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--- Chapter 327 ---
"White Mist Emperor?"
"Moonlight Fairy Emperor?"
"The Revival of the Han Family (White Mist Emperor's lineage)?"
"Ties of Karma?"
Han Yuan shook his head and pushed these complicated thoughts aside first.
His mission in the Dou Qi Plane has always been clear: build a solid, if not indestructible, foundation as a platform for his power in the Douluo Plane to grow even further.
Since Han Yuan knew he couldn't maneuver freely in the Douluo Plane, even if the God of Destruction helped him by pinning Asure in the Divine Realm, it would be better to seek a breakthrough in another place.
Putting all of his eggs in the same basket is foolish!
Han Yuan sighed, "How troublesome... No matter what world it was, there were always things like this."
"However, since you're already bringing it to my front door, I wouldn't be humble and use them all for myself."
He gazed at Han Xiayue and calculated how he should swindle, I mean, recruit this person to his rank. Frankly, it wasn't hard because this young woman's miserable past and longing for comfort were 'easily' solved.
"Finally!" Zi Yan finished the last dish and wiped nonexistent sweat on her small forehead as if she had done a laborious chore.
Han Xiayue gave Zi Yan an apprehensive look and praised, "Good works, Strength Queen."
Zi Yan glanced at Han Xiayue, grinning. "You're not bad either."
"So, I will be generous and allow you to call me by name."
"From now on, you're my Zi Yan friend!"
"Ah, this, I am honored, Zi Yan," Han Xiayue's eyes momentarily flashed with excitement as if she had met her goal, but she remained calm and smiled in return. "Then, please call me by name, too."
Zi Yan laughed, "Hehe, good! Xiayue, as long as you're in the Inner Court, you have my protection. Just tell me if you ever faced a problem, and I will beat them up for you!"
After saying this, Zi Yan raised her small hand and clenched it tightly into a fist to make her words more convincing. Even then, it came off as cute rather than intimidating.
Han Xiayue obviously found Zi Yan's action adorable, but she held back from laughing. In fact, she was trying hard not to pat the little dragon girl's head.
So, she just nodded in acknowledgement, "Mm."
"Oh, then what are you going to do once I enter the Inner Court, Zi Yan? Are you confident that you can protect this beautiful senior from my evil hand?" asked Han Yuan playfully.
Zi Yan's bold expression immediately changed to that of awkward nervousness, "Ehem, I don't know what you're talking about?"
"Also, what do you mean by evil hand? What if Xiayue seduced you and laid her evil hand on you instead, huh?" She changed the topic in the spot, even putting in a spectacular reversal.
"What are you going to do when that happens? Let's see how I laugh at you afterward!"
"Hmph, just you know this lady is not easy to bully!"
"..." Han Xiayue.
"..." Han Yuan.
They were speechless.
This little dragon girl truly deserves her title as the Strength Queen. She's all power, almost no brain. A normal person wouldn't come up with such an absurd scenario in their head.
Weirdly enough, Han Xiayue wasn't against Zi Yan's bold idea. Yes, it was a very outlandish thing to say, but the chance of it happening is not zero.
Moreover, Han Xiayue's intention of coming to Han Yuan's place is clearly not pure.
'It's not impossible...' Han Xiayue bit her lips unconsciously.
Han Yuan glanced at Han Xiayue and confirmed that this young woman wasn't much different from the girls he dealt with in the Douluo Continent daily.
He played it off with a joking tone, "Heh, what if my target is you then, Zi Yan?"
"Eh?" Zi Yan was stunned.
She clearly got caught off guard.
She hugged her body and hid behind Han Xiayue while trembling like a scared kitten, "Y-You, you pervert!"
"Han Yuan, I didn't expect your target to be me all along!"
"I should have known that you're not a good person!"
"I was joking, you brat!" Han Yuan gave her a look of contempt. "I am not interested in a small, I mean, little girl like you!"
"Who did you call small? This lady is angry! Face my anger, Raaa!" Zi Yan instantly stopped hiding behind Han Xiayue and angrily pounced on him, biting his right hand like an enraged puppy.
"Oy, stop!" Han Yuan's eyes widened in disbelief.
If it were any other person, Han Yuan wouldn't be worried if they wanted to breach his Infinity and physical defense.
However, Zi Yan is different, as she has learned some tricks from him, one being the spiritual power circulation, which allows her to exert the Ancient Void Dragon's blood more effectively.
So, although Han Yuan deployed Infinity 24/7, even in his sleep for safety, and has refined some Heavenly Flames, and even awakened three god-level martial souls, Zi Yan's cheat as a royal, pure-blooded Ancient Void Dragon allowed her to quite 'literally' ignore, or more precisely, break space is his perfect bane, and she did this by instinct.
"Damn it, aren't you supposed to be a dragon? What's with this dog-like bite force?" Han Yuan cursed when he saw those mischievous fangs of the little dragon girl piercing his skin, which would definitely leave a bite mark.
Zi Yan bit Han Yuan's hand even more tightly, "You're a dog, your whole family is a dog!"
It wasn't until Han Yuan handed several ice creams and pills that Zi Yan finally stopped biting.
Seeing how docile Zi Yan was right now and then the bite mark on his right hand, Han Yuan's mouth couldn't help but twitch.
'I really need to improve Infinity to the next level quickly.' He thought to himself.
Thankfully, Zi Yan didn't make him bleed, or she would get addicted to his blood, which is a heavenly tonic for Magical Beasts. By then, she would definitely nag him for it.
Meanwhile, Han Xiayue watched all this interaction with amusement in her eyes because it reminded her of her childhood days when she used to fight with her younger siblings. Of course, they made it later.
Han Yuan shook his head helplessly at Zi Yan and then finally glanced at Han Xiayue again, "Well, then, Senior, let's sit and hear what you have in mind with me."
Han Xiayue collected her thoughts and smiled, sitting down elegantly on the sofa opposite Han Yuan. "Okay."
They stared at each other for a while, drowning in the sound of Zi Yan licking her ice cream.
"Should we change places?" asked Han Yuan with a somewhat awkward tone.
Han Xiayue giggled, "No, we don't need to."
"Honestly, it would be even more awkward if there were only two of us in here."
"I will keep it short..."
"My arrival here is actually quite direct. I want to know you more, and if possible, become friends with you."
"Why?" Han Yuan gave her a scrunting look.
Han Xiayue answered straightforwardly, trying to sound vain. "Because you're talented, and being your friend is a beneficial investment."
"If I could learn from you, perhaps I could become stronger even faster than I originally planned upon joining Jia Nan Academy."
'She lies...' Han Yuan couldn't help but sigh.
'Oh, well, I don't mind.'
"Alright, but..." Han Yuan responded calmly. "Being friends means we must build trust between us first, Senior."
"Of course, this also amounts to me becoming your follower. I swore that I will be your loyal friend from now on." Han Xiayue patted her chest a few times, making them jiggle.
Han Yuan stared at her in daze and chuckled, "Good."
"Let's be friends then, Senior."
"Mm, please take care of me well, Junior." She smiled back brightly.