Your Name

The cyan-white stream of light suddenly decelerated a few meters above the ground, hovering steadily.

The gale subsided, revealing the breathtaking figure within.

What hovered before them was no longer that petite, adorable, round-headed little white beast!

Its body was nearly twice as large, with sleek, robust lines that radiated a sense of power.

Its entire body was covered in holy, flawless Void Feathers, their edges shimmering with deep black and white starlight, refracting a mysterious and noble luster under the sunlight.

A pair of massive Spirit Wind Wings on its back flapped slowly, each stroke stirring up gentle yet immensely powerful currents of air, lending its hovering posture an air of elegance and majesty.

Those eyes, sharp as an eagle's, flashed with the brilliance of wisdom and power, carrying a sense of indifference as if looking down upon all living things.

This... this was clearly a different soul beast! A flying soul beast so powerful, beautiful, and majestic that it was suffocating!

"This... this is..." A guard's voice was dry, barely able to utter a complete sentence.

They had only seen that little beast instantly kill a thousand-year Scarlet Mad Lion yesterday, but the aura radiating from the soul beast before them was even more powerful than the one from the day before.

Xue Qinghe's heart hammered wildly, threatening to leap right out of his chest.

He stared fixedly at the figure in the air—it was him! It was definitely him! Although its form had undergone a world-shaking transformation, that flicker of intelligence occasionally flashing deep within those eyes made him absolutely certain!

How could this be?! In just a single night?! How could a soul beast undergo such a massive, near-rebirth transformation?! This had completely exceeded his understanding of soul beasts!

An existence that even his grandfather, Qian Daoliu, had never heard of... could it really be the cub of some legendary divine beast?

Immense shock and indescribable ecstasy instantly overwhelmed Xue Qinghe.

His previous disappointment and worry were swept away, replaced by an even more fervent desire and determination!

The value of this soul beast was a thousand times higher than he had previously imagined! He must spare no cost to repair their relationship, and perhaps even... possess him!

Xiao Yu hovered in the air, his gaze sweeping calmly over those below.

He first glanced at Yu Yi, who was hovering respectfully, and conveyed a "Well done, stand down" thought through Wing-Type Affinity.

Only then did his gaze fall upon Xue Qinghe.

Facing Xiao Yu's gaze, for some reason, Xue Qinghe actually felt an aura of a "king," the same kind he had felt from Xue Ye.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the nervousness that had inexplicably risen within him.

Ignoring the worried looks of the guards, he tentatively asked, "Are you... that mysterious soul beast?"

He knew Xiao Yu could understand his words, which was why he spoke directly.

"Ao~" Xiao Yu nodded slightly. After all, there was no need to hide something so obvious at a glance. Besides, the man had come to bring him food; he couldn't just trample on the man's enthusiasm.

He could tell from yesterday's events that it was another human who had caused the trouble, and it had nothing to do with this person. He wasn't one to hold others accountable for someone else's actions, and since it hadn't affected him anyway, it was fine to let that matter end there.

However, there was one thing he was quite curious about: who exactly was this person? His family was surprisingly comfortable with him constantly coming to the soul beast forest; it was quite unbelievable.

It wasn't as if he hadn't been to the edge of this soul beast forest before. Although it was blocked by walls, it wasn't an unexpected occurrence. In the original story, it seemed that apart from the Star Dou Forest and the Sunset Forest, there were no other soul beast forests not under human jurisdiction.

He could only confirm that he wasn't in the Star Dou Forest or the Sunset Forest.

"It really is you!" Seeing that Xiao Yu held no hostility toward him, Xue Qinghe breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed he hadn't taken yesterday's incident to heart.

"Ao~ (You guys go first!)" Xiao Yu suddenly looked up and said to the soul beasts overhead. Constantly flying above wasn't really a good look; they should all just head home.

Chirping and squawking sounds came from the sky as the creatures truly scattered like birds and beasts. Such a spectacular scene left Xue Qinghe and the others utterly shocked.

"This soul beast can actually command so many soul beasts, and even those of different species." The guard looked at Xiao Yu in disbelief. What kind of divine being was this?

"By the way, I brought you some fruit. Do you still want it?" Xue Qinghe suddenly remembered something and quickly said to Xiao Yu, then handed over the fruit basket in his hand.

Only, compared to Xiao Yu's current size, this small amount of fruit didn't seem like enough to eat.

Xiao Yu smiled at Xue Qinghe's fawning behavior. This human was quite interesting; other humans would have been scared out of their wits seeing this scene, yet this human was still thinking about befriending him. It seemed he wasn't an ordinary person.

Xiao Yu nodded; he still wanted the fruit. After all, he was a foodie, and he didn't care about the quantity as long as there was something to eat.

Seeing Xiao Yu extend his claw, the guard to the side was so frightened he thought Xiao Yu was about to launch an attack. Only Xue Qinghe understood Xiao Yu's intention and moved the fruit basket over.

"Hmm, all the things I like. How is this guy more attentive than a woman?" Xiao Yu was a bit surprised as he ate, glancing at Xue Qinghe with suspicion. This was clearly a grown man, wasn't it?

As for the strangeness in Xiao Yu's gaze, Xue Qinghe felt a bit baffled.

Not dwelling on it, and looking at the now-grown Xiao Yu, Xue Qinghe subconsciously reached out his hand.

Xiao Yu glanced at it and didn't mind; after all, this was their trade, wasn't it?

Seeing that Xiao Yu didn't react, Xue Qinghe felt even more at ease placing his hand on Xiao Yu's body. This familiar feeling put Xue Qinghe at ease, just as it always had.

Only the two guards watched the current Xiao Yu with great wariness. After all, Xiao Yu didn't look as harmless as before, and their concern was natural—this was the Crown Prince, after all.

"Come to think of it, I don't think I know your name yet." After feeling around for a bit, Xue Qinghe retracted his hand with satisfaction and suddenly thought of this question.

Since he couldn't get the identity of this soul beast from his grandfather, he might as well ask him directly, given how human-like he was.

Perhaps this was the first time a human had asked a soul beast for its name—excluding transformed soul beasts.

Xiao Yu didn't answer directly, instead looking at Xue Qinghe. Before asking for someone else's name, one should state their own first. It just so happened that he was also curious about who he was; a person like this couldn't possibly be nameless in the original story.

Meeting Xiao Yu's gaze, Xue Qinghe somehow seemed to understand his meaning. He chuckled and said, "Sometimes I really feel like you're a human. My name is Xue Qinghe."

It wasn't that he hadn't considered revealing his true name, but with two guards behind him, he naturally couldn't do so.

He just didn't notice that Xiao Yu, upon hearing this, suddenly froze.

"What do you mean your name is Xue Qinghe???"