"What are you doing?!" Di Tian's expression kept changing, and he asked in a somewhat cold tone.
"Don't you want evidence? I'm showing you the evidence!" Zhu Ziyang said helplessly, waving his hand, "Do you still want evidence?"
...Di Tian didn't know how to answer for a moment, so he remained silent.
Zhu Ziyang also didn't continue to tease Di Tian. He directly summoned the Snow Empress. Speaking of which, this was his first time summoning the Snow Empress through a spirit ring. Normally, his Soul Spirits lived directly in his spiritual sea and basically wouldn't return to their respective spirit rings. When Zhu Ziyang summoned them, they would also appear directly from his spiritual sea.
Four red spirit rings swayed, emitting white light. A peerless figure appeared before Zhu Ziyang, Fifth Huan'er, and the Five Great Fierce Beasts. It was the Snow Empress.
"Snow Empress?!" Di Tian was stunned. Being one of the Ten Great Fierce Beasts, he was very familiar with the Snow Empress's aura. He had never expected that this overlord of the Extremely North Land, a peerless fierce beast with a cultivation close to seven hundred thousand years, would actually become a human's spirit ring—no, a Soul Spirit!
This made Di Tian somewhat hard to believe for a moment. Although his relationship with the Snow Empress was ordinary, he understood her temperament very well. A Spirit Beast King who was incredibly proud and hated humans immensely actually became a human's Soul Spirit. No one could immediately accept this!
"Long time no see, Di Tian, Bi Ji, and the other three!" The Snow Empress greeted Di Tian indifferently. She already knew Zhu Ziyang's purpose in calling her out, so she was willing to temper her cold personality and greet her former kin.
"Snow Empress, how could you?" Bi Ji covered her chest, her pretty face filled with an expression of disbelief, and she asked.
"How could I become a Soul Spirit? Is that right?" The Snow Empress said indifferently, "That's a long story, but in short, Daddy showed me the hope of ascending to God Position!"
"Daddy?" Bi Ji's expression immediately became strange, her eyes flickering between Zhu Ziyang and the Snow Empress, as if she was contemplating some unusual plot.
"Cough cough!" Zhu Ziyang coughed, attracting their attention, and then spoke to Di Tian, "Your Excellency Di Tian, you should have seen it. The Snow Empress is the first Soul Spirit in the World, and these four spirit rings are what she provided for me."
"Hmm!" Di Tian nodded. He still didn't understand why the Snow Empress would willingly give up seven hundred thousand years of cultivation to become a human's subordinate. Could it really be as she said, that this Zhu Ziyang showed her the hope of becoming a God? It couldn't be, could it? He admitted that this World favored humans, but that didn't mean becoming a God was easy!
"According to our research, a Soul Spirit formed from a 100,000-Year Soul Beast can provide at least two spirit rings to a Spirit Master, and a maximum of four spirit rings. A Soul Spirit formed from a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast can definitely provide two spirit rings. As for Soul Spirits formed from thousand-year Soul Beasts, hundred-year Soul Beasts, and ten-year Soul Beasts, we are temporarily unclear whether they can provide extra spirit rings because they haven't been verified yet," Zhu Ziyang said.
"That's good, but it's not enough!" Di Tian nodded and said. What he was truly concerned about now was the latter matter: Can Soul Spirits really become Gods? For the Gods in the God Realm, are Soul Spirits truly spirit rings and not Spirit Beasts? He couldn't just listen to Zhu Ziyang's one-sided story; he needed evidence.
"Heh heh." Di Tian's reaction was within Zhu Ziyang's expectations. He just smiled, and then his Spirit changed. The Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe appeared in his hand. Immediately after, the Mark of Death appeared, and the aura unique to a God instantly made Di Tian's eyes widen.
"God Position aura!" Di Tian's eyes widened, staring intently at Zhu Ziyang. He was all too familiar with this aura; that God War ten thousand years ago was still fresh in his memory!
"My luck is good. I just happened to receive the favor of a God and obtained the inheritance of a God Position." Zhu Ziyang had a faint smile on his face, and his tone was also very calm, without any hint of showing off. However, in the eyes of the Five Great Fierce Beasts, this was blatant smugness!
...Di Tian fell silent. After a long while, he slowly spoke, "You surprise me. Although I am very unwilling to admit it, Soul Spirits are indeed a useful way out for us Spirit Beasts."
"That is inevitable." Zhu Ziyang said with a smile, "In fact, Soul Spirits can grow with the Spirit Master. For some Spirit Beasts who have always been unable to break through bottlenecks, it might be a path to advancement. For some Spirit Beasts whose lifespans have reached their end, Soul Spirits are also a way to extend life. Perhaps they might even become Gods."
"Heh heh, perhaps." Di Tian said indifferently, "Alright, since you've come to us, then I suppose your Shrek Academy has already prepared to promote Soul Spirits to all human Spirit Masters, right?"
"That's right." Zhu Ziyang nodded and said, "But relying solely on our Shrek Academy and the Spirit Masters' willingness, the Soul Spirit System cannot be established. The birth of a Soul Spirit requires the mutual consent of both the Spirit Master and the Spirit Beast. Otherwise, the Soul Spirit contract is just an empty promise."
"So, you plan to cooperate with us Spirit Beasts to jointly establish the Soul Spirit System?" Di Tian said.
"Of course, this is a win-win situation, isn't it?" Zhu Ziyang said with a smile, waving his hand.
"I can agree to cooperate with you, but I need a guarantee!" Di Tian's expression was serious, and his eyes flickered with a cold light.
"Please speak." Zhu Ziyang breathed a sigh of relief in his heart; at least the other party had already agreed to cooperate.
"I need you to guarantee that after the Soul Spirit System is successfully established, you humans must never hunt another Spirit Beast!" Di Tian said, his tone filled with determination and killing intent, "If you cannot do that, then our Spirit Beast race would rather fight to the death than cooperate with you!"
"This…" This time it was Zhu Ziyang's turn to be silent, but after a moment of thought, he still spoke, "I can guarantee you that once the Soul Spirit System is successfully established, all Spirit Masters within the scope of my Shrek Academy will not enter the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt Spirit Beasts."
"Hmm? Not enough!" Di Tian was very dissatisfied with Zhu Ziyang's guarantee and said.
"Di Tian, I know what you're thinking, but I hope you can understand." Zhu Ziyang's expression also turned cold, and he said, "Firstly, we humans are not monolithic. I can restrain the Spirit Masters of Shrek Academy, but for Spirit Masters from other forces, I can only do so much.
Secondly, you are only the leader of the Spirit Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest. You yourself know whether the Spirit Beasts in other Spirit Beast habitats are willing to recognize your rule.
Finally, the establishment of the Soul Spirit System is not something that happens overnight. Spreading it across the entire Douluo Continent and making it the mainstream among Spirit Masters all require time. I cannot guarantee that during this process, there will not be a single instance of a Spirit Master killing a Spirit Beast!"
"So, you mean you want us Spirit Beasts to cooperate with you, and also want us Spirit Beasts to tolerate your Spirit Masters continuing to kill us?" Di Tian's expression also turned cold when he heard Zhu Ziyang's reply. He said, "Then you humans are being too greedy!"
"Then what do you want?" Zhu Ziyang had no intention of compromising at all. Even though Fifth Huan'er was desperately pulling at his sleeve, his attitude remained very firm, and he said, "I cannot guarantee you issues that require time to resolve!"
"Alright, then let's both take a step back!" Rarely, Di Tian actually compromised first. Bi Ji and the other four fierce beasts behind him all showed surprised expressions, but they all understood Di Tian's helplessness. To be honest, Soul Spirits were merely icing on the cake for Spirit Masters, but for Spirit Beasts, they were like charcoal in the snow. Although the charcoal would eventually burn out, being able to slow down the arrival of winter and buy them more time was enough. Their Spirit Beast race needed time the most!
"Okay," Zhu Ziyang said, seeing that Di Tian had compromised first, and he no longer remained so firm, "I can guarantee that as long as I am on the Douluo Continent, I will do my best to accelerate the acceptance of Soul Spirits in the Spirit Master's world and do my best to prevent all Spirit Masters from indiscriminately killing Spirit Beasts!"
"I believe you!" Di Tian looked deeply at Zhu Ziyang, and then said, "I will do my best to subdue all Spirit Beasts on the Douluo Continent and have them join the establishment of the Soul Spirit System. At the same time, for those from Shrek Academy who enter the Star Dou Great Forest, as long as they do not actively provoke us, we will let them off."
"I believe you too!" Zhu Ziyang smiled upon hearing this and extended his palm.
Di Tian, seeing this, also extended his palm, and then, the two palms struck each other three times in the air, signifying that the cooperation had been initially reached!