"Lord?"
The Evil Emperor's shrouding mist surged violently the instant it saw the silver dragon scale Di Tian revealed. The Evil Eye Tyrants beside it immediately retreated, not daring to meet its sharp aura head-on.
In the blink of an eye, the Evil Emperor appeared before Di Tian, its massive eye locked unerringly on the silver scale in his hand.
Only after a long silence did it withdraw to its original position. Its tentacles swayed as it coldly declared:
"She is not my lord, Di Tian! The Evil Demon Forest does not welcome you. Leave."
Di Tian's expression remained calm as he said:
"Do you think I came bearing only a scale?"
From the dragon scale, the aura of the Silver Dragon King spread forth. All the trees throughout the Evil Demon Forest bent and lowered themselves in submission.
The Evil Eye Tyrants cowered behind the Evil Emperor, trembling in terror. Even the Evil Emperor itself could hardly withstand the might of the Silver Dragon King's aura!
"Di Tian! What exactly does the Star Dou Forest intend to do?"
"By my lord's command," Di Tian answered, "all soul beasts in this world are to be united under one banner."
The Evil Emperor lashed out with its tentacles in fury:
"Then let the Silver Dragon King come here in person! You are not worthy enough—leave!"
Di Tian's brows furrowed as he evaded the blow. He returned the words coldly:
"The Silver Dragon King is sovereign of all soul beasts. Evil Emperor, you are the one unworthy of demanding her personal presence!"
"Bah! Stop trying to gild your own faces with false glory!" the Evil Emperor spat back, its voice frigid and scornful. "The Silver Dragon King may be your so-called sovereign, but she is not mine! To me, she is nothing more than a wounded fugitive who came to the Douluo Continent to hide and heal. Soul Beast Sovereign? Don't make me laugh!"
Di Tian's expression darkened, his voice lowering:
"Do you mean to betray the Dragon God?"
"I am not of the dragon race. What betrayal is there to speak of?" the Evil Emperor retorted.
Di Tian's fists clenched tight. He wanted to teach this insolent eye a lesson, yet he hesitated—if they fought here, the humans of the Holy Spirit Cult within the forest might discover them. Even though those humans were evil soul masters, they were still human.
The Silver Dragon King's plan must not be exposed to mankind!
After restraining himself again and again, Di Tian finally exhaled deeply and said:
"Do you know why my lord commanded me to unite all soul beasts?"
"I don't know, don't care, and have no interest in knowing. Begone." The Evil Emperor fired back with four successive refusals, leaving Di Tian at a loss for how to continue.
Di Tian fell silent. The Evil Emperor, however, mocked him further:
"Di Tian, have you spent so much time with humans that you've picked up their tiresome habit of endless chatter? Speak directly. Are you a soul beast, or a human now?"
The corner of Di Tian's mouth twitched, anger simmering, yet he still managed to convey the matter in the briefest of terms.
Even after hearing everything, the Evil Emperor refused. It would not involve itself in the grudges between soul beasts and gods.
"You don't fear the heavenly tribulation?" Di Tian pressed.
"I still have tens of thousands of years left to live," the Evil Emperor said indifferently. "That's more than enough time for my Evil Eye Tyrant race to give birth to several more rulers. What should I fear?"
Faced with the Evil Emperor's unyielding obstinacy, Di Tian found himself speechless.
"Evil Emperor, one day you will regret this. This world belongs to those who advance! Forget tens of thousands of years—even within a few short years, mankind may undergo earth-shaking changes. And then you still dream of peacefully guarding this little patch of forest? Wishful thinking!"
With that final warning, Di Tian departed from the Evil Demon Forest.
His words, however, left the Evil Emperor in contemplation. After he vanished, it muttered to itself:
"What in the world has gotten into the Silver Dragon King? She lay dormant for tens of thousands of years, and now suddenly she seeks to strike back against the gods?"
"Could it be that she has remained too long within this forest, blind to the current state of the human world?"
Yet whenever humans intruded into the Evil Demon Forest, aside from occasionally tinkering with strange contraptions the Evil Emperor did not understand, they seemed no different from those of ten thousand years ago.
"What has truly changed… in the world of humans?"
The Evil Emperor pondered, then cast its gaze upon the Evil Eye Tyrants before it. Selecting one at the hundred-thousand-year level, it commanded:
"You will go into the human world. Investigate thoroughly, learn everything you can, and report back to me."
"Evil Emperor, the human Titled Douluo will surely detect me!" the hundred-thousand-year Evil Eye Tyrant whispered, its voice unexpectedly that of a delicate young girl.
"With me here, what do you fear?"
The Evil Emperor stretched out countless tentacles, wrapping around it and reshaping its form. When it emerged, it was no longer a beast, but a human maiden.
"Like this, you'll be fine," the Evil Emperor said. "As long as you don't parade yourself before the Limit Douluo, they won't notice you beneath the cover of my power."
The transformed girl blinked in confusion, staring at her hands. "Evil Emperor, what… what do I look like now?"
"You resemble that human female cloaked in black fire—the one those humans brought back not long ago. I modeled you after her."
The Evil Emperor rarely remembered faces, but the sight of Long Xiaoyao leading Ma Xiaotao, engulfed in black flames, had left a deep impression. That strange black fire, combined with Long Xiaoyao, a Limit Douluo, had seared itself into its memory. Naturally, it chose to mold the girl into Ma Xiaotao's likeness.
The newly-formed "Evil Sovereign Maiden" bowed deeply, then set off toward the human world.
Meanwhile, in the mountain ranges of the Heavenly Soul Empire, fierce arguments were erupting within the main hall of the Body Sect.
When Poison Undying announced his plan to lead the sect into the Sun Moon Empire, the elders—led by the Golden Body Douluo—as well as a large number of disciples, vehemently opposed him.
"Sect Master, what promises did the Sun Moon Empire make to you?" Golden Body Douluo demanded gravely. "That you would betray the Three Kingdoms of Douluo for them?"
"Golden Body, this old man is the sect master of the Body Sect!" Poison Undying replied coldly, his brow furrowing.
"You will regret this decision, Sect Master!" Golden Body Douluo shot back.
"Yes, Sect Master! To move to the Sun Moon Empire is to betray our ancestors and the Three Kingdoms of Douluo!"
"Sect Master, reconsider!"
"We beg the Sect Master to rescind this order!"
One after another, elders and disciples bowed, pleading for him to retract his decision.
With so many opposing voices, Poison Undying's expression grew increasingly grim. The oppressive might of a level ninety-eight Super Douluo unfurled from him, forcing Golden Body Douluo and the others to retreat a few steps under the suffocating pressure.
Poison Undying said sternly:
"I understand your concerns. But moving to the Sun Moon Empire does not mean we will aid them in waging war against the Three Kingdoms! The Body Sect will remain the Body Sect. It is merely a change of location—nothing more!"
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