Douluo: I founded the mecha tribe and I am the king of mecha battles!

Chapter 288 What's wrong with being a dog?
"grown ups……"

His voice was hoarse as he looked up at Chen Zhou. "I have another question."

Chen Zhou looked at him indifferently, a playful glint in his eyes: "Speak."

"Why me?" Qian Gu Die Ting asked in a low voice.

This wasn't a question, but rather a statement brimming with a hidden yearning—he needed confirmation of his true value in Chen Zhou's eyes. Why wasn't he the Sky-Supporting Douluo of Shrek Academy, or the War God Hall Master of the Sun Moon Federation? Why was he, the loser, chosen?

Yun Taixi let out a cold laugh from the side, as if he had heard a stupid question.

Hai Wuliang rested his hand on his sword, his gaze cold yet playful.

Ultimately, the value of the leash on a dog depends on the owner's mood.

Chen Zhou simply said, "Because all you want to do is live."

Qian Gu Die Ting trembled all over, as if struck by lightning in an instant.

"Ordinary people live for nothing more than emotions, survival, and desires... But what about you?"

Chen Zhou tapped his fingers lightly on the edge of the table, the sound like ice beads falling to the ground. "Power, status, ambition, even the extended lifespan after increasing strength... you want so many things."

"But only..."

He paused, a cold smile curving his lips. "You have an almost unimaginable obsession with the continuation of your family and the passing down of your bloodline."

You won't act impulsively out of momentary anger, nor will you choose to perish together with the enemy when faced with humiliation.

"So, don't you think you'd be perfect as a dog?"

The air inside the heritage room seemed to freeze. Qian Gu's body remained bowed, but his pupils contracted sharply in the darkness. In an instant, he understood the deeper meaning of Chen Zhou's words—he was not treated as a "person," but as a "tool."

However, beneath this chilling cruelty lay an unprecedented path to survival for the ancient families, one that far surpassed the advancement they had originally sought.

"This old man...this old servant understands."

Qian Gu Die Ting slowly straightened up, his left hand gently placed on his chest, as if sensing the renewed surge of power and life within him. His eyes flickered with a complex light, but what ultimately settled was an almost fanatical loyalty.

Yes!

What's wrong with being a dog?

In ancient times, the domestication of dogs was always tied to the tribe's master for life.

Loyal dogs are passed down through generations. When the wolf pack, who were once their own kind, were starving, the dog could get hot food; when the wolf pack was hungry and cold, the dog could hide in a warm den; when the wolf pack risked their lives to hunt and defend their territory, the dog only needed to obediently please its master, faithfully guard the house, hunt, and track, and it could gain protection for generations...

What's wrong with being a dog?
What's wrong with being a dog for an unparalleled being who can easily allow you to glimpse the realm of gods?
The black dragon mark imprinted on his brow was not a simple contract seal, but a shackle forcibly implanted by Chen Zhou with a wisp of the Dragon God's essence into his body. Qian Gu Die Ting could feel that his soul had been imprinted with an inviolable law, just like those soul beasts once cursed by the Dragon God—every step of the continuation of his bloodline was bound by the will of the gods.

But compared to the tragic fate of soul beasts who can never rise again, Qian Gu Die Ting received "privileges".

Some black dragon scale patterns appeared on his skin, but they quickly disappeared beneath the skin. The power of the dragon surged within his cells, repairing the vitality that had been depleted by aging.

Moreover, he could even feel his original martial soul, the "Panlong Staff," undergoing a transformation—the true power of the dragon race was awakening within the staff that imprisoned the dragon soul, no longer bound by the remnant soul of a soul beast.

"Boom!"

His heart pounded like a drum, his blood surged through his veins, and every cell greedily devoured the power of the dragon. "Get up."

Chen Zhou's voice was devoid of any emotion. He lightly tapped the air with his fingertips, and a chair woven from starlight appeared before Qian Gu Die Ting.

"This old servant thanks you for your kindness, Your Excellency!"

The voice of Qian Gu Die Ting was no longer old and hoarse, but rather deep, resonant, and full of power. He stood up, his right hand pressed against his chest, his left arm hanging at his side, black dragon scales faintly visible.

Yun Taixi sneered, lightning flashing in his eyes: "A clever old dog indeed."

Hai Wuliang stood with his arms crossed, a disdainful smile on his lips: "I hope he doesn't back down when it comes to biting."

Chen Zhou's gaze swept over the two of them before returning to Qian Gu Die Ting: "The war for unification will soon begin. I don't need you to do anything. I just need you to lead your family and your vassals and manage those opportunistic fence-sitters who surrender at the first sign of trouble."

"Remember, if things go wrong, you and your bloodline will be punished!"

The city of Donghai, shrouded in a crimson rain, was unusually silent tonight. As Qian Gu Die Ting stepped out of the Beast Merchant Guild headquarters, his newly grown left hand twitched involuntarily. The regrowth of muscle fibers was still adapting to the corrosive effects of the dragon's blood, and each fingernail gleamed with a mother-of-pearl-like sheen.

He paused and looked back at the steel behemoth-like building. The exterior wall of the thirty-seven-story main building was now covered with dark blue patterns, which upon closer inspection turned out to be capillaries of some kind of biological tissue.

The window at the very top still glowed with a ghostly purple light, where a soul had just been reshaped.

Raindrops hitting the newborn's arm actually created wisps of blue smoke. Qian Gu Die Ting was astonished to discover that the rainwater couldn't penetrate these seemingly soft, black scales at all. When he deliberately contracted his muscles, the scales melted into his skin like liquid metal, leaving only spiderweb-like dark patterns on the surface.

At this moment, the words he uttered before leaving Chenzhou involuntarily echoed in Qian Gu Die Ting's mind.

In my system, every contribution will be rewarded accordingly.
Do you like this power?

Do you want your lineage to continue through your sons, grandsons, and even your bloodline?
As long as you make a contribution, your bloodline will be able to receive these!
Like a call from the endless abyss of hell, the voice, like the whisper of a demon, echoed in the rain, yet made his heart, which had been still for ages, pound violently. He looked at his left hand, feeling the boiling of the life force within him; the old age and decay of the past had long been washed away by the dragon blood.

This is an offer that...cannot be refused!

The former master of the Spirit Pagoda, a top-tier Limit Douluo on the continent, and the illustrious leader of the ancient family, has now been completely reduced to a servant of an existence beyond the gods. But there is not a trace of regret in Qian Gu Die Ting's eyes; instead, an unprecedentedly burning ambition has ignited within him.

He raised his hand, and the moment the rain fell into his palm, it exploded into a circle of silver-blue ripples—that was the dragon's natural control over the elements.

"Hahahaha-"

An old man's laughter echoed in the rainy night, accompanied by booming thunder that resounded throughout the entire city of Donghai.

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(End of this chapter)