Si Shuo’s eyes flickered. ’I know how to solve this problem!’

She pinched the talisman that stored her Clone Ability and split into three. Each clone sidled up to one of her Beast Husbands, hugging his arm and nuzzling against him.

The three males, who were already a little angry, were so exasperated by her roguish behavior that they couldn’t help but laugh.

Zhi Zhan raised an eyebrow and reached out to ruffle Si Shuo’s hair. Normally, the young female was particularly fussy about her hairstyle and rarely let them touch it.

But now, her eyes were curved into crescents as she looked up at him, soft and pliant, letting his hand do as it pleased. Her azure eyes were clear and bright, shining with straightforward joy and affection. Who could bear to give such a sweet female a hard time?

Pulling the little female into his arms, his voice was tinged with a helpless, husky quality. "Kitty, don’t you dare pull a stunt like that again. You have no idea how hard it is to stop on a dime."

Si Shuo nodded repeatedly and quickly promised, "From now on, unless it’s absolutely necessary, I’ll never use my Clone Ability. Of course, in private, when I’m with just one of you, I can still become two or three!"

"Okay." Zhi Qi had tasted what it was like to have more than one of her to hold. ’Tsk, there’s no way we could refuse.’

Si Shuo, however, was already scheming. ’I need to master all the superpowers in the Spirit Storage Talisman. As long as there’s enough Spiritual Power in the talisman, my Clone Ability won’t be so easily seen through.’

’Using my Beast Husbands as a testing ground will help. That way, when I’m in danger, I can leave a clone behind to confuse the enemy...’

Yi Wan was on a mission, still traveling between the various tribes and Beast Cities of the Southern Continent, and probably wouldn’t be back for a few more days. Meanwhile, Zhi Li had recently been learning fighting techniques and cultivation methods from Zhi Zhan.

The arena tournament had been going on for a few days. The fights between the Warriors had transitioned from one-sided stomps where the strong crushed the weak in three to five moves—utterly uninteresting to watch—to evenly matched contests that had the spectators so excited they wouldn’t miss a single bout.

The method to qualify for the Secret Realm trial was simple: each Warrior could fight a maximum of one hundred matches in the arena and needed to secure forty victories. This rule was designed to effectively prevent cheating among the contestants while also encouraging a competitive spirit, turning the tournament into a semi-deathmatch to warm them up for the trial to come.

Every day, Si Shuo would drag Xia Ming along to listen to the news that Xiao Cheng, Gong You, and Yin Jiang took turns gathering.

"Mother, let’s go to the plaza and watch the fun today," Si Shuo said to Xia Ming with a smile after eating. "Let Xue Bao help you scout out some promising males with good talent."

"They have to be handsome," Youyou added.

"And it would be best if they have wings," Ali chimed in. Her three older sisters had Flying Beast Husbands, and she was so envious!

Hearing this, her fathers all shot Si Shuo a frosty look. She felt a chill run down her neck and quickly buried her head, making a point of staying quiet.

Xiao Cheng slung an arm around Si Shuo’s shoulders with a smile. "Sister, I’ve noticed something. You were very insistent on having Flying Beast Husbands back then. It seems that among all of us brothers, Yin Jiang and Wei Ce were the only ones you took in on your own initiative.

And now the cubs have inherited your special fondness for flying beasts."

Gong You glanced at Ming Huang—the child wife who couldn’t transform yet, was pitch-black, was being raised by the male cubs as their future wife, and still preferred her free-range chicken-like form. ’Could it be that my own male cub has the same idea?’

Si Shuo gave a dry laugh. "How could that be? I’m a rather reserved person, you see. The truth is, I fell in love with every single one of you at first sight. I just have a hard time saying what’s in my heart!"

Look at her, such a smooth talker. She was so thick-skinned she’d say anything that came to mind. She’d claim to love this one the most, then that one the most, and had been caught contradicting herself to their faces more than once.

"In that case, Sister, what do you like about me?" Xiao Cheng asked with a smile, playing along.

"You have three tails!" Si Shuo blurted out without thinking.

Xiao Cheng nodded meaningfully. "I understand. Sister knows I’m exceptionally capable."

Si Shuo froze for a second, then suddenly remembered. In the Three-tailed Blue Fox Clan, they placed great importance on tails. The size, shape, length, and so on were one of the most important criteria for females choosing a mate. It was no less significant than checking out a male’s manhood...

Her face turned beet red. ’This damn rascal! He set a trap for me!!!’ He knew perfectly well that his three tails were his most prominent feature. And she loved to grab and play with them.

Si Shuo turned her head away, refusing to look at him.

Xu Chi tilted his head and looked at her earnestly. "A shuo, what do you like about me?"

Si Shuo smiled, walked up, and pinched his cheek. Looking into his innocent eyes, she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love everything about Xu Chi! And how your heart and eyes are filled with only me!"

Xu Chi pressed his lips together, his eyes brimming with a smile as he hugged her back tightly. Aside from a brief taste of joy, despair, and sorrow when he was very young, his life had been nothing but numb survival.

But ever since meeting Si Shuo, all the joy and contentment he had missed came rushing back, doubly so. A single word from her made him want to dedicate his entire being to her.

"A shuo is the female I’m sworn to protect—to guard with my life and stay by her side. Wherever you are, that’s where my heart is."

Gong You sighed softly. "Actually, even if you don’t say it, my good girl, I know. You’ve already run headfirst into a wall for me. You must be crazy about me."

Si Shuo bit her lip, smiling. ’Back when I was chasing idols, which fan hadn’t said something like that?’ But they had all taken it seriously, which, in turn, made her feel like she wasn’t being sincere enough.

She gently bumped her head against his chest. "Thank you, Gong You, for leaving the sea for me."

Gong You felt his heart swell with a bittersweet feeling. Males gave so much, but they asked for so little in return. ’For my little female to see and acknowledge my sacrifice is more than enough!’

"Hmph, as long as you know!" It was the Big Fish Beast, proud as always.

Yin Jiang watched her with gentle eyes, recalling their first meeting. ’My wish was granted. The end of my suffering.’

Si Shuo turned and threw herself into his arms, laughing as she whispered in his ear, "My Hunting Falcon is the most handsome of all!"

As she buried her face in his chest, she was on the verge of tears. ’Why is it that every time I offend one of them, I offend all of them, and then I have to coax them one by one?’

"Let’s go, Shuo’er. I’ll take you to see the arena," Yin Jiang said. He then transformed into a Hunting Falcon, carrying her as he flew into the sky.

The cubs scrambled to follow. Xu Ye carried Youyou, Yuanyuan turned into a flowery butterfly, and Tuanzi, pulling rank as the big brother-in-law, rode on the back of a golden eagle. The Snowy Owl carried Xue Zhu, and Feng Yu carried Little Jing. Kunzi carried Ming Huang. The other male cubs could only follow along with their fathers.

Xiao Cheng actually transformed into a formidable Tiger-headed Sea Eagle from the Southern Continent. He turned his head and said to Ali with a smile, "Come on, Father will take you. This tournament is quite large, so there are sure to be a lot of cubs tagging along to join the fun and broaden their horizons.

How about we see if there are any cubs with good talent and pick one out to be Ali’s child husband?"

Ali let out a cheer and scrambled onto Xiao Cheng’s back, chirping, "He has to be a flying beast!"

The other males felt another pang in their chests. ’How did our little female lead the female cubs astray too? This is species discrimination! What’s wrong with not being a flying beast?’

Xiao Cheng gritted his teeth. "Fine."

Little Jing said with a laugh, "Ali, what kind of flying beast do you like? I’ll make a wish for one for you."

Ali’s eyes sparkled. She tilted her head in thought for a moment, then patted her father’s head. "A Tiger-headed Sea Eagle just like Father—powerful and beautiful!"