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In the distance, spirit beasts began to emerge one by one, moving from the far reaches of the forest toward a specific location. More and more of them appeared near the 'Spirit Beast Enclosure.'
Waiting there to have these beasts obediently donate blood in exchange for Blue Silver Grass were a bear, a tiger, and a human—Xiong Er, Da Ju, and Ye Lan.
Although the 'Artificial Spirit Ring' technology meant there was no longer a need to kill spirit beasts, obtaining their blood was still necessary.
However, spirit beasts were not docile rabbits that would let spirit masters do as they pleased. If asked to donate blood for no reason, these creatures, lacking high intelligence, would simply run as far away as possible.
Therefore, Ye Lan had established the "Artificial Spirit Ring Raw Material Supply Group."
He decided to use his Blue Silver Grass and Leng Leng's Nine Heart Begonia to trade with the spirit beasts for their blood.
What Ye Lan was currently doing was experimenting to see which texture of Blue Silver Grass held the greatest attraction for the beasts. As the possessor of the 'Blue Silver Grass – Radiant Life' Martial Soul, he could use his 'Nature Domain' to communicate with plant-type spirit beasts and general spirit beasts. He also enlisted the help of Xiong Er and Da Ju to facilitate communication.
In this way, he could cultivate a habit among the spirit beasts of exchanging fresh blood for Blue Silver Grass. He wanted them to understand that a little bit of blood could be traded for the 'Ultimate Life' energy found in his Blue Silver Grass.
Once the spirit beasts became familiar with this exchange model, Ye Lan would no longer need to visit the Spirit Beast Forest personally to collect blood.
In the future, he could simply hand over the blood collection work to the "Supply Group," while he and Leng Leng would only need to stay at Spirit Hall, continuously producing 'Fine Blue Silver Grass' or 'Nine Heart Begonia Petals.'
Ye Lan's visit to the Star Dou Great Forest this time had two purposes: to cultivate the trading habit among the forest's inhabitants and test the grass, and to bring back Da Ju and Xiong Er.
Now that the 'Artificial Spirit Ring' technology had been rolled out, Spirit Hall had explicitly forbidden other spirit masters from killing spirit beasts.
Under normal circumstances, Xiong Er and Da Ju would not be killed by spirit masters in the human world. Moreover, having these two beasts by his side—under the exemplary leadership of the Spirit Hall Saint and Temple Master—would help human spirit masters gradually build the consciousness that humans and spirit beasts could coexist in friendship.
Watching the beasts queuing up obediently, Ye Lan sighed with emotion.
"Who said spirit beasts were vicious?"
"These creatures look no different from cats high on catnip!"
Just then, Ye Lan sensed an extremely powerful fluctuation of life energy.
"Who goes there?!"
Ye Lan looked up toward a figure standing on a towering tree.
There, a beautiful young girl with silver hair and purple eyes stood upon a branch. One of her fair hands rested on the brown bark, while the other brushed back her cascading silver hair.
The moment Ye Lan turned his head, his gaze met the girl's purple pupils.
Under the moonlight, a silver halo shimmered beneath her galaxy-like hair, and the lunar glow spilled over her skin, which looked as smooth as congealed jade.
So beautiful... Ye Lan murmured subconsciously.
The silver-haired girl looked at the golden-haired young man's face, also feeling a momentary trance.
Gu Yuena was dazed for a moment before she was drawn to Ye Lan's peculiar attire.
It was a style of clothing from the fragmented memories she possessed—a short emerald-green shirt. Written across the shirt were eight large characters: "Protecting Spirit Beasts, Everyone's Responsibility."
"Pfft!" Gu Yuena couldn't help but laugh aloud at the words on Ye Lan's chest.
"Gu Yuena?"
"What are you laughing at?!"
Ye Lan, interrupted by her bell-like laughter, regained his composure and asked hurriedly.
"I just find it amusing to see a human wearing clothes that say 'Protect Spirit Beasts.' The relationship between humans and spirit beasts has always been like fire and water—one cannot exist with the other," Gu Yuena said.
Ye Lan pointed to the hundreds of well-behaved spirit beasts nearby and asked, "Do these cute and obedient spirit beasts not deserve our protection?"
Seeing the scene of Ye Lan getting along peacefully with hundreds of beasts, Gu Yuena was momentarily at a loss for words.
"They are only attracted by the 'Ultimate Life' energy. Other humans would not interact with spirit beasts like this," Gu Yuena said softly.
"That day will come! The Douluo Continent is vast; it is fully capable of accommodating both spirit beasts and humans," Ye Lan replied firmly.
Ripples of emotion stirred within Gu Yuena's heart again as she asked, "Ye Lan, why did you create the 'Artificial Spirit Ring'? Was it merely to solve the problem of the lacking ten-thousand-year Spirit Rings?"
"Given your strength and status in Spirit Hall, you surely don't lack rings. Although I don't know how you created the 'Artificial Spirit Ring' in such a short time, it must have consumed a great deal of your energy," Gu Yuena observed.
Ye Lan's pupils trembled slightly. Strictly speaking, the 'Artificial Spirit Ring' had indeed cost him a lot of time.
After all, to research it, he had activated the 'Eight-Faced Exquisite Heart,' the 'Seven Orifices Exquisite Heart,' and 'Consciousness Acceleration,' researching at 6,400 times the normal speed.
Although only seven days had passed in reality, inside his consciousness world, a total of 44,800 days had passed—that was 122 years, longer than an ordinary person's lifetime.
Gu Yuena noticed the fleeting trace of exhaustion in Ye Lan's eyes.
"It was alright. It only took seven days; it didn't consume too much of my energy," Ye Lan lied effortlessly. "You are right, solving the shortage of ten-thousand-year rings was only one of my goals."
"I had two other purposes for creating the 'Artificial Spirit Ring.' One was to solve the problem of coexistence between spirit beasts and spirit masters."
"Aside from that ideal, I also promised two seniors that I would take good care of the Spirit Beast Clan on their behalf," Ye Lan said, looking at Gu Yuena probingly.
Hearing Ye Lan's explanation, Gu Yuena's heart could no longer remain calm. She hadn't expected Ye Lan to harbor an ideal of coexistence, to act on it, and to succeed.
Is it really necessary for me to continue with my plan?
After calming herself, Gu Yuena realized that Ye Lan's third purpose was not simple. Take care of the Spirit Beast Clan on behalf of seniors?
Humans would not entrust other humans to care for spirit beasts. Could the seniors be... spirit beasts?
Gu Yuena immediately concentrated, attempting to sense Ye Lan's aura. However, Ye Lan seemed shrouded in a mist. To pierce through this fog, she would need to activate her seventh soul skill and restore her spiritual power to the 'Spirit Domain' realm.
Sensing someone's aura like this was already rude, and Gu Yuena wouldn't brazenly activate her Martial Soul Avatar to force the issue.
At that moment, Ye Lan sensed his 'Aura Concealment' trigger.
He didn't get angry; instead, he directly deactivated the concealment and decided to be straightforward with Gu Yuena.
He had to figure out what the Myriad Beast Sect and Gu Yuena were up to. He refused to believe that even the 'Artificial Spirit Ring' couldn't break the ice between humans and beasts.
After lifting the concealment, Ye Lan revealed the four Spirit Bones on his body.
His right arm transformed into a deep blue dragon claw, the tips shining with ice-blue light as if freezing time itself.
Then, his eyes revealed his True Pupils—lava-like golden dragon pupils shining with orange-red light.
"That is... The Water Dragon King!!? The Fire Dragon King!!?" Gu Yuena exclaimed in shock.
The moment the words left her mouth, she realized she had slipped up. She wasn't supposed to know about the Dragon Kings.
But seeing Ye Lan's sincere gaze, Gu Yuena instantly understood.
"You know my identity?"
Ye Lan's heart skipped a beat. She noticed that quickly?
"Indeed. Myriad Beast City, Myriad Beast Sect! Myriad Beast... I heard that spirit beasts can transform into human form after one hundred thousand years. Coupled with the sudden appearance of the 'Soul Spirit System,' it's hard for me not to suspect the true identity of your Myriad Beast Sect."
"The six members of the Myriad Beast Battle Team are all transformed spirit beasts, aren't they?"
"And I fear they aren't just simple ten-thousand-year transformations. As far as I know, in the 'Soul Spirit System,' a hundred-thousand-year Soul Spirit is red. But aside from you, the fifth Spirit Rings of the rest of the Myriad Beast Battle Team are all orange-gold."
"So, I deduce that the Soul Spirits of the Myriad Beast Battle Team members are not hundred-thousand-year spirits, but several-hundred-thousand-year spirits. Those spirits must be their own original bodies, right?"
"If they are all transformed beasts of several hundred thousand years, then what about you, Gu Yuena? Your Spirit Ring isn't orange-gold, but a far more terrifying dark gold!"
"Is your true identity a million-year spirit beast? Or perhaps a Divine Beast lingering from countless eras ago?" Ye Lan pressed.
Hearing Ye Lan's deduction, Gu Yuena's inner peace was shattered. This human had completely seen through their sect.
But why didn't he make this public? If humanity knew the true details of the Myriad Beast Sect, they would never tolerate so many beasts transforming and integrating into human society!
If the identities of the Sect Master and the team were exposed, they would be condemned by countless humans across the Douluo Continent.
"You guessed wrong. We are all humans," Gu Yuena said, her expression unchanging as she flatly denied it.
Ye Lan didn't argue against her denial.
They were now in a state where 'You know that I know, and I know that you know that I know,' but neither would explicitly break the facade.
"I want to know... you deduced that the Myriad Beast Sect was founded by spirit beasts. Why didn't you make these deductions public?"
"Given your prestige among humans, they would certainly believe your speculation," Gu Yuena asked, puzzled.
"I have no intention of putting you to death. As I said, I promised two seniors I would look after the Spirit Beast Clan," Ye Lan said directly.
"What did they tell you? Why would you agree?"
"They told me about the past of the Divine Realm and asked me to look after the Spirit Beasts after I became a God. As for why I agreed... naturally, it is because of the four Spirit Bones on my body!" Ye Lan stared intently into Gu Yuena's eyes.
Gu Yuena fell silent for a long time before biting her lip.
"The Spirit Beast Clan does not need your care. I will protect them myself!"
With that, Gu Yuena turned around abruptly.
"Gu Yuena!!"
Ye Lan shouted loudly, causing her to freeze instantly.
"What exactly is the goal of you and the Myriad Beast Sect?! Why take in so many human disciples!?"
"Is the 'Artificial Spirit Ring' not enough for the spirit beasts? Can we not sit down and talk properly?"
Ye Lan vented the frustration in his heart. This stupid dragon, Gu Yuena, was infuriating.
He had no idea what she was planning, and she showed no attitude for communication.
It seemed the 'Artificial Spirit Ring' hadn't changed her mind to cooperate with humans; she chose to continue alone.
"I do not trust humans. And since they told you so much, you must know that the enemies of the spirit beasts are not only humans."
"I am leaving. Take care."
Gu Yuena's figure flashed and vanished instantly.
Watching her disappear, Ye Lan's gaze became dazed.
After a long while, sensing Xiong Er and Da Ju rubbing against his legs, he collected his thoughts. Ye Lan continued creating fine Blue Silver Grass and feeding it to the nearby spirit beasts.
Meanwhile, at the peak of a snowy mountain.
The silver-haired girl sat at the very top of a snow peak. Her eyes were unfocused, her mind far away from this white world.
Gu Yuena's heart was in turmoil.
She had imagined countless scenarios of meeting Ye Lan, but she hadn't expected his honesty.
The background of the Myriad Beast Sect had been completely exposed. As the Co-Lord of Spirit Beasts, she should have immediately activated her 'Silver Dragon King Avatar' and decisively killed that human. Yet, the thought never even crossed her mind.
The reason wasn't that the Water and Fire Dragon Kings had entrusted the Spirit Beast Clan to him. It was because Gu Yuena realized she simply had no desire to kill him.
From his tone, she sensed his friendly attitude toward spirit beasts. The scene of hundreds of beasts living peacefully with Ye Lan confirmed this.
What attracted Gu Yuena most about Ye Lan was the aura of equality he exuded. In his eyes, she saw no distinction of status.
Whether it was a beast of a few decades or centuries, she saw no contempt in his gaze.
In that human's eyes, she was no different from a human.
At this moment, Gu Yuena realized her heart was completely occupied by that brilliant human spirit master.
She knew that as the 'Co-Lord of Spirit Beasts,' she could not be swayed by emotion. She carried the lives of countless spirit beasts on her shoulders.
She had awakened from a future where spirit beasts were extinct, not to indulge in romance.
Just then, an ice-blue figure flashed in front of Gu Yuena. The figure's appearance was in no way inferior to Gu Yuena's.
With long white hair trailing to her feet and sky-blue eyes that seemed clear enough to see through everything in the world, her slender body was flawless. Her long white dress, devoid of decoration, made her look like a winter plum blossom amidst the snow—outstanding and proud.
"My Lord, what is wrong? I sense that your heart is not at peace," said the Ice Sky Snow Woman.
"Snow Woman, do you have someone you like?" Gu Yuena murmured.
"Like? What is that?" the Snow Woman asked in confusion.
"Perhaps it is a kind of pain. It should not have appeared." Gu Yuena felt increasingly bitter.
"My Lord, I have heard that for humans, staying together forever is what it means to like someone. With your strength and status, is there anyone you cannot be with forever?" the Snow Woman asked.
Given her Lord's beauty and power, was there any human or beast in this world she couldn't have?
"This is just my own wishful thinking. Besides, I should not fall for anyone," Gu Yuena said, her eyes losing focus.
"My Lord..." Although the Snow Woman didn't understand what 'liking' was, she sensed the extremely complex emotions in her Lord's heart, a feeling that made her own heart ache.
"Snow Woman, you came at the right time. Help me keep something safe."
As Gu Yuena spoke, seven dark gold spirit rings flashed around her body.
Her seventh ring immediately shone with golden light, and the silver-haired girl vanished.
atop the snow mountain, a silver dragon nearly a thousand meters long appeared.
The Silver Dragon King's True Body had descended!
The Silver Dragon King's eyes were filled with pain. A pure white energy ball began to condense in the center of her claw.
As the memories of her interactions with Ye Lan began to fade from her mind, Gu Yuena felt an increasing bitterness.
The Snow Woman floated in front of the Silver Dragon King, gently catching the massive white energy ball.
As the ball gradually shrank, images began to flash through the Snow Woman's mind: the golden-haired human meeting her Lord for the first time, him naming her Lord, him defeating her Lord, him interacting with the spirit beasts...
After a long time, both the Snow Woman and Gu Yuena awakened.
The Snow Woman's mind was filled with the interactions between Ye Lan and her Lord. She understood what 'liking' meant, understood her Lord's feelings as the 'Master of Beasts,' and understood her Lord's difficulties.
Gu Yuena wiped a silver tear from her cheek with a slender fingertip and said coldly, "Snow Woman, what is this?"
Looking at the teardrop, the Snow Woman hesitated, then spoke: "My Lord, that is your tear."
"Tear?"
Gu Yuena felt a bitterness in her heart. She knew she had lost something important, but she couldn't remember why she was crying.
Gu Yuena shook her head. "I do not need such things."
Heaven Dou Empire, Fasno Province, Notting City.
The outskirts of the city, usually sparsely populated, were now crowded with an absurd number of people.
Next to the tall Notting City Spirit Sub-Hall, a new retro-style shop had been built.
Two long lines snaked outside the shop, filled entirely with Spirit Masters wearing golden badges on their chests.
Commoners at the edge of the road watched curiously, stretching their necks to follow the gaze of the Spirit Masters toward the distant shop.
Hanging on the crossbeam of the shop was a black plaque.
On it, four large, flamboyant characters were written: Spirit Ring Shop. In the bottom right corner, smaller, finely carved characters read: Produced by Grandmaster Ye Lan.
Inside the shop, apart from the female receptionists, there was a Spirit Hall deacon dressed in black and white, looking extremely young and full of vitality.
A somewhat overweight Spirit Master dressed as a nouveau riche noble walked in.
Seeing the young deacon, the fat noble immediately dropped his arrogant expression.
This deacon was not someone a minor noble like him could afford to offend. This was Grandmaster Su Yuntao, who had watched the current Saint grow up. The noble put on a fawning smile.
"Grandmaster Su Yuntao, I am Little Wang. Could you help me see what kind of Spirit Ring I need?"
"Let me see your Spirit Master Warrant."
Su Yuntao reached out, took the warrant, glanced at it, and said, "Notting City's new noble Wang San. Rank 20 Spirit Grandmaster. Martial Soul: Scaled Armored Beast."
"You are suitable for an 800-year Four-Eyed Scaled Beast Artificial Spirit Ring. That will be 80 Gold Spirit Coins."
"Alright!!"
"Go register over there. When your order is ready, Spirit Hall will notify you to come and collect it. It takes about a few days."
"If you are in a hurry, there is a 20% express fee. A total of 96 Gold Spirit Coins, and you can get the ring today," Su Yuntao added.
"Grandmaster!! I'll pay, I'll pay!! I want the ring today!" the fat Spirit Master said hurriedly.
Su Yuntao nodded and welcomed the next customer.
At this moment, a Spirit Master dressed as a thin work-study student walked up to Su Yuntao.
"Grand... Grandmaster, this is my Warrant," the thin student stammered.
Su Yuntao took it, glanced at it, nodded, and said, "Notting Academy work-study student, Er Gou. Martial Soul: Exploding Demon Dog. Rank 10 Spirit Scholar."
"Nice Martial Soul. I recommend a 500-year Golden King Artificial Spirit Ring. 40 Gold Spirit Coins."
"Since you are a work-study student at Notting Academy, you get a 90% discount. That's 4 Gold Spirit Coins."
"All Notting Academy students can take a loan. You just need to pay off the debt to Spirit Hall within a year of becoming a Spirit Master."
"Thank you, sir!! Thank you, Spirit Hall!!"
Su Yuntao smiled. "If you want to thank someone, thank Grandmaster Ye Lan. He was also a work-study student at Notting Academy, which is why you get the discount."
Hearing the name Grandmaster Ye Lan, the thin student's eyes filled with worship.
When receiving the next Spirit Master, Su Yuntao's eyes lit up. He laughed, "Xiao Dao (Little Knife), you finally reached Rank 10!?"
"Uncle Tao!! Why did my idol Ye Lan, with Innate Spirit Power of Rank 3, take only five [months/days?] to reach Rank 10, while I, with Innate Rank 5, took five years?!" Xiao Dao asked, confused.
"Hahaha, just compare yourself with your peers. That guy Ye Lan... no one can compare to him now!!"
"Uncle Tao, what ring suits me?!"
"Xiao Dao, your Martial Soul is a Rusty Knife, so naturally, we should choose to increase attack power."
"Go to the back and read the 'Limit Spirit Ring Absorption Method' carefully. I'll have the Spirit Masters in the condensation room create a 500-year Blademaunt Artificial Spirit Ring for you right now."
"Alright, thanks Uncle Tao!!" Xiao Dao said excitedly.
"Thank your idol Ye Lan. Any Spirit Master from Harvest Village gets Artificial Spirit Rings free of charge!"
"If only I could catch up to my idol!" Xiao Dao said with longing eyes.
Speaking of Ye Lan, Su Yuntao fell into thought.
Little Lan, Uncle Tao is really becoming obsolete.
It's been a long time. I never imagined you would create the Artificial Spirit Ring, something that shocks the past and dazzles the present.
Just how terrifying is your strength now?
Uncle Tao looks forward to the day you take revenge on Tang Hao, become a God, and resurrect your parents.
Heaven Dou Empire, Heaven Dou City, Imperial Palace.
Inside the dim palace, Emperor Heaven Dou lay half-reclined on the throne. His face was flushed red, appearing strangely energetic, but his bloated figure and complexion suggested a mismatch with true health.
His cloudy eyes revealed traces of worry, though his attention seemed fixed on the dancing maids in the hall.
"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince requests an audience!" a thin palace maid knelt and announced.
"Ahem, let him in. The rest of you, leave," Emperor Xue Ye said, his eyes brightening.
"Yes!!"
Moments later, all the maids and dancers retreated. A golden-haired man in fine attire walked into the palace at a leisurely pace.
Upon seeing Emperor Xue Ye, Xue Qinghe was about to kneel.
Xue Ye spoke, "Dispense with the formalities!"
"Thank you, Imperial Father! Is your health holding up well?" Xue Qinghe asked.
"Not bad, not bad. The meals you arranged, Qinghe, suit my appetite very well. I feel quite spirited now," Xue Ye laughed.
"It is good that Father is healthy. Father will surely live for ten thousand years!" Xue Qinghe said earnestly.
"Hahahaha, plenty of people wish I would die on this throne right now."
"Qinghe, do you understand how much pressure the Heaven Dou Empire is under?" Xue Ye asked.
"Imperial Father..."
Before Xue Qinghe could continue, Xue Ye muttered to himself, interrupting him:
"It truly is fate. Who would have thought Spirit Hall could come back from the dead? The Saint, Ye Lan, turned the tables in a single day."
(End of Chapter)