Douluo: Children of the Era Gather, but the Times Are Misaligned

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion stared wordlessly at the smiling Bai Chen.

Bai Chen did not think he had a chance of surviving. He had truly prepared himself to die before leaving with the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion had seen countless people, but in her past experience, whenever humans faced death, they invariably revealed their ugliest sides. Their desperate will to survive drove them to commit all manner of unsightly acts.

They did not flee from fear, but faced it head-on. He was the first person she had ever seen who could smile so calmly in the face of death.

The scene fell silent for a moment. After facing each other for a while, Bai Chen tilted his head in confusion.

"What's wrong? Aren't you going to make a move?"

"Who—who said I was going to make a move?!"

Only then did the Three-Eyed Golden Lion come back to her senses, answering with a slight stammer.

For some reason, even though she clearly held the advantage in strength, her voice sounded somewhat flustered.

She gave a light cough and explained,

"I came to find you because I want to undergo Fate Connection with you."

"Huh?"

Bai Chen blinked in astonishment.

"Aren't you going to devour me?"

He had already prepared himself mentally to become this fellow's food.

Seeing his shocked expression, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion seemed to regain some of her self-respect. She spoke with a slightly smug tone,

"Of course not. What benefit would I gain from devouring you? The responsibility you bear is different from mine."

"Could you explain that in detail?"

Bai Chen's gaze immediately turned serious.

He was certain that, regarding his Martial Soul, the one before him knew far more than he did.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion said impatiently,

"What is there not to understand? I govern the fortune of the Soul Beast race, so naturally, you govern the fortune of humanity. As a Soul Beast, even if I devoured you, I could not become the ruler of human fortune. If so, what would be the point of devouring you?"

"Oh."

Bai Chen suddenly understood.

"So, undergoing Fate Connection with me does have meaning."

Otherwise, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion would not have gone out of her way to travel so far from the Star Dou Great Forest just to undergo Fate Connection with him.

"That's right."

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion nodded approvingly and explained,

"As the Emperor Auspicious Beast of the Star Dou Great Forest, I can grant my people the blessing of auspicious fortune. As long as I remain alive, their cultivation speed can double. It's just that..."

As she spoke, her tone suddenly became somewhat dejected again.

"It's just that the Soul Beasts whose cultivation speed doubles do not include me."

"Oh."

Hearing this, Bai Chen roughly understood what was going on.

"As long as you complete Fate Connection with me, you can receive support from my auspicious fortune, right?"

"That's right. And if you do this, you can also gain quite a few benefits from me. Human, you've really struck it lucky!"

"Mm..."

Bai Chen drew out the sound as he nodded thoughtfully.

In that case, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion would not only spare his life, but might even do everything she could to protect him?

Fate Connection

That was truly exactly what he wanted.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion might only be a five-thousand-year Soul Beast now, but in reality, she could represent the forces of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Bai Chen in Dou Three had needed to figure out how to lure Na'er into his home before he could possibly win the support of the Star Dou side. Yet here in Dou One, he had done nothing at all, and the little princess of Star Dou had come to him on her own.

From that perspective, he should have been happy about the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's arrival.

But to say Bai Chen had no complaints at all... that would not be quite right either.

He had genuinely prepared himself to die just now. The Three-Eyed Golden Lion had rushed from the Star Dou Great Forest to his village in the middle of the night and forcibly taken him away. If he had not stepped forward himself, who knew how many people she would have killed?

Of course, Soul Beasts killing humans was not something that needed moral condemnation. Talking to Soul Beasts about human morality was inherently laughable, and Bai Chen had no intention of pursuing the matter from that angle.

Still, after being put through all this, if he did not retaliate just a little, he felt like he had gotten the short end of the stick.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion grew somewhat uncomfortable under his unwavering gaze and could not help asking,

"What is it, human? You aren't willing?"

"Not at all. As you said, this matter has benefits and no drawbacks for me. I have no objections."

Bai Chen suddenly smiled and said,

"However, I must remind you of one thing. I have my own name, so stop calling me human every other word."

"Oh? What is your name?"

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion asked curiously.

Bai Chen said without changing expression,

"Onii-chan."

"Got it."

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion nodded carelessly and continued the previous topic.

"Then, Onii-chan, are you ready to undergo Fate Connection with me?"

"Say my name again."

"Onii-chan, what's wrong?"

"Sorry, that actually wasn't my real name."

Seeing that the Three-Eyed Golden Lion had not seen through him, Bai Chen immediately became interested.

He had to admit, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's voice was indeed pleasant. If some of his little-sister-obsessed friends from his previous life heard that form of address, their bones would probably turn to jelly.

It was rare to have an opportunity like this. It would be a waste not to make a little more mischief.

Thinking this, Bai Chen continued spouting nonsense with a perfectly serious expression,

"Actually, my name is Goshujin-sama."

"Go-Goshujin... Goshujin-sama?"

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion repeated it with a stammer, unable to resist commenting,

"Your name is so strange..."

Bai Chen held back his laughter and continued,

"I lied. My real name is Hoooooo."

"Hoo... no, no human would have such a strange name. Are you messing with me?!"

Just as she was about to make that bizarre sound, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion finally realized something was wrong.

Ah, what a pity.

Bai Chen felt somewhat regretful. Knowing he could not keep teasing her, he pulled the conversation back to the main subject and said seriously,

"My real name is definitely not as strange as those names, but if you truly want to know it, isn't there a more direct and straightforward way?"

"Hmph..."

Hearing that, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion calmed down as well.

The method Bai Chen spoke of was precisely the purpose of her journey: undergoing Fate Connection with Bai Chen.

Once the connection was made, their memories would be exchanged. At that time, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion would naturally learn his true name.

Thus, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion stopped wasting words. She came before Bai Chen, who was sitting on the ground, and lowered her head.

Bai Chen also released his Martial Soul. A third eye silently opened on his forehead, drawing closer and closer to the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's golden vertical pupil until they finally touched.

In an instant, a trembling sensation awakened from the deepest part of Bai Chen's heart. An enormous torrent of spiritual power, carrying fragments of memory, poured into his mind. These five thousand years of fragmented memories flashed rapidly before his eyes, leaving him dizzy and overwhelmed.

Under the infusion of that terrifying spiritual power, his Spiritual Sea expanded outward at an unimaginably frightening speed. In an instant, it grew several times over, far surpassing what a Soul Master who had only just awakened his Martial Soul should possess.

In the original story, Huo Yuhao had gained tremendous benefits from undergoing Fate Connection with the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. Bai Chen, whose compatibility with her was absurdly high, would benefit even more.

In merely one minute, Bai Chen underwent a complete transformation.

As the speed at which spiritual power flooded into his mind gradually slowed, the suction pulling Bai Chen and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion together also slowly vanished.

Finally, when the golden light surrounding them dispersed, an intense repulsive force burst forth and sent them both flying.

Bai Chen rolled twice along the ground before finally stopping with difficulty.

He looked toward the Three-Eyed Golden Lion and discovered that she was looking at him as well. Unlike his calm gaze, however, her eyes were now filled with shock.

"You... you... you lived through three eras at the same time?!"

Mm, it seemed she did not know he was a transmigrator.

Bai Chen thought calmly.

Before undergoing Fate Connection, he had been guessing how things might develop afterward.

Fate Connection exchanged memories. That was not much of an issue for others, but for Bai Chen, there were several different possibilities to consider.

Simply put, the memories of Bai Chen's previous life, his memories from other timelines, and his memories from this timeline all had to be arranged in various combinations.

Judging from what the Three-Eyed Golden Lion had said, she most likely possessed all of Bai Chen's memories from the three timelines, but not his memories from before he transmigrated.

Fortunately, at least that was not the worst-case scenario.

Bai Chen breathed a slight sigh of relief inwardly, while saying without changing expression,

"Of course. Otherwise, why do you think a child like me would be so mature?"

"Th-this, this..."

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion stammered, momentarily not knowing what to say to Bai Chen.

Bai Chen might only be six years old, but counting all three timelines, he had passed on a full eighteen years of memories to the Three-Eyed Golden Lion—more time than Huo Yuhao had given in the original story.

Moreover, although he had not lived as miserably as Huo Yuhao, nor were his experiences as legendary, he had lived in three vastly different eras. The impact he brought to the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was absolutely no less than Huo Yuhao's.

It would be a miracle if her little brain could process all that instantly.

Bai Chen stood up, dusted himself off, and said calmly,

"Let's go. Take me to see Di Tian. I have something to tell him."

"You..."

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion opened her mouth as though she wanted to say something, but ultimately gave up. She silently came before Bai Chen, picked him up in her mouth, and carried him toward the depths of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Being carried while racing along once again, Bai Chen felt helpless, yet had no choice.

He wanted to ride her while traveling, which would obviously have been far more comfortable than this, but he and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion were not that familiar yet. She certainly would not agree to such a request.

Just wait. One day, I'll make you willingly become my mount!

As he "enjoyed" the jolting ride, Bai Chen thought viciously.

Di Tian

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's traveling speed was beyond comparison with ordinary Soul Beasts. It did not take long before she brought Bai Chen to the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest.

This was not only because she ran fast, but also because, as the Emperor Auspicious Beast, she could ignore the territories of powerful Soul Beasts and race along the shortest path to the deepest part of the Star Dou Great Forest.

After arriving in the core region, perhaps because she was somewhat tired, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion noticeably slowed down.

At that moment, a crimson figure darted out and asked anxiously,

"Auspicious Beast, where did you run off to? And who is this human?"