"Xiao Qian, which Martial Soul are you planning to give a Soul Spirit first?" Leng Yaozhu asked.
Qian Jue thought for a while, then said, "Let's give one to the Dragon Rising Pillar first. Improving it will speed up cultivation for me and all Soul Masters with dragon attributes."
"Good. I remember there are some dragon clan Soul Spirits at headquarters."
The Spirit Pagoda had been founded ten thousand years ago. Its foundations in other areas might not match those of a giant like Shrek, but when it came to Soul Spirits, no one dared claim second place.
Gu Yue naturally wanted to prepare the best Soul Spirit for the Dragon Venerable.
Even if it was only one of the first few Soul Rings, its quality had to be high.
"Teacher, don't they have a few Indomitable Soul Spirits in the Spirit Ascension Platform that are about to be erased?"
Leng Yaozhu pondered for a moment, as if she had remembered something. "You mean the Indomitable Soul Spirit, Tyrant Dragon?"
"It's a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Spirit, and no one has ever managed to subdue it all these years. You'd need at least five rings and high Spirit Origin-level mental power to ensure the absorption process didn't run into any major problems."
Hmph, that mere Tyrant Dragon should consider it a blessing to become the Dragon Venerable's Soul Spirit.
And it still dared to resist?
There was an old saying on Douluo Planet: those who knew how to read the situation were the true heroes.
If the Tyrant Dragon saw the Dragon Venerable and didn't kneel, kowtow nine times, and call him "Mom," then she'd lose.
Gu Yue grumbled inwardly, but still explained to Leng Yaozhu:
"My junior brother's Martial Soul is a little special. Our family also has a True Dragon Martial Soul inheritance, so we know a little about the dragon clan's secrets."
"The Dragon Rising Pillar is a treasure of the dragon clan. It has an indescribable allure and power to suppress all dragons, so I don't think there'll be a problem."
Leng Yaozhu trusted the hidden family behind Gu Yue fairly well.
Since she'd said so, it should be fine.
"All right. Let's go wait in my office, then. I'll have someone extract the Tyrant Dragon Soul Spirit."
Leng Yaozhu took the two of them to her private office.
On the way, Qian Jue couldn't help feeling puzzled.
Why was Gu Yue being so nice to him?
What about your bet with Na'er? Weren't you supposed to offer yourself to the tiger, seduce Tang Wulin, then win and use your peerless wisdom to betray the Soul Beast Clan and die for love?
Qian Jue could only conclude that Gu Yue hadn't met Tang Wulin yet.
Once she got to Eastsea City, she'd immediately turn into the Golden Dragon King's simp.
It was probably better to keep some distance from her.
If Gu Yue knew what Qian Jue was thinking right now, she'd probably cry out that she'd been wronged.
The Dragon Venerable had come back to life. What bet? What nonsense about a bet?
Na'er, you're free.
After a while, a staff member came in carrying a sealed Soul Tool. Inside was a cluster of black light.
Looking closely, one could make out the silhouette of a giant dragon within the black glow, its enormous head covered in thick, gray-black scales.
To be safe, Leng Yaozhu stood guard nearby.
Inside the storage container, the Tyrant Dragon Soul Spirit charged around, quite displeased at being imprisoned there.
Qian Jue stepped forward and put his hand into the Soul Spirit orb, gently stroking the little Tyrant Dragon's enormous head.
Sensing the aura on Qian Jue, the Tyrant Dragon froze. Its gaping maw snapped shut.
Then the Dragon Rising Pillar appeared, and the Tyrant Dragon dropped straight to its knees.
"Mom!"
After understanding the Tyrant Dragon's mental fluctuations, Qian Jue's little face stiffened. What, was the Tyrant Dragon into being beaten or something?
Calling him "Mom" the moment they met—was that really appropriate?
"Call me Dad."
"Dad."
I'm crying. To see the Dragon Venerable and the Dragon God all of a sudden—I could die happy!
"Are you willing to become my Soul Spirit?"
"Willing! Ten thousand percent willing!"
The Tyrant Dragon's head bobbed up and down like a pecking chicken.
It suddenly felt that all this time, it had been acting aloof and refusing to let anyone absorb it just so it could wait for this very day.
At last, its toil and sweat had paid off!
The Tyrant Dragon chose entirely of its own free will to merge into the Dragon Rising Pillar, without the slightest resistance. Black light shimmered as the Soul Spirit fusion officially began.
Seeing this, Leng Yaozhu breathed a sigh of relief. After giving the staff member a few instructions, she quietly left.
Gu Yue stayed in the room, watching the Tyrant Dragon merge into Qian Jue with envy and jealousy.
I'm so jealous. I want to get up close and personal with Big Sister Dragon Venerable too.
Then she took the Soul Tool communicator from her pocket and found a name in her scant contact list.
When the call connected, a pleasant female voice came from the other end:
"You've met Tang Wulin, right? You came to me on your own—did you fail?"
Gu Yue's expression didn't change. Her reply was crisp and decisive. "Na'er, you're free."
"???"
"W-what do you mean? I'm a third of your origin, you know. You're just giving up on me like that?"
"Yes. I don't want it anymore."
"Is that a promise?"
"I swear on my identity as the Soul Beasts' co-ruler: the bet is off. I concede."
Then Gu Yue ended the call.
She took a deep breath and gazed tenderly at Qian Jue, who was completely absorbed in fusing with the Soul Spirit.
The moonlight of her past life, the one her previous self failed to seize—this time, I'll be the one to win him over!
As for a mere third of her origin power?
It didn't matter anymore. None of it mattered.
Even the revival of the Soul Beasts could wait until after she'd won over Qian Jue.
If Qian Jue knew what Gu Yue was thinking right now, he'd definitely be unable to stop himself from making one comment:
666. As expected of a world ruled by romance. A love-struck mind was invincible.
Meanwhile, inside Shrek Academy.
Na'er stared out the window with her delicate little face, turning Gu Yue's words over in her mind. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.
It was like the feeling that the thing she loved most was about to be taken away.
No, it was fine.
Now that she'd been allowed to exist independently, she had a chance to pursue the Dragon Venerable.
Na'er lay on a soft bed, her rosy legs rubbing gently together. Recalling that fleeting glimpse the last time she'd seen him, she could hardly contain her joy. It surged through her like a bursting dam.
The moonlight she'd yearned for but never obtained in her previous life ultimately meant more than anything else.
Qian Jue's face played on a loop in Na'er's mind. Her little hand slipped beneath her skirt without her noticing, and she let out a soft moan, her cheeks flushed red.
"Brother Wulin... I'm sorry..."
The joy of an impending engagement, and her sense of betraying Tang Wulin, gnawed at the girl's heart like poison.
On the second floor, Leng Yaozhu looked over the report the staff had brought her, containing all the information currently known about Qian Jue.
His parents had died two years ago, and he'd later been adopted.
According to the paperwork from the orphanage, the person who'd adopted him seemed to have a complicated background. They'd taken him in without even notifying his other relatives.
Leng Yaozhu thought of the marks she'd just seen beneath Qian Jue's sleeve, and couldn't help feeling displeased.
Which idiot had adopted Xiao Qian? How had they let him get hurt? And why did his skin, which should've been so tender, have calluses on it?
Did children his age have to do manual labor?
Someone like that didn't deserve to be Xiao Qian's guardian!
Leng Yaozhu picked up the fixed Soul Tool communicator on her desk and called one of her subordinates.
"Go find out who adopted Xiao Qian. Let me know once you find them."
"Yes!"