For three days, a palpable silence descended upon the Core Region of the Star Dou Great Forest.
The Ferocious Beasts spoke in hushed tones, their usual boisterous energy replaced by a solemn, anticipatory stillness. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath. At the center of this reverent quiet was the Emperor Auspicious Beast.
She lay in a meadow of soft, glowing spirit grass, her golden form a beacon of concentrated light.
She was gathering her essence, drawing upon the hundred thousand years of her existence, pulling every wisp of her accumulated power and the profound destiny of her race into her very core.
Her aura, usually a warm, gentle light, intensified with each passing hour, becoming a dense, almost tangible sphere of pure, blinding gold.
Huo Yuhao watched from a distance, a knot of anxiety and excitement tightening in his stomach. He sat with Aunt Bi Ji and the others, who had suspended all their usual activities to bear witness to this monumental, irreversible event.
On the dawn of the fourth day, it began.
The golden sphere of light around the Auspicious Beast pulsed once, a silent beat that resonated in the very soul of every living thing in the forest. Then, it pulsed again, faster. The light began to warp, to twist, to pull inward with an incredible gravitational force.
The beast's physical form dissolved within the light, her elegant golden body breaking down into a billion motes of pure energy.
The light contracted violently, forming a blinding, sun-like orb that hung suspended in the air, radiating a pressure so immense that even Di Tian's expression grew grave.
Then, the orb began to expand, not with a violent explosion, but with the slow, deliberate grace of a flower blooming.
The golden light softened, shaping itself, elongating. A silhouette began to form within the luminescence—the unmistakable shape of a human.
First came the legs, long, slender, and perfectly formed. Then a waist, so impossibly thin and elegant it seemed it might snap, yet it held a promise of supple strength. The silhouette curved outwards into hips that were the very definition of feminine grace, and a torso that rose to a pair of large, breathtakingly full breasts. The light coalesced further, forming slender arms, delicate hands, and a graceful neck.
Finally, the head took shape. The light cascaded downwards, forming a waterfall of the most brilliant, radiant blonde hair, shimmering as if spun from pure sunlight. The last of the light concentrated on the face, and then, it faded, revealing the final creation.
The woman who stood where the beast had been was a masterpiece of divine art, a creature of such perfect, breathtaking beauty that it seemed to defy reality itself. Her skin was flawless, radiating a faint golden sheen. Her blonde hair fell in soft waves past her hips. Her features were exquisite, a perfect nose, high cheekbones, and soft, full lips.
And then she opened her eyes.
They were a startling, brilliant ruby-red, filled not with the innocence of a newborn, but with an ancient, playful wisdom and an unshakeable, innate pride.
Huo Yuhao stared, his mind completely blank. He had seen beauty before. His own mother, Huo Yun'er, had been a gentle, delicate beauty. Tang Ya was a cute, vibrant beauty. His Aunt Bi Ji possessed a mature, gentle beauty that could soothe any soul, and Aunt Zi Ji held a cold, terrifying beauty that could steal one's breath.
But this… this was on another plane of existence entirely. She was not just beautiful; she was the very personification of the word, an ideal made manifest. A profound, instinctual awe washed over him, followed immediately by a hot, flushing wave of embarrassment.
She was completely, utterly naked.
Her mature, perfect body was on full display, a sculpture of flesh and light that was both divine and deeply, undeniably female. Huo Yuhao's eyes darted away, his cheeks burning a furious red. He felt his heart hammering against his ribs for a reason entirely different from fear or excitement.
"Aunt… Aunt Bi Ji…" he stammered, his voice barely a whisper, not daring to look directly at the transformed beast. "C-clothes… Could you…?"
Bi Ji, who was looking at the new human with a soft, maternal smile, chuckled gently at his reaction. "Of course, little one." She nodded, already holding a simple robe she had prepared.
Just as she was about to step forward, a new wave of power erupted from the naked woman.
ROAR!
The roar was not of a lion, but of a dragon. A majestic, golden dragon soul, shimmering with an ancient and noble power, materialized behind her. It was a creature of pure, condensed light and authority, its form radiating a pressure that made even Di Tian and the other beasts instinctively lower their heads in reverence.
This was no ordinary beast soul. This was the direct descendant of the Golden Dragon King, a bloodline that stood at the apex of all Soul Beasts.
And then, the rings appeared.
One, two, three, four, five, six.
Six Soul Rings materialized, circling around her body in a dazzling display of power.
The first two were a brilliant yellow, signifying two hundred-year-old spirits.
The next two were a deep, vibrant purple, thousand-year-old spirits.
And the final two, the ones that made everyone's breath catch, were a profound, abyssal black.
Two ten-thousand-year-old Soul Rings.
Her aura surged, her Soul Power climbing at a visible rate before settling. She was a Soul Emperor. Rank 68.
This was the unique advantage of a hundred-thousand-year-old beast's transformation. They did not start from scratch.
They were reborn with immense power.
At the level of a Soul Emperor, her transformation was complete. She was, for all intents and purposes, a true human.
Her beastly aura was perfectly concealed within her human shell, undetectable to even the most powerful Titled Douluo.
But the spectacle was not over.
As the Golden Dragon Martial Soul let out another silent, majestic roar, the air in front of her began to shimmer. An object began to materialize from nothingness. It was a spear. But it was unlike any weapon Huo Yuhao had ever seen or imagined.
It appeared to be made of wood, not metal, with a golden, almost organic sheen. It was massive, a full fifteen feet in height, sharpened to a deadly point at both ends like a double-headed lance. Its long, narrow body was shaped like a shuttle, and coiling around its length, almost invisible against the golden surface, was the faint, intricate engraving of a magnificent dragon.
The moment the spear fully materialized, an aura of unparalleled supremacy washed over the clearing. It was a power that dwarfed even Di Tian's own. It was the physical, tangible weight of a god.
Di Tian's eyes were wide with a reverence he showed to no other being. He bowed his head deeply. "The Golden Dragon Spear," he breathed, his voice filled with awe. "Forged from the right rib of the mighty Dragon God himself. A true divine weapon."
The other beasts followed his lead, their heads bowed in respect to the ancient, sacred artifact.
The newly transformed woman reached out and took the spear. It seemed impossibly large for her slender frame, yet she held it with an effortless grace, as if it were a weightless extension of her own arm.
The light from her Martial Soul and Soul Rings faded, but the divine aura of the spear remained, a quiet but absolute statement of her power.
She stood there, naked, proud, and armed with a weapon of the gods. Then, she turned her ruby-red eyes directly onto the flustered Huo Yuhao.
A playful, teasing smile graced her perfect lips.
"Well?" she asked, her voice a melodious, confident chime. "What do you think of my human body, little Yuhao? It's pretty good, right?"
Huo Yuhao felt like his brain was going to melt. He flailed his arms in a panic, his eyes squeezed shut, his face the color of a ripe tomato.
"Clothes! Please, just put on some clothes!" he yelped. "I… I don't want to look at you like this!"
She let out a low, throaty chuckle, a sound that was impossibly alluring. "Oh? Are you sure? Because from my angle, I see you peeking through your fingers. It's alright, you can look. I don't mind."
"I'm not peeking!" he lied, his voice cracking.
Bi Ji, seeing that he was on the verge of combusting from sheer embarrassment, finally stepped forward and draped the simple robe over the laughing woman's shoulders.
She accepted the robe, slipping it on with a graceful movement, but her teasing gaze never left Huo Yuhao.
Once she was dressed, her playful expression shifted, becoming one of deep, profound seriousness. She looked at the assembled beasts, her face a mask of gravity.
"Everyone," she announced, her tone heavy. "We have… a really big problem."
The atmosphere tensed instantly. The beasts straightened up, their own expressions turning grave. A problem? Now? After such a successful transformation? Could it be a flaw in her power? A backlash from destiny?
"What is it?" Di Tian asked, his voice low and concerned. "Is your connection to the threads of fate unstable?"
She shook her head, her blonde hair catching the light. She looked them each in the eye, her expression so serious it was almost terrifying.
"No," she said. "It's much worse than that."
She took a deep breath.
"I don't have a human name," she declared. "I can't very well go into their cities and introduce myself as the Emperor Auspicious Beast, can I? That would be terribly inconvenient."
For a full five seconds, there was absolute, stunned silence.
Then Xiong Jun let out a strangled groan, slapping a massive hand to his own forehead.
Bi Ji's look of worry melted into one of exasperated amusement.
Di Tian simply closed his eyes and let out a long, weary sigh, as if the weight of the entire world had just settled on his shoulders.
This was their hope, their destiny… and she was worried about a name.
While the beasts were speechless, Huo Yuhao's mind, grateful for a distraction from his earlier embarrassment, began to race. A name. She needed a name worthy of her. Something that captured her brilliance, her power, her auspicious nature.
"Jin Xi," he said quietly.
The woman turned her ruby eyes to him, an eyebrow raised in question.
"Jin," he explained, a faint blush still on his cheeks. "It means 'gold' or 'golden,' like your Martial Soul and your hair. And Xi… means 'brilliance' or 'splendor.' Together, it would mean… Golden Brilliance. Evoking radiance and… and an auspicious feeling."
He looked down, suddenly shy again.
The blonde woman considered it for a moment, tasting the name on her tongue. "Jin… Xi…" A slow, brilliant smile spread across her face, a smile that could outshine the sun. "I love it. From this day forward, I am Jin Xi."
The other beasts murmured their approval. The name was fitting, elegant, and powerful.
"Well then," Jin Xi said, turning to Huo Yuhao with her hands on her hips. "Now that that crisis is averted, we can prepare for our journey."
They decided to wait a few more days, to allow Jin Xi to stabilize her new power and grow accustomed to the strange new sensations of a human body. She spent the time walking, running, and simply existing in her new form, a look of constant, childlike wonder on her beautiful face.
Huo Yuhao would walk with her.
"It's a shame," she said one afternoon, looking at her own slender, human hands. "In this form, I seem to have lost my connection to the Ultimate Fire. I don't think I will be able to help you forge your tools or concoct your pills anymore, Yuhao." There was a genuine hint of regret in her voice.
Huo Yuhao looked at her, at the incredible, powerful being who had willingly given up her true form to accompany him on a dangerous quest.
He shook his head, a sincere, heartfelt warmth in his own eyes. "That doesn't matter, Xi'er," he said, his voice quiet but firm.
"That doesn't matter at all. There are a hundred beasts in this forest who could provide a flame. But you… what you did… transforming yourself to come with me… that is something only you could do. To me, that makes you infinitely more special than any fire."
Jin Xi stopped walking. She looked at the earnest boy beside her, at the pure, unadulterated sincerity in his gaze.
He wasn't trying to flatter her. He was just… being honest. A strange, warm feeling, one she had never felt before, bloomed in her chest. She simply smiled and bumped his shoulder playfully with her own.
On the eve of their departure, Bi Ji presented them with their traveling clothes. She had taken the simple robes she had made and painstakingly woven the coarse, red fur of the Scarlet King into the lining.
"I have integrated Chi Yan's fire essence fur into the fabric," she explained, her voice full of a mother's love and concern. "This should keep you warm through most of the Extreme North. Only in the deepest parts, near the lair of the Ice Empress or the territory of the Snow Empress herself, should you feel any significant cold."
The next morning, the air was crisp and clear.
Dressed in their new, specially prepared clothes, and carrying the numerous parting gifts from their family, they were finally ready.
The entire council of Ferocious Beasts was gathered to see them off. It was not a sad farewell, but a solemn one, filled with unspoken emotion.
Di Tian gave them a final, piercing look. "Remember the scales. Do not hesitate to use them. Your lives are more valuable than any pride."
Xiong Jun just grunted. "Don't get yourselves killed, brats." It was the closest he could come to saying 'be safe.'
Bi Ji hugged them both tightly, her eyes wet. "Take care of each other."
Huo Yuhao and Jin Xi bowed deeply one last time. Then, they turned their backs on the only true home Huo Yuhao had ever known, and walked towards the edge of the great forest, towards the vast, unknown world of humanity.
As they stepped out from under the shadow of the ancient trees, the bright morning sun of the outside world hit their faces.
Jin Xi took a deep, shuddering breath, her red eyes wide with a boundless, childlike excitement. "The human world!" she exclaimed, her voice buzzing with energy. "I can't wait to see it all! The cities, the food, the people! Where are we going first?"
Huo Yuhao looked at her, a quiet smile on his own face. He, too, felt a thrill of anticipation. Though he loved his forest home, a change of scenery was welcome. A chance to see civilization not as a terrified, fleeing orphan, but as a confident and powerful Soul Master.
"First," he said, pointing towards the distant horizon. "We head east. Our first stop is Heaven Dou City, the capital of the Heaven Soul Empire. After that, we go north."