Di Tian pulled his mind away from the stagnant memories of his past. The sharp words still echoed in his ears. He had heard far more cynical and harsher accusations than this, but by now, they no longer stirred any ripples in his heart. So what if he ruled over the Soul Beast? So what if they defeated humanity? With this scattered bunch of remnants, could they actually march upon the Divine Realm?
Those unyielding dragons had long since turned to ashes in their desperate struggle against the gods, and the Dragon God had already abandoned his people... Of the true, pure-blooded dragons, only he and the Hell Demon Dragon King, Zi Ji, remained. The Dragon Clan was destroyed, and the Soul Beast were soon to follow.
Even if some residual souls of Soul Beast in energy form were still locked away within the Spirit Pagoda, what was the point? Fighting to the bitter end, for whom was it all for anyway? Di Tian had long looked past everything; success or failure had become nothing more than inconsequential dust to him.
"It seems the negotiations have broken down." His voice was flat and devoid of ripples. "We will take our leave." He had no interest in listening to the rest of their words--it was nothing more than the same old clichés repeated over and over, which had already formed calluses in his heart.
As his voice fell, Di Tian turned and walked away. Gu Yuena, who was left standing there, looked completely bewildered. Everything had been fine just a moment ago, so why did it stop so suddenly? The rest of the Soul Beast did not dare to ask too many questions and hurriedly followed after Di Tian.
Only the deep-sea trio remained, whispering among themselves as they speculated about the reason behind Di Tian's abrupt departure.
"Was it because Ulpianus spoke too sharply? Did he pile on too many professional terms that Di Tian couldn't understand?"
"After all, as soon as Ulpianus opens his mouth, he denies everything Di Tian has done from a political root. He always pokes at people's sore spots like that."
"..."
Di Tian's far-surpassing hearing caught all of these words, but he did not even move an eyebrow. Utilizing the buoyancy of the seawater, he only wanted to get away from this overly peaceful city as quickly as possible. Their group of land Soul Beast, steeped in loneliness, simply did not fit in here.
Just as Di Tian's figure was about to completely vanish past the borders of Aegir City, a crisp voice containing a hint of childishness suddenly pierced into his ears like a fine needle: "What if the Dragon God isn't dead yet?"
These words were like a clap of thunder from the highest heavens, violently exploding within Di Tian's heart! That originally robust, steady, and majestic figure abruptly froze in place.
In the next second, the entire deep sea seemed to have a pause button pressed. The city, which had previously been adorned with shimmering white light like a sea of stars, was suddenly plunged into darkness as if someone had flicked off a switch. A dense, inseparable darkness element, like spilled ink, instantly swallowed all the colors of this entire sea region. Only a pitch-black void where one could not see their own hand remained between heaven and earth, save for Di Tian's golden dragon eyes, which shone brightly in the dark like two morning stars hung in an inky sky.
No wonder he was the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King rather than some Darkness Holy Dragon or Darkness Dragon King--this innate talent to merge with darkness was etched into his very bones and blood.
Holding the deep-sea treasures that had been used to entertain the Soul Beast earlier, Hei Loulan took a slow sip, watching the fully unleashed Dragon King before her with great interest.
Peak Demigod? No, this aura... it was clearly the peak of a Quasi-god! It was even a bit more powerful than that fellow Yun Ming! She silently evaluated in her mind while chewing on a deep-sea berry from her plate.
Di Tian could no longer maintain his two-meter-tall human form. His body shot up section by section, ink-black dragon scales surging out from beneath his skin like a tide. Fearsome dragon horns pierced through his hair, pointing toward the heavens, and a thick dragon tail swept heavily behind him, creating bursts of watery vortexes.
Huge, sharp dragon teeth ground against each other within his violently heaving chest, making clicking sounds like a top-tier predator locking onto its prey--a truly spine-chilling noise.
"What did you say?" Di Tian's voice carried a tremor suppressed to the absolute limit. Searing dragon breath rolled out from the depths of his throat, and black-gold flames spilled from the corners of his mouth, dragging two burning trails of light through the darkness.
"What else could it mean?" Hei Loulan replied with an air of complete naturalness. "The Dragon God isn't dead. His corpse is submerged in the deepest part of the Dragon Cemetery, the core energy of his entire body is sealed within the divine tool, the Dragon Ascension Pillar, and even the Dragon God's Divine Seat is still drifting out in the universe--as long as there is a pure Dragon God bloodline, it can be drawn back."
These words were like a heavy sledgehammer, hitting Di Tian so hard that he forgot to swallow his dragon flames. The black-gold fire slowly flowed along his mouth, yet it did not harm him in the slightest. Seeing this, Hei Loulan stopped speaking and just lowered her head to quietly eat her fruit, leaving plenty of time for this shocked-to-silence Dragon King to digest the information.
After a long time, Di Tian finally exhaled a heavy breath of dragon fire laced with sparks, asking in a raspy voice, "Then what about the Golden and Silver Dragon Kings? Their status as half-step God King can't possibly be fake."
"Simple," Hei Loulan answered with ease. "Those are merely fragments split off from the 'Dragon God' status. The true Dragon God's divine soul is probably still sleeping in some corner of the universe."
Di Tian fell silent. He slowly exhaled a hot breath of dragon fire and turned around to sit back in his previous position. At this moment, he was no longer the majestic middle-aged man from before--his dragon scales had not receded, and his dragon horns had not been retracted. He was conversing with this seemingly childish little fellow entirely in his true form as the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King.
"Are you that newly ascended Spirit of the Plane, the deity known as 'Wan Ye'?" After completely unleashing his cultivation, Di Tian saw through Hei Loulan's background at a single glance. "But even as the Spirit of the Plane, you shouldn't know these secrets."
Hei Loulan extended her right hand, and endless golden threads of karma gathered and intertwined within her palm like a flowing river of stars. "Wan Ye has long turned the Laws of Karma into a fundamental Law of the universe. The cycle of karma is entirely within my hands--do you understand?"
Right at this moment, a streak of seven-colored lightning suddenly penetrated the sea surface, striking straight down into the deep sea! It was Di Tian's million-year tribulation for godhood--the lightning tribulation that broke the lifespan limits of Soul Beast had quietly descended at this very moment.
Di Tian looked up, his dragon eyes filled with nothing but impatience and annoyance, as if he were displeased that this lightning tribulation was interrupting his conversation.
He lifted a dragon claw, and a flash of seven-colored light passed through his palm. Following this, Di Tian's gaze focused, and his divine sense cut outward like a sharp blade, instantly dispersing that streak of light.
Immediately after, a dense-to-the-extreme dark power gathered within his claw, carrying his ultimate mastery over the laws of darkness. With just a casual swat--this Dragon King's Claw tore right through space, carrying a world-destroying might as it slammed heavily into the tribulation clouds gathering overhead!
"Now is not the time. Scram!"
A furious roar echoed through the deep sea, and the tribulation clouds were completely scattered into nothingness by this single strike. Although this million-year lightning tribulation had only just formed and had not fully exploded, it was still enough to prove one thing: it wasn't that Di Tian couldn't become a god, but rather that he simply did not want to.
"As expected." A flash of realization crossed Hei Loulan's eyes. "Your true power is hidden within your divine sense. All that surface cultivation and energy have been suppressed by you deep down--you have actually been fighting all this time using this Soul Beast body that is suppressed by the laws of the plane."
This explained why, when at the Limit Douluo level, Di Tian seemed to barely withstand even ordinary million-year lightning, yet could hold his ground against the Dragon God's divine tribulation lightning--his true cultivation and energy were completely hidden within his divine sense. His current physical body was nothing more than a skin used to deceive others.
"You want to throw this world into chaos?" After shattering the lightning tribulation, Di Tian finally grasped Hei Loulan's intentions. "You want me to cross the million-year divine tribulation, return to my peak, and become a true divine beast?"
"Not entirely." Hei Loulan shrugged. "The endless negative karma you've accumulated over hundreds of thousands of years is enough to trigger a battle of karma just by the single act of becoming a god, bringing down a Fruit of Myriad Karma. Once you become a god and go to the Dragon Cemetery to confront the Dragon God--that will be yet another battle of karma, which brings massive benefits to me."
Di Tian stared at her, his gaze as sharp as a knife. "Aren't you afraid that after I break through, I'll slaughter all of humanity?" He had completely come to understand that this little fellow in front of him was utterly lawless--the life or death of humanity mattered nothing to her. As long as the Laws of Karma kept operating, she stood to profit. Was Wan Ye... someone who only looked at "cause" and "effect"?
Hei Loulan raised an eyebrow and didn't answer directly.
Di Tian, however, suddenly crossed his arms, his tone resolute and decisive: "Explain everything you know about the Dragon God clearly. Then I will agree to your proposal." He had actually gone right ahead and made the decision on behalf of his nominal master, Gu Yuena.