Douluo, my clone Groudon

Chapter 292 Threat
"...What you said...is all true?" Leng Yulai's voice was dry and hoarse, carrying an unprecedented weakness and uncertainty.

She stared intently at the eyes beneath the Gura mask, trying to find a trace of deception.

The intense, lava-like gaze of Gula had subsided, replaced by a calm, deep pool-like stillness.

He nodded slightly, a simple gesture that carried an undeniable certainty: "Every word is true. Yun Ming only has Ya Li in his heart; you and Leng Yaozhu are just delusional."

As the cruel words fell, Leng Yulai's body trembled almost imperceptibly.

She lowered her eyes, her long purple eyelashes casting shadows on her pale face.

The immense shock threw her mind into chaos. Decades of hatred, like a sandcastle, began to crumble before absolute power and the cruel truth. But the roots were too deep to be completely eradicated, leaving only endless emptiness and... a trace of longing for the truth that even she herself was unwilling to admit.

Silence spread through the deathly still valley. After a long while, the fear subsided in the silence, and Leng Yulai finally managed to raise her head, her voice tinged with a hint of uncertainty: "You...you won't kill me?"

"Kill you?" Gula's voice came through the mask, flat and emotionless. "It means nothing to me. Your life or death is your own choice."

Leng Yulai felt somewhat relieved. The fact that her opponent possessed the power to easily crush her, yet hadn't made a move, spoke volumes in itself.

She took a deep breath, suppressing her surging blood and chaotic thoughts, and struggled to stand up straight, though she still seemed unsteady.

“I…I need to confirm.” Leng Yulai’s voice carried a stubborn resolve, as if she had grasped at the last straw. “Yun Ming, he won’t lie to me. If he confirms what you said himself…” She didn’t finish her sentence, but the confusion and wavering in her eyes were clearly visible.

Gula seemed to have anticipated this, and simply watched her quietly.

Leng Yulai bit her lower lip, her purple eyes looking at Gula with complicated emotions: "You... went to so much trouble to tell me all this, to lure me out, even at the cost of exposing... this power. What do you want me to do?"

She didn't believe the other party was acting out of "goodwill."

Gula slowly shook his head, his voice clear and cold: "Now, I don't need you to do anything for me. Just do two things."

He held up one finger: "First, you must not reveal to anyone what you saw and heard today, nor to my identity and power. Not even to your sister, Leng Yaozhu. If she knows even the slightest thing..."

Gula's voice suddenly turned cold, and an invisible killing intent that seemed to freeze the soul instantly locked onto Leng Yulai, making her feel as if she had fallen into an ice cave, and the injuries she had just suppressed almost surged up again! "The consequences are something you cannot bear."

Leng Yulai's face paled, and she nodded subconsciously. In the face of absolute power, secrecy is the most basic requirement.

Gula raised his second finger, his tone even more sinister: "Secondly, regarding any future plans of the Holy Spirit Cult, especially any major operations targeting Shrek Academy or the Spirit Pagoda, once you are aware of them, you must not disclose them to Yun Ming or Shrek Academy in any way beforehand."

Leng Yulai suddenly looked up, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes: "Why? If the Holy Spirit Cult..."

“There’s no reason.” Gula interrupted her, his tone leaving no room for argument. He had no interest in a stupid woman like Leng Yulai. If she weren’t Leng Yaozhu’s beloved younger sister whom he had cared about for many years, he wouldn’t care whether she lived or died.

"This is an order, not a discussion. The Holy Spirit Church's actions follow its own course. Premature intervention will only alert them and ruin my plans. If you agree, we might still have a chance to cooperate. If you don't agree..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but his icy gaze and the faint, yet palpable, divine pressure that emanated from him were more powerful than any threat.

Leng Yulai forced her head up, suppressing her fear and maintaining the last shred of dignity. She had no doubt that if she dared to say "no," she would follow in the footsteps of Blood Bone Douluo and turn into a wisp of dust in this Burial Valley of Souls. "...I agree." Leng Yulai practically spat out these three words through gritted teeth. She had no choice. Under the incomprehensible power and irresistible pressure, she could only submit.

She even had a vague feeling that the schemes and plans of this mysterious person were far more profound and terrifying than the struggle between the Holy Spirit Cult and the Spirit Pagoda.

Temporary cooperation might be her only way out, and perhaps... a sliver of hope to learn the truth and even break free from the shackles of the Holy Spirit Cult?
Even his half-mad thoughts were forced to think rationally under divine power.

"Very good." The pressure on Gula vanished abruptly, and red lava patterns were once again etched onto the surface of his skin beneath his black robe. "Remember your promise. Go, go and verify your truth. When the time is right, I will find you."

After saying that, Gula's figure faded and disappeared silently, as if it had never existed, as if it had blended into the shadows.

Only Leng Yulai remained, standing on the cold, black glazed floor, feeling the churning injuries within her body and the even more turbulent emotions within her.

She gazed intently at the spot where Gula had disappeared, her expression complex and unreadable.

Then, she forcefully summoned her soul power, and a thin layer of dark purple light, which had tried its best to conceal its evil aura, surged around her. Like a wounded night owl, she staggered into the night and stealthily headed towards Shrek City.

That night, Shrek City.

Leng Yulai hid in the shadows of the top floor of an abandoned building, gazing at the brightly lit, massive academy that symbolized the holy land of soul masters on the continent.

She dared not approach. With Yun Ming in charge of Shrek Academy and a powerful soul-guided detection array, her dark aura, originating from the Holy Spirit Cult, would be easily discovered if she was not careful.

She expended tremendous effort, even sacrificing her own life force, to barely suppress her intense aura of an evil soul master to a minimum, disguising herself as an ordinary Soul Douluo who was severely injured and whose soul power attribute was predominantly cold. But this disguise was utterly fragile in the face of a true powerhouse.

“Yun Ming…” Leng Yulai murmured the name, her purple eyes filled with hatred, resentment, and a hint of expectation and vulnerability that she herself had not noticed, which had been sealed away for decades.

She trusted Yun Ming. She believed that the man, as dazzling as the sun and as reliable as a mountain, would not deceive her in such a matter.

But if even he confirms what the mysterious man said... then wouldn't her dark and decadent life be a complete joke?

But Leng Yulai needs an answer.

After observing Shrek Academy's defenses, she realized that she needed a secret way to contact Yun Ming, one that wouldn't be detected by anyone, especially the Spirit Pagoda.

A few days later, an elaborate "accident" occurred.

At the Shrek City Soul Guidance Train Station, a simply dressed, veiled, and weakly breathing "female Soul Master" "accidentally" bumped into a little boy in the crowded flow of people. An antique wooden toy in the boy's hand fell to the ground and cracked.

The boy burst into tears, and the "female soul master" quickly apologized and offered him a more exquisite-looking soul guide gadget as compensation. The gadget contained a faint, unique spiritual imprint that only Yun Ming could recognize.

The boy's cries attracted the attention of the Shrek Academy patrol team. After the team questioned and examined the compensation items, the little toy returned to the boy's home at Shrek Academy, where, at the opportune moment, the faint trace of spiritual energy was activated.

(End of this chapter)