"Was it the former Qilin Douluo?" Arthur asked directly.
En Ci was taken aback, then his voice turned low.
"Young Friend Su's guess is correct."
"He was indeed a powerhouse of our Star Luo Empire decades ago, the Title 'Qilin' Douluo, Tong Yu."
He paused slightly, organizing his words:
"Tong Yu's situation is similar to Long Yue's, both stemming from the power and backlash of their Martial Souls. However, the depth of its roots and the magnitude of its hidden dangers are even greater... it can be called a cruel trick of fate."
Arthur pondered; Tong Yu's mental issues were actually not important.
The other party already had a death wish and would seek death after becoming a Limit Douluo.
Arthur spoke up to ask: "Has that Qilin Douluo reached a Breakthrough to Limit Douluo yet?"
En Ci didn't understand the intention behind Arthur's question and shook his head: "No."
"Then wait until he breaks through to Limit before coming to find me."
Why?
En Ci and Dai Tianling looked puzzled, but in the end, they didn't say much, assuming Arthur was politely declining.
Arthur didn't explain either; he just gave a slight nod to En Ci and Dai Tianling before turning to leave the council chamber.
To En Ci and the others, it might have sounded like an excuse, but Arthur knew that for someone with a death wish who viewed breaking through to Limit Douluo and then seeking atonement as their life's final ritual and end point, any external treatment before then was meaningless.
Only when he reached the end of that road himself, completed his self-assigned mission, and had no regrets, could the option of a new 'life' possibly be considered.
And now, he had other matters to attend to.
Sensing a faint spatial marker, Arthur's figure flickered several times through the streets and alleys of Star Luo City before appearing by a secluded riverside.
Gu Yue was leaning against the railing, her long silver hair fluttering slightly in the morning breeze as she gazed at the flowing river water, lost in thought. Na'er was leaning beside her, seemingly still half-awake.
These two dragons had been coordinating recently to adapt to the power left behind by the Dragon God.
"What is it now?" Gu Yue didn't look back. She knew very well that usually, she was the one seeking Arthur out. If he took the initiative to find her, it meant something was up.
"Yeah. Things here in Star Luo are coming to a temporary close." Arthur walked to her side, mimicking her gaze toward the river. "I'm not quite sure about the timing of when Shrek City will be bombed."
The past was fixed, but the future was ever-changing. Arthur didn't know exactly when the Holy Spirit Cult would strike, and the timeline from the original plot couldn't be trusted either.
So he decided to go back to Shrek City to keep watch or take the initiative to attack.
Gu Yue's eyes shifted slightly, and she said with interest: "So, are you here to ask me to go back with you?"
"Oh, that's not it."
Gu Yue was choked up by Arthur's blunt denial. She slowly turned her head, her silver eyes narrowing slightly as the morning light fell on her delicate profile, carrying a hint of dangerous scrutiny.
"Oh?" Her tone rose at the end. "Then you came all this way just to inform me that you're going back?"
The river breeze seemed to freeze for a moment. The half-awake Na'er felt as if she were dreaming of Arthur.
She foolishly reached out to touch him, getting handsy.
"That's not it either." Arthur habitually brushed Na'er's hands away.
He leaned against the railing in a more casual posture, as if he hadn't noticed the slight hostility in Gu Yue's tone. "I'm definitely going back, but not just running back with my tail between my legs to wait around."
He paused and looked at Gu Yue, the casualness in his eyes replaced by a serious expression: "I need a set of three-word battle armor. Right now, immediately, as fast as possible."
Gu Yue's eyebrows shot up even higher: "And?"
"I'm counting on you, Dorae-Yue."
"Go find someone else. Do you think I'm some kind of omnipotent god? How am I supposed to design three-word battle armor?" Gu Yue rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"No, aren't you?" Arthur blinked.
"Of course not!" Gu Yue poked Arthur's forehead irritably. "I'm a Spirit Beast. Learning things from your human World started from zero for me."
"It's about the same." Arthur rubbed his forehead, grinning mischievously. "Look, you're the Silver Dragon King with invincible wisdom. Designing a set of battle armor should be a piece of cake, right?"
"A piece of cake?" Gu Yue crossed her arms. "Do you think making battle armor is like playing with building blocks?"
"For you, it might be even simpler than building blocks." Arthur pressed his hands together in a pleading gesture. "Help me out, Queen."
Na'er, beside them, was finally fully awake. She looked at Arthur and then at Gu Yue, blinking her large eyes as her purple pupils slowly turned golden: "What 'Queen'?"
Arthur didn't speak; he wasn't the one who should be panicking.
"Stop, stop, stop." Gu Yue sighed softly. "What about Materials? What about a workshop? You don't expect me to conjure them out of thin air, do you?"
After inheriting the Dragon God's legacy, her Peerless Wisdom had upgraded, and her learning ability had been constantly enhancing recently.
"I have the Materials, I'll handle the forging, and we can use the local Blacksmith Association however we want. You just need to draw the precise blueprints!" Arthur immediately replied.
As for manufacturing, Mu Ye happened to be on the Star Luo Continent as well; finding him would get it done in no time.
Gu Yue stared at him for a few seconds before finally being unable to resist asking: "What exactly is your plan? Why are you in such a hurry for three-word battle armor?"
"Plan?" Arthur blinked. "The plan is, in case Shrek gets blown up and even I can't hold the line, I can run faster wearing three-word battle armor?"
Gu Yue: "..."
"Sometimes I really can't tell if you're joking or being serious."
"Of course I'm serious!" Arthur raised his hand. "I swear it on my future new battle armor."
"You better be thinking that." Gu Yue facepalmed, then finally waved her hand. "Fine, fine, I give up. Lead the way to the Blacksmith Association. But let's get things straight first."
She held up one finger: "First, the design is up to me. You are not allowed to interfere."
"Yes, yes, Grandmaster Gu Yue is the boss."
"Second, while you're at it, prepare the Materials for my future battle armor upgrades too. They must be the best Materials, not a single one missing."
"Mission guaranteed!"
"Third." Gu Yue narrowed her eyes slightly. "During this time, you have to be the manual labor for everything. You do whatever I tell you to do."
Arthur immediately stood straight and saluted: "Guaranteed to be at your beck and call!"
"I feel like I'm getting the short end of the stick here," Gu Yue muttered under her breath, pulling Na'er along. "Let's go, Na'er. Let's go do some sweatshop labor for this thick-skinned guy."
"Yay!" Na'er followed happily.
Arthur smiled and led the way, the morning light stretching their three shadows very long.
The Star Luo Empire's Blacksmith Association was going to welcome a few 'big clients' today... inside the Star Luo City Blacksmith Association.
The Blacksmiths watched as Arthur, like a swarm of locusts passing through, kept taking rare metals.
"This, this... and those over there."
Arthur was on a frantic looting spree.
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