Chapter 11: The Seed of Obsession
The private wing of the East Sea Academy's infirmary was silent, cloaked in the chilly isolation that always followed **Gu Yue's** presence. She sat beside the bed of **Tang Wulin**, her silver aura washing over the boy's weakened body. He was stable, recovering with alarming speed thanks to his own latent strength, but his spiritual core remained eerily quiet—a massive, silent void where the **Golden Dragon King's** essence once raged.
*The Phoenix is thorough,* Gu Yue conceded internally, watching the rise and fall of Tang Wulin's chest. The spiritual blueprint was there, the boy's destiny had been prepared, but the ignition key had been stolen. He was a Dragon God host, but stripped of his core power. Her duty remained: protect the host, even if the treasure was gone. But her focus was irrevocably drawn away from the victim and toward the thief.
She looked at her hand, the one that had struck Wujiu. The memory of the impact still resonated—the feeling was not like striking flesh, but like hitting a dense, living mountain of pure gold. It was an overwhelming, barbaric physical force that clashed violently with her intricate elemental command.
*His power is chaotic, yet his control is flawless.*
Gu Yue allowed herself to reflect on the duel and the theft, systematically tearing apart her assumptions about **Huo Wujiu**. His initial arrogance was a shield, his forging a deliberate distraction. His true self was a calculated, terrifying genius who had anticipated her presence and perfectly engineered a metaphysical theft right under her nose.
He was not just powerful; he was *interesting*. No other human on the continent, not even the most powerful Title Douluo, possessed the courage or the spiritual finesse to challenge a peer Divine Bloodline—let alone steal its core essence—and survive the resulting power struggle. His ability to refine and contain the wildly aggressive **Golden Dragon Fragment** was a feat of unparalleled spiritual purity.
*The Primordial Phoenix is fire that does not burn but purifies. And yet, he used that purity to commit the ultimate act of chaotic theft.* The contradiction was maddening, mesmerizing.
A faint, almost imperceptible warmth touched her cheek. It was a residual heat signature left on her clothes from Wujiu's final escape surge—a whisper of pure flame. She didn't flinch. In fact, a faint, dangerous curiosity settled in her lavender eyes. She was the Silver Dragon King, the master of all elements, and she had been utterly checkmated by the single-minded focus of the **Primordial Phoenix**.
"He needs to be disciplined," Gu Yue whispered to herself, the statement sounding less like a threat and more like a justification for spending the rest of her existence dedicated to his failure. "He needs control."
She stood up, the frost in the room dissipating slightly as her cold, calculated mind took over. She looked down at Tang Wulin. His fate was sealed, but he would serve as her anchor.
She left the infirmary and marched directly to the Headmaster's office. The elderly man was visibly shaking, still reeling from the encounter with Wujiu and the subsequent, terrifying phone calls from distant, authoritative figures he was not at liberty to name.
Gu Yue stood before his desk, her tone authoritative and demanding. "Headmaster, the official statement stands: this was a reckless sparring accident. However, Huo Wujiu is too dangerous to remain isolated. His power is volatile, and his arrogance is a threat to the school's reputation."
The Headmaster swallowed hard. "But, Miss Gu Yue, he is the most powerful prodigy we've ever had. And his father..."
"His power is his leash," Gu Yue cut in, dismissing the political concerns. "We will not expel him. We will **control** him. I demand that the Academy pair us. Our powers clash, yes, but that conflict is the only way to stabilize his volatility and force him to mature."
She leaned slightly across the desk, her eyes locking onto the Headmaster's. "If he is forced to work with the very power that opposes him, he will learn control. If he attempts to harm me again, the blame will fall entirely on him. It will be the perfect, contained rivalry."
The Headmaster saw logic in the madness. A formal pairing meant they would constantly monitor each other. It was the only way to manage two forces of nature without triggering an external investigation.
"A formal team," the Headmaster breathed, scribbling furiously on a document. "Under the strictest observation. You will be paired for all advanced tasks and missions. The **Phoenix** and the **Dragon**... they will be inseparable."
Gu Yue gave a small, chilling nod. *Inseparable.* She returned to her room, a genuine, cold smile finally appearing on her lips. It was a calculated risk. She had to stay close to him, observe every flaw, and find the perfect opportunity to strike back.
*Huo Wujiu,* she thought, closing her eyes. *You seek power. I seek to reclaim balance. And now, we will do it together.* The rivalry was now formalized, forced into close, constant proximity. The seed of obsession, fueled by a desire for dominance, was successfully planted.