Become the King

"Me? Become the ruler of the soul beast clan? Are you for real?"

Di Qiu'er pointed at herself in a daze, seemingly unable to believe that Chen Ming would actually want her to become the ruler of the soul beast clan.

"It's definitely for real. Both the Silver Dragon King and the Golden Dragon King are parts of the Dragon God. The Golden Dragon King martial soul you awakened signifies that the Auspicious Beast bloodline within you has successfully evolved into the Golden Dragon King martial soul bloodline."

"Auspicious Beast and Golden Dragon King—you are now not just an Auspicious Beast, but the co-ruler of soul beasts, the Golden Dragon King. Why can't you become the ruler?"

Chen Ming gestured toward Di Qiu'er, signaling his approval, even though this golden-furred big cat was a glutton who loved to play and, in the original work, had been manipulated into becoming a lovesick fool who sacrificed herself for Huo Yuhao.

But since Gu Yuena had already run off, Di Qiu'er, as the legitimate heir of the Star Dou Forest, surely had to become the ruler. Wasn't that a perfectly reasonable thing?

This wasn't called usurping the throne; this was called the will of the people. Speaking of which, Chen Ming's eyes lit up, and a golden sword appeared in his hand as he shouted:

"Repeat after me: By the mandate of heaven, may I live forever and prosper!"

"I... I can't... I only have this much cultivation, how could I possibly be the sovereign of the soul beast clan..."

Di Qiu'er shook her head like a rattle. She was just a little Auspicious Beast, the mascot of the Star Dou Forest; how could she suddenly be forced into a position of power?

"How can you say you can't? A woman must never say she can't! With me, a Zhuge Liang of this era, supporting you, you will definitely succeed. When the time comes, you can just address me as your foster father."

The golden sword in Chen Ming's hand transformed into a folding fan, and he fanned himself a few times. The image of Zhuge Liang supporting A-Dou flashed through his mind; it seemed he could replicate that feat now.

"I treat you as a friend, yet you want to be my dad?! Do you believe I'll fight you to the death!"

Hearing this, Di Qiu'er was not pleased. We had a perfectly good friendship, and yet you suddenly want to be my dad? That was something she couldn't accept.

"Ahem, let's talk business. You are the legitimate successor of the soul beasts. Currently, the Golden Dragon King has fallen and been exploited by Tang San, while the Silver Dragon King is trapped deep within a ten-thousand-year scheme. The soul beast clan needs a ruler to step forward."

"I... but I'm so weak... The Golden Dragon King could beat that little scoundrel to a pulp single-handedly, and the Silver Dragon King possesses god-level strength... Can I really do it?"

Di Qiu'er began to feel inferior. She was nothing more than an Auspicious Beast who only knew how to eat and wait for death, not to mention that her cultivation had dropped from ten thousand years to a thousand years. It was hard for her to shoulder the burden of the soul beast clan...

"You can do it. Do you want Tang San's grandson to become the co-ruler of the soul beasts? Do you want to watch your Uncle Di Tian fall with your own eyes?"

Chen Ming grabbed Di Qiu'er's soft shoulders and pressed her, and upon hearing this, she was struck as if by lightning.

"I... don't want to... I don't want Uncle Di Tian to fall."

"Then stand up and become the ruler! Become the ruler of the soul beast clan, and your Uncle Di Tian will surely be proud of you."

Chen Ming shook Di Qiu'er's shoulders slightly. Now was the perfect time for her to shoulder the burden; he was going to cultivate this Auspicious Beast into a ruler who could stand on her own!

"Uncle Di Tian... proud of me..."

Expectation flickered in Di Qiu'er's eyes. To be honest, it was still too difficult for the little Auspicious Beast, who had only ever known how to eat, drink, and play, to suddenly become the co-ruler of soul beasts. She probably needed a little time to accept it.

"That's right. Your Uncle Di Tian's lifelong wish is the revival of the soul beast clan and to see the return of the Dragon God in his lifetime."

Hearing this, Di Qiu'er lowered her head. The faces of everyone in the soul beast clan flashed through her mind: Uncle Di Tian, Aunt Bi Ji, Uncle Wan Yao Wang, Aunt Zi Ji, Uncle Xiong Jun, Uncle Chi Wang, and Uncle Yao Ling.

They were the ones who had raised her; they were as dear to her as her own parents. She couldn't bear to watch Uncle Di Tian and the others fall.

Originally, Di Qiu'er had planned to farm a few Totems of Undying in My World and then secretly give them to Uncle Di Tian to help him avoid his death tribulation.

But even if Di Tian survived the nine-hundred-thousand-year tribulation, there was still the million-year tribulation, and after that, the God Realm Circle that was about to return...

Previously, Di Qiu'er had thought about clinging to Chen Ming's leg. After all, he possessed all the information about Douluo and the Power of Creation from My World; he could definitely crush the God Realm Circle.

But now, Chen Ming's words woke her up. She couldn't just do nothing. She was the Auspicious Beast of the Star Dou Forest, and she was raised by Uncle Di Tian and the others; she had to help them! Thinking of this, she spoke immediately.

"...What should I do?"

Seeing the decision Di Qiu'er had made and the determination in her eyes, Chen Ming smiled.

"Follow my arrangements from now on. Let me support you, and become the ruler."

"I don't want to become a turtle!"

Di Qiu'er was instantly unhappy when she heard she was going to become a "wangba" (turtle). Chen Ming didn't care about such details; he would have to formulate a strict training plan for the little one later.

The little Auspicious Beast didn't yet know what she was about to face, but she truly wanted her Uncle Di Tian and the other uncles and aunts to be proud of her.

Afterward, this would be the last meal before the Auspicious Beast bid farewell to her life of slacking off, so Chen Ming made it quite sumptuous.

"Qiu'er, eat up. Tomorrow won't be easy."

Di Qiu'er looked at the incredibly rich dinner in front of her and immediately picked up her chopsticks to eat. Chen Ming swung his sword to shell the shrimp.

Then he fed her peeled crab, and all sorts of delicious food were in high demand. Di Qiu'er was very satisfied with this meal.

After all, there was so much good food. After the meal, Di Qiu'er watched Chen Ming sitting by the desk, busy, and began to rummage around.

She first went to the freezer to take a look; there was just some meat and the like, no snacks, and the ice cream from before had been polished off by her in one go.

Then she went to the storage room to rummage. After searching for a while, there was only a pile of miscellaneous blocks, equipment, and sundries.

She came up empty-handed. Afterward, Di Qiu'er ran to the farm, the pasture, and the iron farm, even greeting that ten-thousand-year Golden-Eyed Black Dragon as she passed by.

"Hello, Uncle Di Tian! Goodbye, Uncle Di Tian!"

After that, she only found corresponding crops, raw meat, and iron ingots in the chests; there was nothing else.

Finally, Di Qiu'er crawled under Chen Ming's desk, reached out to tug at his legs, and poked her head out to start fumbling around.

"What are you doing?"

Chen Ming looked down at the little Auspicious Beast lifting his clothes and asked in confusion. Di Qiu'er lay on his lower abdomen, looked up, and asked:

"Brother, where are my snacks?"

"About that, I'm going to set up a reward system. As long as you complete a training task, I'll reward you with a few snacks. How about that?"

Chen Ming prepared to establish a reward system to encourage her to work hard with snacks, and Di Qiu'er understood immediately, her expression changing instantly as she said:

"Brother, you swallowed my snacks?!"

"What do you mean 'swallowed'? It was clearly bought with my money. It's not swallowing; it's called allocating resource usage."

Chen Ming explained with a straight face, and Di Qiu'er turned red, shouting angrily:

"Give my snacks back!"

"Hiss! You can't bite there!"

ps: The third update for February 26th, totaling 6,000 words.