"Alright!"
"I'll remember this!"
The Empress's voice carried unmistakable joy. After all, who would complain about gaining two more divine artifacts?
After giving final instructions regarding Zi Ji and Bi Ji, Di Tian departed from the headquarters of the Blacksmith Association with Xue Ling.
The two of them made their way toward the outskirts of Heaven Dou City. Though they appeared to be walking, it was more akin to stepping through space itself—each step covering dozens of meters. Their pace was anything but slow.
But, in the end, they had to part ways.
Xue Ling watched Di Tian's departing figure. The simple wave of his hand as a farewell left her lips twitching.
"Just a wave? Not even a single parting word? You're trying to act all carefree, but I know better."
She composed herself, suppressing the faint melancholy within her heart. Her gaze shifted northward, her brilliant blue eyes shimmering with an intense light—nostalgia.
It had been nearly a year since she last left the Extreme North. Compared to her lifespan, this was a fleeting moment, yet it was also the longest she had ever been away.
No matter how much time passed, it was still the land that had nurtured her. That connection could not be severed.
"Roarrrr—!"
"Extreme North, I'm coming home!"
Her steps became bolder, more confident. Now a fully-fledged Mecha War Goddess, equipped with both a four-word battle armor and a divine-grade mecha, she carried the air of someone returning home in triumph.
More than that, she was overjoyed that she finally had the strength to protect the Extreme North.
While Xue Ling was speeding toward her homeland, Di Tian had already utilized his overwhelming spatial abilities to reach the nearest ocean. Without hesitation, he dove straight into the sea.
No matter how immense the water pressure, it could not hinder him. He didn't even need to use his soul power—his Dragon King's qi alone was enough to isolate himself from the seawater.
As he descended deeper, the water around him darkened.
The sea soul beasts nearby instinctively avoided him, most of them fleeing in the same direction like startled birds.
Di Tian did not restrain his immense aura. Instead, he let it rise as he descended, growing stronger and stronger.
This was exactly why he chose to descend slowly instead of opening a spatial passage straight to the deep sea.
He was here as a conqueror.
He wanted every sea soul beast to know—Di Tian has arrived!
As soon as he entered the deep sea domain, the water pressure surged dramatically.
This was a paradise for soul beasts over ten thousand years old, a forbidden zone for human life—far more so than even the Extreme North.
Through his spiritual perception, Di Tian detected a vast mental network, like an invisible net stretching across the entire deep-sea territory.
The one responsible for this was naturally the famed Sea Princess, leader of the neutral faction of sea soul beasts, and ruler of the merfolk.
Only she possessed the power to extend her spiritual senses across the entire deep sea.
At that moment, from the very depths of the ocean, a pinpoint of radiant light emerged.
The Sea Princess's voice resonated from that light.
"It has been tens of thousands of years since the Beast God personally entered the sea. The last time I sensed your presence was ten thousand years ago when an ascendant brought your True Dragon Reverse Scale here."
With a single thought, she arrived.
A stunning woman appeared, her upper body draped in a flowing imperial robe, a golden crown adorning her head. Even the scales on her mermaid tail were gold—symbols of her royal merfolk lineage.
"It has been many millennia since we last met," she said. "I have made some progress since then. I hope the Beast God will grant me the honor of a duel."
As she spoke, the twin soul cores within her body—one of yin, one of yang—began to spin wildly, radiating an aura of boundless, infinite force.
This was a tradition among soul beasts. Strength was the first and foremost language of their world. Only after battle would discussions take place. The victor dictated the terms, and the defeated had little say.
For countless years, Di Tian had battled and subdued soul beasts across the continent. It was the same principle as when the strongest soul beast of the Sun-Moon Continent, the Evil-Eyed Tyrant Master, had challenged him during the collision of the two continents.
Now, as Di Tian sought to unify the sea soul beasts, he too would abide by this tradition. In truth, he welcomed it.
Fists were not always the best solution—but they were the fastest.
Moreover, he had already fought the Sea Princess once tens of thousands of years ago—and won.
Now, with her challenging him again, how could he refuse?
"Good!"
Di Tian's aura suddenly soared to new heights. A vast, primal energy surged through the water.
With each step he took, the ocean seemed to shake. Though his steps made no sound, the Sea Princess could clearly feel it—each one as heavy as a small island crashing toward her.
Her brows furrowed slightly.
It seemed that not only had she improved, but Di Tian had also made astonishing progress—far greater than before.
Even so, she was unafraid.
With her twin soul cores perfectly harmonized and her cultivation surpassing 700,000 years, she was an unmatched force in the deep sea. Not even divine messengers would dare claim certain victory against her here.
She waved her slender arm, and instantly, the surrounding seawater distorted, converging upon Di Tian with crushing force. It was as if the entire ocean had become her weapon.
Not only that—her boundless spiritual energy shaped the seawater into countless ethereal blades, all slashing toward Di Tian at once.
At her level of mastery, every movement was an ultimate attack.
In an instant, a spiritual storm erupted around Di Tian, twisting into turbulent whirlpools that obscured everything.
Even the Sea Princess, who had initiated the assault, could no longer see into the storm. Not even her spiritual sense could penetrate the chaotic currents.
But she knew one thing—she could not let up.
She could not allow any gaps or pauses in her attacks.
Because she understood that Di Tian's combat experience vastly exceeded hers.
To her, even the smallest lapse might seem insignificant.
To him, it was an opportunity for a decisive kill.
The Sea Princess's eyes gleamed, shifting into a crystalline, ocean-blue hue—deeper and purer than the sea itself.
Ripples of light radiated from her gaze, spreading outward.
"Drip… drop…"
Tears fell. A single stream of clear liquid trickled down her cheek, each drop shimmering with a faint golden glow.
The tears of a mermaid—priceless treasures of the world.
The tears of the Sea Princess, however, were rarer than any other.
Each droplet contained an immense concentration of pure spiritual power.
For a thousand-year-old sea beast, obtaining just one drop could trigger early spiritual awakening, elevating it to the level of a ten-thousand-year beast.
Now, wielded by the Sea Princess herself, these golden tears transformed into lethal weapons of the mind.
Like radiant golden needles, they shot forth in every direction, flooding into the storm where Di Tian stood.
Each tear landed precisely in a perfect formation, ensuring that there was no escape—even though she could not see her target.
Meanwhile, in the distance, more and more sea soul beasts gathered.
"Princess," one of them asked, "do you think His Majesty will win?"
(End of Chapter)