Zhao Li’s heart fluttered.
Whether in past lives or this one, Lan Lan was always Lan Lan—unchanged, unwavering in her devotion.
“Lan Lan,” Zhao Li wrapped her arms around Yelan’s neck, giggling coyly, “Are you proposing to me right now?”
Yelan paused briefly before smiling warmly yet resolutely. “Mmm.”
“I accept. But I came here today without telling my father. Bypassing him for our marriage wouldn’t be proper.”
Yelan’s eyes flickered momentarily, a faint mist rising in their depths, though her thoughts remained unreadable.
Zhao Li continued, “Lan Lan, truthfully, I didn’t come today seeking something as grand as becoming the Asura Clan’s matriarch. I came first to apologize for my past foolishness, and second to confess my feelings. I love you—in this life, I’ll marry no one else. But whether I become your clan’s matriarch matters not to me.”
Yelan gazed at her tenderly, stroking her silken hair. “I know.”
“My father doesn’t know I came to the Asura Clan. I told him I was delivering gifts to the Skybright Sea.”
“…To those mud-dwelling eels?” Yelan arched an eyebrow in surprise.
Zhao Li burst into laughter at her “eels” remark.
Yelan typically maintained an icy, solemn demeanor and disdained other races. This world upheld male superiority, yet Yelan possessed the power to look down upon dragonkind and humanity alike—boldly calling them “eels” and “stickmen”—her overwhelming strength serving as foundation for such arrogance.
Only with Zhao Li did she become sweet as an obedient husky, reserving all her tenderness for her alone.
“Mm,” Zhao Li nodded, suppressing giggles. “Since our Qingqiu is weak, we must curry favor with stronger races—not as vassals, of course. Not that they’d consider us worthy allies anyway. At best, we’re half-friends they can’t be bothered to leash.”
“…Those conceited eels might not receive you kindly. Given Zhao Wu’s shrewdness, why would he let you risk facing their disdain?”
Shouldn’t you be calling him father-in-law by now?
Though the thought crossed her mind, Zhao Li wasn’t blunt enough to voice this retort.
“I convinced Father by offering the dragons this.” A glow emanated from her spirit tool as a faintly luminous red Heavenly Silk rested in her palm.
“Don’t touch it. This was my childhood loincloth. Though it’s been soaked in floral essences, I’d still be embarrassed if others handled it… how mortifying.”
“I see. The Heavenly Silk does demonstrate sincerity—they’ll accept it. Whether they’ll actually aid Qingqiu is another matter.”
Zhao Li stuck out her tongue. “I lied to Father—just needed an excuse to leave. I’d never give this treasure to the dragons anyway. Besides, Qingqiu will have the Asura Clan’s protection from now on! Lan Lan would never let anyone bully my people, right?”
“Never.”
Yelan had wanted to say—why bother with those eels? Bringing them gifts? Come to me instead. I’ll shield Qingqiu unconditionally.
Hearing Zhao Li voice this trust herself filled Yelan with quiet joy.
“I never intended to seek out the Dragon Clan from the start. I came specifically to find you. But if I had told my father directly that I was going to the Moon of Another Realm, he would never have let me leave. I’m sorry, Lan Lan. My father is an honest but stubborn man. He believed the rumors spread by humans and has a huge misunderstanding about the Asura Clan. He mistook your people for the Ashura. Actually, the reason I kept my distance from you before was also because I thought you were Ashura.” Zhao Li lowered her head in shame.
Yelan’s pupils contracted slightly as understanding finally dawned on her.
Her cold and indifferent nature made her indifferent to the slander of petty people. After all, no one dared to spread rumors in front of her or the Asura Clan. But she had completely forgotten that the little girl she cared about was deeply affected by it.
Yelan said, “Lier, I—”
Zhao Li interrupted her, comforting her, “You don’t need to say anything. I’ve undergone my second ‘Awakening’ now, and my spiritual domain has reached the microcosmic level. I can perceive things others cannot. I can now accurately distinguish between kindness and malice, good people and bad. When you saved me, your aura was so gentle—how could you possibly be Ashura?”
“Lier…” Warmth flooded Yelan’s heart.
“But my father’s misunderstanding about the Asura Clan hasn’t been cleared up yet. Hearing is not as reliable as seeing, so I thought instead of painstakingly explaining it to him, it would be better for him to witness firsthand how kind the Asura Clan is to outsiders. Not just kind—they even rescued me without asking for anything in return.”
“Rescued you without asking for anything?” Yelan raised an eyebrow.
Ahhh! Even the way Lan Lan raises her eyebrow is so mesmerizing!
Suppressing her urge to swoon, Zhao Li continued, “A month from now is the 100,000th birthday celebration of the Monkey King of the Ape Clan. The Ape Clan of Flower-Fruit Mountain is one of the few close allies of Qingqiu, so my father will naturally take me to offer congratulations. The Crown Prince of the Spirit Cat Clan will also be invited to Flower-Fruit Mountain. That damned cat has always had a crush on Qing Tong, but she has no interest in him. He thinks that despite being so dashing, Qing Tong ignores him because of my interference. So the moment he sees me, he’ll definitely try to teach me a lesson. And I’ll definitely end up coughing up blood, half-dead from his beating.”
Yelan’s eyes darkened with cold fury.
Raging anger made her want to reduce the entire Spirit Cat Clan to ashes right then and there.
But upon closer thought—
“How could you…” Yelan hesitated, leaving the rest unsaid.
Because this incident simply did not exist in the future.
Though Yelan did not constantly observe Zhao Li’s future. She wasn’t some obsessive who watched her every move. She did keep track of any events that might harm her, and she was aware of every single one.
If someone else intervened to save Zhao Li, Yelan would not step in. Only in cases like this, where Zhao Li’s spiritual roots were shattered beyond healing, would Yelan act.
The incident Zhao Li described—Yelan was certain it had never appeared in her visions.
Having observed Yelan’s illusions for so many years, Zhao Li could easily discern her tone and the words left unspoken.
Of course, this incident had never happened in their previous life.
Because back then, though Zhao Li had survived, she was still too weak. Zhao Wu had not taken her to the birthday banquet, so there had been no chance for that damned cat to bully her.
“Lan Lan, are you wondering how I ‘foresaw’ this?” Zhao Li pretended not to know about the power of illusion and smiled. “Because the dead cat hitting me was entirely my plan from the start.”
“You… want to stage a ‘self-inflicted injury’ scheme?” Yelan also understood. “No. Anything that would hurt you is forbidden.”
“Then, wouldn’t it be fine if someone saved me before I got hurt?” Zhao Li blinked. “Lan Lan, could you lend me one of your clansmen?”
This was deliberately arranged to put on a show for Zhao Wu. By then, whether the Asura Clan was righteous or evil would be clear at a glance.
Yelan frowned. “If your father truly harbors deep misunderstandings about my clan, can a single ‘hero saves the beauty’ act really dispel his misconceptions?”
Zhao Li nodded. “Because my father is straightforward and a bit simple-minded.”
“In that case, on the day of the birthday banquet, I’ll accompany you to perform this act. I don’t think there’s anyone more suitable than me.”
Zhao Li’s expression changed slightly. “How can that be? If you attend, what if your regressed cultivation level is exposed? You should focus on your training. Such a small matter doesn’t require your personal involvement.”
Zhao Wu always said that to understand a clan, one need not deal with their leader. Just observe their clansmen, and everything would become clear. If the clansmen were usually domineering and arrogant, the leader was certainly no good either. As the saying goes, “If the upper beam is crooked, the lower ones will follow.”
So, a single Asura clansman would be enough to change Zhao Wu’s prejudice against the Asura Clan.
Yelan smiled. “It’s fine. Only fellow Spirit Emperors like the Loach and the Human Stick can discern my true cultivation level. Others won’t be able to tell. Although the Old Sage is highly respected in the Wuji Realm, the Loach and the Human Stick would never attend in person—they’d likely send their descendants instead. But even if they did come, there’s no need to worry. I have a secret technique that can temporarily restore my cultivation to its peak 99th level for four hours.”
“And what’s the cost you’d have to pay?” Zhao Li asked worriedly.
“There’s no cost. It’s just that this technique can only be used once a month.”
Zhao Li relaxed slightly but was also overwhelmed with sorrow and guilt.
After all, Yelan’s cultivation had regressed because of her.
When the Alien Star God demanded part of Yelan’s cultivation as payment, Zhao Li had pleaded desperately, offering her own lifespan in exchange, begging the Alien Star God not to harm Yelan—but she was refused.
At the time, Zhao Li feared angering this God of the End, worried that a single outburst might erase the entire Wuji Realm, so she dared not press further.
…Perhaps she should have tried harder to negotiate with the Alien Star God?
“I’m sorry, it’s all because of me…” Zhao Li lowered her head, sinking into a mire of self-blame.
“For you, it’s all worth it.” Yelan, unaware of her deal with the Alien Star God, thought she was feeling guilty for making him go out of his way. He patted her head, signaling that such small matters were nothing to worry about.
In truth, Yelan’s insistence on going wasn’t solely to leave a good impression on Zhao Wu.
Earlier, when Zhao Li mentioned this event—which hadn’t existed in her previous “observations”—Yelan had cautiously used his power of illusion to check her future again.
But to his surprise, the visions of Zhao Li were now entirely blurred.
Not just the future—even Zhao Li’s past had become invisible to him.
It seemed as though all information related to Zhao Li had been deliberately blocked.
This anomaly couldn’t be attributed to her declining cultivation, as illusionary power had no connection to one’s cultivation level.
Not only was it about Zhao Li—even some major future events had become “unclear” to Yelan.
That’s why she couldn’t rest easy and had to go personally.
Zhao Li embraced her and kissed her lips. “Lan Lan, you’re so good to me. How could I have been so blind before? How did I fail to see how wonderful you are? Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to plan everything carefully—to make my father like your Asura clan and agree to our marriage. I won’t let the two of you end up fighting because of the humans’ malicious slander.”
Yelan quickly replied, “I won’t fight your father.”
Zhao Li burst into laughter.
I know you wouldn’t.
Of course, you wouldn’t.
You would never harm anyone I care about.
Otherwise, in our past life, Qing Tong would have died at least ten thousand times—if not a hundred thousand—at your hands.