Become the King

"Me? Become the king of the Soul Beast Clan? For real?"

Di Qiu'er pointed at herself in bewilderment, seeming unable to believe that Chen Ming actually wanted her to become the king of the Soul Beast Clan.

"Of course it's real. The Silver Dragon King and Golden Dragon King are both parts of the Dragon God. Your awakened Golden Dragon King Martial Soul means that the Auspicious Beast bloodline within you has successfully evolved into the Golden Dragon King Martial Soul bloodline."

"Golden Dragon King Auspicious Beast, you're not just an Auspicious Beast anymore. You're also the Golden Dragon King, Lord of Soul Beasts. Why can't you become king?"

Chen Ming pointed at Di Qiu'er in approval. Though this Golden British Shorthair was greedy and playful, in the original story she'd been manipulated into becoming lovesick and sacrificing herself for Huo Yuhao.

But Gu Yuena had already run off, so Di Qiu'er, the rightful heir of the Star Dou Forest, definitely had to become king. Wasn't that perfectly reasonable?

This wasn't usurping the throne. It was what everyone wanted. Chen Ming's eyes lit up as he spoke, and a Golden Sword appeared in his hand.

"Repeat after me: 'By the Mandate of Heaven, may the reign endure forever!'"

"I... I can't... I have so little cultivation. How could I become the Lord 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 had she suddenly been forced into taking the throne?

"How can you say you can't? A woman must never say she can't! With me, the living Zhuge Liang, supporting you, you'll definitely succeed. Then you can make me your father-minister."

The Golden Sword in Chen Ming's hand turned into a folding fan. He fanned himself a few times as an image of Zhuge Liang supporting A Dou flashed through his mind. It seemed he could recreate that now, too.

"I thought of you as a friend, and you want to be my dad?! Believe me, I'll fight you!"

Di Qiu'er wasn't having it. They'd been perfectly good friends, and now he suddenly wanted to be her dad? She couldn't accept that.

"Ahem, back to business. You're the rightful heir of the Soul Beasts. The Golden Dragon King has fallen, and Tang San has seized his power. The Silver Dragon King was caught up in the ten-thousand-year plan and is trapped in it. The Soul Beast Clan needs a king to step forward."

"I... But I'm so weak... The Golden Dragon King could beat the crap out of Little Scumbag all by himself, and the Silver Dragon King has god-level strength... Can I really do it?"

Di Qiu'er grew self-conscious. She was just an Auspicious Beast who did nothing but eat and wait around. And now her cultivation had dropped from ten thousand years to a thousand. How could she shoulder the burden of the Soul Beast Clan?

"You can do it. Do you want Tang San's grandson to become the Lord of Soul Beasts? Do you want to stand by and watch your Uncle Di Tian fall?"

Chen Ming gripped Di Qiu'er's soft shoulders with both hands and pressed her. At his words, she was struck as if by lightning.

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

"Then stand up and become king! Become the king of the Soul Beast Clan. Your Uncle Di Tian will surely be proud of you."

Chen Ming gave Di Qiu'er's shoulders a gentle shake. This was the perfect time for her to shoulder the burden. He was going to train the Auspicious Beast into a king who could stand on her own!

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

A hopeful look flashed in Di Qiu'er's eyes. To be honest, it was asking a lot of her to go from a little Auspicious Beast who'd only ever eaten, drunk, and played around to the Lord of Soul Beasts. She would need a little time to adjust.

"That's right. Your Uncle Di Tian's lifelong wish is for the Soul Beast Clan to be restored to glory and for the Dragon God to return in his lifetime."

At that, Di Qiu'er lowered her head. The members of 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 Scarlet King, and Uncle Yao Ling.

They had raised her and were as dear to her as her own parents. Di Qiu'er 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, then secretly deliver 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 would soon return...

Before, Di Qiu'er had planned to cling to Chen Ming, since he knew everything about Douluo and wielded the Power of Creation in My World. Surely he could beat the crap out of the God Realm Circle.

But now, Chen Ming's words had jolted her awake. She couldn't just stand by and do nothing. She was the Auspicious Beast of the Star Dou Forest, raised by Uncle Di Tian and the others. She had to help them! With that thought, she spoke up.

"...What should I do?"

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

"From now on, follow my lead. Let me support you. Become king."

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

Di Qiu'er immediately protested at the thought of becoming a turtle. Chen Ming didn't worry about the little details. He'd have to make a strict training plan for the little one.

The little Auspicious Beast had no idea what was in store for her, but she truly wanted Uncle Di Tian and the others to be proud of her.

This would be the Auspicious Beast's last meal before saying goodbye to her carefree life, so Chen Ming made it especially lavish.

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

Di Qiu'er looked at the lavish dinner before her and immediately picked up her chopsticks. Chen Ming used his sword to peel the shrimp.

Then he peeled crabs for her and fed her. There was no shortage of all kinds of delicious food, and Di Qiu'er was thoroughly satisfied with the meal.

There really was a lot of good food. After dinner, Di Qiu'er watched Chen Ming busy at his desk and began searching around.

First, she went to check the freezer. There was only meat and the like, no snacks. She'd already wolfed down the ice cream from before.

Next, she searched the storeroom. After rummaging around for a while, she found only a whole pile of assorted blocks, equipment, and other odds and ends.

She came up empty-handed. Then Di Qiu'er went to the farm, the ranch, and the iron farm. As she passed the ten-thousand-year-old Golden-Eyed Black Dragon, she even greeted him.

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

After that, she found only crops, raw meat, and Iron Ingots in the chests. There was nothing else.

In the end, Di Qiu'er crawled under Chen Ming's desk, tugged at his legs, and poked her head around to search.

"What are you doing?"

Chen Ming looked down at the little Auspicious Beast lifting his shirt and asked in confusion. Di Qiu'er lay against his stomach and looked up at him.

"Bro, where are my snacks?"

"Oh, those. I'll set up a reward system. Whenever you complete a training exercise, I'll give you a few snacks. How does that sound?"

Chen Ming planned to use snacks as a reward to encourage her to work hard. Di Qiu'er understood at once, and her expression changed.

"Bro, did you eat all my snacks?!"

"'Eat' is the wrong word. I bought them with my money. I didn't eat them; I allocated resources."

Chen Ming explained with a straight face. Di Qiu'er flushed red with anger.

"Give me back my snacks!"

"Gah! You can't bite me there!"