Golden Tortoise: "I Want to Sacrifice Myself to You"

A gigantic turtle-type Soul Beast roughly five meters in diameter slowly emerged from the water.

Its golden shell looked sacred and noble beneath the sunlight.

Its strange triangular-pyramid-shaped head was held high as it flared its hole-like nostrils and swam toward Huo Yuhao on the shore.

By then, Huo Yuhao had grilled all three fish to a golden crisp. The dripping fat from the fish sizzled as it fell into the fire.

Beside him, the drooling Shadow Cat had its paws tucked beneath itself as it lay on the ground, staring longingly.

Soon, Huo Yuhao placed the largest fish in front of it. After all, it had caught all three fish, so it deserved the best one.

Seeing Huo Yuhao put the biggest and best fish before it, the Shadow Cat did not immediately start eating. Instead, it first walked over and rubbed against Huo Yuhao's pant leg.

"Meow~"

Only then did the little fellow head over to the grilled fish, shove its head straight into the fish's belly, and start wolfing it down.

It was so utterly absorbed that one might have thought he had added some ice to the grilled fish.

Huo Yuhao nodded in satisfaction. He had spent several months in Xuanfeng City without getting a chance to show off his exclusive grilled-fish technique.

Judging by the Shadow Cat's reaction, his skills had not declined.

Huo Yuhao was not bragging. Even without Soul Power, he could still build his own grilled-fish empire on Douluo Continent with this technique and a few marketing tricks.

He could open hundreds of chain stores a year. Huo Yuhao had even thought of a name for them: "Huo Tianyao."

Then he could introduce sweet drinks like Milk Tea and bring "Snow King Ice City" to another world.

He would give the people of Douluo Continent a little taste of the shock of chain stores.

Unfortunately, if his cheat had not personally drafted him, he might really have done it already.

Still, if he got the chance in the future, he could try to see whether the chain-store model would work on Douluo Continent.

Huo Yuhao picked up another grilled fish beside him. Ignoring the heat, he tore off a huge chunk of fish with one bite and began chewing.

The fish on Douluo Continent might have had terrible manners, but the meat was beyond reproach. Even during the Golden Age on his previous life's Earth, it would have been absolutely top-tier!

Just as Huo Yuhao was eating with great relish, the Colored Blade Pattern on his right hand gave off a faint glow and sent him a message.

"Human, I want to eat too."

Ever since obtaining this blade, Huo Yuhao had constantly fed it Entropy Power, and it had been growing. At first, it spoke in broken fragments.

Now, it could already say a full, continuous sentence.

Huo Yuhao had tried asking where it was born, but it only vaguely said that it had been born in a sea of colors.

Yu Hongzhi's Soul Skill had summoned it out.

To uncover the full truth, he would likely have to enter the Dream Gate. But with neither Sky Dream Ice Silkworm nor Electrolux in place, he did not dare enter recklessly.

"You can eat too?"

Huo Yuhao was somewhat surprised. A blade being able to eat was indeed rather bizarre.

Still, Huo Yuhao placed half the grilled fish above his right hand.

It was his blade. Of course he had to spoil it.

Then the Colored Blade Pattern bloomed with white light. A ribbon of light emerged from it and turned the grilled fish into foam.

"Delicious!"

For the first time, the Remnant Dream Blade conveyed an emotion of joy. Then the Colored Light Ribbon rubbed affectionately against Huo Yuhao's cheek.

The Shadow Cat beside him raised its head and meowed several times in refusal to be outdone. Ignoring the grease all over its face, it ran over and rubbed wildly against Huo Yuhao's pant leg.

"Damn it, you old fossil! I just changed these pants!"

"Meow!"

After fooling around for a while, the two little ancestors beside him finally settled down somewhat. Just as Huo Yuhao was about to pick up the last grilled fish and eat it, a deep, muffled voice reached his ears from behind.

"Why's your grilled fish so tender and fragrant?"

"Another expert!"

Huo Yuhao's limbs went numb, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

There was a common understanding in the Star Dou Great Forest: if one heard a human voice nearby when there was no one around, one might as well keep one's identification in one's mouth.

Because it meant either encountering a super Soul Beast or running into a Hundred-Thousand-Year Beast King.

Fortunately, once it entered the range of his Spiritual Power, the [Record] ability added its information to the Illustrated Record.

"Golden Tortoise: An auspicious beast. It belongs to the royal lineage among turtle-type Soul Beasts, an uncrowned king of turtles and the pinnacle of defense. It generally grows in places within the Star Dou Great Forest where fortune is abundant. This species has an extremely long lifespan, and every individual that grows normally can become a Hundred-Thousand-Year Beast King."

"Due to their innate fortune, powerful Soul Beasts generally guard them. Golden Tortoises themselves are proud and loyal by nature, and they will not take the initiative to stir up conflict."

After obtaining the Illustrated Record's information, Huo Yuhao let out a long breath. If it had been another Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, he would probably have had to lose a layer of skin.

The only Golden Tortoise Huo Yuhao could think of that would appear in the Outer Circle was the one from the original work that had stolen Life Gold.

In the original work, a Hundred-Thousand-Year Golden Tortoise had, out of greed, infiltrated the Lake of Life. Relying on its fortune to conceal itself, it bit off one-fifth of the Life Gold at the spring's source.

That one-fifth of the Life Gold could be said to be the Star Dou Great Forest's accumulation over tens of millions of years.

A mere Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast could not possibly withstand such immense life force.

As a result, the Life Gold began absorbing its life force in return, causing it unbearable agony.

In the end, it benefited Xu Sanshi and became his Soul Spirit.

Huo Yuhao relaxed. Turning his head, he saw that it was indeed a strange turtle-type Soul Beast staring at the grilled fish in his hand with golden eyes.

Huo Yuhao raised the hand holding the grilled fish, and its eyes followed the movement.

It looked utterly simpleminded.

Then again, if it had not been so stubborn, how would it have dared make a move against the Lake of Life with Di Tian and a whole group of Fierce Beasts there?

"Here, eat."

Huo Yuhao held the grilled fish to the Golden Tortoise's mouth.

The Golden Tortoise was practically dazed by the aroma. It had lived for so many years, yet it had never smelled food this fragrant.

"Thank you, human."

It swallowed the grilled fish in a single bite, and then the Golden Tortoise's eyes suddenly widened.

The entire turtle was like a cat that had encountered catnip. It no longer knew heaven from earth, directly flipping onto its shell and lying on the ground.

The Shadow Cat beside it looked at the Hundred-Thousand-Year Beast King like it was some country bumpkin, its eyes full of disdain.

After a long while, the Golden Tortoise flipped itself back over. Its golden eyes looked at Huo Yuhao with deep satisfaction as it said:

"It has been a long time since I felt this relaxed."

"Human, do you need a Soul Ring? I can sacrifice myself to you."

Huo Yuhao looked at it doubtfully. He did not believe pies would fall from the sky, much less that a single grilled fish could make a Hundred-Thousand-Year Beast King willingly offer itself as a Sacrifice.

If Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Rings were that easy to obtain, Soul Masters across Douluo Continent would have started studying cooking long ago. This was not the set of some food-themed anime.

Huo Yuhao asked, "Why do you want to sacrifice yourself to me? I don't believe you made this decision because of grilled fish."

Yet the Golden Tortoise's eyes were full of pride as it replied in its deep, muffled voice, "Of course not. This old turtle is still a Beast King, after all. How could I possibly sacrifice myself over food?"

"You've struck it lucky, kid. Because of certain issues, this old turtle does not have much lifespan left."

"We Golden Tortoises are auspicious beasts of fortune. We can turn misfortune into good fortune."

"The moment I saw you, my fortune told me that I had to follow you."

"I trust fortune's judgment. It is the foundation upon which our race survives."

"Besides, a voice has been urging me to sacrifice myself to you quickly. That voice was far too ethereal. It felt as though the world itself was speaking."

Huo Yuhao fell into thought. He did not want his first Soul Ring to be the Golden Tortoise, because Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was on his way.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was currently being hunted by a group of Fierce Beasts. He could not afford to wait.

If he was any later, Di Tian and the others might capture him and bring him back to the Lake of Life.

The Golden Tortoise could wait longer, so Huo Yuhao hoped for it to become his second Soul Ring instead.

He wanted to save the first Soul Ring for Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and the Electrolux who would be drawn over.