Little Lamb

"Clip-clop."

A hoof struck the ground, crisp as jade tapping against stone.

A mid-sized exotic beast squeezed through the shimmering surface of the Light Gate.

Its coat was pure white, so bright it almost hurt to look at.

It looked less majestic than young and delicate, and the tips of the pair of antlers just beginning to grow from its head were tinged a faint pink.

Its face was somewhere between a lion's and a goat's, and its golden eyes held nothing but the dazed confusion of someone who hadn't quite woken up.

Most importantly, its mouth was still moving.

"Chomp, chomp."

The little beast had half a strange Immortal Herb dangling from its mouth. Its cheeks were puffed out as it clearly enjoyed its lunch—only to be forcibly transported halfway through the meal.

It chewed a couple of times in a daze, blinked its pure-gold, slit-pupiled eyes, and looked at the filthy surroundings of the Soul Hunting Forest before turning its gaze to the dumbfounded humans in front of it.

A trace of humanlike confusion and... disgust flickered in its eyes.

It was like a noble dining at a luxurious restaurant who had suddenly been tossed into a roadside dump.

The entire scene fell silent once more.

"What... what is that thing?"

Red Hair got up from the ground, rubbed his eyes, and stared at the little beast. It looked harmless, even kind of cute.

"A goat? Or a lion? And why is it white?"

Tang San stood nearby, his pupils contracting sharply the moment he saw the little beast.

"Pure white from head to tail, with a pair of horns. It understands all things and can discern fortune from misfortune..."

Tang San's breathing quickened, and his heart pounded.

"Could this be... the ancient Auspicious Beast, Bai Ze?!"

"But it's so small... Is it still a youngling? And what's it eating... Is that the legendary Star Spirit Grass?!"

While Tang San was still reeling from the question of why such a legendary creature had emerged from Su Yun's Martial Soul—

Red Hair suddenly slapped his thigh, his face lighting up with realization.

He didn't know anything about Bai Ze or Black Ze, but he had a logic all his own.

"Godfather! I get it!"

Red Hair pointed at the little beast, still chewing on the grass, and shouted excitedly to Su Yun:

"This has to be an equivalent exchange! The gate took your Soul Ring and felt bad about it, so it spat out this thing as compensation!"

"Look at that meat, look at that coat! It's clearly a great tonic! Anything that comes out of the gate has to be good. Maybe it's some rare Soul Beast. We can catch it and stew it up for you, Godfather!"

In Red Hair's simple view of the world, losing a Soul Ring was a shame, but this tender-looking white lamb could at least count as a consolation prize.

"Brothers! Get it! Don't let Godfather's compensation get away!"

At Red Hair's command, Green Hair, Blue Hair, and Yellow Hair instantly activated their Martial Souls.

Their Martial Souls might have been pretty pathetic—

a fire poker, a firewood brick, an iron fire shovel, and a big black cooking pot.

But that didn't stop them from charging at the little beast with loud yells, eager to prove their loyalty to their godfather.

"Don't be rash! That's—"

Tang San tried to warn them, but it was already too late.

Red Hair's Group had already surrounded their target.

"Little lamb, come right into my bowl! Blazing Staff Technique!"

Red Hair bellowed and swung his fire poker, sending it whistling toward Bai Ze's head.

At the same time, Green Hair's brick blocked the left, Yellow Hair swung the huge black pot toward the right, and Blue Hair's iron shovel snuck in low, aiming for its legs.

It was a classic thug-style group attack formation.

However.

Faced with their aggressive assault, the young Bai Ze didn't even bother to look at them.

It was still calmly swallowing the last bite of Immortal Herb.

Just as Red Hair's poker came within ten centimeters of its head and Yellow Hair's black pot was about to cover it—

Bai Ze moved.

It simply took a graceful half-step to the left and lowered its head, as if checking whether there was anything tasty left on the ground.

Whoosh!

Red Hair's sure-to-hit swing skimmed past Bai Ze's ear and struck empty air.

He had put too much force into it and lost his balance, stumbling forward.

At that very moment, Green Hair's brick and Yellow Hair's black pot closed in from either side.

Smack! Clang!!

Two sharp impacts rang out.

The brick that should have smacked Bai Ze in the left cheek landed squarely on Red Hair's face as he leaned in.

The black pot that should have covered Bai Ze's head slammed into the back of Red Hair's skull.

A brick to the face from the front, a pot to the head from behind.

Red Hair didn't even have time to scream before the pincer attack made his eyes roll back.

Bai Ze, apparently finding the ground too dirty, casually kicked a hind leg back to shake the mud from its hoof.

Clang!

Its hoof struck the iron shovel Blue Hair had swung toward it—right on target.

The shovel bounced back with the force of the blow and smacked hard into Blue Hair's stomach.

"Urgh..."

Blue Hair's eyes bulged. Clutching his stomach, he dropped to his knees like a cooked prawn, tripping Yellow Hair as he went down.

In just one exchange—

Bai Ze hadn't even really attacked. It had merely taken a couple of steps, lowered its head to look for food, and shaken its leg.

The three of them were already a tangled mess, their groans rising one after another.

"Baa? (That's it?)"

Bai Ze swallowed the last bite of grass, tilted its head, and gazed at the four men sprawled in a heap. Its eyes held deep, undisguised contempt.

Foolish mortals. You couldn't even touch a hair on me, and you thought you could stew me?

It elegantly shook its mane, raised its head haughtily, and looked past the dumbfounded Tang San, then past Yu Xiaogang, who was still questioning everything he knew.

At last, its gaze settled on the little boy standing in place, wearing Sunglasses.

Su Yun pushed up his Sunglasses, the corner of his mouth curling in amusement.

"Perfect evasion? Or some kind of ability to see the future?"

His hand slowly moved toward the Tactical Belt at his waist, his fingers lightly resting on a specially made high-explosive flash grenade.

"Little one, are you coming over on your own, or should I—"

But before Su Yun could finish, Bai Ze suddenly moved.

The moment its formerly proud, challenging eyes met Su Yun's, its golden pupils shrank to pinpricks.

Buzz—

The world changed in Bai Ze's eyes.

As an Auspicious Beast, it was born with the ability to understand all things and glimpse what the future held.

Now, through Su Yun's seemingly ordinary frame, it saw a glimpse of a future that would make even the gods tremble.

It was not the future of Douluo Continent.

It was a boundless Starry Sea it had never seen before.

Countless uncertain fragments of the future flashed before its eyes like a slideshow on fast-forward:

In those fleeting images, it saw him wield a Scepter of Judgment that could decide the fate of all beings. He looked down upon the entire Divine Realm, his gaze cold and indifferent, becoming the one and only Supreme God King in all creation.

It saw that man atop a towering ice peak in the Extreme North. Behind him, a Sky-Piercing Tower rose from the earth, while the spirits of countless Soul Beasts circled him, cheering and bowing in worship.

It saw that man, a Steel-Cast Demon God, standing alone at the entrance to the Abyss Plane.

It saw him seated in the captain's chair of a massive Stellar-Class Warship. Behind him, the Star Gate had become a Supergiant Black Hole devouring entire star systems. The Myriad Dragon Clan formed an escort of warships, while fleets from countless planets saluted him.

Crack.

The vision shattered, and awareness returned.

Bai Ze's golden eyes trembled violently, its heart pounding wildly.

"Baa... (H-holy shit...)"

Bai Ze's once-proud head froze in place.

The threatening growl it had been about to give died in its throat.

It looked at Su Yun as if he were the biggest leg to cling to in all the heavens and myriad worlds.

The future was uncertain, but in every possible future, he was the absolute protagonist, standing at the end of the world, trampling the gods underfoot and ruling over all creation!