The core area of the Star Dou Great Forest.
A golden Soul Beast, shaped like a lion with dragon claws for feet, lay beside the lake.
Her reflection appeared on the water's surface. She slapped at it with one paw, sending ripples across the lake.
"Scarlet King, you're so ugly."
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion spoke in a cool, childlike voice.
The Scarlet King, resting nearby, was at a loss for words. "Little Ancestor, do you even know what beautiful and ugly mean? In the Soul Beast Realm, I, the Scarlet King, am the heartthrob of countless Soul Beasts."
"But you have three heads?"
"What kind of thing is that to say? Having three heads makes me ugly?" The Auspicious Beast had called the Scarlet King's proudest feature ugly, and he leaped to his feet in agitation.
He pointed a massive paw at his heads, leaving the Three-Eyed Golden Lion to make of it what she would.
You have three eyes yourself! What gives you the right to call me ugly? But the one in front of him was the Little Ancestor, so the Scarlet King could only keep those words to himself.
"Mm, only Sister Bi Ji is pretty. She even glows." The Three-Eyed Golden Lion turned her little head, praising Bi Ji with words she'd picked up over time.
The Scarlet King didn't understand how "glowing" could be a compliment, and had no idea how to explain it to the Little Ancestor. So, in her eyes, glowing meant beautiful.
No wonder she kept staring at her own glowing reflection in the lake. She'd been admiring her own beauty.
"Little Ancestor, I'll leave you here by yourself. Talking with you is more exhausting than fighting. You've really broken my heart."
The Scarlet King shook his head and curled up where he was.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion was very playful. She'd probably be at it for a while before settling down, so he'd stay put. That way, he wouldn't get beaten by Di Tian again for neglecting his duties.
Seeing the big Scarlet King ignore her again, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion sat by the lake, sulking all by herself and clutching her head.
[Ding! The World-Shocking Wisdom System is at your service.]
Hearing the voice, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion lifted her head and looked all around.
She thought it might be the Scarlet King speaking, but his voice was unpleasant, and this one sounded lovely. So it couldn't be him. The baffling situation left her completely stumped.
[Big Sister is inside your mind.]
The voice sounded again, and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion grew frightened.
"W-Who's talking?"
The World-Shocking Wisdom realized that the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was still treating the air beside her as an imaginary enemy.
It couldn't help sighing.
No wonder she believed whatever people said, even when they were just trying to drive a wedge between others. This little airhead needed another year's worth of wisdom first, so they could at least have a proper conversation.
[Wisdom +1 granted. Current outstanding task: one.]
The World-Shocking Wisdom also sent the Auspicious Beast a complete package explaining what it was and how to use it.
There was no choice.
She had the mind of a child, but not even a child's quickness of thought. If the system didn't take the initiative to talk to its host, it might end up spending its entire life as a basic phone.
An imperceptible change came over the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.
She sat upright as a cool sensation spread through her mind.
Her head felt itchy, as if she were about to grow a brain.
[Can you talk to Big Sister properly now?]
The World-Shocking Wisdom knew that the single point of intelligence it had given the Three-Eyed Golden Lion wouldn't do much. Still, at least she could now understand who the system was.
"Mm..."
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion realized this thing wasn't going to hurt her, so she answered quietly.
[Do you want to grow a brain?]
The World-Shocking Wisdom's voice whispered temptingly in her ear like a demon's.
Hearing that, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion covered her eyes with a paw and peeked at the Scarlet King.
She quickly shook her head. "No. Two heads would look so ugly. I don't want to become a monster."
If the World-Shocking Wisdom had hands, she would have made that facepalm meme gesture right then.
Oh my God!
[Not literally. I mean, do you want to grow up and be like Bi Ji? Do you understand?]
She chose the simplest example she could think of.
But the Three-Eyed Golden Lion still shook her head. "No. You're not a good person."
[I'm not even a person, Little Ancestor.] [Do you know what it means to grow a brain?]
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion stared with her wise eyes and answered earnestly, "I... I don't know."
Since she hadn't taken in the explanation the first time, the system had to explain again.
[It means knowing that you should eat when you're hungry, drink when you're thirsty, and run home when it rains.]
"That... that's amazing."
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion realized those were things she already knew how to do. She hadn't even realized how capable she was.
[And I can also make you into a powerful Soul Beast.]
That got her attention at once.
Di Tian had said she could already beat ordinary Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts.
She could double the cultivation time of other Soul Beasts, but her own cultivation progressed incredibly slowly. She'd be better off simply living a long time, which made her feel very weak.
If she could become as powerful as Di Tian, then she'd be able to run around and play wherever she wanted.
"Hehe... I want to get stronger."
[Take your beginner's gift.]
The World-Shocking Wisdom had held off on giving it to her because it hadn't been sure the Three-Eyed Golden Lion really wanted it.
It had been afraid the Little Ancestor would simply say she didn't want it and toss the gift away.
After coaxing her for ages, they could finally get down to business.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion held out her paws as if to cup water and said blankly, "All right. Give it to me."
The World-Shocking Wisdom simply opened it for her.
[Congratulations! You received:] [Invisibility Technique] [Clone Technique] [Transformation Technique] [One Heavenly Eye]
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion tilted her head at the four items, apparently waiting for an explanation.
Realizing she'd be a babysitter for who knew how many years, the World-Shocking Wisdom explained in despair:
[The Invisibility Technique and Clone Technique are like the Soul Skills you use. They can even fool that big dog beside you.]
"Even the Scarlet King won't be able to tell?"
A delighted gleam lit up the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's eyes.
Didn't that mean she could run around and play wherever she wanted?
[Ahem... The Transformation Technique lets you change your body's size and appearance and conceal your aura. Combined with your own Power of Fate, even a god won't be able to find you.]
The World-Shocking Wisdom proudly explained, but the Three-Eyed Golden Lion had been waiting for it to talk about the last item all along. The system gave up on trying to explain things to someone who wouldn't listen.
[The last one is the Heavenly Eye. It can protect your Eye of Fate from outside interference. In simple terms, attribute guidance won't work on you anymore, and divine senses won't be able to attach themselves to you.]
That last item struck like a bolt from the blue.
The secret of the Auspicious Beast, unknown to everyone, had been solved just like that.
She wasn't very intelligent, but she had always put on a fierce appearance toward any Soul Beasts that dared approach her—even Di Tian and the others. This was why.
But now that the danger had been dealt with, she no longer had to protect her Eye of Fate so carefully.
[You're not going to resist me now, are you?]
The World-Shocking Wisdom's voice sounded in the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's mind.