Word Count: 3,072 Words
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Every spirit beast of the Star Dou Forest was held at bay by Destiny Protection. Xiong Jun's Dark Gold Terror Claws, which he boasted were peerless in destructive power, raised nothing more than a few faint ripples across those pure white wings of light.
"It's you..."
Di Tian gazed at the Angel of Finality from afar, an existence standing infinitely close to a God. A storm seemed to gather within those golden dragon eyes.
White light flared. The Angel of Finality split into two nearly identical figures, and Ling Qiuxi flew toward Di Tian. Her flawless, delicate form looked no larger than a single fang of the Golden Eyed Black Dragon King.
"Destiny Beast, you're still alive?!"
The instant his gaze fell upon Ling Qiuxi, Di Tian's pupils quaked and his voice rose sharply, almost shrill. One believed dead had returned to life, and the sight struck at the very foundation of the Beast God's understanding of the world.
"Uncle Di Tian..."
Ling Qiuxi looked down at the countless spirit beast corpses strewn beneath Shrek City's walls. As the Emperor Destiny Beast, grief rose in her unbidden, and hard on its heels came a fierce hatred for Tang San and the Clear Sky Clan.
"The Sea God Tang San coveted the spirit beast destiny. While Ling Bai was crossing the continent to save the Spirit Masters of the Three Great Empires, those two traitors to our race, the Sky Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape, led the Clear Sky Clan in a sneak attack on the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
After a bitter battle, the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan fell. Tang Wutong, the Sea God's daughter, stripped away the spirit beast destiny and my Golden Dragon bloodline, leaving me weakened and forcing me into slumber.
In the end, Ling Bai received a warning from human destiny and rushed back ahead of time. He stopped Tang Wutong from ascending to the Divine Realm, destroyed the Clear Sky Clan, and returned the destiny that belongs to spirit beasts to me. Only then was I able to awaken."
Di Tian ground his dragon teeth in fury. So it truly was the handiwork of the Divine Realm's Gods. Ling Qiuxi had not lowered her voice in the slightest, and every soul atop Shrek City's walls heard her words with perfect clarity.
The Sea God Tang San was the true culprit behind the beast tide. The scarred and battered students of Shrek Academy and the soldiers manning the walls trembled where they stood, scarcely daring to believe the truth they had just heard.
Reason told them Ling Qiuxi had no cause to deceive humanity. Yet Tang San was all but the faith of Shrek City itself, and to be betrayed by the object of one's devotion was a pain that ripped the heart apart.
Thinking it over carefully, the Star Dou Forest's assault on Shrek City had struck the right mark almost by accident, landing on the power most tightly bound to Tang San anywhere on the Douluo Continent. Shrek Academy had always prided itself on him, his statue stood in the plaza, and the new Tang Sect had been founded within Shrek City itself.
"Oh, right. Tang Wutong actually has another name, one all of you know very well." Ling Bai spoke in an unhurried, almost idle tone. "Her name is Wang Dong Er."
"Little Junior Sister / Dong Er?!"
This time it was the Tang Sect's turn for their jaws to come unhinged. Huo Yuhao felt as though five thunderbolts had crashed down on his head at once. Never had he imagined the woman he loved was the noble daughter of the Sea God. Then, as if something had clicked into place, he jerked his head up and stared fixedly at Ling Bai.
Dong Er is in Ling Bai's hands!
Huo Yuhao did not care about Wang Dong Er's identity. Only one conviction held firm in his heart. He loved Dong Er more than he loved himself, and he would pay any price for her.
Lost in scheming how to rescue his beloved, however, Huo Yuhao failed to notice that the gazes of the Shrek students around him had already turned strange.
Shrek City had suffered devastating losses. As students of the academy they could not bring themselves to blame it, yet they desperately needed a target for their rage. Tang Wutong was Tang San's daughter, and she had joined the Tang Sect that Tang San himself had founded. The Tang Sect automatically rose to the top of everyone's resentment.
The crowd's fury surged like a collapsing mountain and a crashing sea. Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi felt the atmosphere freeze around them, exchanged a glance, and could only smile bitterly. For a long while to come, the Tang Sect's days were not going to be easy.
"Uncle Di Tian, Shrek Academy knew nothing of any of this. The true culprit, the Clear Sky Clan, has already been wiped out by Ling Bai. Don't let the spirit beasts keep throwing their lives away. Let's withdraw to the Star Dou Forest," Ling Qiuxi urged.
"We cannot turn back!"
Di Tian refused her outright, his voice glacial. "Destiny Beast, this war is not merely about avenging you. It is about winning a bright future for all spirit beasts!
For hundreds of thousands of years, spirit beasts have hidden away in the great gathering grounds, yet humanity has never once stopped butchering us!
Our numbers dwindle year by year while human Spirit Masters only multiply. If this continues, spirit beasts will one day walk the road to extinction!
To spirit beasts, ten thousand years passes in the flick of a finger, while the human world advances by the day. In this beast tide alone, Shrek City's weapons have exacted an enormous toll on us, and I feel a deep and terrible sense of crisis.
Destiny Beast, if humanity is allowed to develop unchecked, the day ordinary people can take up powerful weapons is the day no place remains on this continent for spirit beasts. If our race is to stand unbowed, we must slaughter the Spirit Masters and destroy their mad technology!
Bi Ji, Myriad Demon King, protect the Destiny Beast!"
Bi Ji, the Emerald Swan, took Ling Qiuxi's hand with an apologetic look and comforted her gently, explaining that Di Tian was acting for the good of the Star Dou Forest.
On the surface it was protection. In truth it was a restraint of another kind. The Angel of Finality's might was simply too dreadful, and Di Tian knew full well he was most likely no match for it. To keep Ling Qiuxi from turning against him mid-battle, he had no choice but to guard against the possibility in advance.
On that count, Di Tian was truly overthinking things. Ling Bai had never harbored any thought of forcing Ling Qiuxi into their Spirit Fusion Skill against the spirit beasts. Otherwise he would never have dissolved the Angel of Finality form of his own accord.
The spirit beasts drew themselves back into battle lines. Atop the walls, the defenders raised their Spirit Guidance Devices one after another, pitch-black cannon muzzles swinging toward the Star Dou army.
Within the roiling dark clouds, the vast dragon body of the Golden Eyed Black Dragon King surfaced now and then. He gazed down upon the Seraphim standing alone before Shrek City, and his voice rolled like thunder:
"Brat, This Seat once gifted you a black dragon scale. For the sake of that old kindness, leave Shrek City, and I will spare your life!"
Golden light scattered the dark clouds. Beneath the blazing sun, the resplendent Seraphim answered slowly:
"My heart and my deeds are clear as a mirror. All that I do is justice!
An angel's duty is to guard all living beings!
Anything that threatens human life will crumble in the end before an angel's wings!"
A shaft of exceptionally dazzling golden light descended and happened to fall squarely upon the Seraphim, setting off his figure as all the more towering and sacred. That handsome face held both compassion for the world and unshakable resolve. For the sake of the humans within Shrek City, he stood against the entire Star Dou Forest!
The black dragon brought ruin to all things. The angel guarded the mortal realm!
"All hail the righteous Holy Evil Douluo!"
Cries of wholehearted conviction rang out one after another. The Seraphim stood as salvation born from the depths of despair, and from commoners to Spirit Masters, every soul in Shrek City felt that sacred power light the bottom of their hearts.
Ma Xiaotao's lovely eyes swam with infatuation. She had known it all along. Ling Bai would never abandon Shrek City, and he would never abandon his women. Han Ruoruo smiled through her tears. The youth who had once agonized over his Evil Martial Spirit had grown into a hero who sheltered all of humanity.
Mu En's soul nodded in silence. Ling Bai had done what he once promised. He had brought no harm to the Douluo Continent, standing instead like a god of light come to deliver humanity from fire and flood.
Bei Bei lowered his head in shame, reflecting on whether he had held prejudices against Ling Bai all along. Even the pursuit of Tang Ya at the tournament had been a matter of the Seraphim's duty.
Only Huo Yuhao's face twisted. For a dazed instant, it was as if two distinct men overlapped before his eyes. Holy Evil Douluo opened his mouth with benevolence and righteousness and closed it with righteousness and benevolence. He had almost forgotten that this same man had swindled away Skydream's million-year origin power!
"Holy Evil Douluo, your title?" Di Tian laughed coldly. "This Seat would like to test just how much skill this Holy Evil Douluo truly has!"
Di Tian knew Ling Bai was the inheritor of the Rakshasa God. But according to the Silver Dragon King, even a 1st Class God would find it difficult to change the present state of the beast race. And compared with Ling Bai, a human, Di Tian placed far greater trust in the Silver Dragon King, co-lord of all spirit beasts. He would never permit Ling Bai to stand in the way of the spirit beast army!
Half the sky turned to Ultimate Darkness in an instant, and the terrifying pressure of the foremost Great Beast of the current age came crashing down. The Seraphim shot skyward like a meteor, trailing brilliant golden flames behind him, and met the oppressive black clouds head-on in a blaze of golden light.
Gold and black, two great domains ground against one another. The war between light and darkness had formally begun. The moment Ling Bai moved, the morale of Shrek City's side surged, and the Outer Courtyard's young students especially stared without so much as blinking.
This was a clash to decide the strongest being on the Douluo Continent, and a battle that would decide Shrek's fate. A chance to witness such a thing came once in a lifetime.
Di Tian fought in the true body of the Golden Eyed Black Dragon King. Ling Bai activated his three great amplification spirit skills, and Holy Heart, Great Sun Angel, and Angel Avatar supplied a flood of power. As his Yin-Yang Complement twin spirit cores spun madly, his Martial Spirit's innate superiority let his aura stand without the slightest inferiority against the Beast God opposite him.
Both sides were victims here. Ling Bai had his own designs on the Star Dou Forest and no wish to cross blades with Di Tian, but Di Tian's temper was truly obstinate. Unless beaten into submission, he would never stop!
And now Shrek Academy stood on his side. With Shrek's immense influence over the Spirit Master world, Ling Bai could turn the whole situation with a flip of his hand. Faith was a thing that could be taught and guided, and there was no way he would abandon Shrek Academy!
Di Tian roared, and the sky froze for a heartbeat. Purple fissures split through space, and from each crack thrust a gigantic dragon head, every one identical to Di Tian's true form. The dragon heads gaped wide, and searing purple-black dragon flames poured straight toward Ling Bai.
Myriad Dragon Flames!
The clangor of metal suffused the sky, and a piercing shriek of splitting air rushed closer from afar. Beneath the blazing sun hanging high above, light condensed into a brilliant golden blade stretching beyond what the eye could take in, carrying the all-destroying will of Sword Intent: Heavenly Brilliance.
Ten Thousand Blades Radiant Glory!
BOOM—
Sword song and dragon roar reverberated across the firmament. An ill premonition suddenly seized Di Tian. The light on his bristling scales dimmed for an instant, then seven-colored radiance flared, dyeing the Golden Eyed Black Dragon King's body in every hue. A colossal seven-colored dragon claw grasped out of empty space!
Dragon God's Claw!
The spirit skill the Dragon God had passed down to Di Tian. It was by the power of Dragon God's Claw that he had broken through bottleneck after bottleneck. Though it fell short of a God's power, it surpassed the Limit Douluo and ascended to the Demi-God realm!
The moment Dragon God's Claw emerged, the majesty of a dragon god seemed to fill the world. The aftershocks of Ten Thousand Blades Radiant Glory and Myriad Dragon Flames scattered to nothing in an instant, and Ling Bai's figure emerged from the luminous mist of the colliding skills.
At the Angel Spirit Core in the center of his brow, the golden angel with only three wings remaining opened its eyes. Angel divine power poured into the Angel Sword!
"A God Position..."
Di Tian's dragon eyes shrank to pinpricks. Ling Bai's trump card was a damaged God Position!
Dragon God's Claw was merely a single spirit skill bestowed by the Dragon God, holding a wisp of dragon god power, enough to make Di Tian invincible beneath the Gods. But the Angel God had been a true 1st Class God. However battle-worn it might be, that remained a genuine God Position!
Bolstered by angelic divine power, the white-gold ninth spirit ring lit up. His spirit skill surged in strength, and the Angel Sword swept across!
Divine Power: One Breath Stills the World!
Looking up from the ground in that moment, human and spirit beast alike would see a sky twisted utterly out of shape, its color a blinding, burning gold. Though separated by six miles, that pressure still pinned both races where they stood, daring not to stir.
Bi Ji, the Myriad Demon King, and Xiong Jun, the three Great Beasts of the South Gate, gathered together gazing skyward. Worry filled Ling Qiuxi's face. Whether Ling Bai or Di Tian was wounded or slain, either ending was one she could not accept.
The sky split apart, and the Beast God's blood spilled!
A golden fissure ran clean through Dragon God's Claw. Di Tian stared, dazed, at the Seraphim before him. The Angel Sword in his hand blazed with brilliant flame, its edge a mere hair's breadth from the Golden Eyed Black Dragon King's brow. Ultimate Fire burned with fierce heat, and the black dragon scales softened swiftly, baring vivid red flesh beneath.
Di Tian had never seen a human in such a state. An irresistible force bound his body and soul alike, the pressure mounting without cease, as if it meant to crush him entirely.
In the instant Divine Power: One Breath Stills the World fell, Di Tian felt that what stood across from him was no Seraphim Titled Douluo, but the Angel God herself handing down his sentence of execution.
"I've lost..."
Di Tian's gaze turned complicated. Ten thousand years on, the Douluo Continent had produced another human with the makings of a God. It seemed that no matter how spirit beasts struggled, they could never alter their march toward extinction.
"Kill me."
The black dragon slowly shut his eyes. Even in his fall, the Beast God would not beg for mercy.
The Angel Sword drew back from the Golden Eyed Black Dragon King's brow. Ling Bai spoke evenly. "Senior Di Tian, Qiuxi regards you as a father. I don't want her to hate me.
If you insist on pressing the beast tide, I can only invite the Great Beasts of Star Dou to be guests in the Spectral Demiplane.
I won't touch a single hair on your bodies. We can hold some training sessions in the Spectral Demiplane, and keep training until you're willing to abandon the beast tide and return to the Star Dou Forest."
"What a silver tongue..."
Di Tian ground his back teeth. In eight hundred thousand years, this was the first time he had seen house arrest dressed up in such beautiful language. A dull knife sawing at flesh hurt the most.
"Senior, with your wisdom you should understand that razing Shrek City treats the symptoms, not the disease. Spirit Masters of the Three Great Empires would come to fight in an endless stream, and the spirit beasts would be driven back to the Star Dou Forest in the end," Ling Bai said heavily.
"Slaughter one batch of Spirit Masters and you only kindle the hatred of those who come after. The Star Dou Forest needs a hundred thousand years to raise a spirit beast of Titled Douluo level. Humanity needs only a hundred. Once humankind comes to see the Star Dou Forest as a mortal foe, and every generation hurls itself against it without fear of death, then this beast tide may well become the very fuse that speeds the spirit beasts' extinction."
"So this won't do, and that won't do either. Do you expect This Seat to sit idle and watch humanity develop by leaps and bounds, take up weapons, and butcher my subjects?!" Di Tian demanded.
"I have a plan that can resolve the conflict between our two races."
"You..." Di Tian was half-convinced, half-doubtful. "Speak, then. If you truly have a way to help spirit beasts survive, the Star Dou Forest will count you a friend for all time. Whatever you desire can be discussed."
Truth lay only in the fist. Now that Ling Bai possessed the power to overturn the entire Star Dou Forest, Di Tian was willing to hear him out.
"Senior, have you ever heard of a God Bestowed Spirit Ring...?"