No Time to Mourn Golden Tortoise's Departure (Please Keep Reading, I'm Begging You)

Watching Huo Yuhao sink into thought, Golden Tortoise's dark-golden head visibly reddened.

"Wait, are you hesitating?!"

"Is this old turtle too much of a loser, or have you humans developed too fast?"

"I'm a hundred-thousand-year Beast King, and a Destiny Soul Beast to boot."

"I'm giving myself to you as a Soul Ring for free, and you're hesitating?!"

"And you, you dumb cat, get off this old turtle's shell already!"

"What is the world coming to? These young Soul Beasts don't know how to respect their elders at all! No martial virtue!"

Huo Yuhao waved at Shadow Cat, telling it to hurry down, then said to Golden Tortoise, "Of course that's not what I mean. Brother Turtle is a beast of remarkable... talent. No one would refuse your power."

"It's just that I already have a choice for my first Soul Ring, and that target Soul Beast is in bad shape. It probably won't hold on for much longer."

"Also, Brother Turtle, what was that Ethereal Voice you mentioned?"

Huo Yuhao was quite interested in the Ethereal Voice it had revealed earlier.

He vaguely had an answer in mind, but he was not entirely certain.

Golden Tortoise gave Shadow Cat a muffled snort before speaking in a deep, booming voice, "I don't know. Destiny told me that sacrificing myself to you aligns with the direction of Destiny and the times, and that I could gain many benefits from it."

"But that Ethereal Voice was very urgent. It kept pushing me, wanting me to sacrifice myself to you."

"I can't sense where that voice came from. I can only feel a warm, gentle aura."

"Mm... It was like when my mother held me when I was little."

Huo Yuhao roughly understood the identity of the voice's owner.

It should be that unlucky Plane Consciousness that never appeared in the original work.

The Plane Consciousness was probably not doing well right now. Inside Shrek Academy's Golden Tree was Ah Yin, who was usurping the Plane's Life Essence.

With Tang Shenwang's help, Tang Hao was likely gradually replacing the Plane Consciousness and becoming the Lord of the Plane.

Huo Yuhao looked at Golden Tortoise again. "Brother Turtle, how much longer can you hold on?"

Golden Tortoise raised its head slightly. Its golden eyes stared at the sky as it thought for a while, then it said, "I can last another five or six years."

"At most, six years from now, this old turtle, a handsome and mighty Beast King of his generation, will die completely in this Water Pool."

"Can't Di Tian and the others find you?" Huo Yuhao was a little puzzled. During this period, the Star Dou Great Forest was practically Di Tian's Back Garden.

This fool had taken away one-fifth of the Life Gold from the Lake of Life. Di Tian would not let this go.

Life Gold was greatly beneficial to the Silver Dragon King's injuries. Golden Tortoise had truly touched Di Tian's bottom line this time.

Golden Tortoise proudly raised its head and said, "Di Tian? A mere little dragon, not worth mentioning."

"This old turtle used Destiny to conceal my existence."

"If he can find me, I'll take off my shell and let him use it as a chamber pot."

Huo Yuhao nearly lost it. This turtle spoke so boldly, but wasn't its ultimate method still hiding? And turtle shells could be removed?!

"Brother Turtle, can you wait one month? Once I reach level twenty, I'll come find you."

Confusion flashed through Golden Tortoise's golden eyes. "One month? Is that enough time?"

"I remember it takes you humans several years to cultivate ten levels of Soul Power, doesn't it?"

"Don't try to fool this old turtle like I'm some sea turtle. As long as it's not five whole years, I can wait."

Raising ten levels of Soul Power in one month would take even a Soul Master with Innate Full Soul Power two years under normal circumstances.

The reason Huo Yuhao dared say so was because he possessed the power of Nine Dragons Pulling Coffin.

As long as he used the Mysterious Water Pill, Soul Ascension Pill, and Mysterious Turtle Divine Pill, a mere ten levels of Soul Power would be broken through on the spot.

The remaining Mysterious Water Pill could raise him another two levels, the Soul Ascension Pill could raise him three, and the Mysterious Turtle Divine Pill would definitely raise him five levels.

He only hoped that after taking all those pills, the top of his head would not become pointy.

"I'm not deceiving you. I have my own methods."

Seeing Huo Yuhao's confident expression, Golden Tortoise was reassured. It was still willing to trust the person chosen by its Destiny.

"Mm, then this old turtle will wait one month. Once you reach level twenty, you must come find me."

"You're not allowed to find another turtle out there."

Golden Tortoise earnestly reminded Huo Yuhao. In the Star Dou Great Forest, Golden Tortoises were extremely rare, but there were still two or three of them.

If he were discovered by others of its kind, those coquettish sluts would surely think up every possible way to become his Soul Ring.

After all, the Destiny Soul Beast clan could not possibly give up the express train of this era before them. They grew strong because of Destiny, and they would also perish because of Destiny.

Following Destiny was their clan's way of survival.

After saying that, its entire body emitted Golden Light, dazzling even beneath the daylight of the Star Dou Great Forest.

The Golden Light slowly gathered atop its shell until the octagonal Tortoise Shell plate in the very center turned dark gold.

Then, that piece of Tortoise Shell detached. Supported by Golden Light, it floated into Huo Yuhao's hand.

Golden Tortoise had clearly grown much weaker, and its entire body had dimmed considerably.

Noticing Huo Yuhao's questioning gaze,

Golden Tortoise said in a deep voice, "Just as every pure-blooded true dragon has an Inverse Scale."

"Golden Tortoise, as the king of turtles, has something similar."

"This Tortoise Shell is our clan's Inverse Scale, and it is even more precious."

"A Golden Tortoise can only condense one in its lifetime. It is the symbol of a Golden Tortoise's origin."

"Wearing this Tortoise Shell will make you luckier."

"When you encounter danger, it can also be used as a shield."

"You know Xiong Jun, right? I'm confident it can withstand his full-power Sky Rending Claw for one minute."

"Even Di Tian would have to put in some effort to break through this Tortoise Shell's defense."

As soon as it finished speaking, the Tortoise Shell tried to fly toward Huo Yuhao's right hand, only for a Colored Light Ribbon extending from the Colored Blade Pattern on his right hand to smack it straight into the river ahead.

Golden Tortoise: "..."

Huo Yuhao: "..."

The scene fell silent.

In the end, Shadow Cat broke the silence. It leaped down from the bank, retrieved the Tortoise Shell—which was who knew how many times larger than it was—from the riverbed, and carried it back up.

It then placed it before Huo Yuhao, walked to the side of his trouser leg, and sat down, its dark eyes watching the huge turtle before it.

At the same time, the hilt of the Remnant Dream Blade slightly emerged from the back of Huo Yuhao's right hand.

The white hilt shimmered with colorful ripples, radiating an aura toward Golden Tortoise that could erase everything.

Sweat immediately ran down Golden Tortoise's dark-golden head.

"Is it raining?"

"No, I'm drenched in sweat."

As a hundred-thousand-year Beast King, it had seen countless Soul Beasts and Soul Masters.

The last time it had felt such pressure was when Xiong Jun and Di Tian had erupted into battle, and Di Tian had used that unknown move glowing with seven-colored light.

Golden Tortoise gave an awkward laugh. "Ah, I see. So there's already a resident in your right hand."

"My apologies. I'll have the Tortoise Shell go to your left hand right away."

Once the Tortoise Shell sank into his left hand, it formed a golden tattoo resembling a vortex on the back of his hand.

Huo Yuhao: "..."

He already could not take the civil service exam. Now, he probably could not become a teacher either.

Looking at the symmetrical tattoos on both hands, Huo Yuhao had the feeling that this was only the beginning. There would be even more tattoos on his body in the future.

He would charge full speed down the path of a Tattoo Warrior.

After finishing everything, Golden Tortoise returned to the middle of the river. Only after repeatedly reminding Huo Yuhao not to find another turtle did it finally return to the riverbed to hide.

After bidding farewell to Golden Tortoise, Huo Yuhao continued wandering through the Outer Circle with Shadow Cat, waiting for Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's arrival.

At that moment, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm Huo Yuhao had been eagerly awaiting was carefully fleeing the Mixed Zone and heading toward the Outer Circle.

An indescribable attraction slowly drew it closer to Huo Yuhao's location.

"At last, your brother escaped! Heavens! Please, give me some luck and let me run into a Spiritual Attribute Soul Master."