Chapter 97 The Snow Empress's Soul-Searching Question
"Yes, I promised her I'd go check on her before school."
Dai Huabin spoke casually.
For Dai Huabin, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was a treasure he absolutely had to obtain.
Zhu Lu was taken aback. "Auspicious beast? What's that?"
Hyotei immediately perked up, flicked her emerald green twin tails, moved closer to Zhu Lu, grabbed her arm, and began to talk.
"Lulu, you probably don't know, but there's a three-eyed golden lion, an imperial auspicious beast, in the core area of the Star Dou Great Forest!"
A unique being on the entire continent, possessing two ultimate attributes: ultimate fire and ultimate light. Although only having 15,000 years of cultivation, his actual combat strength is equivalent to that of a hundred thousand years.
Zhu Lu listened attentively and nodded slightly.
Hyotei became more and more excited as she spoke, patting her chest, which remained almost flat.
"And she's really easy to fool. No, I mean, she's really naive. Last time Hua Bin grilled a few pieces of meat, she chased after him, insisting that he come again."
"Bing'er." Dai Huabin turned around and glanced at her.
Hyotei scoffed, "I'm just stating the facts."
Zhu Lu thought for a moment and then spoke.
"To have the combat power of a hundred thousand years after fifteen thousand years, that is indeed the physique of an auspicious beast. There are very few records of such a soul beast in the records of the entire continent."
"That's right!" Hyotei twirled her arm around Zhu Lu's.
"And she's quite pretty."
Zhu Lu couldn't help but chuckle.
In just one month, Zhu Lu and Hyotei's relationship has changed from the initial polite and distant one.
The blood pact made Hyotei naturally close to Dai Huabin, and Zhu Lu, as Dai Huabin's fiancée and someone Hyotei saw every day, naturally grew closer over time.
Especially after Zhu Lu and Xue Di signed a blood pact, Hyotei's attitude towards Zhu Lu took another big step forward.
In Hyotei's logic, Zhu Lu and Xue Di are bound together; they are each other's own people.
Xue Di walked at the very back of the group, the hem of her white dress swaying gently at her ankles.
She listened quietly as Hyotei chattered on to Zhu Lu about the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, then, as if remembering something, suddenly spoke up.
"Hua Bin".
Dai Huabin didn't stop walking and turned to the side. "What's wrong, Xue'er?"
Xue Di paused for two seconds before speaking:
"I want to ask you something."
"you say."
What are your views on humans and the soul beast race?
Upon hearing this, Hyotei closed her mouth and turned her emerald green pupils toward Dai Huabin.
Zhu Lu also quieted down, walking half a step behind Dai Huabin without making a sound.
Dai Huabin slowed his pace.
He didn't answer immediately, but instead looked up at the sky in front of him.
"Why did Xue'er suddenly ask this?"
Xue Di didn't beat around the bush.
"I am a snow elf born and raised in the far north, and also the ruler of the far north. In the years I have lived here, I have seen too many human Soul Masters enter the far north to hunt soul beasts. Low-level soul beasts are slaughtered, high-level soul beasts are besieged, and those over 100,000 years old are seen as mobile treasure troves by humans."
Xue Di's tone was calm, without anger or accusation; she was simply stating a fact.
"Bing'er signed a blood pact with you, and I also signed a blood pact with Zhu Lu."
I trust Bing'er's judgment, and I'm grateful for your saving my life. But that doesn't mean I can completely let go of everything that belongs to the soul beast race.
Hyotei opened her mouth as if to say something, but then held back.
Xue Di continued speaking.
"There is a powerful figure by your side who was a god in life, whose abilities far exceed the comprehension of this world."
And you yourself possess Immortal Herbs and the Gold of Life—things powerful enough to change the course of the continent. I'd like to know, from your perspective, what do you foresee for the future relationship between humans and soul beasts?
Dai Huabin stopped in his tracks.
The four people stood still on the official road.
Zhu Lu looked at Dai Huabin's profile without saying a word.
She didn't need to hear Dai Huabin's answer to decide her stance; her stance would always align with Dai Huabin's. But she could sense that this issue was very important to Xue Di.
Even Hyotei became serious, which was uncharacteristic of her. She was a soul beast, and one of the Three Heavenly Kings of the Far North.
She understood the conflict between humans and soul beasts better than anyone else.
For the past ten thousand years, she hated humanity to the core. But since following Dai Huabin, that hatred has been gradually diluted.
It hasn't disappeared; it's just been temporarily put on hold.
Because she discovered that Dai Huabin was at least not that kind of human being.
But if it's just that "Dai Huabin isn't that kind of person," then it's just an isolated case.
The Snow Empress was asking about the whole, about the future, and about the fate of all the soul beasts.
Dai Huabin turned around to face Xue Di.
"Xue'er, let me answer one premise first."
Xue Di nodded slightly.
"The core of the conflict between humans and soul beasts is not hatred, but the soul ring system."
Upon hearing this, Hyotei's ears perked up.
"As you know, every time a human Soul Master breaks through a level 10 bottleneck, they must obtain a soul ring."
Where do soul rings come from? They can only be obtained from soul beasts. In other words, the entire human cultivation system is built on the foundation of hunting soul beasts.
As long as this system remains unchanged, humans and soul beasts will never be able to coexist peacefully.
Xue Di's pupils contracted slightly.
She understood this principle, of course, but hearing it from a human being gave her a completely different feeling.
"So what?" Xue Di pressed. "You mean this system can't be changed?"
Dai Huabin shook his head.
"I didn't say it can't be changed. I'm saying that if we want to change it, we need to have an alternative."
"An alternative?" Hyotei couldn't help but interject. "What alternative?"
Dai Huabin considered his words.
He knew some things. In the original novel he had read in his previous life, in the legend of the Three Dragon Kings of Douluo, there appeared an artificial ten-thousand-year-old soul spirit.
The soul tool technology at that time was already much more advanced than that of Douluo Continent II: The Legend of Tang Dynasty.
But it's too early for these things to be discussed now, and no one would understand them anyway.
Currently, Elder Yi has not yet developed the Soul Spirit Contract. If he could develop artificial Soul Spirits ten thousand years earlier, it would indeed be great news for the soul beast race.
Dai Huabin was silent for a moment before speaking:
"It's not time to discuss specific plans now. But I can tell you the direction."
Xue Di waited for him to continue.
"If one day, human Soul Masters can obtain soul rings without hunting soul beasts, then the biggest conflict between humans and soul beasts will no longer exist. At that time, even if the two races cannot be as close as family, their situation will at least be much better than it is now."
Hyotei was stunned.
"You can obtain a spirit ring without hunting soul beasts?"
Hyotei repeated the sentence, her tone filled with disbelief.
"How is that possible? Soul rings come from soul beasts; that's a law of nature."
"Laws are dead, but people are alive."
Dai Huabin chuckled. "Ten thousand years ago, no one thought that soul tools could replace Spirits in battle. What about now?"
Hyotei was speechless.
Xue Di remained silent for a long time.
The wind blew from the north, stirring her waist-length white hair.
"Can you really do what you're saying?"
Dai Huabin did not give a definite promise because he knew that making such grand pronouncements would only make him sound cheap.
"I don't know how long it will take. But I have Elder Yi by my side; his understanding of the laws governing the soul of the world is deeper than anyone else's. And…"
He paused, glanced at Hyotei and Zhu Lu, then looked back at Xue Di.
Do you believe me?
Hyotei was the first to speak, in a matter-of-fact tone, "Nonsense."
Zhu Lu gently tugged at Dai Huabin's sleeve, saying nothing, but her meaning was clear.
Xue Di looked at the human boy in front of her.
Through the shared memories of the blood pact, she saw many sides of Dai Huabin.
In Zhu Lu's memory, the boy suddenly changed one day, becoming gentle, responsible, and no longer treating the people around him as tools.
Life's long years have taught Xue Di to see through too many things. She's seen thousands of false promises, but Dai Huabin is different.
Xue Di let out a breath.
"You saved me, Bing'er believes you, and Zhu Lu believes you too. I have no reason not to believe you."
Dai Huabin glanced at Xue Di and said seriously:
"Xue'er, some things can't be rushed, but they won't be delayed for too long either. The most important thing right now is for us to become stronger. When we have enough strength to stand at the top of this continent, then people will listen to what we say."
Xue Di didn't press the matter further. She noticed that Dai Huabin had used "we," not "I." Dai Huabin had already included both her and Hyotei in the equation.
"Let's go," Dai Huabin started walking again, "Let's go to the Star Dou Great Forest first and find Zhu Lu's fourth spirit ring."
Zhu Lu quickly followed and walked to his side.
Hyotei and Xue Di were pondering something, keeping Dai Huabin's words in mind.
The four continued north along the official road, gradually approaching the outer edge of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Read 25+ Advanced Chapters at P@ Tre On
FictionTimeo
[end of the chapter]