So Eager?

Remembering how, through the Double Pupils, he had seen the Little Red Bird lightly flap its wings and turn the land and mountains into crimson lava, Shi Yi shuddered all over and sprang straight up from the ground.

"What are you afraid of? I'm not going to hurt you. I'm just curious about your Ten Celestial Passages." The Little Red Bird landed on Shi Yi's head and gave him an irritated swat with its wing.

This remarkably human gesture was especially amusing coming from a Little Red Bird no bigger than a palm. Shi Yi's reaction after getting swatted was even more amusing.

"Senior Bird, is there anything this junior can help you with?" Though the inexplicable wing-swat had made his head feel as if it had been struck by a hammer, Shi Yi still did not dare confront the Little Red Bird head-on.

As the old saying went, those who understood the times were the true heroes.

"Help?" The Little Red Bird tilted its head.

Then—

It carefully sized Shi Yi up, rubbed its chin with a wing, and said, "Although you are a Young Supreme with Ten Celestial Passages and can fight opponents above your level, you cannot help me with anything right now."

Over all these years—

Shi Yi was the first Young Supreme with Ten Celestial Passages it had discovered. That was why, even while fighting Golden Great Claw, it could not resist taking time out to come down and have a look.

"If that is the case, Senior Bird—"

Shi Yi had not even finished speaking before he received another swat.

The Little Red Bird proudly puffed out its chest, stood on Shi Yi's head, and declared, "What senior this and senior that? I don't like your human race's complicated forms of address. Call me Great-Aunt!"

Female?

Shi Yi lifted his eyelids and glanced upward, but all he could see were the Little Red Bird's wings, part of its forelimbs, and its overbearing, unsurpassable arrogance.

Perhaps because of its feathers, Shi Yi's scalp felt a little itchy. He wanted to pull it down, but although his hand twitched, he ultimately did not dare forcibly drag it off.

"Great-Aunt, since this junior cannot help you either—"

Shi Yi spoke again, only to be interrupted by the Little Red Bird once more.

"Young man, what is your name?"

The Little Red Bird jumped down from Shi Yi's head onto his shoulder. Noticing that Shi Yi had lowered his head, it hooked his chin with a wing.

"This junior is Shi Yi," Shi Yi said helplessly.

He was truly speechless now. The Willow Deity had forcibly taken him as a disciple, then disappeared into his Tenth Celestial Passage, leaving him utterly helpless against this Little Red Bird.

Although Shi Yi had opened his Tenth Celestial Passage himself and possessed absolute authority over it, after the Willow Deity entered, that authority no longer belonged to him alone.

"Your surname is Shi. You are not from the Stone Kingdom's royal family, are you?" the Little Red Bird asked in surprise.

"Martial King Manor," Shi Yi said flatly.

It was clearly checking his family background. Whatever. The knife was in another's hand, and he was the fish on the chopping block. Confronting it head-on was definitely not an option. What if it burned him to ashes with a single burst of fire?

It was like leaving the beginner's village at the start of a game—

Only to run into an expert wearing max-level divine gear.

"Martial King Manor. That will do."

The Little Red Bird studied Shi Yi's profile and nodded its tiny head thoughtfully.

Wait.

Shi Yi, Martial King Manor?

The Little Red Bird seemed to recall something. It seemed to understand why Shi Yi had managed to break through to Ten Celestial Passages. It was not strange for a Double Pupil User to possess such talent.

Yet Shi Yi's Ten Celestial Passages always gave it a strange feeling. They did not seem like ordinary Cavern Heavens. Within them, there appeared to lurk some great terror.

"Great-Aunt, I still—"

Shi Yi might have been especially unlucky today. Not long ago, the Willow Deity had sealed his mouth with a hand. Now, an unknown Little Red Bird had covered his mouth with a wing.

"Do you want a princess? I'm very close with the Fire Country Human Emperor. As long as you nod, I cannot be bothered competing with that big fool over the Mountain Treasure anymore. I'll send the Fire Country Princess straight to your bed."

After saying that, under Shi Yi's utterly speechless gaze, the Little Red Bird used its other free wing to pat the back of his head and enthusiastically helped him nod.

"You're this eager?" the Little Red Bird asked in feigned surprise.

"Mmph, mmph, mmph!" Shi Yi struggled.

"Don't get so excited. Although I'm close with the Fire Country Human Emperor, we cannot rush this. Besides, you are still young. I'll first have the Fire Country Human Emperor discuss things with Martial King Manor. Don't worry, whatever Great-Aunt promises you, I will do. Even if the little princess refuses, I'll still send her to your bed."

The Little Red Bird withdrew its wing and put on an expression that said it understood his lustfulness. How it had managed to convey that meaning with only its eyes and wings was anyone's guess.

"I didn't nod. You forced me to. I refuse to acknowledge this marriage."

Shi Yi was indignant, gasping with anger as his chest rose and fell violently. Yet the Little Red Bird's next words effectively sentenced him to life with a wife.

"Shi Yi, you would not want Martial King Manor to suffer because of you—"

Though the Little Red Bird's tone was calm, the threat hidden within it was almost tangible, leaving Shi Yi no room to refuse.

"Great-Aunt, forced melons are never sweet," Shi Yi sighed.

"Whether it is sweet or not, you will know once you eat it." The Little Red Bird curled its beak disdainfully.

"I..."

Shi Yi desperately wanted to say something, but he did not know how to begin.

This bird was clearly determined to force the princess on him. Refusing would mean offending the bird.

"Do not worry. You will not be wronged. Marrying the Fire Country Princess will bring benefits beyond your imagination."

After saying that, the Little Red Bird wanted to fly away. But just as it flapped its wings, it seemed to remember something important. A crimson feather fell from its tail and landed precisely atop Shi Yi's head.

"Shi Yi, Great-Aunt still has some influence in this Great Wilderness. With my feather in hand, you can walk unhindered through the Great Wilderness."

As soon as the words fell—

The Little Red Bird turned into a red bolt of lightning and vanished beyond the horizon, speeding westward.

The terrifying being behind Golden Great Claw merely glanced at Shi Yi and did not descend from the sky.

"So the Double Pupil User Shi Yi was sent to the First Ancestral Land. Those people from Martial King Manor really kept their mouths shut. The Stone Country Human Emperor even thought this Young Supreme had met with an accident."

"Forget the Mountain Treasure. Since she has already left, there is no point in my staying. If the Heaven Swallowing Sparrow and Qiongqi surround me, even if I do not die, I will lose a layer of skin."

"I should go back and ask the Stone Country Human Emperor whether he has a suitable princess to marry off, lest this Young Supreme with Ten Celestial Passages be won over by the Fire Kingdom just like that."

The creature speaking—

Was golden all over, with three heads and six arms, shaped like a monkey, and radiating endless divine might. Over the past two years, no one knew how many towering mountain ranges it had crushed and smashed apart.

It was the terrifying being behind Golden Great Claw. Roaming the Great Wilderness was effortless for a being like it, as easy as walking through its own backyard.

Just like that—

The terrifying creatures that had fought in the sky for two years all left the Great Wilderness. Thinking about it, the reason they had fought without end was probably because they simply disliked one another.

If they had truly been fighting over the so-called Mountain Treasure, they would never have fought before it was born. What if they both ended up badly injured and let later arrivals reap the benefits?

Half a day passed.

"Shi Yi, regarding your Ten Celestial Passages, I have good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?"

The Willow Deity's voice was gentle, like a soft breeze and drizzling rain. But Shi Yi did not want to say a single word. All he knew was that he had been forced twice today.

Forced into becoming a disciple.

Forced into an engagement.

Too many things had happened in just one day. Shi Yi was truly exhausted. Only by burying his head in the Willow Deity's embrace could he feel the slightest bit of warmth.

Until—

He felt his ear being tugged, and Shi Yi reluctantly raised his head.