In a tranquil expanse of silvery mist, a massive Silver Dragon rested upon a glass-smooth surface, eyes closed.
Her breath was slow and rhythmic, each exhale stirring the fog into soft spirals that shimmered with light.
The stillness of the space was absolute—so complete that even time seemed to hesitate, wrapped in the quiet shimmer of her scales.
Without warning, the air split open.
A clean tear in space rippled outward, bending the mist like water.
From its center, a child stepped through.
Small and calm, he stood upright, his figure cast in the haunting glow of the silver expanse. 'Seriously,Was it necessary? Why not directly send me to her instead of going through 2 portals.' he complained in his heart as he looked around.
The Silver Dragon's eyes opened.
Twin amethysts glowed, ancient and fathomless, locking instantly onto the boy.
A subtle vibration thrummed in the air—her overwhelming presence pushing against his body like invisible gravity.
Yet the child didn't flinch.
He stared back, gaze steady and curious.
"You are here" the Dragon spoke and waited for his reply.
After a long moment, he said quietly, "You have a beautiful pair of eyes."
A ripple of surprise passed through the mighty dragon.
No fear, no reverence—only a casual, almost playful calm.
And strangely enough, she found the boldness… amusing.
"No one has ever praised me before, human," she said, her voice a deep, rolling echo softened by grace.
"You have quite the courage to stand before me—and the leisure to comment on my eyes."
The boy smiled faintly.
"My name is Wu Hanrui," he said. "You can call me Hanrui, Gu Yuena."
For a heartbeat, her name lingered in the air, and the dragon's gaze sharpened.
"You.. how do you know that Name." she growled.
Then Hanrui just lifted his hand.
The Azure Dragon which perched on his neck unfurled, its body stretching to thirty meters in a blink.
Despite being significantly shorter than the dragon, The pressure that poured from its form rippled across the space, brushing against her bloodline power with startling equality.
Gu Yuena froze.
A memory stirred—five months ago, a similar resonance had reached her when she first sensed Hanrui's Martial Soul awakening.
At that time, she had dismissed the idea of another dragon bloodline matching her own as absurd.
But now... that impossibility stood right in front of her.
And as her eyes traced the Azure Dragon's radiant form, she realized something even more confounding.
As one half of the Dragon God, endowed with an Elemental Physique and absolute control over all elements, Gu Yuena could see the truth.
Her gaze swept over the Azure Dragon—this juvenile held only three elements within its body.
Yet even with an unawakened bloodline and undeveloped form, its bloodline power nearly matched her own.
Gu Yuena fell silent, uncertainty lingering in her swirling purple eyes.
Sensing her hesitation, Hanrui commanded his dragon to withdraw its pressure.
He approached and, with tiny hands dwarfed by her vast snout, gently touched her nose.
In that moment, to her astonishment, he drew out a trace of the Asura God's divine power—the force that had hindered her recovery—and sealed it away before her eyes.
While she remained stunned, Hanrui opened his domain and cast his first soul skill, "Dragon King's Grace."
Silver-gold light washed over the dragon queen.
The soul skill cleansed her body, and for the first time in millennia, she felt her wounds begin to heal a little faster.
Hanrui broke the silence. "I don't know why you wanted to see me, but since I'm here, let's make a deal, shall we?"
He paused, then added, "But before that, can you transform into a human form? As beautiful as you are, your massive size makes it hard to have a proper conversation."
A flicker of doubt crossed her immense eyes. 'Who is this child? Why does his touch invoke such a gentle feeling?' she wondered, unable to resist.
'How can he seal away the power of a God King and accelerate my healing?' she thought, realization dawning.
'I may not be a God King yet, but a Demi-God King—yet this child can heal my wounds and manage divine power even I cannot deal with.'
After a long pause, she spoke. "Very well. Since you helped heal me, I'll humor you."
Her colossal form shimmered with silver light and slowly shrank.
When the radiance faded, a teenage girl with long flowing silver hair and purple eyes stood before Hanrui.
He gazed at her, admiration soft in his voice. "They were right—you're incredible. No words do justice to your beauty."
She smiled, adjusting to her smaller, human form. But then her brow furrowed.
'I chose to become an adult woman… So why am I a teenager?' she wondered. 'Did my control slip? Or…'
Her eyes met Hanrui's, and a knowing sigh escaped her lips as she realised she had fallen for this child's Charm.
Hanrui struck a thoughtful pose. "Let's see, where do I begin?"
"Though I won't claim to know everything, I have some knowledge of this world's past, present, and future. That includes your future."He spoke calmly, making her raise an eyebrow in disbelief.
"For instance, I know you are one half of the Dragon God. Your other half remains sealed in the God Realm.
Without my existence, the current chosen heir of the Asura God would have succeeded in becoming the God. He will plot a long game—one that would destroy all hope for soul beasts to rise, pushing them to near extinction."
Hanrui's voice grew firmer. "He will plan to steal the luck of the soul beasts by targeting the Auspicious Beast, then send the Golden Dragon King's Core to his son.
Through that, you will be ensnared and compelled to die with him—out of love."She was stunned into silence by the absurdity of the story.
Hanrui tapped his fingers lightly on her forehead, projecting a chronological slideshow of events through a knowledge transfer technique.
As she absorbed the memories, a surge of primal rage erupted within her.
Her divine power radiated outward, sweeping the entire space like a tempest, causing the fierce beasts in the first layer of the space to tremble in fear.
Seeing her spiral out of control, Hanrui quickly pinched her ears, anchoring her back to the present."Now that you've seen my memories of this world, here's the deal," he began.
"You become fiance and come and stay with me. I'll heal you and merge the Golden Dragon King's power into you. I'll also give you a way for soul beasts to thrive."
He paused, then added with a wink, "As for the Asura God and his inheritor… Don't worry. I'll deal with him."
Without hesitation, she replied, "Okay, I accept your terms."
Hanrui blinked in disbelief, unsure he'd heard correctly.Noticing his doubt, she smiled softly, illuminating the space.
"I trust you," she said firmly, locking eyes with him."Good," Hanrui said, taking her hand and folding it gently into his.
She froze for a moment, caught off guard by the intimate gesture.
"By the way," he added casually, "my grandmother and father need soul rings. Can you arrange that for them?"
She quickly came to her senses and sent a message to Bi Ji, requesting the arrangements be made with Hanrui's input.
"It's done," she replied, holding his hand with an unfamiliar tenderness.
'What's happening to me? she wondered. How does this child quell my wrath with just a touch? Why am I not resistant to the idea of becoming his bride? He's just a child—why do I trust him so completely?'
Hanrui broke the silence. "Okay, let's go. My family's waiting."
As he led her back to the first layer, he noticed Zi Ji was the only one present.
He gave her a nod and gestured for her to follow.
Meanwhile, Bi Ji swiftly reached her kin, selecting a dying soul beast to sacrifice for the human.
She also relayed the orders given by the Silver Dragon King.Out of respect for both the Silver Dragon King and Bi Ji, the soul beast accepted the command.
It followed Bi Ji from the Lake of Life, arriving shortly thereafter at Hanrui's group.
Back with Hanrui, the Scarlet King—still recovering from being subdued moments ago—awoke.
His eyes caught sight of his master, now in human form, holding the hand of the human child.
A cold sweat broke out across his brow as realization and dread flooded him.
He remembered his earlier transgressions and instantly felt the weight of his mistakes.
He was about to speak when the child interrupted."You're the Scarlet King, right? Here, take this."
Hanrui tossed a low-grade void crystal toward him—a stone pulsing with 5% pure void energy.
'Did I not offend this child? Why such generosity?' the Scarlet King wondered warily.
Despite his doubts, he caught the crystal and immediately felt the surge of immense energy within.
"This is a Void Stone," Hanrui explained. "It's enough to push you through your bottleneck. It bears my seal, so it will protect you from Turbulation Lightning. Consider it a token for our meeting."
He counted everyone present, distributing similar stones to all but Di Tian and Zi Ji.
To Di Tian, he handed a medium-sized Void Stone charged with 10% energy.
"Take it," Hanrui said. "I'm taking Na'er out for a while. You'll need strength to command your subordinates."
Di Tian, initially hesitant, met his master's gaze and swallowed his objections.
"Alright we are leaving, take care, oh by the way keep an eye on the worm. I have business with him the next time I come here." he said as he led Gu Yuena and Zi Ji out of the lake of life.
Outside, Bi Ji and a soul beast waited by Hanrui's group.
Suddenly, the lake rippled, and three figures emerged.
Before Hanrui could react, he was tackled and embraced tightly.
Looking closer, he realized it was his mother—and he let her hold him a moment longer, sensing the warmth and relief in her embrace.
After his mother released him, Hanrui approached the soul beast prepared to sacrifice itself for his grandmother, Xue Li.
He pulled out a contract, crafted through the Sealing Arts and Materialization Module, and presented it to the soul beast.
"If you want to survive, sign this contract and merge your essence with my grandmother's martial soul."
His voice was calm but firm. "This contract will protect your soul, and once my grandmother ascends to Godhood, you can be resurrected to become a God alongside her."
The gathered onlookers were stunned.
Hanrui briefly outlined the risks and benefits, and after hesitation, both parties accepted the gamble.
Each dropped their essence blood onto the contract, which instantly split into two ethereal copies: one flying into Xue Li's Spiritual Sea, the other merging with the Radiant Swan soul beast.
The sacrifice began in earnest—the near 200,000-year cultivation energy of the soul beast poured into Xue Li's body, while the Radiant Swan fused with her Swan Martial Soul.
Suddenly, Xue Li's dormant soul cores stirred and merged, completing the Yin-Yang style soul core with a radiant glow.
Moments later, the absorption was complete."Nainai, what's your current level?" Hanrui asked, noticing her transformation.
Before she could answer, luminous wings made of pure light sprouted from her back."External Soul Bone," both Hanrui and Dugu Bo whispered simultaneously—one in awe, the other with envy and helplessness.
"Rui'er, I'm level 93 now. You were right—the soul cores completed while absorbing the soul ring," Xue Li said, gently stroking his hair.
"The evolution of the martial soul succeeded. I also gained an innate domain with extreme light and wind properties."
Han Mei, Wu Tian, Dugu Bo, and the maids stepped forward, offering their congratulations to Xue Li as she and Hanrui spoke quietly.
Hanrui raised his voice to gather attention. "We can talk more about soul skills later—it's getting late. Let's focus on finding a soul beast for Father first. If we find one, we can discuss everything on the way home."