"However, Aunt Lan is really, really amazing. Those bad guys can't beat her at all."
Lanlan lifted her small head proudly as she spoke.
Hearing this, Snow Empress glanced at Su Yu. Unsurprisingly, this so-called Aunt Lan should be a very powerful beast.
To carve out a place in the vast ocean, surely couldn't be simple.
Su Yu rubbed his temples. The clues were too few—he couldn't guess anything.
But the young girl in front of him, named Lanlan, was no ordinary individual.
Apart from the ultimate light and ultimate water attributes she displayed on the surface, Su Yu could sense a very peculiar power emanating from her.
This power gave Su Yu a faint sense of familiarity.
Such a powerful soul beast couldn't possibly be unknown.
Frowning in thought for a moment, Su Yu ordered, "Lingguang, fetch the Ice God Compendium of Exotic Beasts for me."
This book was an ancient text passed down by the Ice God Palace. It recorded many kinds of strange soul beasts, including numerous rare species that had already disappeared by now.
Su Yu wasn't sure if it mentioned anything about the Nethersea Blue Whale. Since his return, he'd been preoccupied with preparing for the divine trial and hadn't had time to read it.
If he hadn't encountered an unfamiliar soul beast today, he might not have remembered this book at all.
"Yes, Young Master," Shui Lingguang responded before disappearing from sight.
About half a quarter of an hour later, Shui Lingguang reappeared with an ancient text in hand.
She handed the book to Su Yu, who casually took it.
Despite being a centuries-old artifact, the book was remarkably well-preserved. The texture of the pages felt less like paper and more like animal hide.
To be preserved for tens of thousands of years without decay, the materials used to create this book must have been extraordinary.
Looking at the title Ice God Compendium of Exotic Beasts written in bold characters on the cover, Su Yu wasted no time and flipped to the first page.
The first soul beast that appeared was the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger—not only described in words but also illustrated with a detailed drawing.
The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger was an exceptionally powerful soul beast.
It wielded control over multiple elemental forces, and its innate skill, Arena of Life and Death, was equally formidable.
According to legend, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger was a mutated monster—a light-attributed White Tiger tainted by the Evil God's corruption.
In terms of rank, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger surpassed even the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear and the Titan Giant Ape.
However, this soul beast was believed to have gone extinct, with the last known one killed by a certain god king.
If it had survived into the Douluo II era, its power would have been truly terrifying.
With the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger leading off, Su Yu's interest was immediately piqued.
The next few kinds of soul beasts didn't disappoint either—Golden Armored Imperial Dragon Turtle, Dark Prison Soul Devouring Spider, Jade Luminous Qilin, Flame Phoenix of Extremity... each one was an incredibly powerful soul beast.
Whether possessing ancient bloodlines or unique extreme attributes, they were all outstanding among the ranks of super soul beasts.
But without exception, these soul beasts had almost all gone extinct.
"So the continent once had so many powerful soul beasts... I've learned something new today," Su Yu murmured to himself as he continued flipping through the pages.
The more he read, the more intrigued he became. Su Yu skimmed, often scanning an entire page in one glance.
Snow Empress silently leaned closer, reading alongside him.
Suddenly, Su Yu's finger paused. He glanced at the depiction of a soul beast in the book, then looked at Lanlan not far away. A gleam of insight flashed in his eyes.
"Did you find it?"
Snow Empress followed his gaze, comparing the soul beast illustration in the book to Lanlan. The resemblance was indeed striking.
"Silver-scaled blue Whale, Nethersea Blue Whale—they should be the same species, just called by different names," Su Yu said softly.
This kind of situation was quite plausible. Humans often name creatures based on their characteristics.
Many soul beasts might be called one thing by humans but something entirely different among their kind.
"Silver-Scaled Blue Whale: a peculiar soul beast dwelling in the ocean. It has a deep-blue whale body, dragon-like scales on its fins, mysterious patterns on its head, and the ability to control extreme light and water. Due to its Silver Dragon bloodline, it also possesses a strong life force attribute."
"The Silver-Scaled Blue Whale is regarded as the pride of the ocean, born with great fortune. It can protect a region of the sea, accelerate the cultivation of aquatic soul beasts, and is revered as the emperor of the sea..."
Not only was Snow Empress stunned, but even Su Yu was momentarily speechless.
He glanced at the innocent and naive girl, disbelief flashing in his eyes.
"Emperor of the Sea... Su Yu, this is an auspicious beast!"
Snow Empress grabbed Su Yu's arm, clearly a bit overwhelmed.
But it wasn't her fault—the revelation was simply too astonishing.
To protect a region and accelerate the cultivation of soul beasts—such abilities were exclusive to auspicious beasts.
And what exactly were auspicious beasts?
They were the darlings of the heavens, born to carry the power of destiny itself. They could also be referred to as destiny beasts.
Previously, Su Yu had only ever encountered one auspicious beast: the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, Di Mingli.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's strength spoke for itself, without the need for flowery descriptions. Its attributes—ultimate light, ultimate fire, spiritual power, and its Golden Dragon bloodline—were all overwhelmingly powerful.
It was practically flawless.
And now, this Silver-Scaled Blue Whale, or Nethersea Blue Whale, was no less impressive.
Ultimate light, ultimate water, Silver Dragon bloodline, and life force attribute...
It seemed to rival the Three-Eyed Golden Lion in every way.
Su Yu felt a headache coming on.
He could never have imagined that, in his lifetime, he would encounter a second auspicious beast.
No wonder this girl had transformed into her human form at around thirteen or fourteen years old.
No wonder she could assume a human form without reaching the 100,000-year cultivation threshold.
No wonder the will of the world had sent her his way.
It all made sense—she was an auspicious beast.
With this identity, everything was perfectly logical.
"But what is the world's will trying to achieve? Is it trying to transfer the ocean's destiny to me?"
The ocean's faith had long been claimed by the Sea God. Su Yu suspected that the world's will intended to reclaim part of the ocean's destiny through him.
It wasn't impossible.
"Troublesome. Things are getting more and more complicated."
Su Yu rubbed his temples, gradually calming himself.
For him, the appearance of a sea-based auspicious beast was surprising, but not entirely unwelcome. It was just one more thing to deal with.
Snow Empress, however, was still in shock.
Having seen the sea's auspicious beast up close, it would take her a while to process everything.
"To think it turned out to be an auspicious beast... Su Yu, your luck is beyond words."
Snow Empress looked at Su Yu and marveled.
What she assumed to be a 100,000-year soul beast embryo had turned out to be the emperor of the sea's auspicious beasts.
A 100,000-year-old soul beast embryo was nothing compared to an auspicious beast.
Every soul beast with any power understood the significance of an auspicious beast.
Whenever one appeared, it was treated as a treasure.
And yet, Su Yu had managed to bring one home. Snow Empress didn't know what to say anymore.
She couldn't deny it—Su Yu seemed to be truly favored by destiny.
"It is indeed surprising."
Su Yu chuckled lightly, his gaze toward the girl softening.
What he thought was just a 100,000-year soul beast embryo turned out to be an auspicious beast.
This completely exceeded his expectations.
But it wasn't a bad thing. The presence of an auspicious beast meant hidden blessings, including the intangible benefit of enhanced fortune.
And now that she was a member of the Ice God Palace, Su Yu had no intention of pushing her away.
He decided to raise her like a little mascot.
As the wielder of the Dragon God's power, the young master of soul beasts, the inheritor of the Ice God's legacy, and the Child of Destiny, it seemed perfectly reasonable for him to raise a little divine beast.
As for whether the disappearance of the divine beast would cause a storm in the oceanic world, that wasn't much of his concern.
Su Yu continued reading. The description of the Silver-Scaled Blue Whale wasn't finished yet.
It said that the Silver-Scaled Blue Whale was gentle by nature, kind-hearted, and disliked conflict.
Glancing at the adorable girl on the opposite side, Su Yu felt that the description made sense.
Lanlan, this girl, looked so pure and sweet; she indeed didn't seem like the combative type.
This was quite different from Di Mingli.
Di Mingli, whose true form was the Three-Eyed Golden Kirin, was a bona fide battle maniac.
Though equally pure and sweet, she was born into a race of warriors.
Even though both were divine beasts, the differences between them were significant.
After reading the full text, Su Yu casually handed the Ice God's Record of Exotic Beasts to Snow Empress and walked toward Lanlan.
Lanlan blinked her large, watery eyes, looking adorably dazed.
"Lanlan, would you like to train with Big Brother from now on?" Su Yu asked with a gentle smile and a soft gaze.
An emperor-class divine beast of such importance should be trained by Su Yu himself. He might as well treat her like a little sister.
"Sure, sure! Big Brother smells nice; Lanlan likes Big Brother!"
Lanlan clapped her little hands, her large eyes curving into crescents as she smiled, looking extremely happy.
Su Yu chuckled softly and reached out to gently ruffle her little head.
"Lanlan, who usually takes care of you? Other than Auntie Lan, is there anyone else?" Su Yu asked with a smile.
Lanlan blinked her beautiful eyes and replied seriously, "Other than Auntie Lan, there's Sister Xiao Lan. Sister Xiao Lan is great!"
"Sister Xiao Lan?"
Su Yu's eyes flickered. He asked softly, "No one else?"
"Nope."
Lanlan shook her head and said, "Only Auntie Lan and Sister Xiao Lan treat Lanlan well. All those other bad guys are mean! They all want to take Lanlan away, and Lanlan hates them."
Su Yu was momentarily stunned.
What did this mean? Fighting over divine beasts?
Was it even possible to fight over a divine beast?
Su Yu's eyes flickered as he pondered.
"Then, Lanlan, why did you suddenly decide to take on a human form?" Su Yu asked.
Lanlan replied in a crisp voice, "Because Lanlan wants to come out and see the world! I heard the human world is really fun."
"Who told you that?"
"Sister Xiao Lan! Sister Xiao Lan shapeshifted ten years ago. Lanlan wanted to shapeshift too and come to the human world to play."
"So, what's your Sister Xiao Lan's full name?"
"Sister Xiao Lan is just Sister Xiao Lan."
Lanlan tilted her head in confusion.
Alright then~
Su Yu gently ruffled Lanlan's hair again, a faint smile appearing on his face.
The information he'd gathered was still limited, to say the least.
He had some theories, but they didn't seem very reliable.
He decided not to overthink it. He'd just take care of the little girl for now.
As for everything else, it would all come to light eventually.
Turning slightly, he glanced at the sky. After all the commotion, it was already nearing dusk.
"It's getting late. Let's call it a day. Lanlan, are you hungry? Big Brother will take you to get something to eat."
Su Yu smiled.
"Yay, yay!"
Lanlan beamed sweetly, revealing two adorable dimples.
Su Yu smiled gently, exchanged a glance with Snow Empress, and the group gradually left the Ice God's main hall.
...
"Wow, this is so tasty!"
"This one is delicious too!"
"They're all so yummy!"
Tasting human food for the first time, Lanlan seemed to have discovered a whole new world. She couldn't believe that such delicious things existed in the world.
For a moment, she buried herself in the food, completely immersed.
Su Yu watched with amusement, as though witnessing the birth of a little foodie.
Beside Su Yu, Zhang Lexuan's lips curved into a serene smile; her demeanor was gentle and elegant.
"Where did such an adorable little girl come from?"
Zhang Lexuan looked at Lanlan, who was battling the food, her beautiful eyes filled with curiosity.
In the Ice God's Palace, all soul masters were ice attribute users, so everyone in the palace naturally carried a certain coldness in their demeanor.
Even Su Yu wasn't exempt from this.
If he didn't speak, he was the very image of a frosty, aloof gentleman. But the moment he opened his mouth, that cool aura would sometimes be completely ruined.
But Lanlan was different. Lanlan exuded a pure and gentle aura that was instantly likable.
After Zhang Lexuan spoke, Jiang Nannan and Ling Luocheng also turned their curious gazes toward Lanlan.
Since Shui Lingguang was currently following Su Yu closely, and Jiang Nannan had been Su Yu's childhood friend, the two of them often dined with Su Yu and the others.
The group had grown quite familiar with one another, and even the usually aloof Ling Luocheng had integrated into the group.
Faced with the curious gazes of the women, Su Yu smiled lightly and said, "Oh, you mean Lanlan? I just happened to come across her by chance."
"By chance?"
Zhang Lexuan gave him a strange look. "Why can't I ever 'happen' to come across such an adorable little girl?"
"Maybe you just don't have the same luck," Su Yu joked.
"Smart mouth. You always love teasing people. Alright, tell me, where did this little girl come from?" Zhang Lexuan asked.
Su Yu chuckled and said, "This time, I'm not joking. It truly was a coincidence."
Zhang Lexuan rolled her eyes, clearly not believing him, but she didn't press further.
The little girl's well-behaved and endearing demeanor didn't seem ordinary.
Her aura was far too unique—nothing like what an average person could have.
But since Su Yu wasn't willing to explain, Zhang Lexuan wouldn't force the issue.
"This little girl must be exceptionally talented, right?"
Zhang Lexuan asked with a confident tone, though it was phrased as a question.
After all, she wasn't an ice attribute soul master, nor was she part of Su Yu's circle. Yet she could appear in the Ice God's Palace.
This alone said enough.