Chapter 7: Is It Reasonable for a Soul Beast to Be This Affectionate?

"The others?"

Liu Erlong, who was in the middle of breaking the iron chains for the children, keenly captured this crucial piece of information. Since she had decided to take in these homeless children, she naturally had to ensure their safety. Being alone, she knew that human traffickers were usually treacherous; if a real fight broke out, she might not be able to look after the safety of so many children at once.

"The matter of revenge will have to wait. Here’s what we’ll do: I will find you a carriage right now to head straight for the Heaven Dou Imperial City. Once you arrive, find the Blue Tyrant Advanced Spirit Master Academy and show this token; someone will be there to receive you."

"Understood!"

Ye You, being the most mature among them, immediately understood her intent and reached out to take the token that symbolized the academy’s Dean.

This was no place to linger. While the rest of the trafficker gang had yet to react, it was the perfect opportunity to evacuate. Liu Erlong quickly secured a carriage and spent some money to hire three Spirit Grandmasters as escorts. At this distance, they should reach their destination by midnight.

After watching the children depart, she took Jiang Beibei away from the small town and pitched a tent on the outskirts of the Sunset Forest, intending to spend the night there simply.

"Mom, thank you."

Jiang Beibei finished setting up their sleeping bags and, feeling deeply grateful, clung to Liu Erlong’s waist, trying to use her own body heat to help her mother ward off the night's chill.

"You silly girl, what are you saying? Seeing such suffering fall upon you children breaks my heart. Besides, as a Spirit Master, it is my duty to do what I can to eradicate evil."

Liu Erlong stroked her little head, explaining gently while also teaching her the right sense of morality.

"Mmhmm! Once Beibei becomes a powerful Spirit Master like Mom, I want to fight against these bad guys too!"

Jiang Beibei lifted her head, making a solemn vow.

"Haha, our Beibei will surely be even stronger than Mom in the future. By then, I might even need you to protect me!"

The mother and daughter had been through a lot all day; before long, Jiang Beibei drifted off to sleep. Liu Erlong, sitting cross-legged in the tent, couldn't help but smile helplessly as she watched her daughter snoring while her body automatically absorbed spirit power.

This tranquility lasted until the late hours of the night. Jiang Beibei was fast asleep, but the vortex of spirit power around her grew larger and larger.

"Hmm? Why do these low-level spirit beasts dare to approach?"

Liu Erlong, who had been meditating with her eyes closed, frowned slightly. Logically, the spirit beasts on the outskirts of the Sunset Forest, being less than a thousand years old, would instinctively avoid her presence as a Spirit Emperor with a Fire Dragon spirit.

However, within her range of perception, she discovered over a hundred ten-year spirit beasts and dozens of hundred-year spirit beasts approaching their tent. Judging by their movement, it was as if they were being forcibly dragged by some special power, having lost control of their own bodies.

"Could it be... that Beibei’s charm works on spirit beasts too?"

This was the first time Liu Erlong had encountered such a strange phenomenon. She opened her eyes to look at her sleeping daughter and, after a moment of thought, decided to wake her to inform her of the situation.

"Beibei, Beibei, wake up."

"Ah? Ah! What’s wrong? Are the bad guys here to grab Beibei? Mom! Uh..."

Forced awake, Jiang Beibei instinctively curled into a ball like a frightened little deer, her first reaction upon waking being to seek her mother. When she saw Liu Erlong’s calm expression and realized she was unharmed, she let out a sigh of relief.

She rubbed her sleepy eyes and asked in confusion, "Mom, what happened?"

Seeing Jiang Beibei’s "stress" reaction, Liu Erlong regretted disturbing her sleep and sighed inwardly. After adjusting her mood, she pulled back the tent flap and pointed to the sea of red and green "little lightbulbs" not far away.

"Beibei, your spirit is truly unique. Even spirit beasts can’t seem to resist it."

Seeing such an eerie sight in the pitch-black night, Jiang Beibei couldn't help but shiver.

"Hiss!"

"I mean, does my charm really have to be this strong? Approaching even under the pressure of a Spirit Emperor? This is just unreasonable!" she grumbled to herself. Judging by her mother's relaxed attitude, it was clear these approaching beasts posed no real danger. Of course, that was relative to a Fire Dragon Spirit Emperor. If she were alone, she would likely have been torn to shreds by now.

"Mom, are these all spirit beasts? Did I attract them here?"

"Are you not afraid, Beibei?"

"With Mom here, Beibei isn't afraid!"

"Then why are you hugging me so tightly?"

"Uh..."

Liu Erlong teased her with a smile, then tossed a torch into the open clearing outside to illuminate the surroundings. The "little lightbulbs," whether green or crimson, were indeed a collection of various spirit beasts. Both carnivores and herbivores were present, though they kept some distance from each other.

Generally, most ordinary spirit beasts are repelled by fire, but these creatures showed no intention of retreating even after seeing the torch, continuing to advance.

"Beibei, don't be afraid. These spirit beasts have no hostility toward you."

After observing them, Liu Erlong realized that these spirit beasts approaching of their own accord carried no violent or bloodthirsty intent. Thinking about it, the overwhelming charm of her daughter's spirit didn't seem entirely bad. At the very least, when it came time to hunt for spirit rings, they wouldn't have to waste effort searching.

"Hmm, that Nether Lizard is about 500 years old. With Beibei’s current spirit power, you should be able to withstand it."

Liu Erlong scanned the area and quickly found a suitable target. Just as she prepared to act, she heard Beibei’s surprised cry.

"Mom, it seems like Beibei can communicate with these spirit beasts!"

"Hmm? How is that possible?"

This statement left Liu Erlong stunned. As a member of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon family and a powerful Spirit Emperor, she knew many deep secrets regarding spirit beasts. It was possible for some mental-type spirit beasts to communicate with humans, and some incredibly powerful ones could even speak human language. But those beasts, without exception, were at least ten thousand years old! These "little guys" before them were not even a thousand years old; they hadn't even developed sentience, let alone the ability to communicate with humans.

"Mom, these spirit beasts are telling Beibei that they wish to be our friends, and a few of them are even willing to voluntarily become Beibei’s spirit rings!"

???

Voluntarily becoming a human's spirit ring? Was that something a spirit beast should say? No, wait—these beasts couldn't even speak, so was this a thought a spirit beast should even have?

The bewildered Liu Erlong did not know that, in the realm of spirit beast sacrifice, her precious daughter knew far more than she did.