"What is it?"

Inside the temporary palace, a middle-aged man stood before an ancient Star Map. He held an ink brush, and his every move seemed to stir the vast sea of stars.

"Lord Alliance Leader, this is a summary of the recent Beast Tide,"

The announcer knelt on one knee. "The Beast God Sect has just spread a rumor, saying that the Jianghai Sword God, despite being a Venerable, personally entered the fray..."

"A Venerable entered the fray personally?"

The Alliance Leader paused his drawing, slightly displeased. "The Blood Spirit Contract is inviolable. Who is this Jianghai Sword God? How dare he break the rules?"

"Reporting to you, Lord Alliance Leader."

The Announcer said in a low voice:

"According to my investigation over the past few days, this Jianghai Sword God is a newly ascended Venerable. He has no sect or background, and his origins are quite mysterious."

"He has acted several times before, bringing a Sword Qi Blessed Land to Jianghai City and eliminating numerous threats... During the Beast Tide, he turned the tide and saved all the city’s people."

"Oh? Such a high evaluation?"

Hearing this, the Alliance Leader raised an eyebrow in surprise. "If that’s the case, why wasn’t he recruited into the Alliance?"

"Well..."

The Announcer hesitated for a few seconds before slowly saying, "Lord Alliance Leader, the Jianghai Sword God’s movements are erratic and he’s difficult to find.

"Besides, he wasn’t in the Venerable Realm before. We had sent people to observe him for a while and were preparing to negotiate with him once he appeared, but... we were a step too late."

"A step too late?"

The Alliance Leader fell silent, his eyes flickering as if stars were dancing within them. "Continue."

"Yes. Just as we arrived at the Beast Tide and were waiting for the Sword God to make his move, the Venerable from the Beast God Sect suddenly appeared and a fierce conflict erupted between them!"

"The two Venerable powerhouses clashed high in the sky. The power was immense, and the shockwaves even affected the Beast Tide below, killing all the beasts."

The Announcer shook his head and said:

"Unfortunately, the gap in strength was too great for the Jianghai Sword God, and he soon found himself at a disadvantage... Left with no choice, he chose to self-detonate his Star Force, dragging the Beast God Sect’s Venerable down to the Underworld with him."

"And so, both were annihilated."

His voice faded.

’He actually self-detonated...’

The Alliance Leader shook his head, sighing with emotion. "To be willing to sacrifice himself for the citizens of Jianghai, he can be considered a man of fierce integrity."

At the same time, he felt a pang of regret.

’To give one’s life for the common people, to bring peace through self-sacrifice, even choosing to self-detonate to take the Beast God Sect down with him.’

’Such character is beyond reproach!’

Moreover.

’How difficult is it to cultivate to the Venerable Realm?’

’Disposition, talent, opportunity... without the perfect alignment of cosmic and earthly factors, one could never reach this Realm.’

’To just let it all go like that.’

The Alliance Leader asked himself honestly; he could pluck the moon and swallow the sun, but even he, the Alliance Leader, could not perform such a selfless act.

"Forget it!"

"Since the man is already gone, why is the Beast God Sect coming to us now?"

The Alliance Leader frowned, his tone displeased. "Their grudge is settled. That means it’s over, and it has nothing to do with us anymore."

"The mortal world lost a Sword God, they lost a Vermilion Bird Earth Venerable. It was an even trade... What’s there to question?"

"Lord Alliance Leader, it’s because of the Vermilion Bird Earth Venerable..."

The Announcer shook his head and said gravely, "After enduring the self-detonation, he didn’t actually die. He used a Secret Technique to reincarnate and live again."

"But!"

At this point, the Announcer’s tone shifted, and he looked up at the Alliance Leader.

"Not long after he reincarnated using the Secret Technique, someone attacked and assassinated him again. He died a violent death on the spot—this time, for good."

"Someone assassinated the Vermilion Bird Earth Venerable?!"

The Alliance Leader said, stunned.

’To be able to assassinate the Vermilion Bird.’

’It must have been the intervention of a Venerable Realm powerhouse!’

’This act has long since violated the restrictions of the Blood Spirit Contract!’

’No wonder the Beast God Church is furious...’

"Who did it?"

The Alliance Leader’s expression grew solemn. "Did you find out who made the move?"

"I do not know, but according to the people from the Beast God Sect, he was killed by a single golden arrow."

The Announcer said in a low voice, "Now they are insisting that our Venerable Alliance did it."

"A golden arrow..."

Hearing this, the Alliance Leader murmured to himself, his eyes narrowing almost imperceptibly.

"Go! Tell the Divine Arrow Venerable, Liu Wushuang, to come see me!"

"Yes, Alliance Leader!"

......

.....

「The next day.」

It was Sunday.

The library was closed for maintenance. Aside from the renovation workers, all employees had the day off.

With a rare day off,

Qin Yang had pulled an all-nighter and slept comfortably until now. He still wasn’t up by nine in the morning.

From outside the door came Xiaobai’s voice.

"Master, I’m leaving your breakfast here!!"

"This Fairy is heading out!"

Xiaobai, wearing a baseball cap, stood in the entryway. She untied her kitchen apron, tucked in her fox tail, and pricked up her ears, listening for any movement from the room.

’Master’s not responding?’

’I’ll call again!’

"Master! Get up and eat it yourself, or it’ll get cold! You’re on your own for lunch too, you hear me—"

Her voice faded.

Faintly,

"Mmm..."

came Qin Yang’s lazy reply, before he rolled over and went back to sleep.

"Hmph!!"

"Bad Master, you can just laze yourself to death!"

Hearing this, Xiaobai scoffed internally. She tiptoed to the door, opened it, pulled her baseball cap down tight to cover her fox ears, and headed straight out to the street.

Now that the Beast Tide was over,

Jianghai City was recovering, and the bustle of life returned to the small coastal city.

A little white-haired loli walked down the street. The crowd was bustling, and she hummed a song as she leisurely headed toward the edge of the city.

’Let’s see, this seems to be the first time this Fairy has gone out by herself, right?’

Xiaobai counted on her fingers with a cute, naive expression.

It really was!

She had gotten used to being with Qin Yang, held in his arms every day.

Now, while he was sleeping in, she finally had her chance.

’The time, the place, the people—everything is perfect!’

’This Fairy must investigate this thoroughly!’

’Why does that Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needle feel so familiar?’

Xiaobai crossed her arms, frowning in thought as she made her way to the Jianghai Border Line.

She stood before the towering city wall, looking up at it.

It was covered in cracks. The power of the Jianghai Sword God’s self-detonation that day had been immense. Even though it happened ten thousand meters in the air, it still caused significant impact below.

By the city wall,

construction vehicles were everywhere. Repair crews bustled about, and scaffolding stood tall, but many cracks had yet to be filled.

"Hehe, the heavens are helping this Fairy!"

Xiaobai released her Spiritual Power and easily found a crack.

She stuck her butt out and got close.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH, she squeezed right through.

The next moment,

she was outside the city wall.

As far as the eye could see,

a field of corpses met her eyes. The air was thick with the smell of blood, the soil was dark red, and the brutal scene from that night seemed to play out before her again.

"So many Star Beasts died."

Xiaobai wrinkled her delicate nose, but she didn’t feel much about it.

’Among Star Beasts, it’s always been the law of the jungle.’

’Since they decided to attack the city, they have no one to blame but themselves for dying to its defenses.’

"Whatever, I should keep searching."

She shook her head, sniffed the air, and continued to search the battlefield.

She was looking for any Pear Blossom Needles.

The Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needles were extremely precious. After the Beast Tide, the Star Martial Police Bureau had sent people to collect them, but they couldn’t have found every single one.

If she was willing to look, she was bound to find some.

Xiaobai sometimes squatted to dig through the dirt, sometimes lifted a rotting Star Beast corpse or two, and sometimes nimbly climbed a tree...

Time passed slowly.

Just then,

suddenly!

ROAR!!!

An earth-shattering roar echoed out.

A deformed Star Beast emerged from the forest. It was several yards tall, shaped like a black mountain, and it was staring intently at Xiaobai, drool dripping from the corners of its mouth.

"Master..."

Xiaobai froze for a moment and subconsciously stepped back, looking for Qin Yang.

Usually, by this time, Qin Yang would have already made his move. She just had to follow behind him and cheer, never having to worry about a thing.

A violent aura surged forth.

RUMBLE!

With thunderous hooves, the savage Star Beast charged, about to crash into her at any moment.

Wait...

Xiaobai suddenly frowned, remembering something.

Fangs bared, claws extended!

’That’s not right!’

’This Fairy is a King Level Star Beast!!’

"You think I’m gonna take this crap from a little piece of trash like you!?"

"You’re asking to die!"

Xiaobai gritted her silver teeth, leaped into the air on her short little legs, and slapped it with the back of her hand, crushing it with an even more violent surge of Star Force!

BOOM!

Its skull shattered!

The burly Star Beast died instantly on the spot without so much as a whimper. It crashed to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

"Tch, is that all?"

Xiaobai dusted her hands off, stepped on the Star Beast’s corpse, and gave it a couple of kicks.

Suddenly,

a familiar scent reached her.

"Found one!"

Xiaobai followed the scent, overjoyed. She quickly reached her claw in and pulled it out. The next moment, half a Pear Blossom Needle appeared in her hand.

A silver light flashed.

Xiaobai brought it closer to smell, and the scent was even more familiar.

It was just like...

It was almost exactly like...

Wait...

Xiaobai squinted, holding the Pear Blossom Needle up to compare, and slowly turned to look behind her.

Her gaze slowly fell on her own fluffy tail, and her heart skipped a beat.

"QIN!! You son of a—!!!"

.......

「Around noon.」

Qin Yang yawned, rubbed his eyes as he walked out of his room, and opened the fridge to look for something to eat.

’I wonder how long that silly fox will be?’

Xiaobai had gone out first thing in the morning.

He wasn’t too worried, though.

After all, they were connected by the Beast Slave link. Even if she ran to the ends of the earth, he could still find her.

Besides, it was rare for her to get a chance to go out and have some fun.

’Let her play and cause a little trouble...’

Just then.

CLICK.

Xiaobai was back.

In an instant!

A frantic aura swept through the room.

"?"

Qin Yang’s hand, holding a chicken wrap, froze. He turned to look, bewildered.

At the doorway,

a little white-haired loli stood there. Her eyes were red, her silver teeth were grinding audibly, and she was glaring at Qin Yang with what felt like murderous intent.

"Yo, you’re back."

Qin Yang said, with the chicken wrap still in his mouth, "Perfect timing. Go make lunch."

"I won’t!!"

Xiaobai clutched the Pear Blossom Needle, staring at Qin Yang. The more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt. Her mouth trembled, her mind filled with images of all the fur she had been shedding.

’This bad Master...’

’All this fur I’ve been losing every day...’

’It was your fault all along!!!’

’I’m so mad.’

’But I can’t beat Master!’

’That makes me even madder!’

Xiaobai bottled up her anger, but her cheeks suddenly felt hot, and tears began to stream down her face against her will.

"Hm?"

Qin Yang paused, noticing the Pear Blossom Needle in Xiaobai’s hand. He recalled her leaving that morning and frowned. "Hiss... you didn’t go to the battlefield, did you?"

’Has this Sword God’s cover been blown?’

The moment he spoke.

"WAAAH—"

Xiaobai cried even louder.

"Tsk, alright, alright, don’t cry. So my cover’s blown, big deal."

Qin Yang scratched his head, unfazed. He went over and poked her, but Xiaobai turned her head away, shrugging her shoulders and ignoring him, her loud sobs continuing.

"Don’t cry. I’ll give you some compensation!"

"This Fairy doesn’t want it!!"

"Really?"

Qin Yang took out the Heart of Law. "Then I’ll just..."

"I want it for half an hour,"

Xiaobai wiped her tears, now half-crying, half-smiling, and mumbled, "You’re not allowed to take it back."

"Deal! Half an hour. But you’d better wipe your own drool."

"Okay!"

"Take it."

Qin Yang tossed the Heart of Law, tilting his head slightly to peek at Xiaobai from behind.

Her big, fluffy tail had started wagging again.

......

「Half an hour later.」

Qin Yang came to get the Heart of Law.

"Time’s about up."

"..."

On the sofa, the little white-haired loli said nothing. She was gnawing on the Heart of Law with a CRUNCH CRUNCH sound, her butt stuck in the air and her fox tail wagging back and forth.

"You might as well just keep plucking this Fairy’s fur!"