Assisted by the remote intervention of her future self, Gu Yue leveraged the Authority of Creation she had provoked to engage in a well-matched, fierce battle against Na'er. Every element obeyed her commands as if they were extensions of her own limbs, and each collision of forces was precisely calculated to hit the most vulnerable points of the battlefield. The once-tricky duel had unexpectedly stabilized into a balanced stalemate.
The next second, however, the power belonging to her future self within Gu Yue's perception suddenly dissipated like a broken chain, much like a video feed with a abruptly severed signal.
Worse still, an uncharacteristically shameless sound brushed past her ear--soft yet overwhelmingly direct. It made the perpetually cold-tempered Gu Yue's earlobes burn instantly, causing her breath to hitch for a fraction of a second.
The power vacuum triggered a chain reaction like falling dominoes. The elemental fusion technique swirling around her collapsed instantly, and the "hot metal wind" that was about to form in the palm of her hand spiraled completely out of control.
That was the signature technique of future Gu Yue: first using mental power to control and gather metallic debris, melting them into a scorching stream of high temperature, and then channeling howling winds to accelerate the charge. Its destructive power was enough to grind any target into dust, making it one of the few lethal moves capable of piercing Na'er's defense.
Without the anchoring control of her future self, the heat current and metal scraps in her palm suddenly collided violently. Like a popped balloon, a resounding explosion burst forth, and the splashing, searing particles grazed Gu Yue's forearm, leaving her skin tingling with heat.
Lifting her gaze, she saw Na'er lunging forward with her silver-purple spear, carrying an oppressive draconic might. The chilling edge of the spearhead was practically on the verge of pressing against her throat.
In that instant, Gu Yue abandoned any concern over the backlash of a close-range explosion, her fingertips swiftly forming the hand seals for the "Instant Detonation."
She forcibly detonated the remaining shockwave of the hot metal wind. A surging wave of heat instantly engulfed them both, warping the surrounding air.
The scorching particles did indeed graze Na'er's dragon armor, leaving several scorch marks, but the protective glow of elemental immunity remained intact.
The differences between dragons could never be generalized.
Though Na'er had also lost the support of her future self, she remained entirely unaffected. Instead, capitalizing on the previous exchange of blows, she instantly grasped the logical pattern of her future self's moves. The two complete External Embodiments that had been hovering beside her instantly dismantled and reorganized, transforming into a layer of purple-lustered energy afterimages that firmly clung to her entire body.
Immediately following that, Na'er increased the force behind her spear by thirty percent, and her spear shadows pressed down on Gu Yue like a torrential downpour, her offensive momentum growing even more ferocious than before.
This highlighted the stark difference between their Natal Divine Abilities: the power left behind by future Na'er was a foundational extension of present Na'er--much like a paved road where she merely needed to walk forward to maintain complete control.
Gu Yue's elemental mastery, however, was a different matter altogether. It required countless experiments and hard-earned experience from actual combat. Even with the theories of the future, without sufficient foundational practice, it ultimately remained a castle in the air.
Fortunately, before her future self dissipated, she had left behind numerous insights regarding elements within Gu Yue's sea of consciousness. Those fragmented understandings of the flow of wind and fire, alongside the balance between metal and temperature, flickered like stars within her mind.
Suppressing the surging blood brought on by the pressure of the spear, Gu Yue rapidly filtered through the useful information, her gaze locking abruptly onto the comprehension of "spatial elements."
Gu Yue slammed her palms together, and a dense silver mist surged in her palms--a clear sign of spatial elements being forcibly conjured.
With a swift twist of her wrists, two circular spatial rifts bloomed between her hands. The scenery on the other side of the rifts was crystal clear: it was the exact location of Na'er's left-arm dragon armor!
Time seemed to slow down by half a beat. The silver-purple spear whistled through the air, seemingly piercing straight through Gu Yue's chest, but in reality, following the trajectory of the spatial rift, it slammed heavily against Na'er's own dragon armor. With a crisp, metallic clatter, fine sparks showered from the armor, and Na'er's offensive momentum abruptly stalled.
Seizing this momentary breathing room, Gu Yue began manipulating the water elements, causing rain to fall across the arena.
Fortunately, the spatial fabric of the Douluo plane was no longer what it used to be. In the past, opening this kind of spatial gateway would have been entirely impossible.
Today's plane and its space had achieved true, fundamental stability upon the bedrock of the original elemental laws.
No one could casually tear through space to create chaos anymore. Even the fluctuations triggered by Yun Ming with all his might would only degrade into a few faint tremors in the air, incapable of kicking up the monstrous waves of the past.
To soul masters who utilized space as their martial souls, space remained a familiar element, yet its depth and breadth had been immeasurably expanded.
Much like a wasteland that once only possessed a narrow footpath, it had now opened up into a grand avenue leading into the distance, concealing countless possibilities waiting to be explored and ascending to the level of the laws themselves.
Raindrops slid down the tips of Na'er's hair, steadily accumulating. Na'er casually shook her dragon armor, scattering the water elements clinging to her body, yet the smile on her face didn't fade in the slightest, maintaining that slightly mischievous expression.
She shook the silver-purple spear in her hand, the tip catching heavy droplets of rain, and called out to Gu Yue, "Gu Yue! You're out of moves, aren't you?"
"Although I don't know why we suddenly 'disconnected' just now, it definitely has something to do with Big Sis Head!" The more she spoke, the more certain she became, her tone growing increasingly cheerful.
"Look, Big Sis Head must have thought I was more suited to be the older sister and secretly helped me! So just admit defeat, Gu Yue! There's no point in holding out any longer, hahaha!"
Listening to Na'er's stream of chatter, Gu Yue rapidly sorted through cause and effect in her heart--that shameless sound, the sudden interruption of her future self's support, and this farcical duel that was supposed to settle who was older and who was younger... Threading all these clues together, she finally grasped the underlying thread of the future.
Even without the intervention of her future self, over the coming years, this battle would never have a true victor, because the catalyst for change had already been planted long ago.
At this thought, Gu Yue's gaze slowly drifted into the distance, landing on the figure of Hei Loulan. Sure enough, the key to everything lay within this avatar of the plane's spirit.
Hei Loulan was currently adjusting her running posture while facing the empty air. Tapping her toes lightly against the slick ground, her figure shot forward like an arrow released from a bowstring, and in the blink of an eye, she landed steadily right between Gu Yue and Na'er.
Without any superfluous movements, Hei Loulan slowly clenched her fist and threw a punch forward with heavy, concentrated force.
The fist wind erupted with an inexpressible pressure, forcibly scattering the lingering rain summoned by Gu Yue toward both sides. Even the residual elements Gu Yue had gathered in the air vanished completely into nothingness under the might of that single punch.
Before the two could react, Hei Loulan reached out, hooked her arm around Na'er's waist, and hoisted her up with a slight exertion, settling her securely onto her shoulder.
"Ah! Sister Loulan, you're actually not on my side! No fair! I was about to win!"
Na'er swayed in surprise, her fingertips hurriedly grabbing Hei Loulan's collar to steady herself. Though she mumbled in grievance, she obediently dismissed the cold-shining dragon armor around her--even the silver-purple spear dissolved into points of light, showing no real intention of struggling.
Hei Loulan lowered her gaze to look at the pouting Na'er perched on her shoulder, a smile blooming in the depths of her eyes as she spoke in a gentle tone: "We were born of the same root, why push each other so hard? Don't be upset; I'll make you your favorite roasted fish tonight, plus a whole roasted cow. How does that sound?"
With that, she turned her head to cast a look at Gu Yue, who was still standing in place, signaling her to follow.
As her gaze swept over the group of bruised and battered young geniuses nearby who were still rubbing their arms and legs, Hei Loulan couldn't help laughing out loud as she hopped down from the arena and called out loudly.
"Alright! Everyone come over here! Follow me to the milk tea shop at the end of the street!"
"Everything you buy today is on me!"
As soon as those words fell, the dejected young geniuses nursing their injuries instantly perked up. Even Na'er on her shoulder excitedly kicked her legs, shouting that she wanted the side order of bobo chicken!
The crowd swarmed around Hei Loulan, moving forward in a bustling mass--some were still chattering animatedly about what flavor of milk tea to order, while others huddled together to vent about the "humiliating moments" of getting beaten up just moments before.
Gu Yue trailed at the back of the group, watching the lively scene unfolding before her--someone holding a pearl milk tea with a freshly inserted straw, letting out a soft "pop" as the straw pierced the lid, hopping over to share just how generous the toppings at the bottom were; while a few of the young geniuses who had just been beaten black and blue gathered around Na'er, pestering her for the secret behind her spear-retracting technique and entirely forgetting about their pain.
Standing on the edge of the crowd wrapped in the cool breeze, she momentarily felt like a drop of cold water falling into hot soup, somewhat out of place.
It wasn't until Na'er squeezed through the crowd holding two cups of milk tea and ran over, the condensation on the cup brushing against the back of Gu Yue's hand and bringing a trace of warmth, that the feeling shifted.
"Here! I specifically asked the boss to add extra coconut jelly!" Na'er shoved one of the cups into her hands, the sweet fragrance of milk tea blending with the steam as it drifted into her nose. "Even though we were always fighting over things before... actually, let's work hard to grow stronger together from now on! You don't have to shoulder all those responsibilities by yourself."
Gu Yue gripped the warm cup of milk tea, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the textures on its surface.
As it turned out, things weren't as starkly polarized as she had previously imagined: it wasn't a matter of Na'er embodying the vibrant humanity she longed for while she herself was destined to be a lonely dragon stumbling blindly through an unclear future.
The warmth of the milk tea in her palm right now, the sound of the straw slurping mixed into the rising laughter around her, and the reflection of her own silhouette in Na'er's bright eyes as she looked up--all of these were quietly softening the hard shell around her heart.
She, too, could possess such warmth, moments truly belonging to "Gu Yue," rather than having only cold missions weighing down her shoulders.
Lowering her head, she took a sip of the milk tea, the chewy sweetness of the coconut jelly melting across her tongue, and softly replied, "Alright~ Together."