Bargaining with a Dragon

Ning Qiu deliberately stopped speaking at that point.

The Silver Dragon King looked at Ning Qiu. Her deep eyes revealed nothing of what she was thinking.

As for Sky Azure Bull Python Da Ming, Titan Giant Ape Er Ming, and Emerald Swan Bi Ji, their expressions grew somewhat grave.

What Ning Qiu had said was true. If this continued, Star Dou Great Forest would inevitably cease to exist one day. Countless soul beasts would also be driven to extinction by the unrestrained slaughter of soul masters.

"You think I can do nothing against humanity?" the Silver Dragon King asked calmly.

"Respected Silver Dragon King, do you not know the state of your own body right now?" Ning Qiu countered.

The Silver Dragon King's gaze darkened as she looked at Xiao Wu.

"It wasn't me. I didn't tell him anything," Xiao Wu hurriedly explained.

Yet the Silver Dragon King's gaze toward Xiao Wu remained as cold as ever. Clearly, she did not believe her.

"Silver Dragon King, I know that you are injured right now, and seriously so. Without twenty or thirty thousand years, you will never fully recover. Until then, you cannot lead the soul beasts into war against humanity. Don't blame Xiao Wu; she truly told me nothing. And don't be hostile toward me, either. I came all this way to solve your problem," Ning Qiu said evenly.

Well versed in the storyline of Douluo, Ning Qiu knew that the Silver Dragon King was currently recuperating within Star Lake—the Lake of Life. He also knew that, twenty thousand years later, soul masters would develop weapons with considerable destructive power, such as Guiding Cannons, Bursting Bullets, Decomposition Cannons, and Fixed-Pattern Soul Cannons.

By then, the Silver Dragon King's injuries would have healed, but soul beasts would no longer be a match for humanity. Forced into a corner, the Silver Dragon King would have no choice but to enter the human world and adopt a strategy of understanding it before conquering it.

The Silver Dragon King before him was not her true body, but merely an image projection of her. It could be understood as a clone.

"You're saying you want to help us soul beasts?" the Silver Dragon King asked skeptically.

"Yes." Ning Qiu nodded.

"Why?" the Silver Dragon King asked.

"Of course, I have conditions as well. I can help you soul beasts resolve the crisis you will face in the future, but you must also agree to my terms," Ning Qiu said.

"As expected of a human—never acting without profit." The Silver Dragon King smiled as though it were only natural. "First, tell me how you plan to help us soul beasts resolve the crisis we will face in the future."

"You should recognize this, right?" Seeing the Silver Dragon King's curiosity, Ning Qiu knew there was hope. He took a golden, round object from his Storage Soul Tool.

The round object was small, only the size of an egg, and emitted a gentle golden glow. Any soul master or soul beast could sense the considerable energy contained within it.

"An Inner Core?" The Silver Dragon King stiffened, her tone somewhat surprised.

The Silver Dragon King was surprised because she knew that such a thing did not exist in this plane. The object in Ning Qiu's hand existed only in other high-energy worlds.

The Silver Dragon King was a fragment born from the Dragon God of the Divine Realm's division, inheriting the Dragon God's memories. That was why she recognized at once that the golden round object in Ning Qiu's hand was an Inner Core found only within beasts.

"Sharp eyes. This is indeed an Inner Core." To achieve his goal, Ning Qiu knew it was time to say something pleasant for the Silver Dragon King to hear.

"Who are you? Where did you come from? And how did you obtain this Inner Core?" the Silver Dragon King fired off questions in rapid succession.

"My name is Ning Qiu. I come from Holy Soul Village in Fasinuo Province of the Balak Kingdom, Heaven Dou Empire. As for this Inner Core in my hand, it came from the Treasure Pavilion in my village," Ning Qiu answered in detail.

"You're saying this came from the Treasure Pavilion of a small village?" the Silver Dragon King asked in astonishment.

"Yes. With your wisdom, I'm sure you can see that as long as soul masters possess Inner Cores, they can avoid hunting soul beasts. The future crisis your soul beasts will face can then be resolved." Ning Qiu smiled.

"You mean you can mass-produce Inner Cores?" the Silver Dragon King asked, astonished.

"In a sense, you could understand it that way." Ning Qiu nodded.

"Are you joking? Obtaining an Inner Core still requires hunting demon beasts or spirit beasts. This plane has only soul beasts—how could mass production possibly be feasible?" The Silver Dragon King smiled disdainfully.

"You are correct. But my Treasure Pavilion is an exception. Even without hunting demon beasts or spirit beasts, as long as one has enough Contribution Points, one can exchange them for Inner Cores in my Treasure Pavilion," Ning Qiu replied.

"Treasure Pavilion?" the Silver Dragon King murmured, repeating the words.

"My lord, Brother's Treasure Pavilion really can exchange for Inner Cores. Not just Inner Cores—even soul rings and soul bones can be exchanged there," Xiao Wu could not help interjecting.

Kind-hearted by nature, Xiao Wu had finally understood Ning Qiu's purpose in coming here. She immediately could not help speaking up in support of him.

Brother?

The Silver Dragon King glanced at Xiao Wu. A soul beast had actually acknowledged a human as her brother.

Of course, the Silver Dragon King did not dwell too much on Xiao Wu recognizing a human as her brother. After all, Xiao Wu was destined to completely become human in the future.

What Xiao Wu said was also true.

Mu Chen's Treasure Pavilion was currently Level 1. It could exchange for ten-year soul rings and soul bones. However, the soul bones were only ten-year soul bones, and exceptionally poor-quality ones at that.

"Then I would quite like to visit your Treasure Pavilion and take a look," the Silver Dragon King murmured, tempted.

"There will be an opportunity." Ning Qiu smiled.

"Now, tell me your conditions." The Silver Dragon King stared at Ning Qiu.

"My condition is simple. At least three soul beasts must become registered villagers of my Holy Soul Village," Ning Qiu said.

"That's all?" The Silver Dragon King looked astonished.

Having inherited the Dragon God's memories, the Silver Dragon King knew that humans were creatures of boundless greed. Otherwise, the Dragon God would not have been defeated by the human gods and ultimately forced to split in two. She did not believe Ning Qiu's request could be so simple.

"Yes, that's all." Ning Qiu nodded.

"Having three soul beasts register as villagers of your village will resolve the future crisis facing soul beasts?" the Silver Dragon King asked skeptically.

"Respected Silver Dragon King, I believe you may have misunderstood. What I mean is that I have the ability to resolve the future crisis soul beasts will face. It's simply that I do not yet possess that ability at present. You and I are like allies now. Yes, allies. Allies for a better future," Ning Qiu said.

The Silver Dragon King fell silent.

Ning Qiu's Soul Power was very low at present. She was confident she could easily kill him. Yet his words were coherent from beginning to end, and there was not the slightest flicker in his eyes. He did not seem to be lying.

"Give it a try. If you don't try, there'll be no chance. Trying won't do any harm." Seeing through the Silver Dragon King's thoughts, Ning Qiu continued persuading her kindly.