Auspicious Beast: The Cold Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast Became a Fragrant Drumstick!

With a long howl from Xuan Zi, dense yellow light surged outward like a tide, and an overwhelming aura erupted with it.

Wrapped in that blazing yellow light, he let out a low, muffled rumble that spread through the air.

At the instant the light reached its peak, Xuan Zi's appearance had changed completely.

He had the body of a sheep, tiger's teeth, human hands with claws, and a pair of enormous ox horns pointing straight at the sky.

Yellow light coursed around him. His nine Soul Rings became nine halos, drifting up and down between horns more than five meters long. A suffocating pressure radiated from every inch of him.

The Godly Taotie Bull had appeared!

The Scarlet King stared at the colossal creature, over thirty meters long, wariness of Xuan Zi filling his eyes.

When the last Beast Tide struck Shrek City, he had already learned how formidable Xuan Zi was.

The Godly Taotie Bull had been much larger then. After all these years, who knew how much stronger Xuan Zi had grown...

Clearly, Xuan Zi was not using his full strength.

His aim was to cover Gao Ren and the others' retreat, not to kill the Scarlet King here.

Even if Xuan Zi had nothing better to do, he would not kill the eighth of the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts and draw a Beast Tide from the Star Dou Great Forest.

"Wait!" The Scarlet King hurried back a few steps, all three heads shaking like rattles. "Human! I have no intention of fighting you!"

Xuan Zi's voice came from the Godly Taotie Bull's true form, deep and commanding. "If you don't intend to fight, what did you mean by what you just said? Weren't you angry enough to start one?"

The question made the Scarlet King tremble with rage. All three of his heads flushed red... Only the Auspicious Beast, who had spent more time with him, noticed the subtle change in his red faces.

"I found one of my own kind killed by you humans! Am I not even allowed to be angry about it?!"

At those words, the atmosphere turned delicate.

In a sense, the humans really were in the wrong.

After killing a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, they had stayed instead of fleeing and let the Scarlet King catch them red-handed. There was little they could say in their defense.

Xuan Zi's tone softened a little. "Then what do you intend to do, Scarlet King?"

The Scarlet King opened his mouths, but for a moment he did not know what to say.

He could hardly demand that Xuan Zi bring the slain Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast back to life.

He was not Wu Song, Xuan Zi was not Ximen Qing, and that Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was nowhere near as important to him as Wu Dalang had been to Wu Song.

Just as the Scarlet King found himself caught between advancing and retreating, the Auspicious Beast's voice sounded behind him.

After watching the Scarlet King and Xuan Zi fall silent for so long, she could not help asking the question on her mind:

"Human, what were you eating just now? It smelled so, so good, just like those bones I found in the Mixed Zone!"

Scarlet King: ...

Little ancestor! We came here to demand an explanation!

How am I supposed to negotiate after that?!

All three of the Scarlet King's heads wore expressions of despair.

Unlike the despairing Scarlet King, everyone from Shrek Academy except Gao Ren was stunned.

Because the Auspicious Beast had spoken.

Speaking the human language was standard for a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

But they could clearly sense that the golden-furred lion before them was only a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

Seeing the Auspicious Beast's drool cascading down like a three-thousand-foot waterfall, Gao Ren came to a conclusion.

This problem, it seemed, could be solved with Overlord Drumsticks.

And to him, anything that could be solved with Overlord Drumsticks was no problem at all.

Gao Ren summoned his courage and stepped out from the inner-court students protecting him, exposing himself to the Auspicious Beast and the Scarlet King.

He raised his right hand. With a thought, a steaming Overlord Drumstick appeared out of thin air.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion sniffed at it like a dog, and all three of her eyes lit up at once.

"That's it! That's the smell!" Her voice rose with excitement. "I roasted the legs of every bird Soul Beast I could find in the Star Dou Great Forest, but I still couldn't get that flavor!"

The Shrek students could not help thinking, No wonder we found bird Soul Beasts missing wings and legs in the Core Zone today...

Whenever food was involved, Xuan Zi was quick to react.

"You've got quite the discerning palate for a Soul Beast." He immediately picked up where she left off. "My disciple is a food-type Soul Master, and his Overlord Drumsticks are the most delicious things under heaven!

"One bite and you'll never forget them; two bites and you'll want them for the rest of your life!"

Xuan Zi's praise grew more extravagant as he went on. He described Overlord Drumsticks as a delicacy rare in heaven and without equal on earth, stopping just short of calling them a treat found only in the Divine Realm.

At his marvelous description, not only did the already drooling Auspicious Beast salivate; even the Scarlet King could not help drooling.

Growing more animated by the moment, Xuan Zi concluded, "How about this? I'll treat you both to Overlord Drumsticks, and we'll consider this matter settled."

The Scarlet King snapped out of his drumstick-induced reverie. "Are you joking?! How could a few drumsticks make up for the life of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?!"

The Auspicious Beast tilted her head, thought for a moment, then said earnestly:

"A few drumsticks really can't make up for the life of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. But that Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast is already dead.

"A dead Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast isn't much use to us... She's dead anyway. If a cold Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast can turn into fragrant drumsticks, that's actually pretty good."

Scarlet King: ???

All three of the Scarlet King's heads showed utter disbelief.

He had never imagined the Auspicious Beast would say such a thing.

Auspicious Beast, how could you say that?

You're the Emperor Auspicious Beast!

As an emperor among Soul Beasts, how can you say something so coldhearted?!

"Uncle Scarlet King, why are you looking at me like that? Am I wrong? Don't you want to eat those Overlord Drumsticks?"

At her words, the Scarlet King could not help recalling the drumstick bones he had eaten in the Mixed Zone.

If even the leftover bones were that delicious, the ones with meat on them must taste even better...

"I do..." Tears seemed to glimmer in the Scarlet King's eyes. Faced with appetite and vengeance, he chose appetite.

"Glad you've come around, Scarlet King." Xuan Zi grinned, then called to Gao Ren, "A-Ren, two honored guests!"

"Coming right up!"

After that, Gao Ren conjured enough Overlord Drumsticks to make a small mountain.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion gave a cheer, pounced on the pile, and began to feast.

The Scarlet King still tried to maintain the dignity of a Ferocious Beast, but all three of his heads leaned in honestly. He chewed away until grease covered his mouths.

Watching them, Gao Ren finally let go of the worry that had been weighing on him.

At last, the matter had been settled peacefully.