Star Dou · Coercion

Star Dou Great Forest.

The trees in the Outer Zone were so dense they blocked out the sky.

Quan Cangtian walked in front, never slowing his pace.

Zixiao followed behind to the left, the Thunder Light Sword strapped to her back. Its sheath occasionally struck tree trunks with dull thuds.

Quan Batian brought up the rear.

After the three had traveled for more than an hour, Quan Batian spoke.

"Are you sure Di Tian is in the Core Zone?"

Quan Cangtian said,

"The Emperor Auspicious Beast is in the Core Zone."

"Di Tian won't be far from it."

Zixiao said,

"You want to see Di Tian."

Quan Cangtian said,

"Yes."

Quan Batian said,

"What do you want to see him for?"

Quan Cangtian said,

"To discuss Soul Spirits."

Quan Batian did not ask any further questions.

He had known Quan Cangtian for so many years. He knew that whenever the boy only said three words, there were another thirty left unsaid.

No rush.

The Mixed Zone.

The trees were thicker.

The kind that took several people to wrap their arms around, their roots bulging from the ground and twisting into knotted masses.

The air carried a heavy stench—not beast blood, but the scent Soul Beasts left behind to mark their territory.

Quan Cangtian stopped.

There was something in the forest ahead.

Zixiao's hand settled on her sword hilt.

Quan Batian did not move, drawing his aura inward.

A Soul Beast emerged from the shadows of the trees.

Its crimson fur blazed brightly, and its four feet struck the ground. Every step brought a deep tremor.

Scarlet King.

One of the Star Dou Great Forest's core fighting forces.

Behind it floated a ball of gentle light.

Pale gold, mild and nonaggressive.

The Emperor Auspicious Beast.

Scarlet King snorted out a stream of hot air and stared at the three of them.

"Humans."

Its deep voice was forced out from its throat.

"This is the Star Dou Great Forest."

Quan Batian stepped forward.

Just one step.

The pressure of a level 99 Semi-God burst forth.

The air thickened.

The leaves bent in one direction.

Scarlet King's four legs buckled slightly, and it retreated half a step.

But it did not take a second step back.

Its gaze passed over Quan Batian and landed on Quan Cangtian.

Quan Cangtian did not look at Scarlet King.

He was looking at the ball of light behind it.

"I want to see Di Tian."

Scarlet King's pupils contracted.

"Di Tian does not see humans."

Quan Cangtian said,

"Doesn't see them?"

Scarlet King flew into a rage.

Its mane flared open, crimson flames surging from its body as the surrounding tree trunks hissed.

"Who do you think you are, daring to demand an audience with Di Tian?!"

Zixiao drew the Thunder Light Sword three inches from its sheath.

Purple arcs of lightning leaped from the blade's spine, crackling sharply.

Quan Batian pressed a hand onto Zixiao's shoulder.

He said nothing, but his meaning was clear.

Watch Quan Cangtian.

Quan Cangtian took a step forward.

Scarlet King's flames rushed toward him.

Hot.

His eyebrows were nearly singed.

Quan Cangtian did not stop.

He raised his right hand.

His palm faced the Emperor Auspicious Beast.

Path of Elation.

Probability Distortion.

Miracle Trait amplification.

The Emperor Auspicious Beast's pale golden glow suddenly shuddered.

Then it stopped moving.

The entire sphere of light was pinned in place, unable even to drift.

Scarlet King turned around.

The Emperor Auspicious Beast hung frozen in midair, unable to move.

Scarlet King turned back, its eyes reddening.

"You dare touch the Emperor Auspicious Beast!"

Quan Cangtian withdrew his hand.

A trace of the Path of Elation still lingered in his palm, tingling faintly.

"Call Di Tian here."

"Otherwise, I'll kill it."

Scarlet King's flames rose over its head.

"You've lost your mind!"

"If the Emperor Auspicious Beast dies, the Star Dou Great Forest's fate will collapse!"

Quan Cangtian said,

"I know."

"That's why I need to see Di Tian."

Scarlet King's claws gouged two deep trenches into the earth.

It was weighing its options.

It could kill the old man in front of it, but it could not.

A level 99 Semi-God was on the same level as Di Tian.

It could not touch Quan Cangtian.

Lightning coiled along Zixiao's sword, ready to strike at any moment.

Scarlet King gritted its teeth.

"Wait here."

It turned and ran into the depths of the forest.

It was so fast that it left behind a crimson afterimage.

The forest fell silent.

Quan Batian looked at Quan Cangtian.

"You really dared to kill the Emperor Auspicious Beast?"

Quan Cangtian tucked his hand into his sleeve.

His palm was trembling.

Suppressing the Emperor Auspicious Beast with Probability Distortion had cost him a great deal.

"I didn't."

"But I had to make Di Tian see me."

Quan Batian said,

"What are you going to do when Di Tian gets here?"

Quan Cangtian said,

"Negotiate."

Quan Batian said,

"Di Tian won't negotiate with humans."

Quan Cangtian said,

"He will."

"Because I have two cards to play."

Zixiao sheathed her sword.

"What cards?"

Quan Cangtian said,

"Child of Nature."

"And Elation."

Quan Batian was silent for several seconds.

"You plan to use those two to force him."

Quan Cangtian said,

"If I die, the Child of Nature's life force will go out of control."

"Elation's Probability Distortion will also go out of control."

"The entire ecology of Douluo Star will collapse with it."

Quan Batian did not respond.

He was processing it.

After a long while,

"You're gambling with your life."

Quan Cangtian did not answer.

The wind in the forest stopped.

The birds fell silent.

Even the insects stopped chirping.

The silence was unnatural.

Zixiao tightened her grip on her sword.

Quan Batian released another layer of his aura.

Space cracked.

Right before the three of them, the air ripped apart from the center, tearing open a black fissure.

A hand emerged from the rift.

A black cuff, traced with golden patterns.

Di Tian stepped out.

He wore a black robe, golden dragon patterns embroidered from its hem to its collar.

His face looked young.

But his eyes did not.

Golden vertical pupils, slit lengthwise—unlike a snake's, and not entirely like a dragon's either.

They belonged to Di Tian alone.

Di Tian's gaze swept across the three of them.

He paused on Quan Batian.

The auras of two Limit Douluos collided.

There was no sound.

But the surrounding trees bent.

Not from the wind.

They were crushed down.

More than a dozen massive trees, thick enough for several people to wrap their arms around, bent into bow shapes, their bark cracking with creaks.

Quan Cangtian stood between the two auras.

His chest felt tight.

His ears rang.

Di Tian withdrew his aura.

"Human."

His voice was quiet, but every word slammed into the bones.

"You dare threaten the Emperor Auspicious Beast."

Quan Batian spoke.

"My grandson wants to see you."

Di Tian's vertical pupils turned toward Quan Cangtian.

He looked him over from head to toe.

"You are the Child of Nature."

Quan Cangtian spoke.

"I am."

Di Tian spoke.

"Do you know what the Emperor Auspicious Beast means to Soul Beasts?"

Quan Cangtian spoke.

"I do."

"That's why I wanted to see you."

Di Tian did not respond.

He was waiting.

Quan Cangtian took a deep breath.

"I have a way for Soul Beasts and humans to coexist."

Di Tian's vertical pupils narrowed.

"Coexist."

His tone was flat, but he bit down hard on that word.

"Humans have hunted Soul Beasts for tens of millions of years."

"Coexist?"

Quan Cangtian spoke.

"Soul Spirits."

"Equal Contracts."

"Not hunting."

Di Tian spoke.

"Soul Spirits?"

Quan Cangtian spoke.

"I have a way for Soul Beasts and humans to form Equal Contracts."

"The Soul Beasts won't have to die."

"Humans can gain power as well."

Di Tian stared at him.

"Why should I believe you?"

Quan Cangtian did not avoid his gaze.

Golden vertical pupils met black eyes.

"You don't have to believe me."

"But if I die, the life force of the Child of Nature will lose control."

"Probability Distortion's joyful influence will lose control too."

"The entire ecology of Douluo Star will collapse with it."

Di Tian said nothing.

His vertical pupils shifted between narrowing and widening.

Calculating.

Quan Cangtian continued.

"If I live, you can obtain a plan for coexistence."

"If I die, you get nothing."

"And you'll lose the entire forest as well."

Di Tian's finger twitched.

A tiny movement.

Quan Batian saw it.

He spoke.

"My grandson has a way."

"Listen to him."

Di Tian glanced at Quan Batian.

Then looked back at Quan Cangtian.

He remained silent for a long time.

So long that Quan Cangtian's heartbeat slowed from rapid to steady, then sped up again.

"Speak."

Di Tian finally spoke.

"How will they coexist?"

Quan Cangtian spoke.

"The Soul Spirit System."

"Soul Beasts will form contracts with humans in spiritual form."

"Humans gain the Soul Beasts' abilities. The Soul Beasts don't need to die, and they can continue growing through human cultivation."

Di Tian spoke.

"What makes you capable of doing this?"

Quan Cangtian spoke.

"Because I am the Child of Nature."

"I can control all life on Douluo Star."

"That is exactly what the Soul Spirit System requires."

Di Tian fell silent.

The wind swept past, stirring the hem of Di Tian's robe.

"Fine."

Quan Cangtian relaxed inwardly, though none of it showed on his face.

"I'll believe you once."

Di Tian's vertical pupils fixed on him.

"But you must prove it."

Quan Cangtian spoke.

"How?"

Di Tian spoke.

"Show me a Soul Spirit."

Quan Cangtian shook his head.

"Not now."

"I need time to prepare."

Di Tian's aura pressed outward by another inch.

Quan Cangtian's knees bent.

"How long?"

Quan Cangtian steadied himself.

"Three months."

Di Tian withdrew his aura.

"I will come find you in three months."

"If you deceive me."

He did not state the consequences.

There was no need.

Those golden vertical pupils had already said everything.

Di Tian turned around.

Space tore open again.

He stepped into the rift.

The rift closed.

The air returned to normal.

The crushed trees slowly straightened. A few could not; their trunks had snapped, creaking as they hung.

The glowing mass that was the Emperor Auspicious Beast regained its freedom, floated into the air, and slipped deeper into the forest.

Scarlet King did not appear again.

Quan Batian walked over to Quan Cangtian.

Quan Cangtian's hands were still trembling.

Not from fear.

From exhaustion.

Suppressing the Emperor Auspicious Beast with Probability Distortion, combined with confronting Di Tian, had drained him too much.

Quan Batian spoke.

"Three months."

Quan Cangtian spoke.

"That's enough."

Quan Batian spoke.

"How confident are you in Electrolux's Soul Spirit System?"

Quan Cangtian spoke.

"Master has been researching it for years."

"He has the foundation."

Quan Batian spoke.

"I'm asking about you."

Quan Cangtian did not answer.

He lowered his head and looked at his palm.

The Dark Red Crystal rested quietly there.

A trace of Death Qi lingered in his body, and the crystal was stable.

But Di Tian would come in three months.

If the Soul Spirit System could not be completed...

He clenched his fist.

Zixiao walked over and handed him a waterskin.

Quan Cangtian took it and gulped down two mouthfuls.

The water was cold.

Zixiao spoke.

"You nearly got forced to your knees just now."

Quan Cangtian wiped his mouth.

"No."

Zixiao spoke.

"Your knees bent."

Quan Cangtian spoke.

"That was exhaustion."

Zixiao said nothing.

She slung the Thunder Light Sword onto her back again.

Quan Batian studied the map.

"There are Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest."

"Zixiao, practice your skills there first."

"Quan Cangtian, find a place to cultivate the Life and Death Samsara Art."

Quan Cangtian nodded.

Three months.

The Dark Soul Cult was waiting.

Genes were growing.

Di Tian was waiting.

There were more and more paths ahead.

But none of them would be easy.