Chapter 13: The Great Art of Persuasion (Part One)
"This isn't about grandeur. It's merely the respect and affection my people in the Extreme North hold for me as their sovereign. Di Tian wouldn't receive the same treatment in the Star Dou Forest," Snow Empress spoke indifferently, then looked at Lin Yun with a puzzled expression.
"And you are…?"
Gazing at the youth before her—who looked barely ten—Snow Empress's flawless face revealed a trace of wariness.
She wasn't foolish. Naturally, she didn't believe Lin Yun was a mere human, even if there wasn't a shred of soul beast aura on him.
She had only just been pondering how to assume human form herself. If she succeeded, it would be simple to conceal her beastly origins completely.
A regular human? One who could stand before her with Di Tian, the Respected One of the Star Dou Forest, showing deference at his back?
What sort of terrifying background did this boy have?
Her words made Di Tian visibly unhappy. In front of his idol, how could he tolerate being looked down on?
"Hmph. I too can command the worship of ten thousand beasts in the Star Dou Forest. It's just that most soul beasts there aren't even qualified to see me," Di Tian snorted proudly. "What do you mean I can't? I most certainly can!"
"Oh? Are they submitting to your strength, or do they genuinely revere you from the heart?" Snow Empress gave him a teasing smile. Her chilly tone carried a faint trace of amusement.
Very well then. Here she was, ruler of the Extreme North, rarely visited by old friends—and now someone had delivered themselves right to her door. How could she not indulge herself?
Just because soul beasts were solitary by nature didn't mean they weren't lonely. With their long lifespans, even if they were used to being alone, when peers of equal strength and status showed up, they were always happy to converse.
They were soul beasts, not mindless animals driven only by instinct.
With intelligence came emotion—and with emotion came joy, anger, sorrow, and delight.
Di Tian still looked ready to argue, but Snow Empress waved him off before he could speak again.
No need to push him too far.
"Aren't you going to introduce me?" Snow Empress asked again, her gaze turning solemn as she looked back at the silently smiling Lin Yun.
"I've never heard of anyone worthy of such reverence from the Respected One of the Star Dou Forest. Could it be… the one hidden deep within your forest?"
Her thoughts spun quickly, and she immediately connected the dots to that legendary soul beast overlord—one who had never shown their face.
"Indeed. This is none other than the embodiment of the Dragon God, His Excellency the Golden Dragon King!" Di Tian replied, voice laced with reverence and pride. Strip away his title, and he almost sounded like a devoted lackey.
A model subordinate.
"Ice Sky Snow Empress, is it? I am the Golden Dragon King, one of the Dragon God's incarnations—and the current soul beast sovereign." The smile on Lin Yun's face gradually faded, as a mighty and pure dragon might radiated from his body.
As he fully activated the Golden Dragon King bloodline, a golden mark reappeared at his brow—one only Gu Yuena had ever seen.
It resembled a scythe formed from overlapping wings and spinal bones.
Standing behind him, Di Tian couldn't see it, but Snow Empress, facing Lin Yun directly, instantly froze in shock.
She wasn't a dragon, and should have been immune to such pressure, yet before Lin Yun, her very bloodline instinctively bent in submission.
The Dragon God, as the strongest creature ever born on the Douluo Continent, carried a bloodline that suppressed all native lifeforms. Lin Yun couldn't match that exact level, but his Golden Dragon King heritage was still enough to exert authority over Snow Empress.
Of course, this kind of full-power bloodline release was beyond what Lin Yun could sustain for long at his current cultivation.
But after delivering his powerful opening, he casually withdrew the dragon might—perfectly concealing the fact that he couldn't maintain it.
"An excellent first impression," indeed.
"I see. Greetings, Your Excellency," Snow Empress swiftly masked her earlier shock, regaining composure as she placed one hand over her chest and bowed slightly.
"Might I ask what brings the soul beast sovereign to my Extreme North?"
With Di Tian's endorsement, she didn't question Lin Yun's identity. Di Tian's attitude wasn't something that could be faked—his genuine deference toward Lin Yun was palpable to Snow Empress.
She didn't take orders from Di Tian. As the sovereign of her own soul beast domain, her status was no lower than his.
But the soul beast sovereign… was different.
The sovereign represented all soul beasts—and had the authority to command them all.
Lin Yun's command was absolute. Even if it meant exhausting all the power of the Extreme North, Snow Empress would have to carry it out.
Even if it meant launching an all-out war against humanity, summoning every soul beast of the Extreme North into a beast tide.
"I'm here to help you," Lin Yun said with a gentle smile.
"Soul Beast Sovereign, what do you mean by that?" Snow Empress's heart skipped a beat, though her expression remained calm.
"Your concealment means nothing to me. Everything about you is laid bare before my eyes." Lin Yun's golden eyes shone faintly as he met her icy blue gaze.
There it was again—that irresistible feeling of submission.
Snow Empress gently clenched her teeth, resisting the abnormal sensations in her body, but her eyes involuntarily shifted away, no longer daring to meet Lin Yun's gaze.
She feared that if she stared too long, she would fall completely under his majesty.
"Having your soul core crack must feel terrible, doesn't it? The arrival of your next tribulation must be drawing near, am I right?" Lin Yun said calmly, his tone unhurried, yet it sent crashing waves through Snow Empress's heart.
"You… you're dying, aren't you?"
Even Di Tian turned to Snow Empress in shock. "Snow Empress, your lifespan is reaching its end?"
Though they were of comparable tier—Di Tian being somewhat stronger—Snow Empress's soul core fracture was an internal issue. If she chose to hide it, there was no way Di Tian could have noticed.
Now, Snow Empress was completely convinced.
What even Di Tian had missed, this Golden Dragon King—who appeared to possess no significant strength—had seen right through.
It was like changing your login password, only to find someone still effortlessly unlocking it and browsing through all your files—deeply unsettling.
With her innermost secret exposed by Lin Yun, Snow Empress could only force a bitter smile and admit it, "Yes, Soul Beast Sovereign, you are right. I truly have little time left. The next tribulation will be the moment I perish and vanish."
Di Tian sighed sorrowfully. The look in his eyes as he regarded Snow Empress carried the melancholy of a fox mourning a hare.
As the Respected One, he had seen too many soul beasts cry in agony beneath their tribulations, struggle with all their might, only to be reduced to ashes.
And now…
Another old friend was about to fall.
This world… was growing more and more lonely, more and more dull.
"So, you're planning to assume human form?"
(End of chapter)
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