Douluo Continent: Little Huo Niang Taken Away by Di Tian

"Then, let's make a contract."

Di Tian raised his hand, and the map floated in the air.

Electrox's staff glowed, runes flashing. "Let this old man draft this contract."

Below the map, the national seals representing the four great empires, the Sea God Pavilion emblem of Shrek Academy, and the tower emblem of the Spirit Pagoda, all composed of runes, lit up one by one.

Xu Jiawei stepped forward first, bit his fingertip, and a drop of blood fell onto the emblem of the Star Luo Empire. The emblem shone brightly, transforming into a stream of light that merged into the scroll. Following suit, the Heavenly Soul Emperor, the Fighting Spirit Emperor, and Xu Mu all did the same.

Moon also bit his fingertip, and the emblem of the Sea God Pavilion shone brightly.

Electrox tapped his staff lightly, and the Spirit Tower totem shone with golden light.

Di Tian then ran his fingertip across the very center of the scroll—where a dragon claw mark appeared out of thin air.

The contract is complete.

Xu Mu suddenly took a few steps forward and came to stand in front of Di Tian.

He stretched out his hand.

Di Tian remained silent for a moment, then suddenly reached out and grasped Xu Yuan's hand.

Zihuang Mietianlong rebelled against her brother, the Dragon God, while Xu Yuan, who also possessed the Zihuang Mietianlong martial soul, rebelled against his brother, but unlike Zihuang Mietianlong, he succeeded.

Mu En, Xu Jiawei, and the others watched this scene, their hearts stirred once again.

They couldn't fall behind either. Next, Di Tian shook hands with the three emperors and Mu En. When shaking hands with Mu En, he used his mental power to transmit a message: "We will meet again."

"A new era has arrived." Ilex's voice echoed in the sky. "This is no longer an era in which humans hunt soul beasts to obtain soul rings, nor is it an era in which soul beasts and humans hate each other and bleed the land."

This is the age of spirits; a new path lies beneath your feet.

Di Tian looked at the human side: "Now that the contract is established, I hope you will all abide by it."

After saying that, Di Tian turned around and, with Xie Ying, slowly disappeared into the dense foliage of the Star Dou Great Forest.

The humans remained, standing at the boundary between the morning light and the forest shadows, speechless for a long time.

"Now, regarding the specific matters concerning the spirits, please move to our Spirit Tower branch in Shrek City for a detailed discussion," Brigitte's voice broke the brief silence.

Shrek City, Spirit Tower branch meeting room.

The atmosphere in the meeting room was solemn and focused.

Biji began, "First, there's the matter of the first batch of soul beasts who voluntarily formed soul contracts. Among them, the oldest is a golden hawksbill turtle with 100,000 years of cultivation."

"A 100,000-year-old golden tortoiseshell?" Emperor Douling subconsciously repeated in a low voice, his gaze meeting briefly with that of Emperor Tianhun beside him before looking away.

They almost simultaneously recalled the sect that had marital ties with both royal families—the Xuanming Sect.

Biji continued, "The Golden Tortoiseshell is a top-tier defensive soul beast with both water and earth attributes. Considering the strength and compatibility of a 100,000-year-old soul spirit, the ideal contractor is a soul master with a cultivation level of 70 and a water or earth attribute defensive martial soul."

"In addition to this 100,000-year-old soul beast, the Star Dou, the Far North, and the Demon Realm will also provide 99 volunteers with over 1,000 years of cultivation, forming the first batch of 100 soul spirits. Later, the Spirit Pagoda will send a detailed list, including the soul beast's race, age, and characteristics, to everyone."

This number gave everyone present a boost of morale.

"Next, it's about 'Spirit Transfer Masters'." Brigitte changed the subject. "Forming a soul contract, especially with high-level souls, requires special mental guidance methods and a huge amount of mental power. My Spirit Transfer Tower is newly established and we are short-handed."

Therefore, we hope that all countries can send reliable spirit masters with spiritual abilities to us. After training, they will become spirit transfer masters and be responsible for assisting in the conclusion of spirit contracts within their own borders.

"Finally," Biji gestured to Ziji, who then distributed several pre-prepared lists to everyone, "this is about mineral resources. The Soul Beast World doesn't need most minerals, but for the sake of the long-term survival of the mountains and rivers and ecological balance, mining cannot be disorderly."

This is a list of known mineral deposits in the three locations, and the annual sustainable mining quota, after assessment.

The specific allocation method will be discussed and decided by everyone. Once a decision is made, the Spirit Pagoda will sign a contract with the mining party, at which time the supplies can be handed over at the designated location upon presentation of the contract.

With the mineral list in hand, the air in the room seemed to grow even heavier.

After Biji finished speaking, she stood up with Ziji and Huo Yutong: "We will not disturb your discussion on the specific details any further. If there is a decision that needs to be witnessed by the Spirit Tower, please inform us at any time."

They nodded slightly and left the meeting room, leaving the space to them.

"A 100,000-year-old golden tortoiseshell..." The Heavenly Soul Emperor looked at the Fighting Spirit Emperor with a meaningful gaze.

Emperor Douling's expression was somewhat complicated. The Xuanming Sect, the sect of "Xu Wangba" who married his sister Xue Lingxun, was indeed a force of the Heavenly Soul Empire.

He had no good feelings towards this "brother-in-law" or even his sect.

However, the attributes of this golden hawksbill turtle are a perfect match for the Xuanming Sect's top-tier martial soul, the "Xuanming Turtle".

If they could obtain this soul, the Xuanming Sect's strength would surely increase dramatically. And through the relationship with his sister, the Douling Empire might indirectly benefit, or gain the support of the Heavenly Soul in other ways.

In the blink of an eye, the two emperors had exchanged a glance.

"This beast possesses dual defenses against both water and soil, and its compatibility with the martial spirit of one of our nation's top defensive sects is extremely high." The Heavenly Soul Emperor surveyed the crowd. "For our Heavenly Soul, it can unleash its maximum value and stabilize the defenses of the Northern Frontier. Our nation is willing to exchange other soul spirit slots or some mineral rights for the priority contract rights to this beast."

Thus, the ownership of the golden tortoiseshell was decided almost immediately at the beginning of the story—by the Heavenly Soul Empire.

The price is that Tianhun will voluntarily reduce its quota by four in the subsequent allocation of ninety-nine soul spirits, and may make slight concessions to Douling in mineral negotiations.

The allocation of the next ninety-nine souls, within the framework of "twenty-one per family (sixteen heavenly souls)," mainly focused on the specific types, ages, and attribute compatibility of the soul beasts.

"Our Sun Moon Empire's Soul Master Corps needs a large number of Soul Spirits that are highly adaptable and can enhance the sustainability of Soul Power or stabilize the mind," Xu Mu declared, defining the scope first.

"There are many powerful attack-type Soul Masters in Xingluo. We should give priority to powerful attack and agility-type Soul Spirits such as Fierce Tiger, Mad Lion, and Spirit Leopard." Xu Jiawei said without giving an inch.

"My Heavenly Soul (and Battle Spirit) elemental attributes and control-type martial souls have a long history, and related soul spirits are indispensable..." The Heavenly Soul and Battle Spirit Emperors are once again subtly joining forces.

The debate was heated but restrained, as the total number was limited and excessive demands would be pointless.

Ultimately, under Moon's mediation, all parties reached a preliminary consensus: a preliminary selection would be made based on the list, followed by minor adjustments based on the specific information of the soul beasts to ensure a general balance. The real battle, however, lay in the mineral resource list.