After hugging for quite a while, Gu Yue gently released her hold. She then placed both hands on Qiu'er's shoulders, peering closely at her. Looking into Qiu'er's eyes, which were filled with joy, Gu Yue unconsciously recalled the times she would occasionally wake up in the past; Qiu'er would act spoiled in her palm after eating and drinking her fill. She felt fuzzy to the touch, not like the so-called Emperor Auspicious Beast at all, but more like a clingy big cat. Gu Yue unconsciously rubbed Qiu'er's head again, her heart softening slightly. But then, she seemed to realize something. She glanced at the distant Kong Mingan, then withdrew her gaze, her smile fading as her expression became more serious: "Qiu'er, tell me, have you been by his side all this time?"
The joy on Qiu'er's face instantly froze, and a nearly imperceptible trace of guilt flashed through her eyes. She maintained her composure and nodded: "Yes... Lord Sister." Her voice was a bit lower than before.
Gu Yue stared into her eyes and continued to ask, "Then... did he... touch you? Or make any excessive demands?"
She asked directly, her gaze filled with scrutiny. After all, based on her understanding of that guy, how could he possibly let Qiu'er off?
Qiu'er's heart skipped a beat, and her body stiffened for a moment, but she reacted extremely quickly, shaking her head almost immediately with a firm tone: "No, Lord Sister, he didn't do anything to me!"
Being pinned against the wall and bullied by that guy, being rubbed however he wanted, and things like changing clothes and lifting her skirt for him to see... Absolutely! She absolutely could not tell Lord Sister! Not a single word!
Gu Yue frowned slightly. She wasn't slow, especially after being bullied so much by that guy; she had grown quite a bit. Qiu'er's rapid, almost deliberate denial looked suspicious no matter how one viewed it.
So, that guy really did bully Qiu'er during this period? No... maybe it wasn't him; it could also be that Qiu'er took the initiative...
Gu Yue thought to herself but didn't expose Qiu'er. She simply suppressed her doubts for the time being and cast her gaze back toward Kong Mingan, who was slowly approaching. She would ask him privately later. Hmm... perhaps she should change her clothes in advance?
Gu Yue was lost in thought when Kong Mingan reached them. Without any unnecessary pleasantries, he naturally asked, "How do you feel now?" His tone was flat, yet it carried a sense of familiarity that required no formalities. Gu Yue didn't waste words either; she naturally raised a hand, palm down, and held it out in front of Kong Mingan, her voice cool as she said, "Test me yourself."
Kong Mingan understood and just as naturally reached out to hold her hand. The moment their skin touched, their spirit power and mental force connected with perfect naturalness. Gu Yue made no attempt to hide anything, allowing Kong Mingan to observe her.
Standing to the side, Qiu'er watched their excessively smooth and tacit interaction, unconsciously frowning. Something was wrong... very wrong!
Was the rapport between Lord Sister and this guy... a bit too perfect?
Just how far have this guy and Lord Sister gone!
Qiu'er only felt a strange sense of powerlessness, able only to stare helplessly at the hands of this guy and Lord Sister clasped together.
On the other side, while allowing Kong Mingan to probe the conditions within her body, Gu Yue spoke slowly with a hint of indifference: "The 'Elemental Divine Kingdom' has been successfully refined. After fully fusing with it, I can directly draw Energy from the cosmos. Coupled with the assistance of the plane will, the efficiency of Energy acquisition is extremely high. Thus, after the successful refinement, I took the opportunity to enter a deep slumber to absorb Energy. It wasn't until just now that I completely finished this stage of recovery. Now, I am already..."
"A First-rank Deity."
Kong Mingan silently finished her sentence while releasing her hand. There wasn't much surprise on his face. As the two looked at each other, a faint smile tugged at the corners of their mouths, sharing a wordless understanding.
Qiu'er, standing nearby: "???"
She was now even more certain that there was definitely something going on between this guy and Lord Sister! This level of rapport, and Lord Sister's seemingly cool demeanor that actually carried a hint of...
Well, how should she put it? Like she was waiting to be acknowledged?
Qiu'er stood frozen in place, her mind a bit blank and somewhat at a loss.
Gu Yue didn't notice Qiu'er's abnormality. She simply nodded slightly to Kong Mingan, her expression remaining cool. But in truth, if Qiu'er hadn't been present, she might not have been able to resist tilting her chin up slightly and letting out a soft hum. Her mood was indeed excellent right now. Not only had her strength recovered to the level of a First-rank Deity, bringing her a large step closer to returning to her Peak as a God King, but more importantly...
She felt as though she had reclaimed some of her dignity in front of this guy!
She was the Silver Dragon King, the Dominator of the 'Elemental Divine Kingdom', and the Beast Co-ruler whose strength had recovered to that of a First-rank Deity!
She was no longer that helpless young girl who was forced to wear a shameful maid outfit and was bullied in various ways by this guy in the Laboratory without being able to resist!
In short, her wings had hardened.
Gu Yue felt that with her current strength, she should surely be able to seize some of the initiative in front of this guy.
For instance, perhaps she could make him be a little more obedient? Make him stop bullying her and follow her lead instead...
Just thinking about this made Gu Yue feel much more cheerful. Moreover, another thing that put her in a good mood was that this guy didn't immediately come up and ask her, "Where did Snow Empress go?" She had thought that in his eyes, only that Snow Empress was the most special. Now it seemed that might not entirely be the case.
What Gu Yue didn't know was that Kong Mingan actually knew where Snow Empress had gone. After observing the basic procedures and key points of the God Kingdom's refinement, Snow Empress had quietly left to begin refining a God Kingdom unique to herself. To prevent any accidents, he had kept a strand of his mind focused here all along, though Miss Dragon King hadn't noticed it.
Because of her original strength as a Second-Tier Deity and her own powerful foundation, Miss Dragon King hadn't actually spent much time refining the God Kingdom. Most of her time and effort had been invested in recovering her strength. Yes, it was recovery, not Cultivation.
As the Silver Dragon King, Gu Yue was completely different from others. Whether it was human Spirit Masters or other Vicious Beasts who chose to re-Cultivate, they all needed to accumulate power step by step and Breakthrough their Bottlenecks. But she didn't need that; what she needed to increase her strength was Energy.
Why did Miss Dragon King's strength recover so slowly after she was born and fled to the Douluo Plane? Why, after tens of thousands of years, was her strength still stuck at the Second-Tier Deity level, and even her physical injuries hadn't healed?
And why was the Golden Dragon King, who had been Seal in the God Realm, able to possess such powerful strength after breaking the Seal, nearly toppling the God Realm directly?
In essence, Miss Dragon King and Old Jin could be considered to be on the same level, so why was there such a gap in their performance, one that was almost hard to look at?
The difference, in fact, was Energy.
(End of Chapter)
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