Zi JI moved too fast for him to react.
Jin Jiuxiao only felt his whole body lift into the air.
He was swept into a warm, soft embrace, with a hand rubbing back and forth over his head.
Zi JI's delighted remarks kept reaching his ears. "Hehe~ I never expected you to be so cute after taking human form!"
"Blond hair and golden eyes, too. Such handsome features~"
"Your hair feels really nice!"
"The texture almost rivals Bi Ji's. It's so lovely to touch."
After rubbing his head, Zi JI reached out and pinched Jin Jiuxiao's cheeks. "Tsk, tsk~ Such tender little cheeks~"
Then she brought her face closer, pressing it against Jin Jiuxiao's cheek and nuzzling him again and again.
Since Zi JI had scooped him up from his right, this affectionate display also left Jin Jiuxiao's arm trapped deep in a mountain valley, unable to escape.
Jin Jiuxiao's mind was completely blank.
What did I come here for?
Why did things turn out like this?
Wasn't I here to cultivate in the human world, seize opportunities, and discover talent?
Once Zi JI had nuzzled him enough, she took a deep sniff. "Mmm~ Sweet!"
That sound from Zi JI finally snapped Jin Jiuxiao fully back to his senses.
Bzzzt~
Tiny currents flowed around Jin Jiuxiao's body.
Basic skill: Electric Discharge!
Lightning burst out! It struck Zi JI with a crackling barrage.
"Zap her!"
No, no, this isn't right!
Why is this Zi JI so different?
You're the Hell Demon Dragon King, one of the Ferocious Beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest!
Yes, and precisely because Zi JI was the Hell Demon Dragon King, her body was extraordinarily powerful.
The Electric Discharge Jin Jiuxiao could unleash at his current cultivation couldn't faze Zi JI at all!
Zi JI completely ignored the lightning flowing and bursting around Jin Jiuxiao, pulling back a little. "Honestly, you won't even let your big sister pet you."
"Huh?"
"If I were a little older, would you gobble me up, too?"
"Who told you to capture your big sister's heart with all those honeyed words over the years?" Zi JI instantly closed the distance between herself and Jin Jiuxiao.
Their faces pressed together, their eyes met.
Their noses were barely a finger's width apart, and they could even clearly feel each other's breath.
"Heh, Bi Ji doesn't say it, but deep down, she really wanted to come out here with you."
"Ah~ But she's a life-healing Soul Beast, isn't she?"
"So I got the jump on her."
Zi JI spoke without reservation and had no intention of hiding her feelings.
"Even so, not now." Jin Jiuxiao withdrew the electricity.
Sigh... I can't even zap her.
"Definitely not now." Zi JI's gaze gradually drifted downward, and she chuckled.
She said nothing, yet seemed to have said everything.
"..."
Fine, fine, fine. Just you wait.
Let her act smug for another ten years!
"So how long are you planning to hold me?" Jin Jiuxiao struggled a little.
Zi JI was holding him too tightly.
Naturally, his struggles also jostled the mountains.
He had to admit that Zi JI's physical prowess truly was formidable...
Feeling the sensation against her chest, Zi JI loosened her hold a little. "Can't I?"
"As long as you like it."
"Then before..."
Zi JI rolled her eyes at Jin Jiuxiao. "I wanted to, too! But Bi Ji was watching every day, wasn't she?"
"Don't tell me you didn't know or never noticed."
Jin Jiuxiao laughed awkwardly. "It's precisely because I noticed. Every time I spent a little while alone with one of you, the other would show up."
He couldn't exactly open with, "You're both my wings. I want you both," could he?
Zi JI lifted Jin Jiuxiao's chin with interest. "What? Were you afraid of breaking our hearts?"
"Who wouldn't be?"
"You don't need to worry about that at all." Understanding dawned on Zi JI. So that really had been the reason. "In our Soul Beast Clan, strength reigns supreme."
"If you're strong enough, having seven, eight, nine, or even ten mates is no problem."
A wicked smile appeared on her lips. "Provided..."
Zi JI glanced downward. "You can handle it."
The Soul Beast Clan had no rules about monogamy.
As long as you were strong enough, well... in every respect, how many mates you took was your own business.
At least Zi JI herself didn't care about that.
Nor did she mind gaining a few more "sisters" in the future.
"You'll find out whether I can handle it when the time comes." The great stone weighing on Jin Jiuxiao's heart finally dropped.
Now that Zi JI had laid things out, they could be much more candid.
"Actually, I'm pretty curious. Your hair changed so much. It's even smooth now." Unable to resist, Zi JI reached for Jin Jiuxiao's head again.
"Isn't that perfectly normal? Just like how your dragon horns disappeared after you took human form."
"Oh, you mean these?" Zi JI raised a hand and pointed at her forehead.
A proportionally miniaturized pair of dragon horns appeared. "Whether I show my dragon horns depends on my mood."
The horns vanished, replaced by a pair of small, illusory dragon horns. "This works, too."
"It's just that I normally hide them completely."
As she finished speaking, the little illusory horns also disappeared, leaving her forehead smooth and bare, no different from an ordinary human's.
Just as humans with dragon-type Martial Souls could undergo Dragon Transformation, she could naturally do the same at will.
While fighting in human form, partially transforming into a dragon was no problem at all.
Dragon horns, claws, scales, a tail, and wings could all manifest.
"It's better this way." Jin Jiuxiao didn't want to go out sporting an extremely conspicuous hedgehog hairstyle after taking human form.
Blond hair was already eye-catching. If it still stuck straight up like a hedgehog's spines, he would undoubtedly be the "flashiest" fellow around.
Zi JI gestured with her hand. "It wouldn't be that bad, actually."
Footsteps approached outside the door, and the inn attendant's voice reached them. "Dear guests, I've left your food on the shelf by the door~"
"When you're finished, just put the empty bowls and chopsticks back on the shelf. I'll come by later to clear them away."
Then the footsteps faded into the distance.
Jin Jiuxiao slipped out of Zi JI's arms. "Since things have come to this, let's eat first."
"We'll set off again tomorrow."
They could rest at this inn for today.
There was no need to travel through the night.
"As you wish." Zi JI had no objections.
She had come out to stay by Jin Jiuxiao's side. Wherever he went, she went.
Jin Jiuxiao opened the door and saw five or six exquisitely prepared dishes and a bucket of rice.
Clearly, some effort had gone into the presentation.
He brought everything inside and arranged it on the round table in their room.
"The portions are so small, but they look pretty good."
This really was Zi JI's first time seeing dishes so exquisitely prepared.
Never mind how they actually tasted; their appearance alone felt novel to her.
They had no cooks, much less cooked for themselves.
Ferocious Beasts over a hundred thousand years old no longer needed food to sustain their lives.
Eating merely satisfied their appetites.
There was, however, one exception.
When Ferocious Beasts were injured, recovering solely by absorbing Soul Power was too slow. They could prey on other high-level Soul Beasts to speed up their recovery.
With the Lake of Life's abundant energy and Bi Ji there, they didn't need to use that method to recover faster.
There were normally no major battles, either. Aside from Xiong Jun occasionally fighting Di Tian and getting thrashed, none of the others suffered any particularly serious injuries.
"The human world's food does have its merits."
"There's much more variety in the flavors."
Jin Jiuxiao had already started eating.
After taking human form, he had to eat.
His stomach was hungry...
Zi JI tasted the food slowly. These portions weren't even enough to fill the gaps between her teeth.
She was merely sampling the flavors.
"Indeed." Zi JI agreed with Jin Jiuxiao's assessment.
As she ate, she chatted idly with Jin Jiuxiao. "Speaking of which, little brother Jiuxiao, can you enter the Poké Ball?"
"No." Jin Jiuxiao gave a definite answer.
The Poké Ball was his Martial Soul. Of course he couldn't enter his own Poké Ball.
"Then aren't you missing out on an innate effect?"
"A full recovery every twenty-four hours-that effect is outrageous."
After forming a contract with Jin Jiuxiao, she could fight even more fiercely, even trading injury for injury.
Her cultivation hadn't changed, but her overall strength had risen by more than a single tier.
As long as she and Jin Jiuxiao were both alive, he could return her to the Poké Ball, and she would recover to peak condition after twenty-four hours.
Her opponent's injuries, meanwhile, wouldn't heal nearly as quickly.
After a few rounds, wouldn't her advantage just keep growing?
The stronger she became, the more heaven-defying the boost from this innate effect would be.
Add Bi Ji's continuous healing and enhancement, and they practically had a mobile healing fountain.
They would be unbeatable in wars of attrition and drawn-out battles!
"It's fine. Once I form a contract with Sister Bi Ji, her healing and enhancement will be enough for me."
When the gap in strength was too great, twenty-four hours would feel impossibly long.
There would be no time to recover at all.
"True. Bi Ji's healing is very powerful, too." Zi JI held Bi Ji's abilities in considerable regard.
After sampling just under half of each dish, Zi JI set down her chopsticks.
A taste was enough. "I'll go take a bath first, then."
Jin Jiuxiao nodded to show he had heard.
He kept shoveling down food.
By the time he finished eating, darkness had fully fallen.
He rested for a little while, then entered the bathroom after Zi JI finished bathing.
When he emerged from his bath, he saw Zi JI lying on her side on the bed, having changed into a sheer nightgown.
Her curvaceous figure showed faintly beneath it, adding another touch of seductive charm.
Zi JI patted the space she had deliberately left beside her, her meaning obvious.
Lights out.
Into bed.
Time to sleep.
They had already made their relationship official, so what was wrong with sleeping together?
Jin Jiuxiao lightly slapped Zi JI's reaching right hand. "Keep your hands to yourself."
"I won't touch anything. I'll just hold you."
"Really?"
"Would your big sister lie to you? It's not like we can do anything anyway."
"All right, then. You can hold me."
After that, Zi JI truly kept her hands still and simply held him in her arms.
Jin Jiuxiao drifted into a deep sleep, too.
A sound sleep he hadn't enjoyed in ages.
Jin Jiuxiao slept very deeply that night.
With Zi JI beside him, he didn't need to worry about his safety.
In his drowsy haze, a sweet fragrance drifted into his nose.
A soft touch kept brushing the tip of his nose.
It swayed gently back and forth with each breath.
There was also a feeling of being wrapped up.
He slowly opened his eyes.
Snowy white filled his vision. "..."
He now knew what was wrapped around him, too.
Zi JI had gathered his whole body into her embrace, with one leg draped over him.
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