Lake of Life, Two Beauties TogetherThe Lake of Life was completely silent. As Dai Yao's thunderous roar slowly subsided, only the sound of the Lake of Life's waves gently lapping against the shore remained.
Dai Yao gripped the Trident of the Vast Ocean and angrily pointed it at Di Tian.
A black and five red spirit rings slowly surrounded his body, and his vast and solemn aura briefly overwhelmed all the spirit beasts.
Dai Yao was certainly not acting rashly and allowing the soul beasts to slaughter humans at will.
Before coming to the Star Dou Great Forest, he had already prepared for the worst.
The elite forces of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School and the Azure Lotus School were mobilized and gathered in the direction of the Star Luo Empire in the Star Dou Great Forest.
Furthermore, after discussing with Bibi Dong, the remaining ordinary disciples of the Spirit Hall, as well as the remaining troops of the various kingdoms and duchies, were stationed on both sides of the Star Dou Great Forest. Only the side of the Star Dou Great Forest facing the Heaven Dou Empire was left unmanned.
This is a strategy of surrounding three sides but leaving one side unfinished.
Even if the beast tide is launched, with the three sides blocked, most of the soul beasts will naturally flock to the side of the Heaven Dou Empire.
The Martial Soul Empire had recently achieved a great victory over the Heaven Dou Empire at Jialing Pass, and then advanced rapidly along the Lima Plain, reaching as far as Zhennan Pass. Therefore, the number of civilians was the smallest in this direction, and the damage caused would be the least.
Moreover, most of the main force of the Spirit Empire is located here. Once the beast tide breaks out, the spirit beast race will pay the most terrible price here.
At that time, although the army of the Spirit Empire will face a pincer attack from the Spirit Beast Clan and the Heaven Dou Empire at Zhennan Pass, this is a major event concerning the rise and fall of the race. The Heaven Dou Empire will never dare to defy the world and stab the Spirit Empire in the back.
However, this would inevitably severely weaken the Martial Soul Empire, and it's uncertain whether it would still have the strength to unify the continent.
Dai Yao still remembers that after he expressed his idea, Bibi Dong stared at him for a long time before agreeing to the plan.
"If Di Tian really launches a beast tide, I will not fail the human race, but I will fail Bibi Dong."
Dai Yao stared intently at Di Tian, his heart resolute yet filled with a sense of shame.
Bibi Dong had endured for many years and finally increased the strength of the Spirit Empire to an unprecedented level. However, if his plan failed and he lost the opportunity to unify the continent, he would have no face to face Bibi Dong!
However, with Di Tian pressing him relentlessly, Dai Yao had no choice but to make a decision.
Moreover, Dai Yao's relentless pursuit, while outwardly a direct confrontation with Di Tian, was not actually as dangerous as one might imagine.
For the sake of his race's survival, Di Tian avoided Dai Yao's challenge, preferring to be looked down upon by Dai Yao rather than risk the slightest defeat. This shows that the Soul Beast race was far more important to him than his own reputation.
Therefore, Dai Yao chose to confront Di Tian head-on in a fight to the death, which ironically made Di Tian hesitant to act against him.
Di Tian knew very well that Dai Yao had already embarked on the path to godhood, and given a little more time, he would surely become a god. If they were to break off relations this time and fail to capture Dai Yao, they could not afford the retaliation of a future god-level powerhouse.
Moreover, it wasn't like Di Tian hadn't tried to keep Dai Yao back then.
Back then, Dai Yao was only at the Soul Emperor level, yet he still left Di Tian helpless. How much more so now that Dai Yao has reached the Title Douluo level?
If they completely break off relations, the Soul Beast race will only have a few decades to wait for Dai Yao to become a god. However, if they choose to back down, although the Soul Beast race will still perish, their survival time will be much longer...
Therefore, Dai Yao was 80% certain that Di Tian would not choose to launch a beast tide.
With the worst-case scenario in mind and an 80% chance of success, Dai Yao had no reason not to choose a tough stance against Di Tian when he had nowhere else to retreat.
The Lake of Life remained silent for a moment, then suddenly erupted into a deafening roar.
Countless soul beasts reared up, roaring fiercely at Dai Yao, assuming an attack stance. Several audacious soul beasts even charged at Dai Yao right in front of Di Tian. But as soon as they entered the area of the Lake of Life, they were immobilized by the pressure emanating from Dai Yao.
Di Tian slightly raised his hand to rescue the soul beasts, then looked at Dai Yao expressionlessly. The six blood-red soul rings stirred up a storm in Di Tian's heart, but he did not show it at all.
She truly is a chosen one.
With his hands behind his back, he remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking:
"A fight to the death? That's quite the spirit. When the beast tide rises, countless innocent lives will be sacrificed for your choice. You can certainly choose to avenge them. But if I deliberately let them attack Hanhai City, slaughter your sect, and kill your relatives and friends, would you still be as righteous as you are now?"
The thought of the scene Di Tian described—the fall of Hanhai City and the sight of familiar faces lying before him—made Dai Yao feel as if he had been struck by a heavy hammer, leaving him breathless.
Even though he knew that making such a choice would mean someone would have to sacrifice, Dai Yao couldn't imagine what he would do if the price was his own family, or even Zhu Qing and Wu Tong.
Be strict with others, but lenient with yourself.
Only when the pain of losing a loved one falls upon you do you truly understand heartache.
If the beast tide breaks out, millions will die in this catastrophe. That's not a simple number; countless families will be plunged into the grief of losing loved ones. Does he have the courage to bear such consequences?
He couldn't help but waver.
Decades ago, he was a prince imprisoned in the cold palace, not knowing if he would live to see tomorrow. Therefore, his only goal was to survive.
Decades later, he led his men into the Star Luo Empire, taking countless innocent lives with them. At that time, he did not feel that the burden was too heavy for him to bear, because they were the enemies blocking his path of revenge.
Now, having achieved great success and personally killed those who had caused him pain, he faces for the first time a choice concerning the survival of humanity. For the first time, he realizes the weight of the responsibility that comes with this choice.
For the first time, I realized the significance behind the position of a deity.
But in the next instant, that wavering vanished. If he didn't make this choice, was he really going to stand by and watch the Soul Beast race infiltrate the God Realm, break the Golden Dragon King's seal, wreak havoc on the God Realm, and then affect the entire Douluo Continent?
If it means bearing the infamy of millions' lives and deaths, then so be it...
But then he realized that Di Tian had not chosen to launch the beast tide directly, but instead made him realize the horror of the beast tide from another angle, forcing him to agree to Di Tian's conditions!
In other words, he made the right bet!
Di Tian dared not unleash a beast tide!
Dai Yao felt much more at ease. He instantly realized that now was the perfect opportunity to back down! He would make Di Tian mistakenly believe that he was afraid to bear the pain of the deaths of millions of people, causing him to hesitate and creating room for maneuver!
He can use this to buy time!
But why didn't he choose to compromise in the first place?
Remember, if you back down by one foot, others will advance by ten feet.
Di Tian was aggressive from the start. If Dai Yao chose to compromise, he would lose the room for negotiation and only have two options: agree or not agree. However, when he used a do-or-die attitude to force Di Tian into a corner and had no choice but to give in, from a game theory perspective, he maximized his room for negotiation.
Therefore, he can more easily stall for time.
His mind raced, and Dai Yao's face showed a perfectly timed struggle before he fell silent.
This acting skill was honed by Dai Yao through life-and-death experiences. Even with Di Tian's advanced age of 880,000 years, he still couldn't detect anything wrong with Dai Yao.
Besides, Di Tian has lived in the Star Dou Great Forest for most of his life, rarely interacting with humans, so he is not particularly sensitive to human emotional changes. For example, Xiao Wu and the Titan Giant Ape have lived for 100,000 years, and they are still like children, aren't they?
Moreover, with the protection of the Sea God's Light, Dai Yao's emotions were completely concealed, making it even more impossible for Di Tian to detect them.
Seeing the struggle that flashed across Dai Yao's face, a glint of light flashed in Di Tian's amber eyes.
He discovered Dai Yao's weakness!
He's destined to win this game!
With a wave of his hand, amidst the resentful gazes of all the soul beasts, Di Tian gave the order to retreat. Although the countless soul beasts, as numerous as grains of sand, were filled with confusion and resentment, they still obeyed the Beast God's command and slowly retreated.
As the soul beasts gathered beside the Lake of Life slowly disappeared, Di Tian smiled, his hands behind his back, and slowly descended to the shore, saying to Dai Yao:
"You're wavering, aren't you? In that case, how about we each take a step back?"
What do you want?
Dai Yao remained silent for a moment, then pretended to frown and landed on the shore, asking in a deep voice.
"If neither of us gives in, we will only suffer heavy losses. Even if you kill our entire clan, what then? Will your humanity still be able to produce powerful Soul Masters? Therefore, I don't ask you to agree immediately. Why don't you stay in the Star Dou Great Forest for the time being?"
Di Tian asked earnestly.
Tranquility returned to the Lake of Life. A gentle breeze blew by, but Dai Yao's tightly furrowed brows remained furrowed. He clenched his fists several times, but eventually relaxed them.
Allowing him to remain in the Star Dou Great Forest instead of directly launching a beast tide was Di Tian's concession. If Dai Yao still refused, then he would be ungrateful.
Besides, isn't his purpose to stay behind and buy time?
After a long silence, Dai Yao slowly said:
"Can."
Di Tian smiled and said, "I think the time you spend here will change your view of soul beasts."
Dai Yao shrugged, neither confirming nor denying.
Immediately, Di Tian took a light step, releasing an invisible wave. The next instant, powerful auras burst forth from the water.
There were six figures in total.
The first person was a stunningly beautiful woman with green hair. She had an elegant appearance and a kind face that brought a sense of peace to those who looked at her.
The second figure was also dark green, but unlike the first, his green was eerie. His long green hair stretched for tens of meters, and his azure pupils were as cold and sinister as a venomous snake.
The third figure was much larger, standing at over fifteen meters tall, with muscles on its shoulders bulging like small mountains, and a terrifying aura emanating from it that was several times stronger than that of the Titan Ape from before.
The fourth figure was a three-headed lion, its fur burning like flames.
The fifth figure was almost transparent; if Dai Yao's mental strength hadn't been strong enough, he wouldn't have been able to detect his presence.
The last one was a woman with long purple hair, a cold expression, and staring intently at Dai Yao, as if she wanted to tear him to pieces.
Di Tian turned his head and proudly introduced to Dai Yao:
"These are the most powerful soul beasts in my Star Dou Great Forest besides myself. In order, they are Bi Ji, Wan Yao Wang, Xiong Jun, Chi Wang, Yao Ling, and Zi Ji. For hundreds of thousands of years, they have been by my side, enduring hardships to achieve their current level of cultivation."
Whenever Di Tian introduced a beast, all the beasts introduced, except for Xiong Jun and Zi Ji, nodded and gestured to Dai Yao.
Dai Yao noticed that among the six soul beasts, only Bi Ji's gaze was somewhat gentle. The other soul beasts all contained some hostility and coldness. Among them, Xiong Jun and Zi Ji's hostility was the most intense, reaching the point of being completely undisguised.
Dai Yao believed that if Di Tian hadn't been there, the two of them would have attacked him directly.
Apart from these two, the King of Ten Thousand Demons' gaze was somewhat indifferent, as if he didn't care; while the Crimson King's gaze was much more complex, showing both hostility towards humans and restraint in obeying Emperor Tian's orders; and the demon spirit, being transparent, had no discernible expression.
No sooner had Di Tian finished speaking than Xiong Jun interrupted, splitting his gaping maw to reveal chilling teeth, his large, bloodthirsty eyes filled with icy killing intent.
"Kid, you've really annoyed me! I'm not Di Tian, who would keep backing down for the sake of the clan! He wouldn't dare launch a beast tide, but I do! If you don't give me a satisfactory answer by now..."
Before Xiong Jun could finish speaking, Di Tian and Bi Ji said in unison with stern expressions:
"Mr. Bear!"
Upon hearing this, Xiong Jun bared his teeth at Di Tian, refusing to back down, but after hearing Bi Ji's voice, Xiong Jun became indignant and dissatisfied, but ultimately shut his mouth.
Biji is the most powerful support-type soul beast in the Star Dou Great Forest. The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear clan owes her countless favors. Even if the Bear King is a scoundrel, he still has to listen to Biji's opinion.
Seeing Xiong Jun shut up, Di Tian stared at Xiong Jun for a moment before turning to Dai Yao apologetically:
"I'm sorry, Xiong Jun has always been like this. I hope you won't take it too hard, Dai Yao."
Dai Yao's expression was cold. Only after hearing Di Tian's apology did he turn around, leaning on his golden trident, and look at Di Tian with a half-smile, saying:
"In this Bear Lord's eyes, my repeated rejections of the Soul Beast Clan's kindness are rather ungrateful. The Bear Lord's attitude is understandable. However, the first time is fine, but if he offends me again, I would like to see the true strength of the Soul Beast Clan."
All six soul beasts were shocked, with Xiong Jun and Zi Ji's anger intensifying. Only Di Tian remained calm and said:
"I will restrain Xiong Jun and prevent this from happening again."
"Naturalness is best."
Dai Yao resumed his expressionless demeanor and said calmly.
Immediately, Dai Yao scanned the six soul beasts one by one, comparing them to the ten most famous and ferocious beasts of his previous life, and couldn't help but feel a bit emotional.
"Your Majesty the Beast God allowed me to stay at the Lake of Life for a while, and also arranged for me to meet with six pillars of the Soul Beast clan. Could it be that my stay at the Lake of Life is related to them?"
Di Tian nodded, his voice conveying an indescribable emotion:
"Yes, during your time at the Lake of Life, let Princess Brigitte and Princess Murasaki accompany you..." (End of Chapter)