Chapter 258: The Place of Xiao Bai's Heavenly Tribulation

"We will discuss this matter thoroughly..." The representative of the Star Luo Empire hurriedly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"As for Shrek, I have a trade in mind; I wonder what you think of it? If you agree, I will release a portion of the hostages in exchange. Of course, if you do not agree, that is also fine; useless hostages are better off killed."

This seemingly relaxed and casual sentence made Huo Yu Hao and Bei Bei feel immense pressure. They did not dare to easily respond to Luo Yu, because they had no way of knowing which of Luo Yu's words represented his true intentions.

Perhaps Luo Yu's true intention was to kill, or perhaps he really did need to use the hostages for a trade...

"Please speak clearly, Your Excellency. If the trade is appropriate, we at Shrek will consider the matter," Huo Yu Hao said cautiously.

Luo Yu spoke, "The last exchange program with your academy was very effective, so our His Majesty has decided to continue this exchange. However, the plan for this exchange needs to be rearranged. This is the proposal drafted by our Ruyue Empire. If Shrek Academy finds it acceptable, we can release a portion of the hostages first as a gesture of our sincerity."

Not all hostages will be released, unless you can pay a sufficiently high price.

…………

The subsequent negotiations went very smoothly, so smoothly that Luo Yu himself did not even need to be present; the follow-up talks were handled entirely by Lu Jiuyu and Leiqier.

These two black-hearted fellows went even further, securing even more compensation for the Sun Moon Empire. Although it showed some of the great-power magnanimity of a certain someone, it had to be said that the student had surpassed the master.

"Do you trust those two that much, Captain?" Yan Lingshu looked at Luo Yu with a complex expression.

Luo Yu nodded and said, "Injuries inflicted by a Peak Douluo are not so easily recovered from, even with timely treatment. The Sun Moon Empire needs someone to inherit my position, and it also needs someone who can hold up the banner for the new generation for His Majesty after I meet with an accident. So I trust them, and I trust you all."

"But Captain, you have already done enough. Your injuries, are you really alright..."

Yan Lingshu looked with some heartache at Luo Yu, whose originally rosy complexion was slowly turning pale. On this young man who had propped up the Sun Moon Empire, there were still injuries that had not fully healed.

"It's fine, a few days of rest will be enough; the current situation is just like this. As for your family, I have received the latest news from His Majesty. His Majesty has temporarily abandoned the plan to purge them. If there are no accidents later, His Majesty will likely adopt a policy of conciliation. As long as they don't go too far, His Majesty will not pursue it." Luo Yu stood atop Maple Leaf City, overlooking the distance.

"Captain, do you have someone you like?" Yan Lingshu bit her red lip and asked shyly.

Luo Yu laughed, "What, do you want to offer yourself in marriage?"

"Captain, why don't you consider me?" Yan Lingshu blushed; it was hard not to be moved by the young man before her.

Luo Yu reached out a finger and tapped her forehead, "What are you thinking? The Sun Moon Empire is currently facing pressure from the Three Great Empires and Shrek; when would I have time to consider such matters of the heart? As long as I am your captain for a day, I will always be your captain. The road ahead is long, why reach a conclusion so early?"

"I, I, I understand..." Yan Lingshu was not disappointed; she had long known this would be the outcome.

"I told you, the Captain is an impeccable person. Just think, the Captain was already the undisputed number one of the Sun Moon Empire's younger generation years ago; what kind of scenes hasn't he experienced?" Fang Wei watched the two standing on the city wall from afar and said.

"It's just a pity for Yan Lingshu. Out of everyone she could like, she had to like the Captain. The Captain's ambitions have never been merely about simple romance. Furthermore, he hasn't even looked twice at the Hall Master's granddaughter, and he was once a junior schoolmate to the current Empress. If one really had to say, perhaps it won't be until the Sun Moon Empire has completely conquered the Douluo Continent that the Captain will consider his own affairs, right?" Sheng Hongyun savored Luo Yu's previous words.

"Sigh, although I don't know how Yan Lingshu feels, I think the Captain's feelings are actually even more complex." Jing Peng didn't say much, but the direction of his thinking seemed a bit different.

Sheng Hongyun asked, "You mean..."

"Actually, the Captain has truly given too much for the Empire. From the previous Number Two Experiment, to later leading us to win the championship in the tournament, and even winning the championship in the Black Market competition to obtain the Sun Moon Divine Needle, and later capturing almost all the elites of the Three Great Empires during the tournament, and even piloting Number Two to intercept the Peak Douluo Xuan Lao of Shrek."

"Any one of these things would be shocking if it happened to anyone else in the Sun Moon Empire, but these things all appeared on the Captain as if they were miracles. The Captain carries too many hopes; the pressure on him simply doesn't allow him to stop. The Captain's aptitude is actually not considered top-tier, but the Captain's wisdom far surpasses his strength."

"Perhaps in a few decades, we all have the potential to become Title Douluo, but in a few decades, the things the Captain will have to take over will only be more than now. Mingde Hall, the Worship Hall, the imperial court, and the military. These places are all waiting for the Captain to take over. The reason the Captain wants to take us with him is that he doesn't want the Sun Moon Empire to be left without anyone to take over everything of his in a short time if an accident happens one day."

Luo Yu is a legend, the light of hope for the Sun Moon Empire!

But these things are all heavy burdens pressing down on Luo Yu. Once Luo Yu falls, the current situation will return to the era of the past.

Even though the current Luo Yu has already laid a good foundation for them, the realization of this foundation still needs time to take root and sprout.

"Let's go back. If we don't go back, who knows how long those guys will keep eavesdropping."

Luo Yu didn't say anything more. With his methods, he was naturally able to hear the conversation between Jing Peng and the others.

………………

The Extreme North.

Su Yu looked at the shrunken Xue Di and slowly asked, "Xue Di? Or my daughter?"

"Both, hee hee." Xiaoxuenv greedily huddled under Su Yu's sleeve, as if the wind and snow of the Extreme North made her feel cold.

"You want Xiao Bai to go with you because you aren't sure he has the certainty to survive the 300,000-year Heavenly Tribulation, right? Even if I gave all the Cold Ice Jade Marrow to Xiao Bai, his Heavenly Tribulation still carries a certain degree of danger. For a Soul Beast, it has never been a Heavenly Tribulation, but a divine punishment. If the day of the tribulation really comes, I think there are still some ways to help Xiao Bai."

Su Yu reached out and patted Xiao Bai, who was still galloping, and asked, "Good grandson, do you want to go to the human world to play?"

"Want to, of course I want to." Xiao Bai immediately answered excitedly.

"Then if you go to the human world, you must listen well to your mother and grandmother, otherwise your mother will have to send you back to the Extreme North," Xue Di also chimed in at this time.

"I will be very obedient and promise not to cause trouble for Mother and Grandmother." Xiao Bai nodded very obediently.

Three days later, the Star Dou Great Forest.

"Everyone, long time no see." Powerful auras gathered continuously in the Star Dou Great Forest. As familiar figures appeared, those terrifying auras also converged.

"Wait, you are the Ice Bear King from the Extreme North?" Looking at the huge Xiao Bai, Bi Ji frowned slightly.

"Who are you?" Xiao Bai looked at Bi Ji curiously.

"Ahem, let me interrupt. I'm here to find Di Tian. Any reminiscing can wait until I'm done." Su Yu quickly arrived in front of Bi Ji.

Life Lake.

"What a familiar place. The last time I came seems to have been five years ago." Looking at the familiar place before him, a certain Su couldn't help but sigh.

"You seem to have learned a lot more after this trip to the Extreme North?" Di Tian looked at Su Yu and slowly asked.

Su Yu nodded and continued, "About tens of thousands of years ago, an Ice Silkworm with a cultivation age exceeding a million years left the Extreme North, later fell into the Star Dou Great Forest, and was eventually kept in captivity by you. You turned its cultivation into your nourishment, but during a later turmoil, this Ice Silkworm escaped."

"How did you know about this?" Di Tian was a bit puzzled; he didn't know how Su Yu could have known about such a secret matter.

Su Yu touched his chin and said, "How should I put it? If I really have to say how I knew about this, it would have to start from six or seven years ago."

"Six or seven years ago, I came to the Star Dou Great Forest once. When one of my spirit-type companions was absorbing a Soul Ring, I suddenly passed out. Then, a year later, that companion of mine displayed a dual-attribute martial soul of spirit and ice, and the ice-type martial soul was the Ice Empress Scorpion. The Ice Empress Scorpion cannot appear as a human's martial soul unless it is a Soul Beast that has undergone human cultivation. But when I obtained the Soul Beast Embryo last time, I discovered that the source of the ice ability I copied was the Ice Empress."

"So, I roughly guessed that the Ice Empress had already become a human's Soul Ring. Moreover, this time I went to the Extreme North and learned about that Ice Silkworm, so I could roughly summarize this matter. However, I am curious about one thing: who exactly is the Soul Beast Co-Lord that Xue Di mentioned?"

Di Tian was stunned, and a trace of surprise appeared in his eyes as he looked at Su Yu, "What else do you know?"

Su Yu chuckled, "I know everything Xue Di knows. If Xue Di's information is correct, it should be the Silver Dragon King, the avatar left after the Dragon God fell, right?"

"You are correct." Di Tian slowly lowered his palm.

"I have two things to do this time. The first is that the Ice Silkworm is on a human named Huo Yu Hao. The second is to borrow your Star Dou Great Forest for the tribulation. The Star Dou Great Forest has the luck of the Emperor Beast, making it relatively easier to pass the tribulation, so I want to let Xiao Bai undergo the tribulation in the Star Dou Great Forest," Su Yu stated his purpose bluntly.

"Xiao Bai? That 300,000-year-old Ice Bear King?" Di Tian asked.

"When he undergoes the tribulation, please take care of him, Senior."

No protector could be more reliable than Di Tian; if Xiao Bai had Di Tian to protect him during his tribulation, I'd like to see who would be foolish enough to come and stir up trouble.

This was Su Yu's plan; in any case, Di Tian is that person's spokesperson, and she surely wouldn't want such an accident to befall her own subjects, right?

"I understand."

"Grandmother, what did you say to Di Tian?" Xiao Bai asked curiously.

Su Yu replied, "You need someone to watch over you during your tribulation, so Grandmother found Di Tian to help you; you can undergo your tribulation with peace of mind. Besides, this is a piece of ten-thousand-year Cold Ice Jade Marrow; Grandfather is giving it to you as a welcoming gift. Take it, don't stand on ceremony with Grandfather."

As he spoke, Su Yu tossed a large piece of Cold Ice Jade Marrow to Xiao Bai. The moment Xiao Bai saw that large piece of Cold Ice Jade Marrow, his eyes lit up, and he clutched it tightly in his arms as if he had found a treasure.

"You gave it all to Xiao Bai?" Xue Di asked in the Spirit Sea.

"No, I kept a little. That successor of yours is also about to undergo a tribulation; I reckon it will be of use to them as well. The new master of the Extreme North cannot have such a difficult time." Calculating the time, the Titan Snow Demon King's tribulation was also approaching, though at least it would be a bit later than Xiao Bai's.

"How do you know Atai is also about to undergo a tribulation?" Xue Di's voice rang out in surprise.

Su Yu thought for a moment and said, "That's a secret; I'll tell you later."

"Xiao Bai, let's go. I'll take you to a fun place."

Shrek City.

"Tell me, do we really have to agree to the Sun Moon Empire's proposal for an exchange program?" Xuan Lao asked, looking somewhat troubled.

"This, this..." Yan Shaozhe looked pained, but he had to admit that besides agreeing, they had no other choice.

"Xuan Lao, if we don't agree, the Sun Moon Empire will likely immediately publish the content of our negotiations regarding this matter, and then kill a portion of the people, letting the citizens of the Three Great Empires know that it isn't that they won't release the people, but that Shrek, in order to protect its own interests, has abandoned the elites of the Three Great Empires. If that happens, I'm afraid we will..." Xian Lin'er could not continue; she knew this was a blatant conspiracy.

Either Shrek signs this humiliating treaty, or Shrek sacrifices a portion of the Three Great Empires' elites for the sake of its own interests!

If Shrek does not accept this humiliating treaty, the Sun Moon Empire will kill people. Once the first group dies, the death of the second group is only a matter of time.

When panic begins to spread, everything is the beginning of a crisis of trust.

The Three Great Empires have no choice, and Shrek has no choice!

This is the price they paid for their decision to conquer Mingdu at the time. If it weren't for Su Yu's clone being able to preside over the overall situation, Su Yu's parents would have also died in Mingdu this time.

Su Yu does not care about the lives or deaths of the people of the Three Great Empires; he is no saint, and certainly no bleeding heart!

In this world of mutual calculation, all Su Yu can do is look out for himself.