"Jojo! Jojo!"

Sane was in the tea garden, a plump tea caterpillar held in his mouth. Hearing Bennett’s voice filled with fear, he quickly swallowed the caterpillar and hurried out, a tea leaf still stuck on his head.

Sane had realized that magical beast meat didn’t help him recover his Beast Energy as quickly as tea caterpillars did. However, whenever Bennett saw him eating the caterpillars, he would refuse to get close. So Sane usually snuck into the tea garden early in the morning, before Bennett woke up, to eat in secret.

"Hisss~"

The little snake slithered onto the windowsill and answered with a soft hiss. Bennett’s face turned deathly pale. He quickly stepped forward, picked up the little snake, and hugged it to his chest. Sane heard the youth’s choked voice:

"Thank goodness... thank goodness you’re still here. I just dreamed that someone nailed you to a cutting board and skinned alive..."

As he spoke, Bennett’s tears fell one after another. The miserable appearance of the little snake in the dream made his heart ache. In that dream, Bennett could only watch from the sidelines. He couldn’t get close to the little snake, couldn’t save it. He could only scream in despair.

Sane felt pained. He flicked out his tongue and licked the tears from his mate’s face, then rubbed his head against the youth’s cheek. Bennett closed his eyes and kissed the top of the snake’s head.

From that day onward, Bennett refused to let the little snake leave his side even for a moment. When he went to work, he placed Sane on his shoulder. When he attended meetings, he tucked him inside his clothes. Bennett no longer felt disgusted when he saw the little snake eating tea caterpillars. He even started catching them for Sane to eat. Sane enjoyed his mate’s care, but he was also worried about the youth’s mental state.

He tried his best to absorb as much energy as possible, hoping to recover his Beast Energy soon so he could protect Bennett from his mental crisis.

But then the beast tide suddenly arrived, catching Sane off guard. Bennett fled with Sane in his arms, yet the city gates had already been breached by magical beasts. More than half of the warriors had fallen, and the high-ranking mages had fled, leaving the weaker ones behind to defend the city. Their city was an agricultural city - where would they find many combat mages? It was quickly overrun.

Bennett fell to the ground while holding the little snake, staring in despair at the massive tail of the demonic snake swinging toward them.

"ROAR!!!"

An angry roar shook the air. The demonic snake’s tail was immediately blocked by the jaws of another snake whose size was comparable to its own. Bennett looked up. Under the blazing late-summer sun, he saw layers of familiar green scales shimmering. He whispered, "Jojo..."

No... that didn’t seem right. He wasn’t called Jojo. He had another name. What was it?

Bennett shook his aching head, trying to dig through the chaotic memories.

The green snake and the demonic snake fought fiercely. The green snake held a clear advantage, and it wasn’t long before the demonic snake was defeated. Covered in blood, the green snake slithered toward Bennett. When it got close, it transformed into a human form and said in a hoarse voice:

"Don’t be afraid. I’m here."

Bennett looked up at the tall man reaching out to him and slowly extended his own hand, grasping the man’s. He gazed at him, so many words stuck in his throat, yet in the end only one name left his lips.

"Sane..."

Crash!

The illusion shattered like broken glass. Kaelen stirred slightly. His long eyelashes trembled before slowly opening. A faint layer of green shimmered in his tea-brown eyes, fading after a few blinks.

Kaelen looked at the firm, muscular chest in front of him, then raised his head to see the sharp, handsome face of the beastman. At this moment, those once cold red eyes were filled with love for him - burning so hot it scorched his heart. Kaelen parted his lips:

"Sane..."

His voice wasn’t clear. It was a little hoarse and deep, as if he had just woken up. But it was undeniably his own voice coming from his throat. A mute sub-beast... could now speak.

"Mm. I’m here."

Sane leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Kaelen’s lips, as if he didn’t care at all whether Kaelen could speak or not. After their lips parted, he looked into Kaelen’s eyes for a moment before leaning down to kiss him again. This kiss was like a storm, carrying years of love and longing. Kaelen didn’t refuse. He wrapped his arms around Sane’s neck and responded to the passionate kiss.

Outside the vine cage, the lightning rain that had poured for five days finally stopped. The dark clouds dispersed, revealing a beautiful rainbow. A single raindrop fell, followed by countless others that quickly covered the entire Crimson tribe.

Trees that had been burned to charcoal by lightning began sprouting new shoots from their roots, rapidly growing and becoming lush once more, as if they had never been scorched.

Talon’s gaze fell on the tender new grass. His heart pounded like war drums. Deep in his soul, something was screaming that this rainwater was good - too good to miss. His eyes lit up. He immediately said to Jaxon:

"Tell everyone to go out and bathe in the rain. Quickly."

Upon receiving the order, everyone in the tribe dropped what they were doing and rushed into the rain. Austin and a three-eyed beastman carried Leonardo on a stretcher into the downpour, their feelings complicated. They never expected to receive the same treatment as the Crimson tribesmen. Aside from restricted freedom, they ate and lived by working, just like the locals.

Even now, not knowing what effect the rain would have, they were still allowed to step into it - and Leonardo’s share wasn’t forgotten either.

"ROAR - !!"

"AWOO - !!"

Excited roars rang out one after another. The beastmen immediately transformed into their beast forms, eagerly welcoming the rain. They could feel powerful energy pouring into their bodies. Their minds became clear, and every muscle seemed to surge with strength.

The sub-beasts also closed their eyes and sensed the changes. Something within their bodies seemed to stir, as if trying to break free from its restraints.

The rain lasted three days. Everyone in the tribe bathed in it at least once, and they didn’t forget to collect rainwater for those who hadn’t been able to join. They didn’t know if it had any effect, but in their hearts, they believed that if something was good, it shouldn’t be kept from their companions.

The collected rainwater was very little. Even with large jars or other containers, they only managed to gather a small bottle. Yet they could feel that the water inside was extremely pure. Just smelling it made their minds feel refreshed.

When tilted, the water’s surface shimmered with rainbow colors, drawing constant sighs of amazement from everyone.

Inside the vine cage, Kaelen and Sane had just finished their "deep exchange of information." They were still wrapped around each other affectionately, reluctant to separate. Sane kissed Kaelen’s lips and chuckled:

"Mm, your moans really are sweet."

Kaelen opened his mouth and bit Sane’s firm chest, glaring at him. "Everyone outside is probably worried sick about us, and you’re in here acting like a beast."

Sane grinned and thrust his hips forward. "I don’t know who was the one clinging to me and demanding more, over and over again."

Kaelen was so embarrassed he got angry. He reached down, grabbed the thing between Sane’s legs, and squeezed hard. "Do you believe I’ll cripple you?!"

"You wouldn’t have the heart to, would you? Ah, right - you ranked up, didn’t you? Is that why you can speak now?"

Kaelen shook his head. "Yes and no. Do you remember how I kept having an itchy throat and dry coughs? My body was healing the damage to my vocal cords on its own. Ranking up just sped up the recovery process."

Sane gently stroked his hair. "Your ears and tail are gone. You look exactly like you did when you were Bennett."

Kaelen’s hair was now very long and deep green, almost black. His beast ears and tail had disappeared, leaving him in full human form. A vine-like pattern had appeared on his forehead, extending to the corner of his eye. Hearing Sane’s words, Kaelen touched the top of his head. It felt too different. He tried closing his eyes and visualizing for a moment. With a soft pop, his ears and tail reappeared, and the pattern on his forehead vanished.

"It seems I can switch between human form and sub-beast form. Can you do it too?"

Sane thought for a moment, then tried circulating his Beast Energy. A pair of horns grew from his head - somewhat like deer velvet, yet sharp. Kaelen lightly touched the horns, which resembled dragon horns, and watched as they gradually flushed red. Sane leaned against him, his breathing slightly heavy. "Don’t touch them randomly."

Oh my, they’re sensitive~

Kaelen chuckled and stopped teasing him. Sane transformed back into his beast form. His beast form could grow larger or smaller, but the horns on his head remained.

After showing off his transformations, Sane returned to human form, and the horns disappeared.

Kaelen rubbed his chin. "I can sense Magical Energy inside your body. Did you awaken an ability? What kind is it?"

He had heard the term "ability" many times in the illusion of Kaelen’s world. There, Divine Energy was called ability. Sane closed his eyes and activated it. The space around them suddenly crackled with electricity. Several purple-black lightning orbs appeared in the air, floating.

Kaelen felt suffocated by the shockwaves from the orbs, as if he were facing an attack from a tenth-rank Mage. He exclaimed in shock:

"The pressure is so strong! Sane, what rank are you now?!"

"Only rank five, but that’s Beast Energy from a beastman warrior."

Kaelen was surprised. He placed his hand on Sane’s chest and pressed his forehead against his, carefully probing. A moment later, he looked at Sane with a complicated expression.

"You have both Beast Energy and Divine Energy at the same time... I don’t even know how to explain this..."

Sane nodded. "It’s fine if you can’t figure it out yet. We’ll take our time to understand it. Let’s go outside first. Everyone must be very worried."

Kaelen nodded. He slightly moved his toes against the ground. The vines followed his movement, blooming open one after another before sinking back into the earth.

"They’re out!"

Zale shouted excitedly. Everyone cheered in unison, then raised their hands to the sky in gratitude to the Beast God. The strange phenomenon had lasted more than ten days, and with no sign of the Chief or the young priest, even the children could guess what had happened.

A heavy stone had weighed on everyone’s hearts, and only now could it finally be lifted. Jaxon stepped forward to greet them. His gaze toward Sane flickered with surprise.

"Rank five?"