Hearing this, Huo Yuhao looked at Gu Yuena's expression, stroked his chin, and asked, "Do you really understand, or are you pretending? Or maybe half-convinced, half-doubting?"
Or perhaps… she had imagined something strange in her head?
"Of course I…" Gu Yuena shot Huo Yuhao a dissatisfied glance, but when her eyes met his, she eventually looked away with a lack of confidence and muttered, "You've been giving me roundabout hints for a long time now. Every time the topic of identity comes up, you emphasize that I should treat you like an ordinary Spirit Master."
"When it came to the Sea God's divine consciousness, you were overly cautious. Or rather, after you removed the Golden Dragon King's bloodline last time, you stopped hiding anything and kept deliberately showing openings."
"I have a faint feeling that you don't want me to treat you like a reincarnated deity, so occasionally I do have doubts… though only a little. It wasn't until Snow Empress stepped out of your Sea of Spirit and I thought back on it later that I realized something was off."
As she spoke, Gu Yuena's gaze grew somewhat complex. She looked back at Huo Yuhao.
"In those two meetings, your relationship with Snow Empress was far too equal. She didn't treat you like a deity, and her attitude of protecting you was far too obvious."
How great was the gap between the Lord of the Extreme North and a God King?
As vast as the distance between heaven and earth.
But from the way they interacted, she could not see any disparity in their status. Snow Empress's attitude toward Huo Yuhao was that of family, a Path Guardian, even a soulmate…
A reincarnated God King becoming soulmates with a Snow Maiden who had basically cut off her path to godhood? This wasn't a fairy tale.
Look at how many people actually knew the truth about Yuhao since his return?
Yuhao had tried hard to blend into this era, but those without sufficient rank or strength did not even qualify to know the truth. If Snow Empress had faced the reincarnated God King Huo Yuhao ten thousand years ago, the two might have become ordinary friends, but it would have stopped there.
"But that was just doubt and intuition. If you hadn't spoken, I would still have believed you were a deity."
Gu Yuena's tone was complicated. "Even now that you've told me the truth, I still don't fully believe it. It's only because it's you saying it that I trust you."
After all, who would treat a human possessing a super-divine tool and knowledge of the Divine Realm as an ordinary person?
Even if Huo Yuhao had made it clear that he was not a deity, she still found it hard to feel it was real in her heart. A human knowing more about the Divine Realm than she did, and being able to guide her cultivation… it would be easier to believe he was a god. Yuhao had pretended too convincingly.
"…"
Huo Yuhao smiled with relief. "You must have a lot of doubts in your heart, right? But because you trust me, you never asked."
"I owe you an apology. As I said before, I am neither a deity nor a God King. I can only be considered a lucky one."
"In the beginning, when I signed the contract with you, I actually had ulterior motives. I wanted your bloodline power, even to exploit you…"
Gu Yuena's fair, slender finger pressed against Huo Yuhao's lips, stopping his words.
She looked up at him, her eyes seeming to shine. "In this world, who can say they have never been selfish? Even the gods are no exception."
"When we first met, I was the one who initiated the temptation. Being countered was only what I deserved. And speaking of exploitation, wasn't I also hoping to gain the assistance of a deity?"
She paused, her voice growing softer. "Our relationship has never harmed each other. On the contrary, I have been very happy. So don't apologize. What matters most now is… you were willing to tell me all of this."
Silver light suddenly bloomed as her form stretched within the radiance. Her waist-length silver hair cascaded like a river of stars. Her violet eyes were clearer than the purest crystal, and the shifting light within them seemed capable of seeing through everything in the world.
She stepped forward, wrapped her arms around Huo Yuhao's waist, and pressed her face against his chest. Her silver hair glowed softly under the light, and the cool, faint fragrance between her strands quietly spread through the air.
Huo Yuhao froze for a moment, his body instinctively stiffening. But soon, feeling the warmth of the person in his arms, his tense nerves relaxed. He slowly raised his hand and finally rested it gently on her back.
"Even if you hadn't told me the truth, it wouldn't have made much difference. You have lived through ten thousand years, the recognition of that mysterious super-divine tool, and a whole host of other foundations. The only thing you lack is time."
Gu Yuena closed her eyes, the corners of her lips lifting slightly. "You are not one now, but you will be in the future. So it doesn't count as lying to me."
She was not angry. Yuhao had never hurt her. He had treated her sincerely with honesty — why should she be angry?
Besides, some things had very different value depending on whether they were given by a deity or by someone who had not yet become a god…
Huo Yuhao paused in his movement, then smiled gently. "Alright. I will be."
One minute. Two minutes. Three minutes. They held each other for a long time. Huo Yuhao felt that Gu Yuena showed no sign of letting go and pressed his lips together.
"Na'er, shouldn't we…"
"I only said you don't need to apologize for deceiving me. That doesn't mean I'm not angry. You only explained because you knew I could accept it. I am angry. This is compensation."
That reasoning… impossible to argue with.
But the expression on your face doesn't look like you're angry.
Huo Yuhao smiled helplessly.
After a long while, Gu Yuena finally stepped back, her face tinged with a blush. She looked up at him and shifted back to their previous topic.
"Yuhao, where do you think is the best place to start with removing the divine core and its divine consciousness?"
"You've made up your mind?"
Seeing Gu Yuena nod, Huo Yuhao thought for a moment and said, "There should be some connection issues between the different divine power seals. The sixth to seventh layers, and the twelfth and thirteenth layers, are likely the gaps in the seals — those are the two best opportunities. As for the God-level Golden Dragon King seal energy, barring any surprises, that will be at the fifteenth layer and beyond. That is the real core…"
"…"
Seeing Gu Yuena's strange expression, Huo Yuhao stopped.
"What is it?"
"I feel like it's still better to think of you as a God King," Gu Yuena said softly.
And a nearly omniscient one at that.
Huo Yuhao smiled and shook his head. "It's best not to place too much hope in my strength."
"Returning to the main topic. For now, we can wait. Both of our strengths are in a recovery phase. There's no need to rush."
Besides, they needed to give Wulin some time as well.
Making him bear certain things at the age of ten was too cruel. Let him follow his own path for now…
As if recalling something, Huo Yuhao's eyes lowered slightly, drawing Gu Yuena's concern.
"Yuhao, what's wrong?"
"Nothing." Huo Yuhao put away his emotions and smiled gently.
It was just that he was rather proud of the fact that he hadn't turned out wrong himself.
…
"Wulin, what are you trying to do?"
In the Sealed Space, Tang San's divine consciousness, once again jolted awake by Tang Wulin, looked at him with some helplessness.
You come every day. Not letting me sleep deeply also drains my divine consciousness, you know.
"I don't think the Golden Dragon King's remnant soul is necessarily a bad person. I could try teaching him some principles first and see if we can coexist harmoniously."
Tang Wulin looked at Tang San's divine consciousness. "He can hear us talking, right?"
If he had been alone, he might have been fooled by "Old Tang" before. But now he had plenty of people to discuss things with. After listening to Teacher Bear Lord and Yuhao analyze it a bit, he understood that Old Tang had been deceiving him before.
In other words, that mysterious voice was Old Tang, and his way of thinking was the same as Shrek Academy's.
So now, although he talked about teaching the Golden Dragon King, what he really wanted was to teach Old Tang to turn toward goodness.
It was his own way of repaying the other man with his own methods, wasn't it?
Teacher Bear Lord had agreed, but told him not to get his hopes up.
"Yes, he can."
Tang San's divine consciousness twitched at the corner of his mouth. "But I don't think he's going to listen to your reasoning."
Give the Golden Dragon King a lecture?
Wulin, you're being far too fanciful.
"Maybe," Tang Wulin said. "But I am now Teacher Bear Lord's disciple and a core disciple of the Spirit Transmission Tower. I can read the First Generation Tower Master's Admonitions. Those are the First Generation Tower Master's thoughts, and there is a lot in there worth learning. I think it will be useful."
When Tang San heard the title of the book, the corner of his eye twitched.
First Generation Tower Master's Admonitions?
These were Huo Yuhao's thoughts?
Oh no. Wulin was going to be completely corrupted by Huo Yuhao…
And now Wulin wanted to disseminate that person's thoughts inside the Sealed Space. That meant he would also be forced to listen.
He was going to be taught by Huo Yuhao? What kind of nightmare was this?
***
Dive deeper into the story with 30+ advance chapters, available now on Patreon!
patreon.com/CNBLUE
If you're enjoying the novel, please consider leaving a review. Your support is crucial and helps the story grow immensely. Thank you!
(End of chapter)