Running away was out of the question.
Not long ago, he had used the General-Slaying Saber to drive off two tigers and kill two more. If he saw a little puppy like this and ran without a word, wouldn't that look like a guilty man fleeing and arouse suspicion?
That would be like giving himself away.
But draw his sword and fight a puppy?
It wasn't really a puppy. It was clearly Yang Jian in disguise, and Di Xin wasn't sure he could beat him. If Yang Jian lost his temper, there was no telling how things would end.
The thought flashed through his mind. Trusting the system as he always did, Di Xin drew his sword with a clang and strode toward the little puppy.
"Great King..."
The attendants and Imperial Guards behind him hurried forward, calling out. The last time Di Xin had been bitten by the puppy was still fresh in their minds. They couldn't risk anything happening to the Great King.
"You lot, block it from that side... You, go around that way. Don't let the dog get away..."
Di Xin treated the little puppy like an ordinary dog, ordering the attendants and Imperial Guards to spread out and sending them away.
Yang Jian might not dare do anything to him, but if the attendants and Imperial Guards rushed in to attack, they might really be in danger.
Even as he gave his orders, Di Xin didn't hesitate. He had already charged up to the little puppy.
As Di Xin rushed toward it, the little puppy simply watched him in silence. Only when his sword came slashing down in a flash of cold light did the puppy suddenly dart aside, appearing at Di Xin's other flank.
Di Xin reacted quickly, too. His first strike missed, but he immediately changed his move and swept his sword sideways. He even exclaimed, "You're quite nimble for such a little thing!"
When the sword swept toward it, the adorable little puppy suddenly stopped pretending. Its body grew larger—or seemed to, without any transition at all—until it was as big as a mule. Fangs bared in its mouth, sharp claws extended from all four paws.
It swatted with one paw, knocking the sharp sword away. The blow was so powerful that the sword flew from Di Xin's hand and shot into a nearby tree trunk.
The next instant, the huge white dog clawed at Di Xin's face. It moved so fast that he felt there was no way to dodge.
If the white dog's claw landed, Di Xin instinctively knew he wouldn't be around in this world anymore.
In that instant, he treated the huge white dog like one of the tigers on Chaoge Mountain. Using Magic Power was out of the question, so he turned his head slightly and kicked hard at the dog's belly.
The kick was fast and vicious.
But it was no use at all.
The dog's paw moved faster than Di Xin had expected, reaching him in a flash. It was about to strike his head.
Damn it...
Take your paw back already!
Di Xin grew frantic. His foot hadn't even reached the dog's belly, while its paw was already about to hit his head. If the dog didn't pull back, he really wouldn't be able to dodge.
"How dare you..."
At that critical moment, a shout like a thunderclap rang out from midair. The huge white dog really did pause, its paw hanging in the air without landing. Then it flashed away as a streak of white light and vanished.
As soon as the white dog disappeared, a black shadow hurtled down from the sky like lightning and struck the spot where it had been. The shadow paused. Di Xin saw that it was a black whip.
"Grand Tutor..."
Di Xin wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and called up to the sky. He recognized Wen Zhong's Yin-Yang Whips; the one that had struck the ground was only one of them.
"Great King, I'm here to protect you!"
The same voice rang out from the sky again. A black shadow shot toward them and landed in front of Di Xin.
It was Wen Zhong!
Di Xin looked at Wen Zhong, and a line of text suddenly appeared before his eyes.
He was already somewhat used to this, but when he saw the words "True Person Taiyi," his heart still skipped a beat.
The Universe Ring?
True Person Taiyi?
Damn it, had the system stolen a magic treasure that Nezha was supposed to use in the future and given it to him?
As Di Xin's thoughts raced and he stood there dazed, Wen Zhong evidently misunderstood.
"Great King, Great King, it's all right now. You're safe!"
He hurriedly bowed to Di Xin, but didn't go after the white dog.
"Grand Tutor... Grand Tutor, if you'd arrived a little later, I'd probably have become the first Great King ever killed by a dog. How would the history books describe that?"
Di Xin sighed repeatedly, looking as if he could barely contain his feelings. He seemed so genuinely shaken that he could have won an award.
"The Great King is blessed by Heaven and will surely turn danger into safety and disaster into good fortune," Wen Zhong said, soothing him in a gentle voice.
"But what if one day 'good fortune' and 'good things' aren't around? Wouldn't I be left with 'danger' and 'disaster'? Grand Tutor, don't wait until tomorrow. Teach me the Dao today. Otherwise, if I can't even beat a dog, how am I supposed to conquer the world? You can't protect me every moment, either. And it wouldn't be convenient for you to stand nearby while I sleep with the women of the harem, right?"
Di Xin began pressuring Wen Zhong with a rapid-fire barrage of words.
"Great King..." Wen Zhong had just begun to reply when he suddenly looked up toward the distant sky.
Then he nodded slightly to Di Xin. "Please stay here, Great King, and don't go anywhere. Something urgent has come up. I must go deal with it."
Could True Person Taiyi have come to ask for the Universe Ring?
There shouldn't be anything more urgent than that, should there?
As soon as the thought occurred to Di Xin, Grand Tutor Wen rose into the air and flew off into the distance.
He stopped just within Di Xin's line of sight. A streak of light descended nearby, turning into a blurry human figure.
Di Xin glanced over, then resisted his curiosity and stopped watching. Instead, he hurriedly ordered the Imperial Guards to organize the Royal Palace's defenses, claiming it was to protect the harem from the vicious dog. He stationed a large force of Imperial Guards around Shouxian Palace in particular, ostensibly to protect Su Daji. The display was quite imposing.
Meanwhile, Fang Bi led his men into the Imperial Garden and surrounded Di Xin, protecting him on all sides.
Some of the guards began searching carefully in the direction the white dog had fled. At the very least, it would make a good show.
Di Xin didn't stop them. He guessed that Yang Jian had already left the Royal Palace grounds and might be hiding in some dark corner, using his Divine Sense to observe everything happening inside.
That made sense!
Di Xin carefully thought over how he had handled the situation. Aside from nearly getting himself killed, he hadn't left a single opening.
From what had just happened, he was certain that Yang Jian wouldn't dare kill him.
But if Grand Tutor Wen hadn't arrived in time, would Yang Jian have tried something more extreme?
For example, he might have clawed Di Xin's face into potato shreds. That wouldn't take his life, but it would certainly put plenty of pressure on him. Perhaps that was exactly what Yang Jian had intended to do this time!
How could he get any answers without really testing things?
It seemed he'd have to be careful from now on!
Before you continue