"Back then, Mu En, Ye Xishui—who is also the Supreme Pontiff of the Holy Spirit Cult you've been searching for—and I were the best of friends when we were young."
Wang Nan followed behind Long Xiaoyao, listening as he began to speak slowly.
"He was a Bright Saint Dragon, and I was a Dark Saint Dragon. Our Spirits were naturally opposites, so from the moment we met, we were rivals."
"It was a case of not knowing each other until we fought. We were similar in age and cultivation, and through continuous sparring, we gradually developed an appreciation for each other, eventually becoming friends."
"When I was young, I also participated in the Soul Duel Tournament. It was Mu En who led Shrek Academy to defeat my team, and it was then that we met the most important woman in our lives."
Long Xiaoyao's tone shifted slightly as he spoke of this.
"After the Soul Duel Tournament ended, Mu En and I traveled the Douluo Continent together, often fighting side by side. Although our Spirit attributes were opposite, our cooperation was complementary, and we became the closest of friends."
"Until Ye Xishui reappeared. At that time, she was lively and adorable, and we were both in the prime of our youth, so we quickly both fell for her."
"To avoid damaging the bond between Mu En and me, we decided to find Ye Xishui together and let her tell us her choice."
"Xishui hesitated for a long time before finally choosing Mu En."
Long Xiaoyao said this, then looked up at the lake ahead. "This is where the decision was made back then."
Wang Nan also gazed at the lake. The Qiankun Wenqing Valley, undisturbed, looked like an ordinary lake, with a gentle breeze rippling its surface.
Long Xiaoyao's expression became somewhat grim. After much hesitation, he sighed and spoke again.
"When Mu En died, I didn't have the face to see him because I had wronged him. Now that he is gone, I can never repay what I owe him."
With that, Long Xiaoyao waved his right hand, and a golden glowing object flew toward Wang Nan.
Wang Nan reached out and caught it, immediately feeling a familiar aura emanating from it.
It was a pearl as white as jade—or rather, a dragon core.
As the dragon core entered his hand, the teardrop-shaped crystal on Wang Nan's left wristband flashed with a nine-colored light. Immediately, a stream of power overflowed from the dragon core, actively entering Wang Nan's body.
Long Xiaoyao raised an eyebrow at this, then continued speaking.
"This dragon core is the condensed essence of a Dragon after its death. The power of the Dragon Clan is too overbearing; even Mu En couldn't absorb it directly."
"Originally, I intended to help you absorb the power within this dragon core, but it seems it's not needed now. Mu En told me you were a very special person, and it seems his judgment is still as sharp as when he was young."
Long Xiaoyao sighed, looking at Wang Nan with a slight trance, and spoke softly, almost to himself. "There's only one thing he misjudged."
"After Xishui made her choice, I left them."
"Perhaps you won't believe it, but before Xishui made her choice, I always had a feeling that the person Xishui truly liked was me."
"But perhaps that was merely my illusion. After that, I traveled the Douluo Continent alone, but I could never put them out of my mind. Finally, I decided to go search for them."
Wang Nan remained silent, listening quietly. He knew that Long Xiaoyao's feeling was not an illusion; rather, from the very beginning, both he and Mu En had been manipulated by Ye Xishui.
Long Xiaoyao's face was filled with pain. "It was this encounter that caused me to wrong Mu En, and also created the Ye Xishui of today."
"I personally brought all of this about. So, no matter what Xishui wants to do, I can't stop her because I don't have the right. Even if she wants to lead the Holy Spirit Cult to plunge the entire Douluo Continent into misery, I will still protect her."
Wang Nan also sighed inwardly. He couldn't understand what wrong the people of the Douluo Continent had committed to be saddled with such a Limit Douluo.
Perhaps it was because Wang Nan, in his previous life, had been one of these common people. Even though he had become a Spirit Master and his current strength surpassed most Spirit Masters, these commoners always remained in his sight.
He couldn't understand Long Xiaoyao's reasoning. Not to mention that this was all Ye Xishui's plan from the start, even if it was a mistake caused by Long Xiaoyao, he should have guided Ye Xishui onto the right path. How could he help her stray further down the path of an Evil Soul Master?
"Dragon Emperor Senior, I heard that you and Elder Mu first became friends because you encountered a village persecuted by Evil Soul Masters?"
"Yes, Mu En told you, didn't he? At that time, I was traveling the Douluo Continent and felt anger when I saw that village, so I couldn't help but act. It wasn't until I had dealt with all the Evil Soul Masters in the village that I discovered Mu En was also there."
"Why did Dragon Emperor Senior feel anger toward the actions of Evil Soul Masters?"
Long Xiaoyao glanced at Wang Nan. He had lived for over two hundred years, and although Wang Nan said no more, he already understood. If it were his younger self, seeing his current self, he too would probably have felt compelled to act.
Wang Nan looked at the dragon core in his hand. The dragon core was emitting a golden glow, and invisible currents of energy penetrated his skin, making his entire body feel joyous and exhilarated.
Putting away the dragon core in his hand, Wang Nan sighed inwardly. "Dragon Emperor Senior, what if your encounter wasn't an accident?"
"What did you say?" Long Xiaoyao was greatly alarmed. Even a Level 99 Limit Douluo couldn't control his expression after hearing those words.
Wang Nan saw that his single sentence had caused such a drastic change in Long Xiaoyao and immediately understood that Long Xiaoyao himself actually had other suspicions about what happened back then.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have reacted so strongly to such a vague hint.
Could someone who trains to Level 99, standing at the very peak of the Douluo Continent, be a foolish person?
He and Ye Xishui were both Spirit Masters. Even if they couldn't see each other clearly due to the darkness, the distinctly opposite auras of him and Mu En couldn't be hidden.
Furthermore, Mu En and Long Xiaoyao were two completely different people; even small habits couldn't be the same. Ye Xishui had spent over a year with Mu En; how could she not know these things?
And yet, under these circumstances, she still mistook Long Xiaoyao for Mu En. At that time, Long Xiaoyao could be said to have been under the influence of the medicine.
But looking back afterward, even he, as the person involved, would have noticed something was amiss; he just didn't want to think too deeply about it.
Long Xiaoyao's eyes changed abruptly, and a vast mental force pressed down on Wang Nan.
Wang Nan did not dodge or evade, meeting Long Xiaoyao's mental force head-on.