Because of the special bond between Arthur and the Auspicious Beast.
The soul ring that had condensed shone in gold.
At the same time, it resonated with heaven and earth, streams of light weaving into intricate patterns across its surface.
It was unlike the dullness of an ordinary soul ring, and it lacked the violent turbulence of a hundred-thousand-year soul ring. Instead, it carried a warm, gentle quality, weighted as heavily as the world itself.
The Three-Eyed Golden Suanni's soul spirit lifted its head on his shoulder, crimson light swirling in the vertical pupil between its brows, and Arthur sensed the arrival of his new fourth soul skill.
"This soul skill," realization flashed through Arthur's mind, "is both protection and judgment."
Fourth Soul Skill: Descent of the Golden Suanni
When used to protect, it enveloped himself and a designated area, forcibly bending the power of fortune to alter fate. On the physical level it could mend wounds; on the spiritual level it could dispel curses, inner demons, and other formless afflictions.
In other words: healing combined with purification.
And when used to judge, it carried the might of a plane's fortune, capable of breaking through countless techniques and suppressing evil and demonic forces.
"And then there's the soul ring's attribute." A thought stirred in Arthur's mind. He could clearly sense that what it held was not only the power of the Auspicious Beast, but also the blessing of his own connection to the plane. "Is this fortune resonance?"
Beside him, Gu Yue couldn't help but exclaim, "The Auspicious Beast is itself the embodiment of fortune. Now that it's bonded to you, this soul ring naturally carries the power of fortune. With it, your future cultivation won't hit bottlenecks, and you'll even be able to court fortune and avoid disaster."
"But I never had bottlenecks to begin with." Arthur seemed unimpressed.
The smile that had just risen on Gu Yue's face froze. Looking at Arthur's expression of "is that all," she remembered that even she, a Silver Dragon King in her second cultivation, couldn't keep pace with his cultivation speed.
Unconsciously, her fists clenched.
Even as they spoke, Arthur's soul power level shot up to fifty in the blink of an eye.
The Auspicious Beast's gift of a fifth soul ring began to condense.
The fourth soul ring had only just stabilized when an even more vast tide of heaven-and-earth power surged in like a flood. The resonance between the Auspicious Beast's origin and Arthur's bond with the plane had grown stronger still.
The instant his soul power broke through level fifty, a fifth soul ring condensed directly above the fourth.
This ring, too, blazed with brilliant gold, its patterns even more intricate than the fourth's, its warmth carrying an even heavier weight, as though it bore the will of the world itself.
Arthur felt the soul power surging within him, and as the resonance from the two golden rings flowed through him, the truth of the fifth soul skill poured into his mind.
"Fifth Soul Skill: Destiny."
This was a fate-based skill.
If the fourth soul skill was a preliminary use of the power of fate, then this fifth soul skill granted Arthur preliminary control over the power of fate itself.
For a short period, it could fix the fated course of a designated target.
Once the fifth soul ring had finished condensing, Arthur reached level fifty-one, and his soul power kept climbing, finally settling at level fifty-three.
Afterward, the golden radiance around Arthur's body receded, and he sank into stillness.
The Auspicious Beast's soul spirit returned within him.
The Skyshatter Eagle's soul spirit, seeing its new neighbor, shuffled a little to the side.
The Auspicious Beast, curious, waddled over on its four little paws, blinking, and reached out a small claw wreathed in pale golden flame to gently pat the other's wing.
"A bit forward, aren't you? Are we even that close?" the Skyshatter Eagle spoke up, sizing up this new "neighbor."
Sure, the other one was a hundred-thousand-year soul spirit.
But who was it, anyway? It was an Unyielding Soul Spirit.
It would not lose face!
Its wing swept out, and the Auspicious Beast went tumbling several times over.
Sent flying, the Auspicious Beast wasn't the least bit angry.
It scrambled nimbly back onto its feet, its short little legs pushing off the ground, the vertical pupil between its brows gleaming bright as a gem, and it trotted right back over to the Skyshatter Eagle again.
"Wuya," having only truly just been born, the Auspicious Beast couldn't speak yet, and let out a soft, milky cry.
It sounded almost like an excuse, or perhaps simply like it found the whole thing amusing, and it reached out its little claw once more.
"Giving you some face, huh." The Skyshatter Eagle drew back its wing to swat again, then suddenly froze.
Because the Auspicious Beast's power of fortune had begun spreading out, winding around its body.
It could faintly feel its own cultivation slowly rising.
"Fine. Just this once, then."
The instant the Auspicious Beast's little claw touched the eagle's wing, it felt the tension drain from the other's body all at once.
Head tilted, it seemed to wonder why its neighbor wasn't fighting back this time, and promptly took the opening to climb right up along the wing.
"Stop! Don't you dare climb up there!" Seeing it take advantage so shamelessly, the Skyshatter Eagle flared with anger in an instant.
In its fury, it flared up, once.
Nothing to be done. The power of fortune was simply too authoritative to resist.
Watching the two soul spirits interact, Arthur realized he still hadn't given either of them a name.
He summoned both shrunken soul spirits out at once, one gripped in each hand.
Raising the hand holding the Auspicious Beast toward Gu Yue, he asked, "Does this Auspicious Beast have a name?"
At the question, Gu Yue's gaze fell on the Auspicious Beast, its four paws dangling in midair as it kicked about wildly.
A complicated flicker crossed her eyes. "Not yet. Now that it's bonded to you and has truly awakened its own consciousness, it should be you who names it."
Arthur pinched the soft scruff of the Auspicious Beast's neck, watching its paws flail about, and a smile tugged at his lips. "Since it was born amid rosy light filling the sky, carrying the fortune of good omen, let's call it 'Xiaxi.'"
"Xiaxi?" Gu Yue repeated softly, her gaze settling on the pale golden glow swirling around the beast, and she nodded quietly.
Arthur raised his other hand and looked at the Skyshatter Eagle, its eyes full of anticipation. "As for you, let's call you A-Fu."
The Skyshatter Eagle panicked instantly. "Human, you can't do this."
"A-Fu is such a stupid name."
Arthur teased it on purpose. "A-Fu is great. It sounds lucky, and it matches Xiaxi's whole fortune theme."
"Matches how!" The Skyshatter Eagle was so mad its feathers puffed right up.
Arthur held back a laugh. "Fine, how about a different name then. Pink Bunny Bunny, how's that?"
"Human, just call me A-Fu after all. A-Fu's not bad."
Arthur decided to quit while he was ahead. "Alright, I'll stop teasing you. Let's call you Ruifeng, how's that?"
"Ruifeng!" The Skyshatter Eagle nodded eagerly. At least it was a normal name. It would do.
Beside them, Gu Yue watched the whole scene with great interest.
When the two of them came back out, they found Bi Ji giving Na'er a shoulder massage, while a burly, muscular man stood off to the side, bowing and scraping as he handed over a cup of tea.
Di Tian was nowhere to be seen, off somewhere, perhaps too shy to show his face.
"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!" Na'er took a sip of the tea Xiong Jun had handed her, scrunched her little brows, and shoved the cup aside, her small face full of disgust.
Bi Ji quickly stopped massaging her shoulders, pulled out a handkerchief to dab at the corner of Na'er's mouth, her voice gentle enough to melt honey. "Don't be upset, Miss Na'er. This big lug wouldn't know the first thing about making tea. Let me go get you a fresh pot."
The burly man was none other than Xiong Jun. At her words, he scratched the back of his head, looking thoroughly wronged.
"I don't want tea! Get me a drink instead!" Na'er issued her order, all trace of the obedient little girl she'd been when she first arrived now gone.
Bi Ji blinked in surprise for a moment, then quickly recovered, smiling as she soothed her. "Don't worry, Miss Na'er, I'll go see if there's any sweet spirit fruit juice around. It's refreshing to drink, no worse than a regular drink."