Di Tian lowered his head.
"Yes, my lord."
That had happened a long time ago.
Gu Yuena had still been asleep then.
Di Tian had been in charge of ruling the Star Dou Great Forest. The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had unexpectedly escaped from the Far North, only to be pursued by the Evil Emperor afterward.
That chase had ultimately led into the Star Dou Great Forest.
It was on that very day that the Evil Emperor had come into contact with the many ferocious beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest.
Xiong Jun looked up at the Sky Screen.
"So this is the experience the Heavenly Dao intends to show."
The Myriad Demon King narrowed his eyes.
"When the Evil Emperor barged into the Core Region back then, he wasn't as strong as he is now."
Bi Ji nodded gently.
"He hadn't reached seven hundred and eighty thousand years of cultivation yet."
Gu Yuena said nothing more.
At the center of the Sky Screen.
The images began moving again.
A vast, boundless snowfield appeared before everyone's eyes.
Deep within the snowy expanse, a white figure was moving at incredible speed.
It was a plump silkworm.
His body was pure, flawless white, with golden markings on his head, and his ten golden eyes were filled with panic.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.
Behind him, an enormous black eye stretched across the heavens.
Dense black light coiled around the eye, and waves of spiritual power spread outward one after another, blanketing a vast stretch of the snowfield.
The Evil Emperor was pursuing the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm fled frantically.
He dared not look back. He knew only that the Evil-Eyed Tyrant behind him was drawing ever closer.
Within the Sun Moon Empire.
Countless soul masters looked up at the Sky Screen.
Once the Evil Emperor appeared, the Sun Moon Empire's soul masters immediately grew excited.
[Lord Evil Emperor is finally going to show his true strength!]
[That's the seven-hundred-and-eighty-thousand-year Evil-Eyed Tyrant Overlord!]
[No matter who his opponent is, they can't possibly escape Lord Evil Emperor's pursuit!]
[Lord Evil Emperor is the Sun Moon Empire's mightiest guardian!]
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm kept moving forward.
Rather than remain on the snowfield, he relied on his speed to flee toward the distant forest.
The forest loomed larger and larger.
Towering trees formed an unbroken expanse.
Dense soul beast auras spread from deep within the forest.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm charged into the forest.
The Evil Emperor followed close behind, entering the area as well.
Golden text gradually appeared.
[The Evil Emperor pursued the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.]
[The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm fled all the way into the Star Dou Great Forest.]
[The Evil Emperor followed close behind, pursuing him into the Star Dou Great Forest's Core Region.]
Inside Heaven Dou City.
All the soul masters in the tavern looked toward the Sky Screen.
A Soul King looked up and asked, "The Star Dou Great Forest?"
"The Evil Emperor entered the Star Dou Great Forest?"
The soul master beside him immediately caught on.
"The Star Dou Great Forest is the continent's largest gathering place for soul beasts."
"There are countless powerful soul beasts inside."
"The Evil Emperor may have profound cultivation, but he's only one soul beast."
"The number of soul beasts in that forest is simply beyond counting."
Bullet comments rapidly covered the Sky Screen.
[Why would the Evil Emperor enter the Star Dou Great Forest?]
[Isn't he afraid the soul beasts inside will gang up on him?]
[The Star Dou Great Forest is soul beast territory!]
[Aren't there two great emperors in there?]
[The Titan Giant Ape and the Sky Azure Bull Python are both hundred-thousand-year soul beasts!]
[With the other hundred-thousand-year soul beasts added in, the Evil Emperor might not come out ahead!]
At the Heaven Dou Empire's imperial palace.
Emperor Xue Ye watched the forest on the Sky Screen, his brows tightly furrowed.
"The two great emperors of the Star Dou Great Forest are already hundred-thousand-year soul beasts."
"The Evil Emperor may be powerful, but if he rashly enters their territory, he may not get out unscathed."
A minister said quietly, "Your Majesty, if the soul beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest battle the Evil Emperor, it will certainly cause an enormous disturbance."
Emperor Xue Ye did not respond.
He merely watched that familiar forest.
In the Heaven Dou Empire's records, the Star Dou Great Forest had always been one of the most dangerous regions.
Human soul masters could enter its outskirts to hunt soul beasts.
But even Titled Douluos dared not set foot in the Core Region lightly.
At the Star Luo Empire's imperial palace.
Dai Tianfeng also recognized the danger involved.
"The truly powerful soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest are by no means limited to the Sky Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape."
"Those two merely live in the outer region."
An imperial retainer nodded.
"Those two hundred-thousand-year soul beasts may very well be nothing more than the Core Region's gatekeepers."
Dai Tianfeng raised his eyes toward the Sky Screen.
"Gatekeepers?"
"What exactly lies hidden in the depths of this forest?"
Outside Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
Dugu Yan looked up at the Sky Screen.
She had heard of the two great emperors of the Star Dou Great Forest.
The Titan Giant Ape.
The Sky Azure Bull Python.
These two soul beasts were quite renowned in the soul master world.
Yet watching the Evil Emperor enter the forest still left her with some questions.
"Ning Xian, if the Evil Emperor runs into those two soul beasts, who will win?"
Ning Xian stood beside the mountain path.
His white robes stirred in the night breeze, his gaze still fixed on the Sky Screen.
"Those two soul beasts don't qualify to enter the arena."
Dugu Yan blinked.
"They don't qualify to enter the arena?"
"They're just gatekeepers."
Ning Xian's answer was blunt.
"The Star Dou Great Forest's true powerhouses aren't among them."
Dugu Yan turned back to the Sky Screen.
She did not know exactly what existed within the Core Region.
But since Ning Xian had said so, it meant things would not be as simple as the outside world imagined.
Within the scene.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm charged through stretch after stretch of dense woodland.
The soul beasts along his path scattered out of the way.
Powerful soul beast auras rose from all across the forest.
An enormous bear soul beast emerged from a valley.
Golden fur covered his entire body, and sharp claws grew from his right paw.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm swept over his head.
The Golden Giant Bear raised his head, his gaze landing on the evil eye behind him.
The next instant, he let out a roar.
The entire valley shook.
The Evil Emperor's spiritual power swept toward him.
The Golden Giant Bear raised his right paw, his sharp claws tearing open the space ahead.
Boom!
Black light collided with golden claws.
Ancient trees on both sides of the valley toppled in swathes.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm seized the opportunity to keep fleeing.
The Evil Emperor did not stop.
His enormous eye spanned the sky, and his spiritual power condensed into a black pillar of light.
The pillar of light pierced through the valley.
The Golden Giant Bear swung his paw to block it, but the impact drove him back hundreds of meters.
Two deep furrows were left in the ground.
The bullet comments suddenly erupted.
[What kind of soul beast is that bear?]
[He actually blocked a strike from the Evil Emperor!]
[The Star Dou Great Forest has powerhouses like this too?]
[Are the two great emperors really just soul beasts from the outskirts?]
The Sun Moon Empire's soul masters remained thoroughly excited.
[That was just a casual strike from Lord Evil Emperor!]
[That bear is no match for him at all!]
[Witness Lord Evil Emperor's might!]
[With Lord Evil Emperor's protection, the Sun Moon Empire is invincible beneath the heavens!]
Inside Heaven Dou City.
After seeing these bullet comments, many soul masters immediately showed their displeasure.
[He only drove back one soul beast. Is that really worth all this bragging?]
[However strong the Evil Emperor is, he's still just an intruder in someone else's territory.]
[The Star Dou Great Forest hasn't shown its true strength yet!]
[Wait until the Core Region's powerhouses appear, then we'll see who's strongest!]
The Sun Moon Empire's bullet comments quickly struck back.
[What powerhouses does the Star Dou Great Forest have?]
[Isn't it just two hundred-thousand-year soul beasts?]
[The Titan Giant Ape and the Sky Azure Bull Python couldn't even withstand a single strike from Lord Evil Emperor!]
[The Sun Moon Empire is invincible!]
Before you continue