Bi Ji arrived sooner than expected.
The next evening,
before dusk had completely settled,
that jade-green figure arrived in Eastsea City.
She had changed into a simple, pale-green dress,
much more understated than when they had last met,
yet her effortless grace still drew frequent glances from passersby.
After receiving her soul communicator call, Lu Chuan went to wait for her at the academy's back gate.
"My lord." Seeing that no one was around, Bi Ji bowed slightly.
"Don't call me that for now. When we're outside, just call me Lu Chuan."
Lu Chuan waved a hand.
"As for the seal, I need you to confirm it personally."
Bi Ji nodded without asking any questions.
She simply followed quietly behind Lu Chuan.
Tang Ziran and Lang Yue hadn't seen the children for two months and had missed Lu Chuan and Tang Wuyue.
So the siblings had both been staying at home these past two days.
"Is she inside?" Bi Ji asked.
"Yeah. She just got back from training this afternoon and was so tired she fell asleep the moment she lay down."
Lu Chuan pushed open Tang Wuyue's bedroom door and chuckled softly.
"Try not to wake her while you're checking. She's a light sleeper. Last time she got hurt, you treated her and she noticed. When she woke up, she kept asking what our relationship was and why I could just call on you, a Titled Douluo. It was as if she was afraid I'd become your kept man!"
Lu Chuan was on the verge of laughing himself silly as he spoke.
But Bi Ji didn't find it funny at all. She only said, "My lord certainly remembers that clearly."
The atmosphere turned awkward in an instant.
At her words, Lu Chuan had nothing to say. He stepped aside from the doorway.
He'd noticed that after returning to the Star Dou Great Forest, Bi Ji seemed to have changed all of a sudden!
After entering the room, Bi Ji fell completely silent.
She walked over to Tang Wuyue's bedside,
then crouched down,
a layer of gentle, jade-green light appearing in her palm,
and laid it lightly over Tang Wuyue's lower abdomen.
Lu Chuan leaned against the doorframe,
his arms folded,
his eyes fixed on Bi Ji's expression without a moment's pause.
He knew what Bi Ji was thinking—
or rather, what Bi Ji and Zi JI were thinking.
The situation was much like the one the Silver Dragon King had faced in the original story,
yet also somewhat different.
He could keep Di Tian, Xiong Jun, King of Ten Thousand Demons, and the others in check,
but he couldn't change what they believed.
Apart from Di Tian, who had received the Dragon God's legacy, and King of Ten Thousand Demons, who had staked everything on his bet,
Xiong Jun, Bi Ji, Zi JI, Scarlet King...
all wanted him to devour the Silver Dragon King
and restore the Dragon God's might!
But
they had all overlooked one thing:
Ever since the Dragon God had been cleaved in two by a single sword,
there had been no Old Dragon God left in the world.
He,
and the Silver Dragon King,
were each independent beings with their own thoughts!
It took nearly half an incense stick's time before Bi Ji slowly withdrew her hand.
Seeing this, Lu Chuan lowered his voice and asked,
"How is it?"
Bi Ji answered frankly,
"Miss Wuyue's seal is structurally intact and stable. It's just as you judged, my lord."
"However... the seal inside Miss Wuyue isn't simply suppressing her power.
It's more like... a container.
It stores the power of the Silver Dragon King Bloodline in layers,
then releases it layer by layer once the host's body reaches a certain level of strength."
Lu Chuan was taken aback.
"So you're saying that as long as Wuyue's physical fitness reaches the required level, the seal will loosen on its own?"
"In theory, yes."
Bi Ji nodded firmly.
At this, Lu Chuan was astonished.
Because if Bi Ji was right,
then Wuyue's seal was exactly like the self-seal he'd placed on himself during his rebirth.
That meant that even without Spirit Fruit, dragon blood, or other supplementary medicines,
Xiao Wuyue wouldn't suffer when the seal was lifted.
But
Tang San hadn't used any such sealing technique in the original story.
If he knew how to do this,
why had Tang Wulin been at death's door every time he broke through a seal?
"Could this have been something you prepared in advance, too?"
Lu Chuan murmured, his shock beyond words.
A torrent of thoughts surged through his mind.
If Bi Ji's judgment was correct,
then the seal inside Tang Wuyue wasn't some crude restriction Tang San had hastily left behind,
but a meticulously designed system that grew in step with its host.
Who else could have created something like that,
besides the Silver Dragon King herself?
But if the Silver Dragon King herself had cooperated in setting up the seal,
then that was terrifying!
It meant
she had deceived the entire Divine Realm!
The first-generation God of Destruction and God of Life had died in this earth-shattering scheme!
Tang San, inheritor of Asura, had been left without descendants!
Of the five God Kings who had taken part in the encirclement, only the Evil God King and Good God King had escaped punishment!
Just thinking about it made Lu Chuan's back go cold.
"My lord?"
Seeing Lu Chuan lost in thought, Bi Ji called softly to him.
Only then did Lu Chuan come back to himself.
"Haha, I was thinking about a few things and lost track for a moment. Are you sure this seal won't cause her any hidden problems?"
"From what I've detected, my lord, there are absolutely no hidden problems."
Bi Ji spoke with certainty.
"On the contrary, this seal is subtly nourishing her meridians and Soul Power foundation.
If I had to point out one drawback,
it would be that the speed at which the seal releases its power depends entirely on Miss Wuyue's own growth. I don't recommend forcibly breaking it!"
"So we can't rush it."
"Right."
"However..."
"However what?"
Bi Ji said,
"The seal itself is indeed fine.
But around its outer edge, I sensed the remnants of a divine thought that had dissipated not long ago.
That aura was powerful, and it carried a strong personal imprint.
If I'm not mistaken, someone had been using divine thought to monitor this seal all along—or, rather, to spy on the world through Miss Wuyue!
You may want to keep that in mind, my lord."
Her words were chilling,
since no one wanted to be watched at every moment.
Fortunately, Lu Chuan knew what was going on.
He waved a hand, entirely unconcerned.
"I know. It was Tang San, that peeping tom."
"But it's gone now. Some time ago, a wisp of divine thought left behind by your Silver Lord destroyed the divine thought Tang San had left there."
Bi Ji understood.
"Then there probably isn't a problem anymore!
The seal is now ownerless.
It runs entirely on its preset procedures.
Once Miss Wuyue's body is strong enough,
the seal will lift naturally, like water flowing into its channel.
There's no need for you to worry, my lord."
Lu Chuan nodded.
"If that's really the case, then that's good!
But just to be safe, I need you to do two things."
"First, check the maximum strain her meridians can withstand. Second, give me a precise window for when the seal will lift."
Tang Wuyue's life was at stake.
Lu Chuan certainly wasn't going to let down his guard just because Bi Ji had given her word.
Bi Ji nodded.
Then she bent down again and began the examination.
This time, she took much longer.
Green light flowed around Tang Wuyue like running water,
carefully probing every meridian and every inch of the little girl's bones.
Lu Chuan stood by the doorway, waiting quietly.
It was nearly half an hour before Bi Ji withdrew her hand and rose to her feet.
By then,
her expression was much more serious than before.
"Miss Wuyue's meridians can withstand more than those of her peers—roughly as much as an ordinary Soul Ancestor's.
And since she's been taking Spirit Fruit regularly, her physical fitness is still steadily improving."
"Judging by her current condition, Miss Wuyue's physical strength has already reached the minimum required to withstand the release of the first layer of the seal."
"The minimum?"
"Yes, the minimum." Bi Ji looked Lu Chuan straight in the eyes. "So I'd estimate it'll unlock on its own in about a month."
Lu Chuan said, "In a month?"
Bi Ji smiled. "If you're not reassured, my lord, I can be there on the day the seal lifts and use life energy to protect her heart meridian and dantian. Even if something goes wrong along the way, I'll be able to steady the situation in time."
Lu Chuan nodded. "Then we'll do that. Come by again in a month."
"Yes." Bi Ji took a warm jade bottle from her clothes and handed it to Lu Chuan.
"There are three Solid Foundation Pills inside. They're all from the latest batch we've developed.
The Spirit Pagoda didn't know.
She was to start taking it three days before the seal was lifted,
one pill a day,
to strengthen Miss Wu Yue's meridians as much as possible."
Lu Chuan took the jade bottle and tucked it into his robes.
After hesitating for a moment, he decided he should give Bi Ji some advance warning.
"Mm. Bi Ji, whether you believe it or not, she is your Silver Lord. The day the seal is fully lifted, she will return to the world!"
Bi Ji only smiled and didn't respond,
simply staring at Tang Wuyue on the bed.
Just then,
the little girl happened to turn over,
mumbling something in her sleep,
but it was too muffled,
and Lu Chuan couldn't quite make it out.
At that moment, Bi Ji smiled and said, "My lord, Miss Wu Yue seems to be calling you 'big brother' in her dream."
Lu Chuan was taken aback, then laughed. "All right, I know. You can go now. Don't wake her."
How could he not know what Bi Ji was thinking?
Wu Yue called him big brother,
so there was no chance of them being anything but siblings!
He had warned Bi Ji time and again
that Tang Wuyue was the Silver Lord,
but Bi Ji had only acknowledged it at first,
before reverting to calling her "Miss Wu Yue."
"Looks like I'll have to let Wu Yue try the Golden Dragon Breathing Technique."
Lu Chuan let out a long sigh...
Before you continue