Seeing that Dongfang Shu noticed something was off with his mood, he quickly raised his hand and pressed the back of his neck, forcing him to revert to his beast form and then stuffing a pill into his mouth.
"I'm going to kill Xuan Yuan Hong!" Ye Zhizhou exclaimed angrily, his tail swaying restlessly in his arms, and his spiritual energy burst out, filling the entire room with a restless, almost tangible force.
"Little Zhou, Xuan Yuan Hong has been dead for a long time, don't you remember?" Dongfang Shu signaled for Yumu to take the frightened little rabbit away and then returned to the bedside with the agitated Ye Zhizhou. He gently touched his forehead and sent some spiritual energy into his body. "Tongtian will be back with you after he's fully repaired. Stay calm."
The soothing power flowed into his body through his forehead, gradually calming Ye Zhizhou's struggles. It took a while, but he finally regained his composure. He turned his head, slid Tongtian into his spatial storage, closed his eyes, and took deep breaths to adjust his emotions.
Dongfang Shu watched his bulging belly rise and fall, feeling a mix of tenderness and amusement. He lowered his head and kissed the small horn on Ye Zhizhou's head, comforting him. "Don't worry, Tongtian isn't that fragile, he'll be back with you soon."
"I know," Ye Zhizhou opened his eyes, his voice still tinged with a lingering determination. "No matter where the soul of this world's protagonist has transferred to, I will definitely find and confront him. Whether it's exile or erasure by the heavens, I will personally resolve this situation. Since the last world, it's been a relentless battle between me and the Soul Flag."
Dongfang Shu patted his short, chubby body and tucked him into his arms, saying reassuringly, "Don't worry, I'll help you."
In the hundred years that Ye Zhizhou had been asleep, all the reversion bloodlines of the four major clans had appeared. Dongfang Shu represented the Avian Clan, the Turtle Clan's reversion bloodline belonged to a cute chubby girl named Yayi, and the Tiger Clan's reversion bloodline had appeared slightly earlier in the form of a handsome and cheerful young man named Jin Qiu.
"Now, the world of the beast people is steadily developing in a healthier direction. The beast people, who used to rely solely on brute strength, have learned to use their brains," Dongfang Shu held Ye Zhizhou and flew above the Avian Clan's city. He explained the changes in the beast people's world over the past century, "The various clans have strengthened their connections and are no longer limited to their own territories. Yayi has a natural talent for farming and breeding, while Jin Qiu has discovered more suitable cultivation methods for the beast people."
Ye Zhizhou turned to him and asked, "So, what have you been doing all these years? You were the first to manifest the reversion bloodline, so you must have been busy with the beast people's world."
"I strengthened the forbidden formation, repaired the temple's protective array, and recovered some of the lost divine heritage of the beast people world," Dongfang Shu replied as he landed on a large tree branch and sat down, placing Ye Zhizhou on his lap. He gave his tail a playful pinch. "I also had some 'meetings' with the clan leaders."
He means brainwashing those leaders, right?
Ye Zhizhou used his tail to playfully hook Dongfang Shu's finger and continued, "So, who is the current Beast Emperor now? With Tongtian in hibernation, I have no idea where the protagonist's soul has gone, so I need to be extra cautious about any formidable beast people."
"It's you."
"Huh? Who are you talking about?"
"You," Dongfang Shu lifted Ye Zhizhou and gently stroked the small horn on his head. "Among the Four Great Divine Beasts, the Dragon Clan has always been the leader, so the current Beast Emperor is you."
Ye Zhizhou was dumbfounded. "Me? I'm not that capable..."
"No, you are very powerful," Dongfang Shu kissed him on the forehead and then placed his finger on Ye Zhizhou's forehead. "Among the four reversion bloodlines, yours is the purest. Little Zhou, you must work hard to grow."
With the familiar gentle energy flowing into his body, he closed his eyes comfortably and mumbled, "Am I the strongest? Isn't it you?"
"No," Dongfang Shu watched as Ye Zhizhou's eyes gradually closed. He lowered his voice and said, "Although the body I inhabit also has a reversion bloodline, it is inherently weaker. Once the beast power reaches a certain level, it will stagnate. But you are different; your body has unlimited potential."
"Then, what about Yayi and Jin Qiu..." Feeling the warmth spreading through his body, Ye Zhizhou couldn't help but yawn and curled up unconsciously. "Jin Qiu should be very strong in terms of cultivation, right... and what about Yayi..."
His voice gradually lowered, and his breathing became calm and steady. Dongfang Shu held him close, leaning against the tree trunk and gazing at the azure sky through the gaps in the leaves. He murmured softly, "They are all just incarnations of gods, but only you... Ye Zhizhou, can you stay in this world? Become a god, and then be with me forever."
The small black dragon in his arms lazily stretched its tail and started to purr.
"Dragon Prince..." Dongfang Shu lowered his head, chuckled softly, and once again placed his finger on Ye Zhizhou's brow, gradually infusing him with beastly power. "Ye Zhizhou, you need to grow up quickly."
Fifty years passed in the blink of an eye, and Ye Zhizhou finally transformed from a young dragon who needed to be carried everywhere into a small dragon teenager, though he still required someone to carry him in his beast form. Tongtian didn't return as quickly as Dongfang Shu had hoped, but the cracks on the small round mirror were indeed slowly healing. The Soul Flag remained silent, and the world of the beast people seemed as if it had never been influenced by the Soul Flag.
During these decades, Ye Zhizhou had traveled through the various major clans and observed outstanding beast people from all walks of life, but he had not discovered any suspicious individuals who might be the protagonist. To deal with the uncertainty of where the ten Soul Flags might have transferred, Ye Zhizhou had meticulously created detailed family trees for the ten concubines' clans. He had also carefully registered all the single beast people, closely monitoring their love affairs and marriages, causing the clans of those concubines to have a surplus of unmarried adult beast men and women.
In these fifty years, the world of the beast people had established several cities where different clans coexisted, all of which were unified under the jurisdiction of the temple, and the development was progressing well. The once adorable and lovable Yayi had become the most beloved queen of the beast people. Jin Qiu had transformed from an enthusiastic young tiger who was passionate about cultivation into a powerful adult tiger, even inventing a slew of weapons suitable for weak herbivorous beast people to use. Dongfang Shu still frequently held meetings with the clan leaders, and every time they saw him, the clan leaders couldn't help but bristle with anger.
After Tongtian's consciousness closed off for self-repair, Ye Zhizhou retrieved the "Purple Void Technique" from his storage space. Tongtian's temporary absence made him realize the importance of strength and prompted him to reflect on his excessive reliance on Tongtian. Without the conveniences and plot information that Tongtian had provided, he found himself clueless about how to undertake missions, which was entirely unacceptable. In a place he didn't know about, Tongtian had quietly sacrificed too much to protect him from the Soul Flag. He hoped to become strong enough to protect Tongtian in return.
Once he officially began his cultivation, Ye Zhizhou discovered that the reversion bloodline was indeed extraordinary. In just fifty years, he had broken through to the third level of the technique and thoroughly trounced the currently most formidable beast person in the world, Jin Qiu the tiger.
...Though he still couldn't beat his beloved, even though his beloved was using a half-crippled body.
"Little brother, little brother! I've come to see you!" A young man with gray hair and red eyes rushed in from outside, holding a map in his hand. "Little Ya gave me a treasure map of the Misty Mountain. Let's go treasure hunting!"
Ye Zhizhou sidestepped his pounce, casually turned a page in his array formation book, and gave him a heartless back view. "Go find Jin Qiu; he's available."
"Jin Qiu is still recuperating; you accidentally broke his leg last time..." The young man with gray hair and red eyes weakly reminded him. Then, he took out a fruit from his pocket and handed it over, presenting it as a treasure. "Look! Redberry fruit. I saved a big one for you. Eat it quickly, or Yu Liu and the others will come to snatch it later."
"Tong Jia," Ye Zhizhou reluctantly put down the book, turned around, and grasped the hand offering the fruit. He spoke with deep concern, "Among those of the same generation as you, Yu Lan and the others have already had children, and even Yumu's child has found a partner. Jia Jia, a few days ago, while patrolling the city, I encountered an exceptionally cute rabbit girl from the Rabbit Clan. You..."
"I don't want to find a partner!" Tong Jia exclaimed in fear, jumping three feet away at the mention of it, shaking his head vigorously. "I don't want, I don't want, I'm fine on my own. If you don't go treasure hunting, I'll find someone else. I'll come to see you another day, little brother!" With that, he used his racial advantage to dash away.
Ye Zhizhou sighed with sorrow, got up, and picked up the dropped redberry fruit. "Another failure..."
"Are you still worrying about Tong Jia's marriage?" Dongfang Shu emerged from the study, wrapped his arms around Ye Zhizhou from behind affectionately, and nuzzled his cheek. "Let him be; as long as he's happy."
"I'm just afraid that the child will have emotional scars."
Tong Jia was the little rabbit who had wanted to take him out to sunbathe but ended up falling and hurting himself. Shortly after that incident, his grandfather, Tong Li, passed away, and what was even more tragic was that Tong Jia's father, after dealing with Tong Li's funeral, was unfortunately severely injured during a hunting trip and passed away after just a few days. Following this, Tong Jia's mother succumbed to excessive grief. In a matter of months, Tong Jia went from being a cherished child with both parents and a loving grandfather to an orphan with no family.
Ye Zhizhou felt great sympathy for his difficult life and had brought him into the care of the Avian Clan. The child turned out to be easy to raise, with an easy-going nature, getting along well with everyone, and was particularly popular among the older beast people. However, whether it was due to the consecutive losses of his family members, Tong Jia had a deep-seated fear of forming a family, and his personality remained innocent and unaware, which was both heart-wrenching and helpless.
"Has his destined love line truly been severed, with no way to reconnect it?" Dongfang Shu shook his head, patiently explaining, "Indeed, it has been severed. His destined partner was the grandson of an elder from the Dog Clan, and that beast person from the Dog Clan only lived to be seven years old. To establish a new destined love, he must actively seek it out himself."
Ye Zhizhou squeezed the redberry fruit with a bitter expression. "But he doesn't want to seek out a new destined love. Does this child really want to remain single for the rest of his life?"
Dongfang Shu pinched his cheek and changed the subject. "Do you have any leads on the Soul Flag?"
"Not yet," Ye Zhizhou's expression grew even more solemn. "I've been stuck with the array formation recently, so I delegated the task of keeping an eye on people to Yu Mu, and he hasn't sent any news yet."
"Stuck with the array formation?" Dongfang Shu smirked and tugged at the corner of his mouth, then changed the subject again. "Where are you stuck? I can help you."
Ye Zhizhou gave him a wooden look, glanced at him, and turned to retrieve the array formation book.
"Beast Emperor! Clan Leader!" Just as they were discussing, Yu Mu suddenly flew in from outside in a hurry, maintaining his beast form and looking excited. "I've found something unusual. Recently, there's a beast person from the Tiger Clan who suddenly emerged. He's been secretly approaching several outstanding beast people from the Four Great Clans!"