A Soul Bone Fed to a Dog? Naming Him Xiaotian!

This time, it did not come from the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear, but from...

Yang Jian lowered his head and looked at the Little Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff circling at his feet.

That urgent emotion from before had come from the Little Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff.

"Jian'er?"

Seeing that he had not moved for so long, Yang Wudi thought that he did not like the Soul Bone.

He let out a soft sigh and persuaded him.

"Although this Soul Bone has not reached ten thousand years, it can still directly benefit a Soul Master. Even if you truly do not wish to absorb it, you can trade it for one better suited to you in the future. You should still take it first..."

As he spoke, Yang Jian had already reached out and accepted the Soul Bone.

A faint smile appeared on Yang Wudi's face. He thought Yang Jian had been persuaded, but when he saw what Yang Jian did next, that newly formed smile froze on his face.

Yang Jian bent down and gently placed the Soul Bone, which could drive countless Soul Masters mad, before the Little Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff.

"Roar!"

The Little Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff let out a delighted cry and pounced onto the Soul Bone.

It opened its jaws and bit down on the Soul Bone.

With the power from the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff's sacrifice, the Little Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff had crossed from infancy into its juvenile stage. Its teeth were no longer incapable of even breaking skin.

With a crack, a chunk was missing from the pitch-black Soul Bone. The Little Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff chewed it to pieces in a few bites, then swallowed it with a gulp.

"Those... are some good teeth..."

Yang Wudi opened his mouth, held it in for a long while, and finally managed what could barely be considered praise.

As he spoke, the forearm-length Soul Bone had already been devoured clean by the Little Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff.

After licking its lips with lingering satisfaction and barking twice at Yang Jian to express its joy, it swayed as though drunk, then fell to the ground with a plop, snoring as if it had fallen asleep.

A faint golden glow seeped from its body, rising and falling with its breathing.

"This is..."

"It is digesting the Soul Bone's power."

Yang Jian put away the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear, bent down, and gathered the unconscious Little Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff, lying belly-up with all four paws in the air, into his arms.

"This is the first time I have seen a Soul Beast capable of devouring a Soul Bone. But Jian'er, you truly are generous. You fed a Soul Bone nearly ten thousand years old to it just like that. Forget anyone else—even your grandfather, a Soul Douluo, would not be willing to feed a Soul Bone to a Soul Beast."

At those words, Yang Jian first looked at the sleeping Little Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff in his arms, then raised his head to meet Yang Wudi's gaze.

"Grandfather."

His voice was calm.

"It is my companion."

Yang Wudi looked at his grandson. In those pitch-black eyes, there was not the slightest trace of reluctance or hesitation, only a matter-of-fact serenity.

It was as though that Soul Bone had belonged to the Little Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff from the start.

After a brief silence, Yang Wudi suddenly smiled.

"Good."

He reached out and patted Yang Jian's shoulder, his face taking on a little more easygoing warmth.

"Since I have already given you this Soul Bone, how you handle it is entirely up to you. As long as you think it is worth it."

Yang Jian nodded and looked once more at the Little Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff in his arms.

He could sense that the Little Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff was growing every moment after devouring the Soul Bone.

"By the way, Jian'er, do you not plan to give it a name?"

Yang Wudi's voice interrupted Yang Jian's gaze.

"Let's call it... Xiaotian."

Looking at the Little Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff in his arms, smacking its lips as it dreamed some unknown sweet dream, Yang Jian barely gave it any thought before the name "Xiaotian" slipped from his lips.

"Howling beneath the moon, its roar shaking the heavens... Xiaotian is a fine name."

Yang Wudi recalled the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff howling toward the moon and immediately felt that Yang Jian had named it wonderfully. He silently nodded.

After sweeping his gaze around and confirming that nothing had been left behind, Yang Wudi looked at Yang Jian again.

"We have been away from home for nearly half a month. Jian'er, you have obtained your first Soul Ring. Rest well tonight, and we will set out for home tomorrow."

The night passed without incident. In the morning, sunlight streamed through the skylight above the cave, casting mottled patches of light across the ground.

Yang Jian was awakened by a damp sensation.

When he opened his eyes, his grandfather was already nowhere to be seen. Only the Little Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff lay beside his hand, stretching out its pink little tongue to lick his fingers again and again.

Its clear, mirror-like golden eyes stared unblinkingly at him.

Seeing Yang Jian wake up, the little thing immediately let out a happy cry.

"Roar~"

Its four stubby legs bounced against the ground, and its fluffy tail spun like a propeller. Its happiness was plain to see.

A faint smile appeared at the corner of Yang Jian's lips. He sat up and reached out to rub its head.

"Good morning, Xiaotian."

Hearing those two words, the little thing froze for a moment. Its ears twitched, as though confirming something.

"Roar!"

It became even happier, running circles around Yang Jian while barking, its tail wagging so hard it nearly took flight.

Its actions made it clear that it loved the name.

Just then, Yang Wudi walked in carrying a cleaned rabbit.

The rabbit had been skewered on a wooden stick, its fur and innards already removed.

When he saw that Yang Jian was awake, a kind smile appeared on Yang Wudi's face.

"Jian'er, you are awake?"

"Yes, Grandfather."

As they spoke, Yang Wudi expertly crouched down, took a fire starter from his robes, and lit the leftover firewood from the night before.

The flames licked at the wood, crackling softly.

He set the skewered rabbit over the campfire and began to turn it as it roasted.

"Roar~"

Xiaotian gave Yang Wudi a soft roar, as if greeting him.

Yang Wudi turned his head and smiled at it.

But in the next instant, his smile froze.

His gaze landed on Xiaotian, and he looked it over from head to tail several times.

Disbelief flashed through his hawk-like eyes.

This little thing... had grown a whole size larger?

Last night, curled up in Yang Jian's arms, it had only been about the size of a watermelon, a round little ball.

Now, though it was still small, it was clearly more than a full size larger than it had been the night before.

But its increased size was not the important part. Its aura was.

He could clearly sense that this Little Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff, which had only been born not long ago and did not even qualify as a Ten-Year Soul Beast, now possessed the aura of a Soul Beast around ninety years old, just a step away from becoming a Hundred-Year Soul Beast!

Most importantly, only one night had passed.

In a single night, it had grown from a newborn cub into a Soul Beast around ninety years old?

What kind of growth rate was this?

He had lived for so many years, yet he had never seen anything like this. Even the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff, with its top-tier Beast King bloodline, should not have been able to grow to this extent overnight.

Then Yang Wudi suddenly thought of the Soul Bone the Little Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff had devoured last night, and a flash of insight crossed his mind.

"Was it because of that Soul Bone?"

Though he phrased it as a question, Yang Wudi's voice already carried a measure of certainty.

Yang Jian nodded.

"That is right. Xiaotian can increase its cultivation by devouring Soul Bones."