Gu Yue's Fury

Gu Yue's eyes were filled with killing intent, but Li Qingxun could not be bothered to argue with her. He raised his hand.

Reality Distortion took hold. He forcibly twisted Gu Yue's malice toward him, freezing the hostility she had built up.

Clarity returned to her face. She staggered two steps, then dropped onto her backside again.

Gu Yue clutched her head. Her breathing turned ragged, and pain showed on her face.

As silver power surged around her, she forced herself to steady her condition.

"I'm sorry. Whatever's affecting me right now is powerful. I'm not choosing to kill you."

"I can't control this killing intent either. I'm truly sorry." Gu Yue gave a bitter smile as she sat cross-legged.

Power gathered around her, but a terrifying will seemed to be fighting her for control inside her mind.

That will was simple, even pure, yet it had already fused with Gu Yue's consciousness.

Li Qingxun watched, puzzled despite himself.

But Gu Yue seemed stable for now. He turned his gaze back to Toji Fushiguro.

Toji Fushiguro had broken through the Tang Sect's encirclement. Behind him, several Soul Cannons of level six or higher had finished warming up.

Devastating shells kept firing from them. But Toji Fushiguro had not a trace of Soul Power fluctuation about him.

The Tang Sect's Soul Cannons, capable of contending with a Soul Emperor or even destroying one, could not affect him at all.

Seeing Toji Fushiguro escape, Li Qingxun's eyes brightened.

If the master of this Tang Sect branch had not left with some of its stronger members, Toji Fushiguro might not have been able to break into a branch of this caliber with his current strength.

"These four major organizations really are powerful. A large branch like this probably has a Soul Emperor or Soul Saint stationed there. That makes things difficult."

Li Qingxun sighed and stood again, looking at Gu Yue as she meditated cross-legged.

He slowly raised his hand. Fantasy Power surged, and their surroundings changed once more.

As Li Qingxun's first white Soul Ring lit up, his ability to simulate Authority activated around him.

At present, the highest Authority he could steal belonged to Sequence 8. But to affect Gu Yue—

Much less learn the truth—he needed the power of Sequence 7. The cost would be enormous.

Li Qingxun hesitated, weighing his options.

But Gu Yue was useful to him after all. He raised his hand and kept channeling his power.

As Fantasy Power drained at a far greater rate, Li Qingxun gritted his teeth and forcibly simulated a Sequence 7 ability from the Pathway of Darkness.

Illusory mist flashed past. Gu Yue's calm expression suddenly went vacant as her consciousness was drawn into a dream.

Li Qingxun sat down as well. His consciousness sank into the dream and entered a realm of nothingness.

In that empty world, Gu Yue's eyes snapped open. She was completely calm and clearheaded again.

Li Qingxun studied her warily.

"I need an explanation. What's going on? Why did you come looking for me in the middle of the night? And why is there something so wrong with your condition?"

As Li Qingxun spoke, he kept his eyes on Gu Yue, probing for an answer.

His mental strength was considerable, but it was still far below hers.

Even after starting her cultivation over, Gu Yue's mental strength exceeded his.

If they clashed now, he could not beat her even in this dream world.

So Li Qingxun was naturally ready to flee at any moment rather than let himself be cornered.

Gu Yue, however, had plainly regained her composure.

A cold glint crossed the young woman's eyes. No other emotion showed in them—only detachment and anger.

"I'm sorry. I should be thanking you. Tang San's power was influencing me."

"Tang San and Tang Hao may have already noticed my existence."

"I kept wondering why I inexplicably lost my memories when I came to the human world, and why Na'er emerged as a separate personality.

"I thought the problem lay with me. But when you dealt me that heavy blow earlier, my consciousness wavered. For one instant, I woke up and realized something was wrong."

Gu Yue began to tremble as she spoke. Her soul started to dissipate.

It felt as though that dissolution was grinding away her soul, causing her terrible pain.

But with her consciousness inside the dream, the power's effect on her gradually weakened.

Li Qingxun frowned at the sight of her.

He did not understand, so he looked directly at Gu Yue, signaling for her to continue.

After a moment's silence, Gu Yue sighed. "Tang San must have discovered me before I entered the human world."

"He or Tang Hao used some method to leave a trace of power inside my body."

"That power is faint, but as long as it's there, I can never harm Tang Wulin."

"It subtly influences my consciousness and even twists my judgment. I have no way to guard against it."

Gu Yue clenched her fists as she spoke. Resentment and anger filled her eyes, but more than either, she looked helpless.

She was powerful, but she had chosen to start her cultivation over because she was badly injured.

Though she was innately countless times stronger than an ordinary Soul Beast, even her strength had limits.

Until now, she had never imagined she had fallen into Tang San's trap without knowing it.

Gu Yue let out a long sigh, exhaustion settling over her face.

Li Qingxun was noncommittal. "None of that has anything to do with me. I don't care about it, and I don't want to dig into it."

"I only want to know why you came to me. Or rather, what can you give me for helping you?"

Li Qingxun was blunt. He had no habit of going around in pointless circles or pretending to be agreeable.

He only needed to learn what she wanted, then find out what he could gain.

Seeing his decisiveness, Gu Yue gave him a long look, then sighed.

"I don't know what this power influencing me is, but it gave me an instinctive fondness for Tang Wulin."

"On top of that, the bond and pressure between our Golden and Silver Dragon King bloodlines make me instinctively care for him."

"I can't suppress those feelings, but I can't keep letting them control me."

"Otherwise, I'll never be able to take the Golden Dragon King Bloodline from Tang Wulin. I'll never be free to return to my peak."

Gu Yue gritted her teeth as she spoke. She had long wondered why she favored Tang Wulin so much.

Even with Na'er's existence, she should not have cared about those things.

To a Soul Beast, three years of memories passed like clouds before the eyes.

Even if her personality was rather innocent, three years of memories should normally have meant little to her.

Yet she had acted as though she had lost her mind and truly developed feelings for Tang Wulin.

And she had not made a move against him. If Li Qingxun had not attacked her and used that strange power to twist the rules governing her—

If he had not forced her back to clarity, she had no idea how long she would have remained lost.

Perhaps, given enough time, she really would have become his woman—even fallen hopelessly in love with him.

Gu Yue could never allow that. She could never accept it.

She could not accept giving up her chance to become the Dragon God for the sake of that damned thing called love.

Still less could she accept abandoning her chance to lead the Soul Beast Clan back to its peak.

So whatever the cost, she had to make the young man before her help her.

She needed his strange ability to restore her reason.