Douluo Dalu: Lucky Star

"Uh, don't misunderstand."

Seeing the two of them looking in his direction, Han Li quickly shook his head. He had chosen this location simply because it was where he'd set up the most defenses, and the Divine Realm was already accustomed to his cultivation. Even if they had a sudden lapse in judgment and cast their gaze here again, as long as Han Li remained shielded in this place, they wouldn't forcibly break in to investigate.

"This place can block the gaze of the Divine Realm."

Han Li pointed to the sky with a slight smile.

At that moment, a thought flashed through both Gu Yue's and Di Tian's minds: Does this mean that if we kill him here, the Divine Realm won't know?

But as they considered it, they were met with Han Li's ever-unchanging smile.

Oh, right. He was the Lord of the Plane, and unlike most plane lords, his status had been forced upon him. In a moment, both of them felt clear-headed again.

Gu Yue had already confirmed this when they arrived. The massive aura of luck and the power of faith surrounding Han Li was something nearly impossible for an ordinary human to possess. Moreover, the countless rules interacting with him constantly affirmed that he was indeed what he claimed to be. Though she couldn't yet confirm if he was truly bound to the plane, she wasn't foolish enough to test it.

Not only Di Tian but even Gu Yue found Han Li's proposal incredibly tempting.

She understood the struggles of soul beasts far more deeply than Di Tian did. Occasionally, she could still receive faint traces of faith from soul beasts worshipping the Dragon God, though it was extremely rare. Because of this, she was more concerned about this opportunity for change than her recovery, which Di Tian prioritized.

One thing was clear to her: in this alliance, Han Li was taking on much greater risk. This was more sponsorship than partnership. For them, there was no choice.

A newly ascended god, born after the Dragon God's war, who wasn't hostile to soul beasts and was also the Lord of this plane—this was her chance, and the soul beast race's chance.

In her deepest memories, amidst blood and fire, beast gods had fallen one by one as all the other gods stood against her. She would never forget that scene for the rest of her life.

Now, Han Li stood before her, and she had to consider if this was her only chance in this lifetime.

The soul beast race had once been glorious, largely due to the Dragon God. But he was long gone, and as his successor, it was Gu Yue's unshirkable duty to restore the soul beasts' honor.

At the very least, she could expedite her recovery.

Pushing her grand ambitions to the back of her mind, Gu Yue returned to the present. She had come to secure as many benefits as possible, and even if it made her seem greedy, she had no other option.

"You learned about the Divine Realm from their memories, didn't you?"

Since Han Li was no longer concealing his aura, Gu Yue's gaze shifted to his arms. Although his body had been cleansed by the rules, she could still detect traces of it—especially since part of Han Li's ice and fire origin came from the Dragon Kings he had absorbed.

Could her information have leaked from here?

"Partly," Han Li replied vaguely, neither confirming nor denying it. When he had absorbed the soul bones, they were mostly filled with battle remnants, not much information. But he didn't mind if Gu Yue assumed otherwise—it wasn't important.

"I agree to your proposed cooperation," Gu Yue said.

"I will use some of my authority to have Di Tian assist you, converting his faith to you before you ascend to godhood. But this will only be temporary, ending once you succeed."

"Of course, you need to help me conceal this. Such an act will create quite a stir, and I hope the power of faith you mentioned will be substantial."

Gu Yue didn't seem to have a complex negotiating strategy. She laid everything out from the start, her tone direct and firm.

"Sure, let's split it seventy-thirty."

Han Li gave her a surprised look but didn't object. Her straightforwardness saved him the trouble of negotiating.

"With seventy percent, I'll be able to recover in no time," Gu Yue said confidently.

"Wait."

Han Li frowned, raising his right hand to interrupt her.

"Did you misunderstand something? When I said seventy-thirty, I meant seventy percent for me and thirty for you."

"Only thirty percent for me?"

Gu Yue looked at him in disbelief. Hadn't he mentioned a large amount of faith?

"What did you expect? Thirty percent is already quite generous. If you hadn't come personally, I would've only given you twenty percent."

Han Li spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world—he wasn't running a charity.

"Thirty percent is too little. I can't accept that," Gu Yue said, shaking her head decisively.

"Too little? It's not. Many would kill for even thirty percent and don't have the means to get it."

Han Li shook his head just as quickly. What he wanted was a worker, and the idea of cooperation was just a pretense. Did she think it was genuine?

"Think about it. Without my concealment, would you dare use your authority to contact me? And without this, how much faith have you received so far? Very little, I assume. Otherwise, you wouldn't still be injured."

"From zero to thirty percent—isn't that a huge increase? And you think seventy percent for me is a lot? You should know that even without your help, I could still gather faith on my own, albeit a bit slower."

Han Li gestured to his body, which had already transformed nearly half into a divine form. His spiritual power had already been converted by more than eighty percent.

In essence, he wasn't short on faith. His collaboration with the soul beast race was primarily to wake up his good son and pave the way for his final leap. Becoming a god wasn't difficult for him, but he didn't plan to follow the conventional steps.

The atmosphere grew tense. Han Li's stance made it clear he wouldn't compromise on this point. They couldn't afford to push too hard, either. Even if they reached an agreement, the power of faith would still have to flow through Han Li. In effect, he was the procurement department. Offending the one handling the goods would have consequences.

"Master, you're here!"

At that moment, an obnoxious voice, tinged with coldness, called out from below—it was Skydream.

As the only creature that could move freely here, Skydream had sensed Han Li's presence even in its sleep and rushed over, eager to curry favor after sensing Han Li's previous displeasure. Due to the sacrifices it had made, its spiritual power was not as strong as before, and after evolving into an ice dragon, its primary attribute shifted to ice.

But as it flew up and saw the three figures before it, it froze midair. It hadn't seen the silver-haired woman before, but Di Tian was all too familiar.

The moment it saw Di Tian, its body ached with the memory of pain from when its energy had been forcibly extracted, a process akin to being skinned alive.

"Oh, it's Skydream. Come, say hello to your old friend," Han Li said, raising his hand and pulling it over with his Controlling Crane, Capturing Dragon—this time in the most literal sense.

"Is that Skydream, the little bug?"

Di Tian's eyes widened, sensing the pure dragon bloodline in Skydream. For a moment, he couldn't believe it.

"Yes, under the influence of the Ice Dragon King's skeleton, it evolved. It's now part of the high-bloodline Ice Dragon Clan."

Skydream, now much smaller, was held in Han Li's hand, but it no longer panicked. It had backing now, and, of the three present, Di Tian had the lowest status. So, what was there to fear? It straightened itself, standing a bit taller, and looked at Di Tian with a weak hint of defiance. After all, it was now part of the Ice Dragon Clan, among the ranks of dragon-type soul beasts.

According to Han Li, its bloodline potential was extremely high, surpassing most beings on the continent. Its cultivation was advancing rapidly, thanks to the energy here.

Di Tian, you always prided yourself on being the Beast God, didn't you? You wouldn't want a reputation for harming your kind, would you?

Skydream wanted to say this, but seeing the looks in Di Tian's and the silver-haired woman's eyes, it swallowed its words.

"It once sacrificed itself for me. I promised that when I became a god, it would become a divine beast and enjoy eternal life."

Han Li smiled as he petted Skydream like a small dog, and then placed it back on the ground. Skydream obediently rubbed against his leg.

Gu Yue and Di Tian were momentarily stunned, then quickly filled with rage. They wanted to kill this creature on the spot, but it was Han Li's dragon—and a dragon destined to become a divine beast. In some ways, it was now the most promising soul beast since the fall of the Dragon God. This realization only increased their frustration.

Di Tian stole a glance at Gu Yue, worried that his master might not handle this well. To his surprise, she merely closed her eyes briefly, then reopened them with a calm gaze.

"Fine, thirty percent. But if you haven't fully ascended by the time I've finished recovering, you'll need to provide me with more support. It will benefit us both."

It seemed that Skydream's situation had given Gu Yue a moment of clarity. She conceded but added a new condition.

"No problem. That was my plan all along."

Han Li glanced at Skydream, who was still sneaking looks at Di Tian from beside his leg and nodded in agreement. He hadn't expected it to come in handy.

Gu Yue's proposal was reasonable. Unlike others who were either undergoing or hadn't yet undergone a Divine trial, once Gu Yue recovered, she would be a powerful, immediate battle-ready force. As a strong hidden asset, she was too valuable to overlook—provided her involvement didn't hinder his advancement.

"When the time comes, I'll help you too," Han Li added.

"Then it's settled. Here are the coordinates of my space. I'll need more energy, and faith-based power will also help."

Gu Yue's fingertip glowed, and a white ball of light shot toward Han Li. Her purple eyes were deep and unreadable.

Han Li didn't dodge, letting the ball of light merge into his body. It was the little gadget he had placed on the jade token given to Di Tian, which identified Gu Yue's space. Now, she had returned it to him.

"Shall we go down and take a look?"

Gu Yue barely acknowledged his reaction and turned her gaze toward the basin below, where significant activity seemed to be taking place. She was curious about what Han Li was doing there.

"Sure."

Han Li nudged Skydream aside and gestured courteously, and the three of them descended.