You'll Be Called Xiao Qing from Now On

The emerald-green ball of light clung to the energy mass, rising and falling rhythmically. A vague, unidentified creature could be seen within it.

"Is this... energy reproducing itself?"

"Stop dreaming, Host. Clearly, some unknown creature wandered in here and evolved on the energy bed you left behind."

"I slept on that thing for years and didn't evolve. I went out, chopped down a few trees, roasted a pig, and someone else evolved on my bed?"

"Can your cultivation compare to that unknown creature's? Any Spirit Beast with even a shred of intelligence would never dare enter this place. Those capable of ignoring the innate aura and pressure you left behind are either peerless fierce beasts like Di Tian, or newborns that know nothing at all."

As Ye Qing and the system discussed the matter, the ball of light began to pulse more violently. As time passed, the emerald cocoon finally shattered under the strain. A snow-white arm, smooth as lotus root, stretched out from within before tearing open the entire cocoon. Ye Qing stared closely and saw that the one sitting up inside was actually a human girl.

"A human? No, impossible. A human of this age couldn't possibly reach this place alone. Which means..." Ye Qing looked at the girl before him and sought confirmation from the system.

"Is this a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast that chose to take human form?"

"How could that be? Please sense her aura carefully, Host. At most, she is a Spirit Beast with twenty thousand years of cultivation. How could she possess a hundred thousand years of cultivation? Besides, didn't I already say that a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast could never enter your territory?"

"Twenty thousand years... Heh... twenty thousand years of cultivation..." Ye Qing began to laugh softly. If anyone had been beside him, they would have seen a phantom born of resentment looming behind him.

"Host... you haven't gone mad, have you?"

"No, but I think you're messing with me. Let's put aside how a newborn Spirit Beast gained twenty thousand years of cultivation just by sleeping up there. Why did she turn human for no reason? What about me? What about me?!"

"Ahem, Host, calm down. You've already waited several years. Wait a few more, and it'll happen sooner or later. You have to believe me."

"Believe you? My ass!"

Meanwhile, the girl sitting on the bed of light was at a loss. When she opened her mouth, only babbling sounds came out, and shock clearly appeared on her face. She then staggered to her feet. Though she looked like a girl of fourteen or fifteen, she was like an infant and could not stand steadily at all.

She stumbled off the ball of light and fell to the ground. The sound successfully drew Ye Qing's attention again. The girl also noticed Ye Qing's presence and sensed the invisible resentment radiating from him. Her earlier confusion and delight vanished in an instant, replaced by fear.

Seeing her fall, Ye Qing had intended to help her up. But as he approached, the girl seemed to sense an enormous threat. She frantically crawled backward on all fours, retreating in panic until she reached the corner. There, she actually transformed into a tiny emerald-green snake and flicked her tongue at Ye Qing. Yet the frantic twisting of her body still revealed her nervousness.

"A snake? Does that make you some kind of snake demon?" Ye Qing casually walked over and picked her up. In terror, the little snake bit Ye Qing's arm, nearly shattering her own fangs.

"Oh? You've got some nerve, little one. You broke into my home and still tried to bite me. Pretty tough, aren't you? Other than Xiong Jun's Sky-Rending Claw and that fellow Di Tian, no Spirit Beast has ever been able to hurt me."

"Please spare my life, my lord... I was wrong."

"So you can talk. How did you get in here, little one?" Ye Qing did not actually harbor any ill will. It was rare to find a Spirit Beast that had wandered in on its own and could communicate with him, so he was quite pleased. He tried his best to smile as he spoke to the little snake, less than a foot long, in his hand. Remembering what Xiong Jun had said about finding some subordinates, Ye Qing had an idea.

Unfortunately, his habits were still human habits. His expression looked incredibly ferocious to the little snake, so she fainted without hesitation.

"System, am I that scary?"

"I do not know. This system does not possess aesthetic functions."

"What does that have to do with aesthetics...? What should I do with this little snake? Put her back on the energy mass?"

"She would probably explode and die if you did. Her energy absorption has already reached its limit. That energy came too early for her. If you had not absorbed most of the energy from that ball of light, Host, she would have died from it long ago. This system recommends releasing her."

"Release her? If I throw her out like this, she'll just die, won't she? It's rare for one brave enough to come in here to show up. I'll keep her as company. Hmm, let me think... I'll call her Xiao Qing."

With that, Ye Qing placed the little snake in another room. When he had built the Castle, he had made quite a few rooms. He had even used a waterfall and bamboo tubes to create a simple water supply system. If he could return now, the side professions he had obtained from the system would definitely make him a top-tier designer.

The little snake seemed to have had a long dream. She had originally been a Nine-Section Jade Snake with five hundred years of cultivation, poison among poisons. Even a Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Beast or a Titled Douluo would die if bitten by her.

She had lived on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest. A few days ago, she had been hunted by a natural predator. In her panic, she had somehow run into the inner region of the Star Dou Great Forest. In her daze, she sensed a sweet scent calling to her.

Overwhelmed by exhaustion, she barely thought at all. Guided by instinct, she followed that scent forward and saw a strangely shaped stone. After that, she seemed to have drifted off to sleep.

When she woke again, she discovered that she had become one of those creatures called humans. Many memories had also appeared in her mind, and her once-vague thoughts had become clearer and sharper.

She understood that she had reached a new realm. But before she could rejoice, she felt the most terrifying aura of her life as a beast. Even the natural predator that had terrified her before was not worthy of grooming this being's fur.

She saw a Rabbit-like creature walking upright like a human toward her. With all her remaining strength, she desperately cried out for mercy. After that, she only remembered the other party splitting open a beastly mouth full of sharp teeth. Believing that she was about to die, she fainted.

Not long afterward, she woke up.

"I'm alive. I wasn't eaten. Was that just a dream... No."

The little snake discovered that she had not awakened on a familiar treetop, inside a crack between rocks, or in a damp cave. Instead, she lay atop something soft as feathers and warm as sunlight.

"I became a Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Beast?! It wasn't a dream. It was all real! That's wonderful!" But she was only happy for a brief moment before she discovered another problem.

"It was all real... which means that being really exists too." Fear once again surged into her heart, and the warmth she had felt vanished instantly.

Then Ye Qing returned from his morning training. The little snake heard the voice that now terrified her, yet would become impossible for her to part with in the years to come. For the next tens of thousands of years, she would never forget these words.

"You're awake. You'll live here from now on. My name is Ye Qing. I gave you a name. From now on, you'll be called Xiao Qing."