"Teacher, I want an Indomitable Soul Spirit." An Lan shook his head again, ignoring the earnest advice of his two mentors.
What a joke.
Now that he knew there was a better choice, how could he not give it a try?
Seeing their disciple lay his cards on the table so plainly and stand firm, Leng Qingning and Le Lingzhao could only give in helplessly and respect his wishes.
Le Lingzhao sighed wistfully. "Qing Ning, take it out. Since little An Lan has such ambition, we can't hold him back."
She and Leng Qingning shared the same opinion: fledgling eagles needed to be battered by wind and rain, but An Lan was a young dragon, a hidden dragon in the depths—born to soar into the heavens. There was no need for him to take risks.
Yet seeing that her beloved disciple hadn't grown arrogant or complacent because of his talent and background, and still held fast to an unyielding heart that strove upward and pursued perfection, she couldn't hide the delight on her face.
"Very well. We'll do as you wish."
Leng Qingning said no more. With a wave of her jade hand, she gathered up the many rare Soul Spirits that hadn't caught An Lan's eye and sealed them away in storage again.
Then she took out another Spirit Capsule.
The capsule opened, and its light faded.
A round-bodied Soul Spirit, its scales and feathers shimmering with a deep blue divine radiance, floated quietly before An Lan.
Unlike the other Soul Spirits, it seemed to have fallen into a deep slumber.
"This is... a fish?"
An Lan's eyes widened in disbelief.
"A ten-thousand-year spirit resonance: Phantom Sea Spirit Kun." Leng Qingning's red lips parted, her cool voice spreading through the air.
"Ten thousand years?"
A trace of confusion surfaced in An Lan's eyes. He looked up at his stunning mentor, waiting for her to explain.
Leng Qingning was perceptive enough to see the question in her beloved disciple's mind at a glance. Her tone remained even. "Ten-thousand-year spirit resonance doesn't mean it has ten thousand years of cultivation. It marvels at how it was cherished by heaven and earth, born in response to its will."
"Born in response to its will..." An Lan murmured. A spark flashed in his eyes as he seemed to understand. "Could it be... an Auspicious Beast?"
Across the entire Douluo Continent, if anyone could be called cherished by heaven and earth, born in response to its will, then without a doubt it was the Emperor Auspicious Beast sacrificed to Huo Yuhao ten thousand years ago: the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.
A flash of undisguised approval crossed Leng Qingning's eyes as she looked at An Lan.
When it came to educating this precious disciple, she had always thought Le Lingzhao was a hindrance, spoiling the child too much and liable to make him spoiled and pampered if she wasn't careful.
Fortunately, An Lan had her, a strict teacher. That was how he'd learned to settle his mind and study without rest.
With his mentor's approval, An Lan instinctively turned his gaze toward the Phantom Sea Spirit Kun.
Though it was deep in slumber, even the unconscious swaying of its tail sent towering waves surging in its wake.
It even had its own special effects. It truly was extraordinary.
Leng Qingning gazed at the Spirit Kun, her voice gradually growing solemn with a sigh for history. "Soul Masters hunted Soul Beasts to obtain Soul Rings, while Soul Beasts gathered into beast tides to wash human cities in blood. Even now, the entanglements between humans and Soul Beasts, the rights and wrongs, can no longer be summed up by simply saying who was right or wrong."
"Thousands of years ago, the Soul Beast forces within the Spirit Pagoda, led by Beast God Di Tian, were driven out. That day was a milestone in the history of humans and Soul Beasts."
"Di Tian recognized the imbalance of power between humans and Soul Beasts. Perhaps he'd known it in his heart for a long time. But it was only when he truly had nowhere left to retreat that he finally showed the resolve worthy of a Beast God, gathering the strength of Soul Beasts across the continent to launch a beast tide and make one last stand."
"It was nothing but a death struggle." An Lan shook his head, his tone calm yet utterly certain. "From the moment humanity decided to lay its cards on the table, they'd already made it impossible for the Soul Beasts to turn the tide."
They'd laid their cards on the table precisely because they had the strength to crush everything.
Soul Guidance Technology advanced by leaps and bounds. In particular, the refinement of mecha and Battle Armor technology, along with the emergence of Four-Word Battle Armor, left the Soul Beasts no chance of a comeback.
Unless...
Forget it. Silver Dragon King's astonishing wisdom was better left unmentioned.
"Exactly." Leng Qingning sighed. "The Star Dou Great Forest, the Evil Demon Forest, the Far North... The Soul Beast forces of that time were more united than ever. Yet even so, the terrifying beast tides that filled the history books and struck fear into people's hearts no longer posed a threat to humanity."
"Soul Guidance legions stood in ranks like mountains, Fixed Soul Cannon Shells poured down like rain, and the beast tides were blasted apart before they could even reach the human defenses. Even Beast God Di Tian, universally acknowledged as the continent's strongest, was defeated when surrounded by several Four-Word Battle Armor Masters."
Le Lingzhao added from the side, "Beast God Di Tian's reputation was no empty boast. Even under those circumstances, humanity didn't want to fight him to the death. In the end, both sides reached an agreement: humanity would preserve the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest, and in exchange, the Ferocious Beasts swore never to step beyond it."
An Lan nodded, understanding.
The famous "Star Dou Zoo"—a unique spectacle across the entire Douluo Continent. If the Spirit Pagoda ever opened it to the public, the annual ticket revenue wouldn't be small.
Leng Qingning concluded, "In Soul Beast History, human scholars attributed the decline of the Soul Beast Clan primarily to advances in Soul Guidance Technology, especially the emergence of Four-Word Battle Armor, which stripped the Ferocious Beasts—and Di Tian in particular—of their absolute military deterrence."
"However, another theory has circulated in secret among the Federation's great clans and top powers."
"That theory is... luck."
Seeing how intently An Lan listened, Le Lingzhao couldn't resist interrupting. "My family has records of this as well."
An Lan played along perfectly, turning to her respectfully. "Please enlighten me, Second Mentor."
Pleased to have won her beloved disciple's full attention, Le Lingzhao finally began to explain. "The root of the Soul Beasts' decline can actually be traced back even further. It all came down to the founder of the Spirit Pagoda, Spirit Ice Douluo Huo Yuhao."
"Ten thousand years ago, the Emperor Auspicious Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, sacrificed herself to him, causing the Soul Beasts' luck to be swallowed by humanity's luck. From that moment on, humanity sailed before the wind and surged forward without resistance, until it finally ended its age-old feud with the Soul Beasts and came to rule the entire Douluo Planet."
An Lan looked once more at the sleeping Phantom Sea Spirit Kun, lost in thought.
His two mentors had said so much and even brought up the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. Could this Spirit Kun really be another Auspicious Beast?
But there could only be one Auspicious Beast in all of heaven and earth.
No!
A flash of inspiration suddenly burst through An Lan's mind!
The one and only being was the Emperor Auspicious Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. Ten thousand years ago, another kind of Auspicious Beast still lived in the Star Dou Great Forest: the Golden Hawksbill.
Presumably, the Phantom Sea Spirit Kun was a beast of good fortune like the Golden Hawksbill.
At that thought, everything became clear to him.
Leng Qingning took in his expression and chuckled. "Figured it out?"
"Mm." An Lan nodded firmly. "I presume the Phantom Sea Spirit Kun is an Auspicious Beast like the Golden Hawksbill, not the one and only Emperor Auspicious Beast."
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