(Wang Qiu'er's beautiful picture)
Scarlet King was stunned.
It slowly turned its heads, all six dark-gold vertical pupils fixing on Wang Dong'er.
A dignified three-hundred-thousand-year Ferocious Beast had actually been spanked?!
An indescribable sense of humiliation welled up inside it.
Scarlet King roared, abandoning the injured Ma Xiaotao on the ground as it turned and lunged at Wang Dong'er.
Clutching her injured left arm, Ma Xiaotao struggled to stand. "Dong'er, run!"
Wang Dong'er not only stayed put but advanced to meet Scarlet King.
She raised her right hand high. In her palm, a massive, jet-black hammer slowly took shape.
Its head was round and heavy, covered in dark-gold patterns and dense, ancient runes. It radiated a weighty, imposing aura, as if it could smash a hole right through the heavens and earth.
Black lightning crackled across its shaft, carrying a suffocating pressure.
"Clear Sky Hammer!"
Wang Dong'er bellowed. Gripping the enormous black hammer with both hands, she used the momentum of her fall to slam it down hard on the middle head of Scarlet King!
"—!"
The hammer came down, striking the crown of Scarlet King's middle head!
A muffled boom rang out.
Scarlet King's middle head was hammered sharply downward—
Confusion hurt no brains.
Meanwhile.
A Soul Beast appeared silently in front of Lin Ye.
Unlike Scarlet King, whose fearsome presence seemed to blot out the sky, this Soul Beast merely regarded Lin Ye with curiosity,
walking slowly toward him, its steps light, as though studying some strange object it had never seen before.
It was over three meters long and eight feet tall at the shoulder, its whole body covered in brilliant golden fur.
Its body seemed carved from translucent crystal, giving it an uncanny texture.
Its overall shape resembled a lion, but its four paws were like dragons' claws. Beneath each claw rested a clump of golden flame. The flames burned silently, yet did not scorch the ground.
Its muzzle was a little longer than that of ordinary lion-type Soul Beasts. Fine golden scales could be glimpsed beneath its fur, gleaming softly in the moonlight.
Besides its normal pair of eyes, a third eye grew in its forehead.
It was a vertical golden slit, closed at that moment, yet still giving off a stirring mental fluctuation.
It was none other than the Emperor Auspicious Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion!
Though it had lived for only a little over ten thousand years, as the one and only Auspicious Beast on Douluo Continent, its actual combat power was enough to contend with an ordinary hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast.
It possessed the dual Ultimate Attributes of Ultimate Fire and Ultimate Light. In any era, it would be a force capable of stirring the continent's fortunes.
At that moment, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion had come to Lin Ye's side.
It lowered its head slightly. Its closed third eye trembled faintly, as if sensing something.
It regarded Lin Ye curiously, a hint of confusion and fondness flashing through its dark-gold eyes.
This human before it somehow gave it an inexplicable sense of closeness, as if it had met one of its own—or caught the scent of something that made it feel at ease.
What was going on?
The Auspicious Beast couldn't help edging closer, its nose almost touching Lin Ye's forehead.
Just then—
An invisible suction force surged out without warning, like a massive unseen hand gripping its forehead!
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion stiffened all over!
Instinctively, it tried to struggle, its limbs straining as it attempted to retreat.
But the suction seemed stuck to it. No matter how hard it struggled, it couldn't break free in the slightest.
A flicker of alarm crossed its dark-gold eyes.
Lin Ye, meanwhile, remained motionless with his eyes closed, immersed in absorbing his Soul Ring and completely unaware of what was happening around him.
Where the Auspicious Beast dwells, all beasts are blessed; its station is supreme, and humans may receive its summons. Blessed by auspicious fortune, one's prospects are limitless.
This was a saying passed down from ancient times on Douluo Continent.
An Auspicious Beast could protect Soul Beasts, greatly increasing their cultivation speed.
Different Auspicious Beasts had different attributes.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion before him possessed three attributes at once: Ultimate Light, Ultimate Fire, and Mental Power.
At that moment, the Auspicious Beast's approach had unexpectedly summoned Lin Ye.
This so-called attribute summoning meant refining and elevating Lin Ye's attributes with its own.
A golden radiance of utmost purity surged without warning into Lin Ye's Sea of Consciousness.
The light was warm and bright, like the first ray of morning sunshine piercing through the clouds, shining straight into the deepest part of his consciousness.
Under its radiance, his Sea of Consciousness expanded to twice its former size at a visible speed!
Waves rose across the previously calm sea. The total amount of his Mental Power surged wildly, as if forcibly filled by some force, churning like a swelling tide.
Lin Ye could feel his senses growing sharper and deeper, as though the whole world had become much clearer in his mind.
More than that, tempered and summoned by the Emperor Auspicious Beast's Ultimate Fire, a flame had kindled in his heart.
It wasn't scorching or violent. It was gentle and warm, like a piece of jade warmed in one's hands, resting quietly in the very center of his chest.
The heart's sovereign fire—Upper-Flavor Divine Fire!
Now, the heart's sovereign fire, the kidneys' minister fire, and the Bladder Sea of Qi People Fire had all come together—the Three Fires gathered as one!
With all three passages opened, essence, qi, and spirit—the Three Origins—merged. It was as if three rivers that had once flowed separately had joined the same sea, forming a complete cycle.
The Samadhi True Fire was born!
Yet at that very moment, the battle on the other side took a sudden turn.
A figure came tumbling down from afar and crashed to the ground, carving out a long trench as dust billowed into the air.
A trace of blood spilled from Wang Dong'er's mouth. The wings of her Light Goddess Butterfly had dimmed considerably, and she had landed beside Lin Ye.
Scarlet King noticed them.
Its massive body abruptly halted. All three pairs of dark-gold vertical pupils turned toward them at once, first settling on Wang Dong'er, then on Lin Ye.
Finally, its gaze came to rest on the Three-Eyed Golden Lion collapsed beside Lin Ye.
The Auspicious Beast was weakly sprawled on the ground, its limbs trembling faintly, as if most of its strength had been drained away.
But its dark-gold eyes held a little more life now; they no longer looked as blank and wary as before.
It no longer tried to struggle. It simply watched Lin Ye in silence.
Its gaze still held confusion and complexity, along with something it couldn't quite put into words.
It was as if that brief moment when their foreheads had touched had changed something completely.
Then it slowly turned its head, its gaze falling once more on Wang Dong'er.
A shy, girlish blush appeared on its furry face.
It had seen Lin Ye's memories.
Everything that belonged to Lin Ye.
His memories from his previous life, his experiences after crossing over, his joys and sorrows, even his innermost thoughts—all of them had been glimpsed by the Auspicious Beast by accident during the attribute summoning just now.
Including what had happened between him and Wang Dong'er in the dormitory, and that scene just now in the tent.
Before you continue