Li Lun was momentarily dazzled by the unexpected presence of this human who behaved so much like Bing Yi, but when Zhu Yan said something to him, he snapped out of his sudden trance and stared back at his old friend. He seemed more relaxed, happier even than the last time he was there, like if he had finally found that he had been waiting for so long. Was it because of who was by his side? Or because he was now surrounded by the humans he cared about so much? But why now, when he had been alone in that tree for so many centuries?
"Zhu Yan, what does this mean? I know you've always been fascinated by humans, but it's not like you, after all this time, to let them approach you when they've never tried to approach you before with good intentions. Now you're surrounded by them? Could it be because the one by your side carries Bing Yi's blood?" Li Lun asked from the other side of the barrier, and Zhu Yan chuckled at Li Lun's words.
"Isn't he amazing? It's one thing to inherit good blood from birth, but it's quite another to carry a divine aura as a human. This one, as you call it, is capable of that in such a degree that it's a miracle. Did it catch you by surprise too?" Zhu Yan asked mockingly, and Li Lun sighed.
"Even though he carries a divine aura, that doesn't change the fact that he is and will remain human until the end of his days. What do you think you'll achieve by conspiring with humans with divine blood? Even if they are the strongest among humans, they will never be a match for great demons, and what you're doing could bring them knocking on your door in waves. Are you crazy, you foolish monkey? You might start another war, even though I've done everything possible to prevent it!" Li Lun shouted at Zhu Yan, who looked at him more seriously.
"There may be another war, but not from where you think it will come. You see, it turned out Bing Yi is still alive..." At that, Li Lun's eyes widened in surprise.
"That's impossible. He never returned from his fight with Cheng Huang, and that bastard was also a god, more cunning than the other gods, if you ask me. That's why he took them all by surprise, and no matter how strong Bing Yi was at that moment, dealing with a mad fox who had just lost his beloved and had nothing left to lose, he wasn't going to come out unscathed. A mortal wound to a god is the same as to a human, it'll kill you sooner or later."
"Indeed, this proves that Bing Yi's resilience is unsurpassed and his strength of spirit unwavering. However, he is in a desperate situation, and if he dies, Cheng Huang will return with twice as much hatred toward the gods and demons, but most especially toward the demons who killed Wan'er. What do you think will happen to the demon world if he returns for revenge? Certainly, the great demons who complained about being sealed but lacked the conviction to cultivate their strength to higher levels and idle around all day plotting against me in their anger are nothing compared to a rogue divine beast god with 300,000 years of accumulated cultivation. Do you think spitting hatred at him will make Cheng Huang take pity on them? Even humans are more organized in their own war with the demons in this forest than the great demons in their world, and that's because they can unite under a common cause and work together to achieve their goals, but demons distrust and fear each other, yearn to dominate others instead of working together. They have simply lived alone in their own territories for so long that they have become accustomed to being individual parts rather than a whole. Strength alone is never enough, and even you, should give it credit where it's due. "
"Even if Cheng Huang cultivation is high, it's still only one against a world full of demons. Even you, being the strongest among us, won't be able to win against such adversity, and having a descendant of Bing Yi won't make a difference," Li Lun replied as he looked at Yixuan with contempt, believing himself superior to him, which made Yixuan smile.
This was his chance to prove him wrong, that humans were not beneath the great demons, that their strength came not only from the power of their core, from the flow of Qi energy that gives them a chance to fight, but from their determination, their desire to live, to protect, form the fire of their will. In response to his thoughts, his own Qi energy erupted like a furious thunderclap in a stormy sky, and time seemed to stand still as everything was tinged with a golden mist.
Yixuan's golden eyes bore into Li Lun's own surprised and dark, his still gentle, yet determined to show Li Lun that they were not weak or helpless. Unconsciously, he began to make a hand seal, a heavenly one that Zhu Yan had seen Bing Yi make sometimes, to show off his feelings to his father, which always made Ying Long laugh. His efforts were undoubtedly paying off, and now Yixuan could even make heavenly seals, even without having been taught one.
The rest of the units, who were watching the spectacle as they stood outside with curiosity, including Yichen (albeit his was worry), were astonished to see the mist condense into an enormous golden dragon that rose into the night sky and roared before it explode like a firework. A shower of countless snowflakes bathed in golden light fell on the forest, including Li Lun and the mansion. Yichen peeked out to feel the snow on his skin, like the embrace of someone very dear to you, so full of love, so warm, so tender, so affectionate, that he couldn't stop the tears from rolling down his cheeks, because it was his brother's soul open for all to see and feel what he felt in deep his heart, and it was beautiful.
Li Lun's gaze never left that young man's, because that was the kind of thing Bing Yi did to show his love for Ying Long. Although the dragon god mist was blue, this golden snow was warmer, deeper than any he had ever felt before, so open, so trusting, so calm and patient, so tolerant and accepting that overwhelmed him. How could a human master such a spell and make it seem so... noble and beautiful? No wonder Ying Long loved it so much, it made your heart flutter for some reason, just from the intensity alone of feelings he didn't fully understand, but that he could feel nevertheless.
"Who are you?" Li Lun finally asked, and Yixuan bowed respectfully before answering.
"I am Zhuo Yixuan, descendant of Bing Yi. It is a pleasure to meet you, great demon Li Lun. I know your experience with humans in the past hasn't been the best, but I assure you, we are more than what you've seen and stronger than you think. The great demons are undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with, but even so, the human spirit is as unbreakable as Bing Yi's determination to save our worlds. He loves the same way this snow feels right now, and only by joining forces can we save our two races from impending calamity. Zhu Yan was right to say that strength alone is not enough, as we humans have fought the demons in this forest for centuries, and we are still here, fighting for our survival, for our people, for our loved ones, for our family and friends. We have the drive that keeps us afloat, and no matter what happens, we will persevere until our last breath. Can you said the same with your kind? Will they remain united through thick and thin for the greater good, or will they eventually fall, driven apart by their own desires? Seek the answer in the way the other great demons have acted thus far. Can they truly defeat Zhu Yan? Can they outsmart him? And even if they can, what do you think will happen once thay conquer this world? Will they stop at killing only humans or will their start fighting for territories again? Will the bloodshed stop?" Yixuan asked in his usual gentle voice. Although Li Lun had been more or less scolded for his narrow-mindedness, he felt no anger. Perhaps it was the warm snow melting the ice in his heart, but he saw no flaws in his reasoning.
Now he understood that it wasn't because of superiority that they were losing the war, otherwise the gods would have annihilated them from day one, but because they didn't know how to fully unite. Ying Long had tried his best to prevent as many deaths as he could, but even if he tried to command them, the great demons still acted on their own, ignoring his advice, thinking that he would betray them for his lover Bing Yi, forcing him to sacrifice himself to prove them wrong and save their lives. They were, indeed, destined to lose, just as they would lose against Zhu Yan or Cheng Huang, with the only difference being that neither Zhu Yan nor Cheng Huang were going to sacrifice themselves for them a second time.
"And where is he? Where did Bing Yi sealed that bastard?" Li Lun asked, and both Zhu Yan and Yixuan released the breaths they were holding.
"That's the problem right now. No one knows where he is, since Bing Yi sealed himself with Cheng Huang."
"Then why aren't you searching for him? The humans won't be in any better position against Cheng Huang, since the war started because of them."
"There's no point in searching the world aimlessly. That will only waste time, time we should be using more efficiently. Awakening the divine power of these humans is a step forward. One of them, my lover..." At that moment, suddenly feeling an icy aura emanating from his back, make Zhu Yan turn to see Yichen cold gaze on him, even under the glow of the warm snow.
"Who's your lover, you shameless monkey?! Get a hold of yourself, that will never happen!" Yichen yelled and Yixuan tapped Zhu Yan's shoulder in sympathy.
"You ask for it..." Yixuan whisper to Zhu Yan who panic yet again under his beloved rage.
"Wait, Xiao Zhuo, that was the wrong word. I'm sorry, please, don't misunderstand. What I mean is, my beloved... yes, my beloved sound better, right?" He asked like a heartbroken puppy, and Li Lun was once again stunned by Zhu Yan's submissive attitude toward a human and his uncanny resemblance to the dragon god Bing Yi. This human was the one Ao Yin had been referring to earlier, not Zhuo Yixuan, whom he believed might be the one she was referring to, and in a way, he felt a measure of relief deep down his soul.
"Zhu Yan! Stop talking nonsense! Do you want to make that great demon see you like a love sick white monkey with a human, when it's so obvious he hates us?" Yichen asked, ignoring Li Lun's frown.
"I'm part dragon. It's in my blood to love my chosen one, which is undoubtedly you, and if anyone... and I mean anyone, dares to do anything to hurt you..." He said, letting his dark and oppressive aura erupt from his slender body in a whirlwind that coiled around him. His eyes turned red with crimson lines on his cheeks, and his hair turned a pure, glowing white. Li Lun swallowed hard as Zhu Yan turned around. It was a serious warning, not the typical joke he was used to hearing, even when what he was letting slip was just a grain of sand on an endless beach.
"Stupid monkey, that's enough! I swear, this time, even if I have to use someone else's sword, I will do my best to take you down and make monkey soup instead of pear soup!" Faced with Yichen's threat, Zhu Yan regained control in record time. Everything happened so fast that all Li Lun could do was laugh, causing everyone to stare at him.
"I never thought the day would come when the great white ape, that white anomaly so feared even by the great demons, would find its equal in the body of a human, almost an exact copy of his father lover." Li Lun said, but Zhu Yan took no offense.
"As you've already seen, Xiao Zhuo is not like Bing Yi, even though he resembles him physically. The one closer to my fathers lover is in fact Zhuo Yixuan, his brother and other half... but I suppose you already sense that, right?" Zhu Yan asked, and Li Lun looked again at the man, tall and imposing, even though he was just standing there with a relaxed air surrounding his figure. He certainly looked more like the Bing Yi he knew, calm, noble, handsome, gentle, but with something about him that made you want to bow down to him, even though he never liked formalities. That was the aura of a god, pure and simple and he even performed Bing Yi's seals.
"Indeed." Li Lun admitted.
"So, will you give us a chance, great demon Li Lun? For the sake of everyone, for the survival of both worlds, will you join us? It doesn't have to be unconditional, as you still distrust humans, so you can lay down your conditions if it leads you to accept the offer. I can't speak for Zhu Yan, but I can for my people, for the humans I represent as a Commander. I assure you that every human here, divine-blooded or not, has the utmost interest in our survival, which gives us the ability to adapt to new ways of coexisting. And I swear that since we arrived almost a month ago, we haven't hunted demons in the forest, but instead learned to identify their kinds, so we won't kill those who mean no harm. There was also an order from our High Commander to all demon hunters to never strike first, and only kill when there's no other choice. We can evolve, we can learn, we can change our ways… can you?" To Li Lun, that was a challenge, and he smirked. If he wanted one, so be it.
"Okay... I can also change if circumstances require it, but I have one condition."
"That's fine, name it." Yixuan said.
"You will train under me instead of Zhu Yan. At the end of your training, you will fight me, a life-or-death kind of match, do you agree?" Li Lun asked as he looked at Yixuan, who did not flinch under his intense gaze.
"Wait, what? No way!"
"Xiao Zhuo!" Zhu Yan moved to stop Yichen, grabbing him by the waist and preventing him from approaching the barrier.
"Let your brother handle this... believe in the task he had been given, nothing is going to happen..." Zhu Yan whispered softly in his ear and pulled him closer.
"We have a deal, Li Lun." Yixuan nodded with a soft smile, and something up in the heavens finally fall in place under a golden snow of a god blessing.
AN: Ah, Li Lun, he is not going to be tamed by you. LOL. That will be fun to write! I hope you like their challenge, until next time, please take care.