A beast tide?

"Something we know nothing about must have happened out at sea, especially among the sea soul beasts."

"Dragon Palace... a palace of dragons? Could a fellow member of the Dragon Clan have risen to power at sea?"

Di Tian had naturally noticed the Alliance and Dragon Palace Li Ji had mentioned.

However, he had never heard of any powerful members of the Dragon Clan out at sea.

Moreover, with that fellow, the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King, out there, unifying the sea soul beasts would probably be no easy task.

"But that would explain it... the Soul Rings on that human named Xie Guhong probably all came from ten-thousand-year soul beasts that willingly sacrificed themselves."

Di Tian frowned, pondering.

"A mysterious fellow clansman, actually capable of keeping both sea soul masters and human soul masters in line?"

Even in the Star Dou Great Forest, Di Tian sometimes could not keep unruly ferocious beasts like Xiong Jun under control.

Let alone subdue and unify the ferocious beasts while also bringing some human servants into the fold.

Of course, even Di Tian himself looked down on such behavior.

Why would the Soul Beast Clan need to borrow humanity's strength?

Those humans he had taken in would be better off fed to Xiong Jun.

Besides, once My Lord awakened and recovered from those injuries, mere humans could be wiped out with a raised hand.

"It seems I'll have to find time to visit the sea and see how this fellow clansman is doing."

As Di Tian thought this, his anger gradually subsided.

Although Di Tian disdained this fellow clansman's reliance on human strength, he was at least the leader of a population.

Naturally, Di Tian had to make his acquaintance and, while he was at it, have him submit to My Lord. Then the sea, too, would become a sharp blade in My Lord's hand.

Still, more and more human geniuses were appearing on the Celestial Screen. Some countermeasures were indeed necessary, or the soul beasts would have a hard time over the next few centuries.

Perhaps that fellow clansman's future practice of constantly sending human servants to hunt down the continent's geniuses was also motivated by such considerations.

"We'll discuss the beast tide another time. In a few days, I'll go to the sea myself, look into the situation, and then decide."

If possible, Di Tian did not want to lead the soul beasts into anything too disruptive. For now, My Lord's safety came before everything else.

As for that fellow clansman on the Celestial Screen...

He wondered whether he had already established that Alliance. If so, he could have him deal with the human world while he was at it.

[On the Celestial Screen, in the Star Dou Great Forest several days later.]

[The carriage from the carriage service had stopped at the outskirts early on. Li Shaobai escorted Xiao Wu as they walked quietly along a small island in the Star Dou Great Forest.]

["Great genius, let's part ways here."]

[A trace of reluctance suddenly appeared on Xiao Wu's tender, rosy face.]

["Are you sure?"]

[Looking up at the deserted woods, so desolate that not even birds would shit there, then recalling what those sea soul masters had said a few days earlier, Li Shaobai began to harbor a vague suspicion.]

["Mm, I..." With her head lowered, Xiao Wu kicked her high-heeled shoes, her feet clad in white stockings, and spoke slowly.]

["My two younger brothers are hunting for Soul Rings nearby. I can find..."]

["Heh." Li Shaobai shook his head with a smile. "Little bunny... you really aren't suited to lying."]

["You... you figured it out?"]

["No, I didn't." Li Shaobai shook his head, reached out with both hands, and offered her a stack of books.]

[Xiao Wu instinctively took them. Glancing at the covers, she discovered that they were all books by Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng.]

[Not only was it the complete set, but the works also bore a handwritten inscription: To the future Heaven Dou's Number One Sword.]

[Signed, Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng.]

["The human world is very complicated." Li Shaobai reached out, hesitated a moment, and finally only brushed Xiao Wu's rabbit-ear hair ornament.]

["A little bunny should stay obediently in the forest. The roads of the martial world stretch far... if fate allows, we'll meet again."]

[With that, Li Shaobai turned and left. As his Soul Rings flashed, his figure vanished before Xiao Wu.]

["..."]

[Xiao Wu stared blankly, then suddenly stepped forward and shouted, "If fate allows, we'll meet again, great genius!! The future Heaven Dou's Number One Sword!"]

[His swiftly moving figure paused. Without hesitation, Li Shaobai soon continued picking up speed.]

["The future Heaven Dou's Number One Sword... can I really do it?"]

["Blood for the Blood God..."]

[In his mind, Dugu Feng's almost immeasurably towering figure from that day seemed to linger, along with those murmurs that seemed imbued with magic.]

[In the end, Li Shaobai merely gave a bitter smile.]

["Perhaps..."]

["Human! How dare you!!!"]

[A dragon's roar shot into the heavens, its powerful sound waves sweeping across the entire Star Dou Great Forest. Li Shaobai was sent flying and slammed heavily into the ground.]

["What happened?!"]

[Where had that dragon's roar come from?]

["A Dragon Clan soul beast at least a hundred thousand years old." The roar had left Li Shaobai somewhat dazed, but he quickly steadied himself and cautiously surveyed his surroundings.]

[He suddenly noticed that the sky seemed to be darkening.]

[Without hesitation, Li Shaobai covered the distance in a few quick strides and leaped straight onto the tallest tree trunk. His pupils abruptly contracted.]

[A boundless black shadow rose into the air from the heart of Star Dou.]

[A black dragon that blotted out the sky and sun circled overhead. Its scales were pitch-black as black iron, each gleaming with a deep, cold light.]

[Its enormous membranous wings spread, blocking the daylight. Its golden eyes were icy and filled with killing intent, and it seemed to be pursuing a streak of green light.]

[Merely watching from afar, Li Shaobai, out on the fringes of the Star Dou Great Forest, almost felt as though he had lost control of his body. Even his heartbeat seemed about to stop for an instant.]

[Rumble!!]

[Even the earth seemed to tremble.]

[Before Li Shaobai could recover his wits, he looked in another direction and saw countless enormous tree trunks topple in an instant, as though something had knocked them over.]

[Clouds of dust rose everywhere, looking as though they would shatter the entire land.]

[A beast tide!]

[The term abruptly surfaced in Li Shaobai's mind.]

["What on earth happened? Why would a beast tide break out in the Star Dou Great Forest now?!"]

[Something had gone wrong. Terribly wrong!]

[As a disciple of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Li Shaobai knew.]

[The sect masters and clan leaders of the Heaven Dou Empire's Upper Three Sects, apart from the Clear Sky Sect, and even Spirit Hall's Great Enshrined, Qian Daoliu, had all gone overseas.]

[Nearly half of the Heaven Dou Empire's highest-level fighting strength was absent. If, at a time like this...]

["Damn it! What on earth happened?!"]

[His gaze instinctively turned toward the place where he had parted with Xiao Wu. Li Shaobai was just about to act when his expression suddenly changed.]

[In the sky, a Titan Giant Ape, looking as though it had taken some sort of hormone, slammed heavily toward the ground with excitement written all over its face.]