Chapter 243: Auspicious Emperor(2)

"What?!" Huo Yuhao was completely bewildered. A contract? His soul was now connected to the Auspicious Emperor? "How?! I don't recall ever having a contract with the Auspicious Emperor!"

"Tch. Of course you don't." Di Tian coldly snorted, rubbing his temples. "The child was the one who initiated the contract between you two when you were at death's door!"

'The Auspicious Emperor formed a contract with me when I was dying? That...' Huo Yuhao slightly narrowed his eyes, recalling Electrolux's words and thought of a possibility. 'Wait, could they have been the one who increased the chance of "Resist Death" activating? But why?'

"The Auspicious Emperor should have no inclination to help you, much less form a soul contract with you. So, there's only one reason why that happened." Di Tian frustration and anger was evident in his voice as he glared down at Huo Yuhao. "You must've manipulated the child somehow!"

Huo Yuhao's eyes widened in disbelief. "Manipulated? Are you insane?! I didn't even know the Auspicious Emperor existed until a few minutes ago!"

Di Tian's aura flared dangerously, and the cavern walls trembled under the weight of his fury. "Lies!" he roared. "The Auspicious Emperor is the heart of the Great Star Dou Forest! Its very presence ensures the prosperity of all soul beasts! And now it is tied to you — a human! Now tell me, what did you do to the child?!"

Huo Yuhao frowned, his hand clenched, trying to remain calm despite the overwhelming pressure suffocating him. His mind raced. If what Di Tian was saying was true, then the Auspicious Emperor had chosen him at the moment of his near-death. But why?

His eyes widened and the corner of his lips upturned into a half-smile, he let out a laugh.

"Hahahaha..."

Di Tian frowned. "Why are you laughing, human? I—"

"You will do nothing, Lord Beast God." Huo Yuhao said, looking up at Di Tian with a cold and devious look on his face.

A vein bulged on Di Tian's forehead. "How dare—!"

"In the manners of a negotiation, Di Tian. There's the negotiator and the one being negotiated with." Huo Yuhao interrupted, his voice turning eerily calm despite the suffocating pressure pressing down on him. "Tell me. How would you differentiate the two?"

"What are you getting at, human?" Di Tian asked, doubt creeping in his heart. From the beginning, the boy before him showed no fear or even the slightest reaction to his killing intent. He was a soul beast that had lived(cultivated) for around 800,000 years so the amount of humans and some soul beasts that he had killed would be enough to pile them into several mountains and run their blood into large lakes.

And yet, a mere human, who wasn't even in his second decade of life, could calmly face his murderous aura and dragon might? Even a Titled Douluo would flinch!

'Who is this human?'

Huo Yuhao chuckled. "In almost all negotiations, the one being negotiated with....wins. And in this situation, that means me."

Shlick*!

A clean horizontal cut appeared across Huo Yuhao's right cheek.

"This—" Di Tian raises his right hand—now a terrifying black-scaled dragon claw, with droplets of blood dripping down. "—is not a negotiation. This is an interrogation! You are wearing down my patience, human."

Huo Yuhao kept the half-smile on his face, the cut on his cheek quickly healed. "Oh, but this is a negotiation, Di Tian. Didn't you hear what you've said to me?"

Di Tian narrowed his eyes, still baffled but a bad feeling appeared in his heart.

'What I said... No. It can't be!' His eyes widened in realization and dread.

Huo Yuhao's lips widened into a wide grin, confirming Di Tian's fears of what he said next. "The Auspicious Emperor, one of the most precious existences in the Great Star Dou Forest, our souls are intertwined—!"

Di Tian didn't let him finish, out of blind anger and frustration, he gripped his neck once more, lifting Huo Yuhao off the ground with ease. His claw tightened, and for a brief moment, he was about to take the life of the disrespectful human.

"You dare use the child as leverage against me?!" Di Tian's voice was no longer just a roar—it was a dragon's wrath, raw and thunderous. His aura erupted like a storm, sending shockwaves through the cavern.

Huo Yuhao coughed, struggling against the suffocating grip and immense soul power, but even as his vision darkened, he refused to waver. His grin remained.

"You can kill me...." Huo Yuhao rasped out, his voice barely above a whisper. "But what do you think is going to happen to your Auspicious Emperor?"

Those words poured a bucket of cold water to Di Tian's fury as his grip faltered for just a moment. The coldness in his eyes intensified.

"....Then I won't let you die. I'll just imprison you, torture, and even amputate all of your limbs just so you can't escape. Given enough time, I'm sure that soul contract or whatever you and the child have would be cut off."

Huo Yuhao burst out laughing. "Won't let me die? You sure about that?"

Di Tian coldly snorted. "Unless you have a death wish, I promise you that I cannot let you die. You know my name, you know who I am, you know what I am! I can do a lot of things that a child such as yourself cannot imagine that I can do."

Huo Yuhao continued to smile at him. "And you....don't know single thing about me, much less my name. Who are you to presume my abilities?"

"I don't care who you are...."

Huo Yuhao smiled.

Suddenly, a sense of danger gripped Di Tian's instincts—a feeling he had not experienced in thousands of years.

'No, this isn't the sense of danger to my life...But...'

His golden eyes narrowed as his body tensed, ready to react.

Huo Yuhao's smile never faded. Instead, he exhaled softly.

In that moment, Di Tian's eyes widened and he looked down at Huo Yuhao's arm; it exuded a chilly air, its veins writhing around the flesh and expanding like a balloon!

BOOM!

The cave shook violently as an explosion of ultimate ice erupted from Huo Yuhao's arm, sending a shockwave through the cavern. The entire area around them was covered in ice and snow, ice spikes burst forth, spreading in every direction, freezing the very air itself.

Ice Explosion Technique, jutsu version. It was the technique that the Ice Jade Scorpion Left Soul Bone had before it was destroyed by the Ice God. Unlike that version that would use the creature or object it froze as its source of fuel for explosion, this version compresses the soul power into the ultimate ice to the maximum limit. It wasn't as strong as the former.

But if he used it in his organs...it would create an explosion strong enough to kill him or others in an instant.

A large black sphere had appeared in the middle of it all before it slowly dissipates like smoke to reveal both Di Tian and Huo Yuhao. In that split second, Di Tian had separated the space around them, creating a protective barrier to shield himself and the boy from the explosion.

Di Tian is a member of the Black Dragon Clan, known as the Royal Bodyguards of the Dragon God. Their specialty was of course the use of darkness element and space element. Di Tian was especially a specialist in using the space element to the point that he has some control over time as well.

With the power of space-time and other abilities, Di Tian was confident that he could stop Huo Yuhao from killing himself and yet...

His golden eyes flickered with both surprise and irritation as he stared at Huo Yuhao, who merely smiled at him.

"You..." Di Tian muttered, lowering his clawed hand. "Do you not treasure your life?"

"Oh, but I do. I love to live my life and fulfill my dreams and ambitions. Not just for me, but others as well that had helped me in this journey of mine." Huo Yuhao admitted, spatting out a mouthful of blood to the ground. "I really want to live a very long life, get married, have children, guide and support them, before dying in bed from old age."

"So...why...?"

Huo Yuhao's expression turned serious and said. "Because I'd rather die than live the rest of my life as a prisoner or a slave. Oh and, I also have a bomb in both my heart and brain that can go off with just a mere thought of blowing myself up."

Di Tian growled. "You're bluffing."

Huo Yuhao tilted his head back, a mad gleam flashed across his eyes. "Try me, bitch."

Human and dragon were at a standstill as the air between them grew thick with tension.

Di Tian's claws flexed, his golden eyes narrowing as he scrutinized the human before him. 'Was he truly willing to die? Or was this another trick?'

Huo Yuhao, however, remained unfazed, his smirk unwavering. His body was a wreck, blood dripped from the corner of his lips, and yet—his eyes burned with absolute confidence.

Di Tian had lived for more than 800,000 years. He had encountered countless cunning humans, desperate soul beasts, and Gods and Divine Beasts.

But this boy....

This boy had the audacity to threaten him.

The Beast God's lips curled into a sneer. "You are either the most fearless human I've ever met.... or the most foolish."

"Wait! That's enough!"

At that moment, a female voice filled with worry interrupted them.

With a flash of golden light, a creature appeared in between Di Tian and Huo Yuhao, their eyes widened for different reasons.

This soul beast had a very beautiful bright golden fur, and its body seemed semi-transparent; it gave off a very special feel. Its body was shaped like a lion, but its claws were that of a dragon. There were even golden flames coming off its dragon claws. Its mouth was longer than that of usual lion-type soul beasts, and there were fine golden scales beneath its fur. The most peculiar thing about this soul beast was that it had three eyes! Its two ordinary eyes were gold, but its third vertical eye emitted a bewitching red glow.

"You..." Huo Yuhao muttered, feeling a strange intimate and familiar feeling towards the soul beast in front of him.

At that moment, Di Tian retracted all of his aura and even his claws. He looked...both tired and disappointed at the same time, like a father who didn't approve of their daughter's boyfriend.

"...Little brat, what are you doing here?"

"Stop! You can't hurt him anymore, Beast God!" The Auspicious Emperor pleaded.

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AN: Damn. When will Huo Yuhao finally get a dub? Eh, it'll come eventually. Teehee~

The road to supremacy is never an easy one after all.

4/4 chapters of the week!