"..."
The Silver Dragon King did not respond. She lowered her eyes in thought, looking faintly tempted.
"Boy, once I turn you into my puppet, your method will work just as well!"
Behind him, the Myriad Demon King spoke with sinister menace.
Mental abilities were also his forte. Controlling the feeble Lou Xu would be child's play.
His body remained motionless, but his immense mental power silently coiled toward the back of Lou Xu's neck like a snake's flickering tongue.
Lou Xu did not even turn his head.
"You can control me, but you can't tame me!"
"Killing me would be easy. Would enduring that torment be just as easy?"
The strings in his heart were stretched taut, his palms slightly damp. Forcing down his nerves, he questioned the Silver Dragon King without a change in expression.
Mirror Lake was utterly silent.
A cold gleam flashed in Di Tian's eyes. Just as his claws were about to strike, the Silver Dragon King raised her hand and waved the Ferocious Beasts back.
Xiong Jun bared his teeth, Zi JI beat her dragon wings, and Bi Ji gave Lou Xu a long look. In the end, they all retreated several yards.
"Lou Xu, if you truly have the ability to heal me, whatever you ask, I will not hesitate."
The surrounding Ferocious Beasts stared at one another, wide-eyed. None had expected their sovereign to believe this feeble human.
Under a host of gazes eager to kill him but unwilling to act, Lou Xu slowly held up two fingers.
"Two conditions."
"First."
"You will help me find the soul rings I need for my future advancements."
The beasts immediately exchanged glances.
Despite their displeasure, on second thought, if he really could heal their sovereign, this demand was hardly excessive.
Lou Xu was only one person. At most, he would need nine soul rings, half of which would come from beasts that had yet to develop intelligence. It was no losing bargain.
"Very well. I agree." The Silver Dragon King nodded lightly.
She had already intended to nurture Lou Xu. On the matter of soul rings, their different paths led to the same destination.
"Second..."
Lou Xu raised his eyes and enunciated each word.
"I want him dead!"
His rigid finger pointed straight at Di Tian.
As the words left his mouth, he could hear his own heart skip a beat. His throat tightened, his shoulders trembled slightly, and he felt like a gambler staking his very life.
He was betting that she would not strike first and crush an ant like him.
He was betting that she had not yet abandoned the day when she would personally lead the Soul Beasts in an assault on the Divine Realm.
A deathly silence settled over the space.
It was so quiet that Lou Xu's drumbeat of a heartbeat could be heard clearly!
In that brief, dead silence, Lou Xu's back stiffened until it was rigid.
Of course he was afraid-scared to death. But his grandfather's death could not go unavenged.
He had already reached a conclusion: the Silver Dragon King would certainly refuse.
He had never expected her to agree to this condition.
What he wanted was a chance.
Using the only bargaining chip he currently possessed, he wanted to fight for a fair chance at revenge, without the Silver Dragon King obstructing him or the other Ferocious Beasts ganging up on him.
He was not Bibi Dong. He could not turn his anger over a single grudge against the entire continent.
Lou Gao clung stubbornly to his principles, and so did Lou Xu.
A life for a life. He would never take his anger out on Bi Ji or Zi JI.
But if they would not even give him a fair chance...
The old man is dead. What need is there to explain right and wrong!
Di Tian's eyes were icy!
A mere human...
Dares to threaten me, the mighty Beast God, with my sovereign's well-being!
The killing intent pouring from Di Tian seemed to solidify. The air around him abruptly turned frigid, and Mirror Lake beneath his feet almost froze over.
But the Silver Dragon King had yet to speak. He could only suppress his murderous intent, bow his head, and await his sovereign's decision.
He was a descendant of a Dragon King, chief of the Black Dragon Clan, leader of the Ferocious Beasts, ruler of Star Dou, and spokesman for the sovereign of all Soul Beasts.
But as the former captain of the Dragon God's personal guard, he was, above all, the Dragon God's most loyal subordinate!
If his sovereign ordered him to die, he would willingly bare his neck to the blade in exchange for her recovery!
The Silver Dragon King's eyes widened sharply, her voice sinking low.
"Why?"
"He killed my grandfather!"
Lou Xu clenched his right fist tightly.
It was the hand Lou Gao had taught to hold a hammer, and the hand with which he had last clasped the old man's.
The murder of his family had to be repaid with a life!
The Silver Dragon King raised her hand to restrain the Ferocious Beasts on the verge of erupting. She regarded Lou Xu with displeasure.
Freedom from her torment was certainly tempting, but a subordinate like Di Tian was a rarity even across tens of thousands of years. If she executed him just like that, how could she carry herself as sovereign of all Soul Beasts afterward?
She shook her head lightly, as though his words had never reached her ears.
"Choose another condition."
Her tone was not forceful, but it carried an unquestionable resolve.
Lou Xu's heart, which had risen into his throat, suddenly settled.
"Hahaha, Di Tian, did you hear that? This kid's come to collect you!"
Beside them, Xiong Jun could not resist gloating. Bi Ji and Zi JI turned to glare at him, and he hastily covered his mouth, though he could not hide the laughter in his eyes.
After tens of thousands of years of slumber, chances to laugh at Di Tian were few and far between.
He had dared to ask their sovereign outright for Di Tian's life!
Xiong Jun was starting to like this kid!
He's got guts! A real man!
Ignoring Xiong Jun's racket.
Lou Xu's grandfather?
Di Tian froze for a moment.
He remembered the old man who had shielded Lou Xu and frowned.
"You mean that Soul Saint? I didn't kill him."
"That casual blow of mine should only have knocked him unconscious. If I had truly intended to kill, both of you would already be dead. You would never have had the chance to stand here making demands."
"My grandfather is still alive?!"
Lou Xu's nails dug into his palm. The sharp pain made him let out a long, trembling breath.
The old man isn't dead!
The fury scorching his chest crashed away like an ebbing tide.
In its place came the relief of regaining what he had lost, mingled with the heart-pounding terror of having done the splits on a knife's edge.
Thank goodness...
Thank goodness.
Lou Xu's eyes grew hot. The tension in his clenched fist, stretched to its absolute limit, eased little by little.
A ripple finally stirred in the Silver Dragon King's displeased gaze.
So that was it.
"Lou Xu, now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up," she repeated, though her tone was much gentler this time.
"Choose another condition."
"All right. I'll tell you once I've decided."
Lou Xu rubbed his cheeks, gradually calming his surging emotions.
"Then when can the treatment begin?" The Silver Dragon King nodded in agreement.
The conditions could be discussed at leisure. She was quite eager to see the means Lou Xu claimed could heal her.
"I need to acquire my soul rings first. Then I can begin."
"For my first soul ring, a thousand-year fire attribute beast. For my second soul ring, a twenty-five-hundred-year strength attribute beast. Both must be Soul Beasts with high-grade bloodlines. Sorry for the trouble."
Lou Xu stated his requirements for his soul rings.
The Silver Dragon King's gaze shifted slightly. At her signal, the Scarlet King, who also possessed the fire attribute, was ordered to go and search.
An incense stick's worth of time later.
The Scarlet King returned, carrying two dying Soul Beasts in his mouth.
He dropped the Soul Beasts and withdrew to one side. He said nothing, merely watching Lou Xu with a displeased expression.
"A twelve-hundred-year Blazing Wind Harrier with fire and wind attributes."
"A twenty-seven-hundred-year Flamecloud Unicorn with fire and strength attributes."
Both were high-grade Soul Beasts from his own population, with outstanding bloodlines and promising futures. His heart was bleeding.
After confirming their suitability, Di Tian tossed the Soul Beasts in front of Lou Xu and warned him coldly.
"Human, soul rings beyond your age limit aren't so easy to absorb. Be careful you don't explode and die, ruining the matter at hand!"
"Mind your own business."
Lou Xu gave him no pleasant look.
Though the misunderstanding had been resolved, Di Tian's Dragon God Claw was still vivid in his memory!
Di Tian, I'll be sure to save my ninth soul ring for you.
He withdrew his gaze and looked at the two Soul Beasts, whose bloodlines and quality were clearly exceptional.
He sat cross-legged on the spot. The Star-Iron Furnace Anvil manifested with a rumble, and he began absorbing the two soul rings in succession.
Violent soul power geysered into his body.
In an instant, he felt a savage force flood every meridian in his body, tearing and crushing them.
He gritted his teeth, suppressing that ferocity through sheer willpower while mobilizing the Power of the First Flame to guide the soul power, flushing through and refining it again and again.
After an unknown length of time, Lou Xu slowly opened his eyes. Two purple soul rings gradually rose around his Star-Iron Furnace Anvil Martial Soul.
A level twenty-four Soul Grandmaster!
"Hiss!"
He was just about to rise when a prickling itch suddenly spread across his back, and excruciating pain swept through his entire body.
The soul power coursing through him surged and circulated, then burst forth upon finding an outlet.
"Pfft!"
Huge, fiery-red wings unfurled. Scorching flames swept outward, evaporating every trace of mist over the lake!
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