The street suddenly grew much emptier, leaving only the weeping willows by the river and the howling night wind.
Meng Chen turned around and looked at the silver-haired girl before him, who seemed like a goddess beneath the moon in the darkness.
"Classmate Gu, if you have something to say, just say it."
Gu Yuena said nothing. Instead, she strode toward a secluded path beside the river.
Meng Chen shrugged and followed slowly behind her.
Only after their figures had completely left the lamplit area near the restaurant did she stop.
Gu Yuena halted beneath a willow tree, turned around, and carefully examined Meng Chen's right arm.
"A few days ago in the Southern Suburbs, you seemed to be hiding something, didn't you?"
Meng Chen's heart skipped a beat. He was certain that he had already retracted his Golden Dragon Claw when she appeared.
Yet somehow, he had still caught her attention.
Before Meng Chen could speak, Gu Yuena stepped forward and stared intently into his eyes.
"Tell me what you used that day. I don't believe there's anything that could let a two-ring Soul Grandmaster kill a four-ring Soul Ancestor in an instant."
At that moment, Meng Chen realized he could no longer keep it hidden.
She had clearly come with the answer already in hand. Though he had long anticipated this scene...
When the Silver Dragon King stood before him and pierced that thin paper window between them, Meng Chen still felt somewhat nervous.
Since I can't hide it anymore, I'll just have to admit it.
Despite that thought, Meng Chen had no intention of telling her that he already knew about the Golden Dragon King bloodline.
Heaven only knew what this Soul Beast Co-Ruler was thinking.
If she thought he had some ulterior motive and feared he might stir up trouble, he would truly have nowhere even to cry.
At that thought, Meng Chen let panic and bewilderment show on his face.
He instinctively retreated half a step and raised his right hand, his gaze filled with tangled emotions.
There was confusion and apprehension, but above all, terror.
"You... you saw everything?"
Gu Yuena folded her arms and kept her eyes fixed on Meng Chen.
Meng Chen swallowed, his expression deeply conflicted, and lowered his head to mutter to himself.
"To tell you the truth, ever since I was old enough to remember things, I noticed that my body seemed a little different from everyone else's. I was much stronger than other children my age."
"Especially after I awakened my martial soul, the blood inside me would surge from time to time."
At this point, Meng Chen raised his head, his eyes filled with unease.
"The situation was desperate that day. I knew perfectly well that relying on my second soul skill alone wouldn't get me anywhere. But after I teleported over, my mind went completely blank. All I felt was my blood burning like boiling water, and the bones in my right arm hurt like hell. Then those golden dragon scales grew out on their own."
"Classmate Gu, your martial soul is the White Silver Dragon, a top-tier dragon martial soul. Do you know what's happening inside my body?"
"Am I going to die?"
As she listened to the boy's account, Gu Yuena's expression grew somewhat peculiar.
If what Meng Chen said was true, he had no idea how powerful his own bloodline was.
But on second thought, that hardly seemed impossible.
His Divine Core had shattered, and he had reincarnated to cultivate anew.
In that case, this little fellow had inherited none of the memories of the great war in the Divine Realm.
He was merely an ignorant child whose body played host to the Dragon God's supreme physical bloodline, without knowing it himself.
He did not even know that the supreme Golden Dragon King's Origin flowed within him. Instead, he saw it as a painful physical deformity.
At that thought, Gu Yuena's expression softened.
"Don't worry. You won't die."
"And I can tell you that this is an incredibly powerful force, far more powerful than you can imagine."
Hearing that, Meng Chen thought to himself that he had managed to bluff his way through.
Still, he immediately put on a delighted expression and asked,
"Really? You're not lying to me?"
Seeing the boy leap for joy, even the usually cool and aloof Gu Yuena could not help feeling a little gratified.
"Of course. I can teach you what to do. But there's one condition."
"What condition? Tell me! I promise I'll do it!"
Gu Yuena said meaningfully, "Until you've mastered this power, don't casually reveal it in front of anyone. Not even Xue Qinghe."
Meng Chen immediately looked troubled. Only after a long while did he speak, as though he had finally made up his mind.
"All right. I promise!"
The night deepened.
At the center of Heaven Dou Imperial City stood the Crown Prince's Residence.
Bright candlelight still shone in the study of a side hall.
Dressed in a white silk robe, Qian Renxue sat behind the desk, reading secret reports delivered by her subordinates.
Just then, urgent knocking sounded outside the hall.
"Your Highness, the head shopkeeper of the Benevolent Heart Apothecary is outside requesting an audience. He says the item the young lord ordered has arrived and must be presented to Your Highness in person!"
Qian Renxue raised an eyebrow slightly. "The Benevolent Heart Apothecary? Send him in."
A little while later, the apothecary's head shopkeeper entered, trembling as he held a jade box wreathed in icy vapor, and dropped to his knees with a thud.
"Your Highness! A few days ago, the caravan encountered sea soul beasts and fell into peril. We dared not fail the trust placed in us by the Crown Prince's Residence, so we drew on every resource the apothecary had within the merchant network and spared no expense. At last, we secured another portion of millennium sea dragon marrow from the Far North's Deep-Sea Caravan!"
"I verified it overnight and dared not delay even a moment. I brought it straight to the Crown Prince's Residence for Your Highness to dispose of as you see fit!"
The shopkeeper raised the jade box above his head.
Ever since the Crown Prince had heard that the young lord of his residence had been attacked on the outskirts, flown into a thunderous rage, and plowed through Heaven Dou City and its surroundings...
Who in Heaven Dou City, from nobles down to street vendors, had not been trembling with fear?
Their Benevolent Heart Apothecary had already drawn complaints from several stewards of the Crown Prince's Residence by failing to deliver Meng Chen's medicinal ingredient on time.
Now that they had finally secured it...
Naturally, they had to deliver it at once to demonstrate their commitment, lest they be saddled with the charge of incompetence.
Seated behind the desk, Qian Renxue raised her hand with an indifferent expression and drew the box toward her palm with a pull.
The jade box landed securely in her hand.
The spring latch popped open, and the lid lifted a crack.
In an instant, blue mist carrying a faint salty tang of the deep sea and a dragon's imposing aura rushed toward her face.
Qian Renxue closed the box, a trace of a smile appearing on her smooth, jade-like face.
Some time ago, after Meng Chen returned from Spirit City, he had been searching for this item in private. When the caravan met with disaster, she had quietly felt sorry for him for a while and even mobilized the Crown Prince's Residence's covert contacts to ask around.
She had not expected the people at the Benevolent Heart Apothecary to be so perceptive, securing the item before the new year.
"Well done."
Qian Renxue waved a hand, signaling an attendant to bring out soul coins.
"The Crown Prince's Residence will reimburse the apothecary's actual expenses, plus thirty percent. You may leave."
"Thank you for your grace, Your Highness!"
The head shopkeeper felt as though he had been granted a pardon and inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
Qian Renxue held the smooth jade box, affection filling her eyes.
That little rabbit spent all day pretending to be obedient and charming. Today, after classes at the academy, Ning Rongrong and Gu Yuena had dragged him into the city for another round of wild fun. He ought to be returning to the residence by now.
If he saw that the medicinal ingredient he had longed for was finally here, he would probably start bouncing around in excitement again.
Before you continue