[You'd been noticed.]
[The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's brilliant golden eyes looked you up and down with keen interest, as if you were a rare treasure.]
[You didn't make any sudden moves.]
[Although your Second Martial Soul, "Epitaph," hadn't sounded a lethal red alert, this was the Emperor Auspicious Beast! Its appearance usually meant that those terrifying Ferocious Beasts were nearby.]
[What puzzled you was that this was only the edge of the mixed zone, a hundred thousand miles from the core zone. What was this golden lump doing out here?]
[Suddenly, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion moved.]
[It walked toward you with elegant, unhurried steps. Its once-imperious golden slit pupils now held a touch of humanlike curiosity. It even winked at you.]
[You quickly understood why.]
[It wasn't interested in you, but in your Second Martial Soul—"Epitaph"!]
[Epitaph could peer into the future, an ability that touched upon the mysteries of time and causality.]
[And as the Emperor Auspicious Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion embodied the fortune of the Star Dou Great Forest and commanded the ethereal power of fate.]
[At that moment, time and fate resonated in a wondrous way!]
[One human and one beast stared into each other's eyes, frozen in place.]
[The situation was painfully awkward.]
[You wanted to move, but you didn't dare.]
[Because just moments ago, when you tried to take a step, Epitaph had sounded a frenzied warning!
An image flashed through your mind: a massive crimson dog with three heads leaping out of thin air and tearing you to shreds!]
[The eighth-ranked Ferocious Beast—Scarlet King!]
[That old dog really was hiding nearby, guarding his charge!]
[You were at an impasse.]
[Although you were confident you could escape right under Scarlet King's nose with "King Crimson's" Time Erasure, your instincts told you there was no need.]
[Your sixth sense—or perhaps Epitaph's passive ability—was frantically urging you: Stay! This Auspicious Beast will give you an unimaginable gift!]
[Seeing you rooted to the spot like a wooden post, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion tilted its head, seemingly confused.]
[It took you for one of its kind—a strange Soul Beast that looked like a human but had a special aura.]
[So it let out a low growl, inviting you along.]
["Hey, two-legged creature, want to go play with this auspicious beast?"]
"..."
Su Chen's mouth twitched.
What was this?
Getting kept by a rich woman... No, getting raised by an Auspicious Beast?
Still, since Scarlet King hadn't leapt out to object, that meant there was a chance!
[You happily accepted the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's invitation.]
[And so, an odd pair appeared in the Star Dou Great Forest.]
[Up front strode the majestic Emperor Auspicious Beast, head held high like a queen inspecting her domain.]
[Following behind was a human boy with his hands in his pockets, strolling along at his leisure.]
[On the way, you learned what it meant to "ride on the coattails of someone powerful."]
[Every beast in the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's path submitted! Even Soul Beasts that had cultivated for tens of thousands of years obediently cowered and trembled on the ground at the Auspicious Beast's aura, not daring to raise their heads.]
[You started "Star Dou Great Forest Duo Queue Mode," making a clear run straight to the core zone.]
[The Three-Eyed Golden Lion went wild along the way, like a child who'd just escaped from its cage.]
[At last, it secretly led you to a secluded valley.]
["Here. You can have this junk."]
[It pawed aside a pile of rubble, revealing the treasures buried underneath.]
[You took a closer look, and your breathing quickened!]
[Spirit Bones! Three shimmering Spirit Bones in all!]
[One of them was a right arm bone, radiating a dense aura of darkness. Its quality was an astonishing seventy thousand years!]
[You were stunned. So that was the value of being an Auspicious Beast?]
[These treasures, the kind that would unleash bloodshed across the human world, were just "scrap metal" taking up space to it?]
[You didn't stand on ceremony. With a grand wave of your hand, you took them all.]
[Although their attributes didn't suit you, taking them back to the Body Sect would be enough to raise the sect's foundation to a new level.]
[You never forgot the one who dug the well when you drank its water. You always kept the sect's kindness in mind.]
[Time flew by. Before you knew it, you'd spent almost a year "living off" the Three-Eyed Golden Lion in the Star Dou Great Forest.]
[That year, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion took you around the mixed zone to feast on all kinds of rare herbs and treasures.]
[With top-tier resources piling up around you, your Soul Power rocketed upward, reaching Level 65!]
[In your second year, your relationship grew even closer.]
[On a starry night, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion made a shocking decision—it pressed its forehead to yours of its own accord.]
[Fate Guidance!]
[A profoundly mysterious golden energy flowed into your body, perfectly fusing with your Second Martial Soul.]
[Your "Epitaph" evolved!]
[It was no longer limited to passively warning you of danger. Now it could actively predict fate! You could even see clear images of what would happen in the next few minutes!]
[This was a qualitative leap!]
[When the two years were up, your Soul Power broke through the Level 70 bottleneck, and you advanced to Soul Saint!]
[A Soul Saint at sixteen! That was an astonishing feat in the entire history of Douluo.]
[You decided it was time to leave.]
[The Second Awakening of your Body Martial Soul was imminent. It was the most important transformation for a Soul Master of the Body Sect.]
[When it learned you were leaving, the light in the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's eyes dimmed at once.]
[It tugged at your clothes and whimpered, even wanting to leave the forest with you.]
[You firmly refused.]
[As if! Kidnap an Auspicious Beast? The Beast God Di Tian would come charging out of the core zone the very next second and slap you into a bloody pulp!]
[In fact, for the past two years, Scarlet King had been itching to kill the human brat who'd "seduced" the Auspicious Beast.]
[But the Auspicious Beast had guarded you so fiercely that he'd been forced to endure it.]
[Now that you were finally about to leave, Scarlet King was so thrilled he nearly wept with joy. He wanted to kill a few humans on the spot to celebrate and set off firecrackers to mark the end of this plague's visit.]
[The moment of farewell.]
[You gently hugged the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's furry neck, whispered a few words in its ear, then turned and left without hesitation.]
[A true powerhouse never hesitated or looked back.]
[The Three-Eyed Golden Lion gazed wistfully after you, unwilling to leave for a long time. Just as it was about to chase after you, a huge crimson paw pressed down on the scruff of its neck, arresting its fate.]
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Confirmed: succubus constitution."
Su Chen read the text on the simulator and couldn't help commenting.
"I can even win over Soul Beasts. Have I maxed out my charm stat?"
But seriously, this soft life... was sweet!
Before you continue