Douluo Dalu 3: Legend of the White Fox

Seeing Gu Yue throw the problem directly at Xia Yi, the Demon Whale Emperor was momentarily stunned.

She couldn't understand why Gu Yue had such confidence in Xia Yi's ability to come up with a solution.

Wasn't Gu Yue worried that Xia Yi might also be at a loss?

In the end, it would be Gu Yue and the Star Dou Forest who would be humiliated.

Under the Demon Whale Emperor's confused gaze, Xia Yi first rolled down the car window, stuck his head out, and looked up at the sky for a long moment before pulling his head back inside.

Even Gu Yue didn't understand his behavior and curiously asked, "What are you doing?"

Since this concerned the image of the Star Dou Forest in the Demon Whale Emperor's eyes, there was no way she could truly leave the matter to Xia Yi and calmly meditate.

In truth, she had been secretly observing him the entire time, afraid that he might mess up at a critical moment.

"I was checking if there would be thunder today," Xia Yi replied with a smile.

"Thunder?" The Demon Whale Emperor looked utterly baffled.

"You want to destroy the Sea God's image among the people, right? I have a method. It should be pretty effective, but it's so immoral that I'm worried about being struck by lightning," Xia Yi said seriously.

"You have a solution?" The Demon Whale Emperor was taken aback, not expecting Xia Yi to come up with a solution so quickly.

This was a problem that had plagued her and the Holy Spirit Cult for decades.

"Is it really that hard?" Xia Yi gave a faint smile.

"Alright, let's hear it," the Demon Whale Emperor said, suppressing her urge to punch him as she looked at Xia Yi's gentle smile.

"I'll mock him when his plan is full of flaws. For now, as long as we can put the Star Dou Forest at a disadvantage, we'll gain the upper hand in future collaborations," the Demon Whale Emperor reassured herself internally.

She didn't view Xia Yi and Gu Yue as mere teenagers but as hundred-thousand-year-old transformed soul beasts.

She had raised this issue specifically to suppress the Star Dou Forest.

If the Star Dou Forest couldn't come up with a solution, they would struggle to negotiate with confidence in the future.

"I have a solution, but I'll only provide the idea. The actual implementation will require the Holy Spirit Cult," Xia Yi said seriously.

Although he had never met the Demon Whale Emperor, he had already guessed her identity.

"Fine. As long as the plan is feasible, leave it to the Holy Spirit Cult," the Demon Whale Emperor agreed without hesitation. After all, only a few soul beasts in the Star Dou Forest had the ability to transform, making them inherently limited in what they could do.

No matter what the plan was, it would require the support of the Holy Spirit Cult to succeed.

"Don't worry. You won't be laboring in vain. You might even profit greatly from this. Although the initial investment might be a bit steep," Xia Yi said with a chuckle.

"The Holy Spirit Cult isn't short on money," the Demon Whale Emperor replied coldly.

Xia Yi nodded and smiled. "The Holy Spirit Cult probably has plenty of perverts, right? You can record the deeds of these perverts in the form of newspapers, novels, comics, or even animations. Then replace the main character with the Sea God and spread it widely among ordinary people."

"Heh, I thought you'd have something brilliant. Framing and slandering like this? Do you think the people of the Douluo Continent are fools?" The Demon Whale Emperor sneered disdainfully, glancing at Gu Yue and Di Tian. She added indifferently, "I thought the Star Dou Forest was more capable than this. Is that all?"

"Can you let someone finish speaking before giving your opinion?" Gu Yue shot the Demon Whale Emperor a cold look. She had a certain level of understanding of Xia Yi and didn't believe he would propose such a poorly thought-out plan.

"Fine. Go on," the Demon Whale Emperor said with a cold laugh.

Xia Yi took a deep breath and said, "Of course, I know that mere framing and slandering won't shake the Sea God's status in the hearts of ordinary people. I also know that even if we portray the Sea God as a bloodthirsty demon, no one would believe it. But what if we create content so entertaining that, even if people know we're making things up, they can't resist collecting it and watching it repeatedly? The more they watch, the more the Sea God's image in their hearts changes. It's a gradual and cumulative process."

"You make it sound so simple. Who would keep watching something they know is fake? And even if they do, changing a deeply rooted image isn't that easy," the Demon Whale Emperor scoffed, her expression still full of disdain.

"I already said, can you let someone finish speaking before you comment?" Gu Yue snorted coldly again.

"You—" The Demon Whale Emperor was about to lose her temper but thought better of it. After a brief pause, she restrained herself and said, "Fine, continue."

"The 'perverts' I'm talking about might not be what you think." Xia Yi grinned and said, "I mean those who enjoy tormenting women or those women who keep a string of boy toys. Write down their stories, replace the protagonist with the Sea God or someone associated with him, and flesh out the details. If it's detailed enough, people will read it. If that doesn't work, write a full novel instead. You don't even need to portray the Sea God as particularly evil—just write it neutrally. As long as you insert some suggestive details in the middle, it'll be more palatable for the general public. Once they get used to it, you can gradually turn up the heat. Maybe a Tang Sect Hero Chronicles or a Shrek Battle Royale. No matter how the Federation bans it, people will still read it. Add in your comics and animations, and before long, even the students at Shrek Academy, after seeing so much of it, will start having vivid imaginations when they see the Sea God's statue. Over time, do you think they'll see the Sea God as a figure of awe and faith or as a source of inappropriate fantasies?"

Gu Yue, Di Tian, Bi Ji, and Zi Ji were all dumbfounded, as if they had been struck by lightning.

Even Zi Ji, who was driving, was so distracted that she nearly drove the car off the highway.

The Demon Whale Emperor fell silent, seemingly contemplating the feasibility of the plan. After a long pause, she finally muttered, "You really deserve to be struck by lightning."

"Well, is it doable or not?" Xia Yi grinned mischievously.

"Heh, no problem at all." A rare smile appeared on the Demon Whale Emperor's face. If it weren't for the fact that Xia Yi, Gu Yue, and Di Tian—these fearsome beasts of the Star Dou Forest—were present, she would have burst out laughing.

Xia Yi's suggestion had swept away the dark cloud that had hung over her for years.

For over twenty thousand years, she had never felt as refreshed as she did today.

Even if this didn't destroy the faith-based power of Sea God Tang San, she still wanted to carry it out.

Even if she couldn't beat him in a fight, she'd at least disgust him thoroughly.

"I've given you the idea. How far you can take it is up to the Holy Spirit Cult," Xia Yi shrugged.

"Think of another way for me to get some money. I want to mobilize the full resources of the Holy Spirit Cult for this. I want every citizen of the Federation to see pop-up ads on their soul communicators and soul computers daily, even receive related books and flyers in the mail," the Demon Whale Emperor said with a broad smile, clearly planning to go all out.

"You're telling me you're short on money? There are plenty of funds in the Heaven Dou City banks," Xia Yi said, his face full of disbelief. He had never imagined an organization like the Holy Spirit Cult would lack money.

"We can't act too brazenly right now. Many things are still unprepared, and being too obvious would make it easy for the Federation to track us down," the Demon Whale Emperor explained.

"Oh, I see." Xia Yi shook his head helplessly. "If you want to make money, there will always be risks. I can't think of a completely safe way to get you a large sum of money in a short time."

"I never said it had to be legal. As long as the risk is small and it doesn't directly confront the Federation, Shrek Academy, or Tang Sect, it's fine," the Demon Whale Emperor said seriously.

"Well, that makes things easier." Xia Yi thought for a moment, and his eyes suddenly lit up. "Last time I was in Heaven Dou City, I saw a row of cemeteries. If you can locate the royal tombs of the former Sun Moon Empire, Star Luo Empire, or Heaven Dou Empire, any burial item from those would be enough to keep you going for a long time."

"That's a real idea. Not only would it provide endless funds, but it could also stir up war across the three continents," the Demon Whale Emperor's eyes sparkled with delight. She could easily imagine the upheaval that would ensue if the White Tiger lineage in the distant Star Luo Empire discovered their ancestral graves had been looted.

It wouldn't just be the White Tiger lineage. Nearly all the noble ancestors of the Star Luo Empire were buried on the Douluo Continent. If their graves were desecrated, the entire empire would be shaken.

Both the Holy Spirit Cult and the Star Dou Forest would be thrilled to see such chaos.

The more the Demon Whale Emperor looked at Xia Yi, the more she liked him. A rare, radiant smile appeared on her face. Suddenly, her eyes lit up, and she said with an even brighter smile, "Why don't you join us in the Holy Spirit Cult? Didn't Nanali approach you a few days ago? Oh, I mean Lina. She even tried to use resentment to control you. As compensation, if you join the Holy Spirit Cult, I'll have her recognize you as her master and let you command her. How about that?"

The moment she saw Di Tian, the Demon Whale Emperor knew that Lina's control over Xia Yi had already been neutralized.

With Di Tian's power, dealing with a mere spirit of resentment was child's play.

"Can we talk about this somewhere else?" Xia Yi glanced at Gu Yue and Di Tian beside him.

"I'm serious," the Demon Whale Emperor said, a little exasperated.

"So am I," Xia Yi replied.

"Forget it. We'll talk about it later." The Demon Whale Emperor shook her head. She had only been testing Xia Yi's attitude anyway.

At the same time, she was also testing Gu Yue and Di Tian.

If she truly wanted to recruit Xia Yi, she wouldn't have brought it up in front of Gu Yue.

She hadn't expected Xia Yi to agree so readily, and even more surprisingly, neither Di Tian nor Gu Yue had stopped him. This made her feel slightly uneasy.

Xia Yi had his own plans. Even if he wanted to join the Holy Spirit Cult, it wouldn't be under these circumstances.

The Demon Whale Emperor was already wary of him. If he joined now, she would be on guard against him at every turn, leaving him unable to accomplish anything.

Instead, he might as well let her be the one to retract the offer.

When the Holy Spirit Cult truly needed him, that would be the time for him to step in.

(End of Chapter)