The Donghai Spirit Pagoda welcomed a special visitor today. He was exceptionally tall and upright, appearing to be around forty years old, with a cold face and features as resolute as if carved by a knife or axe. Although he was dressed simply and had restrained all his outward aura, his deep and steady bearing when standing still was still out of place among the busy Spirit Pagoda staff bustling around.
Led personally by Gu Yue, the two remained silent throughout, passing through the busy areas inside the pagoda and taking a soul tool elevator directly to the high floors that were difficult for outsiders to access. Entering Gu Yue's simply furnished room with a wide view, the tall man suddenly stopped the moment the door closed silently.
Facing the young girl before him, he lowered his head slightly, his voice steady and filled with reverence: "Lord."
This person was none other than the King of the Star Dou Great Forest, revered as the co-lord by thousands of spirit beasts and once feared by human Titled Douluo—the Golden Eyed Black Dragon King, Di Tian! How disdainful and domineering was the Di Tian of the past. Just the aura emanating from him was enough to make top human experts tremble with fear.
However, at this moment, standing before Gu Yue, Di Tian had already completely restrained that world dominating aura. His iconic golden eyes had turned into a deep ink color, and the strand of golden hair on his forehead had also vanished. He was like a peerless, ominous blade sheathed in an old leather scabbard, its sharpness hidden, leaving only the heaviness and silence accumulated over the years. He was once the overlord of the Star Dou Great Forest, but now that the Star Dou Great Forest was on the verge of destruction, his pride had long since been crushed to nothing.
Gu Yue quietly gazed at the Golden Eyed Black Dragon King before her, who was loyal to her; in the depths of those black eyes, a complex and inexplicable ripple quietly passed, and she couldn't help but sigh softly in her heart. She took a step forward, her voice not loud but carrying a resolute firmness: "Don't worry, I will lead the spirit beasts to take back everything we once lost."
A flicker of light suddenly lit up in Di Tian's eyes, a light mixed with hope that had not yet been extinguished after experiencing many hardships. He had no doubt about Gu Yue's promise. Because his lord was the half body split from the Dragon God, an existence that inherited the Dragon God's world shaking wisdom, and the only dawn for the future of the spirit beast race.
He straightened his body slightly, his expression becoming solemn, and asked in a deep voice: "Lord, you specifically summoned me here this time; do you have important matters to command?"
Gu Yue nodded and said calmly: "Yes, in a moment, I will have you meet someone." She paused for a moment and added: "However, you must control yourself; don't be too out of character."
"Rest assured, Lord," Di Tian immediately replied, his expression serious and earnest.
However, beneath that seriousness, he didn't take this reminder too seriously in his heart. He was Di Tian, the Golden Eyed Black Dragon King! He had lived for hundreds of thousands of years, ruled over the vast Star Dou, and either clashed or dealt with generations of top human experts. In this world, what kind of person or scene could possibly make him lose his composure? He had almost absolute confidence in this.
Gu Yue glanced at Di Tian, said no more, and turned to leave the room. She took the soul tool elevator to the floor above and stopped in front of a door. She raised her hand and tapped twice on the smooth door panel with her knuckles.
Almost the instant the knocking sounded, the person inside had already seen the visitor through mental force. Thus, when the door was pulled inward and Huo Yuhao's face appeared behind it, there was no surprise in his eyes.
"Gu Yue," Huo Yuhao said with a smile, "Perfect timing, I was planning to look for you if you hadn't come."
"Oh?" Gu Yue stood at the door, her gaze questioning.
"It's vacation time now," Huo Yuhao explained. "I plan to go back to Shrek City to see my teacher. Do you want to come along?"
Hearing this, Gu Yue shook her head gently: "I need to return to my family's place in two days, so I won't go to see the teacher with you."
"That's fine too." Huo Yuhao nodded, not feeling disappointed; everyone had their own arrangements, which was perfectly normal. He looked at Gu Yue and asked instead: "Did you come to see me for something?"
Gu Yue looked up, meeting his gaze, and said: "Yes, to take you to see someone."
"Sure." Huo Yuhao agreed very readily. He didn't have anything special to prepare, so he just closed the door behind him and followed Gu Yue out.
As the two stepped into the soul tool elevator and the metal doors closed with a slight hum, Huo Yuhao asked with a bit of curiosity: "Who are we going to see?"
Gu Yue didn't keep him in suspense, looking straight at the flashing floor numbers and replying calmly: "My father has come to Donghai City, so I'm taking you, Senior Brother, to meet him."
Father? Huo Yuhao was clearly stunned upon hearing this. He had long known that Gu Yue came from some hidden family, and her father must also be a hidden expert. But that wasn't the point. The key was that he was going to meet Gu Yue's father!
During these days in Donghai City, he and Gu Yue, as Senior Brother and junior sister, had spent time together day and night, attending classes and training together, becoming very familiar. And in this relationship, Gu Yue had shown a steadiness and initiative that surpassed her age. It seemed that the closing of the distance between them had always been Gu Yue's doing, while Huo Yuhao was just the passive recipient. This was also one of the reasons why Xie Xie would joke that Gu Yue and Huo Yuhao were getting closer and closer.
In the young Huo Yuhao's perception, a girl being so proactive towards him was probably an expression of liking him, right? Indeed, Huo Yuhao secretly thought that Gu Yue must like him. However, he had always chosen to pretend not to know and had not given a clear response. For no other reason than that historical records clearly stated that ten thousand years ago, he had a wife.
That Dragon Butterfly Douluo, Tang Wutong, shared four spirit fusion skills with a 100% compatibility with himself, making them a match made in heaven. While reading those historical materials, a vague expectation had unconsciously grown in Huo Yuhao's heart, hoping to meet that fated partner in the future.
However, faced with Gu Yue's cool yet impossible to ignore initiative, saying that Huo Yuhao felt no ripples in his heart would be absolute self deception. With a boy's heart nature, being liked—especially by a girl as exceptionally talented and uniquely tempered as Gu Yue—the quietly growing joy and vanity were naturally difficult to suppress completely. He even involuntarily recalled what his teacher, Leng Yaozhu, had once told him: perhaps he really should be a bit more of a playboy!
He could travel between two worlds; finding another lover in this world ten thousand years later didn't seem like much of a problem, right? However, these were just thoughts that popped into Huo Yuhao's head from time to time, but now he was facing a real practical problem! He never expected that the progress between him and Gu Yue would be so rapid. He was already meeting the parents?!
The elevator stopped smoothly, and the doors slid open to both sides. Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, suppressing the slight nervousness and sense of absurdity in his heart, and followed Gu Yue out.
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