After accelerating with Flame Charge, Zeng Tian was now three times as fast as before. In a mere instant, he crossed more than a hundred meters and arrived before the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.
"Snap!" "Snap!" "Snap!"
The pale blue-white Flame Whips struck the Three-Eyed Golden Lion first. She immediately felt countless lashes of energy whipping her fiercely. Her four paws, planted firmly against the ground, carved four furrows through the soil. She was actually being forced back.
At the sight, the Three-Headed Scarlet Demon Hound nearby widened his eyes even further, towering waves of shock surging through his heart.
Th-this... how was this possible?
Despite the Auspicious Beast having only fifteen thousand years of cultivation, even an ordinary hundred-thousand-year soul beast might not be her match.
Yet this unfamiliar soul beast had overcome a cultivation gap of more than ten thousand years to suppress the Auspicious Beast.
Didn't that mean he could suppress a hundred-thousand-year soul beast as well?
Although the suppression was only temporary, and the Auspicious Beast had yet to show her true abilities, it was still an extraordinary feat.
"You're so annoying!"
Finally, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion could endure it no longer. Dazzling golden light burst from her body as she let out an angry roar.
Under the impact of the dense golden energy, the enormous pale blue-white fireball Zeng Tian had become was driven back. Then the flames dispersed, revealing the figure of a Charmeleon once more.
The next moment, the Emperor Auspicious Beast unleashed her Pressure. Every soul beast in the surrounding area, including the ten-thousand-year Three-Headed Scarlet Demon Hound, was instantly pressed flat against the ground, trembling.
"Hmph! I didn't want to suppress you with my bloodline, but that turtle shell of yours is just too annoying. Now you understand the gap between us, right?"
As she spoke, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's gaze flickered, and she felt a little guilty.
No matter how she looked at it, the beast before her had at most around three thousand years of cultivation. With a twelve-thousand-year advantage, she had still needed to use her Pressure to suppress him. In a sense, she had already lost that battle.
"It couldn't be helped. I finally found myself a little underling, so I couldn't really go all out, could I? What if I accidentally killed him? I'm doing this for his safety, too."
That was how Miss Auspicious Beast comforted herself.
But to Miss Auspicious Beast's surprise, her Pressure seemed to have no effect on her opponent. Zeng Tian remained standing perfectly well, completely unaffected.
Zeng Tian glanced around at his surroundings and the Three-Headed Scarlet Demon Hound lying on the ground, then narrowed his eyes.
"The Pressure of some higher bloodline? It doesn't seem to work on me, though. Maybe that's because I'm not a soul beast?"
Zeng Tian reached that conclusion inwardly.
Meanwhile, accompanied by a flash of golden light, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion ran up to Zeng Tian.
Miss Auspicious Beast lowered her head and said, her eyes brimming with shock, "Y-y-you... how can you resist my Pressure?"
Even hundred-thousand-year soul beasts would react to some degree to the Pressure unique to the Emperor Auspicious Beast's lineage. As far as she remembered, only Di Tian and the other ferocious beasts could remain completely unaffected, as Zeng Tian did.
"I don't know either. Maybe it's because I'm a mutant soul beast?"
Zeng Tian spread his hands, putting on an equally puzzled expression.
He wasn't stupid. Why would he tell her that he was a Pokémon rather than a soul beast? Wouldn't that just invite more trouble?
"I-is that so?"
Miss Auspicious Beast remained somewhat puzzled, but there seemed to be no other explanation.
Surely this unfamiliar soul beast before her couldn't be a ferocious beast like Di Tian and the others?
Wouldn't that be even more far-fetched?
A moment later, Miss Auspicious Beast shook her head, tossed the strange matter to the back of her mind, and pressed Zeng Tian. "Well? You know how strong I am now, right? Will you be my underling?"
"But you didn't win just now."
Zeng Tian looked at the Three-Eyed Golden Lion before him, somewhat speechless.
"That's because I didn't go all out."
At his words, Miss Auspicious Beast immediately grew flustered, like a kitten with its fur standing on end. She hurriedly explained, "In that fight, I used less than thirty percent of my strength! If I'd gone all out, that turtle shell of yours never could have reflected my attacks."
Clearly, she was still brooding over Zeng Tian using Counter Punch Shield to reflect her attacks.
After all, in her entire life, this was the first time she had been hurt by her own attack.
"Less than thirty percent? Then I really can't beat you."
Zeng Tian admitted it frankly.
Although Counter Punch Shield was powerful, it had its limits.
While Zeng Tian had reflected the golden dragon-head phantom she had unleashed earlier, he had also clearly sensed that she wasn't far from breaking through Counter Punch Shield's defenses.
If that strike had been twenty or thirty percent more powerful, it might have broken through his Counter Punch Shield.
"In the end, my level is still too low. I can't bring out Counter Punch Shield's true power."
Zeng Tian sighed inwardly.
Counter Punch Shield's power varied with the user's condition. The stronger its user, the stronger Counter Punch Shield became.
If Zeng Tian were level seventy or eighty now, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion could attack him however she pleased and still never break through Counter Punch Shield's defenses.
Hearing Zeng Tian admit it himself, Miss Auspicious Beast immediately raised her chin and declared proudly, "Of course! But you don't need to feel discouraged. With a mere three thousand years of cultivation, fighting me to that extent is already something to be proud of.
"Of all the thousand-year soul beasts I've ever seen, I would call you the strongest!"
"Hey, hey, so be my underling."
At that moment, all three of Miss Auspicious Beast's eyes were fixed on Zeng Tian, filled with anticipation.
"..."
Seeing her nearly pleading expression, the corner of Zeng Tian's mouth twitched. He sighed inwardly and nodded.
"Yay!"
When Zeng Tian agreed, Miss Auspicious Beast immediately jumped for joy and happily circled around him.
Zeng Tian, meanwhile, rubbed his forehead, wearing a humanlike expression of helplessness.
At heart, she was nothing more than a little girl. She might be a little willful, but that was a result of the environment she had grown up in.
If Zeng Tian had been showered with affection from birth just as she had, his personality might have been ten times worse than hers.
It was only a nominal position as her underling, anyway. It wouldn't affect him much, and he could even gain the protection of the soul beasts.
Just then, the Three-Headed Scarlet Demon Hound, who had been pressed to the ground by the Auspicious Beast's Pressure, got up and approached the pair. He congratulated the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. "Woo!" (Congratulations, Lady Auspicious Beast, on gaining such a strong underling.)
Yet Miss Auspicious Beast ignored the Three-Headed Scarlet Demon Hound's flattery. Instead, she tugged at Zeng Tian and said excitedly, "Come on, I'll take you somewhere."
She had never had a friend before. Now that she had finally found one, she naturally wanted to take him somewhere she thought was fun and play to her heart's content.
"Where are you planning to go this time, my Lady Auspicious Beast?"