Chapter 554: Chapter 553: Working Even Harder

Gong You’s brow furrowed slightly. He held Si Shuo’s hand, his voice full of concern. "But if we do this, my dear, they’ll look down on you."

Si Shuo smiled. "How could they? I’ve given birth to our cubs, each one beautiful and talented, and you all are incredibly powerful. Others can only be envious of me.

"As long as our family is together, that’s all that matters. I don’t want any other males joining us."

She had never been greedy. After being reborn on the Beast World Continent, she had only accepted seven Beast Husbands out of necessity, to adapt and survive.

Now, their strength was formidable, more than enough to protect her and the cubs. She didn’t want to break their hearts.

Besides, she had limited energy, and her seven Beast Husbands were already pulling her heart in more directions than she could handle.

Wei Ce nodded vigorously. "Shuo, we’ll definitely win every single match tomorrow!"

They had already planned to participate in a similar competition to intimidate the surrounding Beastmen with their strength, hoping to solve all their problems once and for all.

The fact that they could now also get a cave out of it was an unexpected bonus.

"Yes, I believe in you," Si Shuo said with a smile. "But don’t underestimate your opponents. The Yongchang Continent is different from our world in every way."

Who knew what kind of surprises could happen during a fight, or if their opponents had trump cards that would be impossible to defend against.

The males all nodded seriously. For this competition, they had to win!

To prepare for the next day’s competition, they cultivated nonstop through the night. Gong You even activated his Time Law, making time flow twenty times faster. One night was equivalent to ten days and ten nights.

Previously, their cultivation method involved completely exhausting their superpowers, pushing themselves to their absolute limits to gradually raise their storage capacity. This yielded great results with less effort. They rarely consumed elixirs or Crystal Stones.

Now, however, they were cramming at the last minute. This time, they began popping Crystal Stones into their mouths one after another. These were stones that Si Shuo had replicated and purified, containing so few impurities they were practically negligible.

A torrential amount of Spiritual Energy flooded their bodies, and their cultivation levels surged forward uncontrollably. No matter what tricks their opponents had up their sleeves, as long as they were strong enough, they could dismantle any scheme with ease!

Si Shuo and the cubs also cultivated diligently. It could be said that aside from eating and necessary rest, they were all frantically consuming Crystal Stones.

With two days left, they took the Bone Marrow Cleansing and Vein Cutting Pills. The Spiritual Energy from the elixirs was tenacious, forcefully washing away the impurities in their bodies. It also tempered and widened their meridians, while their Dantians were forged over and over, like iron being hammered in a furnace. The males had never cultivated like this before. With their excellent talent, the boost from the pills, and the intense infusion of Crystal Stones, each of them managed to forcibly raise their cultivation by an entire major level!

Zhi Le broke through the Peak of Level 14 to reach the Middle Fifteenth Level. Xu Chi’s cultivation shot up to the Peak Fifteenth level. Ji Liang broke through to Level 14 and also reached the Peak of Level 14. Gong You suppressed his cultivation at the Peak of Level 14. Xiao Cheng broke through to the Middle Fifteenth Level, his three tails becoming four as he awakened the Abnormal Ability Replacement superpower. Yin Jiang surged to the Peak Fifteenth level. Wei Ce, even more impressively, reached Level 16.

However, they all suppressed their cultivation by two or three levels when displaying it to the public.

Si Shuo stared at the four tails swaying behind Xiao Cheng and began to pet each one. A tingling sensation ran up Xiao Cheng’s scalp, but he was reluctant to move, merely nuzzling her neck with a soft whimper, making it seem as if she were doing something naughty to him.

"Xiao Cheng, what is ’Abnormal Ability Replacement’?" Si Shuo asked curiously.

Xiao Cheng lifted his chin slightly, his tone full of pride. "It means I now have a vacant superpower slot. The first time I use it, I can strip an opponent of their superpower and use it myself.

"The second time, I can choose to swap superpowers with someone else, or I can abandon my current one and strip another from an opponent! In other words, I can grant, strip, or replace an opponent’s superpower."

That was totally overpowered! Si Shuo gasped. "It sounds like a lot of fun."

Xiao Cheng raised an eyebrow, his eyes glinting. "I haven’t used this superpower yet, so I don’t know if I can store a superpower after stripping it from someone. This competition will be the perfect chance to test it out."

’So they’d better not get any malicious ideas about me,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, I’ll really let them have it!’

He leaned close to Si Shuo’s ear and, with a wave of his hand, set up an Array. He whispered to her, "Sister, I have an extra tail now. I’m even more amazing than before."

Si Shuo nodded repeatedly. "You certainly are! You gained a whole new superpower!"

Then she added with a laugh, "And with an extra tail, you can fan me better to keep me cool in the summer."

Xiao Cheng chuckled slyly. "I can serve you with even more vigor now, Sister!"

Si Shuo froze for a moment before his meaning dawned on her. Her fair face instantly flushed crimson, and she stared at him, speechless for a long moment.

Xiao Cheng, however, just let out a low chuckle, wrapped an arm around her waist, cupped the back of her head, and kissed her fiercely... 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

At dawn the next morning, the sky was still shrouded in dark clouds, and the wind carried the chill of late autumn.

The Red-winged Black Oriole Beastmen were already flapping their wings and chattering noisily. They seemed to particularly enjoy flying up and down near Si Shuo’s house, making a racket first thing in the morning.

However, Gong You had set up a Protective Shield for Si Shuo, so she couldn’t hear the commotion outside and was still sleeping soundly.

"Hey, what time is it? When are you planning to go to the fighting arena?" One of the Bird Beastmen, who was rather impatient, had been flying back and forth for ages. Seeing no movement from Si Shuo’s house, he anxiously came to the door to ask.

Wei Ce drawled lazily, "We just moved, and everyone’s exhausted. We need to rest up so we’re full of energy, and then we’ll head over after we’ve eaten and digested our food, won’t we?"

"I think you’re just stalling! Fine. If you don’t show up at the fighting arena in half a Beast Hour, we’ll count it as an automatic forfeit. You’ll have to pay fifty Level 10 Crystal Stones per match. For one hundred matches, that’s..."

Si Shuo had woken up by now. After munching on a Dust Cleaning Talisman, she emerged wearing a veiled hat and biting into a lamb bun. "Five thousand Level 10 Crystal Stones?"

"That’s right. You definitely can’t afford that. But here in Beast City, the going price for a Beast Slave is one hundred stones a head. I’m afraid your whole family will have to be handed over to us as compensation!" Hong Jie, now wearing a hat to cover his shiny bald head, said with a smirk, "Of course, I’ll say it again: it’s not too late to surrender."

Si Shuo finished her bun, drank a bowl of seafood congee, and then began to happily munch on some corn. "Let’s go," she said. "Time to go earn a cave! They’re so eager for us to pluck their feathers, we can’t possibly disappoint such a small wish, can we?"

Yin Jiang transformed into a Hunting Falcon and carried her straight toward the fighting arena.

Beiping City had a total of five fighting arenas, one in the east, west, south, north, and center. Each one was enormous and served as a daily training ground for the Beastmen, as well as the ultimate venue for resolving conflicts through battle.

The competition was officiated by people from the City Lord Mansion. Nothing can be accomplished without rules, and once an agreement was signed, neither party could break the contract, or they would face the punishment of the Beast God!

In other words, once the competition began, the entire process was supposed to be open and transparent, with absolutely no favoritism...