Chapter 4: Three-Eyed Golden Lion
That was Bai Chen's target this time—Xue E did not know why, but this thought suddenly arose in his heart.
And reality soon proved his guess correct. After a brief pause, Bai Chen walked straight over, stopped before the girl, crouched down, and asked gently:
"What's your name?"
The girl raised her head and looked at Bai Chen for a moment before softly saying:
"Na'er."
"Na'er, where are your parents?"
Bai Chen knowingly asked.
Na'er silently lowered her head and slowly shook it.
Bai Chen suppressed the excitement in his heart and turned to Xue E.
"Uncle Xue, could you please check with the city government? If her parents can't be found, let me take her home."
"...?"
Hearing that, Na'er raised her head and looked at him in surprise. After he responded with a smile, she hurriedly lowered her little head again, hiding her expression.
Xue E said awkwardly:
"Young Master, you'll need the master's approval for that."
Xue E could fulfill Bai Chen's requests to bring him to Aolai City and the like. Since he had always been fond of Bai Chen, such things were no great matter to him.
But this request really was a little excessive. At the very least, Xue E did not quite approve.
Bai Chen said firmly to Xue E:
"Please. I'll convince my dad."
"...All right."
Faced with Bai Chen's earnest gaze, Xue E ultimately yielded.
After that, Xue E took Na'er and Bai Chen to the city government to ask about the situation.
As expected, they could not find any information related to Na'er at all.
Thus, Xue E honored his promise and returned toward Skysea City with Bai Chen and Na'er.
Perhaps because she truly was exhausted, Na'er soon began nodding off like a chick pecking at grain.
"If you're sleepy, go to sleep."
At Bai Chen's words, Na'er suddenly jolted awake. She vigorously shook her head, seeming to want to say she was not sleepy, but she was soon defeated by drowsiness. Her body tilted, and she fell against Bai Chen.
Bai Chen adjusted his posture slightly to make sure she was resting more comfortably, then closed his eyes as well.
But unlike Na'er, he did not sleep. Instead, he tried to meditate.
The Spirit Hall member who had awakened his Martial Soul in the Douluo I Era had told him that he could only teach him cultivation methods after they reached Spirit City. Therefore, Bai Chen was currently using the most basic cultivation technique taught by the Nine-Treasure Glazed Sect.
At that moment, all three versions of himself across different eras began cultivating.
Before long, he sensed the differences in how each of them cultivated.
His Douluo I Era self entered a meditative state the fastest, accomplishing it almost the instant he calmed his mind.
Perhaps because the Three-Eyed Golden Lion Martial Soul possessed an extremely powerful Mental Attribute, once he entered meditation, his thoughts became clearer than ever before. It was as if he could sense everything. It was incredibly wondrous.
In comparison, his Douluo II Era self had a completely different experience.
It took his Douluo II self roughly two minutes to enter meditation. Bai Chen of this era clearly had far weaker perception than his Douluo I Era self.
There was nothing he could do about that. Even though they were both only Level Ten, the disparity in spiritual power had already begun to show.
As for Bai Chen of the Douluo III Era...
After struggling for an hour, Bai Chen helplessly opened his eyes.
The worst-case scenario had happened. His self in this era was almost incapable of cultivating normally.
It seemed he had perfectly inherited the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's trait of "only being able to level up by devouring life." Or perhaps this had been the result arranged by the Evil God from the start?
In the end, what exactly was this Divine Trial? Shouldn't the Evil Godhood currently be in Ji Dong's hands? Was the one overseeing his trial the old Evil God, or Ji Dong, the current Evil God?
The problems that needed solving had piled up like mountains, giving Bai Chen a headache.
"Boom—"
Just then, a deafening sound rang out beside his ears, startling Bai Chen so badly that he jerked.
But he quickly realized that the sound had not occurred in this era—the source was the Douluo I Era!
Douluo I Era.
After the boom rang out, Bai Chen's entire body trembled, and he immediately leaped off the bed.
Through the window, he could see golden flames blazing outside. The villagers' wails rang in his ears, making Bai Chen's expression turn incomparably ugly.
Could it be...
A guess suddenly surfaced in his mind. He immediately threw open the door and rushed outside.
"Why did you come out? Get back inside and hide! A Soul Beast is here!"
The Spirit Hall member who had awakened his Martial Soul saw him and shouted anxiously.
After Bai Chen agreed to join Spirit Hall, the two had not immediately left the village. The reason was that the village chief had proposed holding a celebration for the birth of a new Soul Master.
As the saying went, only fools turned down free food. As an Awakening Master, this Spirit Hall member did not hold a particularly high position. Now that he had a chance to eat and drink for free, he naturally would not refuse.
As a result, before the celebration had even fully ended, an uninvited guest came to interrupt their revelry.
It was a golden Soul Beast resembling a lion. Its body was covered in scales, its four claws resembled dragons, and its eyes were golden. Most eye-catching of all was the Crimson third eye on its forehead.
An incomparably terrifying aura radiated from its body, golden flames coiling around it. When it saw Bai Chen, its golden eyes immediately lit up.
Yet in the next instant, its gaze darkened again.
Because the Spirit Hall member had shielded Bai Chen behind him.
He did not dare take his eyes off the powerful Soul Beast before him. Anxiously, he shouted at Bai Chen behind him:
"I told you to go hide inside, didn't you hear me? Get lost! Don't get in the way!"
"..."
Bai Chen looked at the one white and two yellow Soul Rings circling around him and silently sighed.
Then, he actually stepped out from behind the man and walked toward the three-eyed Soul Beast.
"What are you doing? Why are you such a disobedient child?!"
The Spirit Hall member panicked and reached out to grab Bai Chen, trying to pull him back.
But to his surprise, Bai Chen seemed to have eyes on the back of his head. With a sidestep, he dodged the grab.
"?!"
The Spirit Hall member could not help but freeze.
As someone responsible for awakening Martial Souls, he had seen plenty of newcomers over the years.
Not one of them had ever been able to dodge that grab. This child's reaction and speed at that moment were completely unlike those of a six-year-old who had just awakened his Martial Soul.
Bai Chen walked straight up to the three-eyed Soul Beast, met its gaze, and calmly said:
"I know you can understand me, and I know I'm your target. I can go with you. I only have one request: don't drag innocent people into this."
Chapter 5: Proud in Life, Without Shame in Death
"What is this child talking about...?!"
Upon hearing that, the Spirit Hall member's first thought was that the child had gone mad.
There were certainly Soul Beasts with relatively high intelligence, but even those Soul Beasts needed at least ten thousand years of cultivation before they could evolve intelligence comparable to humans.
This Soul Beast before him looked like it had only a few thousand years of cultivation. How could it possibly...
His thoughts came to an abrupt stop.
Before his eyes, the three-eyed Soul Beast slowly nodded. Then, it actually picked up Bai Chen by the corner of his clothes and left without looking back.
"..."
The Spirit Hall member was speechless.
They had actually been saved?
Saved because a child had sacrificed himself?
A powerful sense of defeat surged through his heart, and he collapsed to the ground.
As a Soul Elder, he could only helplessly watch as the Soul Beast took Bai Chen away.
Under the pitch-black night sky, the golden Soul Beast raced through the fields with Bai Chen. Neither of them spoke, and for a time, the atmosphere was strangely harmonious.
Only when they neared the Star Dou Great Forest did Bai Chen suddenly speak.
"I say, we're almost at your home now. Isn't it time you explained what's going on?"
Hearing his voice, the three-eyed Soul Beast abruptly stopped and set him down.
Bai Chen stood up, brushed the dust from his body, and asked:
"By the way, just to be safe, you can talk, right?"
"Of course."
A cool, pleasant female voice rang out.
"Who do you think I am? I am the Emperor Auspicious Beast!"
"Is that so?"
Bai Chen smiled.
It truly was remarkable.
Ordinary Soul Beasts could only speak human language after reaching one hundred thousand years of cultivation. Across the first three parts, there had only been one Soul Beast capable of speaking at ten thousand years of cultivation.
That was the Soul Beast before him—the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, and also his Martial Soul in this era.
Now, it seemed that even with only five thousand years of cultivation, she could speak human language. She truly was an exceptionally unique existence among Soul Beasts.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion stared at him, confusion appearing in her eyes.
"Human, I cannot see fear in your eyes. Aren't you afraid of me?"
Bai Chen softly sighed.
"How could I not be afraid? I'm scared to death."
"Then why can you still smile like that? No, more importantly, why did you take the initiative to let me take you away earlier?"
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion was already five thousand years old, and over the years, she had encountered countless humans.
Most humans showed obvious fear upon seeing her. Only a very small number revealed greed in their eyes, but after personally witnessing her strength, even that greed would be tainted by fear.
But this human child before her was different. His expression was always so composed that one could not tell he was merely a child.
Most importantly, when facing her earlier, rather than listening to the adult and fleeing, he had chosen to walk directly toward her.
Did he not know that even the slightest misstep could cost him his life?
"Because even if I die, I want my death to mean something."
Bai Chen smiled frankly at her question.
"You're very strong. That uncle definitely couldn't stop you. If I ran away, then in order to catch me, you would surely kill him along the way. That absolutely won't do. He didn't do anything wrong. He can't just die here for no reason."
Bai Chen could more or less guess why the Three-Eyed Golden Lion had come looking for him. No matter what the reason was, her target in coming to the village was definitely him. Fighting everyone else had merely been incidental.
This was his own problem. Bai Chen did not want to drag anyone else into it. If death was inevitable, then he alone could die. Why should he uglyly drag others down with him?
"Proud in life, without regret in death—this is my principle for living. Well, are you satisfied with that answer?"
"..."
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