Green Lion King, Half-Embedded
Midnight.
Su Mu opened his eyes precisely on time. After one minute of meditation, his Soul Power pool jumped from zero to 210 points, reaching its maximum.
He sat up, his consciousness sinking into the Dungeon Space.
Above Lion Camel Ridge, under a hazy sky, Little Drill Wind was dozing off next to the stone tablet at the mountain pass.
The Stone Left Over from Mending Heaven atop Flower-Fruit Mountain quietly gleamed with a warm light. On White Tiger Ridge, the White Bone Spirit stood in human form atop the mountain, gazing into the distance. By the Jade Wave Pool, Benbo'erba and Babo'erben and splashed on the water's surface.
Su Mu ejected the Golden Lion Beast card into the Dungeon Space.
A stream of dark golden light fell on the summit of Lion Camel Ridge's main peak, where the light surged and coalesced, revealing a gigantic golden lion.
It was much larger than it appeared on the card, with a shoulder height of over two meters and a body length of nearly four meters. Its mane burned like golden flames, and its four paws trod on dark golden halos.
But this lion is not solid. Its body is translucent, like a phantom shadow, with flames on its mane flickering and golden light occasionally drifting from its body.
This is because he only spent 200 points of Soul Power in a semi-embedded state; it hasn't truly become part of the copy yet.
Su Mu looked at the control panel.
[Name: Golden Lion Beast (Half-Embedded · 2/5)]
[Grade: A]
[Level: 1]
[Blood: 7200/7200]
[Attack: 740]
[Defense: 368]
[Agility: 124]
[Combat Index: 11360]
[Skills: Golden Roar, Lion King Charge, Golden Mane Protection, Beast King Pressure]
[Note: In the semi-embedded state, only 2/5 of the basic attributes can be utilized, and 10 Soul Power points are consumed daily to maintain this state.]
The basic attributes are only two-fifths of those in the complete state.
Even so, the foundation of an A-rank card remains, with a combat index exceeding ten thousand.
Little Drill Wind moved almost the instant Golden Lion Beast appeared.
It sprang up from beside the stone tablet, drew its short sword, and its dark blue figure flashed towards the mountaintop like lightning.
It stopped in front of the illusory golden lion, its narrow eyes squinting into slits, demonic energy emanating from between its scales, and a short sword held horizontally in front of it, assuming a fighting stance.
The Golden Lion Beast lowered its head, its golden vertical pupils fixed on the short, green-skinned monster, and let out a low, muffled roar.
The two beasts stared at each other, a tense atmosphere thick with tension.
With a thought, Su Mu sent a comforting message to Little Drill Wind through their Soul Link.
"One of us. Our companions from now on in Lion Camel Ridge."
After receiving the thought, Little Drill Wind paused for a moment, then slowly sheathed the short sword at his waist.
But it did not leave; instead, it crouched on a rock at the top of the mountain, its gaze still fixed on the illusory golden lion, with vigilance and scrutiny.
Su Mu did not rush to resolve their relationship.
Little Drill Wind's vigilance is normal; Lion Camel Ridge is its territory, and it's impossible for it to remain indifferent to the sudden appearance of a powerful, unfamiliar beast. It will gradually work things out once the Golden Lion Beast is fully integrated.
He focused his Soul Power, looked at the golden lion, and said in a deep voice, "This demon is called the Green Lion King."
Ten points of Soul Power were injected.
The Golden Lion Beast shuddered.
A dark golden light burst forth from its body, the flames on its mane suddenly leaped up, its body grew taller in the illusion, and a deep roar surged from the depths of its throat, shaking the entire Lion Camel Ridge.
Rocks tumbled down, a demonic wind howled, and even the Stone Left Over from Mending Heaven atop Flower-Fruit Mountain emitted a faint spiritual light.
Su Mu looked at the control panel.
[Name: Green Lion King (Semi-embedded, 2/5)]
[Grade: A]
[Level: 1]
[Blood: 16800/16800]
[Attack: 2080]
[Defense: 1050]
[Agility: 420]
[Combat Index: 32240]
[Skills: Golden Roar, Lion King Charge, Golden Mane Protection, Beast King Pressure, Lion Camel Ridge Pressure (Deals an additional 100% damage to other creatures within the Lion Camel Ridge area)]
[Note: The leader of the three demon kings of Lion Camel Ridge, the Azure Lion. Currently in a semi-embedded state, only able to utilize 2/5 of its base attributes.]
Su Mu looked at the panel, slightly shocked.
With 16,800 HP, 2,080 attack, 1,050 defense, and 420 agility, these stats are slightly higher than Little Drill Wind's stats when he was at S-rank level 1.
Keep in mind that this is only two-fifths of the Green Lion King's complete attributes.
In other words, once fully integrated, the Green Lion King's base attributes will reach 42,000 HP, 5,200 Attack, 2,600 Defense, and 1,005 Agility. These stats would be top-tier even among SS-grade cards.
But Su Mu frowned when he saw the words "Grade A" on the panel.
After he named it, the Green Lion King's attributes did indeed surge. However, the rank column still showed A-level.
That shouldn't be the case.
After Little Drill Wind was named, it jumped from E-level to A-level; White Bone Spirit jumped from D-level to S-level; and Benbo'erba and Babo'erben from C-level to SS-level. According to the pattern, after Green Lion King was named, it should at least jump from A-level to S-level or even SS-level.
Su Mu stared at that line of text for several seconds, his mind racing.
He considered several possibilities.
The first reason is that the card is in a semi-embedded state. It is not fully integrated into the dungeon, so the rank-up mechanism may be partially restricted. Only after it is fully embedded can the conceptual amplification brought by the naming take full effect.
The second reason is that the naming "involvement" is not enough. The Green Lion King is different from Little Drill Wind and White Bone Spirit.
Little Drill Wind is Mountain-Patrolling Lesser Yaoguai of Lion Camel Ridge, and White Bone Spirit is Corpse Demon of White Tiger Ridge. Their backgrounds are simple and their concepts are pure. Green Lion King, on the other hand, is the mount of Manjushri Bodhisattva, and is involved in the sworn brotherhood between Buddhism and the three demons of Lion Camel Ridge.
The power of naming has been distributed; a single name is insufficient to elevate its status.
Su Mu more towards the second possibility.
The deeper the background and the wider the involvement of the characters in Journey to the West, the more concepts are needed to complete their stories.
As the leader of the three demons of Lion Camel Ridge, the complete concept of the Green Lion King requires at least three elements: Lion Camel Ridge, the Green Lion King himself, and the other two demon kings (White Elephant and Golden-Winged Great Peng).
Currently, there are only Lion Camel Ridge and Green Lion King, lacking two sworn brothers, so the concept is incomplete and the rank cannot be increased.
However, these are all speculations.
Without more information, he can only wait until it is fully embedded before performing verification.
And at this moment.
Little Drill Wind had somehow appeared on the way.
It stood below the phantom of the Green Lion King, its head tilted back, its slender eyes fixed intently on the translucent golden lion shadow.
Completely different from its previous wary and agitated state, it now sheathed its short sword, clasped its hands in front of it, and bowed.
The movements were stiff, but the posture was respectful.