Douluo Dragon King: The stars of the heavens, transform me into king!

Wu Changkong stepped into Gu Yuexingyan's office. The morning light slanted down and shone on the shoulder of the man in front of him.

Gu Yuexingyan was already sitting behind his desk, which was empty of documents. He was simply gazing quietly out the window at the city that was about to awaken.

Today he was dressed in a dark blue casual suit, the collar of which was meticulously tailored, as if it had been specially made. His profile appeared somewhat hazy, even somewhat sacred, in the light.

In a corner of the office, there was a round table, where his secretary often worked. At this moment, the secretary, dressed somewhat old-fashionedly, was bent over, calculating several documents. Her pencil moved rapidly across the draft paper, as if the task was extremely important.

This document is calculating how to increase customs duties for the Tang Clan, as the current 1000% is no longer sufficient for Gu Yuexingyan.

He was having his secretary calculate how increasing taxes on the Tang Clan would maximize their profits!

Hearing footsteps, Gu Yuexingyan turned to look at Wu Changkong, seemingly expecting it, and asked, "You've arrived?"

Wu Changkong stopped a few steps away from the desk, his posture still upright. "Speaker of the Council, I've arrived!"

Gu Yuexingyan stood up, without saying much, simply gesturing for Wu Changkong to follow him, then turned and walked into a door on the inner side of the office.

After walking through a short, brightly lit passage, you reach another door that opens once more.

Wu Changkong followed closely behind, and soon the two finally arrived at a room.

The room was small and circular, with flawless white walls and ceiling. Soft light streamed down evenly from all angles, casting no shadows. In the center of the room, two clear and solidified clusters of light and shadow floated.

But they are just two holographic projections.

On the left is a cluster of ice-blue creatures, vaguely resembling the silhouette of a long, elegant beast with a single horn on its head. It is surrounded by a chilling frost mist and fine ice crystals, exuding a powerful and pure aura. Judging from its appearance, it should be a 60,000-year-old soul beast.

The figure on the right was only a little over three meters tall, yet it captivated the eye with two colors: an extremely translucent icy white and a dangerously deep emerald green, creating a breathtaking beauty. The front of its torso was covered by four layers of armor like a heavy shield, densely covered with hexagonal protrusions, each inch shining as if sculpted from a diamond.

A pair of front claws stretched over a meter, also covered with dazzling ridges; only the claw tips and mouthparts were polished to a mirror-like smoothness, gleaming with a silent, deep silver-white.

Its body was steadily supported by six long limbs, and a pair of hexagonal eyes, gleaming with a cold, clear yellow light, silently gazed ahead. Most striking was its tail, five emerald-green segments linked together, narrowing progressively until they coalesced into a sharp beam. The hooked tip of the tail was adorned with a diamond-like glint, a single point of silver-white like a thorn, as if a mere flash of light could pierce the boundary between reality and illusion.

A 90,000-year-old soul, the Ice Jade Scorpion.

Two illusory figures floated silently. The 60,000-year-old Ice Wolf Soul Spirit was already a rare treasure, enough to drive any ice-attribute Soul Master crazy.

The 90,000-year-old Ice Jade Scorpion... that is a legendary existence standing at the top of the soul beast pyramid, representing not only power, but also the ultimate ice.

The reason it didn't take 100,000 years is entirely because the Federation's 10,000-year cycle was extremely costly. It's because after the Ice Jade Scorpion became a soul spirit, the absorption conditions actually became easier.

And if I take out this Ice Jade Scorpion, I'll have to pay double the amount of grain tax when I get back. This useless Federation has nothing, but luckily I can live off a woman.

The only somewhat useful Temple of War is... well, let's just say it's a long story...

Gu Yuexingyan stood before the two illusory figures, his back to Wu Changkong. His voice rang out calmly, each word clear: "Wu Changkong, I know you're a smart man. You should understand what I mean."

The meaning couldn't be clearer. The 60,000-year-old soul is a reward for merit, and Wu Changkong can also pay a corresponding price for it. Choosing it settles the score between both parties, and there may still be room for cooperation in the future, but the boundaries will be clear.

A ninety-thousand-year-old soul… that's far too heavy a burden. So heavy that accepting it means being completely bound to its chariot, meaning that from this day forward, wherever its sword points…

This is taking sides, a pledge of allegiance, a contract with no way back.

Wu Changkong stood still, his gaze slowly shifting between the two beams of light and shadow. The room was silent, save for Wu Changkong's quiet breathing.

He recalled the light that rekindled in Long Bing's eyes when she awoke, the warm sunset in that small villa, and his current soul power, stuck at the peak of the eighth ring. He had condensed a soul core, but was still missing the final ninth soul ring.

This moment felt incredibly long.

Memories surged through my mind, each one crystal clear at this moment.

The Ice Jade Scorpion quietly looked at Wu Changkong, meeting his gaze across the void.

a long time.

Wu Changkong took a deep breath, the breath condensing into a white mist in the cold air. He turned to Gu Yuexingyan's back, his voice steady and without hesitation:

"I understand, Speaker. You are my family's savior."

His words were calm, yet they said it all.

As he spoke, he took a step forward. He made the right choice, choosing to stand on Gu Yuexingyan's side, rather than Shrek Academy or Tang Sect.

"Congratulations, you've made the right choice. After you absorb the spirit ring, go teach the children. You can also go to the Spirit Pagoda to upgrade the spirit ring's age when you have time." Gu Yuexingyan smiled faintly, pressed the mechanical switch, and took out the 90,000-year-old Ice Jade Scorpion.

He didn't care about Wu Changkong's choice, after all, from the moment Long Bing was rescued, the two of them had become his pawns.

The brainwashing from Shrek Academy is nothing compared to the power of my Star Chess.

After all, once someone becomes a complete pawn, their life and death are no longer in their own hands!

Moreover, the only drawback of this being done without anyone noticing is that anyone who becomes a pawn must be loyal to me to a certain degree, even if it's just for a moment, it will last forever.

Just like the citizens of the Federation, of course, the higher one's mental strength, the greater the difficulty.

As Wu Changkong began absorbing the spirit ring, Gu Yuexingyan was also very satisfied with his martial spirit. No wonder Tang Shenwang liked to use spiritual imprints to control the life and death of others.

Deep within the Mingdu Royal Soul Master Academy, in a separate training ground exclusively for high-level students.

It was probably afternoon. The light, filtered by the towering crystal screen, became a uniform, cool white light, which fell on the floor, which was cast from a special alloy and covered with tiny soul-guiding runes.

Na'er is practicing shooting.

There are no opponents, no targets.

She was the only figure in the huge training field, looking heroic and spirited.

Repeat some very basic movements—raise to the side, retract, slash diagonally, and circle.

In her hand, the silver spear sometimes remained as still as a deep pool, motionless, with only the tip occasionally emitting a faint glimmer that was barely perceptible to the naked eye, tearing through the air with a soft "hiss" sound, so short it was like an illusion.

At times, it would awaken like a dragon from hibernation, transforming from extreme stillness to extreme movement. A silver line would suddenly pierce out, but just as its force was about to be exhausted, it would abruptly freeze. All the forward momentum and soul power would be precisely gathered and dissipated, without the spear even trembling slightly.

Sweat had already soaked the back of her training uniform, and a few strands of silver hair clung to her smooth forehead.

Her face was slightly flushed, but her breathing remained steady, and there was no trace of sleepiness in her eyes.

Occasionally, she would stop, close her eyes, as if listening to something.

Just then, her communication device buzzed.