65: Chapter 65 Schemes of All Parties
The founding ceremony of the All-Continent Anti-Beast Alliance was held in the Main Hall of Spirit Hall in Spirit City.
On that day, Emperor Xue Ye of the Heaven Dou Empire arrived in person, accompanied by Ning Fengzhi, the Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. The Emperor of the Star Luo Empire sent the Crown Prince and the military's supreme commander. Sect Master Yu Yuanzhen, the Sect Master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, personally led his team. Even the Clear Sky Sect sent an Elder with real authority to attend. Every Sect and kingdom of renown on the continent sent their core figures to be present.
Inside the hall, banners stood like a forest, and powerful Spirit Masters gathered. Various factions that were usually at each other's throats now sat around the same long table, signing their names and pressing the seals of their Sects and Empires onto the "All-Continent Anti-Beast Joint Covenant."
Their oaths rang out powerfully, shouting slogans like "Jointly Resist Spirit Beasts, Protect Humanity." On the surface, they shared a common hatred for the enemy, and the atmosphere was so heated it seemed as though they could flatten the Star Dou Great Forest with one heart in the next second.
But behind closed doors, everyone was calculating their own interests more shrewdly than anyone else.
As the initiator and leader of the Alliance, Spirit Hall naturally took control of the Alliance's leadership.
Qian Daoliu did not attend the meeting, leaving the two Enshrined Elders, Qian Jun and Demon Subduing, to preside over the situation. However, anyone with a discerning eye could see that Spirit Hall was using the Alliance's name to naturally extend its reach to the border defenses of the two great Empires. They even proposed stationing "Liaison Officers" in the major Sects, ostensibly to coordinate combat power, but in reality, to uncover the trump cards of each Sect and infiltrate them with their own influence.
Privately, Demon Subduing Douluo sneered at Thousand Jun Douluo, "Do these fellows really think we're helping them out of the goodness of our hearts? Once we use the pretext of Star Dou to clearly map out their troop deployments and Sect secrets, even without the Spirit Beasts, no one on the entire continent will be able to stop our Spirit Hall in the future."
On the Heaven Dou Empire's side, although Emperor Xue Ye signed the covenant, he immediately issued a death order to the border guards: the allied forces of Spirit Hall must never step foot into the Heaven Dou Empire's territory without permission.
Inside the Imperial Study, he looked at School Master Ning with a face full of worry, "School Master Ning, we are currently facing a wolf in front and a tiger behind. The Black Dragon of Star Dou is the blade hanging over our heads, but Spirit Hall is the true tiger eyeing our Empire."
Ning Fengzhi gently turned the scepter in his hand, his refined face full of helplessness, "Your Majesty, for now, we can only take it one step at a time. The Alliance must be maintained; otherwise, no single party among us can stop the Vicious Beasts of Star Dou. However, we must also guard against Spirit Hall and not let them erode our Foundation in the name of the Alliance."
There was one more sentence he didn't say: as one of the Upper Three Sects, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School was already seen as a thorn in Spirit Hall's side. In this chaotic situation, any slight misstep could lead to the downfall of the entire school.
The Star Luo Empire was even more direct. They signed the covenant more readily than anyone else, but then immediately recalled most of the allied forces sent to the border back to their domestic defense lines, leaving only a few troops for show.
The Crown Prince of Star Luo wrote clearly in a secret letter to the Emperor: "Let Spirit Hall and Heaven Dou take the lead. We only need to hold our own territory and watch the tigers fight from the mountain. If both sides are injured, we can take the opportunity to march north and expand our territory."
Among the Upper Three Sects, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was the only one that truly wanted to reinforce the defenses.
Their clan's inherited Spirit was the Dragon, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.
Once a beast tide broke out, they would likely be the first to suffer.
But even so, Sect Master Yu Yuanzhen kept a backup plan. The core Disciples and Legacy of the Sect had long been quietly moved to other safe locations. Most of the Disciples sent to the border were from the Outer Sect or Side Branches; he would never hand over the core strength of the Sect to an Alliance led by Spirit Hall.
As for the Elder from the Clear Sky Sect, he acted like a ghost throughout the process. He never spoke during the meeting, signed the covenant without a ripple, and immediately returned to the Clear Sky Sect, sending out only a few Direct Disciples.
His attitude was clear: "We've shown this much face, so you can't suspect us anymore."
As for those small and medium-sized Sects and kingdoms, they were like grass on a wall. They shouted the slogans loudest during the meeting, but turned around and guarded their own Sects tightly. When the Alliance conscripted forces, they would push back or hide whenever possible.
They knew best in their hearts that whether Spirit Hall won or the Spirit Beasts of Star Dou won, they would only be able to depend on the strong. Recklessly gambling their entire Foundation would truly lead to a place beyond redemption.
It was such a temporary Alliance—seemingly unbreakable but actually fragmented and full of ulterior motives—that began intensive defensive preparations after its formation.
Three Spirit Master Legions were stationed at the border of the Star Dou Great Forest, and major Sects took turns sending Disciples for duty. The defense line was built as solid as gold, and scouts were sent into the Star Dou Great Forest like flowing water. Everyone was on edge, waiting for Star Dou's next move, waiting for that expected, world-destroying beast tide.
But no one expected that half a month would pass, half a year would pass, and even two and a half years would pass, yet the anticipated storm still had not arrived.
The Star Dou Great Forest had unexpectedly become unusually quiet.
Not to mention a large-scale beast tide, even the Spirit Beasts on the outskirts were no different from usual.
They foraged when they should forage and rested when they should rest. Even the frequent incidents of Spirit Beasts attacking humans had decreased significantly.
Some brave Spirit Hunting Teams cautiously entered the outskirts of Star Dou. As long as they didn't step into the Middle Region, they basically wouldn't encounter any attacks, no different from their usual hunting routines.
The scouts returned in batches, and the messages they brought back were always "everything is normal."
The Core Area of the Star Dou Great Forest was still shrouded in thick mist, with no signs of movement or roars of beasts. Even the suffocating dragon might from before had completely vanished, as if the tragedy of killing three Titled Douluo two and a half years ago had never happened.
This eerie calm was even more unsettling than a world-destroying beast tide.
In the Spirit Hall border camp, Demon Subduing Douluo slammed the scout report onto the table, his face full of irritation, "Something's wrong! This is too strange! That Black Dragon killed three of our Titled Douluo, clearly declaring war, yet now there's no movement at all. What on earth is he trying to do?!"
Thousand Jun Douluo's brow was locked tight, his fingertips gently tapping the table, his eyes full of solemnity, "When things are abnormal, there must be a reason. The calmer it is, the more it shows they are preparing something big. In the beast tides tens of thousands of years ago, once the Dragon Clan made a move, it was like a thunderclap. Their current inaction is just waiting for an opportunity."
In the Heaven Dou Empire's palace, Emperor Xue Ye looked at report after report of "No abnormality in Star Dou," unable to sleep night after night.
He would rather Star Dou launch a beast tide now than be tortured day and night by this invisible panic, like waiting for an execution.
Even in the imperial court, rumors began to circulate that this so-called Black Dragon crisis was simply a hoax staged by Spirit Hall to annex the two great Empires and major Sects in the name of the Alliance.
The rumors spread wider and wider, and the suspicion within the Alliance grew deeper.
Spirit Hall accused the two Empires of not putting in effort and being perfunctory with their defenses; the two Empires secretly mocked Spirit Hall for crying wolf to seek private gain; the Upper Three Sects were wary of each other, fearing the others would be bought off by Spirit Hall and sell them out; the small and medium-sized Sects were even more anxious, trying to please both sides for fear of picking the wrong one.
The Anti-Beast Alliance, established for less than two and a half years, was already riddled with cracks and teetering on the brink before even facing an attack from the Spirit Beasts.
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