Above the main banquet hall, the undead Long Xiaoyao, controlled by Huo Yuhao, stood to one side with the Bear Lord and Scarlet King behind him. On the opposite side stood the Emperor and Kong Deming, leading a crowd of Sun Moon Empire Titled Douluos.
The two factions stood in a tense standoff.
Controlling Long Xiaoyao to take a slight step forward, Huo Yuhao spoke:
"The unnecessary people have mostly left by now, haven't they? Can we begin our deal, Your Majesty the Emperor?"
The Emperor remained silent for a long moment before finally speaking calmly:
"May I ask how to address you, Excellency?"
"Jie jie jie jie jie... You may call me Elder Yu! As for these two beside me, one is Elder Chi, and the other is Elder Xiong!"
Hearing Huo Yuhao emit a laugh that sounded entirely like a villain's, the Emperor's expression remained unchanged as he calmly asked his question:
"I wonder what brings you all to my Sun Moon Empire? If it is merely for a deal—given the strength of you three—if there is truly anything in my Sun Moon Empire that catches your eye, you could simply take it. Why bother with a 'deal'?"
"Your Majesty, it seems you have misunderstood me."
Huo Yuhao shook his head and said calmly, "The three of us do not hail from the Sun Moon Empire, nor do we come from the three nations of Douluo. We three come from the Great Ocean!"
The Emperor frowned slightly, clearly surprised.
"As the Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire, you must be well-informed. I wonder, Your Majesty, have you ever heard of 'Gods'?"
Huo Yuhao smiled.
"Gods?"
"Yes, Gods! 'Gods' who possess eternal life and world-shaking power!"
Huo Yuhao acted like a fanatic believer, his expression a mix of madness and a hint of piety that made others stare in spite of themselves.
"And what does the deal you speak of have to do with 'Gods'?" The Emperor's curiosity was piqued, and he couldn't help but ask.
"Heh, it's quite simple. We three come from the Beast Sect across the ocean. Our Sect Master has already touched the level of 'Godhood.' He only lacks the final power of faith to condense a Divine Position and become a 'God'!
"Therefore, the disciples of our Beast Sect are currently in the process of completely conquering the entire ocean. It is only a matter of time.
"While the ocean is far more vast than the land, the land holds the greatest population of humans. Our Sect Master does not wish to give up on the power of faith from the land either, so... we chose the Sun Moon Empire."
"Chose... us?"
"Indeed. Don't you think having four entire empires on one continent is far too many? It's too much trouble.
"After observing for a while, I believe your Sun Moon Empire has the best hope of unifying the continent!"
Huo Yuhao controlled Long Xiaoyao to show a faint smile. Noticing the obvious hesitation in the Emperor's emotions, Huo Yuhao chuckled:
"Therefore, our Beast Sect will agree to let the Sun Moon Empire exchange ordinary metals for corresponding Spirit-Forging metals. In exchange, once the Sun Moon Empire unifies the continent, you must provide the power of faith to our Sect Master!
"How about it? Your Sun Moon Empire unifies the continent, and our Sect Master achieves 'Godhood.' A win-win! Besides..."
Huo Yuhao paused, staring directly into the Emperor's eyes: "I believe Your Majesty also wishes to see the Sun Moon Empire unify the continent with your own eyes, correct?"
At this moment, the main banquet hall fell into absolute silence.
...
Spreading Spirit-Forging metals to the Sun Moon Empire under the name of the "Beast Sect" was something Huo Yuhao had planned long ago.
Firstly, Spirit-Forging metals could be used to manufacture Battle Armor, greatly boosting the Sun Moon Empire's high-end power. This would accelerate the empire's war preparations, allowing the war to arrive sooner.
Secondly, Huo Yuhao was, after all, only one person with limited research energy. It was impossible for him to single-handedly develop every application for Spirit-Forging metals.
Therefore, the various uses of Spirit-Forging metals could be left to the numerous soul tool engineers of the Sun Moon Empire to research. This was far better than working behind closed doors by himself.
Furthermore, because he held high authority, all of the Sun Moon Empire's achievements in soul tools were open to him. Once they succeeded in their research, he could simply use the results—it was essentially borrowing their "hen" to lay his "eggs."
Thirdly, now that Spirit-Forging was complete, and the 「Transformation Secret Technique」 combined with 「Blood Essence Body Cultivation」 had turned many soul beasts of the Star Constellation Great Forest into soul master versions of themselves.
In this situation, Huo Yuhao certainly couldn't let his own people suffer; the Battle Armor that needed to be equipped had to be equipped. He also needed Spirit-Forging metals to upgrade his own Battle Armor Soul-Armor.
Consequently, the metal supply line from the Spirit Transmission Pagoda was clearly insufficient. He naturally had to find new sources. Conveniently, the Sun Moon Empire had an extremely comprehensive variety of rare metals, making them a perfect supplier.
Exchanging Spirit-Forging metals for more raw materials to forge even more Spirit-Forging metal was a trade where he wouldn't lose out at all.
This was the charm of a technological monopoly!
Fourthly, the reason he fabricated a "Beast Sect" was to use a powerful external force to put sufficient pressure on the Sun Moon Empire.
Although the emergence of the 「Ring-Shaping Soul Tool Method」 and 「Battle Armor」 had accelerated the Sun Moon Empire's war preparations significantly, Huo Yuhao still felt it was a bit slow.
Adding a little pressure would give the Sun Moon Empire some motivation. Only with motivation comes vitality.
As for the "Beast Sect" and the conquest of the ocean... that was half-true and half-false.
The Beast Sect was something Huo Yuhao had made up on the spot, but the conquest of the ocean was real.
Over the past month, almost all soul beasts above the 100,000-year level in the Star Constellation Great Forest had been mobilized.
Each 100,000-year-old Soul Beast carried a wisp of Sea God divine power as identification. They first sought out the rulers of each sea region, demanding their cooperation in the name of the Sea God's messenger.
If they refused to cooperate, Huo Yuhao would use that wisp of Sea God divine power as a coordinate and teleport there directly for a "personal visit."
By "manifesting divinity" in this manner, he rapidly subdued sea regions one by one, then began spreading the 「Ring-Crushing Seal」 and the 「Artificial Soul Ring Device.」
The 「Ring-Crushing Seal」 could help soul beasts avoid being hunted to a certain extent, serving to gather the faith of the soul beasts.
The 「Artificial Soul Ring Device」 would be slightly repackaged into something resembling a sacrificial altar or pillar that bestowed 「God-bestowed Soul Rings.」
Under the effect of the 「Ring-Crushing Seal」, humans at sea would be unable to absorb soul rings. At that point, the appearance of the 「Artificial Soul Ring Device」 would be viewed as a miracle.
Combined with Huo Yuhao's actual appearances, this would surely rapidly accumulate faith for him as the "Sea God."
In addition, Huo Yuhao would selectively spread the 「Transformation Secret Technique」 and 「Blood Essence Body Cultivation」 to certain soul beasts.
Using help with condensing a 「Dharma Body」 as a reward, he incentivized them to help the 100,000-year-old Soul Beasts he sent out to bring even more sea regions under control.
Absolute strength combined with tangible benefits—in just one month, the living beings of one-sixth of the entire ocean had begun providing him with the power of faith.
One could say that completely turning the Sea God Divine Position into his own image was just around the corner.