Two Useless People

That night.

The bathroom was hazy with steam, warm yellow light shining over the water.

The warm water in the bathtub reached his chest, carrying the faint fragrance of body wash.

Fang Yuan leaned against Gu Yuena's legs, his fingers tracing the bubbles on the surface, looking a little wilted.

"Mother, do you think the revival of the Dragon Clan can really depend on me?"

During the day, when he had spoken to Di Tian and Bi Ji in the living room, his head had heated up, and he had spoken with absolute certainty.

But once he turned around, soaked in the bathtub, and calmed down, his heart started pounding again.

It was true that Little Broken Watch could store bloodlines and transform him into soul beasts, but he had never tried things like gene extraction and repair.

Mother's bloodline, and Di Tian and the others' bloodlines, were already top-tier to begin with.

They did not need repairing, so he did not even have a chance to practice.

As for the Spirit Ascension Platform, he had never gone there either.

Whether the virtual soul beasts inside could have their genes extracted was all just his guess based on the original work.

If it did not work, he had already boasted so grandly. Uncle Di Tian and the others would be disappointed.

Gu Yuena lowered her head and looked at his drooping little head, then laughed out loud.

Her fingertip poked his cheek. It was soft and squishy.

"You haven't even started trying yet, and you're already thinking of backing out?

"Little Fang Yuan doesn't seem very capable."

"You're a boy. Words spoken are water poured out. How can you go back on them so easily?"

She drew him a little closer into her arms, her palm gently brushing over his forehead with a very light motion.

"But... how am I supposed to get hold of humanity's gene-cloning technology? I can't just go rob them."

Fang Yuan tilted his face up to look at her. "The higher-level Spirit Ascension Platform also needs a force to recommend you. Either I join the Tang Sect, or I enter the Spirit Pagoda."

In his heart, he leaned more toward the Spirit Pagoda.

The Spirit Pagoda studied souls and soul beast bloodlines every day. They definitely had mature gene-cultivation technology in their hands.

In the original work, Mother even became the Spirit Pagoda's Pagoda Master later on. That path had already been open to begin with.

It was just that now, with him cutting in halfway, the plot had already gone off track long ago.

Rather than waiting for Mother to rise to power in the future, it would be better for him to worm his way in first.

Once he held the Spirit Pagoda in his hands, wouldn't things like gene technology and Spirit Ascension Platform access be easy to obtain?

"Not a bad idea. Mother supports you."

Gu Yuena's fingertip scooped up a little water and poured it over his arm. "But you have to be careful. Those human forces never act without profit. Don't get sold by someone and still help them count the money."

"What's there to be afraid of? Mother's here."

Fang Yuan chuckled and nuzzled into her arms.

"If anyone wants to use me, Mother definitely won't agree first. When the time comes, won't Mother still help me clean up the mess?"

"You little rascal, so you're treating me as your shield?"

Gu Yuena was both annoyed and amused. She scooped up a handful of water and splashed it onto his face. "Mother won't wipe your backside every single time."

"Mother was clearly the one who said she'd protect me!"

Fang Yuan wiped the water off his face, then reached out to tickle her waist. "Cleaning up messes is what Mother's supposed to do!"

"Hey, stop messing around—"

"There's a condition for Mother helping you clean up your messes!"

Gu Yuena was most afraid of tickling, and she laughed so hard her body trembled, instinctively dodging forward.

Her chest slammed squarely into Fang Yuan's forehead.

There was a duang.

Fang Yuan was knocked straight backward, toppling headfirst into the bathtub, gurgling as two bubbles rose.

He was stunned for quite a while before he covered his forehead and surfaced from the water. His hair was completely wet, plastered to his forehead.

"What's the condition..." he asked in a muffled voice, his forehead still a little red.

Gu Yuena finally managed to stop laughing. She reached out to fish him back, then rubbed his forehead with her fingertips.

"The condition is that nothing can happen to you."

Her voice softened, her fingertips gently brushing over his cheek. "You're Mother's precious darling. If you were really wronged, Mother would hurt more than anyone."

As she spoke, her fingers slid downward, deliberately tickling the side of his waist.

"Hahahaha, Mom, stop it!"

Fang Yuan laughed so hard he twisted around, shrinking down into the water.

"Where are you grabbing!"

"Not there!"

His cheeks were flushed. Whether from the heat or embarrassment, even he did not know.

"Oh? The little guy knows how to be shy now."

Gu Yuena raised an eyebrow and teased him on purpose. "All grown up already?"

"I'm a boy to begin with!"

Fang Yuan clutched his waist and glared at her. "If anyone's going to grab me, it'll be my wife in the future. Mom, you can't touch me wherever you want."

"Your wife? That's still a long way off."

Gu Yuena's eyes curved with laughter as she deliberately leaned closer and lowered her voice.

"Why don't I have this clone be your girlfriend?

"Whatever kind you want, whatever figure, Mom can transform into it for you."

"..."

Fang Yuan choked up at once, his face instantly reddening all the way to his ears.

He opened his mouth, but for a long time, no words came out.

All sorts of messy thoughts rushed through his mind, only for him to force them back down.

This was his own mother!

Even if she was a clone, she was still his mother!

"Look how scared you are." Gu Yuena rubbed his hair and withdrew her hand with a smile. "All right, I won't tease you anymore. You're still so young. Don't keep thinking about nonsense like that. Wait until you're grown up."

Fang Yuan let out a breath of relief and quickly nodded.

He was afraid she might say something shocking again.

After the two had messed around enough, they soaked for a while longer before getting out.

Gu Yuena wrapped him up tightly in a bath towel, dried his hair clean, then changed him into pajamas printed with little bears.

Before bed, as usual, she brought over a cup of warmed dragon milk and only let it go after watching him drink it down.

Once Fang Yuan finished drinking, he climbed into bed, rolled farther inside, and left space for her.

Gu Yuena lay down and habitually scooped him into her arms.

Fang Yuan buried himself against the crook of her neck, smelling the faint fragrance of plants and trees, and felt especially at ease.

That night, he slept particularly deeply.

Even when Gu Yuena's sleeping posture went astray in the latter half of the night and her whole body ended up pressing on top of him, he did not wake up.

In the blink of an eye, a week passed.

As they entered a new month, the weather gradually grew hot.

Wu Zhangkong was finally discharged before the Class Promotion Tournament.

As soon as he returned to school, before he even entered the classroom, idle chatter from the corridor drifted into his ears.

A few students from other classes were leaning by the window chatting, their voices neither loud nor quiet, just enough to be heard.

"Do you think Class Five can make it in this Class Promotion Tournament? I think it's dicey."

"With those two geniuses, Fang Yuan and Gu Yuena, how could it be dicey? I think they're guaranteed to win."

"Guaranteed, my foot. Don't you know? Teacher Wu insists on bringing Tang Wulin and Xie Xie along. What level are those two at? Compared to Fang Yuan and the others, aren't they just dead weight?"

"Exactly. Teacher Wu's judgment isn't that great either. He's got two gods right there, but instead he has to stuff two burdens onto the team."

"I think Class Five might just fall flat because of those two this time."

The voices of discussion came in bits and pieces.

Wu Zhangkong's steps halted, and his expression instantly turned cold.

The temperature around him seemed to drop by several degrees.

The students caught sight of him out of the corners of their eyes, shrank their necks in fright, and hurriedly slipped away.

Wu Zhangkong did not chase them.

With a dark expression, he walked straight toward the teachers' office.

Before long, Tang Wulin and Xie Xie were called over by other classmates.

The two were still puzzled on the way there. Teacher Wu had just been discharged and was already looking for them. Was he going to lay out tactics for the Class Promotion Tournament?

The moment they pushed the door open, they saw Wu Zhangkong sitting behind his desk, his face as cold as ice.

The air froze.

"Tang Wulin." Wu Zhangkong spoke, his voice utterly devoid of warmth. "You're the captain. You tell me what's going on with those rumors outside."

Tang Wulin's heart lurched.

"What... rumors?" he played dumb.

"Still pretending." Wu Zhangkong lifted his eyes and swept a sharp gaze over him. "They're saying I have poor judgment, saying the two of you are trash, that you're holding Fang Yuan and Gu Yue back.

"Those words have spread through the whole grade. As captain, you're telling me you don't know?"

"My students are being called trash to their faces. As your teacher, you've made me lose all face."

"Teacher, you can't blame us entirely for that." Tang Wulin scratched his head, feeling a little wronged. "Fang Yuan and Gu Yue's combat strength is just over the limit to begin with. It's normal that we can't keep up..."

He was still hiding another thought in his heart.

A few days ago, he had borrowed money from Fang Yuan and bought heavenly treasures, and today was the day he would attack the first seal.

Once the Golden Dragon King's first seal was broken, his physique would soar, and his soul power could advance another step too.

When that happened, who was holding whom back would be another question entirely.

Maybe he would even be stronger than the current Fang Yuan.

"Stop making excuses." Wu Zhangkong cut him off, his tone even colder. "If you can't keep up, that means you're not strong enough. I watched you train specially every day before, drilled your stamina, honed your soul skills, and this is the result?"

"Teacher Wu, it's not like we're completely useless." Xie Xie couldn't help but cut in. "Last time we fought Class One, we contributed too. Besides, we already beat Class One, so first place in the Class Promotion Tournament is definitely ours. Who cares what other people say?"

"Did I tell you to speak?" Wu Zhangkong's gaze swept over, and Xie Xie immediately shrank his neck.

"You think beating Class One is something impressive? Don't you know what level Class One is? You think this tiny bit of achievement is worth feeling smug about?"

"And you still dare talk back."

Wu Zhangkong leaned forward slightly, his tone firm and decisive.

"Tang Wulin, Xie Xie."

"Starting today, you'll stay behind for extra training after school every day."

"I'll watch you personally and train you properly."

"No way!"

"What about after the Class Promotion Tournament? Do we still have to?"

The two of them shouted in unison, their eyes round and wide, their mouths gaping.

Xie Xie's face collapsed.

He had been planning to go buy the newly released soul tool figurine after school, but now that was all down the drain.

Tang Wulin also wore a bitter expression.

He had planned to go home after school and try breaking through the seal, but with this extra training, it would be delayed until nighttime again.

But looking at Wu Zhangkong's face, so cold it seemed to shed ice, neither of them dared say another word of refusal.

They could only obediently droop their heads and nod.

"Yes! Until one of you can beat six-year-old Student Fang Yuan!"