At first glance, the white bull appeared smaller than any of the savage bulls, yet none of them dared to approach it.
Eddie's sharp eyes could see clearly that there was a golden object, like a golden bell, on the white bull's nose—a golden ring.
The white bull lazily ignored Eddie and Sophia's arrival, continuing to sleep soundly.
Eddie noticed something strange.
Outside, the oppressive feeling from Tucker's summoned battle beasts, the Golden Level 7 ancient behemoth and the golden dragon, was far less than the pressure from the Golden Level 6 white bull and the Chimera in Aries, also Golden Level 6.
This white bull was not only strong but also seemed intelligent, giving Eddie a sense of wisdom and spirituality.
In comparison, Tucker's Golden Level 7 ancient behemoth and golden dragon seemed inferior to the Golden Level 7 Reaper Mantis.
Why were they inferior to others of the same or even higher level?
Was it because they were enhanced-class battle beasts?
Recalling Granny Wendy's words and the information from the mysterious notebook, Eddie pieced together the insights.
Granny Wendy had said that only high-intelligence battle beasts could evolve into holy beasts and become stronger.
The tragic man's mother mentioned that the more breakthroughs a battle beast makes at the same level and the longer the cultivation period, the greater the growth.
Combining these, it becomes clear that battle beasts of the same level or even the same species can vary greatly due to different cultivation and experiences.
Tucker's ancient behemoth and golden dragon, despite being superior breeds and higher level, were less powerful than the Reaper Mantis, which had survived in the wild.
Compared to the intelligent Chimera and the Golden white bull guarding the Golden Zodiac, they were far inferior.
Even if the Chimera and the Golden white bull weren't holy beasts, they weren't far off.
Eddie reflected on this. If this is true for battle beasts, what about humans?
Many warriors quickly climb to Level 4 or even Level 5 but can never reach Level 6, while others, who train steadily and solidly, eventually reach Level 6 or even higher.
Sophia, though a Level 3 hero, could hold her own against some Level 5 masters. Does this suggest that a longer cultivation period and more breakthroughs make a warrior stronger at the same level?
Eddie wasn't sure about this.
But he decided to cultivate Sophia this way, not allowing her to level up until her strength far exceeded her level and naturally broke through.
Reflecting on himself, Eddie felt he had also followed this path.
"Don't be afraid, Ice. We have a shield; they can't harm us. Let's go, towards the left corridor," Eddie reassured Sophia, now understanding that apart from level differences, there is a huge gap between battle beasts of the same level and even more so between intelligent battle beasts and ordinary ones.
No wonder Granny Wendy said only intelligent battle beasts could evolve into holy beasts.
The Golden Level 5 Savage Bulls, originally thought to be at most ten times weaker than the Golden Level 6 white bull, now seemed to be nearly a hundred times less powerful.
Recalling the fierce battle with the three Chimeras, Sophia had struggled greatly and nearly killed them, but the sheep head had instantly recovered. This white bull also seemed extraordinary.
If Eddie could use his innate power, he could surely win, but in the Golden Zodiac within the Star Domain, under ancient rules, he could only watch.
Moreover, having overused his innate power previously, it would take three months to recover, even if he could use it here.
Eddie initially thought he could clear the remaining eleven Zodiac signs in one go, but now it seemed unlikely.
At the end of the left corridor, there was another group of bull-headed warriors.
Eddie and Sophia summoned their grimoires. Sophia called forth two century-old tree guardians, but per Eddie's earlier instruction, she stored her grimoire away, not gaining any battle experience.
Eddie summoned the Bull Shadow and the Blood Queen. He couldn't summon the Blood Queen himself, but little Wenli could help him with that.
Eddie found it somewhat ironic that he couldn't control his own summoned beasts, and it wasn't just the Blood Queen.
Apart from little Wenli and the Bull Shadow, the others didn't seem to obey him much.
The battle ended quickly. Eddie didn't immediately lead Sophia to the right corridor but first checked for any treasures. According to convention, there should be something here to aid in clearing the level.
Eddie searched the left hall but found nothing besides a huge mural on the wall.
The mural depicted several bull-headed warriors slaying a savage bull, painted vividly.
The savage bull was unleashing a deadly gaze, killing a bull-headed warrior caught in its stare.
Its companions, angered, swung their blood-stained axes at the savage bull. The mural seemed unremarkable, with no secrets or mechanisms.
No treasure, no anomalies, no mechanisms. Eddie was puzzled.
The half-hour shield limit ticked away. It was trivial for Eddie, but crucial for Sophia's protection.
If she were to participate in more battles, this absolute shield was essential. Being stared at by the savage bulls was no joke.
Eddie carried Sophia and dashed out of the left hall, running past the white bull.
He accurately judged that the Golden Savage Bulls, despite their rage, dared not enter the white bull's territory.
The white bull nonchalantly sneezed and continued sleeping soundly.
The Blood Queen appeared in the sky, causing a slight disturbance among the savage bulls.
Now at Platinum Level 5 and a Platinum King, her intangible intimidation made the bulls uneasy.
Even the white bull briefly opened its eyes during its nap, but as the Blood Queen passed by, it continued its deep slumber.
The Bull Shadow also dashed past.
The two towering century-old tree guardians clumsily followed.
Suddenly, the white bull's eyes opened wide, and with a fierce glare, the two century-old tree guardians were sent flying as if hit by a siege hammer, crashing ten meters away.
Fortunately, their strong vitality meant they were only heavily injured, not killed. They slowly got up and continued following their master.
Eddie and Sophia, who had already rushed into the corridor, immediately returned, astonished by the scene.
Eddie couldn't understand why the white bull attacked the tree guardians and not the Bull Shadow, which also ran past it.
Time was of the essence, and seeing that the tree guardians were not dead, Eddie had no time to ponder. He immediately carried Sophia and rushed into the right hall.
The Blood Queen was extremely fast and had already engaged the bull-headed warriors inside the right hall. The Bull Shadow joined the fight soon after.
Eddie, carrying Sophia, stood in the midst of the chaotic battlefield, staring dumbfounded at the wall of the right hall. There was a disordered mural, and it seemed that to activate the mechanism and obtain the treasure, this large mural needed to be completely restored to match the one in the left hall.
"My kidney, this is not how you play with people!" Eddie sweated profusely.
He had only been looking for mechanisms and flaws earlier.
Although he had seen the mural in the left hall, he hadn't paid attention to the details, and some small areas were not particularly noted.
If this mural couldn't be fully restored, the mechanism wouldn't activate, and the treasure would be unattainable.
Without the time constraint, Eddie could have run back to record it again, but there was an hourglass above this mural.
As soon as the Blood Queen started fighting the bull-headed warriors, the hourglass slowly turned, with sand continuously falling.
The hourglass definitely did not have more than ten minutes.
Running back and forth to carefully observe the left mural and then returning to complete the chaotic puzzle on the right within ten minutes was impossible.
If it were anyone else, it would be even more impossible, as others probably wouldn't be able to defeat all the bull-headed warriors in ten minutes.
But Eddie didn't want to give up.
"Sophia, be careful on your own. I'll take care of the mural! We need to complete it to get the treasure. Stand back; there might be traps or mechanisms activated later," Eddie put Sophia down.
He was uncertain about completing the mural in ten minutes, especially since he hadn't remembered many details. He only recalled a group of bull-headed warriors slaying a savage bull, now fragmented into pieces.
Moreover, Eddie found that the puzzle pieces could only be moved to the right, up, or down, but not left, which added to the headache.
"Go, brother!" Sophia was full of confidence in Eddie.
Eddie cursed the designer of this wall restoration puzzle in his heart, wondering who was so malicious to create such a thing to trap people.
Time ticked away, second by second.
Eddie found it impossible to complete the mural puzzle in time. Several times, he thought of smashing the wall with a hammer, but he resisted the urge.
He reminded himself to stay calm, as losing control was exactly what the puzzle's designer wanted, leading to wasted time and failure.
Since the puzzle was designed, there had to be a way to complete it within the allotted time. There must be a method, he thought.
Eddie tried sensing for clues, but it was useless. The mural had no special features; it was simply a restoration puzzle that required a 100% match to solve.
"Brother? Do you want me to help? Let me help you!" Sophia came over, seeing Eddie stop and offering comfort.
"We'll find a way together, brother, you'll succeed!"
"Alright," Eddie replied, knowing Sophia couldn't offer much help, but he smiled at her warmly.
Continuing to restore from memory was impossible. He needed to find the key point, the supporting point of the entire restoration.
With the movement directions limited to right, up, and down, Eddie thought there must be a central piece in the twenty-eight mural pieces that connected the rest. But which one was it?
Was it the piece where the savage bull kills the bull-headed warrior, or the piece where the bull-headed warrior angrily wields an axe at the savage bull?
Choosing wrongly could mean failure. How to decide?
The sand in the hourglass rapidly fell.
Time waited for no one.
Eddie felt these two pieces had the highest possibility. He gritted his teeth and decided to try.
Just as he was about to leap up, Eddie felt a sharp pain in his eyes, as if a blinding light pierced through his closed eyelids straight into his mind, like a beam of light carving a path through darkness.
In Sophia's eyes, Eddie was bathed in golden light. Even with his hands covering his eyes, fierce rays of light shone through his fingers, brilliantly bright, almost unbearable to look at.
Sophia was overjoyed.
Was her brother experiencing a breakthrough at this moment?
Was he using some hidden talent to find the key piece of the mural?
Had his abilities advanced to a new level?