Lin Xiao was not greedy, partly because he could not give away all his battle energy.
Converting more later would take time, and Lin Xiao did not want to exhaust all his battle energy.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion did not object. She nodded in agreement, then stared at Lin Xiao with wide eyes.
She looked as though she were saying, "I want it. I want that energy."
Lin Xiao smiled and turned to the Scarlet King. "Scarlet King, do you want to check this energy of mine first, just to make sure nothing goes wrong?"
The Scarlet King paused, thought it over with his three heads, and decided that Lin Xiao had a point.
"All right, I'll check it first."
"You're the Auspicious Beast's friend, so I trust you, but this is still part of my duty."
The Scarlet King offered an explanation.
Lin Xiao did not mind. He pretended to force a strand of energy out through his hand, though he had actually taken it from his ring.
The battle energy gathered in Lin Xiao's hand, held in place by the energy within his body.
The Scarlet King sensed it and found nothing wrong. "This energy of yours is fairly high-grade, but there's too little of it. It's no use to me."
"If I were at your level, I'd think this little bit of energy was useless too."
Lin Xiao chuckled and passed the energy in his hand to the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion clapped her paws together, releasing a strand of brilliant golden energy from them. Her forehead opened, revealing a vertical eye.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's energy enveloped the battle energy Lin Xiao offered her. Seeing this, Lin Xiao gave her four more strands.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion repeated the process, wrapping up those four strands of energy before happily putting them away. She looked at Lin Xiao in satisfaction.
"Awoo, awoo." Looking at Lin Xiao, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion spoke again.
The Scarlet King translated, "The Auspicious Beast asks what kind of soul ring you need. We'll go catch one for you now."
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion really did keep her word.
Lin Xiao nodded and carefully sensed his martial soul.
"A Dragon-type Soul Beast with the dark attribute, around fifteen hundred years old."
"Would that be possible?"
Lin Xiao was not certain he could absorb a soul ring that old, but he knew he needed to cultivate soul power.
Once it was converted, there would not be nearly as much soul power pouring into his body.
There was still a limit, though. Old Medicine had previously suggested fifteen hundred years; otherwise, he would have wanted to try a two-thousand-year one.
Dragon-type Soul Beasts were also of a very high rank. A thousand-year specimen contained far more soul power than an ordinary Soul Beast.
"You really aren't shy about asking, brat."
"A Dragon-type Soul Beast? You've got some nerve. Aren't you afraid Di Tian will come after you?"
The Scarlet King teased Lin Xiao.
Lin Xiao chuckled. "Weren't you the one who told me to ask? Surely not! Surely the mighty Scarlet King wouldn't go back on his word to a mere rank-ten Soul Master like me?"
"Hmph, of course not. Wait here and take good care of the Auspicious Beast. I'll be right back."
The Scarlet King snorted. How dare this wretched human underestimate him!
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion let out a laughing cry, then leaped into Lin Xiao's arms and settled down to rest.
She seemed very fond of the scent of battle energy on Lin Xiao.
In less than three minutes, the Scarlet King returned carrying a huge black-and-purple dragon.
"Brat, hurry up and absorb it. Hmph!"
The Scarlet King was thoroughly disdainful.
Before Lin Xiao could kill the dragon, however, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion acted. She strode proudly up to the dragon, pointed at Lin Xiao, and let out several cries.
Lin Xiao paused. Was this little one going to make the dragon sacrifice itself to him?
"Wait a moment, Auspicious Beast. Are you trying to make him sacrifice himself to me?"
Lin Xiao hurriedly stopped her.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion nodded. Delight spread across Lin Xiao's face, and he shamelessly said, "Well, um, could I swap this for another Soul Beast? If it's going to be a sacrifice, fifteen hundred years seems a little low."
"Listen, brat, don't take a mile when you're given an inch. Fifteen hundred years! Don't you know how rare Dragon-type Soul Beasts are?"
"And you want an even older one? Dream on."
"No!"
The Scarlet King immediately objected. Humans really were greedy. He had no idea whether the Auspicious Beast's friendship with this one was a good thing or a bad thing.
Lin Xiao chuckled. Fine, fine. There's plenty of time ahead. I'll fleece you next time.
Lin Xiao could also see the Scarlet King's displeasure, so he did not push his luck any further.
Fifteen hundred years it is, then. If only I'd known, I would have asked for something older from the start.
What a miscalculation. Regret filled Lin Xiao's face.
The next moment, the dragon obeyed the instruction and sacrificed itself to Lin Xiao.
Because it was a sacrifice, the soul power was considerably gentler.
Lin Xiao wasted no time and immediately began converting it. Discovering that the energy had appeared again, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion immediately ran to his side to enjoy that rare warmth.
The Scarlet King observed closely, his eyes full of confusion. His three heads felt a little itchy. He could not figure it out, so he stopped thinking. Any more thinking and he might actually grow a brain.
Only after a long while did Lin Xiao awaken from his cultivation.
A dark-purple glow shone from Lin Xiao's body, and a purple soul ring emerged beneath his feet.
"Auspicious Beast, move away from me."
Lin Xiao spoke, then called out, "First Soul Skill: Dark Feast!"
The instant he unleashed the soul skill, darkness enveloped everything within three meters of Lin Xiao. His strength immediately increased by thirty percent, and his attacks carried dragon might.
He felt that, with Eight Extremes Collapse, he could now completely crush a thousand-year Soul Beast.
Now he could speed up his soul power conversion again.
Sensing the darkness, the Scarlet King clicked his tongue twice. "Brat, aren't you afraid people will mistake you for an Evil Soul Master?"
(PS: I gave him the dark attribute because he'll be heading to the Holy Spirit Cult later. Besides, power itself isn't good or evil. Isn't it all just whatever Shrek says? Evil fire is still evil, after all.)
"By your logic, Zi JI and Di Tian are dark too. Should we humans kill them?" (PS: There will be an explanation later for why the protagonist says something like this, around Chapter 22.)
Lin Xiao retorted irritably. This fellow really did not know how to talk.
The Scarlet King scratched his head. It sounded reasonable, but why did it leave him feeling so annoyed?
"I can't win an argument with you. Hmph."
The Scarlet King said no more to Lin Xiao.
Lin Xiao withdrew his soul skill and martial soul, then gently picked up the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.
"I'm leaving now. If I haven't shown up three months from now..."
"Then we'll postpone this trade. Is that all right?"
Lin Xiao rubbed the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's head and spoke gently.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion nodded. "Awoo, awoo."
The Scarlet King translated, "The Auspicious Beast says that's fine."
"And stop hunting those low-level Soul Beasts."
Lin Xiao smiled awkwardly. "Don't worry."
After handing the Three-Eyed Golden Lion to the Scarlet King, Lin Xiao prepared to leave.
He had only taken two steps when he turned back and said, "Auspicious Beast, if you decide to take human form, I'll give you a name then."
With that, Lin Xiao left.
The Auspicious Beast looked thoughtful. Take human form? Perhaps I could.
"That little rascal actually dares to tempt the Auspicious Beast. What nerve."
"I'll definitely teach him a proper lesson next time."
Before the Scarlet King could finish, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion glared at him.
The Scarlet King awkwardly turned his head away.
Once Lin Xiao had left the Scarlet King's territory, Old Medicine spoke. "Little fellow, that Auspicious Beast's third eye contains the power of fate."
Before you continue