What?! Old Sun Is an Auspicious Beast Too?

"Bullshit! Do you take me for some three-year-old cub you can fool?"

Scarlet King clearly did not believe Wukong's explanation. He immediately strode two menacing steps closer and barked, "Tell the truth! Otherwise, I'll chop off that monkey head of yours today and use it as a drinking snack!"

For the past five thousand years, Three-Eyed Golden Lion had been personally cared for by Scarlet King. After spending day and night together, Scarlet King had long regarded the little creature as his own child. He treasured her dearly and could not tolerate the slightest mishap.

"Enough, Scarlet King. Stand down."

Di Tian gave Wukong a deep look before speaking to stop the hot-tempered Scarlet King.

"Wukong is not an enemy, but one of our companions."

"As for what just happened... wait until the Auspicious Beast recovers, then ask her yourself."

"After all, it was the Auspicious Beast who took the initiative to open the Eye of Destiny."

"A companion? Heh!"

Xiong Jun, broad-built and fierce-faced, immediately let out a disdainful snort upon hearing that.

"Just this scrawny monkey who has not even reached a hundred thousand years? He thinks he deserves to stand on equal footing with us and call us brothers?"

Di Tian's expression darkened slightly. "Bringing Wukong into the core circle was not merely my decision—it was also the master's decree! If you object, feel free to reason it out with the master. Here, it is not your place to call the shots."

"Hmph."

At the mention of the master, Xiong Jun immediately lost his temper.

He snorted, turned his head aside, and said no more.

At the same time.

Zi JI and Myriad Demon King, who had remained silent all along, both turned probing gazes toward Wukong.

They seemed to want to see through that gaunt shell and discover what secret lay within it that had earned the master's favor.

Just as the atmosphere was beginning to stiffen.

Under Bi Ji's careful treatment, Three-Eyed Golden Lion finally recovered some of her strength.

"Golden Lion, are you all right... Golden Lion? Where are you going?"

She swayed to her feet, ignoring even Scarlet King's concerned question, and trotted straight over to Wukong in tiny steps.

With both curiosity and delight, she asked, "Are you an Auspicious Beast too? Just now, I smelled something from you that was extremely similar to mine! If not for that, my Eye of Destiny would never have activated on its own and gone out of control!"

"What?!"

The moment those words fell, the entire scene erupted!

All the Ferocious Beasts sucked in sharp breaths, staring at Wukong with faces full of shock.

Everyone knew that the Imperial Auspicious Beast was a being favored by heaven and earth, born from the gathered Fortune of an entire world.

By all reason, a single planet could never nurture two Auspicious Beasts in the same era!

Yet Golden Lion had personally admitted that this monkey carried an aura similar to that of an Auspicious Beast?

Could it be... that heaven had finally opened its eyes and intended to lavish its favor upon the Soul Beast race?

Unlike the other Ferocious Beasts, who were stunned, Di Tian remained calm.

He had lived far too long, and his knowledge was far beyond that of ordinary Ferocious Beasts.

No one understood the traits of an Imperial Auspicious Beast better than he did.

A true Imperial Auspicious Beast could not only greatly increase the cultivation speed and breakthrough chances of nearby Soul Beasts, but also possessed an incomparably noble bloodline.

More importantly, an Auspicious Beast's cultivation could not increase through training. It could only grow with age, and its true combat power was often far greater than its cultivation age suggested!

In contrast, this monkey matched none of those traits.

"This monkey is definitely not an Imperial Auspicious Beast."

Di Tian was certain in his heart. But since he can resonate with Golden Lion, his origins must be inextricably linked to the power of Fortune. He is most likely a rare beast of Fortune. Though not as heaven-defying as an Imperial Auspicious Beast, he is undoubtedly still a priceless treasure.

"Huh? Old Sun is an Auspicious Beast too? I didn't know that."

Wukong scratched his cheek, his face full of confusion.

He was not entirely pretending, since he truly had never considered the possibility.

But on second thought, he was not a native of Douluo Continent. He was a soul from Blue Star, a higher-dimensional world.

With such an overwhelmingly superior origin, coupled with the Truth-Breaking Golden Eyes he had just awakened, even if he was not a native Imperial Auspicious Beast, he was still absolutely a one-of-a-kind anomaly.

Three-Eyed Golden Lion tilted her head and asked in confusion, "You didn't know you were an Auspicious Beast? But when I was born, there was a voice in my head telling me that I was an Auspicious Beast!"

"Uh..."

Wukong was briefly at a loss for words. When Old Sun was first reincarnated, I thought I was the Great Sage.

Seeing that Wukong could not answer, Three-Eyed Golden Lion began circling around him, her little nose constantly sniffing him from head to toe.

The other Ferocious Beasts all held their breath, not daring to make a sound for fear of disturbing the exchange between the two "Auspicious Beasts."

After sniffing for a long while, Three-Eyed Golden Lion suddenly stopped. Confusion filled her eyes as she said, "How strange... the power of Fortune on you is indeed very special, but why is there so little of it? It feels about the same as those ordinary Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. It is even less than Scarlet King's and Myriad Demon King's."

The matter of Fortune was mysterious and profound.

Generally speaking, the greater one's Fortune, the farther one could travel along the path of cultivation.

By Golden Lion's judgment, Wukong's limit in this life would be that of an ordinary Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. He did not even have the potential to advance into a Ferocious Beast.

Of course, Fortune was not fixed and unchanging.

Changes in people and circumstances, as well as chance encounters, could all cause Fortune to fluctuate.

But to defy fate and change one's destiny often required an unimaginable price. One misstep could invite the backlash of heaven and lead to eternal damnation.

Upon hearing Golden Lion's assessment, the gazes of the surrounding Ferocious Beasts immediately became somewhat subtle.

They had thought he was someone extraordinary, but after all that, he was merely an ordinary specimen with mediocre Fortune?

Yet Wukong was not discouraged. Thinking of the ability he had just acquired, he declared with soaring ambition, "My fate is mine, not heaven's! How far I go in the future will be decided by me!"

Hearing such arrogant and lofty words, all the Ferocious Beasts present were shaken.

Even Xiong Jun, who had always disliked him, had a rare glint of appreciation flash through his eyes.

This monkey had quite the spirit!

Hearing Wukong's bold declaration, Bi Ji covered her mouth and laughed softly, her eyes full of admiration. "What ambition. Our Soul Beast race has been silent for too long. We truly need a young one like you, full of drive. If you can really carve out a path, it will be a blessing for the entire race."

Zi JI also looked Wukong over from head to toe, a smile curling her lips. "Little Monkey certainly talks big. I hope you can truly do as you say and are not merely putting on a brave face."

Myriad Demon King sneered, his tone dripping with mockery. "Anyone can make grand claims. 'My fate is mine, not heaven's'? Do you think this is child's play? When the backlash of the great calamity descends, I fear not even ashes will remain of that monkey head."

Scarlet King was originally a simple and honest beast, but because of what had happened with Golden Lion, he held some prejudice against Wukong. He too began to mock him. "Exactly! You have not even reached a hundred thousand years, yet you are already spouting such nonsense. Wait until you survive a Heavenly Tribulation before talking. Do not get struck into charcoal by lightning and disgrace our Soul Beast race!"

Xiong Jun stood to one side with his arms folded, saying nothing.

Though he also found the monkey displeasing, those words from before had indeed suited his taste, so he remained silent.

Three-Eyed Golden Lion, on the other hand, had stars in her eyes, like an innocent little girl meeting a bad-boy blond for the first time. She said happily, "Wow! 'My fate is mine, not heaven's'! That sounds so cool!"

Hearing that, Scarlet King glared at Wukong even more fiercely.

Wukong felt awkward under that stare, yet did not know what to say. He could only laugh sheepishly and scratch his head.