At the Azure Dragon Society.
After Lie Ke and the others left, Guo Yi was preparing to leave as well.
But suddenly, Ye Qing called out to stop him.
"Guo Yi, wait a moment."
"There's something I want to give you."
Something?
Guo Yi halted his steps and turned, quietly following Ye Qing deeper into the headquarters.
"President, Teacher Guo!"
Members of the Azure Dragon Society respectfully greeted the two, bowing their heads as they passed.
Currently, Guo Yi's status within the Azure Dragon Society was no less than that of their own leader.
Thus, everyone treated him with utmost courtesy.
Following Ye Qing, Guo Yi soon arrived at the innermost part of the base.
"Guo Yi, did you once ask Xiaoxue about a certain black stone?"
After dismissing everyone around them, Ye Qing turned toward Guo Yi, her expression solemn and tense.
"Yes."
Guo Yi didn't hide it.
"Qing-jie, do you know something about that stone?"
Ye Qing didn't answer immediately, instead staring fixedly into Guo Yi's eyes.
Only after a full two or three minutes did she finally speak again.
"I do."
"And I even know exactly where it is."
Hearing this, Guo Yi's eyes lit up. He asked eagerly, "Qing-jie, where is the stone now?"
Instead of answering directly, Ye Qing returned his question with one of her own:
"Guo Yi, can you tell me exactly what secret this stone holds?"
"If I'm not mistaken, my husband's sudden disappearance is closely related to it."
Faced with her probing question, Guo Yi fell into silence.
Ye Qing didn't press him; she waited quietly, staring intently until Guo Yi finally spoke.
Sigh—
After a long pause, Guo Yi sighed softly.
"Qing-jie, are you absolutely sure you want to know?"
"If my guess is correct, the real reason Lie Ke came to Shanghai this time—is neither me nor the Azure Dragon Society. It's that stone."
At these words, Ye Qing's pupils shrank sharply.
In fact, when Su Qingxue previously asked her about the stone, Ye Qing had already formed some suspicions.
But hearing the truth straight from Guo Yi's mouth still deeply shocked her.
"Teacher Guo, just what kind of stone is it?"
"I hope you'll tell me the whole truth."
After her initial shock, Ye Qing's gaze turned even more determined.
Seeing this, Guo Yi chose not to hide anything further, clearly articulating every word:
"If I told you this stone was actually a legendary Pokémon, a divine beast capable of destroying heaven and earth—"
"—would you believe me?"
"What?"
"A divine beast!?"
Even though Ye Qing had mentally prepared herself, upon hearing the stone's true origin, she still gasped involuntarily.
A divine beast.
This was an existence that no Pokémon Alliance in any country dared underestimate.
Why had the video of Guo Yi defeating Zapdos exploded in popularity?
Wasn't it precisely because of Zapdos's identity as a divine beast?
Ye Qing had never imagined that such a mythical creature had been hidden inside her own home.
At this point, Guo Yi ignored Ye Qing's astonishment, calmly continuing on his own:
"If my guess is right, that stone is none other than Zekrom, one of the legendary Tao Trio, possessing Dragon and Electric attributes."
The Tao Trio?
Ye Qing was hearing this name for the first time.
"Teacher Guo, do you mean there are three divine beasts that take the form of stones like this?"
Guo Yi smiled faintly as he replied:
"Yes, and no."
"There are indeed three divine beasts, but only two can transform into stones."
"One is Zekrom, which I just mentioned. The other is Reshiram, with Dragon and Fire attributes."
"The third one, Kyurem, possesses Dragon and Ice attributes but does not take the form of a stone."
"Their origins and intricate relationships—well, that's a long story, and I won't elaborate further right now."
If Ye Qing had some prior understanding of the Tao Trio, Guo Yi wouldn't mind explaining further.
But given that Ye Qing hadn't even heard of them before, he lost interest in delving deeper into the subject.
What he'd revealed already was more than sufficient for her.
"So that's how it is…"
"No wonder Xiaoxue's father changed completely after obtaining this stone…"
"And then he suddenly disappeared altogether."
Ye Qing's gaze grew sorrowful, lost in distant memories.
At the time, she hadn't understood—
Why, after returning from that secret realm, her husband had become so obsessed with a seemingly useless stone, one that merely looked pretty but served no obvious purpose.
He had even scolded Xiaoxue harshly when she touched it by accident, something he had never done before.
Who knew it actually housed a divine beast!
"A divine beast…"
"Is raw power truly that important to you…?"
Ye Qing muttered softly to herself, then quickly gathered her composure, looking back toward Guo Yi.
"Thank you, Guo Yi, for telling me all this."
"The stone you want to see is right here."
As soon as the words fell, Ye Qing reached out toward a nearby bookshelf and fiddled briefly with it.
The next moment—
Zzzzz—!
With the sound of stone grinding, the bookshelf slowly moved aside, revealing a narrow hidden passageway behind it.
"Wow…"
"These factions really love building secret chambers."
Guo Yi shook his head slightly.
He'd thought secret rooms in TV dramas were just nonsense, yet here was reality proving otherwise.
Then again, he supposed—
In this world, with the help of Pokémon, constructing hidden chambers was far simpler than in his previous life.
"Teacher Guo, follow me!"
Ye Qing called out, quickly stepping into the passageway ahead of him.
Seeing this, Guo Yi swiftly followed behind her.
The passage was shorter than he'd expected.
Only about half a minute later, they arrived in a secret chamber.
Ye Qing reached out and pressed something, causing lights to suddenly illuminate the room.
In the center stood a stone pedestal about one meter tall, roughly the size of a washbasin.
And resting atop that pedestal lay a pitch-black stone, smooth and dark as polished jade.
"It really is the Dark Stone…"
[Dark Stone]: A stone form taken by the divine beast Zekrom in slumber. When it encounters someone whose ideals resonate deeply with its own, Zekrom will awaken once more.
Guo Yi's Data Eye quickly confirmed the stone's authenticity.
"Teacher Guo, since you understand this stone so well, do you also know how to awaken the divine beast within?"
Ye Qing herself had studied the stone extensively.
After all, her husband's disappearance was very likely connected to it.
As her only clue, how could she possibly let it go?
Unfortunately—
Ye Qing had found no breakthroughs, other than discovering the stone was utterly impervious to fire, water, or any physical harm.
Guo Yi approached the pedestal slowly, quietly explaining:
"Zekrom is a divine dragon representing ideals."
"Awakening it, actually, is quite simple."
"All it requires is recognizing your ideals—or rather, your ideals and convictions must resonate deeply enough to move it."
As he spoke, he gently placed his hand on the Dark Stone.
However—
After half a minute passed, nothing at all happened.
"Just as I expected…"
"It seems my ideals don't resonate with Zekrom after all."
Guo Yi shook his head helplessly.
Whether Zekrom or Reshiram—
To earn their acknowledgment, a trainer needed an unwavering conviction and an unyielding goal for their future.
But for Guo Yi, whose ideals amounted essentially to being carefree and idle—
Neither the dragon of ideals nor the dragon of truth would find resonance with him.
Fortunately—
When it came to divine beasts, Guo Yi already had the strongest artificial Pokémon, Mewtwo, at his side.
Thus, not gaining recognition from Zekrom only left him mildly disappointed.
"Qing-jie, now that you know the true nature of this stone, what do you plan to do with it?"
Realizing he wouldn't earn the Dark Stone's acknowledgment, Guo Yi decisively turned to Ye Qing and asked directly.
"Huh?"
Ye Qing stared blankly for a moment at Guo Yi's sudden question.
"Isn't your whole purpose to take it away?"
From her perspective, Guo Yi had clearly come for this very stone.
So why was he now asking how she planned to handle it?
Guo Yi chuckled softly and explained:
"Qing-jie, if Zekrom had recognized me, naturally, I would take him with me."
"But since he hasn't, this Dark Stone is nothing more than an ordinary rock to me."
Ye Qing stood still, momentarily speechless.
Even without recognition…
This stone was still a divine beast!
Could he really discard it so casually?
Yet, seeing the genuine lack of desire in Guo Yi's eyes, she knew he truly meant every word.
So, this is Guo Yi's confidence…?
Even facing a stone containing a divine beast, he remains utterly unmoved!
After staring silently at the Dark Stone for several moments, Ye Qing finally made her decision.
"Teacher Guo, please take the stone with you."
Ye Qing's decision caught Guo Yi off guard.
Even after knowing the stone's true identity, she had no greed at all?
Noticing the confusion in his eyes, Ye Qing gave a bitter smile and explained:
"Just as you said, Teacher Guo, this stone will awaken only for someone whose ideals resonate deeply with it."
"If it remains with me, it'll just be an ordinary rock, sitting here gathering dust."
"It's better that you take it. Perhaps someday, someone may truly awaken it."
To say Ye Qing felt no temptation at all would be lying to herself.
This was a divine beast, after all!
If she could claim it, she would surely build an everlasting foundation for her daughter's future.
However—
Some things couldn't be forced.
If she lost herself obsessing over gaining Zekrom's approval, she might end up sharing the same fate as her irresponsible husband—disappearing entirely!
Not knowing the Dark Stone's true identity had been one thing.
But now that she knew, Ye Qing feared she might eventually succumb to temptation and do something unforgivable.
In that case—
Wouldn't it be better to give the stone directly to Guo Yi?
Out of sight, out of mind.
Since Ye Qing had already made up her mind, Guo Yi naturally had no reason to refuse further.
"In that case, Qing-jie, I'll accept the stone."
"As for the battle two days from now, please rest assured—my teacher's strength will far exceed your expectations."
Saying this, Guo Yi stepped forward and carefully took the Dark Stone into his possession.
Ye Qing's reasoning was sound.
Although he hadn't received the stone's recognition personally, perhaps one of his disciples might.
After all—
Each of his current disciples was extraordinarily talented.
Who could say whether one of them might align perfectly with Zekrom's ideals?
Fate, after all, had a curious way of bringing turtles and mung beans together!