Bi Ji

Long Xiaoyao was quite happy to resolve the matter without conflict. After all, if he truly killed this auspicious beast, he would likely face endless pursuit from the fierce beasts.

As long as the other party's terms did not cross his bottom line, he could agree to them.

"I haven't decided yet." A clear, ethereal female voice rang out. Her answer made Long Xiaoyao frown.

"But I want him to owe me." The Three-Eyed Golden Lion looked at Mu Feng and spoke firmly.

Under such circumstances, making an Ultimate Douluo owe her a favor was clearly the most beneficial choice. Neither of them could understand why the Three-Eyed Golden Lion wanted a nine-year-old child with extremely weak soul power fluctuations to repay this favor.

"You took away my attribute guidance, and it greatly benefited your spiritual power. Therefore, you owe me a favor, and I want you to repay it in the future."

Her tone was exceedingly serious. Especially in that final sentence, she seemed to squeeze out every word one by one.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's reasoning was perfectly sound, leaving Mu Feng with no reason to refuse.

Originally, Mu Feng had only worried that she might reveal his experience of living two lives. He was not worried that she could understand the writing from his previous life. The memories she had skimmed through were not very detailed, and such a short time was nowhere near enough for her to learn complex Chinese.

Now that the matter could be settled this way, and his spiritual power had greatly improved as well, the price was merely one favor. Mu Feng was very satisfied with this outcome.

"Fine." Mu Feng readily agreed to her request. He was not too concerned that the Three-Eyed Golden Lion would use this against him, because they might never meet again for the rest of their lives.

He had already interfered with the original storyline. In the original work, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion had most likely entered Shrek Academy and gone to Huo Yuhao's side because of that trace of Tang Wutong's divine consciousness.

But without Tang San meddling behind the scenes, perhaps the auspicious beast would never appear at Shrek Academy again. Mu Feng did not take her condition too seriously and agreed casually.

"I want you to swear with me. If you break your oath, may heaven strike you with thunder."

"Alright."

Long Xiaoyao released her restraints, and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion rose to her feet.

Then a strange scene appeared: one adult and one child, one soul beast and one human, stood face-to-face as though they were bowing in a wedding ceremony.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion spoke first, her tone solemn. "I swear upon the origin of my bloodline that I will keep Mu Feng's secret. Should I betray this oath, may I be abandoned by destiny."

Her oath was no light matter. The Eye of Destiny's abilities were the very foundation of why she was revered as an auspicious beast. If she lost those abilities, she would be no different from an ordinary fierce beast.

Seeing her so solemn, Mu Feng's expression also turned serious. "I, Mu Feng, swear that today, having received the blessing of the auspicious beast's attribute guidance, I will repay this favor in the future. Otherwise, may heaven strike me with thunder and may I die a miserable death."

As soon as his words fell, Mu Feng suddenly felt something strange deep within his heart. It was as if an invisible thread had pierced through them both. Their bodies trembled at the same time, and when they looked at each other, there was an indescribable feeling in their eyes.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion lay on the ground and said, "Don't worry. I won't run."

Then she curled into a ball and fell silent. Mu Feng rubbed his nose and quietly sat to one side. Neither of them spoke, as though by mutual understanding, and the entire atmosphere sank into an awkward silence.

However, this strange atmosphere did not last long. Long Xiaoyao sensed two powerful auras flying toward them from afar. One of them belonged to Scarlet King, who had vanished two quarters of an hour earlier.

The aura beside him was even stronger than Scarlet King's. Long Xiaoyao frowned. He had not expected Scarlet King to remain so unwilling to give up that he had actually gone back for help.

Just as Long Xiaoyao was about to suppress the Emperor Auspicious Beast once more, a gentle and warm female voice came from afar. "Please wait, Your Excellency."

The clear, soothing voice made Long Xiaoyao hesitate for a moment. After considering it briefly, he lowered his right hand.

The two figures approached, and only then did Mu Feng see them clearly. At the front stood a tall, well-proportioned woman with an extraordinary temperament. Her emerald-green hair and swan-feather-shaped ornament gave her an air of gentle nobility.

Behind her was Scarlet King's true body—the Three-Headed Crimson Demon Mastiff. Each of his mouths held a soul beast.

After Scarlet King found Bi Ji and explained the entire matter to her, Bi Ji pondered for a moment. Just as Scarlet King thought Bi Ji was about to join forces with him to pressure Long Xiaoyao into releasing the auspicious beast—

After a while, Bi Ji finally said, "Do as the other party requested: a two-thousand-year Radiant Feather Spirit Sparrow, a five-thousand-year Holy Radiance Riftlight Colt, and a seven-thousand-year Starwind Heavenly Feather Crane."

Hearing this, Scarlet King let out a sigh of relief. It was not that he did not want to seize the auspicious beast back, but even his temper had its limits.

Even if the two of them could drive back that old man by joining forces, they could not ensure the auspicious beast's safety during the battle.

If Bi Ji had insisted on launching a joint sneak attack, he would likely have needed to spend quite some effort persuading her otherwise.

Bi Ji continued, "After hearing your analysis just now, I suddenly formed a guess about that person's identity. Are you certain that what you saw was a black dragon shadow?"

Scarlet King nodded.

"Dragon Emperor Douluo, we have brought the three soul beasts according to your requirements."

Long Xiaoyao was not surprised that Bi Ji had recognized his identity. Because of the special nature of his martial soul and partner, Long Xiaoyao had once been the subject of a legend across the continent. Long Xiaoyao had likewise recognized the person before him from her distinctive appearance: Bi Ji, the Emerald Swan ranked fourth among the Eight Great Fierce Beasts.

Scarlet King threw the three soul beasts, already on the verge of death, before Long Xiaoyao. Long Xiaoyao roughly examined the three soul beasts.

The dense light bloodline within them did not lie. These were certainly not low-level soul beasts they had casually captured to deceive him.

Long Xiaoyao nodded, then released the aura lock on the Three-Eyed Golden Lion as promised, allowing her to run back to Bi Ji's side.

He released his martial soul and reached out to seize the three soul beasts before preparing to leave with Mu Feng. It was far too dangerous to let Mu Feng absorb soul rings in front of two Great Fierce Beasts. They needed to find somewhere secluded where they would not be disturbed.

"Please wait, Your Excellency." Bi Ji had just finished checking the auspicious beast's condition. Seeing Mu Feng's group about to leave, she hurriedly said, "Dragon Emperor, why not let this young friend absorb the soul rings here?"

Long Xiaoyao looked at Bi Ji in surprise, but Bi Ji merely wore a faint smile, making it impossible for him to tell what she was planning.

Bi Ji said, "I believe Your Excellency has some understanding of my abilities. The cultivation ages of these soul beasts far exceed the upper limit of what ordinary soul masters can absorb."

"Even if this child's body is extremely strong, there are still many potential risks. With me here to guard him, I can provide some protection."

Bi Ji's reasoning was very sound. If Long Xiaoyao had not known she was a fierce beast, he would have agreed at once.

Seeing that Long Xiaoyao was still somewhat hesitant, Bi Ji suddenly turned and discussed something with Scarlet King in a low voice. In the end, Scarlet King turned to look toward Mu Feng, then flashed away.

"Will that do, Your Excellency?"

Long Xiaoyao did not know what reason Bi Ji had used to send Scarlet King away. What surprised him was why Bi Ji still wanted to guard Mu Feng even after sending Scarlet King away.

He suddenly recalled that even Scarlet King's initial attack had been directed at Mu Feng. Only then did Long Xiaoyao finally sense that something was wrong. He frowned and asked, "What exactly are you doing this for?"