Clash

"I'm done trying. This is pointless!"

In the Sea of Consciousness, Fang Le lay sprawled across the watery space like a salted fish.

"Mm... this is pretty comfortable. It's just like lying on water, except I won't sink.

Wait! How can I be so pathetic? At worst, I'll go down fighting!"

He really wanted to lie there and sleep forever, but his yearning to live made Fang Le feel like he could still struggle one more time.

"Get over here! Tell me, what the hell is going on? Were you the one who lured the imperial army... the Japanese over here?!"

He grabbed Three-Eyed Golden Lion's furry face and squeezed it this way and that, then gritted his teeth as he demanded an answer.

"Wuwuwu! It was fate! Fate guided me here to find you. It said you were the hope of the Soul Beasts, and that I should latch onto you.

Then Uncle Di Tian and the others came with me."

Three-Eyed Golden Lion looked pitiful as she explained.

"Fate? Tell me more. Damn it, don't tell me there's some Fate Gu in Douluo Continent! Is it the Plane Spirit, or Tang San?"

Three-Eyed Golden Lion's answer sounded a little too much like fortune-telling.

In an instant, Fang Le thought of all sorts of possibilities.

Fate Gu might just be a reference, and Fang Le could only hope that was all it was.

He just hoped this Douluo Continent he'd transmigrated into wasn't some sick joke, with Fate Gu actually existing.

The other two possibilities were obvious.

The only ones who could direct fate on Douluo Continent were either the merciful Tang Buddha or the Plane Spirit, which was still resisting.

But whether it was one side or the other, or both of them, Fang Le was thoroughly displeased.

Fine! He'd beat them both up when the time came!

Useless Plane Spirit. It couldn't even deal with a single Tang San!

"This time, fate's guidance was strange. It was just like a clear-cut mission.

It told me to come find you, then connect our fates while you absorbed your Soul Ring. It said I could latch onto you."

Three-Eyed Golden Lion wasn't the scheming sort.

Or perhaps Fang Le's aura made her feel so close to him that she couldn't hold anything back.

So she poured out everything she knew, like beans spilling from a sack.

"Latch onto me? Useless Plane Spirit?"

"Shift, forget it! Have you already connected our fates?"

He had some suspicions, but couldn't confirm them yet, so there was no point thinking about it.

Right now, keeping himself alive mattered more.

If things really were as Auspicious Beast said, and Fang Le had connected their fates—

Then there might still be hope for him.

After all, fate had been connected between them right under Di Tian's nose.

That alone made their stance clear.

As long as he didn't go looking for trouble, he probably wouldn't die. And there was a good chance he'd gain a powerful backer.

This wasn't Douluo III. The Star Dou Forest's strength was practically unmatched, unless the gods intervened.

(Unmatched? Sounds like a death flag.)

"It already happened. But all the power of fate I brought seems to have been absorbed by that strange little ball over there."

Three-Eyed Golden Lion replied confidently, then cautiously glanced at the orb floating behind Fang Le.

It looked like the sort of thing that would kill you if you touched it.

So the reason I didn't exchange memories with Auspicious Beast like Huo Yuhao did must be because of the inheritance from Him.

But it still had some effect.

As he thought, Fang Le unconsciously glanced at the adorable Three-Eyed Golden Lion.

The effect wasn't great, but he was still tied to the Star Dou Forest now.

"Fine! I've been absorbing this for long enough. Time to go out and meet everyone!"

Now that he understood what was going on,

Fang Le decisively chose to go out and meet the Beast God of the Star Dou Forest.

The Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, ranked first among the Ferocious Beasts. The guardian of the Star Dou Forest, former Dragon God Guard who wielded the Dragon God Claw, and the strongest beast beneath the gods on Douluo Continent.

If he played this opportunity right, his weak early-game development would have a powerful backer to protect him.

The crowd: Weak?! You're telling us that you, who can beat a Soul Elder to death with a flurry of punches and have a summon that can beat a Soul Ancestor to death, are weak?!

"Roar!"

"Auspicious Beast, are you all right?"

"How did it go? Did the connection succeed?"

The air around him was filled with noise.

The moment Fang Le opened his eyes, he saw Warden's ugly face.

But now wasn't the time for catching up.

He looked around, and sure enough, a small golden beast beside him had woken up too.

She threw herself into the arms of a black-robed middle-aged man nearby.

Behind him, a huge red Three-Headed Fire Mastiff was also anxiously checking on Auspicious Beast.

"Fang Le pays his respects to Your Excellency, Beast God."

He rose and bowed.

Though Fang Le was no longer the same frail, level-ten Soul Master he'd once been,

he was now level fourteen.

But compared with the beings around him, he was still pathetically weak.

Eight hundred and ninety thousand years, three hundred thousand years, fifteen thousand years.

Not one of them was someone he could fight right now.

The weak had no dignity in the face of the strong.

Unless someone stronger than the other side stood behind you.

So Fang Le didn't think there was anything wrong with admitting defeat when appropriate.

Di Tian, however, didn't appreciate the gesture.

"Hmph!"

He snorted and turned his head away.

This kid had not only stolen his daughter, but was someone he couldn't beat up or kill.

How could a father possibly show him a friendly face?

"Uncle Di Tian~~"

Three-Eyed Golden Lion thought that when it came to dealing with a tsundere like Uncle Di Tian, she had a hundred ways to handle him. A hundred!

Her soft, drawn-out voice gave Fang Le goosebumps.

"Didn't you say you'd talk things out?

And it's all for the future of the Soul Beasts, so don't be mad~"

Three-Eyed Golden Lion now looked just like a girl bringing her boyfriend home to meet her parents, showering them with sweet talk.

Mm... the underlying code of Douluo Continent was terrifying indeed.

Wait, was the God of Love the real Creator God?

Fang Le: I'm not a furry!!

At the mention of the Soul Beasts' future, even though Di Tian was reluctant, he could only begrudgingly look at the brat standing before him.

He still didn't like him. It should be fine to beat him up later, right?

After all, he was practically the kid's elder now... No! A naturally evil human Soul Master like him wasn't worthy.

He was only doing it for the future of the Soul Beasts.

Naturally evil brats needed to be set straight with an iron fist.

"Human brat, if not for Auspicious Beast, someone with your ability to level up by slaughtering Soul Beasts would never have made it out of this forest alive.

So if you ever dare bully her... crack..."

He didn't say much, but the threat was unmistakable.

The space itself looked like it had been crushed!

"Yes! Yes! Auspicious Beast is so adorable. How could I ever hurt her? We get along great!"

Looking at the shattered space, Fang Le spoke with lingering fear, secretly wiping a bead of cold sweat from his brow.

I'm still too weak!!

But they were strangers—and even enemies—from two different species.

Di Tian gave no response to Fang Le's words. He just stared at him.

His eyes were as cold and contemptuous as if he were looking at some inferior species.

Waiting for him to keep begging.

Seeing that, Fang Le stopped grinning and met Di Tian's gaze without backing down.

This was a struggle for control. He couldn't give an inch.

If he took a step back now, he'd start putting himself in an inferior position in his own mind.

So even though he believed in keeping a low profile while he grew, Fang Le wouldn't back down. Not even a step.

And so the atmosphere grew cold again.

Only Three-Eyed Golden Lion kept pestering Di Tian with her adorable little eyes,

hoping to break the deadlock.

"Ahem! Ahem! You there, what are your First Martial Soul and First Soul Skill? Show them to me."

In the end, Scarlet King offered them an out by changing the subject.

"Show them to me. I'd like to know what kind of Martial Soul could be called the Soul Beasts' one glimmer of hope."

Di Tian hadn't wanted to say anything else, but between Scarlet King's opening and Three-Eyed Golden Lion's eager little gaze, he finally caved. He spoke irritably.

"Heh! Heh! Uncle Di Tian is the best! Fang Le's Martial Soul is amazing! Fang Le! Fang Le, hurry up and show Uncle Di Tian!"

When Three-Eyed Golden Lion saw that Di Tian had relented, she knew the hardest hurdle was behind them.

She wagged her tail and hurried excitedly over to Fang Le.

The sight made the old father's heart ache.