Douluo: This Legend of the Dragon King is not quite right

"Hahahaha!"

Lu Jun burst into laughter, watching the Ice Abyss Sword glow with a shimmering blue light as it absorbed divine power.

"With your divine body strength as a first-level deity, even if you are seriously injured, your divine power will slowly recover on its own."

He paused, his tone laced with a mocking cruelty:
"And every time your divine power recovers even a trace, my Ice Abyss Sword will absorb a portion of it and convert it into the energy I need. This cycle will continue until you are completely exhausted, or until I get my wish."

After speaking, Lu Jun raised his hand and lightly patted Tang Wutong's pale, pained cheek, letting out a cold laugh:
"No need to rush, Tang Wutong, we have plenty of time to play around. I will come to visit you every day from now on. I am very curious to know how long your loyalty can last."

While speaking, he used his other hand to give Tang Wutong a very insulting pinch, taking full advantage of her.

"You beast! You animal! You'll die a horrible death!"

Tang Wutong was filled with shame and indignation. She struggled frantically, tearing the chains apart with a clanging sound, and her angry curses echoed in the secret room.

"Hahahaha, sorry, I live as long as heaven and earth, it's hard for me to die even if I want to. Even the laws of the universe can't do anything to me, so what makes you think you can do anything with the little curse you spew from your mouth?"

Lu Jun laughed even more wildly and heartily, as if he had heard the most ridiculous joke in the world.

"You just stay here obediently and be a power bank for my Ice Abyss Sword, hahahaha."

Having said that, he didn't linger. He turned around, his clothes fluttering, and strode away with an air of nonchalance.

Gu Yuena took one last deep look at Tang Wutong, who was pierced by chains, curled up on the ground, her expression pained and complicated. Her eyes held an indescribable pity, as well as a deeper wariness.

Immediately, she turned around, followed Lu Jun's footsteps, and disappeared at the door of the secret room.

The heavy metal door slowly closed with a dull thud, shutting out all light, sound, and hope, leaving Tang Wutong alone, immersed in boundless darkness and bone-chilling cold.

The pale golden divine light surrounding her gradually faded, and Tang Wutong collapsed to the ground as if all her strength had been drained away. She gasped for breath, her face as pale as paper, and felt waves of tearing pain from the wound in her abdomen, as well as the weakness caused by the continuous draining of her divine power.

Her eyes remained empty and blank, but in the depths of that deathly silence, a faint, almost imperceptible spark stubbornly flickered.

Those were the cracks in memory that Lu Jun had forcibly pried open with cruel methods; they were seeds of doubt that could not be completely eradicated by divine power and originated from the heart.

She curled up on the cold ground, her arms tightly wrapped around her knees, her delicate body still trembling slightly from the pain and cold.

In her mind, those blurry yet real fragments of memory were engaged in a silent and fierce tug-of-war with the strong mental shackles left by Tang San, causing her immense torment and making her feel as if her soul was about to break.

Clearly, Lu Jun did succeed, but he was forcibly protected by the protective mechanism left by Tang San.

His words were like a seed with barbs, which had already taken deep root in her heart.

Even though it was covered by thick ice and suppressed by heavy divine locks, it still silently took root and sprouted in the darkness.

And this seed, containing truth and rebellion, may one day break through the ice, break free of its shackles, and lead her to confront the bloody, unavoidable reality.

Perhaps Tang San's actions will cause his own children to turn against him and become his enemies?

……

The air in the villa's living room was slightly heavy due to the discussion that had just taken place.

Ice Emperor and Snow Emperor sat quietly beside Lu Jun. Although they did not speak, their brows showed their disdain for Tang San's actions and their caution regarding the current situation.

"I never imagined that Tang San would scheme against his own blood relatives to such an extent,"

Hyotei broke the silence first, her delicate brows furrowed, her cold voice carrying an undisguised disgust. "Such behavior is hardly worthy of the title of father."

Lu Jun leaned back against the soft sofa, his fingertips unconsciously tapping lightly on the armrest.

"To evaluate him, we need to look at it in stages."

His tone was flat, revealing little emotion.

"When he first arrived in Douluo Continent, still a mortal, his feelings for Xiao Wu could be considered sincere and intense, barely passable. But..."

He abruptly changed the subject, his tone laced with cold sarcasm.

"The hero who slays the dragon becomes the dragon himself. Now, he has long lost his humanity and sits high on the throne of a god. In the laws of the gods, kinship is nothing but a dispensable embellishment, or even a quantifiable bargaining chip, a tool to maintain his so-called order and interests."

Sitting opposite him, Gu Yuena, her beautiful purple eyes gleaming, slowly spoke:

"Although we failed to break down her psychological defenses in one fell swoop, the seed has been sown."

"Once the cracks in memory appear, the seemingly unbreakable mental shackles that Tang San set up will no longer be a solid block."

"Next, what we need is patience, to give her enough time and space to piece together and question the constructed truth herself through struggle and recollection."

"Ah."

Lu Jun nodded slightly in agreement, but a fierce glint flashed in his eyes.

"If boiling a frog in lukewarm water doesn't work... then we might have no choice but to take the risk and use force."

"Forced?"

Gu Yuena's eyes flashed as she caught the word.

Along with Hyotei and Yuki-tei beside him, the three women's gazes instantly focused on Lu Jun, with a hint of inquiry and subtlety in their eyes.

Lu Jun immediately realized their possible misunderstanding, chuckled, shook his head, and explained:
"Don't get the wrong idea. Do you remember the previous battle? Tang Wutong was hit by my eighth soul skill, 'The Creation and Annihilation of All Things'."

"Logically, I should have already planted the enslaving ice puppet mark in her body. An ordinary opponent would have become a puppet that obeys my every command by now."

He paused, his tone becoming somewhat serious.

But she was, after all, a first-level deity, her cultivation level far surpassing mine. Even though my eighth soul skill involved the realm of rules, faced with such an absolute difference in strength, she forcefully resisted and severed the connection with it thanks to her profound divine power foundation.

He continued to explain the plan, his eyes sharpening:

"If all else fails, I will have to try to push her to the brink of mental collapse. As long as there is a huge flaw in her mental strength, I can activate the power of the Ice Abyss Sword to forcefully break through her mental barrier, reconnect with the lurking ice puppet mark, and completely transform it into my ice puppet."

"However..." he changed the subject, pointing out the key risk, "This method is forced, and given that her cultivation level is higher than mine, even if it succeeds, the mark will be extremely unstable."

"There is a high probability that she can use her divine power to forcefully break through the mark and break free from enslavement at any time."

"It's due to the difference in cultivation level..."

Gu Yuena pondered for a moment, her silver hair moving without any wind.

"Perhaps there's a shortcut. If you temporarily transfer control of the Ice Abyss Sword to me, and I, a first-level god, wield this supreme artifact, I can focus all my efforts on attacking Tang Wutong's mental defenses, forcibly constructing and stabilizing the Ice Puppet Mark. The success rate should increase significantly." (End of Chapter)