GA: Chapter 168: A Talking Egg — The Sacred Beast Divine Lion?
"Greetings, chosen one."
Without warning, the egg shifted under Huo Yu's gaze and began to speak in perfectly articulate human language.
"???"
"Getting an egg out of a summon is one thing — but it actually speaks Mandarin..."
"Has my summoning ability mutated somehow?"
Huo Yu lapsed into silence.
"Chosen one — I am not a summoned beast. I am the Sacred Beast Divine Lion!"
Apparently taking some issue with how Huo Yu had been addressing it, the egg wobbled as it spoke.
"Sacred Beast Divine Lion? Who came up with that name? Don't you think 'Lion' paired with 'Sacred Beast' is a complete mismatch?"
The response broke Huo Yu out of her silence and straight into complaining. It wasn't as though Huaxia mythology had no lions — the Nine-Spirit Great Sage was a nine-headed lion, and look at what a formidable title that was. But the word "lion" on its own would make any ordinary person immediately picture the ones living on savannahs.
"...Hmm."
Put that way, even the egg didn't know what to say for a moment. After a long pause, it offered:
"I also have another title — Blazing Beast. Would that be better?"
"Then I'll call you Blazing Beast."
Huo Yu clapped her hands together decisively.
"Now that I know your name — talk. Where do you come from? What are your abilities?"
"And what does 'chosen one' mean?"
"..."
For some reason, the Sacred Beast Divine Lion had the vague sense that something was slightly off — but it answered honestly regardless.
"At the dawn of creation, the world lay barren. The Creator descended bearing divine power, bringing clear waters to the land and giving birth to life."
"The Creator also made Sacred Beasts to help humanity grow and develop. I am one of them."
"Though these are the memories in my mind — whether they are true, I cannot say for certain."
Huo Yu listened to the Sacred Beast Divine Lion with one finger tapping her chin. This Sacred Beast wasn't quite what she'd imagined — it didn't seem to have earned the title through noble origins or overwhelming strength, but rather because everything created by the Creator was called a Sacred Beast by default.
"Within my memories, I hold the ability to call upon all beasts. Beyond that, I can transform into a Divine Weapon."
The Sacred Beast Divine Lion continued.
"A Divine Weapon?"
"Among the Sacred Beasts the Creator made, there is a special type — ones capable of transforming into various Divine Weapons, each with unique abilities. Because of this, they are called Divine Weapon Beasts. Once I am born, the chosen one may call my name — and I will transform into the Divine Weapon, Blazing Mane Beast!"
The egg wobbled with evident enthusiasm.
Huo Yu rubbed her forehead as she listened. Divine Weapon Beast — why did this sound like it was straight out of an anime?
Wait.
Something clicked. Huo Yu hesitated, then asked:
"Do you know Bai Xuan?"
"The Creator?"
The Sacred Beast Divine Lion tilted in puzzlement.
"That's more or less what I figured."
Huo Yu picked up her phone, opened the relevant website, and searched the latest arrivals.
Sure enough — a new animated series had just appeared on the site.
Shen Bing Xiao Jiang — Divine Warriors!
Looking at the art style, it had a feel reminiscent of something she might have watched as a child.
She hadn't been chosen by an armor, an Imperial Arm, a Clow Card, or a Kamen Rider device. But being chosen by this wasn't bad either.
At least she'd been chosen by something.
Huo Yu's mood improved.
Qin Tian had been acknowledged by the Flame Dragon Armor. Chen Bing had received an Imperial Arm. That kid Ning Guang had gotten a Devil Fruit. Ye Feng and Wang Ming had both picked up something worthwhile.
And she'd gotten nothing.
The Flare-Flare Fruit had come from Bai Xuan to begin with.
That hardly counted as being chosen.
But now — a Divine Weapon Beast egg. At least she wasn't walking away empty-handed.
And the things Bai Xuan materialized all had their own selection criteria. Either someone with genuine righteousness and goodness, or a warrior hero willing to sacrifice themselves to protect the people — whatever the item, you had to be worthy of it.
Devil Fruits seemed more like a combination of personal compatibility and luck... but never mind, that wasn't what she was talking about anyway.
A Divine Weapon Beast egg — something like this definitely had selection criteria. Being chosen by it meant she had been acknowledged by Bai Xuan's own rules.
"Blazing Beast — when exactly will you hatch?"
Huo Yu smiled as she looked at the Sacred Beast Divine Lion.
Though the egg wasn't sure why Huo Yu's mood had shifted so quickly, it answered honestly:
"Approximately one year, normally. But if nurtured with something containing powerful energy, it could be considerably faster — and the strength at birth would be greater as well."
"What about these?"
Without hesitation, Huo Yu pointed at the dragon blood beside her.
"If nurtured with those — I could emerge in approximately three months."
The Sacred Beast Divine Lion took a moment to assess and replied.
"Then all of these go to you. Three months from now, we'll take our first shot at matching Qin Tian."
Tianhai City.
When Chen Bing received the true dragon heart's blood, she simply gave a quiet nod. No visible surge of emotion.
Just as Qin Tian felt his own strength was insufficient, she felt the same.
She'd fought so many weaker mutated creatures for so long that she'd started to unconsciously regard herself as something exceptional.
In truth, she wasn't.
Not only among humans — among other species too, there were mutated creatures that could match her, or surpass her entirely.
The mutated giant octopus at Haicheng had shown her that clearly.
But that was fine. If her mindset was wrong, she would correct it. If her thinking was off, she would adjust it. Train harder. Fight more. Forge her combat capability through battle. Spend more time cultivating.
Grow stronger.
If some of them had talent no weaker than hers — or even somewhat stronger — then she would outwork them. Push her command of glacial power further than anyone.
To that end, she would seize every possible path to becoming stronger.
Like Qin Tian, Chen Bing opened a vial and drained the dragon blood. The violent pain came immediately — and she closed her eyes, steadily absorbing the tremendous energy flooding from within the blood into her body.
Behind her, the phantom of the Glacial Phoenix flickered in and out of visibility. Within its ice-blue pupils, a faint trace of gold was beginning to surface.
Chen Bing had no awareness of the phenomenon behind her. She simply absorbed the energy of the first vial until it was spent, then opened another and swallowed it, continued absorbing.
Repeat.
While Huaxia maintained its fragile peace and order, the island nation had descended into an unprecedented catastrophe.
RUMBLE—!
Out on the open ocean, an enormous presence swung its arms freely in all directions, sending wave after crashing wave into motion.
Terrifying walls of water surged and rolled across the sea — and under the continuous movements of that massive figure, dozens-of-meters-high tsunamis began to form, crashing directly toward the coastal cities of the island nation.
"Tsunami — it's a tsunami!"
"What is that thing doing?! Why is it lurking just off our coast?! Damn it!"
"That has to be the Yamata no Orochi from the ocean — where is our Susanoo?! Why won't he come to save us?!"
"Run — just run! If you don't move now it'll be too late!"
"No — no — don't come, don't—"
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