"How did we awaken? You should be aware, shouldn't you?"
Di Tian didn't immediately answer the Azure Oxpython's puzzlement but counter-questioned instead.
Without hesitation, the Azure Oxpython answered, "It was due to the anomalies that appeared on Soul Land, with abyssal creatures invading and ultimately perishing on Soul Land which caused a surge in the world's vital energy, rapidly restoring Your Excellency's cultivation level..."
He was aware of this.
And within this earthly anomaly, he had gained no small benefits; his cultivation level had grown by ten thousand years in just three short years.
"Correct."
Di Tian nodded, "Then you shouldn't ask such a question. You must know that the one who staved off the downfall of our race was a human powerhouse."
"Hiss..." Upon hearing this, the Azure Oxpython inhaled sharply.
Although Di Tian's words were not explicitly clear, he understood.
That meant that their regent, the Soul Beast Regent, also held a considerable amount of apprehension towards the Thunder Emperor who saved Soul Land.
Faced with the situation where soul beasts were being hunted by human Soul Masters, she had to react, yet she couldn't afford to react too violently.
Simultaneously, enlightenment struck him; no wonder Di Tian had just mentioned that the movements of the Aquipeia Forest were enough to warrant the arrival of human powerhouses.
From beginning to end, the regent never intended to wage war against humans... instead, she desired a negotiation.
"There are some things you don't understand. I felt something during that war three years ago.
Even though I was far away and couldn't see clearly, I could confirm that the one battling the Abyssal Sage King had a strength that rivaled a God King of the Divine Realm; I would only be able to fight him when I was at full victory..."
"It's my incompetence, to watch as my people are oppressed and still be powerless to resist..."
Suddenly, the woman in white seated upon the throne finally spoke up.
This was the first time the Azure Oxpython heard her voice.
It was cold to the extreme.
Chilling to the core.
"Hmph!"
Noticing the change in the Azure Oxpython's expression, Di Tian's face suddenly turned cold as ice.
In his view, the Azure Oxpython's behavior was a grave offense that required severe punishment.
"Regent, Di Tian, I had no intention of offending..."
How could the Azure Oxpython fail to grasp the situation before him?
Realizing the mistake in his words, he hastily pressed his gigantic head against the ground to admit his fault.
Even his massive body began to tremble.
Could he not be nervous?
Any one of these beings could easily slay him.
"Affronting the regent, how could I let you off lightly?"
Di Tian's angry voice rose as he casually waved his hand, sending a golden ray of light like a long whip, brutally lashing against the Azure Oxpython.
With a slap.
The Azure Oxpython's thick scale armor instantly shattered, and blood splattered everywhere.
The intense pain caused the Azure Oxpython to convulse even more fiercely.
But he didn't dare to make a sound.
For he knew, the more he begged for mercy, the worse his fate would be.
Yet even then, Di Tian still felt unsatisfied, and raised his hand once more.
"Di Tian, stop," the woman in the white dress intervened.
Upon hearing this, Di Tian immediately lowered his hand and obediently stood to the side.
At this moment, the woman in white continued, "Azure Oxpython, I know you are resentful. But you must see the current situation clearly: our Soul Beast Clan is in decline, and it is not yet time to seek mutual destruction with the human race.
But this is only temporary. In the future, the plight of our Soul Beast Clan will definitely not be as it is now."
"I understand the regent's painstaking efforts..." Azure Oxpython, having been on the receiving end of a vicious beating, dared not utter any irrelevant words.
He had learned his lesson.
In the presence of this regent, one should not say what should be said, nor what should not be said.
He would only answer what he was asked, any more than a punctuation mark was a sin.
"You mentioned a person from the human race, who killed a hundred-thousand-year Titan Ape and then coerced a hundred-thousand-year Soft Bone Charm Rabbit into sacrifice?" the woman in the white dress asked languidly.
"Yes, regent, the matter is absolutely true. That person's actions were vile, causing immeasurable harm to our Soul Beast Clan and his actions were an outright provocation to the dignity of our Soul Beast Clan..." Azure Oxpython, bringing up the matter, was overcome with emotion.
The deaths of Er Ming and Xiaowu were something he could not let go of, no matter what.
"What's the name of that human?"
"Answering the regent, his name is Qin Xiao."
"Qin Xiao?" The woman in white slightly furrowed her brow upon hearing this, "This person shares the same name as the Thunder Emperor mentioned by the Soul Masters..."
"Please be assured, regent, the two are definitely not the same person. That Qin Xiao was just at the Titled Douluo Level three years ago, and couldn't possibly have reached a rank comparable to a Divine King, right?"
After listening to the Azure Oxpython, the woman in white gently tapped the armrest with her hand, "What you say does make sense..."
"This person cannot be tolerated. When the human powerhouses arrive, I will have them hand him over to you to avenge your grievances."
Azure Oxpython instantly became ecstatic, continuously knocking his head against the ground, "Thank you, regent! Thank you, regent!"
He was almost incoherent with excitement.
After all these years, the chance to avenge Er Ming and Xiaowu had finally come.
...
On the other side.
Thunder Emperor City.
Council Hall.
At this moment, Qiandaoliu, Liu Erlong, Ning Fengzhi, the Star Luo Retired Emperor, and Poseissi, five individuals, sat in their designated seats, each with a different expression, but none of them speaking.
For the Douluo Federation's five council members to gather was a rare sight.
The last time so many council members were present was over two years ago, at the first Council Hall meeting, when six council members were assembled.
Afterward, Emperor Qinghe disappeared without a trace, with only the occasional letter sent back saying he was doing well and not to worry.
Liu Erlong was busy with child-rearing, and the Blue Electric Overlord Dragon Clan had left the handling of major and minor matters to Yu Luomian.
Creak.
Just at that moment, the heavy doors of the hall were pushed open.
Qin Xiao strode in.
He wore a smile on his face and greeted everyone, "It's been a long time, everyone."
Immediately, the expressions on everyone's faces became animated.
There was excitement, admiration, longing, awe, respect...
In the past three years, too many things had happened; they had so much to say but didn't know where to start.
Qin Xiao waved his hand and said with a smile, "Don't rush. I won't be leaving again this time. We have plenty of time to talk. Why don't we sit down and discuss?"
"That would be most appropriate."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
However, as they noticed Qin Xiao about to casually take a seat, someone promptly spoke up to stop him.
"Wait."
The Star Luo Retired Emperor hurriedly said, "That's not your place..."
Then, he extended his hand to point at the head of the long table, to the chair right in the center, "That's where you belong."
"E..."
Qin Xiao paused for a moment.
There was no doubt that it was the seat of honor.
"I think it's better not to. I'm quite comfortable sitting here."
"Qin Xiao, given your identity, status, and strength, you truly deserve to sit there."
"Yes, Qin Xiao, only you in that seat is what everyone expects. Who else is qualified?"
"If you're not sitting there, we might as well all stand while you sit alone for our discussion."
Qiandaoliu, Ning Fengzhi, Poseissi, Liu Erlong, and others spoke up one after another.
You should know, that position had been vacant for years, just waiting for today.
In the Council Hall, as the words of the crowd fell, it fell silent.
What needed to be said had been said, and they were all waiting for Qin Xiao's response.
'It seems they won't be at ease unless I take that seat.'
Qin Xiao understood everyone's thoughts and then rose to his feet.
Of course.
If Qin Xiao didn't want to, no one could force him.
But in the eyes of everyone, the person sitting in the main seat would possess the highest honor in Soul Land.
The power to veto any proposal from the council members.
Yet Qin Xiao didn't care.
Because whether he sat in that seat or not, he had such capabilities.
Moreover.
To him, that chair was indeed just a chair.
It had no additional value.
"I am flattered by your regard. I shall humbly comply with your wishes," he said.
After the polite words, he stepped up to the main seat and slowly sat down.
Little did they know, as he plopped down onto the seat, everyone's heart settled as well.
"Can everyone sit down and talk now?" Qin Xiao asked with a smile.
"Of course."
"That's only right."
"..."
With smiles on their faces, people hurriedly took their seats.
Qin Xiao said, "You don't have to be so formal with me. I just want to have a casual talk with everyone and listen to the changes over these past few years."
"Then allow me to begin…" Qiandaoliu said cheerfully.
After that, he recounted the major events of the past few years to Qin Xiao.
It was pretty much the same as what Liu Erlong had said.
The first point was about the thriving Thunder Emperor City.
The population of the inner and outer city combined had reached a staggering one million.
Among them, the number of Soul Masters in the inner city was as high as 150,000!
Such an enormous number of Soul Masters was two to three times higher than what Spirit City could accommodate at its peak.
Note, this is about accommodating, not the total number of Soul Masters Spirit City ever had.
And this was just a part of the Douluo Federation's Soul Master population.
Today on Soul Land, the true number of Soul Masters had exceeded 500,000.
That is double the number before the disaster struck.
"Although nearly sixty percent of these Soul Masters have awakened their powers in recent years, their innate soul power rank, and the quality of their Martial Souls are much stronger than those in the past... the future is promising!"
Qiandaoliu became increasingly animated as he spoke.
After listening to Qiandaoliu's words, Qin Xiao nodded slightly, indeed, the future was promising.
When these Soul Masters truly grow up, the overall strength of Soul Land would have increased by several times compared to before.
"This requires one to admire the foresight of the Great Priest back then. If he hadn't proposed the free awakening of Martial Souls for all children in Soul Land, we wouldn't have such a prosperous age."
At this moment, Ning Fengzhi's voice, full of admiration, resounded.
He wasn't just being polite.
Rather, he truly believed Qiandaoliu was correct.
It must be known that under this plan, their Seven Treasures Glaze Sect, along with many Soul Master Families and academies, were also beneficiaries.
Now, the Seven Treasures Glaze Sect had as many as ten thousand Soul Masters, a full five times the number from before.
And the number of Soul Masters in each major Soul Master Family and academy had at least doubled since then.
Had these Soul Master Families remained as complacent and confined as before, how could they have reaped such great benefits?
The second thing was a change brought about by the proposal of Emperor Qinghe before he left.
Because of the rotational duties, the officials of the various cities were working with particular diligence.
As long as it was a policy issued by the Douluo Federation, they would surely complete it with all their might.
Beyond that, the disaster relief funds and food distributed by the Douluo Federation, not a single Copper soul coin was taken, not a grain of rice was left—it was all delivered into the hands of the people.
Why do this? The reason is quite simple.
After all, with only a three-year term, one couldn't establish any real foundation.
And with Ning Fengzhi as the 'Minister of Finance', who would dare to be sneaky?
Wouldn't that be courting disaster upon oneself?
Therefore, they had to be clean, making sure future successors couldn't grasp any handle against them.
In other words, even if someone harboured ill intentions, they wouldn't have the guts to act on it.
Afterward, everyone discussed one matter after another.
Qin Xiao couldn't help but sigh, realizing that it wasn't just him striving, but everyone was striving.
It's just that he was striving to become stronger.
The others were striving to make the world a better place.
But Qin Xiao didn't feel ashamed.
He was never the type to consider the happiness of the whole world his responsibility, embodying selfless nobility.
Even though he possessed God Rank cultivation, he was still a commoner at heart.
"Besides this, Mr. Ning has another matter to discuss, though I'm not sure if it's appropriate to speak of."
Seeing the topic drawing to a close, Ning Fengzhi spoke up again.
Qin Xiao gave a slight smile, "If that's the case, then let's not talk about it."
Ning Fengzhi: "..."
He realized that his modest remark was indeed overly modest.
Facing someone like Qin Xiao, it was better to cut to the chase.
"No, I've decided it's necessary to speak on it, this concerns the cultivation of all the Soul Masters in Soul Land and is not a matter to be taken lightly."
"Continue, then."
"Something recently occurred in the Aquipeia Forest, where the soul beasts have become extremely ferocious. Even high cultivation level soul beasts are leading a beast tide, driving all the Soul Masters inside the forest to the edges."
"Oh? Such a matter has arisen?"
Qin Xiao showed a surprised expression.
He was genuinely astonished.
Could it be that the Soul Beast Overlords hiding deep within the Aquipeia Forest had emerged?
Of course, the Overlords weren't a big deal. Qin Xiao suspected it might be that Soul Beast Regent, the Dragon God's half soul—Gu Yuena—had revived in full?
Otherwise, even with the Azure Oxpython's insignificant power, it wouldn't dare to be so brazen even if lent a hundred times the courage.
"Has anyone been sent to investigate?" Qin Xiao asked further.
"Titled Douluo powerhouses have gone, but as soon as they set foot deep into the forest, they felt a fatal threat and were too frightened to proceed."
"Hmm, this is becoming more and more plausible..." Qin Xiao murmured softly, his interest piqued.
That was the Silver Dragon King, equivalent to half a Dragon God when at full strength and also a breathtaking beauty.
Of course.
The beauty wasn't important. Qin Xiao was more interested in Gu Yuena's cultivation level, which might provide some assistance to him.
"You need not worry about this matter. In a couple of days, I'll go and see for myself what exactly is happening."
As Qin Xiao spoke, everyone was overjoyed.
"Good, taking this opportunity, I also have something to announce."
"Oh?"
Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions immediately tensed.
Everyone knew that if Qin Xiao spoke up, it must be a significant event that would shake Soul Land, not to be underestimated.
"Ahem."
Qin Xiao cleared his throat, "There's no need to look at me like that. We're not facing an invasion, nor are we invading others...
I just want to say, I'm getting married."
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