found herself wondering what kind of relationship she and Long Yuan had.
Siblings? Partners? Or... lovers?
They had been born from the same Dragon God and were once one being, but now that they had been born, they were two separate individuals. Even if they had given birth anew to the Dragon God Bloodline, the new Dragon God would be them—not the Dragon God from before.
Yet for the very same reason, Gu Yuena felt an instinctive closeness toward Long Yuan. That was why she hadn't gotten angry when he'd done that to her earlier. Instead, she'd felt a little shy.
No, no, no. She couldn't keep thinking like this!
Gu Yuena shook her head, driving the thoughts from her mind. Just as Long Yuan had said, there was plenty of time. They could talk about it later.
Long Yuan knocked on the door, and after hearing a response, pushed it open and went straight in.
Inside the office, Lu Fengnian was seated in a guest chair. The woman sat in the seat that was usually his.
She looked to be around twenty, with jade-like features and a fiery temperament—passionate, yet graceful and alluring. She was breathtakingly beautiful, full of the sun's vitality, and tall and willowy, like the most exquisite ornament.
"Greetings, Your Excellency Heavenly Phoenix." Long Yuan offered a calm greeting, then pulled Gu Yuena down beside him. Fortunately, there were plenty of chairs in the office.
A flicker of surprise crossed Leng Yaozhu's eyes. His attitude was not what she had expected. The juniors she usually met were exceedingly respectful and hardly dared to breathe. Even Qiangu Zhangting, Qiangu Dongfeng's grandson, treated her with great deference. Long Yuan, on the other hand, had greeted her as casually as if she were just some passerby.
From Long Yuan's perspective, she was just a Limit Douluo—one who had only just broken through to the level of a quasi-demigod. She was nothing to fear.
Even though his divine sense was still weak, it was still divine sense. The difference of a single step was as vast as heaven and earth.
Leng Yaozhu glanced at him twice before her attention was drawn to Gu Yuena.
As Heavenly Phoenix Douluo, she possessed Heavenly Phoenix True Fire and had an exceptionally keen sense for fire elements.
Normally, unless another Super Douluo or stronger expert with a fire attribute was present, the fire elements nearby would be drawn to her. Yet at that moment, a considerable number of them were circling around the girl beside him.
"Interesting." Leng Yaozhu grew serious.
Originally, she had only stopped by to see what kind of person Long Yuan was, since Lu Fengnian had recommended him. After all, that secretive talent-development plan concerned the Spirit Pagoda's arrangements for the coming decades.
Take Lu Xingyu, for example. He was part of that plan. The Spirit Pagoda had confirmed he would eventually become a Super Douluo, which was why they had included him.
"Long Yuan, I'm glad to meet you," Leng Yaozhu began. "I heard you come from a Hidden Clan, but I've traveled across the Douluo Continent for many years and never once heard of such a clan."
Her meaning was simple: she believed Long Yuan had fabricated his identity.
Before coming, she had already looked into Long Yuan's background. His Golden Dragon Martial Soul was unquestionably one of the strongest Martial Souls, known as the ancestor of strength and possessing the attribute of ultimate power.
If there were a clan that passed down the Golden Dragon Martial Soul, there was no reason not even a trace of information about it would have surfaced.
Long Yuan's smile faded. His voice remained calm but left no room for doubt. "Someone at your level isn't qualified to know."