City Lord Xinba had long since received word and personally brought his men to welcome the guests from Horned Bull City.

He acted as if he didn’t see Dao Yuan, warmly greeting the Horned Bull City Lord with a smile. "We’ve been eagerly awaiting your arrival! The Horned Bull Beastmen are powerful and courageous fighters; you’ll definitely be the main force for this expedition into the Secret Realm. We could do without anyone else, but not you! I was just discussing with the elders, wondering if something had delayed you and if we should send someone to invite you again..."

A flash of shame crossed the Horned Bull City Lord’s face, but he laughed and said, "It’s just that so many of our people are quite strong, we had trouble deciding which of the younger generation to bring along. That’s what delayed us. We’re not too late, are we?"

"Not at all, not at all," Xinba said, nodding repeatedly. Only then did he turn his head to look at Dao Yuan. "And this is?"

The Horned Bull City Lord sighed. "This Beastman might not be right in the head. He appeared out of thin air in our main square, completely hairless... He must just look a lot like the former Priest, Lord Dao Yuan. That was a man who once led an entire Beast City. How could he do something so indecent?

We... employed some methods on him, but he just stuck to his story, determined to slander the former Priest. In the end, he’s one of your people from Golden Lion City, so we couldn’t do much to him. We had no choice but to send him back here..."

Xinba shook his head with a wry smile and whispered to the Horned Bull City Lord. But the Beastmen all had sharp hearing, and they strained their ears to listen in.

"To tell you the truth... the former High Priest Dao Yuan had offended far too many people. After the Beast God stripped him of his position as Divine Servant, someone took advantage of a lapse in security from our Beast Soldier guards, dragged him away, and burned him to death.

We never made the news public. We felt that, after all, he was the former High Priest of Golden Lion City and shouldn’t have to suffer such a humiliating death. So we just claimed he was being held in solitary confinement.

So, he absolutely cannot be Dao Yuan!"

A glimmer of hope had sparked within Dao Yuan. ’Just a moment ago, I clearly saw Xinba recognize me. That man is nothing but a coward, terrified of taking responsibility for anything. Even that time he caught me with his mate, Ying Lan, he helped cover for us by closing the door!’

’But what does Xinba mean by this? I refuse to believe he doesn’t know about Ying Lan’s superpower. The person burned to death back then only looked like me; in reality, it was a long-faced monkey Beastman!’

The Horned Bull City Lord asked in surprise, "How is that possible? Besides brothers from the same litter, where would you find two Beastmen who look so much alike? And from what I understand, chipmunk Beastmen are rather domineering. They bully the weak in the nest and will even kill their frail siblings while their Father and Mother are out. It’s rare for them to have surviving littermates."

Xinba shook his head. "That, I don’t know. I suspect he found out that Dao Yuan is dead and that we’re covering it up. He’s probably trying to take his place.

With such a vicious nature, he’d be another disaster waiting to happen... What’s more, what you all did to him..."

Everyone knew how vengeful and petty chipmunk Beastmen were. They would never get over an offense until they had paid it back tenfold, even a hundredfold.

The Horned Bull City Lord, who knew the rules of the Beast World all too well, didn’t dare to overthink it. He gave a pointed look to the Beastman beside him, who immediately understood. The two Beastmen grabbed Dao Yuan and dragged him away on the spot.

Dao Yuan finally understood what it felt like to lift a rock only to drop it on his own foot. ’A barking dog doesn’t bite, but Xinba, this dog that never barks, was just waiting for a single chance to take my life!’

He never imagined that after escaping being burned alive once, there would be no escaping it a second time. All he could do was let out desperate, muffled wails, unable to form a single cry for help.

He was right outside Golden Lion City. Remembering his former power and prestige, he simply couldn’t comprehend why he was dying such a baffling death.

Only after watching Dao Yuan burn to ashes did Wei Ce, still using his Invisibility, return to Si Shuo’s side to report what had happened. "Dao Yuan was a constant menace as long as he was alive. What’s more, he dared to have designs on you and Mother Xia Ming.

He’d done more than enough evil to deserve it; otherwise, no one would have moved to kill him. But," he paused, his expression growing grim, "Ying Lan’s superpower is rather strange. We need to be extra cautious."

Ying Lan had been willing to be used by Dao Yuan. Even with him dead, she was unlikely to stay out of trouble. It was always best for them to be vigilant.

Si Shuo nodded gravely. "Don’t worry. We didn’t know about her superpower before, but now Zhi Le and the others carry rebound talismans from Xiao Cheng whenever they go out. They won’t give anyone an opening.

If they try anything, they’ll be the ones who get hurt!"

Besides, it was Dao Yuan who had been targeting their family. Luckily, he hadn’t yet coordinated with Ying Lan, so she probably wouldn’t come after them for the time being.

With Dao Yuan no longer causing trouble, Warriors from the other tribes and Beast Cities of the Southern Continent began to arrive one after another in Golden Lion City to participate in the arena competition.

Golden Lion City became exceptionally bustling. Everyone sensed a business opportunity, and they swarmed to fill the city’s two main intersecting roads. They set out stalls with anything and everything they had at home that could be sold.

Xia Ming couldn’t sit still either and excitedly discussed a plan with Zhi Li to sell some meat jerky. They would buy fresh meat from Wild Beasts from other Beastmen, process it into jerky, and sell it. The jerky, with its variety of delicious flavors, was easy to store and carry. They could sell it for double the price, and with the profits, they could then afford to buy three times as much meat!

"Zhi Li, the jerky you make is so delicious, I’m sure lots of people will want to buy it. We can sell it in the morning, and once we sell out, we can go home to make another batch to sell the next day.

The arena competition will go on for a long time. We might be able to earn enough food to last us through the rainy season and the coldest season just by selling jerky..."

Zhi Li nodded and agreed with a smile, thinking to himself that he needed to work even harder. ’Before Yi Wan returns and the new family member joins us, I have to take good care of my little female and stock up on a lot more food.’

Si Shuo pulled Zhi Le aside and whispered in his ear, "Zhi Le, they say a Level 8 Beastman can easily pass the tournament here in the Southern Continent and get a chance to enter the Secret Realm. But the tournament is just the qualifier. To survive inside the Secret Realm, you need more experience. Last-minute training is better than no training at all, you know?

As for your Father and Mother..."

Zhi Le finished her thought with a smile. "They have their priorities backward, don’t they? Father and Mother are actually around our age. They haven’t been through any major crises and have lived very conventional lives in the tribe.

No one ever taught them how to prioritize things."

He thought for a moment before continuing. "The kitty can keep Mother company at home. I’ll go to the street to sell the jerky for Father, and I’ll have Zhi Zhan help Father train. During our breaks, we can all make jerky together."

It was also a good chance for him to find out. ’Are Zhi Qi and Zhi Zhan really just my clones?’

It wasn’t that other Beastmen didn’t have the Clone Ability, but their clones were never as distinct as his. They weren’t like his own, which had their own names, personalities, preferences, and even different levels of Combat Power.

Perhaps Father could give him an answer to that.

Si Shuo pursed her lips into a smile. "Zhi Le, and you were just saying they had their priorities wrong. Are you only going to help them sell jerky? If you’re going to help someone, you should see it through to the end. We should add a little flair to it. How about we do a meat-and-dried-fruit pairing deal?"

Just talking about it made her want to join in on the fun!