Chapter 51: Housewarming Celebration
Chapter 51: Housewarming Celebration
I saw there was no room left for negotiation, so I could only say helplessly, “Thank you for Your Majesty’s grace. This minister will surely devote himself to the utmost.”
The Beastmen King laughed loudly. “Alright, we’ll end here for today. Court is dismissed. Xiang’er, go back and rest well. The commander-in-chief isn’t tired—so long as there’s no war, you’re the most idle one. As for the rest of the military and administrative affairs, I’ll have others handle them. Is that acceptable?”
“Yes, Father Emperor.”
I had originally thought the Beastmen King wanted to cut back my authority, but I never expected that he would actually appoint me as the supreme commander of the Beastmen army—handing military power to me. This was absolutely a position second only to one person and above tens of thousands. Why would Father give up this position now? It didn’t make sense. He was still in the prime of his life—so why?
……
“Mom.” I called out to my mother, who was trimming flowers and plants.
“Mhm. You’re back. What did the Beastmen King want with you?”
I walked to her side. “The Beastmen King appointed me as the commander-in-chief of the entire Beastmen military.”
The scissors in Mother’s hand clanged as they fell to the ground. Her expression changed drastically, and she said urgently, “What? You became the commander-in-chief of the entire Beastmen military?”
“Mom, don’t scare me. What’s wrong?”
Mother forced herself to calm down a little and said, “I’m not trying to scare you. Do you still remember the promise you made me back then? Never lead troops to attack the Dragon God Empire. If you sit in the highest military command position of the Beastmen, how could you possibly not lead troops to attack the Dragon God?”
I let out a breath and explained, “Mom, don’t worry. I will definitely do what I promised you. This commander-in-chief position currently doesn’t have any real authority. Right now, the Beastmen Kingdom is only developing nonstop—it absolutely won’t send troops lightly. Maybe it will in the future, but by then we’ll already be far away from the Dragon God Empire. We can stop paying attention to all this fighting and killing and let them fight it out themselves. Today, I originally asked the Beastmen King to let me resign, but he refused. He said the Beastmen Kingdom’s development is unstable right now and needs me to advise him. I decided to stay for the time being. When the time is ripe, we can slip away without saying goodbye, right? Mom, don’t worry. I will never go against your wishes.”
To be honest, choosing to stay for now wasn’t only to help the Beastmen King. There was another reason that mattered more to me: I was afraid of seeing Zi Yan and Zi Xue, because I truly didn’t have the face to see them right now. I still hadn’t figured out how to face them. For this matter, I had to make a decision. There was no medicine for regret in this world. What should I do? I had once tried to persuade myself to pretend nothing happened, but in truth, I couldn’t bear the condemnation of my own conscience.
After hearing me, Mother’s expression eased a lot. “That’s good. Mom will step up my cultivation of the battle energy you taught me. I won’t drag you down.”
I pulled my thoughts back and said, “Mom, what are you saying? Protecting you is what I should do. Don’t worry—unless I’m dead, absolutely no one will dare touch a single hair on your head. By the way, where did Big Brother and the others go?”
“Oh, after you left this morning, they went out. Jin told me they went to find their own subordinates and have them withdraw back to their territory or something. I’m not too sure.”
I nodded, thinking it was probably because Jin, Yin, and Panzong didn’t want their troops to be absorbed by the Beastmen King, so they had them return. This time, although the werewolf and snake clans gained quite a bit materially, they also lost many excellent warriors. Not to mention ordinary soldiers—just the Viper and Swift Wolf elite legions alone had respectively lost over 2,000 and over 1,000 men. The force that had originally totaled 8,000 now wasn’t even 5,000. I knew Jin, Yin, and Panzong were deeply attached to these subordinates. I truly felt a bit sorry toward them.
…………
Behemoth King’s Mansion.
“Why? Father!” Lei Hu stood in front of the Behemoth King Lei Ao and roared. “I’m better than Big Brother in everything. Why did you let him inherit your noble title? And you even let that bas—” Under Lei Ao’s furious glare, he swallowed the second word. “…Third Brother inherit your position. But me—I got nothing.”
Lei Ao glanced at him and said flatly, “Why? You should understand that better than I do. All these years, what I’ve seen in you is only arrogance and tyranny. Although your skill is stronger than your elder brother’s, that is the result of me giving you special training. I’ve already taught your elder brother every technique you cultivated. I believe that in the future, he will surely become an outstanding Behemoth clan leader.”
Lei Hu’s eyes widened as if they were about to fall out, filled with towering malice. His hands clenched until they crackled. “Why, Father? Aren’t I the son you like most? Then why did you give me nothing? Why?”
“Have I not given you enough?” Lei Ao’s voice turned colder. “Everything I didn’t teach your elder brother and third brother, I taught you first. I have shown you far more care than I did them. But what about you? When I was your age, I had already overwhelmed all my peers. Yet you can’t even beat your own frail younger brother. I’ve discovered no achievement in you at all. You have no right to shout at me here. Get out. Get out of here.”
“Father—”
“Get out.”
Seeing Lei Ao’s resolve, Lei Hu suddenly turned around. Just as he was about to leave, Lei Ao called, “Wait.”
Lei Hu thought his father had changed his mind. He turned back. “Father, you—”
Lei Ao frowned. “I’m warning you: don’t go provoke Lei Xiang or your elder brother. Otherwise, I’ll break your legs. Did you hear me clearly?”
This time, Lei Hu was completely despairing. His gaze went dull as he walked out of Lei Ao’s room in a dejected stupor.
“Why? Why is this happening? Heaven, you’re too unfair to me—ah—!” Lei Hu threw his head back and roared in the courtyard. He raised his fist and said hatefully, “Lei Xiang, all of this is your fault. Our old grudges and new hatred—I will settle them with you.”
…………
Two months later.
We stood at the gates of the newly built Rui Prince’s Mansion, staring at the towering main gate, all of us stunned. From the outside, this mansion’s grounds were actually no smaller than Father’s Behemoth King’s Mansion, and the outer wall was two zhang high. Sixteen guards from the Crazy Lion Legion stood at the entrance. Ten meters to either side of the main gate, there was a side gate on each side for servants to go in and out. According to Beastmen rules, only the master could use the main gate.
Someone shouted, “His Highness the Prince has arrived!”
The heavy gates slowly opened. Inside was a broad stone road paved with bluestone. At the end of the road stood a two-story main hall—it should be the principal hall of the mansion. On both sides of the road stood guards and servants. The servants were all white fox clan girls, while the guards were all from the Crazy Lion Legion.
“Welcome back to the mansion, Your Highness the Prince.”
Jin stared blankly and said, “Does it have to be this exaggerated?”
I looked at Jin, Yin, and Panzong, then looked at Mother. The Beastmen King had really put in a lot of effort to win me over. Even compared to the palace’s architecture, this place didn’t fall short.
Mother smiled. “Since we’re here, we might as well settle in. Come—let’s go in.” As she spoke, she tugged me along inside.
The courtyard had six successive sections. The first section was the main hall for receiving guests. This two-story building, counting both floors together, was close to two thousand square meters. The second section was where servants and guards rested. The third section was a broad plaza used to practice martial techniques. The fourth section was the study. The fifth section was where we lived. The last section was a garden, and inside the garden there was even a delicate little lake.
After we sat in the main hall, Mother and I sat in the seats of honor, while Panzong and Jin and Yin sat on the two sides. At this moment, a white fox girl walked over. Even by human standards, she could be called a peerless beauty. She had long silver-white hair and delicate features. If not for the two pointed fox ears and the huge fox tail behind her, I would have thought she was human. Even so, I believed she must have human blood as well.
“Greetings to the Prince.” The white fox girl’s voice was crisp and pleasing. While paying respects, she couldn’t help stealing two glances at me, clearly not expecting her future master to be like this.
I froze for a moment. “You are?”
The white fox girl pressed her lips into a smile. “Master, I am your steward. His Majesty instructed me to bring my clanspeople to serve you.” Her smile left me briefly dazed. She was truly beautiful—no less than the Zi Yan sisters. I hadn’t expected there to be such a moving beauty among the Beastmen.
Mother pinched me, and only then did I come back to myself. The white fox girl still looked at me eagerly, her clever, lively eyes flickering with curious light. I realized that ever since what happened with Mo Yue, my self-control had been getting worse and worse. I couldn’t help shaking my head. “What’s your name?”
The white fox girl smiled sweetly. “My name is Bai Jian. You may call me Jian’er. I’m twenty this year.”
Mother smiled. “Bai Jian? That sounds like a boy’s name.”
Bai Jian bowed to Mother. “Greetings, Madam. My name was chosen by my father. He originally hoped I would be a boy, so he gave me this name before I was born. Later he didn’t change it. He hopes I can learn more martial techniques and lead our white fox clan to rise above others.”
Able to lead the white fox clan—this girl’s status was not ordinary. I asked, “Who is your father?”
“Replying to Your Highness, my father is Bai Ling, the white fox clan’s chieftain.”
I was immediately shocked. I had guessed her identity might be special, but I hadn’t expected she was actually the chieftain’s daughter. The daughter of a clan chieftain coming here to be my steward—this joke the Beastmen King was playing on me was far too big. What if the white fox clan came demanding her back?
I couldn’t help asking, “What? You’re a white fox clan princess—then why are you coming here to be a steward?”
Seeing my surprise, Bai Jian lowered her head. “It was arranged by His Majesty. My father also agreed, so I came.”
Mother and I exchanged a look. Mother said with some heartache, “How could your father bear to let his daughter come out and be seen like this? Doesn’t it feel wronged for you to be a steward here?”
A glimmer of tears flashed in Bai Jian’s eyes as she said miserably, “Our white fox clan is very weak among the Beastmen. We aren’t good at fighting. Often, strong people of other races want to catch us as playthings. Father—first, for my safety, and second, to please His Majesty—sent me to the Beastmen King.”
So that kind of thing existed. He could actually bear to send out his own daughter. I frowned. Kai Lin giggled. “You look so silly. Gale turns into a dragon, the dragon spins like a whirlwind—awaken, Tornado Storm!”
Bai Jian shook her head. “No. I’m willing to serve Your Highness the Prince. I can tell you’re a good person. If you don’t want me, His Majesty will also send me to someone else. Please let me stay.” As she spoke, she bowed deeply, and tears slid down her cheeks.
Mother went over and helped her up, wiping the tears from her face. She said tenderly, “Good child, you’ll stay here. Here, absolutely no one will bully you.”
Bai Jian’s eyes reddened again. “Thank you, Madam.”
Mother smiled kindly. “Silly child. I only have one son, Xiang’er. If you’re willing, I can take you as my goddaughter.”
Bai Jian clearly hadn’t expected her fate to change like this at her very first audience with her master, and for a moment she couldn’t adjust.
“What? You don’t want to be my daughter?”
Bai Jian hurriedly said, “No, no. It’s just… I’m not worthy…”
Mother feigned anger. “Worthy or not, I say you are. Here, I’m the biggest.”
Bai Jian secretly glanced at me. I smiled. “Mother is right. In this household, Mother is the biggest. I also hope to have an older sister like you—then Mother won’t be so lonely in the future.”
Bai Jian knelt again and sobbed, “Greetings, Mother.”
This time Mother didn’t help her up, letting her bow three times. “Jian’er, get up. From now on, this is your home.”
Bai Jian stood. “Thank you, Mother.” She took out a sheet of paper from her clothes. “This is the mansion’s inventory list. I’ll read it to you and—”
Mother smiled. “Still calling him ‘Your Highness’? Lei Xiang is eighteen this year. From now on you’re his older sister. Just call him by his name.”
Seeing Mother so happy, the gloom in my heart lifted a fair bit. I stood up from my seat, stepped in front of Bai Jian, and bowed. “This little brother greets Elder Sister Jian’er.”
Bai Jian was instantly flustered, at a loss for what to do. Her little face flushed bright red.
“P-Prince… Your Highness, how can this be—”
I said, “Why can’t it be? In this mansion, what we say goes. Where do all these rules come from? You’re older than me, so naturally you’re my elder sister.”
Bai Jian murmured, “You should still call me Jian’er. If you call me ‘elder sister,’ I feel…”
I touched my face and froze. “Am I that old?”
Panzong and Jin and Yin immediately burst into laughter. I glared at them, then said to Bai Jian, “Fine, then. From now on you call me Lei Xiang, and I’ll call you Jian’er. That way you won’t be so restrained, right?”
Bai Jian nodded quickly. To cover her embarrassment, she read, “The Rui Prince’s Mansion has thirty-two servants, all of them white fox clan; one steward, white fox clan; one hundred twenty guards, lion clan…”
I cut in, “Aren’t they all from the Crazy Lion Legion? Why did they come here to be my guards?”
Bai Jian said, “This was ordered by His Majesty. His Majesty had them leave military registration. From now on they’re the prince’s mansion guards. Their stipends are paid by the state.”
I nodded. “So that’s how it is. His Majesty is really good to me beyond words. Jian’er, let me introduce everyone to you.” I pointed at Panzong. “This is my sworn elder brother Panzong. Don’t be scared by how he looks—he’s very kind.” Saying this, I couldn’t help laughing first.
Panzong shot me a look, stood up, and said, “Hello, Sister Jian’er.”
Bai Jian bowed to Panzong, then glanced at Mother. Mother gave her an encouraging look. Bai Jian said softly, “Y-hello, Elder Brother Panzong.”
I pulled Jin and Yin over and pointed at Jin. “This is Jin. They’re the Wolf God, so they have two personalities. Just call him Elder Brother Jin.”
Jin’s gaze on Bai Jian looked a little dazed.
Jin suddenly cried out. “Ow—why did you pinch me?”
Yin glared viciously at Jin. “The moment you see a pretty girl, you put on that lecherous look. If I don’t pinch you, who should I pinch? Sister Jian’er, I’m Yin. From now on, just call me Elder Sister Yin.”
Jin glared at Yin awkwardly and said, “Sister Jian’er, don’t listen to her nonsense. I’m the kindest.”
I laughed. “You? Kind? Are you kidding?”
Jin glared at me threateningly. “What? Am I not kind?”
I hurriedly said, “Kind, you’re the kindest, haha.”
Jin raised his hand and threw a fireball at me, shouting angrily, “You brat, you dare mock me!”
I reached out. A small black barrier appeared in my hand and wrapped the fireball. Black light flashed, and the fireball vanished.
Jin and Yin both froze. Yin said, “Fourth, your skill improved.”
They had thought that caught off guard, that fireball would cause me at least some trouble, yet I dissolved it with ease.
Bai Jian blinked her big eyes again and again at the display.
I said, “Second Brother, this is a newly moved-in mansion. Are you trying to burn it down? Jian’er, what we used just now is called magic. If there’s a chance later, I’ll have your Elder Sister Yin teach you.”
Bai Jian said happily, “Really?”
Yin smiled. “Of course it’s true.”
I took out the last piece of amethyst from my clothes and said to Bai Jian, “Jian’er, I’m giving you this amethyst. It’ll be very beneficial for you to learn magic in the future. Consider it a welcome gift from Mother and me.”
The amethyst in my palm glowed softly, with a hazy kind of beauty.
Bai Jian looked at me and shook her head. “I can’t take it. It’s too valuable.”
I smiled faintly. “Take it. If you don’t, Mother and I will be angry.”
Hesitation flickered in Bai Jian’s eyes. She was about to speak when a tremendous boom suddenly came from outside, like someone was tearing down the house.
My expression changed. I stuffed the amethyst into Bai Jian’s hand and said to Mother, “Mom, I’ll go take a look.” I turned and walked out. Jin and Yin and Panzong followed. Jin said, “What’s going on out there? Why is it so loud?”
When we stepped out of the main hall, a burly, enormous figure stood at the courtyard entrance. A dozen lion guards surrounded him, and several guards lay on the ground, their life or death unknown. The one who came was none other than my second brother, Lei Hu. The gate of my Rui Prince’s Mansion had been smashed into a huge hole—clearly his doing.
The moment Lei Hu saw me, his eyes turned bloodshot. With a roar, he charged at me. The dozen lion guards swung their weapons to stop him, but with Lei Hu’s defense, how could he possibly take them seriously? He swung his thick arms, knocking aside the attacks, and his speed didn’t slow at all as he rushed toward me. The yellow aura flickering around him was thicker than before, and it faintly carried white light. I knew this was the sign that the Heavenly Thunder Armor Technique was about to enter the third layer. It seemed that after being defeated by me last time, Lei Hu really had put in bitter work.
I shouted, “All of you, stop.”
These lion guards’ attacks were useless against Lei Hu. To avoid casualties, I had to stop their blind assault.
Panzong said in a deep voice, “I’ll do it.”
I stepped forward and met Lei Hu head-on. “None of you interfere. This is between the two of us.”
Lei Hu had already rushed to my front. His huge body lunged at me, a powerful surge of battle energy shooting straight for my chest. I exhaled and shouted. My left foot stepped half a pace to the left, and my right fist shot out to meet him. I knew clearly that Berserk Battle Energy alone was not enough to resist Lei Hu’s powerful attack, so I wrapped dark magic power into my Berserk Battle Energy. A mass of yellow-black battle energy formed at my knuckles.
Boom.
The tremendous energy forced both of us to retreat at the same time. Lei Hu’s toughness exceeded my expectations. If my dark magic power hadn’t cultivated to the seventh level, without transforming I truly wouldn’t have been able to handle him.
Lei Hu also staggered back four or five steps. He stared at me in disbelief. The ground where we collided had caved into a circular crater.
I said coldly, “Today is my housewarming. I don’t want to kill. If you have any sense, get out.”
Lei Hu screamed and charged again, throwing himself at me without care. After our exchange just now, I had already probed his strength, so I was prepared for this attack. My body shot forward like lightning. I clasped both hands together and raised them high over my head. A thick yellow-black blade of battle energy surged above me, soaring upward—like I was gripping a greatsword in both hands. Under my control, the greatsword slashed down abruptly. A beam two zhang long cleaved toward the charging Lei Hu.
The violent energy fluctuation made Lei Hu alert. He hurriedly raised both arms to block with all his strength. In the crisis, he drew out his potential. The yellow-white battle energy instantly turned white. Even so, he still couldn’t withstand my full-force offense—after all, my dark magic power had advanced far too much.
Jin and Yin and Panzong acted at the same time, laying down thick barriers around the battlefield. As the two energies collided, muffled blasts rang out within the barrier, and the bluestone paving inside was completely ground to powder. After the dust cleared, my crushing strike drove Lei Hu’s legs deep into the soil, and blood continuously spilled from the corner of his mouth.
I stood with my hands behind my back, five meters in front of him, my eyes holding no emotion at all. “If you reach Father’s level, you can come fight me. With your current ability, you want to avenge your mother? There’s only one result—death. Now you can get out. When you have the ability, I welcome you to come seek revenge at any time. But if you dare harm the people around me, I will make your death extremely ugly.”
I wasn’t worried about myself. I was worried about Mother. With me, Jin and Yin, and Panzong—three top experts—she was safe. But once we went out to handle affairs, with Mother’s current ability, it still wasn’t enough to protect herself. That was why I had to warn Lei Hu.
I no longer hated Lei Hu now. After all, his mother had already died at my hands, and I had once beaten Lei Hu until his bones broke and his tendons snapped. No matter what, we still shared blood. Going too far wouldn’t be good.
Lei Hu pulled his legs out of the soil. His gaze never left my body. He rasped, “Today, either I kill you or you kill me. I will never wag my tail and beg you—ah—!” He charged again.
For someone like him who didn’t know when to stop, I felt extremely annoyed. Just as I was about to strike again, a massive figure blocked in front of me. Lei Hu’s attack was completely rebounded. His body flew backward and slammed into the brand-new courtyard wall. Fortunately, the wall was cast from granite and nearly half a zhang thick, otherwise it would definitely have been knocked down by his huge body. The one who sent him flying was Father.
Lei Hu, embedded in the wall, had already passed out.
Father slowly turned around. He didn’t look at me. He looked toward Mother. Only a few days had passed, yet there were several more strands of gray in his brown hair, and his face carried weathered hardship. The moment Mother saw Father, her face turned pale and her breathing grew hurried. Father froze as well, clearly not expecting Mother’s appearance to recover to this extent. “You…”
I moved warily to Mother’s side. Bai Jian and I supported Mother from left and right. Father sighed and said, “This child Lei Hu doesn’t know his limits. You were frightened. When I go back, I’ll discipline him properly. Lei Xiang’s mother, don’t worry. I won’t disturb your life again.”
After saying that, Father seemed to age several more years. He turned and walked to Lei Hu, yanked him out of the wall, and hoisted him onto his shoulder. I followed and asked, “Father, why did you hand the position of commander-in-chief of the entire Beastmen military to me now?”
Father looked at me calmly. “Because I think you’re more suited to that position than I am. Do a good job, brat. And… take good care of your mother. Sigh…” After saying this, he walked out step by step.
I had wanted to keep him, but thinking of Mother, I finally stopped the hand I had stretched out.
The courtyard, which had been clean and spacious, had been turned into a mess. I turned to look at Mother. Her face was still pale, but there was a confused, drifting look in her eyes.
“Mom, let’s go inside.” I said worriedly.
Mother nodded. With Bai Jian supporting her, she went back in. Jin muttered, “What bad luck. We just moved in and someone comes tearing down the house.”
Panzong shot him a look, stopping him from saying more. The originally good atmosphere had unquestionably been ruined.
I said to Bai Jian, “Jian’er, take Mother to rest in the back first.”
“Yes.”
After they left, I called over a white fox servant and instructed her to find people to repair the courtyard.
Panzong said, “Fourth, don’t take it too hard. It looks like your aunt and your father don’t get along too well.”
I smiled bitterly. “Not too well? It’s far more than that. Like your parents, my mother was taken by Father. My mother’s entire life’s happiness was destroyed by Father.”
Panzong said in realization, “Women are always the last victims. In the future, I’ll only unite with that dragon after I truly win her heart. I will never do something like rape again.”
The speaker had no intent, but the listener did. Panzong’s words stabbed into my heart like a sharp knife. I had already raped Mo Yue—was her life’s happiness destroyed by my hands as well? Mo Yue… how should I treat you? I truly didn’t mean to hurt you.
Yin said, “Fourth, your complexion doesn’t look too good. What are you thinking about?”
I jolted awake. “Oh, nothing. Right—Big Brother, when do you want to go look for a wife?”
To make myself feel less miserable, I changed the subject.
All nine of Panzong’s snake heads shook wildly. Every one of them turned red, and he stammered, “I, I… there’s no need to rush that much, right?”
Jin laughed with ill intent. “How can you not rush? You think chasing a dragon is that easy? What if she doesn’t like you when the time comes? Better prepare early. Heh heh—chasing girls takes time.”
Yin rolled her eyes at him. “You know so much? Like you’ve ever chased anyone. But Boss Panzong, if you get the chance, you should indeed go to Dragon Valley and try your luck.”
Panzong blinked all eighteen of his little eyes. Then they all drooped. “If I go to Dragon Valley right now, there’s only one result—I’ll be killed by that bunch of dragons. I can handle one or two, but if an elder-level shows up, I’ll be killed directly.”
I asked, “Big Brother, has your cultivation reached the Ultimate Land realm?”
All nine heads shook together. “Not yet. But I’m already at the critical point. As long as I break through this realm, my ability will rise greatly.”
I smiled slightly. I took out a piece of chicken-blood stone and a piece of Tianhuang stone and handed them over. “Use these two stones first. Since you’re already at the critical point, you need to break through quickly. The longer you drag it out, the harder it is to break through. When you reach the Ultimate Land realm, Second Brother, Second Sister, and I will accompany you to Dragon Valley to find a wife. We can use the excuse of visiting your mother, right? Didn’t you say your mother is still alive?”
Panzong’s eighteen little eyes lit up. “Fourth, thank you. But chicken-blood stone is useless to me. I’ll take the Tianhuang stone.”
He grabbed the orange-yellow gemstone from my hand and ran toward the back. “I’m going to cultivate right now!”
Jin laughed loudly. “Look how anxious he got the moment you mentioned a wife. I wonder how long it’ll take him to break through to the Ultimate Land realm. Oh right, Fourth Brother, I feel like your cultivation improved a lot. Without even transforming, you actually beat that not-weak Lei Hu until he couldn’t fight back.”
I leaned close to Jin’s ear and said, “I already cultivated to the Four-Winged Fallen Angel realm. Of course my strength improved a lot.”
Jin was shocked. “What? That fast. Yin, we need to work hard. Right now it’s only the two of us who are lagging behind. No, I’m going into closed cultivation too.”
Yin said disdainfully, “What use is closed cultivation? Are we also at the critical point of the Gradual Entry realm, about to break through to the Clear Understanding realm? Stop dreaming. Cultivation isn’t something accomplished overnight.”
Jin deflated. “Sigh. Looks like we can only be at the bottom. Fourth, I remember you should’ve been very far from four wings. How did you suddenly break through? Is there some secret technique? Tell me quickly.”
Of course I wouldn’t tell him the truth. I smiled bitterly. “What secret technique could cultivation have? I train hard every day—of course I’ll improve. Look at you two. Every day it’s eating or playing. It would be strange if you improved. I think even if you can’t break through your current realm, closed cultivation is still good. At the very least, you can quietly raise your cultivation. Even if the speed is slow, you’re still progressing.”
Yin said, “We understand that too. It’s just that the two of us are more playful, so our cultivation progressed slowly. Ever since leaving the forest, our realm has stayed at Gradual Entry. Up to now, there’s been no change at all. You’re right—looks like we really need to reflect.”
I nodded. “There are plenty of quiet chambers in the back. You two can each find one to cultivate. Anyway, there hasn’t been much going on lately. When Big Brother breaks through and wakes up, I’ll go tell the Beastmen King. We’ll head over to the Dragon God Empire side for Big Brother to pick a wife.”
Jin said happily, “Great. Then we can eat delicious food again. We’re going.” After that, Jin and Yin also left.