Parliament!

Below the video, the comments section had completely crashed.

Question marks and exclamation points filled the screen.

"Have they lost their minds? Soul beasts want to get involved in politics?"

"Didn't the Spirit Pagoda say soul beasts were nearly extinct? Where did this ferocious beast representative suddenly come from?"

"Are those people in the Federal Parliament just eating for free? Hurry up and reject her!"

Lu Guan watched the footage on the screen and rubbed his chin.

He had long since stopped agonizing over changes to the plot. He simply thought this move by the soul beasts was interesting.

He just didn't know what they were really trying to do.

On an upper floor of the Spirit Pagoda.

Gu Yue shut off the virtual screen before her. It had just finished playing Bi Ji's speech outside the federal building.

Na'er sat on the sofa. "What exactly are you plotting? Sending Bi Ji to join the Federal Parliament?"

Gu Yue walked to the table, poured herself a glass of water, took a sip, and turned to look out the window.

What had happened on Eastsea City's snack street a few days earlier remained vivid in her mind.

With his foot on Guang Long's head, Lu Guan had asked her casually, "Why do you think I called the police?"

The next day, news had emerged from Eastsea City's high-security prison that the brothers Guang Biao and Guang Long had committed suicide out of fear of punishment.

Gu Yue knew those had not been suicides.

She had also finally understood why Lu Guan had called the police.

In the world of soul beasts, nothing mattered but raw strength. Whoever had the biggest fists was king.

Humans were different.

Humans had built a vast, complex social system, with laws, classes, public opinion, and all sorts of rules that kept one another in check.

Perhaps force was the foundation on which all of this had been built, but it was only one part of the whole.

"To break down humanity's defenses, slaughter alone won't do." Gu Yue turned to Na'er. "We have to use the rules they created themselves to tear them apart."

Having a soul beast run for parliament was the first step.

After hearing her out, Na'er remained silent for a long time.

"You've changed." Na'er stood up. "You're getting closer and closer to thinking like a human."

Gu Yue did not argue. She simply poured another glass of water.

Mingdu, the Federal Parliament headquarters.

On the top floor, in a conference room with the highest security classification.

Bang!

A tremendous crash erupted inside the conference room.

Lei Jun, a military representative and parliamentarian of the hardline faction, slammed his palm onto the solid wooden conference table, making the teacups jump.

"Absurd! The biggest joke under heaven!"

Lei Jun shot to his feet and pointed at the footage of Bi Ji's speech playing on a loop on the large screen, veins bulging along his neck in fury.

"Let a soul beast-a ferocious beast-sit in the halls of our Federal Parliament? Will we be handing the Speaker's chair straight over to that Di Tian in the Star Dou Great Forest tomorrow?"

Silence filled the conference room, broken only by Lei Jun's heavy breathing.

Sitting opposite Lei Jun was Mo Wu, a parliamentarian representing the moderate faction.

Mo Wu picked up his teacup, blew on the floating tea leaves, and leisurely took a sip before raising his eyes to Lei Jun.

"Parliamentarian Lei, don't get so heated. Sit down and talk."

Lei Jun's eyes widened. "How can I sit still? This is inviting a wolf into our home! Those not of our kind cannot share our hearts-even a three-year-old understands that. Are you political types telling me you don't? How much of our human soldiers' blood stains the hands of soul beasts?"

Mo Wu set down his teacup with a soft clink.

"Human soul masters have stained their hands with no less soul beast blood."

Mo Wu tapped the table, his tone even.

"Parliamentarian Lei, this is political maneuvering, not a bayonet fight on the front lines. The first article of the Federal Constitution states it clearly: all beings are equal. Our Federation is committed to building a world where 'humans and soul beasts coexist peacefully.' Now that they've come to our door of their own accord to cooperate, you want to turn them away?"

Lei Jun could not help snorting at that. Who didn't know that peaceful coexistence between humans and beasts was just a slogan? "You want to gamble with our security? Bi Ji is a genuine ferocious beast. If she comes to Mingdu with some scheme and starts slaughtering people in the parliament building, who can stop her?"

Mo Wu smiled. "The Emerald Swan clan has always been the gentlest among soul beasts. They specialize in healing."

"Besides, less than one percent of the Star Dou Great Forest remains today. The soul beasts can barely cling to life, let alone endure a war. If she truly wanted to kill people, she wouldn't have made such a spectacle of this."

Mo Wu turned toward the Speaker, who had remained silent in the seat at the head of the table.

"Speaker, I believe we should not merely refrain from rejecting her. We should welcome her with great fanfare."

Both sides held fast to their positions, arguing heatedly without end.

The previously silent Speaker, Zhao Mingyu, finally stirred. He raised a hand, signaling for everyone to quiet down.

Zhao Mingyu was in his sixties, his hair graying, but he remained vigorous and alert. He pulled up another top-secret file and projected it onto the large screen.

"You've been arguing all this time, and none of you has gotten to the heart of the matter."

Zhao Mingyu braced both hands on the table and looked around the room.

"Who is Bi Ji? She is an Emerald Swan. But more importantly, she is a member of the Star Dou Great Forest's core region."

Zhao Mingyu opened a photograph in the file.

The photograph was blurry. All they could make out was the tall figure of someone in a black robe, seen from behind.

"Di Tian."

As Zhao Mingyu spoke that name, the air in the conference room froze.

"After remaining quiet for so many years, Beast God Di Tian suddenly sends Bi Ji out to submit an application to run for parliament. Do you really think this was Bi Ji's own idea?"

Zhao Mingyu settled back into his chair.

"This is Di Tian testing the waters."

Lei Jun ground his teeth. "So what? Is our Federation supposed to fear a lone Di Tian?"

"Don't we?" Zhao Mingyu countered. "Fifteen percent of the federal military's annual budget is dedicated specifically to guarding against the Star Dou Great Forest. If we reject Bi Ji out of hand, might Di Tian stir up trouble over it? Or are you confident you can take him down?"

Lei Jun opened his mouth, but could not force out a word for a long while. In the end, he could only snort heavily and sit back down.

If a ferocious beast at the level of a Limit Douluo truly went berserk, it would deal a devastating blow to any city.

Zhao Mingyu continued, "What's more, accepting Bi Ji offers our Federation another enormous benefit."

He brought up the Spirit Pagoda's emblem.

"The Spirit Pagoda's artificial soul spirits are a creation that benefits all humanity."

"In the past, the Spirit Pagoda captured and harmed far too many soul beasts to research artificial soul spirits. We humans owe the soul beasts a debt!"

"I believe the Spirit Pagoda will surely be willing to welcome them, so both sides can understand each other and ease their conflicts."

"We, too, should work toward that!"

"..."

"Let's vote by a show of hands."

"All in favor of accepting Bi Ji's application to run for parliament, raise your hands."

Hands shot up one after another.

More than two-thirds of those present raised their hands.

The motion passed.

News of Bi Ji's candidacy continued to spread, and people across the entire Douluo Continent were discussing it.

The buzz had lasted for months, yet showed no sign of fading.

Lu Guan, however, had no time to concern himself with it now.

Whatever Gu Yue was planning had nothing to do with him for the time being.

Lu Guan concerned himself only with what he could control.

"The Skysea Alliance Grand Competition is about to begin." Lu Guan leaned back in his chair and looked at Mu Ye. "I'm planning to sign up."