Midnight sharp.

Su Mu opened his eyes right on time. After one minute of meditation, his Soul Power pool leapt from zero to two hundred and ten points, completely full.

He sat up, sinking his consciousness into the dungeon space.

Above Lion Camel Ridge, beneath the murky gray canopy of the sky, Little Drill-Wind was dozing beside the stone tablet at the mountain pass.

At the peak of Flower-Fruit Mountain, the remnant stone of patching heaven quietly gave off a warm, gentle glow; atop White Tiger Ridge, White Bone Demon stood in her human form, gazing into the distance. Beside Bibo Pool, Benboerba and Babobaben tumbled and played on the water's surface.

Su Mu flicked the Golden Lion Beast card into the dungeon space.

Dark gold streaming light landed on the summit of Lion Camel Ridge's main peak; as the light surged and condensed, a colossal golden lion manifested there.

Its physique was even more massive than depicted on the card, standing over two meters tall at the shoulder and nearly four meters long, its mane burning like golden flames, and its four paws treading upon dark gold halos.

However, this lion was not entirely solid. Its body was semi-transparent like an illusory shadow, the flames of its mane flickering between bright and dim, with occasional golden specks of light drifting away from it.

This was because it was in a half-embedded state that had only cost two hundred points of Soul Power, having not yet truly become part of the dungeon.

Su Mu looked at the System Panel.

【Name: Golden Lion Beast (Half-Embedded · 2/5)】

【Rank: A】

【Level: 1】

【HP: 7200/7200】

【ATK: 740】

【DEF: 368】

【Agility: 124】

【Combat Index: 11,360】

【Skills: Golden Roar, Lion King Charge, Golden Mane Protection, Beast King Coercion】

【Remarks: Half-embedded state, can only exert 2/5 of base attributes, consumes 10 points of Soul Power daily to maintain during this period.】

Its base attributes were only two-fifths of its complete state.

Even so, the foundation of an A-rank card was still undeniable, with a combat index exceeding ten thousand.

Little Drill-Wind moved almost the instant Golden Lion Beast appeared.

Springing up from beside the stone tablet, short blade drawn, its dark green silhouette swept toward the summit like a streak of lightning.

Halting before the illusory golden lion, its narrow, slit-like eyes narrowed even further. Demonic aura surged from between its scales as it held its short blade horizontally across its chest, dropping into a battle stance.

Golden Lion Beast lowered its head, golden vertical pupils glaring at this diminutive green-skinned demon, releasing a low, muffled growl from its throat.

The two beasts locked eyes, the air thick with tension.

With a thought, Su Mu sent a soothing intention to Little Drill-Wind through the Soul Link.

"One of us. A future companion on Lion Camel Ridge."

Upon receiving the thought, Little Drill-Wind paused briefly before slowly sheathing the short blade at its waist.

Yet it did not leave. Instead, it crouched on a rock atop the summit, its gaze still fixed on the illusory golden lion, filled with vigilance and scrutiny.

Su Mu was in no hurry to manage their relationship.

Little Drill-Wind's wariness was normal. Lion Camel Ridge was its territory, and it could hardly remain indifferent to the sudden appearance of a powerful, unfamiliar beast. Once Golden Lion Beast was fully embedded, they could take their time breaking it in.

Gathering Soul Power, he looked at the golden lion and spoke in a deep voice: "This demon shall be named Green Lion King."

Ten points of Soul Power poured into it.

Golden Lion Beast shuddered all over.

Dark gold light erupted from within its body, the flames along its mane surging abruptly higher. Its frame stretched upward even within its illusory state, and a deep roar welled up from the depths of its throat, shaking all of Lion Camel Ridge.

Boulders tumbled down, demonic winds howled, and even the remnant stone of patching heaven atop Flower-Fruit Mountain flickered with a faint spiritual luminescence.

Su Mu looked at the System Panel.

【Name: Green Lion King (Half-Embedded · 2/5)】

【Rank: A】

【Level: 1】

【HP: 16800/16800】

【ATK: 2080】

【DEF: 1050】

【Agility: 420】

【Combat Index: 32240】

【Skills: Golden Roar, Lion King Charge, Golden Mane Protection, Beast King Coercion, Lion Camel Ridge Coercion (Deals an additional 100% damage to other creatures within the range of Lion Camel Ridge)】

【Remarks: Head of the three Demon Kings of Lion Camel Ridge, the Azure Lion Spirit. Currently in a half-embedded state, can only exert 2/5 of base attributes.】

Looking at this System Panel, Su Mu was slightly shocked.

Sixteen thousand eight hundred HP, two thousand eighty ATK, one thousand fifty DEF, and four hundred twenty Agility. These attributes were slightly higher than even Little Drill-Wind's when it was S-rank Level 1.

Bear in mind, this was only two-fifths of Green Lion King's complete attributes.

In other words, after being fully embedded, Green Lion King's base attributes would reach forty-two thousand HP, five thousand two hundred ATK, two thousand six hundred DEF, and one thousand fifty Agility. Even among SS-rank cards, such stats would firmly rank at the absolute pinnacle.

Yet looking at the words "Rank A" on the System Panel, Su Mu frowned.

After he named it just now, Green Lion King's attributes had certainly skyrocketed. Yet the rank column still read Rank A.

That shouldn't be.

After being named, Little Drill-Wind had jumped from E-rank to A-rank, White Bone Demon from D-rank to S-rank, and Benboerba and Babobaben from C-rank to SS-rank. Following that pattern, Green Lion King should have leaped from A-rank to at least S-rank or even SS-rank.

Su Mu stared at that line of text for several seconds, thoughts racing through his mind.

He thought of several possibilities.

First, because of the half-embedded state. Since the card hadn't completely merged into the dungeon, the rank-advancement mechanism might be partially restricted. Only after being fully embedded could the conceptual amplification brought by naming take full effect.

Second, because the naming's "entanglements" were not yet sufficient. Green Lion King was different from Little Drill-Wind and White Bone Demon.

Little Drill-Wind was a Patrol Minor Demon of Lion Camel Ridge, and White Bone Demon was a corpse demon of White Tiger Ridge; their backgrounds were simple and their concepts pure. But Green Lion King was the steed of Manjusri Bodhisattva, entangled with the Buddhist sect and the sworn brotherhood of the three demons of Lion Camel Ridge.

The power of the naming was diluted; a single name alone was not enough to make its rank soar.

Su Mu leaned toward the second possibility.

For characters from Journey to the West, the deeper the background and the broader the entanglements, the more concepts were required for completion.

As the head of the three demons of Lion Camel Ridge, Green Lion King's complete concept required at least three elements: Lion Camel Ridge, Green Lion King himself, and the other two Demon Kings (White Elephant and Dapeng).

Right now there was only Lion Camel Ridge and Green Lion King. Lacking two sworn brothers, the concept remained incomplete, so its rank naturally could not rise.

However, these were all speculations.

Without more information, he could only wait until it was fully embedded to verify his hypothesis.

At this moment...

Little Drill-Wind had walked over at some point.

Standing beneath Green Lion King's illusory form, it tilted its head up, its narrow eyes fixed unblinkingly on the translucent golden lion silhouette.

In stark contrast to its previous bristling, guarded posture, it had sheathed its short blade, folded its hands in front of its chest, and bent forward in a bow with hands clasped.

The movement was stiff, yet the posture was profoundly respectful.