Encounter Between Lin and Yue in the Dragon Valley, Returning to the Academy After the Thousand-Day Dragon Burial

Amidst the churning dragon mist, Gu Yuena's silvery-white figure had not yet fully vanished into the shadow of the dragon skeleton when Tang Wulin's shout once again pierced the stagnant dragon qi with unyielding stubbornness: "Gu Yue! I know it's you!"

He propped himself up against the rock wall and straightened his body. The searing pain in his chest made every breath pull at his injuries, and golden dragon patterns flickered faintly across his skin, yet they could not conceal the certainty in his eyes. Just now, the fleeting ripple in her purple eyes, the familiar rhythm of elemental force around her body, and even the subtle action of instinctively protecting his heart when she struck, all perfectly overlapped with the cold-outside-yet-warm-inside girl in his memory. He might not understand why she had transformed into this appearance, nor why she had shown him such merciless violence, but he was immensely certain—this was Gu Yue, the Gu Yue who had fought side by side with him at Eastsea Academy, encouraged each other at the Shrek Training Grounds, and would quietly frown whenever he was injured.

"Your elemental fluctuations, your gaze, and even the aura on your body... have never changed." Tang Wulin stepped forward step by step, every step treading on the ink-black rock and soil, kicking up fine halos of dragon qi. "You can deny it, you can pretend not to know me, but you can't fool me. Gu Yue, tell me, why are you here? Why are you treating me like this?"

His voice was not loud, yet it was like a dull blade, repeatedly cutting into Gu Yuena's already tense nerves.

Her footsteps paused. Her silvery-white hair trembled slightly in the dragon wind, and her back was held straight, yet she could clearly feel the violent tugging of the two personalities within her body. The instincts of "Gu Yue" were screaming, wanting to turn back, wanting to respond to his shout, wanting to explain all the confusion in his eyes; but the mission of the Silver King bound her limbs like iron cables, reminding her of the survival of the race she shouldered and warning her that this emotional bond would only bring destruction.

The emotions surging within her purple eyes were forcefully suppressed, turning into a deeper coldness. She did not turn back, her voice devoid of a trace of warmth, yet carrying an imperceptible tremor: "I said, you have the wrong person. Silver Dragon King Gu Yuena has nothing to do with the 'Gu Yue' you speak of."

"Nothing to do with her?" Tang Wulin smiled, bitterness and stubbornness laced within his laughter. "Then why did you save me? Just now, when the seal burst, if you hadn't used your elemental force to protect my heart, I would have already burst apart and died. Gu Yue, you have never been a cold person. Even if you pretend to be so heartless now, your actions can't fool anyone!"

This sentence precisely struck Gu Yuena's weak spot.

She abruptly clenched her hands, her nails almost digging into her palms, and the elemental force around her body surged out of control, whipping up a sky full of dragon mist. Yes, she could have simply let the seal burst, letting him be devoured by the backlash of the Dragon God's Power; that way, the soul beast clan would have had one less potential threat, and her mission could have been achieved much more easily. Yet at the moment when his body was on the verge of collapse, the instinct of "Gu Yue" ultimately triumphed over the Silver Dragon King's rationality, causing her to instinctively reach out and protect him.

This uncontrollable care became irrefutable proof that her identity had been seen through, and also the sharpest sword piercing into her own heart.

"That was just a passing convenience," she hardened her heart and said, her voice involuntarily rising a fraction with a trace of panic at being exposed. "You are the Golden Dragon King host. If you die here, the origin of the Dragon God will lose balance, and the entire Dragon Valley will collapse, harming the soul beast clan. I only did it for the clan, by no means for you."

"For the clan?" Tang Wulin pressed forward step by step, the light in his eyes burning ever more fiercely. "Then look into my eyes and say once more that you don't know me! Gu Yue!"

His shout was like a heavy hammer, striking her heart blow by blow. She did not dare to turn back, did not dare to look into those eyes brimming with persistence and sorrow, fearing that if she turned back all her disguises would crumble into dust. The majesty of the Silver Dragon King, the responsibility of the Lord of Soul Beasts, and tens of millions of years of clan hatred began to totter and fall apart amidst his repeated shouts of "Gu Yue".

The wind grew fiercer. The colorful dragon clouds of Dragon Valley churned violently above their heads, and the origins of the Golden Dragon King and Silver Dragon King pulled at each other, emitting a low resonance as if lamenting this obsession that crossed identities. Gu Yuena's body trembled slightly, the contradiction and pain within her threatening to tear her apart—she wanted to admit it, to shed all disguise and return to that "Gu Yue" who could cultivate side by side with him; but she could not. Behind her stood the entire soul beast clan, and she had no way out.

"Enough!" she abruptly cut off his shout, her voice carrying an imperceptible sob, yet remaining icy cold. "Tang Wulin, if you talk nonsense again, don't blame me for being impolite!"

The elemental force around her suddenly surged, and silver-purple flames of light soared into the sky, tearing open a crack in the dragon mist as a powerful pressure enveloped Tang Wulin. Yet within that pressure, there was not a shred of killing intent, only overwhelming warning and... a trace of despair born from wanting to force him back.

Tang Wulin did not retreat, allowing that pressure to envelop him while he stubbornly gazed at her back, saying word by word: "Gu Yue, no matter what you have become, no matter why you are doing this, I recognize you. I will always recognize you."

This sentence was like a thunderclap that split open all of Gu Yuena's defenses. She could no longer maintain her composure, abruptly transforming into a silver streak of light as she dashed into the depths of the dragon mist without looking back, leaving behind only a trembling, detached lingering echo that reverberated for a long time within Dragon Valley: "Don't look for me anymore... Never again."

The dragon mist gradually closed, obscuring her traces and also concealing the single, unseen tear that slipped from the corner of her eye as she turned away. Tang Wulin stood in place, the pain in his chest intertwining with the stubbornness in his heart as he looked toward the direction where she had vanished, whispering softly: "I will find you, Gu Yue, I certainly will."

Wind whistled through bone crevices, and within the sobbing sound, it seemed as though the unspoken emotions of two people were tightly intertwined with the ancient desolation of Dragon Valley.

The wind in Dragon Valley finally faded of its sorrow, carrying a warm breath of dragon qi as it brushed across Tang Wulin's sweat-dampened forehead.

The last handful of ink-black rock and soil fell from his hand, covering that mutilated black dragon skeleton and completing the burial of the one-thousandth dragon bone. Three years of time, one thousand days and nights, he used a mortal body to fulfill his promise to the spirits of the dragon race, keeping company with loneliness and resonating with dragon souls in this small world opened up by the Dragon God. At this moment, the Golden Dragon King bloodline around his body was no longer restless, instead flowing with unprecedented stability. Golden dragon patterns slowly wandered across his skin, finally condensing between his brows to form a warm dragon seal—that was a medal recognized by the spirits of the dragon race.

On the ground, one thousand simple earthen mounds were neatly arranged, surrounding the Dragon God Altar at the core of Dragon Valley. Beneath each mound slumbered a forefather of the dragon race. Colorful dragon clouds flowed slowly overhead, casting a soft halo that gilded the one thousand tombs with a layer of sacred, gentle light. Dragon qi undulated like a tide, as if singing a chant of praise for this burial that spanned tens of millions of years. Those once-restless dragon souls now turned into tiny points of golden light, hovering above the tombs and finally converging into Tang Wulin's body to become a part of his strength and the imprint of the dragon race's inheritance.

Tang Wulin slowly straightened his body. Three years of toil had made his figure increasingly upright, and the youthful greenness between his brows had faded, replaced by the calm composure born of weathering vicissitudes. He raised a hand to gently stroke the dragon seal between his brows, his fingertips feeling the warm sensation of the dragon souls while the whispers of the dragon spirits seemed to echo in his ears—that was both a blessing and a commission.

"The thousand days are complete, may the dragon race rest in peace." He whispered softly, his voice carrying the heavy sedimentation of time, yet his gaze looked past the thousand tombs toward the depths of Dragon Valley—that was the direction where Gu Yuena had vanished.

For three years, he had countless times thought of her during the gaps in his toil. He remembered her fighting by his side during the Eastsea Academy Class Advancement Tournament, he remembered her care beneath her cold words at the Shrek Training Grounds, and he remembered her silvery-white figure, her icy words, and that sentence hidden behind her ruthlessness—"live well"—when they met in Dragon Valley. He knew she had her grievances, knew she bore an unknown and heavy burden upon her shoulders, yet that obsession grew all the more profound within the solitude of the thousand-day dragon burial.

"Gu Yue, I have done it." He looked up at the colorful dragon clouds above Dragon Valley, as if he could pierce through this layer of barrier to see the world outside. "The thousand-day dragon burial is complete, I should go find you."

As his voice fell, the dragon seal between his brows suddenly brightened, and a majestic wave of dragon qi surged from within his body, producing a strong resonance with the heaven and earth dragon qi of Dragon Valley. The points of dragon soul light above the thousand tombs grew restless all at once, transforming into a golden torrent that poured into his body. In an instant, Tang Wulin felt a vast power surging through his meridians. While his soul power soared, the ninth seal of the Golden Dragon King faintly showed signs of loosening under the blessing of the dragon race's spirits.

He clenched his fists, feeling the unprecedented strength within his body as a blazing light ignited in his depths. The thousand-day dragon burial had not only earned him the recognition of the dragon race, but had also made him understand the meaning of responsibility and protection. He was no longer that youth who needed to rely on the shelter of others, but a powerhouse capable of standing alone and shouldering his own destiny.

"No matter where you are, whether you are in the identity of Gu Yue or the Silver Dragon King, I will find you." Tang Wulin turned around, looking toward the exit of Dragon Valley, and stepped forward with firm strides.

The ink-black rock and soil beneath his feet rippled with golden light as he stepped out, and the dragon qi that had once hindered him now transformed into gentle assistance, blazing a flat path for him. Massive dragon skeletons stood quietly beside him like guards seeing him off, and the sound of wind whistling through bone crevices transformed into a stirring bugle call.

His figure gradually receded, appearing all the more upright under the illumination of the colorful dragon clouds. The end of the thousand-day dragon burial was not the finish line, but a new beginning. He was going to walk out of Dragon Valley, return to Douluo Continent, find Gu Yue, unravel the mysteries upon her, and also untangle the destined bond between them.

The wind in Dragon Valley continued to blow, the thousand tombs stood in silence, and the whispers of the dragon souls gradually dissipated. Only the firm retreating figure left behind by Tang Wulin, along with the unspoken vow within his heart, echoed for a long time within this ancient dragon tomb:

"Gu Yue, wait for me."