"Good!"
"Since even a youngster like you has such courage, I can't fall short as your teacher."
After a moment's thought, Yao Lao settled the matter with a single decisive stroke.
At that moment, he felt as though he had returned to those days when he had brimmed with confidence and ambition.
"Little Yanzi, don't resist."
"All right!"
As soon as he finished speaking, an incomparably fierce surge of soul power erupted from within Xiao Yan, taking control of his body in the blink of an eye.
"It's our turn to take the stage!"
With that, under Yao Lao's control, Xiao Yan flew toward the Amethyst Winged Lion King, his terrifying speed several times greater than before.
In the distance, before the Amethyst Winged Lion King could savor the fruits of victory, he suddenly sensed someone approaching at tremendous speed and immediately braced himself for battle.
Once he saw who had come, the Amethyst Winged Lion King growled, "Human, this is my territory. Have you come to challenge me?"
He sensed a potent threat from the human before him.
"Xiao Yan" said calmly, "Lion King, I've come to offer you an earth-shaking opportunity."
"Hahaha, human, that joke isn't funny at all. Tell me why you're really here, or... don't blame me for showing you no mercy."
The Amethyst Winged Lion King sneered.
Had he not been in poor condition, and had the human before him not been a Dou Huang expert of unknown strength, he would probably have attacked already.
The expression on "Xiao Yan's" face did not change in the slightest at the Amethyst Winged Lion King's attitude. He merely said at an unhurried pace, "Serve me for ten years, and I'll give you a Transformation Pill."
At the mention of the Transformation Pill, the Amethyst Winged Lion King's massive body trembled, and his voice grew urgent.
"Really?"
"Of course. Why else would I say I'd come specifically to offer you an earth-shaking opportunity?"
A composed smile appeared on "Xiao Yan's" face, inspiring an irresistible sense of trust.
The Amethyst Winged Lion King, for instance, felt it.
If he could obtain a Transformation Pill, what did serving someone for ten years matter?
Although magical beasts had exceptionally long lifespans, their cultivation progressed extremely slowly.
If he obtained a Transformation Pill, he could assume human form, gaining a human's cultivation speed while retaining a magical beast's long lifespan.
Thus, the Amethyst Winged Lion King eagerly said to "Xiao Yan":
"Fine. Give me the Transformation Pill now, and I'll serve you for the next ten years."
"I can give you a Transformation Pill, but not now."
Slightly displeased, the Amethyst Winged Lion King asked, "Then when will you give it to me?"
With perfect composure, "Xiao Yan" uttered his answer.
"After ten years!"
The instant those words fell, the Amethyst Winged Lion King flew into a rage.
"Human, you dare toy with me!"
"You have a death wish!"
The Amethyst Winged Lion King felt as though his intelligence had been insulted.
He had never imagined that someone would dare try to snare a white wolf from him with empty hands.
In an instant, the Amethyst Winged Lion King's aura surged. Clusters of purple flames swirled around the spiral horn on his forehead, radiating astonishing heat.
"Human, have you decided how you want to die?"
The Lion King's dignity could not be trampled upon!
No one could save this fellow today.
The Amethyst Winged Lion King stood firm. Despite his weakened condition, he was prepared to fight this mysterious Dou Emperor, "Xiao Yan," to the death.
But the very next moment, powerful soul energy unique to a high-tier Alchemist erupted from within "Xiao Yan."
Along with that soul power came a mass of eerie white flames.
In an instant, the surrounding temperature soared, the terrifying heat seeming to warp even space itself.
"What terrifying soul power, and... those are Heavenly Flames!"
The Amethyst Winged Lion King cried out, his gaze filled with apprehension as he stared at the eerie white flames.
"Xiao Yan" said mildly, "Do you still think I'm toying with you now?"
Hearing this, the Amethyst Winged Lion King suddenly understood. This human possessed both terrifying soul power and Heavenly Flames. What else could he be but a high-tier Alchemist?
"Are you really a high-tier Alchemist?"
"What tier?"
"Xiao Yan" smiled proudly and stood with his hands behind his back.
"Never mind what tier. In any case, refining a Transformation Pill is well within my abilities.
The opportunity is right before you now. It's up to you whether you can seize it.
If you refuse, I won't pester you."
The Amethyst Winged Lion King remained silent for a long time before finally choosing to seize his future.
To a magical beast, ten years passed in the flick of a finger.
Even if he was deceived, he would only suffer a minor loss.
But if it was true, he would reap an absolute windfall.
"Xiao Yan" smiled faintly.
"Remember this: one day, you'll be grateful for the choice you made today."
The Amethyst Winged Lion King snorted. "Let's hope so!"
Years later, after becoming a Heavenly Sovereign, the Amethyst Winged Lion King looked back on the first half of his life and silently gave his former self a thumbs-up.
The next moment, the aura surrounding "Xiao Yan" receded like the tide.
The Possession Dou Technique's duration had ended.
Xiao Yan grinned.
"Lion King, here's to a happy partnership!"
Purple crystals studded the spacious cave, making it bright and beautiful.
The Amethyst Winged Lion King lay in the broadest area at the center of the cave. Looking at the young human before him, he said in a rumbling voice:
"Boy, I feel like you've hoodwinked me. That mysterious soul power and those Heavenly Flames aren't things you can control at all."
Xiao Yan took a bite of the Aurora Demon Tiger's hind-leg meat, leaving his mouth slick with grease.
Only after hearing the Amethyst Winged Lion King's words did he casually wipe his mouth with his hand and say with a smile, "Lion King, how can you call this hoodwinking? Isn't borrowed strength still strength?
Besides, magical beasts live long lives. Surely you can afford to wait that little bit of time?"
"Hmph, you'd better not be deceiving me. Otherwise, even with that mysterious power helping you, I'll tear you to pieces," the Amethyst Winged Lion King snorted, blasting two streams of hot air from his nostrils.
Waving a hand, Xiao Yan said with perfect ease, "Rest assured, Lion King. It's only a seventh-tier pill.
By the way, do you have any use for the Aurora Demon Tiger's magic core?"
The Amethyst Winged Lion King asked warily, "What are you planning? That's my spoils of war."
Although the Amethyst Winged Lion King could not refine pills, he was not about to let Xiao Yan freeload off his spoils.
Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes, revealing a foxlike, crafty smile as he cast a meaningful glance at the Amethyst Winged Lion King cub lying beside his father.
"Lion King, although I promised to give you a Transformation Pill as payment after ten years, there are two of you in your family.
So, Lion King, you wouldn't want your cub to lose at the starting line, would you?"
"Well..."
The Lion King frowned as he looked at the cub beside him, who knew only how to eat, and did not hesitate at all.
"Are you saying that if I give you the Aurora Demon Tiger's magic core, you'll give me another Transformation Pill?"
Xiao Yan rolled his eyes at the Amethyst Winged Lion King.
"Lion King, what are you thinking? You want to trade a single sixth-tier magic core for one of my Transformation Pills?
Besides this sixth-tier magic core, you'll have to give me at least five fifth-tier magic cores or another sixth-tier magic core."
Although Xiao Yan's terms were exceptionally harsh, the Amethyst Winged Lion King instead found them reasonable.
After all, if a Transformation Pill could be obtained so easily, it would not be worth much.
"Wait here..."
The Amethyst Winged Lion King spoke, then patted the little Amethyst Winged Lion King beside him.
Before long, the little Amethyst Winged Lion King brought a collection of colorful magic cores over to Xiao Yan in his mouth.
"Here's the Aurora Demon Tiger's magic core you wanted, along with two fifth-tier magic cores. I don't want the remaining low-tier magic cores either, so I'll give you all of them for free. As for the other three fifth-tier magic cores, I'll owe you those for now."
Magical beasts likewise had no way to directly absorb the energy within magic cores, so these cores served as mere decorations for the Amethyst Winged Lion King and toys for his cub.
Xiao Yan glanced over them. Among these magic cores were also three Fourth-Tier Magic Cores and five Third-Tier Magic Cores, with none of a lower tier.
Looking at the pile of high-tier magic cores before him, even Xiao Yan could not keep a smile off his face despite his self-control.
"Lion King, you're generous!"
Before you continue