"Then it's a promise! You can't lie to me!"
Zeng Tian's words instantly brought a beaming smile to the Auspicious Beast's face, sweeping away all her earlier grievances.
Seeing the Auspicious Beast turn from sorrow to joy, Zeng Tian breathed a sigh of relief and thought, She really is a little girl. So easy to coax.
Di Tian and the others kept too tight a leash on the Auspicious Beast. Going too far was as bad as not going far enough; that was why, once she grew curious about the human world later on, she could no longer restrain her desires and insisted on taking human form to go there.
No, wait. This is the continent of romance. Perhaps Di Tian and the others are right after all.
The moment that thought arose, Zeng Tian quickly realized how arrogant his earlier thinking had been.
After all, the Douluo Continent was notorious for being a world of love-addled minds. Perhaps because it was where the God of Love had fallen, the creatures of this world all had a touch of romantic obsession built into their fundamental logic.
Under those circumstances, even if Di Tian and the others guided her properly, the Auspicious Beast might still throw caution to the wind once her love-addled mind took over. Keeping her isolated might well be the better option.
At that thought, Zeng Tian suddenly felt sympathy for Di Tian and the others. They really did have their work cut out for them.
Just then, the Scarlet King came over.
"Whew. Your strength really surprised me. There are very few creatures left in the Star Dou Great Forest that can pose a threat to you now."
The Scarlet King looked at Zeng Tian with a touch of wonder.
The battle just now had made it abundantly clear that Zeng Tian's combat strength had already reached the hundred-thousand-year level.
Apart from Ferocious Beasts like themselves, other Soul Beasts might be stronger than Zeng Tian, but killing him with that kind of speed was practically impossible.
Then the Scarlet King warned him, "But you must be careful around humans. Those fellows are extremely cunning. They'll do anything for a Soul Ring, especially the Titled Douluos among them. If you encounter one, you must exercise the utmost caution."
"Mm, thank you for your concern. But I know all too well what humans are like."
Zeng Tian nodded slightly. Even without the Scarlet King's warning, he would have been wary of humans.
After all, in everyone else's eyes, he was a Soul Beast now. Even if he said he was human, no one would believe him.
Given how Soul Beasts and Soul Masters interacted in this world, someone might even try to kill him for his Soul Ring and Soul Bone.
In the end, he still had to rely on himself. Once he raised his strength to its limit and became the strongest dragon, what would it matter whether he was human, a Soul Beast, or a Pokémon?
"As long as you know what you're doing."
Hearing that, the Scarlet King felt reassured. He had genuinely worried that Zeng Tian might be fond of humans and end up leading the Auspicious Beast astray.
"Grrrgl~"
Just then, the Auspicious Beast's stomach suddenly rumbled.
The Auspicious Beast rubbed her belly and tugged on Zeng Tian's tail. "Zeng Tian, I'm hungry. Let's go eat."
"Sure."
Zeng Tian nodded and headed toward her hunting grounds with her.
On the way, the Auspicious Beast asked curiously, "Zeng Tian, why were you so fast just now? Can I be that fast too?"
"That's one of my special moves, called Flame Charge..."
The Star Dou Great Forest, the Lake of Life!
Beneath the setting sun, the Scarlet King crouched low before a dignified blond man and said respectfully, "Di Tian, Zeng Tian sparred with the Auspicious Beast this afternoon. Zeng Tian won in the end, and I feel he was still holding something back."
"He won? In other words, with a cultivation of five thousand years at the absolute most, he possesses combat strength on par with an ordinary Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast!"
Di Tian's voice was deep and commanding, but after hearing the Scarlet King's report, even his tone carried a hint of shock.
The speed at which Zeng Tian's strength was growing far exceeded Di Tian's estimates.
When the Scarlet King had previously said that Zeng Tian was no weaker than many Soul Beasts with forty or fifty thousand years of cultivation, Di Tian had already been somewhat surprised. Now, his combat strength was already comparable to that of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
Di Tian even wondered whether he had misjudged the Dragon Blood Grass and Dragon Scale Fruit he had given him.
Otherwise, how could a single stalk of Ten-Thousand-Year Dragon Blood Grass and one Ten-Thousand-Year Dragon Scale Fruit have raised his strength to such a level?
"Yes. Compared with an ordinary Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, his combat strength is at least as high, if not higher."
As he spoke, the Scarlet King recalled the various special moves Zeng Tian had displayed, along with his impressive combat skills and instincts, and could not help sighing:
"He's completely different from ordinary Soul Beasts. Not only is he extremely adept at using his innate abilities, he can even create powerful moves of his own.
"You could say that more than half of Zeng Tian's combat strength lies in those abilities. Take those moves away, and he wouldn't be much stronger than my juniors with the same cultivation, let alone a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear or the Auspicious Beast."
"I see. He is indeed a talent worth nurturing."
Di Tian nodded slightly. A Soul Beast whose strengths lay in mastering and creating abilities was much easier to develop than those with powerful bloodlines.
No wonder a mere stalk of Ten-Thousand-Year Dragon Blood Grass and a Dragon Scale Fruit had brought about a qualitative transformation in his strength. It seemed his previous bloodline really had been rather weak, to the point that even a small improvement was magnified many times over.
Then Di Tian waved his hand. "Keep watching Zeng Tian. I want to know what kind of character he has."
"His character? Di Tian, could you be planning to..."
The Scarlet King raised his head, looking at Di Tian with a trace of surprise.
Di Tian's expression remained unchanged as he said evenly, "If he truly is as exceptional as you say, then I need a successor like him. Xiong Jun is domineering and brainless, the Myriad Demon King lacks combat strength, and Bi Ji's temperament is unsuited to leading the Soul Beast Clan."
Di Tian did not mention the remaining Ferocious Beasts, but the Scarlet King understood. If even the Myriad Demon King's combat strength was insufficient, then he and Zi JI were even further out of the running.
"Fighting a hundred-thousand-year opponent with five thousand years of cultivation, and still holding something back-even I couldn't do that. As long as his character isn't like Xiong Jun's, I'll spare no effort in nurturing him."
If he could fight a hundred-thousand-year opponent at five thousand years, what about at ten thousand years? At a hundred thousand years?
The Star Dou Great Forest had existed for so many years and accumulated countless treasures of heaven and earth. Helping a Soul Beast rapidly increase its cultivation was not difficult.
It would be even easier for someone like Zeng Tian, whose underlying foundation was not particularly strong.
With his own wholehearted nurturing added to that, Di Tian was certain Zeng Tian would be able to stand on his own within ten thousand years at most.
And with Zeng Tian there, they would have a slightly better chance of victory when they launched their counterattack against humanity.
They might even complete that counterattack before their lord awakened.
"..."
After listening to Di Tian, the Scarlet King fell silent for a while, then nodded firmly. "Understood, Di Tian. I'll keep a close watch on Zeng Tian and help you assess him."
Di Tian actually intended to choose a successor. This was no longer something as simple as finding the Auspicious Beast a playmate.
To put it bluntly, the Soul Beasts could do without the Auspicious Beast, but they could not do without Di Tian!