Cooperation Secured

Li Qingxun's eyes flickered as he looked at Gu Yue.

The reason she had regained a shred of her senses was not hard to guess: he had used Reality Distortion.

When he had clashed with Gu Yue's Ice-Fire Windstorm, his own ice power had not been enough to stop it.

So he had cheated, using the Fantasy Dragon's second Authority: Reality Distortion.

He had forcibly twisted the outcome. The Ice-Fire Windstorm should have destroyed his ice sword.

Instead, the sword had destroyed the storm and pierced Gu Yue's shoulder.

Perhaps that was when Reality Distortion had affected her, allowing her to recover part of her own consciousness.

Of course, Gu Yue's powerful spiritual strength had played a part, but that was not important.

Li Qingxun gazed down at her without speaking.

Sensing his gaze, Gu Yue stirred and came to a realization.

A complicated look crossed her eyes. Then she let out a soft breath.

"Whatever conditions you set, I'll agree to them."

"I only ask that you use that power to suppress this influence. Even a short time free of it would be enough."

"As long as I can obtain some of Tang Wulin's power—even just a fraction—this influence will grow weaker for me afterward."

Gu Yue gritted her teeth as she spoke. Around them, the once-solid dream had begun to dissolve.

Li Qingxun's Fantasy Power was rapidly being consumed, but more importantly, as Gu Yue's consciousness wavered, that power had begun to affect her again.

Li Qingxun was certain the power influencing her was not Tang San's.

It had nothing to do with the Sea God or the Asura God.

It felt familiar. He had encountered it in Qiankun Asking Love Valley, which Tang San had long since altered.

From that, he could roughly judge that the wisp of power influencing Gu Yue came from the so-called Love God.

Li Qingxun knew little about the Love God, but that deity was already dead.

There had to be a reason the Love God had left Qiankun Asking Love Valley on Douluo Continent.

And Tang San had likely gained control of the Love God's power afterward.

Sensing that power inside Gu Yue, Li Qingxun could easily tell that the Love God had influenced her.

It was likely a trump card Tang San had given his son.

A hidden trump card to ensure Gu Yue could not absorb his son's bloodline power.

With that card in place, the deeper the bond between Tang Wulin's bloodline and Gu Yue's grew, the stronger its hold would become.

By then, Gu Yue would have no chance of taking the Golden Dragon King Bloodline from Tang Wulin.

Li Qingxun sighed. Tang San truly was an old fox. The old bastard had left traps everywhere.

He did not know the current state of Tang San's consciousness, but Tang Hao was the Plane Master.

Even if Tang Hao had to fall asleep, his consciousness could awaken for a time.

Secretly planting a trace of power inside Gu Yue would not have been difficult.

And with the Love God's power inside her, Gu Yue was trapped in a death grip. Breaking free would be all but impossible.

"I hadn't wanted to waste Fantasy Power. Whether you, Zi JI, or Di Tian took the Dragon God's place made no difference to me."

"All I need is someone absolutely loyal to me."

"But Tang San kept you in reserve for his son, and even covets your Silver Dragon King power and bloodline."

"So of course I have to ruin that plan." Li Qingxun stepped forward.

The immense Fantasy Dragon appeared behind him.

The colossal dragon hovered silently in midair, its golden slit-pupiled eyes overlooking heaven and earth.

The space that had begun to warp stabilized with a boom.

Li Qingxun raised his hand and looked impassively at Gu Yue.

At the same time, his body began to tremble slightly.

Cracks spread across the Fantasy Dragon's body. He was still using Authority Simulation.

Only this time, the Authority he had stolen belonged to his own pathway.

He used the ability of Sequence Six, Hypnotist, to forcibly hypnotize Gu Yue.

He made her forget the influence of that power. The effect would last five or six days at most.

But that was enough.

Li Qingxun lowered his hand. The dream dissolved, and silence settled around them.

Back in reality, Gu Yue opened her eyes. Killing intent gathered in their icy depths.

It was not directed at Li Qingxun, though. When she saw him watching her, she silently bowed.

"Thank you for saving me. If his power had kept influencing me, I might never have broken free."

"Then I could never have brought myself to strike at Tang Wulin." Gu Yue gave a bitter smile and sighed.

Loneliness showed in her expression.

She, the mighty Silver Dragon King and ruler of the Soul Beasts, had been schemed against before she could even act.

If she had not met Li Qingxun, she might truly have become the other side's pawn, controlled for the rest of her life.

The thought sent a chill through her, cold all the way down her spine.

But she also sighed when she thought of Tang Wulin's Golden Dragon King Bloodline. It was simply too important.

Someone as calculating as Tang San would never have failed to prepare a fallback plan.

Given his nature, he must have prepared one specifically for her long ago.

And she had no chance of withstanding it.

Gu Yue pressed her lips together, defiance showing on her face.

But beneath it lay less anger than helplessness.

She had only just awakened, and her thoughts were straightforward. Against an old devil like Tang San, she stood almost no chance.

Seeing her struggle, Li Qingxun considered for a moment, then said, "You can ask me to help you. Including payment for what I've done today,"

"I'll need at least ten Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Herbs and more than twenty Thousand-Year Spirit Herbs."

Li Qingxun smiled at her as he spoke, though his pale-gold eyes held little emotion.

Their gazes met. This time, facing him, Gu Yue felt as though he could see straight through her.

Even with her powerful spiritual strength, she could sense that the boy could partly guess what she was thinking. The feeling lingered in her heart.

It was not pleasant.

Yet Tang San had left behind all manner of fallback plans, and even with Di Tian and the others to help her...

If Di Tian made a move, Tang Hao would certainly wake.

Then, with Tang Hao's power as Plane Master, they would have no chance of resisting.

But without Di Tian, stealing Tang Wulin's bloodline on her own would be difficult.

Under those circumstances, this mysterious boy with his formidable power might be the one who could break the deadlock.

She felt her mind was no longer under that influence. The strange power was still inside her...

But she was certain it would not sway her will for the next few days.

That alone showed how extraordinary the boy was. Perhaps he really could help her.

After a moment of silence, Gu Yue gritted her teeth and looked at Li Qingxun. "Please help me. I agree to all your conditions."

"I plan to take Tang Wulin's bloodline within the next two days and use it to counter the power suppressing me."

"If you're willing to help, I'll give you the Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Herbs at once. I won't delay."