Shedding the Beast God Position

The moment Shi Yan set foot in the Ancestral God Sect, the Three Ancestral Gods received a reminder from the Origin Will of the universe and learned that Shi Yan had stepped into the True God realm.

Originally, because the Beast God Position had never returned, the Three Ancestral Gods thought Shi Yan had escaped and hidden himself through some special means. They never expected he had instead become a Universe Supreme Being.

This left the Three Ancestral Gods in a difficult spot. After all, they had received many favors from the Eight Natural Beast Gods in their early years. If they were in the Natural Beast Gods' place, they too would likely resent the Ancestral God Sect's betrayal.

As Ancestral Gods, at least until the end of this Reincarnation Era, they had no fear of Universe Supreme Beings. But clearly, no one was willing to easily make an enemy of a Universe Supreme Being, especially one who had originally been one of their own.

"Senior Shi Yan, how about coming to the Ancestral God Palace for a chat?" The Double-Faced Ancestral God now showed a kind and gentle face, radiating a friendly aura that made others unconsciously want to befriend him.

But Shi Yan wasn't swayed. He said coldly, "Three Ancestral Gods, there's no need for reminiscing. We have no old ties to speak of. I've come only to shed the Beast God Position. As for anything else, spare me."

"..." The Three Ancestral Gods felt helpless at his words but could not persuade him further. They could only say resignedly, "Very well. Still, we hope Senior Shi Yan can understand our position. We had no choice."

This time, Shi Yan couldn't even be bothered to reply. He headed straight for the Light Beast God Palace among the Eight Directions Beast God Palace on Bauhinia Island.

Unlike Acquired Beast Gods who inherited the Beast God Position through beast god inheritance, the Natural Beast Gods were the founders of the Ancestral God Sect. Their Beast God Positions appeared directly with the birth of the sect.

The Beast God Position itself was designed to make cultivators of the Beast God Path more similar to the Natural Beast Gods, thus greatly enhancing the successor's strength.

But as the saying goes, those who learn from me may live, but those who imitate me will die.

A cultivator of the Beast God Path confined within the Natural Beast Gods' Beast God Path would naturally have their future cut off, unable to break through any further.

For this reason, most cultivators of the Beast God Path willing to accept the Beast God Position were those with limited talent. After all, accepting the Beast God Position allowed one to display fourth-tier strength, making them a powerful existence even among Universe Masters.

For Acquired Beast Gods, the Beast God Position was a shackle. But for Natural Beast Gods, the Beast God Position was merely a shadow, an imitator. Shedding it was possible at any time.

Shi Yan's arrival had already alarmed countless Inheritors on Bauhinia Island. In the Eight Directions Beast God Palace, more than ten Universe Masters appeared, several of whom emitted a rhythm somewhat similar to Shi Yan's—clearly new Beast Gods who had inherited other Beast God Positions.

But Shi Yan ignored them. He went straight to the Light Beast God Palace, where several Sect-Protecting Beast Gods who cultivated the Light-Time Beast God Path were already waiting.

"Lord Shi Yan!" "Senior!"

Several Universe Masters tried to surround him, but Shi Yan stopped them.

"Ha!"

With a low roar, rings of light radiated from his body. The Origin Will of the universe descended upon the Light Beast God Palace in resonance, carrying a hint of joy, as if celebrating its child becoming a True God, while faintly conveying some message.

"!" Shi Yan's eyes widened suddenly, his expression growing somewhat complicated. But soon, he completely severed his external senses, focusing solely on peeling away the Beast God Position from himself.

As time passed, a phantom gradually separated from Shi Yan's white-gold body. The phantom looked exactly like Shi Yan—a white-gold horned lizard.

Sometimes roaring, sometimes sleeping, sometimes playing, sometimes fierce—free and unrestrained.

This was the Beast God Position created by the Primal Universe Origin based on the Light Beast God among the Natural Beast Gods.

"Roar!"

With a silent roar, the Beast God phantom completely detached from Shi Yan and then dissipated into the world. The Light Beast God Palace seemed to gain an extra peculiar rhythm.

At the same time, the Three Ancestral Gods, who had followed Shi Yan to the Light Beast God Palace, also sensed it—the Light Beast God Position was vacant.

After shedding the Beast God Position, Shi Yan immediately felt a lightness throughout his body, as if some invisible pressure had completely dissipated.

"So this is the truth behind the Natural Beast Gods..." Shi Yan looked up at the distant Primal Universe Origin, his heart a mix of emotions.

"Senior Shi Yan!"

Seeing Shi Yan shed the Beast God Position, a being who looked like a human youth with bronze-colored skin, four arms, and three eyes on his forehead suddenly rushed over.

"Senior Shi Yan, did you really become a Universe Supreme Being? That's great! You have no idea how worried I was about you. It's all the Ancestral Gods' fault for forcefully suppressing me and stopping me. Otherwise, I would definitely have gone to teach those damned Monster Race a lesson..."

The youth's mouth rattled on like a string of firecrackers, giving Shi Yan a headache. He quickly interrupted, "Alright, Qing Huan. The Ancestral Gods were right to stop you. With your strength, you would only have thrown your life away in a battle of that level. Besides, didn't I already tell you I had a way to survive? Why did you have to meddle?"

The youth, who had been somewhat unconvinced, deflated like a punctured ball at Shi Yan's last words. He muttered, "I was still worried about you, Senior. A Universe Supreme Being leading ten Universe Masters—you said you had a way to survive, but how could I believe that..."

Shi Yan found it both amusing and touching, but he still felt a warmth in his heart. "Alright, it's all over now. The Monster Beast Progenitor has already fallen. No one will be hunting me anymore."

"That's good." The youth Qing Huan breathed a sigh of relief, but the others around them stirred restlessly.

"The Monster Beast Progenitor has fallen?" "How is that possible?"

The Universe Masters couldn't believe it. In this era of the Primal Universe, no Universe Supreme Being had yet fallen. Even the Original Ancestor's audacious provocation of the Origin Will had only resulted in his suppression.

The Monster Beast Progenitor was the first Universe Supreme Being to fall in this era.

Shi Yan paid no attention to the Universe Masters' shock. He simply turned to the Three Ancestral Gods and said, "Double-Faced, you three are the Origin Will's agents. Even though you betrayed us Natural Beast Gods, I can't do anything to you. But from now on, I have nothing to do with the Ancestral God Sect. You three... take care of yourselves."

With that, Shi Yan lost all interest in conversation. His form flickered, and he vanished from the Light Beast God Palace, teleporting directly outside the Ancestral God Secret Realm.

With a wave of his hand, an Immortal Servant appeared beside Shi Yan: "God Kingdom teleportation, return to the Hulan Secret Realm."

"Yes, master."

The Immortal Servant opened a God Kingdom Passage. But just as Shi Yan was about to leave, a signature loud voice exploded in his ears: "Senior Shi Yan, wait for me!"

Shi Yan stopped at the sound, a trace of helplessness on his face. He turned around and sure enough, saw the bronze-skinned, three-eyed, four-armed youth grinning as he teleported over.

"You were doing just fine as the Ancestral God Sect's Sect-Protecting Beast God. With your talent, becoming a Sect-Protecting Divine Lord in the future would be easy. Why do you have to come running after me?" Shi Yan said earnestly.

"Senior, we agreed back then—once I stepped into Universe Master, you'd take me as your disciple. A dignified Universe Supreme Being wouldn't go back on their word, would they?" The youth Qing Huan pressed forward with a thick-skinned persistence.

Shi Yan's headache only grew worse.

Heaven knew, when he'd said that at the time, it was pure dismissal. In Shi Yan's mind, once this kid became a Universe Master, he wouldn't still be clinging to him, begging to be taken as a disciple.

After all, once someone reached Universe Master, Shi Yan wasn't the Original Ancestor—he wasn't someone Universe Masters would fight to apprentice under.

Yet he never expected this brat to actually take those words to heart.

Seeing Shi Yan still hesitating, Qing Huan pressed on: "The Ancestral God Sect? If it weren't for you, Senior, taking me out of the Blazing Wind Secret Realm, I'd probably have been possessed by who-knows-who by now.

I joined the Ancestral God Sect because you were the Eight Directions Beast God of the sect. Now that you've cut ties with them, why should I stay?

All this time I've been cultivating, it's been you guiding me, Senior. The Beast God inheritance of the Ancestral God Sect helped me some, sure, but I left my supreme treasure behind for the Ancestral Gods as compensation. I owe them nothing now."

As it happened, Shi Yan's encounter with Qing Huan was pure chance. It was when Shi Yan was comprehending the Fire-Space Beast God Path in the Blazing Wind Secret Realm, finally achieving mastery, and was about to leave when he happened upon Qing Huan—a special lifeform, newly born and still naive.

In high spirits after just mastering the Fire-Space Beast God Path, Shi Yan brought Qing Huan out of the Blazing Wind Secret Realm and sent him to the Ancestral God Secret Realm to become a member of the Ancestral God Sect.

Qing Huan was indeed a special lifeform with exceptional talent. He hadn't cultivated long, yet he'd already become a Universe Master, and it seemed his bottleneck was still far off.

"Qing Huan, this is no joke. From now on, I'm a lone Universe Supreme Being. I'll have to fight for my own opportunities—not like the Ancestral God Sect, sheltered by the Primal Universe Origin with fortunes aplenty." Shi Yan frowned, his tone serious.

"Senior, didn't you tell me before that to become a Universe Supreme Being, you have to learn to break free from the Primal Universe's shelter and find your own path? If so, then the Ancestral God Sect's fortunes aren't worth keeping." Qing Huan looked playful, but his voice was firm.

"..."

Caught off guard by the kid turning his own words against him, Shi Yan couldn't help but laugh.

Qing Huan, seizing the opportunity, put on a pitiful act: "Senior, I don't have a single supreme treasure left now, and I've left the Ancestral God Sect. If you don't look out for me, I might end up perishing in some forgotten corner."

"Alright, alright, spare me the act." Shi Yan couldn't hold back a scolding laugh. "You're a special lifeform, a dignified Universe Master—where did you learn this from... Fine, since you're so set on becoming my disciple, then follow me from now on."

With that, Shi Yan paused briefly, then added: "Don't worry, you won't be short on supreme treasures..." As long as you don't turn out as ungrateful as those three Ancestral Gods.

Shi Yan didn't speak that last half aloud.

But Qing Huan seemed to understand his meaning. Overjoyed, he dropped to his knees and kowtowed three times in the void toward Shi Yan, saying: "Greetings, Master. Rest assured, I'm nothing like those three Ancestral Gods."

"You little rascal..." A warmth stirred in Shi Yan's heart. Special lifeforms had no tradition of such kneeling when taking a master—this was a custom of the Human Race.

Because Shi Yan had inherited the memories of that Visitor from Another World, he paid close attention to the Human Race. Qing Huan must have noticed this too and deliberately learned the Human Race's apprenticeship rites.

Though Qing Huan acted naive and adorable in front of Shi Yan, even losing his composure when Shi Yan was in danger, he was still a Universe Master—not lacking in wisdom.

All matters settled, despite unexpectedly gaining a disciple, the purpose of this trip was fully accomplished. Shi Yan brought Qing Huan back to the Hulan Secret Realm, where they awaited the journey to the Monster Race a year later, while he digested the insights and gains from this period.