"Take her as your disciple?"
Long Yuan nodded and looked at Gu Yuena. "What do you think?"
Gu Yuena was caught completely off guard. Why had the other woman agreed to take her as a disciple so readily? Had she missed something?
After thinking it over, she replied, "Since Her Excellency Heavenly Phoenix wants to, I'm naturally willing. But... I'll listen to you."
As she spoke, Gu Yuena tightened her grip on Long Yuan's hand.
All right...
Leng Yaozhu sighed. She was sure now: these two really did have something going on. They were hardly in a normal brother-sister relationship.
Even if they were siblings, they should have shown some restraint in front of others. But these two were practically shoving their affection in everyone's faces.
Still, Leng Yaozhu said, "Since that's the case, then..."
"Wait!" Long Yuan interrupted her. "I don't object to Your Excellency taking her as your disciple, but you should at least tell me what Na'er would get out of it."
"What would she get? As a Limit Douluo, surely I..." Leng Yaozhu began instinctively, but she suddenly stopped halfway through.
That was right. How could a Hidden Clan—especially one that clearly had a monster like Long Yuan—possibly lack powerful experts? If the offer was guidance in cultivation and a boost in strength, how could an outsider like her compare to the experts of their own clan?
The other party surely knew that, yet Long Yuan had deliberately asked her anyway. So what he wanted couldn't be that.
Once she realized this, Leng Yaozhu didn't answer right away. Instead, she glanced at Lu Fengnian.
Lu Fengnian understood. He wasn't supposed to hear what came next.
To be honest, he shouldn't even have known that Leng Yaozhu had lost ground in her exchange with Long Yuan. But what could he do? At the time, he hadn't even dared to move.
"Um, I just remembered I promised Ke Ning I'd take her out to eat. At my age, I've gone far too long without spending time with my daughter. I won't disturb you, then. I'll be off!" After coming up with a pitiful excuse, Lu Fengnian dashed away.
Once the unrelated person had left, Leng Yaozhu fell into thought again.
Long Yuan didn't mind. He rubbed Gu Yuena's hand and waited without changing expression.
The rubbing tickled Gu Yuena's palm, but it made her feel strangely at ease, with a hint of shyness mixed in.
She endured the ticklish feeling and lowered her head without a word, her cheeks growing a little redder.
About a minute later, Leng Yaozhu had sorted out her thoughts.
Resources!
Long Yuan had brought this up specifically because he wanted to make a resource exchange with her.
Taking Gu Yuena as his disciple and forming a bond with her was the price Long Yuan was offering.
And what he wanted in exchange was the resources she—or rather, the Spirit Pagoda—could provide, including cultivation resources, connections, and more.
In Leng Yaozhu's view, connections were exactly what a Hidden Clan like this lacked most.
Now, that clan had sent out two geniuses, Long Yuan and Gu Yuena, because they wanted the pair to win over a major faction.
Throughout history, whenever a reclusive faction emerged, it had often brought sweeping changes to the continent's balance of power. After all, such factions never lacked powerful experts.
Long Yuan was already so monstrous that Leng Yaozhu absolutely refused to believe the clan behind him had no Limit Douluos. They might even have more than one demigod.
Of course, Long Yuan had no idea how much Leng Yaozhu had imagined on his behalf.
He had only asked casually. After all, he had no so-called Hidden Clan behind him, nor any resources to trade.
Having convinced herself she understood the situation, Leng Yaozhu said, "With your younger sister's talent, given time, she will surely become a Spirit Envoy. It's even quite possible she could become Vice Tower Master."
That was the offer she was making. No matter what, she could secure Gu Yuena a position as a Spirit Envoy.
It was worth noting that under ordinary circumstances, the Spirit Pagoda's Tower Master couldn't make decisions unilaterally. All the Spirit Pagoda's decisions were made by an organization called the Spirit Pagoda Council.
The Council consisted of forty-three members: one Tower Master, two Vice Tower Masters, four Spirit Envoys, and thirty-six elders.
The Council followed the rule of majority vote and had fifty-one votes in total.
Each Vice Tower Master and Spirit Envoy held two votes, second only to the Tower Master's three. That was quite a significant amount of influence.
The Spirit Pagoda was riddled with factions. Generally speaking, a family was doing well if it managed to secure two seats.
At present, even the Qiangu Family, the Spirit Pagoda's greatest family, held only three seats: Tower Master Qiangu Dongfeng, along with Qiangu Dieting and Qiangu Qingfeng.
(Qiangu Zhangting hadn't become a Spirit Envoy yet. In the original work, both Qiangu Dieting and Qiangu Dieting appeared; I'm using the latter here. I guess when San wrote this part, he was playing the stock market.)
Hearing the promise, Long Yuan nodded. "In that case, let Na'er become Your Excellency's disciple. But Na'er is still studying at Eastsea Academy. We'll make it official later."
Leng Yaozhu stood and walked over to Gu Yuena. "Later, then? That's fine. If you have any questions about cultivation, you can come to me. Here's my Soul Guidance Communication number."
As she spoke, she took out a business card and handed it to Gu Yuena. "I still have things to take care of, so I'll be going first. As for those Evil Soul Masters, if you find any clues, you can tell me."
"I won't see you out." Long Yuan watched Leng Yaozhu leave, then turned to Gu Yuena. "What do you think of Leng Yaozhu?"
Gu Yuena blinked. "I don't dislike her. I'd be fine with becoming her disciple."
"Mm... That makes sense. In a way, the two of you are alike."
"Alike?" Gu Yuena tilted her head adorably, puzzled.
They were both hopeless romantics, after all. But Long Yuan didn't say it aloud.
Meanwhile, Leng Yaozhu climbed into her Mecha. Besides being a Limit Douluo, she was also a Black Grade Mecha Master.
"Heavenly Phoenix, have you received any messages?"
Leng Yaozhu's Mecha was also called Heavenly Phoenix. The voice she had just addressed belonged to its built-in auxiliary system.
High-tier Mechas like this all had their own auxiliary systems. These were akin to artificial intelligence: they could assist Mecha Masters with delicate operations and take care of everyday tasks.
"Master, just now, a message came from Heaven Dou City. Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua has accepted your family's invitation."
"Excellent. Once the matter in Eastsea City is settled, we'll head to Heaven Dou City," Leng Yaozhu said excitedly.
After becoming a Limit Douluo, she had begun using her family's influence to ask Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua to make her a Four-Word Battle Armor. And now, it had finally worked out.
A Four-Word Battle Armor Master! Only by becoming one could she truly stand among the continent's greatest.