Your next line is...

The moment those words were spoken, Zi JI, who had been trying to maintain her composure, instantly broke down.

She looked up abruptly, her eyes instantly reddening and brimming with grievance. Without a word, she jumped up and threw herself at Gu Yue, hugging her tightly. Her voice was trembling with tears, and she was completely on the verge of collapse. "My lord! It's too terrible! It's really too terrible!"

A Impact embrace slammed into Gu Yue, causing her to sway slightly, and her mind went blank for a moment.

She has no time to dwell on the difference in size between herself and Zi JI, nor does she have time to care about such trivial matters.

In her mind, although Zi JI was sometimes capricious, she was, after all, a dragon king who had lived for more than 200,000 years. She was calm and composed and had seen countless storms. For her to be so frightened, something serious must have happened.

Gu Yue could only patiently pat Zi JI's back gently to comfort her, like coaxing a clueless little dragon cub.

In her eyes, Dragon Clan Ferocious Beast like Zi JI are essentially Dragon Clan who retain their pure nature after transforming into human form. They occasionally throw tantrums and are no different from children.

After a long period of comforting, Zi JI's emotions finally calmed down, and her crying gradually subsided.

Gu Yue then spoke, her tone calm. "What happened? Did Bai Yushan do something to you? Did he scold you?"

This was the only possibility Gu Yue could think of.

She knew Bai Yushan's personality all too well. That guy looked handsome and refined, but his mouth was incredibly sharp. He was arrogant and conceited, never held back when he spoke, and had a naturally piercing aura of venomous tongue. It was normal for him to be sarcastic and verbally attack people.

In Gu Yue's mind, Bai Yushan was a pure brute who always resorted to violence to solve problems. He was arrogant and impulsive, simple-minded, and physically strong. Apart from his incredible fighting power, abnormal physique, and strange abilities, he had no other merits.

Therefore, she subconsciously believed that Bai Yushan must have been verbally abusing Zi JI to the point of being forced into this state, and Zi JI, being forced by her orders, was too stupid to refute him, which is why she felt wronged.

But to everyone's surprise, Zi JI released her grip on Gu Yue, puffed out her cheeks, looked aggrieved, and said in an extremely helpless tone, "No, my lord! He didn't scold me or berate me."

"Then why are you crying?" Gu Yue asked, even more puzzled.

Zi JI frowned, looking utterly dejected, and revealed the reason that had driven her to the brink of madness. "During the half hour I was alone with him in the room, I felt incredibly uncomfortable the entire time. I felt like he was looking at me strangely, like he was looking at a brainless idiot. He was using his intelligence to look down on me and completely outclass me the whole time!"

Upon hearing this, Gu Yue was stunned, her face filled with disbelief.

She asked three questions in a row, her tone full of astonishment. "You look down on me intellectually? Who? Bai Yushan?"

In Gu Yue's mind, Bai Yushan had absolutely nothing to do with the words "high intelligence".

In her eyes, Bai Yushan was probably the kind of brute who would say, "Let's beat everyone up."

He is decisive and ruthless, prefers to break through situations with brute force, and when faced with something he doesn't understand, his first reaction is to completely subdue it. He is the purest battle maniac and a brute. Even if Zi JI doesn't have a deep understanding of the dark and treacherous nature of human society, he has lived for so many years. How could someone possibly use their intelligence to crush Zi JI?

This is simply a fantasy!

Gu Yue was stunned for a long time before she finally came to her senses. Looking at Zi JI's aggrieved expression, she still found it utterly absurd. Suppressing her surprise, she instructed Zi JI, "Wait downstairs. I've ordered dinner from a nearby restaurant; someone will bring it over soon."

After saying that, Gu Yue could no longer suppress her curiosity and doubts, turned around and quickly walked up the stairs.

She now had to see for herself just how that bloodthirsty, mad boy, who only knew how to fight to the death, could drive Zi JI to a mental breakdown.

The bedroom door on the second floor was ajar, not closed properly.

Gu Yue gently raised her hand and pushed open the door.

The moment she pushed open the door, she witnessed a scene that she would never forget and that completely shattered her understanding of the world.

None of the imagined scenes of him being irritable, restless in bed, or meditating with his eyes closed, exuding a violent aura, were present.

On the bed, Bai Yushan leaned quietly against the headboard.

His external wounds had been treated and bandaged, and all the blood and grime on his body had been cleaned up. His pale, clean skin, under the soft indoor light, had a sickly frail appearance, and his delicate, sharp features had lost their former arrogance and madness, gaining a quiet and gentle quality.

He remained calm, focused on his breathing, and free from distracting thoughts.

She simply leaned quietly against the headboard, holding a thick book in her hands, reading with exceptional focus, her posture relaxed yet composed.

Her messy black hair was neatly combed, losing some of her wildness and unruliness and gaining a more refined and tranquil air. Her eyes, which were usually either innocent and pure or wild and crazy, were now exceptionally clear and calm, with a transparent luster flowing in them, full of composure and wisdom, without a trace of murderous intent.

At this moment, he was neither the madness of the battlefield nor the usual nonchalance; he exuded a quiet and gentle literary beauty, a contrast so striking it was almost unbelievable.

Anyone who saw him would agree that he was a sickly-looking handsome man.

Hearing the door open, Bai Yushan calmly raised his eyes to look.

With just a simple glance, Gu Yue's heart skipped a beat.

She clearly felt that all her thoughts, all her pretense, all her plans, seemed to have been completely seen through and laid bare in that instant.

That clear, precise, and all-knowing gaze was not at all like that of a nine-year-old boy. Even among the Dragon Clan who have lived for countless years, very few dragons possess such terrifying insight.

Gu Yue was completely stunned. She blurted out instinctively, her voice filled with shock, "You... you're really Bai Yushan?!"

Bai Yushan glanced at her indifferently, his expression completely calm. He gently closed the book in his hand with one hand, his movements relaxed and languid.

He anticipated Gu Yue's thoughts and spoke first in a calm tone, "Your next sentence will be, 'Have you been beaten senseless?'"

Without thinking, Gu Yue blurted out, "Have you been beaten senseless...?"

She suddenly snapped out of her daze, stammering, her face a mask of astonishment and bewilderment. Pointing at Bai Yushan, she couldn't utter a coherent sentence for a long time. "What?! You... you... how did you know!"

Seeing her flustered and surprised expression, Bai Yushan gently shook his head, a hint of helplessness in his eyes, as if he were looking at a sulking child.

He stopped joking, put away all his teasing, and became serious, looking directly into Gu Yue's eyes and getting straight to the point.

"Thank you for saving me today."

This expression of gratitude is sincere and honest, without a trace of hypocrisy.

Before Gu Yue could respond, Bai Yushan continued bluntly, his tone steady and his words clear. "I know very well that there's no such thing as a free lunch. You risked your life to save me, went to great lengths to settle me in, and even had Zi JI stay to take care of me; it's definitely not just out of simple kindness."

"I want to know, what is it about me that you need?"

Gu Yue's heart tightened, and she was about to speak up to cover it up and make up an excuse to get by.

Bai Yushan, however, preemptively interrupted her once again, as if he had anticipated her thoughts, stating firmly, "Don't lie to me, and don't make excuses. What you want is my electrical abilities, right?"

Gu Yue froze, all his words stuck in his throat, unable to utter a single word.

She had kept her thoughts hidden for so long, secretly spying, laying the groundwork step by step, and deliberately getting close to him, thinking she had concealed them perfectly, only to have them exposed by Bai Yushan's single sentence without the slightest deviation.

Seeing her astonished expression, Bai Yushan remained calm, neither humble nor arrogant, and surprisingly frank. "Yes. I can give you this ability in the future. How far you can cultivate it is up to you."

Gu Yue suddenly looked up, her eyes filled with disbelief.

She had considered countless possibilities: Bai Yushan might be wary, defensive, refuse, or test her, but she never expected him to agree so readily.

Before Gu Yue could think it over, Bai Yushan stated his conditions and bottom line. "But not now. At this stage, I don't have full control over such abilities, and it would be too risky to teach them rashly."

"The limit of what I can do right now is to help you temper your physical body and activate your meridians with subtle electric currents, and to solidify your foundation. That's all."

At that moment, Gu Yue finally understood the reason for Zi JI's breakdown and tears downstairs.

The girl downstairs, Zi JI, who looked so wronged and whose mentality was shattered by being outsmarted, was not wronged at all.

The man before me, Bai Yushan, is hardly the brute who only knows how to fight with brute force.

He was meticulous, insightful, accurate in his predictions, and discreet in his understanding. He could also calmly navigate complex situations and accurately gauge the situation. His mental fortitude, intelligence, and strategic acumen far surpassed those of most Soul Master she had ever encountered.

Looking at the calm and composed young man on the hospital bed, Gu Yue felt a genuine sense of apprehension for the first time.

She had lived for a long time and seen countless geniuses and prodigies, including Soul Master and human powerhouses, but never had a nine-year-old junior brought her such a great sense of pressure as Bai Yushan.

Despite being severely injured, weak and powerless, unable even to get up, and seemingly at the mercy of others, his mind, vision, and shrewdness at this moment far surpassed those of ordinary people.

She had always thought of Bai Yushan as a reckless man with superhuman strength and a simple mind, but now it seems that she was wrong all along.

Bai Yushan seemed to see through all of Gu Yue's thoughts. Looking at her slightly solemn and gloomy expression, he chuckled softly and slowly shook his head.

Bai Yushan slowly straightened his back, his body, which had been leaning against the headboard, now sat up slightly.

He was covered in wounds, extremely weak, pale, and thin, looking exceptionally frail, as if he would collapse at the slightest exertion.

Yet, despite his extremely weak body, he exuded an incredibly powerful aura.

It was an arrogance and conceit that came from the very core of one's being; it was a composure that took everything lightly and controlled the entire domain; it was an absolute confidence that one's future was limitless.

This aura was something Gu Yue had never seen in any of his peers, or even any powerful individuals.

Even Di Tian, though domineering and majestic, lacked Bai Yushan's detached and confident demeanor, which allowed him to command the world and look down upon all living beings.

Bai Yushan raised his eyes and looked directly at Gu Yue in front of him. His gaze was open and assertive, and his tone was extremely firm as he spoke each word.

"You don't need to worry about my presence, nor do you need to worry that I will disrupt your plans, and you don't need to fear that I will threaten what you want to do."

"What I ask for is simple, not much, and not greedy. I only need two people: Na'er and Bi Ji."

With just this one sentence, he precisely and accurately seized upon all of Gu Yue's trump cards and weaknesses.

Gu Yue's pupils contracted slightly, and the coldness in his eyes faded instantly, replaced by a chilling sharpness.

She narrowed her eyes slightly, meeting Bai Yushan's gaze that seemed to control the entire world, and slowly approached the hospital bed step by step.

The atmosphere in the room instantly became tense, and a silent confrontation quietly unfolded.

Gu Yue stood by the bed, looking down at the weak boy, a faint sneer playing on her lips, her tone tinged with a hint of probing and resentment.

What makes you so sure?

"How can you know what plans I'm hiding? And how can you be so sure I'll agree to your request and help you find Na'er and Bi Ji?"

At this moment, Gu Yue had completely abandoned her usual gentle and refined appearance, revealing the confidence and pride of the Silver Dragon King.

Even if the boy before them possessed extraordinary intelligence and insight into everything, he was ultimately just a human boy with low cultivation and severe injuries, seemingly having no bargaining power whatsoever.

Anyone in such a desperate and vulnerable situation would not dare to negotiate terms or offer any bargaining chips.

But Bai Yushan is different.

Faced with Gu Yue's pressure and questions, he remained calm and composed, his smile unchanged, his tone firm and powerful, each word resounding.

"I'm willing to negotiate with you, for one thing only."

My future is destined to stand high in the heavens.

"My abilities, my growth rate, my potential—these can help you fulfill a lifelong dream that you might not be able to achieve even if you exhaust your years and give it your all."

This is the ultimate arrogance, and also the ultimate self-confidence.

Throughout the entire Douluo Continent, no one dared to say such a thing to the Silver Dragon King.

My lifelong dream?

Besides her, the Silver Dragon King, who else dares to claim they can revive the Soul Beast Clan!

But now, a nine-year-old human boy with level eighteen Soul Power dares to spout nonsense in front of her, using his future strength as a bargaining chip to negotiate with her on equal terms.

Even though he was physically weak and injured, completely powerless to fight, he remained confident and composed.

But unfortunately, Gu Yue had no way to refute it.

Deep down, she wholeheartedly agreed with Bai Yushan's words.

Because her current situation is really too difficult.

No one knew the current state of the Soul Beast Clan better than her, and no one knew better how difficult the road to revival was.

Di Tian was rigid and conservative, stubbornly adhering to ancient rules, inflexible and unable to leverage resources, only knowing how to endure and wait, thus slowly depleting the life force of his clan since ten thousand years ago.

Of the remaining Ten Great Ferocious Beasts, some are dead, some are crippled, and now there are very few left. Overall, their core fighting force consists of only a handful, which is hardly a threat.

Not to mention the ordinary Soul Beast on the continent, most of whom are not yet intelligent, dull and ignorant, only knowing how to survive by instinct, and are unable to gather power or form combat strength.

Relying on this group of brainless fools to contend with the entire human Soul Master system, to break the fate that has lasted for ten thousand years, and to revive the Soul Beast race is simply a pipe dream, as difficult as ascending to heaven.

For so many years, Gu Yue has been planning and strategizing all by himself, taking each step with great care, but he has always struggled and seen no hope whatsoever.