"Isn't it common for Soul Beasts to fight among themselves? You've always been magnanimous, Your Highness. Surely you won't blame your younger brother over something so trivial?"
As he spoke, he glared viciously at the Scarlet Mad Lion in the cage. Frightened even more by Xiao Yu's presence, it cowered in distress. Xue Beng barked, "Beast! Quiet! Sit!"
Stung by Xue Beng's ferocity and the pain of its wounds, the lion's fear of the man before it temporarily outweighed its awareness of the terrifying presence in the distance. It whimpered and reluctantly sat down.
"See, Your Highness? It listens to me!" Xue Beng hurriedly pointed at the Scarlet Mad Lion, trying to prove it was harmless. "It was just a little contest, for entertainment. I meant nothing by it! Your Highness is so broad-minded..."
Xue Qinghe watched Xue Beng's hypocritical face and listened to his feeble excuse, anger churning in her chest.
She wanted nothing more than to throw her foolish, treacherous younger brother and his "pet" out of the forest at once.
But reason told her she couldn't. Xue Beng had brought guards with him, and if this escalated and word reached Emperor Xue Ye, he would most likely think she was making a fuss over nothing and scold her for being hard on his youngest son. The emperor was biased toward him and dismissive of matters involving Soul Beasts.
To maintain "Xue Qinghe's" image as a generous elder brother, and to avoid complications that might jeopardize her covert mission, she had no choice but to endure it for now.
"Hmph!" Xue Qinghe drew a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the murderous rage and fury that threatened to erupt.
He no longer looked at Xue Beng. His icy gaze swept over the restless Scarlet Mad Lion, and his voice was cold as ice. "Keep your 'pet' under control. If it harms anyone or causes a disturbance, don't expect your elder brother to show mercy! Let's go!"
With that, he paid Xue Beng no further attention and strode deeper into the forest, his back radiating an unwelcoming chill.
Meanwhile, Xiao Yu, who had finished his daily tasks, was dragging a log back with wooden vines, just as he had yesterday.
"Tomorrow. It'll be ready tomorrow." Xiao Yu murmured to himself. Tomorrow, he would break through to level twenty and evolve into a "Spirit Feather Champion." Then he wouldn't have to do everything himself—he could get those Soul Beasts to do the work.
"Hmm? Did a Soul Beast wander in?" Back near the giant tree, Xiao Yu caught the smell of blood in the air and frowned.
He had also noticed that his presence seemed to keep most of the nearby Soul Beasts away, so the sudden scent of their blood surprised him.
"Something's wrong." Following the direction of the scent, Xiao Yu was certain it was coming from his "home."
"Wait, my fruit!" Xiao Yu suddenly panicked and hurried up. He didn't really care if a Soul Beast had come, but he did care about the fruit he'd left under the tree.
But when he returned to the clearing, the scene before him was rather unexpected.
"Why are there more people here?" Xiao Yu frowned at the well-dressed young man standing not far from Xue Qinghe, along with the two guards behind him.
If you came here on your own, fine. But bringing other people was a bit much, wasn't it? Someone might think this was your home.
Seeing Xiao Yu return with a log, just as he had yesterday, Xue Qinghe seemed to feel somewhat in the wrong and didn't approach him as she had the day before.
Xue Beng, on the other hand, nearly burst out laughing when he saw that the creature his elder brother liked was only a young beast.
He'd wondered what it was, and this was all? A Soul Beast that hadn't even been weaned? Wouldn't any Hundred-Year Soul Beast be able to beat it?
He'd gone to the trouble of capturing a thousand-year Soul Beast for nothing. He'd clearly been overthinking it.
"Your Highness," Xue Beng drawled, his voice full of mockery and disbelief. "You... You've spent all these days thinking about this little thing day and night, neglecting your rest just to 'build a bond' with it?"
He pointed at Xiao Yu and exaggerated its tiny size with his fingers. "I doubt this thing could even beat a ten-year-old rabbit. Your taste... tsk, now that's unique."
The two Soul Ancestor guards behind him exchanged glances, their nerves easing as contempt spread across their faces.
They had worried that the crown prince's chosen companion would be some ferocious, unusual beast. Instead, it was something so young and harmless. It seemed that using a thousand-year Scarlet Mad Lion was indeed overkill for such a trivial matter.
Xue Qinghe's expression darkened instantly, as if covered in ice.
She could naturally hear the mockery and provocation in Xue Beng's words.
She gave Xue Beng a cold, knife-sharp look. He shivered and instinctively reined in some of his arrogance.
Xue Qinghe ignored Xue Beng's provocation. Her gaze fell on Xiao Yu, carrying a hint of apology and worry.
As for Xiao Yu, he didn't care at all about the clash between Xue Qinghe and Xue Beng. He was merely displeased. Had he been too indulgent toward these people?
After glancing at the two of them, Xiao Yu went back to ignoring them and headed toward the fruit under the tree. Maybe he should avoid dealing with people from now on. Did none of them understand personal space?
But just then—
"ROAR—!!!"
A deafening lion's roar, filled with overwhelming terror and rage, suddenly exploded! It didn't come from deep within the forest. It was right beside them!
The steel cage on the carriage behind Xue Beng groaned under the Scarlet Mad Lion's frenzied blows!
The cage walls visibly bent out of shape!
Xue Beng and his two Soul Ancestor guards went pale!
"Beast! Are you rebelling?! Quiet!" Xue Beng shouted furiously.
But this time, it didn't work!
Xue Beng hadn't fed the Scarlet Mad Lion even once during all this time, and it was starving.
Now, as it spotted the fresh fruit piled beneath the tree, its hunger outweighed its fear.
"ROAR—!!!"
With another deafening roar, brimming with savage fury, the Scarlet Mad Lion gathered all its strength and slammed into the already warped steel cage like a blazing, blood-red meteor!
"Crack! Crash—!"
The grating sound of breaking metal pierced the air! Under the thousand-year Soul Beast's desperate impact, the sturdy cage shattered like paper! Broken steel bars flew in all directions with sharp whistles!
"Look out! Protect His Highness!" Xue Beng's two Soul Ancestor guards reacted swiftly, immediately releasing their Soul Power and activating Martial Soul Possession!
One transformed into a giant bear and crossed his arms in front of Xue Beng. The other darted forward like a leopard, trying to intercept the escaped beast.
But they were still a fraction too slow!
The freed Scarlet Mad Lion completely ignored the guards in its way. It had only one target—the pile of fruit nearby, giving off a sweet aroma! Its massive body, surrounded by a gust of foul wind and flying stones, charged toward the tree at astonishing speed!
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