Chapter 4: Qiangu Dongfeng: I Pledge on My Honor

The precision of the question made the presenter break into a cold sweat.

However, the awkward silence lasted only a brief moment before Qiangu Dongfeng stepped in to handle it.

"Heh."

"Everyone, please rest assured. Even if it is the Beast God Di Tian, he cannot instantly destroy the protective shield of the Star Dou Fortress. The time he would need to attack the shield would be enough for us to respond."

"The observation station here is the frontline outpost. The staff will immediately notify the headquarters of the Spirit Pagoda. I, as the Pagoda Master, will personally lead the Vice Pagoda Masters and Spirit Envoys to intercept Di Tian."

"Moreover, Shrek Academy, which claims to be the continent's guardian and peace advocate, will not tolerate the emergence of a fierce beast to endanger human society."

"The main campus of Shrek Academy, the Spirit Pagoda, and the frontline outpost of the Star Dou Fortress are in close proximity. If an emergency arises, the Star Dou Fortress will immediately notify the Sea God Pavilion of Shrek Academy."

"With the Sea God Pavilion Master Yun Ming being hailed as the continent's number one powerhouse, his response time would surely be even faster than mine."

"So, everyone need not worry, let alone be concerned."

As the Master of the Spirit Pagoda and a Limit Douluo, Qiangu Dongfeng had personally lowered himself to lead these politicians on a tour and provide explanations. Naturally, this was to build momentum in the Federation Council to push for the full development of the core region of the Star Dou Forest and to secure exclusive development rights for the Spirit Pagoda.

With his recent speech, he had even managed to drag Yun Ming and Shrek Academy into the matter, achieving two goals at once.

The many politicians in the Federation's observation group nodded in agreement and whispered among themselves, repeatedly voicing their approval.

Just as Qiangu Dongfeng was feeling smug, a middle-aged man wearing thick glasses and speaking in a rigid tone raised another question.

"Pagoda Master Qiangu, I still have a question."

Without waiting for Qiangu Dongfeng to respond, the man went straight to the point.

"Is it possible that among the soul beasts, there exists an individual with a unique ability that allows them to smuggle themselves out of the Star Dou Fortress?"

"According to historical records, soul beasts have existed for so long that their origins are untraceable."

"Countless species have evolved with vastly different abilities, contributing to the flourishing spirit soul industry of the Spirit Pagoda today."

"As far as I know, there are indeed space-attributed soul beasts in this world, capable of crossing physical distances, teleporting without barriers, and evading detection by advanced soul devices."

Qiangu Dongfeng, standing at the top of the hierarchy, gave the middle-aged man a deep look, a flash of ruthlessness passing through his eyes.

However, on the surface, he still maintained a gentle and composed expression.

"Impossible, impossible. Even if a fierce beast used spatial power, our protective shield would still be able to detect it."

"So, there is still a possibility that a fierce beast could escape?" The middle-aged man carefully picked out the loophole in Qiangu Dongfeng's words.

"Escaping from the protective shield of the Star Dou Fortress, perhaps. But escaping from the reach of the Spirit Pagoda and Shrek Academy's influence? Impossible!"

Qiangu Dongfeng spoke with absolute certainty:

"I pledge on my honor that no fierce beast will be able to enter human society and harm the people of the Federation."

"Not even the continent's number one fierce beast, the Beast God Di Tian!"

While Qiangu Dongfeng was making his impassioned speech, his inner thoughts were quite the opposite—he was actually hoping that Di Tian would escape and wreak havoc on human society. After all, it would only result in more commoners dying.

If Di Tian, this unstable factor, appeared on the continent, he would inevitably be hunted by the strongest individuals across the land.

No matter how powerful Di Tian was, he could never escape the encirclement of all the top experts.

And once Di Tian was taken down, who would be better suited to receive his true dragon corpse than the Spirit Pagoda?

If the Spirit Pagoda acquired Di Tian, it would be for the study of spirit souls, a cause that benefited the entire continent and aligned with the greater good.

As for how Di Tian managed to escape from the Star Dou Fortress? How would the Spirit Pagoda explain it?

Heh, at worst, they would receive some public criticism and spend some money to appease the people. But which faction in the Federation truly dared to challenge the Spirit Pagoda?

The rewards would be immense!

Di Tian's spirit soul! Di Tian's soul bones! They would undoubtedly elevate the Spirit Pagoda to an entirely new level.

At this thought, Qiangu Dongfeng turned around and stared through a soul device screen at the lush greenery of the Star Dou Forest. His eyes gleamed with greed and cruelty as he muttered softly:

"Di Tian, if only you would willingly become the Spirit Pagoda's Guardian Spirit Soul, how wonderful that would be."

While the Federation's observation tour was proceeding in full swing, Di Tian had already arrived in the Extreme North.

Gazing upon the boundless snowy plains of the Extreme North, he saw endless white.

The piercingly cold winds howled, yet they failed to affect Di Tian in the slightest.

The Northern Legion, stationed at the Federation's northern frontier, remained completely unaware that Di Tian had crossed their defensive lines.

As soon as he set foot in the Extreme North, Di Tian unleashed his vast, ocean-like spiritual power, radiating outward from his body.

The Demon Sovereign was the current leader of the Holy Spirit Cult, which, at this time, was hidden in the Extreme North, plotting to destroy the world.

Thus, no matter how deeply their headquarters was concealed, as long as an evil soul master surfaced, tracking them down would be easy.

"Found one!"

Under the sweep of his vast spiritual power, he successfully detected an evil soul master.

"Hmm?"

As his detection range expanded, he also sensed a soul beast on the verge of completing its hundred-thousand-year tribulation.

And it was directly in the path of the evil soul master. What would happen next was obvious.

Over the past ten thousand years, Di Tian had almost no recollection of the Extreme North.

Ever since the Silver Dragon King had emerged, every last drop of his energy had been spent on Gu Yue, leaving him no time to concern himself with the affairs of the Extreme North.

Furthermore, with the precedent of the Evil Soul Forest being completely eradicated due to the lack of an Evil Emperor's protection, Di Tian had subconsciously assumed that the Extreme North had suffered the same fate after Snow Empress and Ice Empress followed Huo Yuhao to ascend to the God Realm.

However, even if he had not just detected this hundred-thousand-year soul beast, the current Di Tian knew that the Extreme North still had a sizable population of soul beasts.

This was precisely why the Sun Moon Federation had stationed an entire army of a hundred thousand soldiers in the north—to guard against potential beast tides.

Humans were creatures that pursued profit. The Evil Soul Forest had been eradicated because its soul beasts were valuable for spirit soul research, its ancient trees and mineral resources were abundant, and once cleared, the vast plains were ideal for human settlement amid the rapid population growth fueled by soul tool technology.

In contrast, the Extreme North was a land of bitter cold, and its core region was essentially a death zone for humans. The demand for ice-attributed spirit souls was too low, making full-scale development of the Extreme North an unworthy investment.

This was why the Extreme North still retained a considerable number of soul beasts.

However, in just over a decade, the Holy Spirit Cult would open a spatial passage to introduce Abyssal creatures. The invasion of Abyssal beings would lead to the near extinction of the Extreme North's soul beasts, wiping them from history.

Today, having encountered a hundred-thousand-year soul beast in peril, Di Tian naturally could not stand idly by.

As he rushed over, the newly tribulation-passed soul beast had already engaged in close combat with the evil soul master.

(End of Chapter)