Soul Land:The Dragon King's God of Nature

At the East Sea Spirit Pagoda.

Shaoyu and Gu Yue walked out together, heading to where he had parked his bicycle. He planned to take Gu Yue to Leng Yaozhu's villa so she could become familiar with the place where she'd be training in the future.

Shaoyu mounted his bike, and Gu Yue sat sideways on the back seat, wrapping her arms naturally around his waist. By now, this routine was familiar to them; Shaoyu had given Gu Yue countless rides like this over the past year.

On the way, Shaoyu struck up a conversation.

"Yue'er, when did you meet our teacher?" he asked.

"This morning," Gu Yue replied casually, swinging her legs as they rode.

"This morning?" Shaoyu raised an eyebrow. Thinking about Leng Yaozhu's decisive nature, he couldn't help but chuckle. "That does sound like Teacher."

"Does it?" Gu Yue asked with a touch of amusement before continuing, "I went to the Spirit Pagoda for my usual studies, but Pagoda Master Ji summoned me to his office. When I arrived, I met Teacher, and her first words were that she wanted me as her disciple."

Shaoyu nodded, recognizing a pattern. "And did she show off her strength to convince you?"

"She did. How did you know?" Gu Yue asked, surprised.

"Because that's exactly what she did when she accepted me," Shaoyu replied with a laugh.

"Oh," Gu Yue responded, momentarily at a loss for words. After a pause, she added, "Teacher said it was my potential in the field of spirit souls that made her take me as her disciple, but now I wonder if it was more because of you, Ah Yuan."

Shaoyu chuckled. "You're mistaken. She didn't take you on because of me. She actually expressed interest in you as her disciple a long time ago, so don't underestimate yourself."

"Oh, really?" Gu Yue asked with a slight smile. "So, when did Teacher take you on as her disciple?"

"Me?" Shaoyu's expression turned wry. "Not that long ago. Remember last semester's final exam? We defeated that Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, and I absorbed the spirit bone it left behind. The day after the semester ended, I met Teacher."

"Wait!" Gu Yue's eyes widened. "You're telling me you absorbed the spirit bone from the Ascension Platform's guardian, brought it out with you, and instead of facing any consequences, the Spirit Pagoda allowed you to become the Vice Pagoda Master's disciple?"

Shaoyu let out an exaggerated sigh. "Who says there were no consequences? Teacher said that if I didn't agree to become her disciple, she'd pursue the matter, so I paid the price in the end."

"Paid the price?" Gu Yue rolled her eyes. "You call becoming a Limit Douluo's disciple a 'price'? Talk about getting benefits and still complaining."

"Heh!" Shaoyu grinned. "With my talent, even without meeting Teacher, I'm sure I'd eventually have Limit Douluos lining up to take me as their disciple."

Gu Yue nodded thoughtfully. "That's true. With your natural talent, it'd be rare to find someone like you in a millennium."

"Natural talent?" Shaoyu echoed, puzzled. "Yue'er, what do you mean by that?"

Gu Yue's face tensed slightly, realizing her slip. She forced a calm expression and replied lightly, "I read it in a book once, though I don't know what it really means. It just seemed like a fitting way to describe you, Ah Yuan—your Prime Spirit has such an affinity with nature."

Shaoyu listened to her explanation, realizing she was skirting around something, yet he didn't press her. Instead, he played along and changed the subject, teasing, "In a book? What kind of book? Was it one of those romance novels you like so much? You know, something like Reborn and Loved by My Senior or The Beast Queen Falls for a Human?"

"Absolutely not!" Gu Yue's face flushed bright red, her hands twisting at his waist in mild irritation, making Shaoyu wince.

"Ouch, ouch! My mistake, Yue'er, my mistake!" he cried, half-laughing and half-pleading. "Please, stop twisting! I shouldn't have teased you!"

"Hmph!" Gu Yue snorted but relaxed her grip, though her cheeks remained flushed, clearly embarrassed.

The rest of the journey passed in relative silence as Gu Yue recovered from the awkwardness of Shaoyu teasing her over her "little hobby," while he pondered how to change the topic. Though he was curious about what Gu Yue had said about "natural talent," he sensed now wasn't the time to press further.

In the original story, he vaguely remembered something about a concept like "natural talent." He recalled it was mentioned in connection to Tang Wulin, who received a unique blessing from Shrek Academy's Golden Tree, though the concept didn't seem to match what Gu Yue had implied. His memories were blurry, so he couldn't be entirely sure.

What he was certain of, though, was that someone known as "natural talent" was bound to exist. The accelerated development of human soul technology and the near-extinction of soul beasts had pushed the natural environment and ecosystem of Douluo Star to the brink of collapse. Thus, the emergence of such a figure wouldn't be surprising.

Given his Prime Spirit and Doomsday Godslayer Spear, it seemed likely he was indeed the "natural talent" Gu Yue referred to.

He guessed that perhaps when his spirit power reached rank fifty or seventy, he might receive some form of revelation from Douluo Star. It was likely his existence as "natural talent" served two purposes.

One was to help restore Douluo Star's natural environment, and the other was to maintain the balance between soul masters and soul beasts. In essence, he was meant to prevent the extinction of soul beasts, as such an outcome would destroy Douluo Star's ecosystem, impacting its status and stability.

But for now, with his current power, these concerns felt a bit premature.

"Shaoyu," Gu Yue's voice suddenly sounded serious, breaking his reverie. "If a day ever comes when there's an irreconcilable conflict between me and Xie Xie, where only one of us can survive…would you help me?"

Shaoyu was momentarily taken aback, but he quickly understood her implication and responded without hesitation, "Of course, I would. But can Xie Xie even fight you? I don't think he'd be much of a challenge. You'd hardly need me to step in, right? Haha!"

His lighthearted reply brought a smile to Gu Yue's face, providing her with the reassurance she sought.

Shaoyu understood Gu Yue's true intent. She wasn't really talking about Xie Xie; her actual target was undoubtedly Tang Wulin.

As the Silver Dragon King, Gu Yue naturally harbored a desire to kill Tang Wulin to reclaim the Golden Dragon King's essence and complete her transformation into the true Dragon God. Though she referred to Xie Xie, her real thoughts lay elsewhere. He even suspected that Gu Yue, along with the powerful soul beasts of Star Dou Forest, had already made attempts on Tang Wulin's life, only to be forced into retreat due to unforeseen circumstances.

This "unforeseen circumstance" wasn't hard to deduce. With the powerful Tang Shenwang behind Tang Wulin, it was inconceivable he hadn't prepared countermeasures. Gu Yue and the soul beasts were likely still devising a way to overcome Shenwang's influence.

In the future, a deadly clash between Gu Yue and Tang Wulin was almost inevitable, and Shaoyu saw little choice in the matter. He wasn't the type to bow down to even a God King; if anything, he'd prefer to become his enemy and rise against him.

Fortunately, his ties with Tang Wulin weren't deep, so any future showdown wouldn't be fraught with complicated emotions.

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Happy New Year Everyone! May this year bring you joy, peace, and prosperity. Cheers to new beginnings! 🎉🍻🎊