Emperor Auspicious Beast

"It's over!" Jiang Mian looked at the Spirit Ball, which had stopped moving after just two tremors, and his heart was filled with bitter regret.

That soul beast had moved so fast that Jiang Mian hadn't even gotten a clear look at what it was before the capture was complete.

Although his Spirit Ball could ignore a soul beast's age limit for capture, there was one hard condition: the more injured the soul beast, the higher the capture probability. In a completely unharmed state, the chance was nearly zero.

But that soul beast just now—how could it possibly have looked seriously injured? Unless it had willingly let itself be captured by Jiang Mian?

The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear plopped down on its rear, despair clear in its eyes. The fighting spirit that had been growing fiercer by the moment was now utterly deflated.

Jiang Mian retracted the Spirit Ball, and in an instant, his entire body felt as if he'd been electrocuted, trembling uncontrollably.

"Emperor... Emperor..." Jiang Mian slapped himself hard twice across the face before finally calming his emotions: "Emperor Auspicious Beast!"

The reason for Jiang Mian's reaction was that the Emperor Auspicious Beast itself was entangled in far too much karma.

In the original story, that Black Dragon King Di Tian had once launched a beast tide because the Emperor Auspicious Beast had been sacrificed. If he caused a beast tide now because of this, even that Level 99 Limit Douluo Qian Daoliu of Martial Soul Hall might not be able to hold it back.

The Emperor Auspicious Beast, named the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, was born from the fortune of the soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest. By its side, soul beasts' cultivation speed would double, and it could greatly increase their chances of breaking through bottlenecks.

That was why the Emperor Auspicious Beast was a key protected target among those ferocious beasts. In the original story, Yan, ranked eighth among the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts, never left its side to guard it.

Now those ferocious beasts were all asleep. This Emperor Auspicious Beast must have snuck out to play, and for some unknown reason, it had let Jiang Mian capture it directly.

Jiang Mian's martial soul had a heaven-defying ability: he could use a soul beast's skills, meaning he could both use soul skills and summon soul beasts in battle.

Just now, he had clearly felt the addition of Extreme Light and Extreme Fire attributes within his body—these were the exclusive extreme attributes of the Emperor Auspicious Beast.

"Human..."

From deep within the Star Dou Great Forest came a majestic, inviolable dragon roar. All the beasts in the surrounding mountains and forests bowed their heads, and the soul power of the Star Dou Great Forest was sucked into the Lake of Life like a whirlpool.

"Is that... the Black Dragon King Di Tian?" Cold sweat dripped from Jiang Mian's forehead as his mind raced, searching for a way to respond.

That eighty-thousand-year-old Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear had already fainted from sheer terror. The Emperor Auspicious Beast had been captured by a human while in its grasp. Now that Di Tian had been forced awake, how could it possibly survive?

"Senior Di Tian, please hear me out." Jiang Mian spoke in a clear voice: "I had no intention of capturing the Emperor Auspicious Beast, but I beg Senior Di Tian to rest assured—the Emperor Auspicious Beast is perfectly fine. If Senior does not believe me, you may come and see for yourself."

As he spoke, Jiang Mian quickly released the Three-Eyed Golden Lion from the Spirit Ball: "The Emperor Auspicious Beast has already been captured by me—that is a fact. If Senior kills me, the Auspicious Beast will vanish along with me. So I take the liberty of asking Senior to weigh the pros and cons."

"Are you... threatening me?"

A man in a black robe, at least two meters tall with golden pupils and long hair, suddenly appeared before Jiang Mian. His expression was calm, but Jiang Mian could feel a pressure so dense it had nearly taken physical form.

The ruler of soul beasts, Black Dragon King Di Tian!

"I wouldn't dare." Jiang Mian suppressed the trembling in his legs and explained: "The Auspicious Beast possesses the Eye of Fate, and its instinct for seeking benefit and avoiding harm is innate. Just now, the Auspicious Beast entered my martial soul of its own accord, which proves that I am only beneficial to it."

Di Tian snorted coldly. He completely ignored Jiang Mian and walked straight up to the Emperor Auspicious Beast: "Why did you sneak out?"

The Emperor Auspicious Beast snorted back and said: "You were all busy absorbing that ice silkworm's energy. I wanted to eat it, but you wouldn't let me, and now you won't even let me come out and play?"

Di Tian's expression was somewhat complicated. Watching this scene, Jiang Mian felt as if he were looking at a stern father and a tsundere daughter.

"Senior Di Tian, my martial soul is different. Although the Auspicious Beast has been captured by me, she is still free." Jiang Mian quickly explained: "Moreover, my martial soul can greatly increase a soul beast's cultivation speed. I believe this is also why the Emperor Auspicious Beast chose me."

"Oh?"

Di Tian glanced at Jiang Mian, then placed his hand on the Auspicious Beast's head and carefully examined its body. Finding that the Auspicious Beast had not changed in the slightest, he finally believed that Jiang Mian was telling the truth.

Di Tian asked coldly: "You said earlier that if you die, the Auspicious Beast will also die?"

"Yes." Jiang Mian lied without batting an eye, speaking with a straight face: "After all, the Auspicious Beast has been captured by my martial soul. If I die, my martial soul will vanish along with me, and the Auspicious Beast's fate will be no different from falling."

"You also said you could help soul beasts greatly increase their cultivation speed?" Di Tian asked again.

"That's right." Jiang Mian nodded firmly and said decisively: "As long as the Emperor Auspicious Beast engages in battle, its cultivation will steadily increase. In the future, breaking through to the divine level is not impossible."

Pokémon could gain experience continuously through battle, and naturally, soul beasts could too.

"Oh?" When Di Tian heard the word "divine," his eyes lit up. He had lived for over eight hundred thousand years, always striving to break the rule that soul beasts could not become gods.

And now this kid was telling him he could help soul beasts become gods?

Most importantly, if Di Tian's senses were correct, this boy wasn't even ten years old yet. How could he know so much? Could he really have been sent by heaven to lead the soul beast race to its peak?

Soul beasts had only a few ways to improve their cultivation: through training, by consuming innate spiritual treasures, or by devouring their own kind.

Devouring their own kind was certainly the fastest method. That Deep Sea Demon Whale King had broken through its bottleneck by devouring its peers, but this method carried extremely high risks and was prone to backlash.

Moreover, the cultivation gained from devouring one's own kind was like the moon in water or a flower in a mirror—it could never be fully utilized. Becoming a god was even more of a fantasy.

"How does the battle work?" Di Tian's expression remained unchanged, but Jiang Mian could detect a hint of excitement in his tone.

"The Auspicious Beast only needs to battle against soul beasts or soul masters. There's no need to kill the opponent. During the battle, the Auspicious Beast will continuously gain a large amount of cultivation."

Jiang Mian said: "Moreover, the stronger the soul beast, the more cultivation it gains."

Di Tian fell into thought. Although the Auspicious Beast only had a few thousand years of cultivation, its actual strength could rival a hundred-thousand-year soul beast.

Why not test it out?

With that thought, Di Tian casually grabbed the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear, which had been pretending to be dead, and said coldly: "If you don't want to die, do as you're told."

Hearing this, the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's entire body stiffened, then it quickly sat up straight, quietly waiting for Di Tian's orders.

"Have the Auspicious Beast fight it." Di Tian said flatly.

"Good." Jiang Mian nodded and walked over to the Auspicious Beast. He lowered his voice and asked, "Auspicious Beast, are you willing to follow my commands?"

The Auspicious Beast shook her head in disdain. With a whoosh, she shot straight toward that Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear, her speed already surpassing the speed of sound.

The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear was knocked to the ground by a single claw strike from the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. The wounds that had just barely closed burst open again, blood gushing forth. The Three-Eyed Golden Lion wore a displeased expression as she lifted a paw and pressed it down onto the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's face.

The blow was heavy and forceful. The Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear's skull warped on the spot, its entire cranium caving inward.

"As expected." Di Tian's eyes were exceptionally sharp. He could clearly sense that in the brief moment the Auspicious Beast had been locked in combat with this eighty-thousand-year Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear, she had already increased her cultivation by nearly a thousand years.

A thousand years—what a concept. Even if the Emperor Auspicious Beast could accelerate spirit beast cultivation, a thousand years of cultivation would normally take decades or even centuries to accumulate.

Yet Jiang Mian had done it in just a few minutes!

And this was merely a simple spar, without even needing to harm the opponent spirit beast's life.

Jiang Mian watched Di Tian's reaction, already planning in his mind which spirit beasts he would subdue next.

Now that Di Tian had witnessed his usefulness, wouldn't he become the top dog of the spirit beast world from here on out?

"The spirit beasts shall rise, and their rise begins now." Di Tian's excitement was plain on his face, but he quickly restrained his emotions, and even the look he gave Jiang Mian softened a few degrees.

"Jiang Mian, from now on, stay in the Star Dou Great Forest. I must ensure your safety." Di Tian said with a smile. "From this day forth, you are the honored guest of our spirit beast clan."

"No." Jiang Mian refused Di Tian without hesitation, explaining unhurriedly, "Senior Di Tian, spirit masters have far more experience than spirit beasts. You should let me take the Auspicious Beast into the human world to fight, so she can become a god as soon as possible!"

"The human world is too dangerous." Di Tian said with some displeasure. "You and the Auspicious Beast are gifts bestowed upon me by the heavens. If anything happens to you, it would be an irreparable loss for my spirit beast clan."

"My martial soul can recall the Auspicious Beast at any time, letting her enter it to heal." Jiang Mian pulled out the Spirit Ball and demonstrated on the spot for Di Tian. "And I can also use all of the Auspicious Beast's abilities."

"So," Jiang Mian's lips curled into a smile, "if you're really uneasy, you could just have a powerful spirit beast follow me."

"You..." Di Tian pondered for a moment, then asked, "You can't subdue a second spirit beast anymore, can you?"

"That's right." Jiang Mian nodded. "To subdue a second spirit beast, I'll need to reach level twenty."

"I see." Di Tian nodded. "Then stay in the Star Dou Great Forest to cultivate for now. When you're able to subdue a second spirit beast, I'll have the Scarlet King accompany you."

"Don't you want to become a god?" Jiang Mian asked with a smile.

"When you're capable of managing the spirit beast clan, I'll let you capture me." Di Tian said calmly. "Of course, if you do anything detrimental to the spirit beast clan, I won't kill you, but I'll make your life worse than death."

"Don't worry." Jiang Mian said. "With the Black Dragon King's strength, I'm nothing but a small fry."

A large part of why Di Tian was so at ease with Jiang Mian came from his confidence in his own power. He was the Black Dragon King, a being capable of matching a Limit Douluo.

As long as Jiang Mian hadn't reached the god level, Di Tian was certain he could suppress him.

Jiang Mian followed Di Tian toward the core zone of the Star Dou Great Forest. Because of Di Tian's awakening, the two spirit beasts that had luckily occupied the core zone—the Titan Giant Ape and the Sky Azure Bull Python—had already vanished without a trace. Jiang Mian couldn't help but remark, they sure ran fast.

Di Tian didn't care about their whereabouts. Hundred-thousand-year spirit beasts that couldn't even rank among the ferocious beasts were no different from ants in his eyes.

"After you subdued the Auspicious Beast, even you yourself gained the ability to double spirit beast cultivation speed?"

Walking side by side with Jiang Mian, Di Tian felt the changes within himself and couldn't help but sigh. "If only you were a spirit beast. Why did you have to end up with that stinking human flesh?"

"That's not something I could decide." Jiang Mian said with a wry smile. "Senior, were you and the other ferocious beasts absorbing the cultivation of that Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm?"

"How do you know?" Di Tian asked in surprise. "You're only six years old, yet the maturity you show and the knowledge you possess are astonishing."

"Maybe this is what they call heaven's favor." Jiang Mian laughed heartily. "Following me is definitely the right choice. I will become a god one day."

"I will lead the spirit beast clan into the divine realm." Jiang Mian vowed. "And restore the glory of the Dragon God."

"Lord Dragon God." Di Tian's eyes filled with deep reverence. "Back then, the Lord was split in two by the Asura God, becoming the Golden Dragon King and the Silver Dragon King. The Golden Dragon King has been suppressed in the divine realm all this time, while the Silver Dragon King..."

At that point, Di Tian suddenly realized he had misspoken. He quickly cut off the topic and said flatly, "In the future, I will arrange for you to meet the Lord."

"Mm." Jiang Mian nodded, saying no more.

Seeing the two living ancestors walk away, that Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear quickly flipped over and fled, silently vowing in its heart to avoid them forever and never cross paths again.

"What?!"

Inside the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi, who had just returned, heard the news that Ning Rongrong had broken off the engagement and driven Jiang Mian away. He felt as if the sky had fallen. An Innate Full Spirit Power genius, and you bullied him away?

"Go find him immediately! You must bring him back!" Ning Fengzhi glared at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect disciples before him and smashed the teacup in his hand to pieces in fury.

"Sect Master, what's done is done." Bone Douluo Gu Rong frowned slightly and said, "Even if we find him, I'm afraid he won't come back."

"Uncle Bone." Ning Fengzhi looked helplessly at Gu Rong, suppressing his anger as he said, "You've spoiled Rongrong too much. That was an Innate Full Spirit Power! How many years does the continent produce a single Innate Full Spirit Power genius? And you just handed him over to someone else?"

"This..." Bone Douluo was momentarily at a loss for words.

"Where's Rongrong? Have her come see me!" Ning Fengzhi sighed and said coldly.

"Princess Xue Ke of the Heaven Dou Empire came to find Rongrong. She's already gone." Sword Douluo Chen Xin said from the side. "Besides, Jiang Mian might already be dead by now."

"Uncle Sword, did you send someone to assassinate him?" Ning Fengzhi's lips trembled slightly, his face gradually calming. "Forget it. Since he can't be used by me, killing him is the only way to be satisfied!"

"Supreme Elder Xiong Qing should be back soon." Chen Xin calculated the time and said, "I had him do it in a secluded place. No one will know about this."

"Supreme Elder Xiong Qing is more than enough to assassinate a ten-level child." Ning Fengzhi closed his eyes. No one knew what he was thinking at that moment.