Seeing Huo Yuhao lost in thought, the dark golden head of the Golden Tortoiseshell visibly turned red.
"Wait a minute, are you hesitating?!"
"Is it because I, the old tortoise, am doing too poorly, or is it because you humans have developed too fast?"
"I, the old tortoise, am a 100,000-year-old beast king, and a soul beast with the destiny of life."
"I'll give you my soul ring for free, and you're still hesitating?!"
"And you stupid cat, get off my shell right now!"
"These days are really outrageous! These young soul beasts don't know how to respect their elders! They have no martial ethics!"
Huo Yuhao waved to the Shadow Cat to make it get off quickly, then said to the Golden Tortoise:
"Of course that's not what I meant. Brother Tortoise, you are a handsome... talented beast, no one will refuse your power."
"It's just that I've already chosen my first soul ring, and the target soul beast is in a bad situation, probably won't last long."
"And Brother Tortoise, what's with that ethereal voice you mentioned?"
Huo Yuhao was very interested in the ethereal voice it had just revealed.
He had a vague answer in his heart, but he wasn't quite sure.
The golden tortoiseshell grunted at the shadow cat and then said in a muffled voice,
"I don't know. My destiny tells me that sacrificing myself for you aligns with the direction of fate and the times, and will bring many benefits."
"But that ethereal voice was very urgent. It kept pushing me, wanting me to sacrifice myself for you."
"I can't sense the source of that voice; I can only feel a warm, gentle aura."
"Hmm...like my mother holding me when I was a child."
Huo Yuhao roughly understood the identity of the voice's owner.
It should be the unfortunate plane consciousness that didn't appear in the original story.
The plane consciousness's current situation is probably not good. Inside the Golden Tree of Shrek Academy is Ah Yin, who is usurping the plane's life essence.
Tang Hao estimates that with the help of the God King Tang, he is gradually replacing the plane consciousness to become the plane's master.
Huo Yuhao looked at the Golden Tortoise again and asked, "Brother Tortoise, how much longer can you hold on?"
The Golden Tortoise raised its head slightly, its golden eyes gazing at the sky for a moment before replying,
"I can hold on for another five or six years."
"At most, in six years, I, the mighty and handsome Beast King, will finally perish in this pool."
"Can't Di Tian and the others find you?" Huo Yuhao asked, somewhat puzzled. At this time, the Star Dou Great Forest was practically Di Tian's backyard.
This simpleton had stolen one-fifth of the Life Gold from the Lake of Life; Di Tian wouldn't let it go.
Life Gold was crucial for the Silver Dragon King's injuries, and the Golden Tortoise had truly gotten its hands on Di Tian's prize this time.
The golden hawksbill turtle raised its head proudly, saying,
"Di Tian, a mere little dragon, is not worth mentioning."
"This old turtle concealed its existence with its luck."
"If he can find me, I'll even take off my shell and use it as a chamber pot."
Huo Yuhao almost couldn't hold back. This turtle spoke so arrogantly, but in the end, wasn't its method still hiding? And it turns out turtle shells can be removed?!
"Brother Turtle, could you wait a month? I'll come find you after I reach level twenty."
A hint of doubt flashed in the golden hawksbill turtle's golden eyes: "A month? Is that enough time?"
"I remember it takes you humans several years to cultivate to level ten soul power, right?"
"Don't try to fool me like I'm some kind of sea turtle. As long as it doesn't take five years, I can wait."
Advancing ten levels in a month, even a normal soul master with innate full soul power would need two years.
Huo Yuhao dared to say this because he possessed the power of nine dragons pulling a coffin.
As long as he uses the Profound Water Pill, Soul Ascension Pill, and Xuanwu Divine Pill, he can instantly break through a mere tenth-level soul power.
The remaining Profound Water Pill can raise his level by two, the Soul Ascension Pill by three, and the Xuanwu Divine Pill by five.
He just hopes that after taking the pills, the top of his head won't become pointed.
"I'm not lying, I have my own methods."
Seeing Huo Yuhao's confident look, the Golden Tortoise felt relieved. It was willing to trust the person chosen by its destiny.
"Well, in that case, I'll wait for a month. You must come find me after you reach level twenty."
"Don't look for other tortoises outside."
The Golden Tortoise earnestly instructed Huo Yuhao. In the Star Dou Great Forest, the Golden Tortoise clan is extremely rare, but there are still two or three.
If he is discovered by other members of the clan, those slutty and shameless creatures will definitely try every means to become his soul ring.
After all, the Clan of Destiny couldn't possibly abandon the fast track of the times. They grew strong because of destiny, and they would also perish because of destiny.
Obeying fate was their way of survival.
Having said that, its entire body radiated golden light, dazzling even in the daytime Star Dou Forest.
The golden light slowly gathered on the tortoise shell until the central octagonal piece of shell turned dark gold.
Then, that piece of shell detached, floating in the golden light, and drifted into Huo Yuhao's hand.
The Golden Tortoise Shell was clearly much weaker; the entire tortoise's color had dimmed considerably.
It noticed Huo Yuhao's questioning gaze.
The golden hawksbill turtle said in a deep voice, "Just as every pure-blooded true dragon has a reverse scale,
the golden hawksbill turtle, as the king of turtles, also possesses something similar."
"This turtle shell is our clan's reverse scale, and it's even more precious than that."
"A single golden hawksbill turtle can only condense one in its lifetime; it's a symbol of the golden hawksbill turtle's very essence."
"Wearing this turtle shell will bring you greater luck."
"It can also be used as a shield in times of danger."
"You know, Xiong Jun, right? I'm confident I can withstand its full-force Sky-Tearing Claw for a minute."
"Even Di Tian would have to put in some effort to break through the turtle shell's defense."
After saying this, the turtle shell tried to fly to Huo Yuhao's right hand, but was instead slapped into the river by a colorful light trail extending from the colorful blade pattern on his right hand.
Golden Hawksbill Turtle: "..."
Huo Yuhao: "..."
Silence fell over the scene.
Finally, the Shadow Cat broke the silence, leaping from the bank and retrieving the tortoise shell, many times its own size, from the riverbed.
It placed it in front of Huo Yuhao, then squatted down beside his trouser leg, its dark eyes fixed on the enormous tortoise.
At the same time, the hilt of the Remnant Dream Blade peeked slightly from the back of Huo Yuhao's right hand.
The white hilt shimmered with iridescent waves, emanating an aura of annihilation against the golden hawksbill turtle.
Sweat immediately beaded on the golden hawksbill turtle's dark golden head.
"Is it raining?"
"No, I'm drenched in sweat."
As a hundred-thousand-year-old beast king, it had seen countless soul beasts and soul masters.
The last time it felt this pressure was during the battle between Xiong Jun and Di Tian, when Di Tian used that unknown, seven-colored light-filled technique.
The golden hawksbill turtle chuckled and said, "Ah, I see. So you have a guest on your right hand."
"Sorry to bother you. I'll have the turtle shell go to my left hand."
Once the turtle shell was inside his left hand, it formed a vortex-like golden tattoo on the back of his hand.
Huo Yuhao: "..."
He already couldn't take the civil service exam, and now he probably can't be a teacher either.
Looking at the symmetrical tattoos on both hands, Huo Yuhao felt that this was just the beginning, and that he would have many more tattoos in the future.
He would be on his way to becoming a tattoo warrior.
After finishing everything, the golden hawksbill turtle returned to the middle of the river, repeatedly reminding Huo Yuhao not to go looking for other turtles before returning to the bottom of the river to hide.
After saying goodbye to the golden hawksbill turtle, Huo Yuhao continued to wander in the outer circle with the shadow cat, waiting for the arrival of the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm.
At this moment, the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm that Huo Yuhao had been longing for was carefully escaping the mixed circle and moving towards the outer circle.
An inexplicable attraction was slowly drawing it closer to Huo Yuhao's location.
"I finally escaped! Heavens! Please, give me some good luck and let me run into a Soul Master with a Spirit attribute!"
(End of Chapter)