"So you're that special mutated soul beast they were talking about. You look pretty unique."
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion glanced over Zeng Tian, her eyes flickering.
Although Charmeleon looked much fiercer than Charmander, his appearance was still a far cry from that of the soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest.
That stirred some interest in Zeng Tian within the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.
"Interested in becoming my underling? With me backing you, you'll be able to swagger wherever you please in this forest!"
That appearance, and she can even talk... Could she be the auspicious beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, who would later fall victim to God King Tang's schemes and take human form as Wang Qiu'er?
Zeng Tian rubbed his chin with a finger and thought to himself.
According to the original story, only after the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was captured by Xuan Zi and forced to undergo an attribute exchange with Huo Yuhao did Tang San separate a sliver of divine consciousness from Wang Dong'er and merge it into her.
That indirectly proved there were limits to Tang San's interference with the Douluo Continent. At the very least, the God of Destruction's deterrence kept him from doing whatever he pleased.
In other words, with the auspicious beast as his backer, he would be absolutely safe for at least the next year or so.
And all it would cost him was a little sweet-talking to a young girl.
That was a worthwhile deal.
But despite having made up his mind, Zeng Tian still snorted softly. "Even if you're an auspicious beast, you'll have to show me what you can do if you want me as your underling. Fight me. If you win, I'll become your underling."
"Huh? You can talk too?"
Hearing Zeng Tian speak in human language, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion froze briefly, then nodded with even greater excitement. "Okay, keep your word! If I win, you have to become my underling."
Aside from the ferocious beasts, this was the first time she had met a being under a hundred thousand years old who could speak like her, let alone one who was merely a thousand-year soul beast.
Indeed, Zeng Tian was now level thirty-four, and to the Three-Eyed Golden Lion and the others, the aura he gave off belonged to a soul beast with two or three thousand years of cultivation.
That was also why, every time Zeng Tian went out, some soul beast foolishly tried to attack him.
When a relatively young soul beast that did not look particularly dangerous swaggered into their territory without concealing himself at all, those soul beasts naturally showed no mercy.
After all, Charmeleon was not a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear or a Titan Giant Ape, soul beasts whose fearsome reputations were already so widespread that their scent alone could strike terror into other soul beasts.
Only near this volcano, where the soul beasts had witnessed Zeng Tian's strength firsthand, did they know better than to underestimate him.
"Then let's do this."
Zeng Tian pushed off with both feet, his entire body engulfed in flames, and shot toward the Three-Eyed Golden Lion as a streak of blue-white light.
Zeng Tian was also very curious about just how powerful the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was, since her combat strength in the original story rivaled that of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast.
At the same time, this battle would give him a rough idea of the combat strength of Titled Douluos in the human world.
At the sight, the mouths on all three of the Three-Headed Scarlet Demon Hound's heads curled upward. This fellow was finally going to get put in his place.
Although Zeng Tian had indeed displayed considerable strength during their battle a few days earlier, beside the auspicious beast, he was nothing but a minor witch before a grand sorcerer.
If their cultivation ages were equal, he might have stood a fighting chance, but with Zeng Tian's current cultivation, there was no way he could match the auspicious beast.
Zeng Tian soon reached the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. The claws on his arms suddenly extended, wreathed in blue-white flames, and cleaved down at her like an enormous flaming axe.
This move was an upgraded version of Fire Claw, incorporating the two special moves Fire Fang and Slash. It could both pierce armor and inflict burns, and Zeng Tian had named it Flame Slash.
In terms of power, this move's explosive force surpassed even a straightforward Flamethrower, making it Zeng Tian's strongest melee skill at present.
The strike left the Three-Headed Scarlet Demon Hound watching from the side utterly dumbfounded. Wait, you weren't going all out in our fight a few days ago?
If Zeng Tian had used this move during that battle, the hound would not have gotten away with just a bruised face. He might well have spilled blood right there.
Facing Zeng Tian's formidable strike, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion merely raised a paw burning with golden flames.
Clang-
The instant his attack met the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's paw, Zeng Tian's expression changed sharply.
A terrifying force surged through her paw, sending Zeng Tian hurtling backward.
Only after rolling across the ground several times did Zeng Tian dissipate the force. His eyes were full of shock as he looked at the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.
Holy shit, is this just raw strength?
This was pure domination through stats, without a single mechanic involved.
No wonder he remembered the Three-Eyed Golden Lion having hardly any skills apart from the power of destiny. She was simply a pure stat monster.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion was also astonished that Zeng Tian had actually withstood her paw strike and appeared completely unscathed.
Although she had not used her full strength just now, even an ordinary soul beast with thirty or forty thousand years of cultivation might not have withstood that blow. Yet the soul beast before her, at most three thousand years old, had taken it, proving how formidable his combat strength was.
Just what I'd expect from the underling I chose!
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion nodded inwardly in satisfaction.
Then the Three-Eyed Golden Lion looked at Zeng Tian again. She would see just where this newly recruited underling's limits lay.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion clenched her right paw into a fist and punched. A phantom golden dragon's head appeared in midair and flew toward Zeng Tian with a dragon's roar.
Seeing this, Zeng Tian immediately began spinning rapidly, his whole body wrapped in flames.
At the same time, seven or eight blue-white flame whips appeared. Under Zeng Tian's control, they spun rapidly, ultimately forming a dense, circular defensive net.
"Roooar!"
The phantom golden dragon's head slammed into the defensive net formed by the flame whips. Instead of breaking through, it rebounded straight toward the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion had never imagined that her own attack could be reflected back at her, and she visibly froze for a moment.
That moment cost her the chance to dodge. The phantom golden dragon's head slammed directly into her, knocking her back more than ten meters.
"What?! How is that possible?"
Hidden in the air, the Scarlet King watched the scene and could no longer remain calm. His lantern-sized eyes nearly popped out.
Was this really a soul beast? How could any soul beast possess such incredible talent for battle?
The Scarlet King could clearly tell that the move Zeng Tian had just used was by no means an innate special move. It was something Zeng Tian had created himself.
But soul beasts were not particularly intelligent to begin with. One creating a move like this was simply unheard of.
While the Scarlet King was still reeling in shock, Zeng Tian suddenly moved on the battlefield.
The fireball Zeng Tian had become began rolling, then bounced into the sky and charged toward the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, together with the blue-white flame whips woven into a dense net.