Ocean War

Perhaps sensing his thoughts, Dai Yun'er saw that her father had been staring at her. Favored as she was, she immediately stepped forward and asked in a clear voice.

"Father, is there something you need Yun'er to do?"

"Yes." Dai Tianling stroked his most beloved daughter. A flash of tenderness passed through his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by coldness.

Royal marriages required families of equal standing. Political marriages had their own methods, and marriages among Soul Masters were no different—either a gifted young woman or a powerful female expert whose talent had already been realized.

A princess who was ugly and mediocre would likely only disgust the other party.

Dai Yun'er was not only Dai Tianling's favorite daughter, but also the most talented of all his children. With Twin Martial Souls—the Spirit Eyes and the Hell Spirit Cat—she was guaranteed to become a Super Douluo in the future, with every hope of reaching Limit Douluo.

He knew Tong Yu well. He was admittedly rather ugly, and nearly sixty years older than Yun'er, but he had no family, and all his direct relatives had passed away. Calling it a marriage alliance with Yun'er was practically no different from marrying into the royal family.

Besides, for Soul Masters, Titled Douluo retained their youth forever. The difference in age was not a problem.

His mentor had died, the empire was about to fall into turmoil, and Amatory Douluo, the Tang Sect's vice sect master, had come to visit. The current royal family needed a Limit Douluo to intimidate petty schemers.

Ah... Yun'er will have to suffer a little.

"Yun'er, Father will arrange a marriage for you."

"I don't want to!" Dai Yun'er pouted as she refused.

Girls matured early. She knew that, like the elder sisters in the palace, she was being turned into a tool for a marriage alliance. She hated this feeling of having no freedom.

Unable to meet her stern father's eyes, she turned to look at her mother, as though asking: Mother, didn't you tell Yun'er that Yun'er was talented enough not to be forced like her sisters? That she could be free?

The Empress's heart softened at her gaze. Just as she was about to speak, she met Dai Tianling's cold eyes and saw him shake his head in refusal.

"Yun'er, be good." Dai Yun'er's mother patted her head, while tears faintly welled at the corners of her eyes.

"There are no private matters in the imperial family."

"This is only an engagement for now. The wedding will wait until you grow up. Once you are grown, you will understand."

At this moment, Dai Tianling no longer looked at his wife and daughter. He feared that his resolve would soften, and he had more important matters to attend to.

He summoned a trusted subordinate and issued an imperial decree: "The case involving His Excellency Qilin Douluo in years past was a wrongful conviction. Today, his name is cleared. He is hereby appointed Imperial Preceptor of the empire and promoted to Master of the Royal Offering Hall. He shall succeed the late Dean En Ci as the dean of Monster Academy."

"..."

On one side, the Star Luo Empire's man-made storm raged fiercely; on the other, the natural waves upon the boundless Vast Ocean surged just as violently.

Di Tian did not spread his dragon wings to fly. Instead, he strode across the surface of the boundless Vast Ocean, treading water as he rode the waves.

As he listened to the Demon Empress's account, he also sensed the immeasurable might of the sea, which occupied seven-tenths of the Douluo Plane.

By the time they neared the coastline of the continent where the Sun Moon Federation was located, Di Tian had finally finished hearing the Demon Empress's account of the changes among the sea Soul Beasts.

After the first-generation Sea God, Poseidon, created his own godhood and ascended to godhood, the sea Soul Beasts of the ocean split into two factions.

The Sea God Faction, led by the Demon Spirit Great White Sharks, was formed by powerful sea Soul Beasts such as the merfolk.

The Anti-Sea God Faction, led by the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King, was formed by powerful sea Soul Beasts such as the Evil Orca King.

The Anti-Sea God Faction had been treated by the Sea God as a whetstone for tempering his successors, allowing it to endure. Yet after repeated blows, it gradually declined. The Deep Sea Demonic Whale King and the Evil Orca King fell, and the Demon Empress took up the banner of the Anti-Sea God Faction.

This slump continued until the God Realm vanished several thousand years ago. The Sea God Faction lost its most important support, and those sea Soul Beasts that had once been oppressed promptly joined the Anti-Sea God Faction. They launched relentless hunts against the sea Soul Beast races under the Sea God Faction, igniting a massive Ocean War.

The Demon Empress also attacked Sea God Island with a tidal wave every three days and a tsunami every five. Countless sea Soul Beasts perished. Only a small branch fled to the continent, its whereabouts unknown, while Sea God Island was completely submerged beneath the boundless Vast Ocean.

The Sea God of the God Realm had become unreachable, and Sea God Island had been destroyed by the Demon Empress. It was the moment when the Sea God Faction and the Anti-Sea God Faction reversed their positions of offense and defense.

The merfolk, originally part of the Sea God Faction, saw their leader, the Sea Princess, overcome the heavenly tribulation of a seven-hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast. She successfully condensed the Yin-Yang Complement Dual Soul Cores, becoming the foremost sea Soul Beast in Spiritual Power. She was no weaker than the Evil Emperor of old and nearly invincible in the ocean.

The Sea Princess's Spiritual Power was formidable, making her even more suited to seizing authority over the sea. Thus, in the depths of the ocean, even the Demon Empress found it difficult to kill her.

Just when the sea Soul Beasts of the Sea God Faction believed the situation had turned around and hope had returned, the Sea Princess, on behalf of the merfolk, unilaterally announced their withdrawal from the Sea God Faction.

She gathered sea Soul Beasts unwilling to participate in the Ocean War and established an independent Neutral Faction, separate from both the Sea God Faction and the Anti-Sea God Faction.

To extinguish the fury of the Anti-Sea God Faction led by the Demon Empress and preserve the merfolk, the Sea Princess even personally acted against certain sea Soul Beasts of the Sea God Faction.

Yet, when the final Ocean War between the two major factions was nearing its end, with the Anti-Sea God Faction about to claim a narrow and costly victory—

She struck with thunderous force, saving Demon Spirit Great White Shark King Xiao Bai, the former mount of the first-generation Sea God Poseidon, along with the last surviving remnants of the Demon Spirit Great White Sharks.

Her explanation to the Anti-Sea God Faction was naturally, "Xiao Bai and I are beloved friends, sisters closer than blood. The Demon Spirit Great White Sharks have already been crippled and pose no threat. We are all sea Soul Beasts, so why must we slaughter them to the last?"

But they were all savage beasts who had fought their way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Who among them was foolish enough not to see through the Sea Princess's masterful fence-sitting?

By preserving the Sea God Faction's leader and the first-generation Sea God's mount, she retained room to maneuver between both sides.

The Anti-Sea God Faction agreed—or rather, they had no choice but to agree. After their bloody battle with the Sea God Faction, their strength had fallen drastically. They were no match for the Neutral Faction centered around the Sea Princess.

After this Ocean War, which had nearly swept through all sea Soul Beasts, the overall strength of sea Soul Beasts dropped by an entire level.

In particular, more than half of the Hundred-Thousand-Year Sea Soul Beast Kings and savage beasts above two hundred thousand years had fallen, causing a drastic reduction in high-end combat power.

Of course, in terms of numbers, they still far outnumbered the Soul Beasts on land.

For the same reason, the Demon Empress had no high-end combat power under her command. To prevent the sea Soul Beasts from suffering further losses, she went ashore alone in search of allies and ultimately settled in the Holy Spirit Cult.

"That's the situation. The Anti-Sea God Faction under my control only has a few strays left."

"Among the Sea God Faction's sea Soul Beasts, we killed all but one Hundred-Thousand-Year Beast King—the Sea God's mount, Xiao Bai, whom the Sea Princess saved."

"Most of the sea Soul Beasts' current fighting force belongs to the Neutral Faction led by the Sea Princess."

"If you want the Sea Princess to obey orders, I'm afraid Di Tian will have to appear in person." The Demon Empress spread her hands helplessly.