Demon Beast eggs came in three grades: superior, middle, and inferior.
Superior Demon Beast eggs, like this Sea Burst Crocodile egg or this Green Fang Snake egg, were not only captivatingly lustrous, but also displayed various unusual signs, such as sounds, scents, and flashes of light from within.
Middle-grade eggs, like this Fire Fox egg, had distinct color variations and looked like delicate works of art, quietly lying in a corner.
Inferior eggs looked like stones, their shells covered in dark spots and fresh cracks, with only the faintest signs of life.
"Wait, could it be..." Looking at the Fire Fox egg, the Beast Tamer suddenly thought of a possibility. But then he shook his head, dismissing the idea.
"Alas, it seems this child couldn't resist the temptation of the Earth-Fiend Stone Coins. But it's no wonder. Lady Shu has never liked him, and she even skimped on his pocket money. This bag of Earth-Fiend Stone Coins must be a fortune to him, right?" The Beast Tamer secretly felt sorry for Chu Yun.
A bag of Earth-Fiend Stone Coins in exchange for a superior Demon Beast egg—it was a terrible bargain!
"Then I'll just have to choose this Fire Fox egg." At that moment, Chu Yun stepped forward and gently stroked the shell with his palm. For a moment, he seemed to feel the living creature inside responding to him.
So lively, so warm. He couldn't help smiling. That feeling was just like in his previous life.
"Wait! You little..." Seeing Chu Yun smile, Shu Er's heart gave a sudden jolt. He realized something was off. Putting himself in Chu Yun's shoes, he immediately suspected a trick. Could Chu Yun be pulling a fast one?
"What, do you want your Earth-Fiend Stone Coins back?" Chu Yun glanced at him, then hurriedly spoke in an urgent tone. He even patted the leather pouch at his chest, pretending to protect the coins.
"Hmph, I was overthinking it! This kid's just a bumpkin who's never seen the world. Thirty Earth-Fiend Stone Coins are only one month's pocket money for me. Heh! Just you wait, silly boy. You'll be crying later!" A look of disdain flashed through Shu Er's eyes, and he was instantly reassured.
"Good. Since you've all made your choices, Shu Da, the Sea Burst Crocodile egg is yours. Shu Er, take good care of the Green Fang Snake egg. Chu Yun, the Fire Fox egg is quite good too. Keep working hard!"
Only after receiving the Beast Tamer's approval did Shu Da and Shu Er truly relax.
"Thank you for your guidance, Grandpa." Chu Yun took the Demon Beast egg and carefully held it against his chest, then bowed to the Earth Altar Beast Tamer in thanks.
"Come on, let's go! Mother's waiting for us outside!" Shu Er called to Shu Da. He casually grabbed the Grass Fang Snake egg and headed out without looking back.
"But the egg's so big. How am I supposed to carry it?" Shu Da stared blankly at the Sea Burst Crocodile egg before him.
"Serves you right! Hahaha!" Shu Er's delighted laughter immediately rang out.
"Don't worry. Someone will deliver it for you," the Earth Altar Beast Tamer said.
Shu Da's face immediately brightened. He patted the egg. "Old man, remember to deliver it to my house. And hurry!" After saying that, he glanced at Chu Yun beside him, snorted, and turned away.
"Grandpa, Chu Yun will take his leave too," Chu Yun said from the side.
"Alas, child... Keep working hard."
"Mm..."
When Chu Yun walked out of the Earth Altar, a bright, ethereal blue sky greeted him. In the distance, sea and sky merged as one, white gulls wheeled through the air, and the tide rolled in, carrying the damp, briny scent of the ocean. Nearby stood tall green coconut palms, and a splendid carriage was parked on the colorful road paved with iridescent seashells.
The carriage had four wheels and two shafts, with a spacious, magnificent cabin trimmed in gold over a silver base. Four great horses were harnessed to the front. They were no ordinary horses, but Wave-Treading Horses, a kind of Demon Beast that could stride across the surging waves as though walking on level ground. Two Beast Tamers stood guard at both the front and rear of the carriage, each with six Immortal Pouches lined at his waist. They stood like deep pools and towering mountains, their bearing steady and imposing.
When Chu Yun saw the carriage, his pupils contracted. It belonged to Lady Shu.
"Hey, Chu Yun, come here. Mother wants to have a word with you!" The red silk curtain over the carriage window suddenly lifted, revealing Shu Da's face. He shouted impatiently at Chu Yun.
Chu Yun was just about to refuse and turn away when he noticed the four Beast Tamers. They were retainers Lady Shu had brought from her maiden family. After a moment's thought, he walked over with a calm expression.
Before he reached the carriage, he could already hear Shu Er inside, chattering away and bragging about the clever plan he had pulled off at the Earth Altar.
"Lady Shu." When he reached a point five paces from the carriage, he stopped and clasped his hands toward it.
There was a faint rustle from within the carriage, as if someone had shifted position. Then came a soft snort. The curtain lifted a corner, revealing a woman's chin. Her skin was coated in a thick layer of white powder. Her chin was pointed, lacking any roundness, silently revealing the narrow mind and mean disposition of its owner.
"Chu Yun, since you've taken part in the coming-of-age ceremony, you're no longer a child. And since you're an adult, you should build a family and establish a career. Since you've chosen to leave Shu Family City, you might as well not come back. Once you've built a family and established a career, your adoptive father can take pride in you."
Lady Shu's voice was shrill, her tone icy. She paused, then continued.
"Heh, you've lived off our Shu Clan all these years, eating our food and sleeping under our roof. We won't hold it against you. Here are twenty Earth-Fiend Stone Coins to help you get established. Don't say that I, your elder, never looked after you. I'll speak to your adoptive father myself. You're clever enough to know you should be grateful."
Her words were heavy with meaning.
Twenty measly Earth-Fiend Stone Coins, and she thinks she can buy my gratitude and silence my adoptive father's reproaches when he returns? Chu Yun sneered inwardly. His reply was just as meaningful.
"Those who show me kindness will be repaid. Those who wrong me will get what's coming to them. Rest assured, Lady Shu."
Clatter.
A soft sound rang out as a bag of Earth-Fiend Stone Coins was tossed from the window and landed on the road, striking the shells with a crisp clink. The black cloth bag lay quietly atop the iridescent, multicolored shells, utterly at odds with the surrounding waves and beach. In Chu Yun's eyes, it looked especially jarring.
In my previous life, this was where I had furiously shouted and demanded to see my adoptive father. In the end, I was beaten, and the Demon Beast egg in my arms was sabotaged, its shell cracked. Heh, I really was so green back then...
He gave a self-deprecating laugh inwardly, then calmly bent down and picked up the bag of Earth-Fiend Stone Coins. Out of habit, he weighed it in his hand and immediately realized it was too light.
He seethed inwardly, gritted his teeth, and said nothing. Instead, he thanked her. "Thank you for your generosity, Lady Shu. Chu Yun will take his leave."
"Hm?" Watching Chu Yun's calm figure walk away, Lady Shu was astonished. According to her calculations, Chu Yun would make a scene, giving her an excuse to tamper with his Demon Beast egg under the pretext of disciplining him. She hadn't expected him to be so patient!
People should look at one another with fresh eyes after three days. I haven't seen this little brat in a few days, so why does he seem so good at hiding his feelings and so shrewd? Thinking of Chu Yun's dark eyes, calm as a mirror, and his utterly impassive face, Lady Shu suddenly felt a chill rise in her heart.
That little wretch is a monster! He'd been hiding his abilities, making people underestimate him. Now that the coming-of-age ceremony is here, he can't hold back anymore. No, this won't do. I absolutely can't let him rise to prominence at the ceremony! Shu Family Island belongs to my children. I can't let an outsider take it!
"Heh, even if he didn't make a scene, I've still tampered with that bag of Earth-Fiend Stone Coins. Just wait until he starts hatching the egg... Chu Yun, oh, Chu Yun. You're still young and can't keep your thoughts hidden. You're far too green to fight me!"
At that thought, Lady Shu narrowed her eyes, a vicious, venomous glint flashing through them.
"Mother, do you think I'm clever? I fooled that little brat Chu Yun with just thirty Earth-Fiend Stone Coins!" After babbling for a long while and getting no response from his mother, Shu Er couldn't take it anymore. He sat down beside Lady Shu and shook her by the shoulder.
The little brat's so desperate for Earth-Fiend Stone Coins. He'll surely use the bag I gave him... Hatching a Demon Beast egg required quite a few Earth-Fiend Stone Coins.
Then I'll make him pay! Lady Shu sneered inwardly. But when she turned to Shu Er, her expression softened like a spring breeze brushing past blossoms, overflowing with affection. "Good boy! You're both clever children. How could that outsider Chu Yun compare to you two? Hmph, only your father would treat such a worthless boy like a treasure. Shu Family Island will be yours. Mother will look after it for you first. No one can take it away!"
The sun blazed overhead, and the tide ebbed and flowed beside their feet. Colorful shells were scattered across the snow-white beach. Now and then, Martial Dao Crabs, Seaweed Turtles, and other little Demon Beasts scuttled across the sand, their tiny bodies adorably plump.
After parting from Lady Shu, Chu Yun strolled along the beach. His expression was calm, but cold ripples stirred in his heart.
His own sons get thirty Earth-Fiend Stone Coins for pocket money, while she gives me only twenty—and even tampers with them. Lady Shu, you're truly vicious!
Chu Yun weighed the cloth bag Lady Shu had given him in his hand. He slowly stopped, looked around to make sure no one was following him, then suddenly swung his arm and flung the bag containing the twenty Earth-Fiend Stone Coins into the sea.
The bag bobbed in the pale blue tide. Before long, it sank to the seabed, swept away by the incoming waves.
Hatching a Demon Beast egg inevitably required Earth-Fiend Stone Coins. Lady Shu knew this, so she had tampered with them, hoping to harm the Fire Fox Demon Beast in Chu Yun's arms, which supposedly had "low talent and mediocre aptitude" to begin with.
Unfortunately, she could never have imagined that Chu Yun had been reborn!
That's right. Three weeks ago, he had awoken as if from a long dream. Chu Yun discovered that he had truly returned to twenty years in the past. He was thirteen now, and everything in his life had gone back to the beginning, like a blank sheet of paper waiting for him to write on it again.
He quickly adjusted and adapted to this life. Then he left Shu Family City of his own accord, escaping Lady Shu's watchful eye.
In the second week, he did nothing but recall his previous life. He wrote down every important piece of information.
In the third week, he reached the first turning point of his life—the coming-of-age ceremony.
At the ceremony, he had used a small trick to send Shu Da and Shu Er running in circles, then made the same choice he had in his previous life—he chose this "Fire Fox egg."
Calling it a Fire Fox egg wasn't accurate, of course.
Only Chu Yun knew that this wasn't a Fire Fox egg at all, but a Heavenly Fox Egg!
Demon Beast eggs came in three grades: superior, middle, and inferior. But above the superior grade was one more—the Supreme grade!