Douluo Dalu: Lucky Star

Gu Yue's mood had been calm. Even when she suggested using the imprinting method, she only felt a slight sense of discomfort, as in her memory, this was associated with bloodline inheritance. But Han Li's words made her feel somewhat uneasy. She had never imagined something like a "partner"—truly, it had never crossed her mind. Since the Dragon God was split, and ever since her birth, she had been beaten, forced to flee, heal, and constantly focus on revenge and restoring the soul beasts to their rightful place.

But what did Han Li just say? Dual cultivation? In his eyes, was this the same thing? The ancient dragon lady, who had lived for countless millennia, suddenly found herself in a state of mental chaos. By the Dragon God, she swore, everything she had done was for the soul beast race.

As for Han Li's background, she was fully aware. Based on information gathered from the Myriad Demon King and Di Tian from human society, she knew this Holy Son of the Spirit Hall, the Lord of the Plane, had several women around him and was incredibly strong for his age among humans. He was very likely one of the five future first-rank gods he had mentioned. So, in his eyes, did her actions mean she had tacitly agreed to become one of his women as well?

At that moment, because of just one casual remark from Han Li, the most powerful force on the Douluo Continent—the Law of Love—had invaded this soul beast queen's walnut-sized brain.

"Calm down, focus, and begin."

Just as her thoughts were still a muddled mess, Han Li's voice reached her ears, and by then their hands were already clasped together. At this moment, Han Li, who should have been the one receiving the rule imprint, had somehow taken the lead. Gu Yue, who had already prepared herself and mentally rehearsed the ritual, instinctively began circulating her divine sense and soul power to meet him halfway.

In the recovery space, the divine senses and soul powers connecting them enveloped them, freezing everything around them. At this point, their souls began to touch.

Han Li didn't find the experience particularly pleasant. In terms of divine soul power or divine sense, even though Gu Yue was injured, he hadn't fully completed his transformation yet. At best, he was only a demigod. On the other hand, despite her severe injuries, Gu Yue's divine sense and soul were terrifyingly strong, far beyond what he had expected.

She's stronger than the Sea God, Han Li thought, though he hadn't yet encountered the Sea God. And so, he tasted the bitter fruit of his loose tongue.

He had remarked purpose, intending to maintain some control, similar to the fusion techniques he was familiar with. But he hadn't expected his offhand comment to throw Gu Yue into a daze. Before her mind had fully cleared, he was already being overwhelmed by her power, retreating step by step. If not for the abundant reserves of faith power and immortal energy he had accumulated, he feared he might have been completely consumed in just one exchange.

"Stop spacing out! Take control, will you?"

Han Li finally tasted true bitterness. Usually, he was the one exerting control in situations like this, but now the roles had reversed.

"Oh, oh."

The shout that came from their intertwined souls finally snapped Gu Yue back to reality. She pursed her lips and began to carefully control their combined divine sense and soul power, even drawing a bit of Han Li's faith power, which had overflowed as he resisted her pressure. It made her feel a sudden rush of comfort.

"You can let go of your defenses now."

Her voice, transmitted through their soul and hand connection, bypassed Han Li's outer layer of protection and reached deep into his soul. At this point, their powers had fully merged. No, it would be more accurate to say that Han Li's power had been absorbed into hers, flowing between them.

Although the faith power and immortal energy flowing from Han Li were beneficial to her, she still had her principles. She hadn't forgotten the main task, and she was also wary of triggering Han Li's resistance. After all, this energy belonged to him, and she had only absorbed it because she hadn't initially controlled her power well.

Upon hearing her words, Han Li finally breathed a sigh of relief. Now, with their souls fully intertwined, he could sense her carefulness. Forget it, he thought. What could he say?

Luckily, it wasn't a total loss. It had somehow worked out in his favor. Due to the need for rapid fusion and concern that Han Li might not be able to hold on, Gu Yue had completely opened her mind to him, accepting him wholeheartedly. Now, whether it was his divine power or soul, he felt like a sponge soaking in an ocean, quickly strengthening by leveraging her cultivation.

This wasn't part of their initial agreement. Of course, the consumption of faith power and immortal energy was immense, and Gu Yue was benefiting from it. Her emotional fluctuations were a clear indication.

Notably, Han Li's divine body and soul had been fully transformed from pure faith power and immortal energy, with an additional filtering step in between. As he strengthened, he also inadvertently began healing some of Gu Yue's soul wounds. Although the process wasn't fast, it was much quicker than if she had done it alone.

Originally, Gu Yue hadn't planned to take it this far. She had only intended to imprint the rules and touch upon them through Han Li's perspective. But once she realized the benefits, she didn't resist, which was also why Han Li could sense her caution.

This was a true win-win situation. Han Li had no complaints. Originally, he had only planned to improve his comprehension and control over the rules. Now, his divine body and soul were also rapidly strengthening, as if speeding through Divine trials at a much faster pace. He had no reason to refuse.

Moreover, the most important thing was that his divine power continued drawing from hers, completing its transformation. Both the degree of conversion and quality were improving rapidly. In addition to the four elements they had initially agreed upon, the other elements were also being absorbed and assimilated since Gu Yue had no objections.

Although he hadn't yet mastered the corresponding rules, the foundation for his divine power was established. This would make it much easier for him to comprehend other rules in the future. Originally, Han Li had planned to leave this part of his advancement for the Deep Sea Demon Whale King, but when a better option presents itself, who would still care about their backup plan? The answer, of course, was no one.

Both fell silent, beginning a tacit, wordless exchange.

"Let's imprint the rules first. We can continue later," Han Li finally broke the silence. The rapid improvement had left him feeling light-headed, as though his soul was floating. He wanted to keep going but reminded himself of the primary goal.

"Okay, no problem."

Gu Yue felt the same. It was like a refreshing rain quenching a long drought—clean and abundant energy that was healing her wounds. She hadn't felt this good in a long time, and the slow healing brought a pleasant itch that made her want to sigh with relief. Even though she knew their sensations were connected, she forced down her embarrassment. I am the Lord of the Soul Beasts, she reminded herself.

Although their souls had accidentally fused completely if she made an embarrassing noise now, wouldn't that make him think it was dual cultivation? And it would seem like she had initiated it! The original soul imprinting process, while involving some contact, would have placed some burden on the weaker party.

The so-called imprinting, or engraving, involved the stronger party revealing the rules and condensing them into a rule-like soul ring, attaching it to the weaker party to guide them and complete the initial instruction. But now, with their souls fully merged, such procedures were unnecessary.

Gu Yue manifested her rule power, and through their connection, it flowed into the area controlled by Han Li. She then manipulated the rules, demonstrating their transformations with her soul power. At this moment, even her thoughts were fully exposed, metaphorically spoon-feeding him the information.

Moreover, their divine powers had already synchronized. After Han Li's absorption, the only difference between them lay in their innate affinities and control over their elements. His body, under the influence of the divine power, was rapidly transforming into an elemental form. However, it was a body formed postnatally, without the advantage of a bloodline.

Of course, Han Li's original elements of ice and fire maintained a dominant position due to their inherent strength, unlike Gu Yue's balanced approach. In this situation, both of them temporarily forgot their original agreement. After the four core elements had been displayed, Gu Yue continued to demonstrate the rules of other elements, and Han Li silently absorbed everything. After ice, fire, space, and darkness were condensed by Han Li, the other rules also began to take shape.

Looking at the now motionless Gu Yue, Han Li sighed and enveloped her with his soul power.

Borrowing my perspective won't be that easy, he thought. His original plan had been to display the rules for her in the same way as the imprinting process. While he might not fully comprehend them, he could mimic the process. And since Gu Yue only wanted to observe, with no direct involvement, that had seemed the best approach.

But now, even though the situation had developed unexpectedly, his gains far exceeded hers. If he didn't show some generosity and abandoned her when things got tough, he'd feel embarrassed. With their souls intertwined, his thoughts were laid bare. More accurately, they couldn't be hidden. However, sensing his thoughts while wrapped in his soul power, Gu Yue smiled. He's quite genuine, she thought, feeling reassured.

After all, they were both using each other. To some extent, the soul beast race had been dragged into this by Han Li, and forced out of hiding. Though they had received considerable help, Gu Yue had never truly believed he was fully committed to their cause. Ironically, his current mindset gave her more confidence. At the very least, Han Li was seriously considering abandoning them only if they couldn't win. As an ally, he was already quite qualified.

Still, why were his thoughts so... chaotic? Does the Silver Dragon King count as a soul beast? What's the biggest difference between divine beasts and soul beasts? And is the Silver Dragon King female by nature, or is she the Dragon God, which would technically make her male? But the most frequent thought was: "Damn it, stupid luck power."

Gu Yue was a bit dumbfounded. She was about to ask Han Li, but then she saw, right in front of her, countless rule threads lighting up.

"Your time is limited. Let's begin."