Holy Wing Guard

Above the Royal Soul Beast Forest, an unfamiliar "Soul Beast" soared through the sky, beating the wings on its back.

"Roar!" Xiao Yu howled at the sky. Ever since evolving, he had felt as though his whole body was brimming with energy that needed to be released.

Flying was the way Xiao Yu chose to let it out. It was also the perfect opportunity to test his bloodline talent, "Wing-Type Affinity."

"Evolution really is great. My arms were too short before, and swinging them around felt awkward. Now this is much more comfortable." As if a seal had been broken, Xiao Yu tumbled through the sky, like a fish in the sea.

Just then, Xiao Yu sensed something. Looking down, he saw several bird-type Soul Beasts flying up toward him.

"Caw~"

They called out to Xiao Yu, as if making a pilgrimage, then flew along behind him.

"So this is Wing-Type Affinity?" Xiao Yu also felt that he could somehow communicate with these Soul Beasts and understand their language.

"Interesting." Xiao Yu paid them no more mind. He wanted to see just how far this Wing-Type Affinity could go!

As Xiao Yu flew with his wings beating, more and more bird-type Soul Beasts gathered behind him, creating an incredibly spectacular sight in the sky.

The other Soul Beasts below first stared up at the scene in fear, but soon lowered their heads respectfully. The nobility in their blood made them acknowledge their place of their own accord.

Xiao Yu, the sole descendant of the Holy Wing King lineage in this world, had announced his dominion to the world for the first time. Though Xiao Yu himself was unaware of it, to the Soul Beasts of the Royal Soul Beast Forest, he was the one and only king here!

Thanks to the Royal Soul Beast Forest's unique status, even though such an upheaval had occurred within it, no one outside the forest knew what had happened.

From noon until sunset, Xiao Yu "patrolled" his territory in the sky without stopping, as if he would never tire. It was only when he saw the setting sun that he finally came to his senses.

"No wonder people in my previous life liked street racing. This feeling of freedom really is great." Xiao Yu reluctantly slowed down and hovered in the air, as if savoring the sensation he had just experienced.

Only then did he look at the bird-type Soul Beasts that had flown with him for so long. There had been many of them at first, several hundred, but as time went on, quite a few gave up following.

It wasn't that they didn't want to keep up; they simply didn't have the stamina.

Xiao Yu examined them closely. With the system's help, he could easily determine a Soul Beast's age. Of the several dozen that remained, five were thousand-year Soul Beasts, and the rest were all eight or nine hundred years old.

In this Royal Soul Beast Forest, that was already a sizable group. After all, the Heaven Dou Imperial Family deliberately kept the numbers under control.

"From now on, you'll follow me." Xiao Yu had a thought and used "Wing-Type Affinity" to convey it to them.

The bird-type Soul Beasts "heard" his words and could barely contain their excitement. They began to cry out.

Their calls reached the depths of the forest, making the bird-type Soul Beasts that had fallen behind feel dejected. But they accepted it wholeheartedly. Among Soul Beasts, strength was everything. They wouldn't complain when they lacked the ability to keep up.

"There are a lot of you, and I can't give orders to every one of you. How about this: you five will be my direct subordinates, the Holy Wing Guard. The rest of the Soul Beasts can be divided among you." Xiao Yu spoke to the five thousand-year Soul Beasts at the front.

The five thousand-year Soul Beasts were all different species, so each made a different sound. When those sounds reached Xiao Yu, he couldn't tell who was speaking.

"Quiet down. Here, I'll give you names first. That'll make it easier to communicate later." As he spoke, Xiao Yu nervously glanced at them.

After all, this was his first time being a "king," and he was still inexperienced in many things. He didn't know whether these Soul Beasts would want names.

But clearly, the Soul Beasts had no such concerns. To them, the king's command was everything. Whatever the king said, went.

Seeing that they had no objections, Xiao Yu thought for a moment, then said to the thousand-year Soul Beast on the far left, "You'll be Yu Yi."

"Woo~" The Soul Beast responded, sounding delighted. That helped Xiao Yu feel less nervous about naming the rest.

"You're Yu Er."

"Caw~"

"You're Yu San."

"Roar~"

"You're Yu Si."

"Chirp~"

"And you'll be Yu Wu."

"Aw~"

After finishing the names, Xiao Yu nodded. It was just like raising a bunch of puppies. Looking at the big family before him, he felt a real sense of accomplishment.

"Everyone, follow me back to where I'm staying for now. I'll tell you your duties later." After memorizing the names of the five Soul Beasts, Xiao Yu turned and flew toward the big tree.

The Soul Beasts hurried after him.

Meanwhile, in the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace.

Xue Qinghe stood by the window, gazing toward the Royal Soul Beast Forest with a deeply furrowed brow.

Xue Beng's foolish actions that day and Xiao Yu's cold, resolute gaze had lodged in her heart like two thorns.

The connection she had worked so hard to establish with that mysterious Soul Beast had nearly been destroyed by Xue Beng.

"Your Highness," a trusted guard appeared silently behind her and reported in a low voice, "His Fourth Highness was summoned to the palace by His Majesty this morning. It seems... he was severely reprimanded. He has now been confined to his residence."

A trace of coldness flashed through Xue Qinghe's eyes, but she felt little satisfaction.

Xue Ye's reprimand and confinement were mainly due to his anger that Xue Beng had brought a dangerous Soul Beast into the Royal Forest without permission, as well as his desire to protect the Crown Prince's dignity. It wasn't because he truly understood what made that Soul Beast special, much less the disappointment she felt.

"I understand." There was no emotion in Xue Qinghe's voice. "You may leave."

"Yes!" After the guard withdrew, two Soul Masters of very different builds emerged from the shadows of the room.

One was tall and slender, the other burly and powerfully built. Neither had any connection to the Heaven Dou Imperial Family. They were loyal solely to Xue Qinghe—or rather, to Qian Renxue: Snake Lance Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo.

"Your Highness." Snake Lance and Porcupinefish bowed.

"Mm." Xue Qinghe nodded, then paused before asking, "What did Grandpa say? Did he find anything out about this Soul Beast?"

Since even she didn't recognize a Soul Beast with such intelligence, Xue Qinghe naturally wanted to learn more about it. So she could only seek help from her grandfather—that was, Qian Daoliu, the Great Enshrined of Spirit Hall.

The two Douluo exchanged glances at her question. Snake Lance shook his head helplessly. "I'm sorry, Your Highness. Even the Great Enshrined doesn't know what kind of Soul Beast it is. It seems to have appeared on the mainland for the first time."