Di Tian's Fury

When the Auspicious Beast was born, heaven and earth changed. The entire Star Dou Great Forest was dyed gold.

Every soul beast in the Star Dou Forest with more than a hundred thousand years of cultivation set out without prior arrangement, heading for the southeastern region of Star Dou.

Under normal circumstances, they would have started fighting at once over territorial disputes... but the birth of the Auspicious Beast was, after all, unlike any ordinary day.

The giant beasts moved through the forest. Some were already known to humanity, while others existed beyond human legends—from the birth of Star Dou until now, the southeastern woods had likely never gathered so many Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts.

They stood silently around that woodland clearing, watching with joy and reverence as the golden little beast that carried the fortune of soul beasts crawled out of its eggshell... as though attending a solemn ceremony celebrating new life.

Naturally, the best viewing positions belonged to the most powerful Fierce Beasts of the Star Dou Forest.

A handsome middle-aged man stood at the very front, his face carrying relief and a hint of fervor that others found difficult to detect.

A massive black tiger crouched at his right.

Tiger Empress Dark Cloud had only recently given birth to her sole cub. Maternal affection overflowing, she watched the golden little beast stagger to its feet, her amethyst-like eyes filled with tenderness.

Bi Ji leaned against the giant tiger's foreleg, her eyes curved into crescents as one jade-like hand covered her lips. "Ah, the Auspicious Beast is just too adorable." She could not help sighing softly.

Even Myriad Demon King, whose body radiated sinister energy, showed a trace of gentleness in his eyes. Yet beneath that gentleness, his eerie jade-green gaze concealed spreading ambition.

A little farther back, Scarlet King's three large heads strained forward, while the tails behind his rear even wagged. He looked exactly like a foolish dog.

Fox King beside him rolled his eyes at him disdainfully. Then he turned his head, anticipation and reverence on his long, narrow fox face, though a flicker of calculation passed through his eyes before vanishing in an instant.

As for Bear Lord... taking advantage of the fact that Di Tian and the Tiger Empress were not looking at him, his massive head was filled with undisguised cunning. It was practically the opposite of his species' usual traits. No one knew what he was thinking, but his narrowed beady eyes practically spelled out, I need to stir something up and squeeze some benefits out of the Auspicious Beast.

Among these Fierce Beasts of Star Dou, it was truly obvious at a glance who was clever and who was foolish.

The soul beasts with lower cultivation likely felt only reverence and joy at the Auspicious Beast's birth, but the Fierce Beasts each had their own calculations.

Suddenly, the Tiger Empress's expression froze. She spoke in a low voice. "Something's wrong. The Auspicious Beast is afraid."

Not long after crawling out of its shell, the Auspicious Beast had begun to growl uneasily. That was clearly abnormal.

Beast God Di Tian narrowed his brilliant golden eyes, his expression turning extremely ugly.

"The Auspicious Beast can perceive fate and discover hidden dangers. It cannot possibly fear soul beasts... Could humans be lying in wait nearby?"

"Di Tian, could the phenomenon between heaven and earth have alerted those mongrel humans under the Angel God?" Myriad Demon King asked in a lowered voice.

Among the strongest beings of the current age, aside from Di Tian, only the two Rank 99 Limit Douluo of Spirit Hall and Sea God Island could wield divine power.

As though thinking of a certain possibility, Di Tian's aura abruptly tightened.

In an instant, darkness within several kilometers surged soundlessly like a tsunami. A violet-black dragon head condensed behind him and silently roared toward the heavens.

Terrifying pressure descended, and every soul beast with lower cultivation trembled.

Bear Lord beside him jolted as if someone had stepped on his tail. He cautiously glanced at Di Tian and only relaxed after discovering that the Beast God was not deliberately warning him. Still, every trace of calculation vanished from his beady eyes.

Yet no one knew whether he had truly abandoned his little schemes.

The Auspicious Beast cub at the center of the storm seemed completely immune to the terrifying pressure emanating from Di Tian. It noticed nothing at all.

Yet things did not unfold as the Fierce Beasts had expected. No human powerhouse hidden nearby was frightened into revealing themselves by Di Tian's pressure.

"What... did the Auspicious Beast sense?" Bi Ji nervously clutched a tuft of short fur on Tiger Empress Dark Cloud's foreleg. "It actually smashed its own eggshell..."

"Do eggshells hold some special significance for your oviparous races?" Tiger Empress Dark Cloud asked in confusion, her ears raised.

"Oviparous soul beasts differ from viviparous soul beasts. When we are born, our mothers may not necessarily be by our side. Therefore, the eggshell not only protects the young, but also contains energy that can be absorbed by the hatchling," the Emerald Swan explained softly.

"The eggshells of the most powerful races even contain inherited memories... This is a newborn's first meal. If its mother is not nearby, the energy within the shell is enough for the young to grow until it can barely protect itself." Bi Ji gave a bitter smile as she spoke. "The Auspicious Beast did not eat its shell... I'm afraid that may cause some hidden problems."

"So that's how it is." Dark Cloud nodded. She had lived for a very long time, yet had never paid attention to the secrets of other races' births. "Then an oviparous soul beast's eggshell is roughly equivalent to the colostrum of viviparous soul beasts?"

Bi Ji nodded.

The black tiger's feline face scrunched into a frown.

"The Auspicious Beast is this anxious, yet we cannot discover where the danger is coming from. We have truly failed in our duty." Tiger Empress Dark Cloud sighed in frustration.

Yet before she could finish speaking, she suddenly froze. The fur on the back of her neck stood on end, a threatening growl spilling from her throat as she warily raised her head and looked around.

"What is it?" Bi Ji became nervous as well.

"Someone is watching," the giant tiger said briefly, her voice taut as a fully drawn bow.

She could sense a gaze sweeping over them.

That gaze looked down from above, carrying malicious scrutiny, yet it seemed very distant. If she had not already been on edge and alert to her surroundings, she could easily have overlooked that fluctuation.

Upon hearing her words, Myriad Demon King beside her also furrowed his brow. Bear Lord, meanwhile, rudely stared at the other soul beasts, seemingly trying to identify which one was brazenly watching him like that.

Di Tian... his expression had not looked good since earlier, but now it darkened further, as though water could drip from it.

"I..." Bi Ji had sensed nothing.

Looking at the heavy atmosphere, she seemed somewhat lost and helpless.

Fox King and Scarlet King nearby were equally baffled.

"Your races are not as sensitive to combat. It is normal that you cannot sense anything unusual," Dark Cloud explained in a low voice.

In terms of combat instinct, Bi Ji, who had been fed on heavenly treasures, and the weaker Scarlet King and Fox King naturally could not compare to Star Dou's few peak combatants.

Di Tian raised his head and gazed through layer upon layer of branches and leaves at the sapphire-blue sky.

There was not a trace of cloud in the clear sky, yet a shadow flashed through those brilliant golden dragon eyes.

Beast God Di Tian stood at the pinnacle of this world. So long as he remained in Star Dou, no one could bypass him and threaten the Imperial Auspicious Beast.

Even Sea God Island and Spirit Hall, those Limit Douluo closely connected to the Divine Realm, could do nothing to him.

Therefore, that invisible existence capable of making the Imperial Auspicious Beast feel threatened, along with that nearly undisguised surveillance... could only have come from one place.

The Divine Realm.

"I'm leaving for a while," Di Tian said gravely. "Dark Cloud, the Auspicious Beast will be in your care for now."

With that, he rose into the air, transformed into a giant black dragon, and flew into the distance.

The Divine Realm's decision to investigate Douluo's lower realm at this time might have been aimed at the Auspicious Beast.

If his senses were correct, the Auspicious Beast possessed a thread of exceptionally pure Dragon clan bloodline of an extraordinarily high rank.

Or perhaps it was merely coincidence, but Di Tian did not dare gamble on it. After all, beneath the Lake of Life lay the Dragon clan's last hope, the sovereign of all soul beasts on Douluo Continent—the Silver Dragon King.

The Silver Dragon King was hidden beneath the Star Dou Forest and absolutely could not be discovered by the Divine Realm.

He had to notify his lord immediately.

At the time, he had almost instinctively wanted to return to the Lake of Life through spatial transfer, but the next moment, Di Tian dismissed the thought.

The Divine Realm should not yet know that the Silver Dragon King was hidden beneath the Star Dou Great Forest, but as a former Dragon God guard and the patriarch of the Black Dragon clan, he had naturally been marked by the Divine Realm.

And this investigation had come so suddenly that, if not for the newborn Auspicious Beast sensing it, even Di Tian himself might not have noticed. If he returned directly to the Lake of Life, would he not expose the Silver Dragon King's hiding place?

After the Dragon clan fell from power, the Divine Realm had actually suppressed them to such an extent... monstrous fury surged in the Beast God's eyes before he forcibly suppressed it.

When his lord's injuries recovered, the Dragon God's return would be close at hand.

And with the Dragon God's return, the Dragon clan would reclaim its former glory.

With a beat of his broad dragon wings, Di Tian flew away from the Star Dou Great Forest.

After quite some time, Tiger Empress Dark Cloud felt that the loathsome sensation of being watched had disappeared as well, and only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.

The massive black tiger stepped forward, carefully picked up Wang Rui, who was sleeping soundly amid a patch of dried slime and letting out tiny snores, then placed him between her forelegs. She carefully licked his golden fur smooth and tucked him beneath her belly.

"Very well, everyone." Dark Cloud turned toward the many Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, who were restlessly unsettled by Di Tian's sudden departure. "The Beast God left instructions that the Auspicious Beast is to be raised by me for the time being. The Auspicious Beast is still young, but if you wish, you may visit the Lake of Life to pay respects to it in the future."

"For now, please return," Dark Cloud said coldly.

But her imposing tiger eyes clearly conveyed, Go do whatever you need to do. Don't come disturb the Auspicious Beast.

"Wait!" Bear Lord suddenly spoke. "I'm afraid it is inappropriate for the Tiger Empress to raise the Auspicious Beast!"

Bear Lord, you're in danger--