Inside Shrek City, at the Spirit Pagoda Headquarters, in Leng Yaozhu's office.
The afternoon sunlight slanted in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, dragging several long streaks of light and shadow across the dark wooden floor.
Leng Yaozhu, Gu Yue, and Huo Yuhao sat on the sofa, all wearing expressions of solemnity; they were clearly not chatting about anything relaxed.
The tea on the coffee table had stopped steaming, yet no one touched it.
Leng Yaozhu's gaze landed on Huo Yuhao, her eyes carrying a trace of undisguised gratification.
She looked at this child she had brought up with her own hands, from that tender youth upon their first meeting to now standing on the edge of the continent's Peak.
Moreover, the goal she once joked about was actually about to be realized; she was soon going to cultivate a true deity.
When she spoke, her tone was calm: "Yuhao, your Spirit Power has now reached level ninety-eight, and in terms of combat power, you are not weak in the slightest compared to a demigod. Qiangu Dongfeng should no longer be your match."
The moment those words fell, Gu Yue's gaze flickered slightly, yet she didn't open her mouth to say anything.
Instead, Na'er within her Spiritual Sea reacted first, her tone carrying a sense of warning: "Your plan needs to speed up, otherwise if Qiangu Dongfeng falls, the Beast Platform won't even be able to find someone to take the blame."
Gu Yue did not reply; of course she knew these things.
She simply hadn't expected Huo Yuhao's cultivation speed to be so fast, even much faster than her, someone who was recultivating.
Leaning back against the sofa's backrest, Huo Yuhao curved the corners of his mouth upon hearing this, saying with a relaxed tone: "It seems it is time to invite this Pagoda Master Qiangu to step down."
Leng Yaozhu nodded, yet did not immediately echo him.
She picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip, speaking slowly only after putting it down: "There is no need to rush for this moment either. Since we are going to strike, we must achieve a fatal blow in one hit."
"Regarding his collusion with the Holy Spirit Cult, I have already found some clues. Once the evidence is more complete, it won't be too late to make a move against him."
Naturally, Huo Yuhao was not in a hurry either, though he thought in his heart that if he waited any longer, perhaps he himself would become a god.
By that time, where would any evidence even be needed? No one would refuse a deity becoming the Pagoda Master of the Spirit Pagoda.
The three did not talk for long; Leng Yaozhu still had matters to handle, so Gu Yue and Huo Yuhao stood up to take their leave.
The two walked out of the office one after the other, the door closing gently behind them.
Gu Yue naturally reached out, took hold of Huo Yuhao's right hand, and unconsciously leaned toward his side, her posture intimate and relaxed.
Huo Yuhao always felt that ever since returning from the Endless Mountains, Gu Yue had become much more clingy than before.
In the past, although their relationship was close, Gu Yue would never have been so proactive like this.
What Huo Yuhao did not know was that this was actually a kind of "obedience test" by Gu Yue.
It was just that the subject of the test was not him, but Na'er.
Na'er now seemed to have been trained well by Gu Yue, no longer making an endless fuss every time she held hands with Huo Yuhao like before.
Na'er now seemed accustomed to all of this; not only holding hands, but even kissing, hugging, and lifting high with Huo Yuhao—she could face it all calmly.
But this was somewhat bitter for Huo Yuhao; after all, he knew very well that Na'er could experience everything this body went through.
Every time Gu Yue leaned on his shoulder, every time their fingers intertwined, and every time their natural, unspoken intimacy occurred, he felt as if standing beside him wasn't just Gu Yue, but also Na'er.
That feeling of being simultaneously watched and perceived by two people always gave rise to an indescribable awkwardness in his heart.
Walking to the end of the corridor, the two parted ways. Only when Huo Yuhao turned around and walked in the other direction did he quietly let out a sigh of relief.
Watching Huo Yuhao's look of relief, Gu Yue couldn't help letting out a soft chuckle.
Right at that moment, Na'er in the Spiritual Sea let out a hum and said, "I think you did that on purpose."
Gu Yue did not explain anything, even tilting her head slightly, her tone carrying a hint of provocation: "So what if I did?"
Na'er was so angered by this expression of hers that her cheeks puffed out, yet she couldn't vent it.
Because she had tried many times before; no matter what she did or said, in the end it was of no use.
After biting her lips for a while, she finally deflated, a flash of helplessness crossing her eyes: "Suit yourself; who told you to be the one controlling this body right now."
Gu Yue slightly restrained the smile on her face, her tone suddenly turning serious: "Haven't you noticed?"
Na'er was slightly stunned upon hearing this: "Notice what?"
Gu Yue said indifferently: "You have now gradually accepted the intimacy with Yuhao, and moreover, the Fusion between us seems to have undergone some changes."
Regarding the first sentence, Na'er opened her mouth, only to find that she truly couldn't refute it. She herself didn't know when this transformation had begun.
As for the second sentence, Na'er indeed hadn't paid attention to it before.
Prompted by Gu Yue, she then calmed her mind and earnestly began to perceive this physical body that was not under her control at the moment.
A moment later, her expression suddenly shifted slightly, and she immediately said with pleasant surprise: "It really has changed! Not only is the Fusion more harmonious, but the Fusion also seems to have loosened—can we separate?!"
"We still can't separate yet." Gu Yue shook her head, though her tone carried a trace of meaningful laughter, "However, perhaps if we get a bit more intimate with Yuhao, we'll be able to separate."
Hearing this, Na'er seriously pondered this question, wondering what kind of intimacy Gu Yue meant by "getting a bit more intimate"?
Holding hands had happened more than once, and hugging was also a frequent occurrence. Were these kisses and hugs still not intimate enough?
Suddenly, a thought popped up without any warning, just like a pebble tossed into a calm body of water, rippling out circles in her mind.
Her complexion instantly turned red from her earlobes all the way down to her neck, and then she abruptly raised her head, looking at the teasing and weird smile on Gu Yue's face, shouting with shame and anger: "Don't even think about it!"
Gu Yue naturally knew what Na'er had thought of, and afterwards simply laughed out loud a few times, saying nothing more.
...
Previously, Leng Yaozhu had said that some clues had been found regarding the Holy Spirit Cult, and Huo Yuhao had originally thought they would have to wait at least a month or two for substantial progress.
After all, the entire Douluo Federation was currently searching for the traces of the Holy Spirit Cult with all its might, and quite a few of those Evil Soul Masters had been successively wiped out or locked up.
Yet the truly high-ranking members of the Holy Spirit Cult seemed to have suddenly evaporated from the continent; no matter how the Federation and major forces cast their nets, they failed to capture any definitive clues.
However, Huo Yuhao didn't expect that merely five days later, Leng Yaozhu would call him over once again, saying they needed to prepare for action.
When Huo Yuhao arrived at Leng Yaozhu's office, he discovered that besides her, another teacher, Han Tianyi, was also present.
After the three took their seats, Leng Yaozhu's expression was solemn and earnest, her tone lacking any superfluous pleasantries when she spoke: "Earlier, you brought back the message about Yulai from the Star Luo Continent, and that was how I learned she had joined the Holy Spirit Cult."
"Later, I had people keep a close eye on this lead, investigating unremittingly, and finally allowed me to discover some clues."
"Right now, the higher-ups of the Holy Spirit Cult cannot be found anywhere on the Douluo Continent; they have vanished into thin air as if out of nowhere."
"But I received news that Yulai appeared on the Douling Continent not long ago, and right inside the Spirit Pagoda of the Douling Continent."
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao frowned slightly and said: "Hua Tao, the Pagoda Master of the Douling Spirit Pagoda, is Qiangu Dongfeng's man. Does Aunt Leng mean that he has issues as well?"
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A/N:
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.