Chapter 42: Xiaobai's Sword Dance, Aimed at Ditian

"But the dead are gone, and the living must cherish their lives."

"Humans are powerful, blessed by heaven and earth, with fortunes beyond the reach of soul beasts."

"Moreover, our plane is under the management of the Divine Realm. There are gods in the Divine Realm, and gods possess great love, cherishing all living beings and promoting harmonious coexistence."

"The second-generation Sea God who ascended from the Douluo Continent had a mother who was a hundred-thousand-year-old transformed Blue Silver Emperor, possessing half soul beast blood. His wife was a hundred-thousand-year-old transformed Soft Bone Charming Rabbit."

"The second-generation Sea God has mentioned to me more than once that he has always strived for peaceful coexistence between humans and soul beasts."

"The cultivation of the new God of Emotions, Ice Spirit Douluo, who ascended to the Divine Realm ten thousand years ago, was an unceasing effort made by the Sea God."

"The original intention of the soul spirit was to achieve peaceful coexistence between humans and soul beasts. This is widely known and indisputable."

"But how could an ordinary human Soul Master like Ice Spirit Douluo have invented something as epoch-changing as the soul spirit? I believe it must have been the Sea God secretly guiding him, revealing divine miracles, all for the sake of our soul beast race."

"The current slaughter of soul beasts caused by human soul spirit research is merely the result of the Divine Realm's disappearance and lack of supervision."

"We only need to endure for now, withdraw our forces and influence, and wait patiently for the Divine Realm to return and divine miracles to descend. Then, all crises will be resolved."

"Do not follow others into an abyss of destruction and set foot on an irreversible path."

However, this carefully crafted speech, based on conjecture and reasoning but spoken as though it were fact, did not elicit a single cheer from the sea soul beasts present.

All the sea soul beasts in the hall stared coldly at Xiaobai, their eyes filled with scorn and even derision. They did not even bother to refute her words.

In truth, it was not that no sea soul beasts believed her; rather, those who would have believed her were already dead—the deceased members of the Sea God faction!

It made sense. If Xiaobai had not been able to use the Divine Realm and the Sea God as a shield in the past, how could she have gained the trust of so many sea soul beasts and established the Sea God faction?

She had even led them in direct confrontation against the anti-Sea God faction, which was commanded by the Deep Sea Demon Whale King, the Devil Emperor, who had over 900,000 years of cultivation. Even before being completely annihilated, her faction had managed to severely wound their enemies.

But now, the sea soul beasts gathered in the mermaid palace were either members of the anti-Sea God faction or the neutral faction. Neither group would ever believe Xiaobai's rhetoric.

After all, if they were the type to believe her, they would have already done so in the past—and died for it.

And those who had never trusted her certainly wouldn't start now, just because of a few words.

Besides, what kind of nonsense was she spouting?!

Who here didn't understand the principle that surrendering land for peace today would only invite further demands tomorrow? That after yielding one piece, another ten would be taken, bringing only fleeting peace, only to find that humans had encroached once more?

To submit to humans, to serve them, was akin to fighting fire with fire—sacrificing the soul beasts' resources just to buy human favor.

Truly, it was disgusting—being a lapdog for the Sea God and humans to such an extent. A traitor like this was often even more detestable than outright evil.

After waiting for a long time without a single sea soul beast agreeing with her, Xiaobai felt her dignity slipping.

Inside, she was furious: These ungrateful fools!

Her gaze shifted to Ditian, her clear eyes glowing with a deep, calculating light.

Everything stemmed from this individual—this so-called Beast God Ditian, this madman who intended to challenge the human race's peak powerhouses with his own strength. He had given these self-pitying sea soul beasts newfound courage.

He had to die.

He had to be eliminated, this enemy of the Sea God's mission for peace between humans and soul beasts. The courage he had instilled in these soul beasts had to be shattered.

She spoke up immediately:

"Beast God, to lead the soul beast race into war against humanity is a matter that concerns the lives of billions. It must be approached with the utmost caution."

"Such a decision cannot be made hastily. Moreover, the merfolk's banquet was prepared in a rush, and there is no accompanying music. Why not allow me to perform a sword dance to entertain everyone? This will also give us all time to reflect on the matter carefully."

Ditian took a sip from his coral goblet, his golden dragon eyes narrowing slightly as he gazed at Xiaobai, as if watching a ridiculous clown perform.

At last, he responded with a single word:

"Fine."

To be precise, the time he was granting was not for the foolishly confident performer before him, but for the Sea Princess.

Ditian understood the reasons behind the Sea Princess's hesitation. He had even met her daughter, the mermaid princess Liya, who had already become a soul spirit bound to Huo Yuhao.

Thus, he was willing to give the Sea Princess a little more time to think.

But only a little.

This was a war for the survival of their race. He would not allow anyone, for any reason, to create complications.

The most he could promise was that after victory was secured, he would do his utmost to revive the dead and bring fulfillment to those who remained.

If the Sea Princess still hesitated, then he would make the decision for her.

Meanwhile, having received Ditian's permission, Xiaobai was pleased, though she maintained an indifferent expression.

Her request to perform a sword dance was, of course, not to entertain—it was to assassinate Ditian.

Of course, she was aware that she alone was no match for Ditian. She would need to use her hidden trump card and coordinate with the Sea Princess.

A sword dance must include a sword to be truly worthy of the name.

Xiaobai immediately summoned a long sword from her spiritual sea. The sword's hilt was adorned with crystal inlays, shimmering with brilliant blue light, while the blade was carved with intricate hollow patterns, as if sealing something within.

This was the divine weapon bestowed upon her by the Sea God—a tool of both authority and intimidation among the sea soul beasts.

Without it, how could she, a soul beast with only 200,000 years of cultivation, have led the Sea God faction and commanded sea soul beasts far more powerful than herself?

This sword held a secret unknown to others: it contained a strand of pure Sea God divine power.

To a god, it was merely a breath's worth of energy. But to a soul beast or a human Soul Master who relied on soul power, it was a lethal poison. If it entered Ditian's body, it would disrupt his soul power, severely limiting his ability to fight back.

At that moment, with the Sea Princess's cooperation, Ditian could absolutely be defeated!

With that in mind, Xiaobai transformed into her human form.

Her long gray-blue hair cascaded down her back, reaching the floor. Her eyes shimmered in the same gray-blue hue.

Her skin was pale, exuding a faint blue glow. With high cheekbones and sharply defined features, she possessed an exotic beauty—an appearance befitting a dancer.

She caught her divine sword midair, twirled it gracefully, and leaped lightly into the palace center, as delicate as a floating feather.

A queen among sea soul beasts, dancing in elegance.

Ditian, as the most powerful figure present, naturally sat in the most esteemed seat near the center.

The dance had begun, but Xiaobai's expression darkened.

Her attempts to use spiritual transmission to communicate with the Sea Princess about cooperating to kill Ditian had all gone unanswered—vanishing into silence like stones sinking into the sea.

(End of Chapter)