Persuading Zi Yan

"Do you know what you are? I mean, what kind of magical beast you belong to."

Qin Yun wasted no time, cutting straight to the heart of the matter with a simple question.

"Me?" Zi Yan looked a little crestfallen, but soon pursed her lips again.

"I don't know what race I belong to, and that old geezer couldn't tell either.

Anyway, I don't care. Since they abandoned me, I can't be bothered with any of that crap."

Although she claimed not to care, her dejection was real.

"Do you want to know? If you do, I can tell you. The reason we came looking for you is the powerful race behind you."

Qin Yun gave her a choice outright, letting her decide whether she wanted to hear it.

Of course, that was merely a courtesy. He would tell her whether she wanted to hear it or not.

After all, if she refused to listen and he actually kept quiet, wouldn't his entire plan come crashing down? Sometimes, going through the motions was enough.

"I don't want to hear it! Whether they live or die has nothing to do with me." Zi Yan remained stubbornly defiant, but after only a few seconds of hesitation, she softened.

"Still, tell me what race I belong to. After all, I can't go on without even knowing what I am."

Seeing her take the bait step by step, Qin Yun told her what she truly was.

"Your true form is an Ancient Void Dragon, a race that stands at the very ceiling of the Dou Qi Continent, universally acknowledged as the strongest magical beasts.

They're also extremely adept at manipulating spatial power. However, their clan leader disappeared ten thousand years ago.

So the entire race has now split into two factions locked in internal strife, and they're no longer as powerful as they were at their peak."

"An Ancient Void Dragon? So that's my true form. I was wondering why those barriers couldn't stop me. It turns out that's my innate ability."

Zi Yan tilted her head in thought. This was the first time since her birth that she had truly learned what her original form was.

"Hey, you! You mainly came here to ask for my help, right? For the sake of those pills you gave me earlier, I can help you.

But I can only help as an individual magical beast, not on behalf of my entire race. After all, I've never even met them."

Zi Yan knew how to repay kindness, too. He had told her this important information.

Though some things were beyond her abilities, if there was somewhere she could truly be useful, she wouldn't mind lending a hand.

"There's no hurry. Would you like to hear another story?"

Qin Yun played at releasing his catch to reel her in, hoping to gradually win more of her favor.

"A story? I like those." Zi Yan instantly perked up. After all, she was still only a juvenile.

Her mind was entirely that of a child, so naturally, she loved stories.

"Once upon a time, there was an Old Dragon Emperor of the Ancient Void Dragons named Zhu Kun, a Peak Nine-Star Dou Saint.

Because his strength had reached its pinnacle and he couldn't break through any further, he wanted to search the entire world for a way to become a Dou Di.

After a long search, he finally found a cave dwelling where a Dou Di had once lived. That Dou Di was called Tou She Ancient God.

Unfortunately, although that place did indeed contain a way to break through to Dou Di, only someone destined for it could obtain it.

So not only did that powerful expert fail to obtain those resources, he ended up trapped there for more than ten thousand years.

But at the very last moment before he was completely sealed away, he teleported an egg he had treasured for years into the outside world.

After incubating for several hundred years, that egg hatched into a little girl, who was then found and taken back by an old man from an academy."

Qin Yun's hints were already very obvious. Zi Yan only needed to give it a little thought to understand what he meant.

"An Ancient Void Dragon's offspring, sent out just before he was sealed away? That story sounds a lot like me."

After thinking for a while, Zi Yan understood his implication.

That powerful Ancient Void Dragon was probably the father she had never met.

"Did you mainly come looking for me because of my father? After all, I'm so weak that there's nothing you could want from me. But my father is different."

Zi Yan spoke calmly. If she really had a father with the cultivation of a Nine-Star Dou Saint,

then their purpose in coming here and everything they had done made sense.

"Strictly speaking, yes. I don't want to deceive you, either. Your father is part of the reason I approached you, because I want to completely change the rules of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan.

However, the current clan leader of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan is a Five-Star Dou Sheng. We have neither the ability nor any allies capable of defeating him head-on.

Your father is the only outside ally we could think of, and his soft spot is you, his daughter, bound to him by blood thicker than water."

Qin Yun hadn't originally intended to say so much, but after hesitating for a while, he still laid it all out.

After all, plans couldn't keep pace with change. Sometimes, sincerity was the most lethal move.

"You want to use me to control... no... persuade my father?" Zi Yan had initially intended to say "control," but changed her wording as soon as it left her mouth.

After all, judging by everything so far, these two hadn't used force. Instead, they had treated her very gently.

Like elders teasing a child, whatever else might be said, they had brought a little color to her heart, which had always felt rather empty.

"Yes. I have a rather crazy plan: to lure Huang Tian to your father's location through a scheme.

Then, as long as you ask, your father will immediately grant any request you make, including killing a mere Five-Star Dou Sheng.

As for whether your father will listen to you, there's no need to overthink it. In his heart, you, his own daughter, matter more than his entire race." Qin Yun continued to speak honestly.

"I never expected you to tell me so much. Are you really that sure I'll help you?

What if, instead of helping you, I turn around and spread what you just told me elsewhere?

Before long, you'd probably be hunted down all over the world!

Meanwhile, I'd not only have the information I wanted, but could keep living just as I did before.

I could even find my own race and gradually become part of them."

Zi Yan suddenly smiled slyly, revealing two small, pointed canines.

Hearing Zi Yan say such things, Qin Yun showed no particular reaction, but Feng Qing'er's heart clenched beside him.

Things seem to have strayed from what we expected. What should I do?

Should we change the plan on the spot, or even kill her right here?

"Then you'll tell them. My life is in your hands. I trust that you won't do that.

But if you really do, there's nothing I can do about it. Still, in all honesty, I want to ask you not to tell anyone else.

The choice is entirely yours now. Whatever you decide, I won't blame you."

Qin Yun sighed softly, then spread his hands. His meaning was already perfectly clear.