"Who's there!"
The moment Li Chang'an appeared, Gu Yuena immediately sensed it. In barely a tenth of a second, a silver-white gown materialized over her body, and in the same instant, her jade-like palm lashed out.
"Wait—it's a misunderstanding!"
Li Chang'an shouted in alarm. He hadn't expected to stumble upon her like this, but even in that fleeting instant, his eyes still managed to catch a glimpse of Gu Yuena's figure.
Even though her strength in the Douluo Continent was suppressed to the quasi-god level, that casual strike of hers was by no means something a normal Titled Douluo could endure. She had pulled back the moment she heard Li Chang'an's voice, but the blow still carried eighty percent of its power.
Li Chang'an reacted quickly.
Time Freeze!
Buzz!
The world seemed to press pause. Even Gu Yuena's movement froze—but only for half a second, less than a single breath.
For Li Chang'an, that was enough. Moving with deceptive slowness yet startling speed, he sidestepped, narrowly dodging the strike. Still, the force of the blow whipped past him, stinging his cheek like a blade.
"Sorry, I didn't realize it was you… But why did you suddenly show up like that?" Gu Yuena said, her cheeks tinged with pink.
Her dressing speed had been fast enough—surely he hadn't seen anything. After all, a proper man would have closed his eyes immediately, right?
"I—I just had a thought, and then suddenly I was here." Li Chang'an scratched his head with an embarrassed smile. But at the same time, backlash hit him.
His knee buckled without warning, pain flaring through his leg.
Smack!
One knee dropped to the ground before Gu Yuena, looking for all the world like he was proposing to her.
His ability "Word-Becomes-Law" had brought him directly to her side, and so the recoil struck his legs and knees with searing pain.
Gu Yuena froze, taking a few steps back. She wasn't naïve—she knew what a kneeling posture like this meant in human culture.
'Could it be… he saw my body, and now he's trying to take responsibility?' her thoughts ran wild.
But Li Chang'an remained kneeling, unmoving, sweat beading on his forehead.
"Hurry, help me up. I—I can't stand!" Li Chang'an said helplessly. What kind of person just stands there watching instead of helping?
"Ah—oh, right!" Gu Yuena quickly stepped forward and helped him to his feet.
Only then did her flustered heartbeat calm down, and she realized his legs and knees were indeed injured, which was why he had collapsed.
"What happened to you all of a sudden?" she asked, channeling her energy into easing his pain while flipping her silver hair aside.
Li Chang'an's strange behavior left her bewildered. First, he had appeared out of thin air without the slightest ripple of soul power or spatial fluctuation—just as if he had simply walked over. Then, without warning, he collapsed.
Even if a God descended, she should have been able to sense the distortions of space and soul power. But with Li Chang'an, none of that happened. Instead, he'd even taken advantage of her.
"Ahem… it's a long story. I gained a special ability—it's like, whatever I say will alter the rules of reality. But in turn, I suffer backlash. And just now…"
As he explained, his head dipped lower. His words were an indirect confession that he had accidentally glimpsed her privacy.
"So when you said that sentence… you instantly appeared in front of me?"
Gu Yuena's ethereal, fairy-like face flushed with shyness—before her expression shifted to sheer astonishment.
This power… it could change rules themselves. Not just divine force—this was the realm of creation itself. If she had to name it, only the title Creator God could match it.
"Your strength truly grows too quickly. You're only just over fourteen years old, yet your soul power is as deep as a Spirit Sage's. You already wield at least two domains, and on top of that, you've grasped the law of time. Wait—Time Dragon!"
Gu Yuena's eyes widened as realization struck. That force which had stopped her earlier—she knew it intimately.
Though she was only part of the Dragon God, she held all of the Dragon God's memories. That aura—she couldn't mistake it. It was from her most powerful subordinate, the Time Dragon. And on Li Chang'an's body… there was a piece of the Time Dragon's soul bone!
"Tell me immediately—how did you obtain the Time Dragon's soul bone?!" Gu Yuena seized his collar, her breath quickened in urgency.
"Ahem, calm down, I'll explain." Li Chang'an awkwardly rubbed his nose. She was so close that he could clearly smell her fragrance—fresh, clean, as if just bathed.
"…Go on then," Gu Yuena muttered, realizing her own behavior was rather reckless. She was the mighty Silver Dragon King, yet today she had blushed twice and been shocked twice—utterly unprecedented.
So, Li Chang'an briefly recounted his encounter and experiences.
"I see… To obtain the Time Dragon's soul bone, that was your fated opportunity." Gu Yuena sighed. "Ah, God of Nature…"
The past was gone; everything had faded like smoke. Every era had its rise and its fall—so it had always been.
But she had to admit, Li Chang'an's comprehension was frightening. The Time Dragon's three ultimate techniques—he had not only begun to grasp them, but had already mastered one to perfection.
She also noticed something else: his bloodline now surpassed even hers. In terms of pure vitality, Li Chang'an had stepped beyond gods themselves.
That was the terror of wielding two divine artifact-grade martial souls. As he grew, they subtly reshaped him—until, after reaching Soul Sage, his strength exploded.
"And more than that… I sense something else. Your fortune—what humans call luck—you are blessed with destiny itself. You're at the very peak of fortune."
Gu Yuena couldn't help but sigh again.
At this point, calling him merely the "successor of the Dragon God" was no longer enough. Even "Child of Fortune"? Please—compared to him, others weren't even worthy to carry his shoes.
Fourteen years old.
Soul sage.
Two great domains.
Mastery of time.
Rule-altering words.
Supreme bloodline.
Overwhelming fortune.
This was Li Chang'an's reality.
It had only been a few months since she last saw him, yet the impact he gave her now was countless times greater than before.
Back then, she regarded him only as a junior with boundless potential. But now—now Li Chang'an could stand as her equal. Perhaps even higher.
Biting her lip, Gu Yuena finally whispered:
"Chang'an… in the future, if there's a chance… let's have a child."
"…What?"
Li Chang'an was still mulling over how to explain his ridiculous luck, but Gu Yuena's sudden leap to having a child caught him completely off guard.
Skip dating? Skip confessions? Go straight to children?!
"I'm serious. I fear that if we fail to retake the Divine Realm someday, I still want to leave behind my bloodline in this world. And the only one worthy of me now… is you." Gu Yuena's tone was both earnest and shy.
"Uh… let's, um… talk about it later, alright?" Li Chang'an stammered.
Later, he thought silently.
'the counterattack against the Divine Realm isn't something you need to worry about. I'll handle it.'
But he never expected Gu Yuena to speak so bluntly.
What he didn't know was that in the world of spirit beasts, bloodline strength was everything. He had simply reached the threshold.
Among spirit beasts, this was perfectly natural:
get on the carriage first, fall in love later.
Unusual among humans, yes. But among spirit beasts? It was the norm.
_____
T/N:
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