A Chance Encounter with the Three-Eyed Golden Lion

At the border between the Mixed Zone and the Core Zone of the Star Dou Forest, the air hung so heavily it seemed frozen solid.

Luo Wei frowned tightly, her eyes fixed on the flash of red that had just vanished in the distant woods.

Every muscle in her body tensed at once.

"Lu Chen, stop first. Stay alert!"

Though Luo Wei spoke softly, her voice carried an undeniable killing intent.

Lu Chen, who had been practicing Flash Step, abruptly halted and followed Luo Wei's gaze.

A dark crimson mist surged into the sky from the horizon a thousand meters away.

A suffocatingly violent aura swept toward them.

It blanketed the entire area like Mount Tai crashing down overhead.

"What a terrifying aura!"

Lu Chen's expression shifted slightly as he asked in a low voice, "Aunt Luo, that is..."

He could clearly feel the surging blood and qi within him trembling faintly beneath that aura's pressure.

"That is Scarlet King."

Luo Wei's gaze turned grave, her voice low. "One of the strongest beings in the Soul Beast world, ninth among the Ten Great Fierce Beasts, the king of the Three-Headed Crimson Demon Mastiffs."

"It's actually him!"

Lu Chen's pupils shrank. "Shouldn't that guy be staying in the Core Zone of the Star Dou Forest? Why did he come to the Mixed Zone?"

Before his words had even faded, the answer appeared before them.

Deep within the forest, a massive Soul Beast the size of a small mountain slowly passed through the trees, every step making the ground tremble faintly.

It had three enormous canine heads, and its entire body was covered in dark crimson mane that flowed like magma.

With every breath, it exhaled sparks carrying the scent of sulfur.

Its dark red pupils held the majesty of one who regarded life with indifference. Wherever it passed, all beasts fell silent.

Even the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts of the Mixed Zone lay trembling on the ground, not daring to move an inch.

Scarlet King lowered his three heads, his pace incredibly steady.

And atop the enormous canine head in the center crouched a small golden beast.

Its body was as nimble and compact as a civet cat's, yet its limbs were covered in fine dragon scales, and a vertical eye was embedded in its forehead.

It lacked Scarlet King's intimidating savagery. Instead, it radiated an indescribable liveliness.

It was looking around mischievously.

Every now and then, it let out a crisp cry, breaking the deathly silence around them.

"What kind of Soul Beast is that?" Long Aotian widened his eyes, his face filled with shock.

"What a beautiful little thing! It actually dared to sit on Scarlet King's head?" Tang Ya was instantly astonished.

The moment Luo Wei recognized the golden beast, her taut body relaxed slightly.

Yet her eyes were filled with extreme shock.

"It's actually her... the Emperor Auspicious Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion."

Luo Wei took a deep breath, her tone more solemn than ever before.

"Xiao Ya, don't be fooled by her small size. To the entire Star Dou Forest, and even to every Soul Beast in this world, she is a godlike existence."

"As long as she is here, the cultivation speed of every Soul Beast in the Star Dou Forest will double.

Their chances of breaking through bottlenecks will also increase greatly.

She is the center of fortune for the Soul Beast world, the hope of the Star Dou Forest.

No wonder Scarlet King appeared in the Mixed Zone. He came to protect this little ancestor."

After hearing Luo Wei's explanation, Tang Ya and Long Aotian were completely dumbfounded.

An existence capable of doubling the cultivation speed of all Soul Beasts was simply beyond their understanding.

Lu Chen was not particularly surprised. Only a small number of top experts knew information concerning the Emperor Auspicious Beast.

At that moment, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion sitting atop Scarlet King's head seemed to sense something.

A trace of cunning flashed through her ruby-like eyes, and she suddenly turned her head.

All three of her eyes looked toward Lu Chen atop the rocks.

In an instant, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's curious expression froze.

Within her third eye, which could sense fortune and perceive fate, the youth before her was not an ordinary Soul Master at all.

He was a golden vortex impossible to look at directly, one that seemed capable of bursting apart the fate trajectory of this entire world!

From Lu Chen, she sensed a radiant aura that was almost divine, yet completely independent of this world.

"What a dense aura of light. What a strange human..."

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion tilted her head, her eyes filled with confusion and curiosity unlike anything she had ever felt before.

Her little claws could not help pawing at Scarlet King's mane.

She actually wanted to jump down from Scarlet King's head and take a closer look at this strange youth.

But Scarlet King's soft growl stopped her.

Scarlet King's three pairs of soul-stirring eyes swept coldly over Luo Wei, who stood at the front.

In the entire area, she was the only human who could give him even the faintest sense of threat.

But his foremost task now was protecting the Auspicious Beast, and he had no intention of attacking.

That single glance set alarm bells ringing in Luo Wei's mind.

Two yellow, two purple, and five black Soul Rings suddenly emerged beneath her feet.

But after giving them a disdainful glance, Scarlet King turned away again and continued forward.

Seeing this, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion could only sniff in Lu Chen's direction, as though marking his scent.

Then she obediently lay down atop Scarlet King's head and slowly vanished with him into the depths of the Core Zone.

The dark crimson mist gradually dispersed as well.

"So that was the Three-Eyed Golden Lion... Wang Qiu'er?"

Lu Chen narrowed his eyes, thoughts churning within him.

In the original story, Tang San had wanted to control the fortune of Douluo Continent.

He had not hesitated to split his own daughter's soul, using Huo Yuhao to forcibly establish a connection with the Auspicious Beast.

In the end, in order to seize the Golden Dragon Bloodline within the Auspicious Beast, he had even arranged for her to willingly sacrifice herself and completely merge with Wang Dong'er.

Yet somehow, two SS+ beings fused into garbage.

He had completely taken away the last vestige of fortune that belonged to the Soul Beast world.

This had indirectly led to the decline of the Star Dou Forest.

He kept claiming it was for the greater good, but in truth, it had all been for the Tang Family's selfish interests.

"What a pity. A perfectly fine Emperor Auspicious Beast was schemed against by Tang San until not even scraps of bone remained.

I wonder whether establishing a connection with her would allow me to obtain a trace of Fate Power?"

Lu Chen gently shook his head, then withdrew his gaze.

With Scarlet King guarding the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, he had no way of approaching her even if he wanted to.

Rather than dwell on it, he might as well focus on himself.

Lu Chen took a deep breath, suppressed the turmoil in his heart, and began practicing Flash Step again.

On the other side of the camp!

Only after Scarlet King's figure had completely disappeared did the group from Shrek Academy finally let out a collective sigh of relief.

Their backs had long since been drenched in cold sweat.

"That scared me to death. I thought we were going to die here today."

One student patted his chest, his voice still shaking from fright.

"As expected of one of the Ten Great Fierce Beasts. Even from hundreds of meters away, that pressure felt as if it were right in front of us. It was terrifying!"

Another student echoed him, his face still pale.

Zhang Lexuan looked solemn as she warned them in a deep voice.

"The Emperor Auspicious Beast represents the fortune of the Star Dou Forest, so she will certainly be protected by top-tier Fierce Beasts.

If any of you encounter her in the future, remember to leave immediately. Do not take any chances."

"Yes!"

Several people nodded repeatedly, not daring to be careless in the slightest.

Ma Xiaotao frowned, appearing thoughtful.

"Strange. Why did I feel like that Three-Eyed Golden Lion had been staring at Lu Chen the whole time?"

Zhang Lexuan was momentarily stunned, then laughed.

"How could that be? You must have seen it wrong. Why would the Auspicious Beast specifically pay attention to a human?"

After that, the camp returned to peace once more.

Though the Body Sect and Shrek's people occupied the same stretch of forest, it was as if an invisible chasm separated them, with each group claiming a corner.

For three whole days, aside from the wind through the woods and the chirping of insects, they did not exchange even half a sentence.

The atmosphere was subtle and oppressive.

Until the morning of the fourth day...