Chapter 8: Emperor Tian Arrives.
Before the icy palace, two figures, one human and one beast, stood in excitement.
The first was a handsome middle-aged man with long, black hair cascading down his shoulders and back. His face was cold and stern, exuding a restrained yet wild arrogance.
Most striking were his eyes—sharp, golden, vertical pupils like a snake.
He was incredibly tall; while 1.9 meters is considered tall for a human, he was over two meters. A long, pure black robe draped over his body fit him perfectly.
Beside this middle-aged man was a strangely shaped soul beast.
This soul beast was about three meters long, eight feet tall at the shoulders, and covered in a layer of brilliant golden fur. Its overall shape resembled a lion, but its limbs were like dragon claws, each claw bearing a cluster of brilliant golden flames, making it exceptionally conspicuous in the icy landscape.
Its mouth was longer than that of lion-type spirit beasts, and beneath its fur appeared to be fine, golden scales.
Most strikingly, besides its normal two eyes, this spirit beast possessed a third eye—a vertical pupil. While its
two normal eyes shimmered with gold, this vertical pupil emitted a red, somewhat eerie, red.
"Uncle Di Tian, the auspicious beast of the far north is inside. I can sense its aura,"
a pleasant female voice rang in the middle-aged man's mind.
The voice came from this peculiar spirit beast, known as the Emperor Auspicious Beast in the Star Dou Great Forest and the human world.
But its true name was actually the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.
Hearing the voice transmission, the middle-aged man nodded subtly. At that moment, the palace doors, which had been tightly shut, suddenly opened, and two figures, one white and one blue, emerged almost simultaneously, landing in front of the middle-aged man and the peculiar spirit beast, watching them warily.
Those who emerged were naturally the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress.
"Di Tian, it's been a long time since our Far North has been in contact with your Star Dou region. What brings you here without a word?"
Xue Di's cold eyes fell on the middle-aged man, her tone indifferent.
The middle-aged man named Di Tian showed no change in expression, only glancing at the three-eyed golden lion beside him, and spoke indifferently, "Nothing much. This little fellow beside me is very interested in the auspicious beasts of your Far North and wanted to take a look, so I brought it along."
"Is that so?"
Her sky-blue eyes looked at the uniquely shaped soul beast. Although Xue Di knew that auspicious beasts had been born in the Star Dou Great Forest more than ten thousand years ago, this was the first time she had seen the real thing.
Indeed, it was similar to Yun Ze's soul beast form, both having very distinctive appearances.
However, Yun Ze was still cuter.
She secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that Di Tian hadn't come to cause trouble. Although she wasn't afraid of Di Tian, his strength was still extremely terrifying; otherwise, he wouldn't be ranked number one among the ten most ferocious beasts on the continent.
And she, the Snow Empress, was only third place.
The gap between herself and Emperor Tian was still considerable.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion looked at the Snow Empress and spoke, "I want to see it, is that alright?" "
It" naturally referred to Yun Ze.
The Snow Empress gave Emperor Tian a deep look, her tone still icy cold, "I can allow it in, but you cannot."
Emperor Tian's eyes narrowed slightly, and an invisible, sharp aura burst forth from his body, spreading in all directions.
Seeing this, the Ice Empress also stepped forward. In an instant, the surrounding snowstorm swept towards them, centered on the Ice Emperor.
Boom—
Suddenly, the auras erupting from both sides collided. The Ice Emperor's expression changed slightly, and she staggered back several steps, while Emperor Tian remained standing with his hands behind his back, unaffected.
In terms of strength, the Ice Emperor was far inferior to Emperor Tian; this simple clash had already revealed many issues.
"What, you dare to harm my people in my far north, Emperor Tian? Do you really think I'm afraid of you?"
Seeing this, the Snow Emperor's eyes turned cold, a chilling glint flashing in her exquisite pupils.
"I don't care what you think, and I have no other intentions. I only hope that the auspicious beast will stay by my side at all times. I can fulfill any other requests you have," Emperor Tian said calmly.
"I don't believe you." Xue Di shook her head. Perhaps Di Tian's visit was truly just because the auspicious beast of the Star Dou Great Forest wanted to see its kind, but even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance that Di Tian harbored the intention to harm Yun Ze, Xue Di couldn't allow such a thing to happen.
The two sides were deadlocked, and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion grew anxious.
It raised a paw and scratched at Di Tian's clothes. "Uncle Di Tian, do they not agree to let me see it?"
Di Tian shook his head helplessly. "They don't want to believe me, and there's nothing I can do."
"I can go in by myself; Uncle Di Tian doesn't need to come with me." The Three-Eyed Golden Lion understood the reason for the exchange between Di Tian and Xue Di. Although they were all soul beasts, the relationship between the Far North and the Star Dou Great Forest was actually quite ordinary, only slightly better than the relationship between the Star Dou Great Forest and the ocean.
Although soul beasts all disliked humans, they weren't exactly friendly to each other.
Just as the human world had four great empires, countless sects, and family forces, soul beasts also had their own regional powers.
Yunze and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion were essentially the future kings of the Far North and the Star Dou Great Forest, respectively. The fall of either of them would be a devastating blow to their respective forces. Neither
Di Tian nor Xue Di dared to gamble, even though the possibility was slim.
"No! What if something happens to you?" Di Tian refused immediately.
Seeing this, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion raised another paw and gently scratched Di Tian, its voice softening, "Uncle Di Tian~ you know how boring I am in the Star Dou Great Forest every day. Now I've finally met someone of my kind. I really, really want to see it. Please, please, please~" At first,
Di Tian remained unmoved, but the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's tone grew increasingly gentle, softening Di Tian's heart.
Recalling their time in the Star Dou Great Forest, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion would sometimes stare blankly into the distance, lost in thought.
Thinking of the loneliness and desolation on its face then, Di Tian felt a pang of pity.
After a long silence, Di Tian sighed softly and looked up at Xue Di. "I promise you, I won't go in. But if anything happens to the auspicious beast in your territory, believe me, our million soul beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest are not just for show."
Xue Di nodded gently. "I guarantee in the name of the Guardians of the Far North that I will not do anything to harm it."
"Little guy, you can go in now." Di Tian gently stroked the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's head, his voice softening.
"Okay!"
Excitement shone in the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's eyes, and it excitedly moved its limbs, running towards the palace gate.
(and of this chapter)