Huo Yuhao was taken aback by the words, then shook his head with a light smile, "Ten thousand years have passed, and it seems you've learned some polite words. The fact that the Spirit Pagoda has endured to this day is due to the perseverance of your generations. I dare not claim any credit for this..."
Before he could finish, Di Tian raised his hand to stop him.
"Pioneering a path and continuing it are two different matters. There's no need for you to be modest."
His voice was deep and powerful, especially clear in the silent night, "The fact that Star Dou has endured to this day is largely thanks to you."
With that, the Beast God, who had once dominated the continent, took a solemn step forward and bowed deeply to Huo Yuhao.
The moonlight cast a silver glow on his tall figure, and his black robe fluttered in the night wind.
Huo Yuhao instinctively wanted to step aside to avoid the bow, but found that the space around him had solidified. Di Tian's bow contained spatial power, making it impossible for him to avoid.
"This bow, you deserve it."
Huo Yuhao had no choice but to stand still and accept the bow. The night wind swirled fallen leaves between them.
"Why must you do this..."
Di Tian straightened up, "I just seek peace of mind."
Huo Yuhao shook his head helplessly and didn't dwell on the matter, "You didn't come just for this today, did you?"
"..."
Di Tian glanced at the mansion behind him and fell silent for a moment.
How could he say that he had some reservations about the master inviting a man home?
"If the master didn't like you, I might have already taken action. Given the relationship between the master and me, she would at most punish me for a while. But it just had to be you..."
When he first heard from Bi Ji that the master seemed to have someone in her heart, his mood was far from good, and he even felt a hint of killing intent.
The master's personality was too naive, and it was hard to say if she had been deceived. Those sweet words, those false affections, he had seen plenty of them in the human world over the millennia.
The master was a deity, and an ordinary human wasn't worthy of her affection. The vast difference in status and strength meant that she would always be the one giving, while the other could offer her nothing.
Was it the continuation of Star Dou? An increase in strength? Or... just pure pain?
In Di Tian's view, if they couldn't even stand side by side, then there was no need to talk about anything else.
Such matters were most taboo when it came to indecision; the longer it dragged on, the more troublesome it became. On the contrary, if the spark was extinguished at the very beginning, even at the source, the master would calm down on her own and wouldn't be too harsh.
But when he found out it was Huo Yuhao, he became conflicted.
"I won't meddle in your affairs with the master. In a sense, among humans, you are indeed the only one who meets her conditions and is acceptable to Star Dou. At the very least, she isn't the only one giving, so I only hope you treat her well."
Di Tian's voice was cold, "If... hmph, I don't care if you're a deity or not."
He didn't finish his sentence, but the implication was clear.
Huo Yuhao inexplicably felt like he was seeing a "protective father" and didn't offer any sweet words, just nodded gently.
Seeing this, Di Tian's expression softened again. After a moment of silence, he asked about the matter that concerned him the most, "What information did you get from that evil soul master? I also heard her words, does the Holy Spirit have a god?"
Huo Yuhao glanced at the sky, "You should know where it came from. But the information she knows is incomplete; the specific strength of the deity is still unclear. I can only confirm that it's a divine sense above the level of a third-grade god."
In this era, according to the original course of events, there were no opponents beyond second-grade gods.
The Abyss Saint Emperor was said to be a first-grade god, but he had descended through the body of the Demon Empress and wasn't fighting on his home turf in the Abyss.
On the Douluo Continent, he could only exert the strength of a second-grade god, which was why he was pinned down by the Unfixed Storm and then beaten to death by Tang Hao, a second-grade god.
In the final battle, Gu Yuena's strength hadn't fully recovered either. She was evaluated as being comparable to the descended Abyss Saint Emperor, meaning she was at the level of a second-grade god, not having returned to the level of a first-grade god.
Moreover, over the years, he had basically figured out that Gu Yuena was in a state similar to re-cultivation. Forcing a recovery of strength, regardless of the cost and duration, was uncertain whether she could return to the god level.
Di Tian frowned, pondered for a moment, and said, "Their goal is the God-Slaying Soul Guidance Shell?"
Huo Yuhao nodded, "Although that evil soul master didn't know about this mission, since there is a divine-level existence within their ranks, their mission must include this aspect."
It wasn't about what they wanted to do with the God-Slaying Soul Guidance Shell, but the threat posed by the shell itself.
Of the three God-Slaying Soul Guidance Shells, the two weaker ones aside, the strongest one, Eternal Heaven, in terms of power, was enough to kill a third-grade god and injure a second-grade god. It was a highly deterrent weapon. With a divine-level existence within their ranks, it was only natural that they would see this threat as a target for elimination.
"...The storage locations of the three God-Slaying Soul Guidance Shells are managed by three individuals."
After some thought, Di Tian shared a piece of information with Huo Yuhao, "The head of the Illustrious Virtue Hall, the War God Temple's master, and the Dark Department's chief each manage one."
"The War God Temple..."
Huo Yuhao's eyes flickered, "There's something I need to remind you. The master of the War God Temple, the Vast Sea Douluo Chen Xinjie, is from the lineage of the Sea God Island that once guarded the Sea God's divine inheritance."
Di Tian was surprised, then his expression darkened, "He's from the Sea God lineage?"
Information about the Sea God had been relayed to them by the master two years ago. The Sea God had killed the Golden Dragon King and sealed the divine core in someone else, making them mortal enemies.
Huo Yuhao nodded slightly.
When the Sea God's Trident was pulled out by Tang San, the mission of Sea God Island had ended, but the Sea God lineage hadn't been extinguished.
They had just gone into hiding, quietly doing their work, and hadn't participated in the great war between the Sun Moon Empire and the three Douluo nations ten thousand years ago.
Twenty thousand years ago, few knew the specifics of Sea God Island, and by now, it had long been buried in the dust of history.
The world only knew of the Vast Sea Douluo Chen Xinjie, unaware that he was also the Sea God Douluo, possessing a divine artifact personally crafted by Tang San.
Di Tian frowned, "The War God Temple originated from the Sun Moon Empire's Hall of Worship, and its master is a high-ranking federal official on par with the head of the Illustrious Virtue Hall."
"Moreover, his strength is among the top of the federal's Limit Douluo, having once fought with Yun Ming and ultimately admitting defeat. It was that battle that gave the Spirit Pagoda the opportunity to bestow the title of the continent's strongest upon Yun Ming. But in my view, his strength should be on par with Yun Ming; he was likely just being modest."
"Plus, he's not from Shrek, and he supports going to war with Star Luo and Heaven Dou, representing the hawkish faction, which is at odds with the Shrek-affiliated council members. So the hawkish faction trusts him, and Chen Xinjie now holds a high position in the federation as one of its vice-chairmen... I never expected he was from the Sea God lineage."
Di Tian truly hadn't expected that the master of the War God Temple was from Sea God Island?
Shouldn't you be close to Shrek then? With all the conflicts with Shrek Academy, yet your relationship with the Sea God is closer than with Shrek?
Huo Yuhao shook his head, "Not surprising."
After all, looking at Chen Xinjie's early actions, he was a clear representative of the federal hawkish faction, always planning to attack Star Luo and Heaven Dou continents. Like the Spirit Pagoda, he seemed like a "villain" the protagonist group would have to face.
But there were several twists.
The sudden emergence of a romantic history with the Light and Dark Douluo Long Yeyue, leading most of the War God Temple members to join Shrek.
And finally, the Sea God helmet he brought out during the battle against the Abyss...
What a mess.
Turns out, the four major federal forces in the original work, the War God Temple, Shrek, the Tang Sect, and the Spirit Pagoda, all shared the same roots. None truly belonged to the federation. How pitiful…