Every extra advantage brought Qiao Xixi a bit more peace of mind.

"Can’t sleep?"

Qiao Xixi turned over and hugged Jin Ling. The clean scent of him calmed her anxious heart a little.

"I’m a little worried. I don’t know how Sunxiao and the others are doing out there."

A gust of wind blew outside, and a blinding light streamed in through the window.

The light was so bright Qiao Xixi couldn’t keep her eyes open.

"Why is it so bright? Could it be lightning?"

Jin Ling got up to close the window, but when he lifted the animal hide curtain, the light outside was so piercing it made him wince.

"Jin Ling?" Seeing him stand motionless, Qiao Xixi clutched her belly, got out of bed, and walked to his side.

"This is..." Qiao Xixi stared at the multicolored sky in utter amazement. "What... what is this?"

In all his years, Jin Ling had never seen a sky like this.

"It’s probably about to rain. Go lie back down."

"Oof!" Qiao Xixi cried out softly.

"What’s wrong?" Jin Ling asked, steadying her anxiously.

Qiao Xixi caught her breath and said softly, "It’s the cub. He’s kicking me. He’s been moving more and more frequently these past two days. I think he’s ready to come out."

A warm, large palm rested gently on her swollen belly. "Be a good cub. Don’t trouble your mother. You can come out in just a few more days."

As Jin Ling gently stroked her belly, he suddenly felt a force push back against his palm. He gave a resigned smile. ’What a strong little cub. I can only imagine how mischievous he’ll be when he’s born.’

Outside the tribe, a gale whipped around Sunxiao and his men, nearly blinding them.

The sky overhead grew increasingly bright, its brilliant colors astonishing the beastmen.

Sunxiao’s crimson, serpentine eyes sharpened as he stared grimly into the darkness.

Jin Li charged out, leading a troop of one hundred warriors.

Sunxiao watched Jin Li, who had returned after leaving, and a murderous aura exploded from him.

Jin Li shot Sunxiao an arrogant glare. "Hand over all the cubs in the tribe, or we’ll flatten the Divine Leopard Tribe!"

The beastmen guarding the tribe erupted in fury at his words. They were long tired of the tradition of paying tribute to Beast City year after year. Why should they have to hand over the prey they hunted so hard for? Why should they have to send away the females they cherished? How was that any different from being Wandering Beasts!

And now, they dared to come for their cubs? They deserved to die!

Sunxiao’s dark eyes were heavy with unbridled killing intent. "Impossible."

Riding the gale, he shifted into his beast form. The sight of his colossal snake body made Jin Li freeze for a moment.

"A Sky-Swallowing Giant Python! Let me see what you’ve got today!"

Jin Li roared, transforming into a golden tiger and charging at Sunxiao. The beastmen behind him surged forward as one.

Jin Wei stood on the mountainside, watching the slaughter before the tribe. Before Sunxiao, a beastman with a five-star beast soul, his warriors were like mere food, swallowed one by one. Jin Wei’s expression grew impossibly dark.

"Songyan, you and Yun Qi go. Capture that Sky-Swallowing Giant Python."

Receiving their orders, Yun Qi and Songyan charged forward.

Meanwhile, Jin Che led another troop of one hundred to the mountain behind the tribe. The path from there was the shortest to the inner city.

"Charge!"

The beastmen roared and surged forward.

"BOOM."

"KABOOM."

But before they could even get close to the rear gate, a series of explosions erupted.

Caught completely off guard, the beastmen were blown apart, their limbs scattering everywhere.

Jin Che quickly fell back. "Fall back! Everyone, fall back!"

Figures emerged from the darkness, appearing atop the high city walls.

Feiyan’s light brown eyes glinted coldly in the dark. He sneered, "If you want to get inside, you’ll have to get through me first."

Jin Che glared at them grimly. "You think this little trick can stop us? Dream on!"

"Kill!"

Jin Che was the first to shift, charging toward the rear gate once more in his beast form.

Feiyan stood his ground, unmoving. As Jin Che approached, he swiftly threw the Bubble Fruits in his hands.

"So you like loud noises, do you? Then I’ll give you an earful today!"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The continuous explosions made it impossible for Qiao Xixi to lie still. Jin Ling gently patted her back, trying to soothe her.

"It’s all right, Xixi. Don’t be afraid."

"The cubs! Quick, bring all the cubs into our room."

"Okay, I’ll go get them now."

But to Jin Ling’s surprise, when he opened the door, he found the four cubs standing there with their backs to him.

Hearing the door open, the cubs turned to look at Jin Ling.

"Father Jin Ling, is Mother not feeling well?" Qiao Qiao asked anxiously.

Jin Ling shook his head. "No, your mother was worried about you and asked me to bring you inside. Why are you all standing out here?"

Qiao Lie’s little brow furrowed. "I could feel Father fighting. I was worried bad guys would break in, so I got up to guard Mother. I promised Father I would protect her!"

Qiao Ang and the others nodded. "That’s right. We have to protect Mother."

The cubs had barely finished speaking when a chorus of eagle cries echoed through the sky.

Jin Ling looked up, and his gilded eyes darkened completely.

The Golden Eagle Beast Group had arrived.

The Golden Eagle Beast Group circled high above the inner city.

Suddenly, the lead Golden Eagle Beast swooped down, looking as if it was about to land in the courtyard.

A wisp of black mist shot out from the darkness and swiftly coiled around the Golden Eagle Beast.

The next instant, the Golden Eagle Beast’s head tumbled to the ground, and it fell silent.

Sangze’s figure was faintly visible within the black mist.

His dark skin made him nearly one with the night. He touched his fingertips to his face, then wiped them in disgust on the dead beast’s feathers.

"So filthy."

After circling for a moment, the Golden Eagle Beasts dove down once more.

This time, however, their targets weren’t the inner courtyard, but the guards at the front and rear gates.

"Courting death."

The black mist flashed and shot after them.

The moment Sangze’s figure vanished, another figure descended from the sky, landing in the courtyard.

Jin Ling’s eyes focused, and his pupils contracted.

The figure seemed to sense Jin Ling’s gaze and slowly looked up at him.

"Jin Ling, long time no see."

Jin Ling’s fists slowly tightened. "Mr. Bai."

Mr. Bai let out a low chuckle. His gaze toward Jin Ling was as gentle as an elder looking upon a junior.

"I heard you hadn’t died, so I came with the City Lord to see for myself. I didn’t expect you to actually be alive. Jin Ling, come back with me. The fact that you’re alive proves your body has completely overcome the drug’s side effects. From now on, you’re sure to become a formidable general under your father."

"I’m not going back."

Mr. Bai’s expression darkened slightly. "Why?"

"Because the Jin Ling you trained like an animal since he was a child is long dead."

Mr. Bai gave a low laugh. "Jin Ling, you’ve grown disobedient. And I have plenty of ways to deal with disobedient brats."

With a light leap, Mr. Bai rose into the air, hovering nearly at eye level with Jin Ling.

Jin Ling told the cubs to get inside and close the door. "Protect your mother."

Jin Ling leaped into the courtyard and lunged at Mr. Bai.

Seeing that Jin Ling’s form was even more agile than before, Mr. Bai let out a satisfied laugh. He dodged with blinding speed, so fast that Jin Ling couldn’t land a single touch.

"Excellent, Jin Ling! You’ve improved. Keep it coming!"

Jin Ling roared, swiping at him fiercely with his tiger claws. Just then, Mr. Bai dodged in a flash, evading the attack and lashing out with a swift kick that sent Jin Ling flying.

"CRASH!"

Hearing the loud crash outside, Qiao Xixi flung the door open in a panic. The first thing she saw was Jin Ling, knocked to the ground.

"Jin Ling!" 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"CRACK!"

Suddenly, a deafening crack of thunder split the sky. A dull ache shot through Qiao Xixi’s belly, and her face instantly went white.