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"Why?"
Although Di Tian acknowledged that he was no match for Lan Minghua, he showed no signs of backing down. Instead, he stared intently at the man before him.
"You slaughtered the powerful members of the spirit beast clans. As the Beast God, how could I possibly stand by and do nothing!"
Hearing this, Lan Minghua had a moment of feigned realization, striking his right fist into his left palm.
"Oh, you must be talking about that little gorilla, that little mudfish, and that little rabbit!"
Di Tian snorted coldly, his voice thick with anger. "Hmph, why else would you think I came looking for you?"
At this point, a bitter smile touched his lips.
"It takes you humans only a few decades to become a Titled Douluo. But for one of us spirit beasts to reach that same level of power requires a full one hundred thousand years. Even for the most gifted races, it still takes tens of thousands of years."
Lan Minghua glanced at Di Tian and retorted, "That may be true, but you're ignoring the lifespan of humans. You spirit beasts have almost no upper limit; you can easily live for thousands or even tens of thousands of years. Living that long naturally comes with a price. Otherwise, wouldn't your spirit beast race reign supreme over everything?"
Di Tian, of course, understood this principle. What he was truly referring to were the gods of the God Realm. In the mortal world, spirit beasts held an absolute advantage in terms of lifespan. However, that advantage meant nothing to the gods. His speech was merely an attempt to evoke sympathy from Lan Minghua, hoping the man would leave so he could find the time to resurrect the Silver Dragon King, Gu Yuena. He never expected Lan Minghua to so directly and effectively dismantle his argument, leaving him speechless.
Lan Minghua saw right through Di Tian's little scheme and found it amusing.
Di Tian has lived for so long, yet his acting is still so terrible. If he had knelt down and begged for mercy, I might have actually believed him. But trying to play the victim with me? Is he taking me for a fool?
He felt that Di Tian, and by extension the entire spirit beast race, could still be useful. He stroked his chin, lost in thought.
I've already made enemies of those petty gods in the God Realm, so a battle is inevitable. Although I already possess the power of a Supreme God-King, it's hard to fight against overwhelming numbers. The original Dragon God was also a Supreme God-King, and didn't he ultimately fall to the combined might of the five great God-Kings? Of course, perhaps the Dragon God wasn't defeated by them, but by his own nature. After all, his final words were: 'My division was not a defeat at your hands, but a defeat at the hands of my own greed…' But in the end, he was still defeated. Therefore, I can't get too arrogant; there are still risks. So, finding an ally would be a good idea.
And the spirit beast race, which harbored a deep-seated resentment towards the God Realm, was undoubtedly the perfect choice.
With this thought, Lan Minghua understood what he had to do.
He looked at Di Tian and said dismissively, "You've said so much just because you want me to let you go, haven't you? Aren't you ashamed, saying such things at your age?"
Having his inner thoughts exposed, Di Tian's old face flushed with embarrassment, and he wished the ground would open up and swallow him whole. Thankfully, there are no other spirit beasts for a hundred miles. If word of today's events got out, my reputation would be utterly ruined.
He took a deep breath, believing that the matter could not be resolved peacefully. His only choice was to fight to the death.
"Sigh. My Lord, your subject is incompetent. I fear I must awaken you ahead of schedule."
Without hesitation, Di Tian slowly closed his eyes. The next moment, his dragon soul began to burn with intense heat, as if it were about to burst into flames.
Lan Minghua rolled his eyes and muttered, "Honestly, rushing to your death without even letting me finish my sentence? What's all this about? So annoying!"
Before his words faded, he vanished with a whoosh.
Bang!
With a dull thud, Di Tian, who had closed his eyes and was just about to burn his dragon soul to awaken Gu Yuena and gain the temporary power of a God-King to defeat Lan Minghua, felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. His eyelids flew open, and his two dragon eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of their sockets.
His ritual to burn his dragon soul and flesh had been interrupted.
Di Tian's eyes were wide, his massive draconic pupils filled with utter disbelief.
"H-how is this possible!"
The Dragon Soul Sacrifice was his final trump card and the only means he had to awaken the Silver Dragon King. Yet, his ultimate forbidden technique had been interrupted by this human who looked no better than a beggar!
Lan Minghua paid no mind to Di Tian's thoughts. He patted one of his dragon horns and said teasingly, "Young man—no, old fellow, you're so much older than me, yet you don't even understand the principle of 'as long as the green hills remain, there will be no shortage of firewood.' Besides, I never said I was going to kill you."
Hearing this, Di Tian seemed to realize something and snorted coldly. "Hmph, this lord is loyal only to my master. If you want me to be your mount, you can keep dreaming! We dragons would rather die in battle than live in disgrace! If you have the guts, let me burn my dragon soul and fight you to the death!"
Lan Minghua scoffed, his voice calm. "What, you want to risk your life for three 'beast traitors'? Fine. If you're so eager to die, I'll grant you your wish."
The words "beast traitors" made Di Tian's eyes sharpen with clarity.
"'Beast traitors'? Are you saying that the Sky Blue Bull Python and the other two are traitors to the spirit beast race?!"
But the moment the thought appeared, Di Tian immediately dismissed it. The Sky Blue Bull Python was his chosen representative; it was impossible for him to betray the spirit beasts.
As if seeing through Di Tian's thoughts, Lan Minghua lay back on the dragon's head and spoke leisurely.
"Let's not talk about anything else, just the matter of your 100,000-year-old spirit beasts transforming. As far as I know, a 100,000-year-old Blue Silver Emperor transformed, found a human man, had a child, and ended up sacrificing herself. Not long ago, the Sky Blue Bull Python's sister, that hooligan rabbit, also found a human man. If I hadn't intervened, she would have sacrificed herself for that human man as well."
At these words, Di Tian's pupils shrank. How could this be? How could a spirit beast mix with a human? It's fake. He must be lying to me.
Sensing Di Tian's shock, Lan Minghua chuckled to himself.
If he knew that in the future, Gu Yuena herself would end up with Tang San's son, would his entire worldview collapse? Though I suppose you can't really put it that way. After all, Tang San himself is a half-breed. The child he had with that hooligan rabbit also has the bloodline of the Golden Dragon King. Tang Wulin's bloodline is an absolute mess. In the end, Gu Yuena and Tang Wulin will return to the God Realm and reunite with Tang San and Xiao Wu. As for the spirit beast race? Gu Yuena will have probably forgotten all about it.
Viewed this way, Di Tian was a truly tragic character. It seemed everything he had sacrificed for the spirit beasts would never be repaid.
Faced with the facts, Di Tian had no choice but to acknowledge the truth. But he did not yield. "Hmph, whether they sacrifice themselves or not is their choice. That doesn't make them 'beast traitors'," he said coldly.
"Well, if them accompanying humans to hunt spirit beasts for their spirit rings doesn't count as being a 'beast traitor,' then I have nothing more to say."
Lan Minghua wasn't making things up. Xiao Wu had accompanied humans into the Star Dou Great Forest on their hunts several times. Even if she didn't participate directly, the fact remained.
This statement left Di Tian choking on his words. If that doesn't count as betrayal, then would they have to kill me, the Beast God, to be considered traitors?! He was left speechless by Lan Minghua's argument, unable to find a single word in rebuttal.
However, Di Tian still believed that Lan Minghua was saying all this just to make him a mount. Preferring a noble death to a dishonorable life, he once again began to ignite his dragon soul, preparing to awaken Gu Yuena and fight to the last.
Lan Minghua rolled his eyes. If he wouldn't listen to reason, then it was time to use force.
"I've humored you long enough, haven't I?! If that's how you want to play it, then you can obediently become my mount!"
"True Dragon's Precious Art: Dragon Taming Technique!"
(End of Chapter)