No wonder Di Tian had such high hopes for Gu Yuena. Since he couldn't become a god, only Gu Yuena, an incarnation of the Dragon God, had the power to halt the march of human civilization and make soul beasts great again!
At that thought, Zeng Tian finally understood Di Tian.
Di Tian was indeed powerful, but he could not halt the march of human civilization.
Humanity had several Limit Douluos in almost every era. Individually, they might not be Di Tian's match, but together, they could keep him occupied.
Once Di Tian was tied down, humanity's sheer number of Titled Douluos would have little trouble fighting the soul beasts' hundred-thousand-year soul beasts and ferocious beasts.
Even if they succeeded in crippling humanity's strongest fighters, as long as human civilization survived, a few decades of recovery-or even just a dozen years or so-would replenish their ranks of Titled Douluos. Then it would become a war of attrition.
And a war of attrition would undoubtedly put the soul beasts at a disadvantage.
Besides, the soul beasts had plenty of problems of their own. Though Di Tian was called the Beast God, he could not truly command all the soul beasts in the world.
Places like the Far North and the oceans were too far from the Star Dou Great Forest. For the most part, their soul beasts would heed calls to mobilize but would not submit to his direct authority.
Just then, Di Tian suddenly stood, swept his gaze over the ferocious beasts present, and said, "Next, I have something to announce."
Hearing Di Tian speak so abruptly, and in such a solemn tone, all the ferocious beasts sat up straight and turned their eyes toward him.
Even Zeng Tian looked at Di Tian, curious to hear what he was about to announce.
Yet Zeng Tian discovered that Di Tian's eyes had settled on him.
Don't tell me this has something to do with me!
Zeng Tian's heart jolted. Di Tian had suddenly summoned him here; clearly, it could not have been merely to attend the meeting. There had to be another purpose.
Had he discovered that I wasn't a soul beast? Or was he planning to make me reveal how to cultivate my skills?
As all sorts of thoughts churned through Zeng Tian's mind, Di Tian's next words made his brain freeze.
"I hereby announce that, from this day forward, Zeng Tian will be my successor. I will devote my full efforts to nurturing him and have him begin managing soul beast affairs."
Those words stirred up a thousand towering waves.
"I object!"
After a brief moment of stunned silence, Xiong Jun was the first to recover and leap forward. "Di Tian, have you lost your mind?" he demanded heatedly. "You want to make this little fellow, with barely ten thousand years of cultivation, your successor?
"Making him your successor is one thing, but you're even letting him manage soul beast affairs!
"If you don't want the position of Beast God anymore, give it to me. I'll take it!"
Bi Ji also looked at Di Tian with concern. "Di Tian, why have you suddenly decided to choose a successor? Right now, you're the only soul beast with enough prestige to bring every soul beast race into line. Has something happened?"
"That's right, Di Tian. No soul beast besides you can hold the position of Beast God securely right now."
The Myriad Demon King voiced his agreement as well.
At the same time, the Myriad Demon King was deeply puzzled. Why had Di Tian suddenly decided to choose a successor? Was he preparing to step down?
But even if he were stepping down, surely Bi Ji or Zi JI should succeed him. Why would the position fall to a soul beast who had not even reached a hundred thousand years?
It made no sense!
Zi JI stared fixedly at Zeng Tian across from her, her fists clenched, fury seeming to burn in her eyes.
Why? In terms of bloodline, I was clearly the closest to Di Tian. Why would he choose this ten-thousand-year fire dragon as his successor?
Moreover, Zi JI could sense that Zeng Tian's Dragonkind bloodline was impure. In fact, it was exceedingly thin.
How much strength could a bloodline like that possibly offer? Let alone enough to inherit Di Tian's position as Beast God.
This was sheer nonsense!
Beside her, the young Auspicious Beast blinked in bewilderment at those words.
What was going on? Was Di Tian handing his position over to Zeng Tian?
Although she acknowledged that Zeng Tian was very strong now, surely that was no reason for Di Tian to willingly relinquish his position?
Only the Scarlet King's expression remained unchanged. Just as I thought. Di Tian has decided to choose Zeng Tian as his successor after all.
But that makes sense. If even an unparalleled prodigy like Zeng Tian couldn't become Di Tian's successor, I really couldn't imagine what soul beast could take his place.
Of all the soul beasts the Scarlet King had met, Zeng Tian was the most outrageous. Not only did his strength rise like a rocket, but he could also create skills such as Flame Charge-and those skills could even be used by others.
If Zeng Tian became the Beast God, the Scarlet King could not speak for other soul beasts, but the status of fire-attribute soul beasts would undoubtedly rise in the future.
With a Beast God like Zeng Tian, who had such profound insights into fire-attribute skills, even a few scraps of knowledge he let slip would be enough to raise their combat strength by more than one tier.
With that thought, the Scarlet King could not help turning his head to steal a glance at Zeng Tian.
By then, Zeng Tian had also recovered from his shock, but the confusion in his mind had not diminished in the slightest.
What does Di Tian mean by this? Has he seen how gifted I am and decided to focus on nurturing me?
Suddenly, a spark flashed through Zeng Tian's mind, as though something had occurred to him.
Wait!
Zeng Tian's pupils shifted slightly. Could Di Tian be planning to nurture me, then take me along to halt the march of human civilization?
The more Zeng Tian thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
Although he had not revealed all his trump cards, the speed of improvement he had already displayed was enough to shock anyone.
Other soul beasts struggled to make any progress even over ten thousand years, but Zeng Tian was an anomaly. From Di Tian's perspective, Zeng Tian had taken less than a year to leap from the strength of a ten-thousand-year soul beast to that of a ferocious beast.
At that rate of growth, if Di Tian personally devoted his full efforts to nurturing him, they would soon gain another fighter on the level of a Limit Douluo.
Then, if he and Zeng Tian launched a beast tide together, they could certainly catch humanity off guard and inflict devastating damage!
Even if Di Tian had to remain at the Lake of Life to ensure the Silver Dragon King's safety, the presence of Zeng Tian, a new ferocious beast, could warn humanity against acting so brazenly. It would give them far more strategic flexibility.
So that's it. Still, this is a good thing for me.
Having figured out Di Tian's intentions, Zeng Tian immediately felt much more at ease.
He had been worrying about how slowly his level had been rising lately. With Di Tian's wholehearted support, that problem would certainly be alleviated to some extent.
As his level rose, his strength would increase further. As long as he was strong enough, he could handle whatever happened with composure.
Seeing that the situation was getting somewhat out of control, Bi Ji suddenly spoke up and asked Di Tian, "Di Tian, since you chose that little fellow as your successor, surely there must be something special about him?"
At those words, everyone immediately fell silent and turned toward Di Tian.
Could there really be some hidden reason behind Di Tian's choice of Zeng Tian as his successor?
"Indeed!"
Di Tian nodded slightly, his voice still deep and commanding. "Zeng Tian is extraordinarily gifted. Not only does he cultivate at an astonishing speed, but his comprehension is also exceptional. He can develop Self-Created Skills!"
"Most importantly..." Di Tian shifted the direction of his words, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. "Most importantly, his strength has already reached the level of a ferocious beast. Even the Scarlet King can no longer do anything to him."
"What?!"