Douluo Dalu: Lucky Star

Gu Yue sensed something unusual—she had just felt a fluctuation in the rules she had never experienced before. But there was no time to dwell on it now. Her soul was intertwined with Han Li's, and she could feel how quickly his soul power had depleted, to the point where he was even borrowing some of her strength.

Her time was running short—at least if she wanted to avoid damaging both of their souls. She focused her soul even more intensely. Finally, as their soul power reached a critical point, a faint green glow emanated from her soul. Just a sliver, but it made her soul tremble. This meant she had touched the power of creation. This wasn't some new law she had comprehended; it was the dawn of the soul beast race.

With this trace as a guide, she could now explore it on her own, no longer needing to rely on Han Li's unique abilities to reveal the rules to her.

"Congratulations."

Gu Yue stopped what she was doing, and a token with the character "Han" fell into her right palm. At the same time, she heard Han Li's voice in her mind, filled with joy.

"Same to you," she replied.

Looking down at their joined hands, the two spots of green radiance caught her eye—so lovely and captivating. The divine power rapidly completed its final cycle, and their soul power quickly returned to its origin. After a brief moment of hesitation, their hands separated.

During this final cycle, Gu Yue no longer sensed the initial resistance from the other party. Even after they disconnected, she could still feel a faint sense of closeness from him. His aura remained pure, even though both his divine sense and soul had absorbed much of what belonged to her.

Surprisingly, she, the far stronger one in terms of both divine sense and soul, had been tainted by his aura. This left her somewhat astonished.

"There's no need to be so surprised. After all, whether it's faith power or immortal energy, it all passed through me before reaching you. You've absorbed a bit too much of the 'Han Li' element in a short time."

Their soul fusion had left some lingering effects. At the very least, when Han Li saw the look in her eyes, he could easily guess what puzzled her. Though always cautious, even when borrowing her strength to enhance himself, Han Li hadn't forgotten to implement the same filtering process he'd used for years—something that had become second nature and didn't require conscious thought.

"You seem to have undergone some strange changes," Gu Yue said, nodding as she scrutinized the much stronger Han Li, whose aura gave her a strange feeling.

Han Li smiled but didn't respond directly.

"Our gains from the soul fusion should be about the same. Well, thanks. You've saved me a lot of time."

At his fingertips appeared a faint red divine power, extremely similar to Gu Yue's own, though with noticeable differences. His divine power was still primarily based on the elements of fire and ice, but unlike hers, the other elemental forces scattered like twinkling stars throughout his divine power, creating a dreamlike effect.

If one looked closely, they'd see this was also true of his body—it was even more apparent. The newly formed divine power was rapidly reshaping and strengthening him, advancing the completion of his divine form at an unprecedented speed.

"I'm even more convinced now that you'll succeed," Gu Yue said. In her perception, the shattered godhood of the Ice and Fire Dragon King was rapidly breaking down under the power of faith and merging into Han Li, drawn into the energy core he referred to as his soul core. When it emerged again, it carried Han Li's aura.

It was practically a divine core now, or perhaps even godhood, Gu Yue thought.

Han Li smiled but didn't answer. His aura retracted, and he once again appeared as harmless and ordinary as any other person. If it weren't for the faint connection that still lingered between their souls from the moment they'd separated, Gu Yue might have thought she was standing in front of a regular person.

The contradiction between what her senses told her about his soul and his body made her feel quite uncomfortable.

"It looks like it won't be long before you return to your peak."

Han Li didn't seem inclined to discuss his changes further and instead looked at Gu Yue.

"Mm, though it hardly feels real."

"Compared to your help, my millennia of slumber and effort feel like wasted time."

The deep soul pain she once felt was gone now, and the remaining injuries would heal naturally in time. After checking her condition, Gu Yue spoke, half in lament, half in self-mockery.

"That's not quite right. Your long-standing injuries helped you quickly comprehend the power of creation, didn't they?"

Han Li's words were almost like a grim joke, but Gu Yue didn't mind. She nodded in agreement.

Indeed, it wasn't funny, but it was the truth.

Her injuries had existed since the very beginning, ever since the initial split. Unlike the Golden Dragon King, she didn't have a powerful physical body to nourish her soul. Every time she used the rules, she endured indescribable pain. The later wars had only worsened her injuries, but this suffering had unexpectedly helped her comprehend the power of creation.

Of course, she wasn't about to thank the God of Destruction for that.

Now that she had touched the power of creation, she felt her progress in this area would be quick, just like her natural mastery of the elemental forces. It was an instinctive feeling.

"You went out earlier to continue strengthening yourself, right? What about now? Are you still planning to leave?"

Gu Yue turned her head to look at Han Li and asked.

"Mm, I still need to go, but I'll need to reconsider a few things."

Han Li didn't like the feeling of being weak. At the moment, he was rapidly restoring his soul power through the power of faith, but he was deep in thought.

"You're planning to negotiate with Sea God Island, right? But they probably won't give in easily," Gu Yue said casually. It was the most likely course of action she could guess.

After all, the soul beasts of the sea vastly outnumbered those on land. Given what she knew of Han Li, he wouldn't let that much faith power go to waste, even if it belonged to a god's followers. But the Sea God wouldn't willingly give up his faith power either.

"I'll head to the Extreme North first," Han Li replied.

"I need to send someone to continue their divine trial. As for Sea God Island, if negotiations fail, we'll just flip the table."

Han Li laughed and tossed Gu Yue a bottle of juice. The cold drink helped clear his mind, and the chill flowing down his throat made him feel less drained. This unexpected power boost had indeed caused him to rethink his plans.

The situation had also diverged from the original story. Han Li's appearance triggered a series of changes, meaning that at this point, the Sea God hadn't yet entered the divine circle. The presence of the God of Destruction and others would likely prevent him from ever having that chance. To them, the Sea God was just a newly ascended deity, neither in strength nor status on par with someone like the God Emotion Rong Nianbing. He wasn't even qualified to sit at the table. So far, the Sea God hadn't shown any sign of colluding with the God of Asura as he had in the original story, meaning he might still be swayed. Even if Han Li could only convince him to leave quickly on his own, that would be a decent outcome.

Han Li would wait until he made contact with the Sea God before deciding how to proceed. As for flipping the table, that was just a joke. After all, he was still weak and far from being a titled Douluo. It wasn't something to take seriously.

"If you're going to the Extreme North, should I have Di Tian accompany you? I sent him a message earlier, but it might not make a difference," Gu Yue said, licking the juice off her lips. The sweet, refreshing taste made her take another sip. Her eyes unconsciously showed a hint of authority. She wasn't too pleased with the Extreme North, though she seemed to forget that just a few hours ago, she had instructed Di Tian to focus on his cultivation.

"Because they worship the Ice God?"

Han Li glanced at her with amusement. She seemed even more eager than he was to recover the faith power.

"That's part of it. But what's most absurd is, where did this 'Ice God' even come from? The Water God wouldn't dare interfere in the affairs of this continent."

Gu Yue's tone was laced with frustration.

"Maybe it's the Sea God passing by?"

Han Li joked, then paused for a moment. It wasn't entirely impossible.

The confusion surrounding godhood in this world wasn't a recent problem, and it wasn't unlikely that the so-called Ice God could be the Sea God. After all, the Sea God had once wandered all seas in search of faith. It wouldn't be surprising if he had appeared in the Extreme North. Could the Titan Snow Demon King be his descendant? Is that why he didn't care about Tang San's half-human, half-soul beast identity?

Han Li's thoughts began to stray. This would require further investigation.

"It's possible. If that's the case, Di Tian probably shouldn't show up—at least not with you."

Gu Yue frowned at Han Li's joke, but it made her think.

Han Li opened his mouth but said nothing. He hadn't planned on bringing Di Tian in the first place.

You're getting a bit too familiar, Silver Dragon King.

He knew she'd been affected by their soul fusion, at least for now.

"Mm, I'll handle it myself. You should focus on healing and comprehending the rules of creation," Han Li said as he stood up, ready to leave. It was better to maintain a transactional relationship. Too much contact wasn't something he wanted—it would dull his blade.

Gu Yue looked at him for a moment, then pursed her lips. She had overstepped a bit. No wonder he had resisted earlier, even though she was the stronger one.

Han Li met her gaze calmly, and then a silver portal appeared before him.

"Alright, I'm off. If you need anything, just use the jade token to contact me."

He turned and waved as he stepped into the portal. Just before it closed, Gu Yue's voice rang out, and with it came something wrapped in divine power that fell into Han Li's hand.

"If, and I mean if, you later need to comprehend the power of creation, come find me. Leave Di Tian out of it. You can take this as a gift—it might help you in the Extreme North."

"You're the hope of the soul beast race. We don't hesitate to support our allies. I look forward to your success."

The portal closed behind him, and Han Li reappeared in his room in Heaven Dou City. He looked down at his hand—a delicate silver necklace lay there, looking quite exquisite.