Douluo Dalu 3: Legend of the White Fox

"Achoo..."

"What's wrong?" Zi Ji curiously looked at Xia Yi. "Why are you sneezing all of a sudden?"

"Probably because I'm too handsome and someone is thinking about me." Xia Yi muttered under his breath.

"Can you be serious for once?" Zi Ji rolled her eyes at him and asked, "Why did you insist on coming to Tiandou City?"

"To buy something." Xia Yi replied casually. Originally, she had wanted to go to the Federation's capital, Mingdu, to shop, but considering the long journey—driving there and back would take up the entire holiday—she decided to come to Heaven dou City instead.

Although Heaven dou City was not as prosperous as Mingdu, it was still among the top three cities in the Federation.

"What do you need to buy?" Zi Ji asked curiously.

They had just left Shrek City, which was far more bustling than Heaven dou City.

Anything available in Heaven dou City could surely be found in Shrek City as well.

She couldn't understand why Xia Yi insisted on buying things here.

"You'll find out soon enough." Xia Yi shook his head, unwilling to explain.

"Hmph, just keep your little secrets then." Zi Ji huffed in dissatisfaction.

Xia Yi ignored her complaints and instead asked softly, "Can I ask you a question?"

Zi Ji was slightly taken aback. Since when did Xia Yi become so polite? "What is it?"

"Have you ever considered... what would happen if your master failed? What would become of the Star Dou Forest?" Xia Yi gazed out the window at the passing cars, his expression turning serious.

"Fail? Impossible. Our master is the new Dragon King, a fragment of the Dragon God. As long as she recovers and leaves the Divine Realm, no one on the Douluo Continent will be her match!" Zi Ji said firmly.

"I'm talking about 'if' she fails." Xia Yi shook his head. "It's always better to be prepared for the worst. If your master truly engages in an all-out battle with humanity and loses again, do you think humans would still allow the Star Dou Forest to exist?"

"I said, she will not fail." Zi Ji's voice grew agitated. If anyone else had dared to question Gu Yue like this, they would've already been slapped to death by her.

"So you've never considered the possibility of failure, have you?" Xia Yi pressed.

"With our master's strength, why should we?" Zi Ji replied coldly.

Xia Yi sighed. "Having confidence in your master is good, but when the survival of an entire race is at stake, shouldn't you at least make contingency plans?"

"Then tell me, what do you think we should do?" Zi Ji's voice turned icy, her gaze at Xia Yi becoming hostile. "Ever since the Angel God of the Spirit Hall, then the Sea God, and later the God of Emotions, every time a new deity has emerged in the Douluo Continent, soul beasts have suffered. Especially after the birth of soul spirits, countless soul beasts have been captured by humans. We've watched helplessly as our kind dwindled day by day, powerless to stop it. Do you even understand how that feels?"

"You're just a ten-year-old little fox. You know nothing. You can't possibly comprehend the despair of watching the Star Dou Forest march toward extinction. By now, we've reached a point where we have no choice but to stake our lives on our master. If she falls, we will fight to the death."

"Without our master, the Star Dou Forest will perish anyway. Rather than being slowly slaughtered, we'd rather go out in a blaze of glory!"

Zi Ji's voice was heavy, filled with sorrow and even a hint of madness.

Xia Yi fell into silence. He realized he had underestimated these powerful soul beasts.

Whether it was Zi Ji, Di Tian, or the others, they always acted cautiously, never daring to openly oppose humans despite how the Star Dou Forest had suffered.

Before, Xia Yi had thought they were simply afraid. But now, he understood—it was because they had Gu Yue as their beacon of hope.

They truly believed that Gu Yue would lead them to victory over humanity.

They had endured countless humiliations, biding their time, just so they could survive long enough to aid Gu Yue when she awakened.

They had swallowed their fury, choosing patience over rebellion, all for that one chance.

In truth, after living for hundreds of thousands of years, they did not fear death.

The gods of the Divine Realm had calculated everything precisely. They knew that the soul beasts wouldn't dare to make reckless moves as long as Gu Yue existed. This was why they had continuously pressured the Star Dou Forest without worrying about outright rebellion.

If Gu Yue had never existed, perhaps these soul beasts would have wiped out humanity the moment they descended upon Douluo Continent.

Neither humans nor soul beasts feared hopelessness as much as they feared the illusion of hope leading them to slow annihilation.

No wonder the Divine Realm and the Douluo Plane's will never moved against Gu Yue while she was asleep.

If they had, and the soul beasts lost all hope, an all-out war would have already erupted.

Maybe, without Gu Yue, the soul beasts would not be able to defeat humanity now.

But with Di Tian and the others' capabilities, if they chose not to confront humanity head-on, killing them would be nearly impossible.

Di Tian could easily follow the example of the Holy Spirit Cult—hiding in the shadows and launching attacks whenever possible.

If that happened, humanity would never be able to get rid of him.

Xia Yi thought momentarily and finally said, "No matter what happens in the future, no matter whether your master wins or loses, I will do everything in my power to find a way for soul beasts to survive."

Zi Ji gave him a surprised look before silently nodding.

They all knew Xia Yi was far from an ordinary ten-year-old soul beast.

There was a strong possibility that he wasn't a soul beast at all.

The soul beasts, including Gu Yue, had even discussed what they would do if Xia Yi's secrets were one day revealed, proving that he was not one of them.

But even Gu Yue had no answer.

The only choice was to take things one step at a time.

Of course, Xia Yi himself had also considered this.

He had been helping the Star Dou Forest, but he had always wondered—what if one day he regained his memories and found his beliefs clashing with Gu Yue's and the Star Dou Forests's?

Up until now, he had always told himself: I am a little fox of the Star Dou Forest, so I will help the Star Dou Forest.

As for the future? That could wait.

That was why he had never made any promises to Gu Yue or Di Tian.

This was the first time he had ever committed to the Star Dou Forest.

No matter what happens, this promise will never change.

Having received this promise, Zi Ji fell silent, and Xia Yi said no more.

As they drew closer to Heaven dou City, Xia Yi couldn't help but recall his last visit.

If not for Leng Yaozhu, he might never have been noticed by the Holy Spirit Cult, never caught the attention of the Dark Bell Nana Li, and never been dragged into everything that followed.

Just as he was lost in thought, Zi Ji suddenly snapped her head up, her beautiful eyes flashing with a sharp light.

"What's wrong?" Xia Yi asked curiously.

"There's an intense soul power fluctuation high in the sky. Someone is being pursued." Zi Ji said gravely.

"Can you tell what level they are?" Xia Yi asked.

"The one being chased is a Soul Douluo piloting a mecha. Their pursuers include a Title Douluo who is also a One-Word Battle Armor Master, along with a mecha squad." Zi Ji replied casually.

"It has nothing to do with us. As long as they don't provoke us, there's no need to interfere. Let's keep heading into the city." Xia Yi shook his head. Soul masters fought every day on the Douluo Continent—he couldn't concern himself with all of them.

Judging by Zi Ji's description, the pursuers were likely from an official organization.

What intrigued Xia Yi was—so close to Tiandou City, who would dare provoke the authorities?

An eight-ring Soul Douluo wasn't weak, but against the authorities, fleeing so brazenly in the sky seemed like a doomed effort.